diff --git a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/IXLRangeBase.cs b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/IXLRangeBase.cs
index 9ef7381..d86698a 100644
--- a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/IXLRangeBase.cs
+++ b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/IXLRangeBase.cs
@@ -184,7 +184,9 @@
         ///   Merges this range.
         ///   <para>The contents and style of the merged cells will be equal to the first cell.</para>
         /// </summary>
-        IXLRange Merge(Boolean checkIntersect = true);
+        IXLRange Merge();
+
+        IXLRange Merge(Boolean checkIntersect);
 
         /// <summary>
         ///   Creates a named range out of this range. 
diff --git a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/XLRangeBase.cs b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/XLRangeBase.cs
index 69cc663..6b946c8 100644
--- a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/XLRangeBase.cs
+++ b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/Excel/Ranges/XLRangeBase.cs
@@ -319,7 +319,12 @@
             return CellsUsed(includeFormats);
         }
 
-        public IXLRange Merge(Boolean checkIntersect = true)
+        public IXLRange Merge()
+        {
+            return Merge(true);
+        }
+
+        public IXLRange Merge(Boolean checkIntersect)
         {
             if (checkIntersect)
             {
diff --git a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML_Sandbox/Program.cs b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML_Sandbox/Program.cs
index f3ca136..b9545be 100644
--- a/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML_Sandbox/Program.cs
+++ b/ClosedXML/ClosedXML/ClosedXML_Sandbox/Program.cs
@@ -14,33 +14,32 @@
     {
         private static void Main(string[] args)
         {
-            
-            using (XLWorkbook wb = new XLWorkbook(XLEventTracking.Disabled))
-            {
-                using (var ws = wb.AddWorksheet("MergeCellsWorksheet"))
-                {
-                    int total = 5000;
-                    var timer = System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch.StartNew();
-                    // Insert some values
-                    for (int i = 1; i <= total; i += 2)
-                    {
-                        ws.Cell(i, 1).Value = "Merge Cell 1";
-                        ws.Cell(i, 3).Value = "Merge Cell 2";
-                        ws.Cell(i, 4).Value = "Merge Cell 3";
-                        ws.Cell((i + 1), 4).Value = "Merge Cell 4";
+int total = 5000;
+var timer = System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch.StartNew();       
+using (XLWorkbook wb = new XLWorkbook(XLEventTracking.Disabled))
+{
+    using (var ws = wb.AddWorksheet("MergeCellsWorksheet"))
+    {
+        ws.RangeUsed().Style.Fill.BackgroundColor = XLColor.FromArgb(1);
+        // Insert some values
+        for (int i = 1; i <= total; i += 2)
+        {
+            ws.Cell(i, 1).Value = "Merge Cell 1";
+            ws.Cell(i, 3).Value = "Merge Cell 2";
+            ws.Cell(i, 4).Value = "Merge Cell 3";
+            ws.Cell((i + 1), 4).Value = "Merge Cell 4";
 
-                        ws.Range("A" + i + ":B" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
-                        ws.Range("C" + i + ":C" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
-                        ws.Range("D" + i + ":E" + i).Merge(false);
-                        ws.Range("D" + (i + 1) + ":E" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
-                    }
-                    timer.Stop();
-                    Console.WriteLine("Took {0}s", timer.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
-                }
-
-                wb.SaveAs(@"c:\temp\saved.xlsx");
-            }
-            Console.WriteLine("Done");
+            ws.Range("A" + i + ":B" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
+            ws.Range("C" + i + ":C" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
+            ws.Range("D" + i + ":E" + i).Merge(false);
+            ws.Range("D" + (i + 1) + ":E" + (i + 1)).Merge(false);
+        }
+    }
+    wb.SaveAs(@"c:\temp\saved.xlsx");
+}
+timer.Stop();
+Console.WriteLine("Took {0}s", timer.Elapsed.TotalSeconds);
+Console.WriteLine("Done");
             Console.ReadKey();
         }