National Association of Women in Masonry

Welcome to the National Association for Women in Masonry (NAWM). This website has been created to highlight the association while also providing an information base to help anyone wishing to enter this field. To that end we are continually publishing informational articles on a variety of subjects within the sphere of building, masonry and home improvements to cover every aspect of this wide and vast topic.

Seattle-based NAWM has its mission to create an environment through education, training, and networking that enhances the leadership skills of women in the building industry. NAWM was founded to help to build a large community of women who are devoted to leadership and also to offer many opportunities for their ongoing education and training. By doing so, this will create many opportunities for the continued inclusion of women in the fields of building, concrete and stone masonry while leading to a greater recognition of all our achievements.

Additional Information

In order to build this site into a solid repository of useful and usable information on all aspects of building, construction, finishing and home refurbishment and improvement, we are adding informational articles originally written for this site. They will cover many aspects of construction in both a domestic as well as business side of things. Here are just some of the areas we will be covering:

Patio and Terrace

The outdoor space of many homes is a useful area to socialize in and a well laid up patio or terrace is great place to do this. It must be remembered that good workmanship and a professional build and quality finish are great qualities by which to judge the best hard standing outdoor areas. Of course once they have been laid up, it makes a lot of sense to adorn them with well placed decorative plants and some nice furniture. Its worth reading some good patio furniture reviews to ensure you get the right type of outdoor furniture to match your outdoor space because you certainly don’t want anything to appear out of place.

Garage and Outbuildings

While most emphasis is generally placed on the house or main building itself, some additional thought should be given to garages and other outbuildings such as a workshop, brick or stone sheds and other solid structures. When considering the building of such structures, remember to take into account the need for professional skilled labor to ensure a safe and solid build.

The growing number of articles that will be and are already published here are all related to the building and stone masonry industry so that the information database grows into a reference for anyone who needs to extend their knowledge into further subjects that are incorporated withing this industry.

National Association for Women in Masonry

I’ve had it with expensive vacuum cleaners that only last a few years.  This time I’ve decided not to spend $300 on something that will not last.  About six weeks ago I replaced my expensive Kenmore with a Hoover Tempo Widepath.  This only cost a fraction of the price of the Kenmore and so far I’m very happy with the Hoover.  The Hoover’s suction power is nothing less than outstanding and, if only comparing suction power, it easily outperforms  all of my previous vacuums.  Vacuuming has never been this easy and efficient.  For the first time in my life I’m not going over and over the same spot.  My carpets look cleaner than they’ve ever looked and cleaning up the Christmas tree needles was a breeze.  I’m also more than happy that the Hoover uses bags – b.t.w. which are very reasonably prices on amazon.  My previous vacuum cleaners were bagless and I found that very messy. 

This Hoover also won’t give you a hernia or break your back while vacuuming.  It is not the lightest vacuum cleaner around but it most certainly is not the heaviest.  It sure is light enough to easily carry around.

I won’t give the Hoover 5 stars as it really lacks some features.   It has no headlight, it doesn’t have a full-bag indicator and it has no dirt-sensor.  I’m also having my doubts about the durability of its hose, which is made of cheap plastic.  The hose also does not extend as much as I would have liked.  Despite these few shortcomings, I will still recommend the Hoover Tempo Widepath to anyone for its outstanding suction power and the amazing cleaning job it does at a very affordable price.

Let’s be very up front about the Hoover Tempo Widepath – it’s a basic, simple, very ugly, little heavy and loud vacuum cleaner.  The color looks as if it is from the 80′s and if we had to be honest about it, it looks and feels cheap.  It has three accessories that are worthless and it has no automatic features.  It has no headlight, you’ll have to sind up the cord manually and you’ll have no idea when the bag is full, to mention a few.

With all that said, I will still give it 4 stars.  The one thing – probably the only thing – it does EXTREMELY well is suck dirt out of a carpet like no other vacuum cleaner I have ever owned. 

Yes, I could have bought a Dyson – that’s what my wife really wanted – but for the price of a Dyson I can buy five Widepaths and still have money for dinner left over. 

Get the Widepath if you want a cheap vacuum cleaner that will clean your house like just about no other vacuum cleaner.  But if you want to impress the neighbors, don’t get it!

When our old pressure washer died, my husband decided that he wanted a smaller washer that was electric. When we started looking online for a replacement we came across some positive reviews for the Karcher K3.540 electric pressure washer. It had all the features that we were looking for as well as being made by Karcher, one of the leading pressure washer brands.

As we don’t intend to use the pressure washer for heavy duty projects, this electric pressure washer would do everything we need it to. Some of the projects that we usually use a washer for are:

- washing down our vinyl siding on the house

- cleaning off our deck in the spring

- rinsing down our barbecue in the fall

- spraying old paint off our fence so that we can repaint

Most of the tasks only require us to pull out our pressure washer every once in a while which is why we could get away with a smaller washer. If you intend to use your pressure washer more frequently or for larger tasks then you will probably want to invest in a larger Karcher pressure washer model.

Our old lawn mower bit the dust last spring, right before mowing season so we knew that we needed to find one sooner than later. When I started to check online for different mower reviews, I came across a review for a Fiskars Momentum push reel lawn mower. I remember way back when I was a kid, that we had a reel mower however this mower definitely was not the same mower my dad used. I was very intrigued by the mower as it had many positive aspects to it. Not only was I reducing nasty fuel emissions into the air, but I wouldn’t have to worry ever again about running out of gas halfway through the mowing job. I also knew that my wife would appreciate not having to fight with a starter to get the mower started as this is very much a source of frustration for her when she opts to mow. Another added bonus was that because the mowing would be done without any source of power – we had to ‘put our own back into it’ which meant that I could mow one day and skip the daily gym routine without any slacking on my part.

Summer is my favorite time of year – the sun shining, breeze blowing and birds tweeting. Of course I often don’t get the opportunity to enjoy this part of summer with running around after to little kids however I do know that I plan on enjoying it much more this summer. All because my husband bought me a Pawley’s Island hammock that I plan on putting between two trees in our backyard. Not only is it nice and shady but it is also far enough from the kids playhouse that their roudy noises will only be a distant background noise. 

As my hammock will be center stage in this part of my backyard, I have already started drawing up landscaping ideas so that I can start work as soon as the ground thaws. A nice windy path of wood chips, green hostas flanking the trees and a huge elephant ear plant to hide my fence. It will take a few years to totally get established however I am looking forward to many years relaxing on my new rope hammock with a really good book – or may just use it for an afternoon siesta!

For us in the North, spring time often means there is still snow on the ground though hardy perennials such as crocuses, tulips and daffodils still pop through to get us excited for the upcoming planting season. On my annual greenhouse expedition I love shopping for new varieties of old favourites, often bringing more plants home that I know what to do with. My neighbours often laugh at my exuberance of plant buying as they pass by the house as I often have up to 5 different flats of flowers all waiting for their planters. While I may have too many plants they always seem to find a home in my array of containers.

With planting all these plants in containers, I used to do it kneeling on our cement sidewalk with a wheelbarrow full of potting mixture however this past year my kids got together and bought me the best potting bench. Not only do I not have to kneel anymore, but I also have a place to store my soil so that it is handy without having to lug up the bag. While I love all aspects of gardening, having a proper bench for planting has made a huge difference in not feeling so many aches when I am done for the day.