Helpful Advice For Home Construction Improvement

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3

$6,000 Kitchen Remodel Project Is Amazing
2008-06-03 18:14:00
The fine folks at This Old House asked me to share quite the kitchen remodeling success story with you. A young couple with children recently remodeled their 1970's style kitchen into a beautiful new kitchen on a $6,000 budget! They were able to accomplish the amazing kitchen remodel by finding great deals on Craigslist and local shops along with doing most of the work themselves. I know what kitchen remodels cost and I'm amazed at what they accomplished on such a tight budget. One of the great things about Craigslist is not only the great buys you can find but it's a great way to recycle things and help with the Green movement. When we lived in Boston and renovated our first home I used Craigslist to giveaway the old windows that we replaced. Instead of putting them in a landfill I placed an ad giving them away for free. A local artist actually took them to use as canvas' for paintings. So check out this great kitchen makeover and also check out Craigslist for buying used stuff...
More About: Kitchen , Project , Amazing

Septic System Maintenance
2008-06-03 16:41:00
Here in New Hampshire septic systems are the primary way of treating domestic waste water. In rural areas that don't have municipal sewer systems a septic system is the best way to treat waste water. I designed our new septic system for the new home we just built and my wife often asks me questions about what she can and can't pour down the drains. So I figured I'd write some posts on maintaining your septic system so that it gives you many years of good service.To help you better understand the proper way to maintain a septic system it's important to understand the basic way they operate. For those of you wishing to know more detailed information about how septic systems work I'll be doing another post on that in the near future. Most septic systems work basically the same way. Typically the waste is treated in a two step process.The first step in the septic treatment process is to dump all of the sewage into a septic tank. Once the tank fills with sewage it breaks down into t...
More About: Environment , System , Maintenance

Oil Vs Propane For Heating
2008-05-31 19:39:00
This year I wrote about comparing the cost of heating with oil versus heating with propane. The two posts that I wrote, Heating - Propane Vs Oil and Oil Vs Propane Fuel Calculator have been read more than any other posts I've written. So I thought it would be interesting to mention them again with heating oil around here above the $4.00 per gallon and propane in the $3.00 range. I've received lots of requests for the simple spreadsheet I wrote that helps you compare the two fuels for different furnace types and I've also received lots of comments and questions on the subject.So I thought it might be important to understand where propane comes from so that you can better understand how the price of it is influenced in today's market. Propane is a by-product from two sources: natural gas processing and crude oil refining. Most of the LPG used in the United States is produced domestically. When natural gas is produced, it contains methane and other light hydrocarbons that are separ...

John Deere Plug Aerator Update
2008-05-28 03:02:00
Several weeks ago I wrote about the new John Deere plug aerator that I ordered. It seems as though there has been a glitch in the order. I must confess it seems as though the error was on my side and not the supplier although I can't see anyway I could have made this error...but I'm a big boy and I can admit when I'm wrong. Apparently I ordered the spike aerator and not the plug aerator. NOT GOOD! The spike aerator really doesn't do what I want.Anyway, the supplier has graciously agreed to track down a plug aerator and only charge me the difference in the correct price. They are certainly going above and beyond on this matter and I truly appreciate it. I'll be sure to share with you this great site for ordering genuine John Deere products once I get all this straightened out.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog
More About: Landscaping , Update , Plug

Wooden Swing Set is Finished
2008-05-26 00:57:00
Tonight I finally finished assembling the wooden swing set we bought for the kids. I can't say enough good things about the quality of this set and the relative ease of construction. Don't get ease confused with time consuming however!Our 3 yr old son is totally in love with this swing set. This set includes a great slide, two swings, a set of hanging bars, a tunnel, a rock climbing wall, the upper club house with covered porch, a lower club house and covered sand box area.All of the materials were top notch in my opinion. The wood was all really good with very few knots or splits. The fasteners were all heavy duty including heavy duty hardware for the swings. I would rate this swing set as a 9.5 out of 10!The only word of advice is make sure you have plenty of time and some help to work on this project. It took me and a friend about 24 man hours to complete. The book says it should take two moderately skilled people about 40 to 48 man hours. I think that estimate is fairly accura...
More About: Swing , Wooden

Seamless Aluminum Gutters
2008-05-22 22:57:00
Last week I had seamless aluminum gutters installed on the garage. When the house was first built I had them installed on the main house but I skipped on the garage to save some money. The reason I decided to put them on the garage was really two fold. The first was to keep the water away from the garage and keep the water from destroying the garden alongside the garage. The second reason was, I plan on installing a couple of rain barrels at some point and the extra water will come in handy.Both times I've hired the same gutter contractor to do the work and they always do a nice job. I like seamless gutters for a couple of reasons. First off they don't leak at joints and they are much "tougher" in my opinion. Secondly when they are installed right they actually look like a piece of molding from the ground level at a distance.As you can see in the close up photo, the gutters are pretty strong after all the supports are screwed into the fascia board. Each of those horizontal support...
More About: Landscaping , Aluminum

Titanium Hammer Debate
2008-05-22 13:51:00
Recently I've been noticing more and more carpenters using Titanium hammers like the one shown in this picture. Now my first reaction to this is are you kidding me, these things cost $200 and are about 45% lighter than steel. Now call me crazy but last time I checked force is equal to mass times velocity. So why on earth would you want a lighter hammer? So you can try to swing 45% faster to produce the same force?This has been bugging me for some time because I love new gadgets but when you look at a price of $200 I have a hard time understanding why anyone would spend that kind of money on a hammer. I started asking the guys what they thought and each of them told me the same thing. After years of swinging a steel hammer my body is worn out. Now that they own a Titanium hammer they all say that their arm pains have been substantially reduced. But the real question is does it work as well?I was really surprised that they all said it works just as well. So the real question is why? ...
More About: Tools , Debate , Hammer

Hydroseeding Part of Our Lawn
2008-05-21 23:12:00
Today the Hydroseeding contractor came and sprayed a small area in our back yard that I've had trouble getting grass to grow. As you can see in the picture the area that is bright green was sprayed with a combination of seed, water, fertilizer and paper mulch (recycled newspaper).I prepared the area by raking it to loosen the top layer of soil and remove small rocks and twigs. It only took them about 10 minutes to do the job. I lucked out by having a neighbor that was having the entire back yard done so they were willing to spray my small 500 sq. ft. area.Hydroseeding ranges from about 5 cents to 10 cents a square foot. My small 500 sq. ft. area only cost me $25 so I thought it was well worth it. I didn't take a picture of the truck today but it was pretty similar to the one in the attached photo. Hopefully we'll have some nice grass in a few weeks and then I'll be sold on hydroseeding.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, hydroseeding
More About: Landscaping , Part

Energizer Hard Case Professional Lights
2008-05-21 02:32:00
The fine folks at Energizer sent me three of their latest LED lights from the Hard Case Professional line to review. The three products that they sent for me to look at were:Energizer Hard Case Professional - 2 AA Swivel Head flash light can survive up to a 20 ft drop, puts out 80 lumens of light and even has a green and red LED low-level light feature. (See the photo)Energizer Hard Case Professional - Inspection Light can survive a 15 ft drop, rubber casing that won't conduct electricity and bright even LED technology.Energizer Hard Case Professional - Headlight can survive a 15 ft drop, allows hands-free work, removable third strap, and even has a green and red LED low-level light feature.I really was impressed with the quality of these lights. They are all really well built, supply really bright LED light and they actually do take a fall. I took the two flash lights out in the driveway and tossed them up in the air and let them hit the driveway. I picked them both up and they tu...
More About: Lights

Buying Blinds Online
2008-05-20 22:47:00
If you're remodeling, building new or just looking to change the look of a room you may be considering new window treatments. Recently while looking for window shades for a large commercial project we're building at work I came across quite a few online window treatment stores. One that I thought was pretty good was SelectBlinds .com.SelectBlinds.com has all kinds of window treatments from wood blinds to roman shades. I happen to like the standard folding shutters shown in the photo.
More About: Buying , Online

Buying Railings Online
2008-05-20 21:21:00
One of the products that we bought online when we built our new home were handrails for our new stair case. It seems as though most hardware stores and even the big box stores only carry a limited selection of handrails and brackets. There are lots of good online stores that sell every kind of handrail you could think of.Buy Railings is one of those online stores specializing in high quality metal railing products. This store specializes in all kinds of metal railings, everything from wall mount hand rails to bar & foot rails to finish off your custom bar in the basement! They sell high quality components that you'd see in restaurants, bars, airports, hotels and office buildings.The products are offered in brass, stainless steel and chrome finishes. They sell everything from closet hardware, bike racks, curtain rods, grab bars and more. Almost any type of metal handrail can be found on their site.Their site offers installation instructions for hand rails, foot rails and closet ...
More About: Buying , Online

Inspiration
2008-05-20 03:39:00
Inspiration! Tonight John Lester of the Boston Red Sox pitched a No Hitter. Why is this inspirational for me? John is a cancer survivor and his historical game tonight at Fenway Park was just what I needed as I face my battle with cancer again. Thanks John!!
More About: Inspiration

Hydroseeding
2008-05-20 02:57:00
We have a patch of lawn out back that I've not been able to get grass to grow on. I've tried planting it a couple times and it just doesn't seem to want to grow. One of my neighbors is having a Hydroseeding Contractor re-seed his lawn later this week so I'm going to have the hydroseeder stop by and squirt my small area out back.Hydroseeding is a pretty simple yet extremely effective way of seeding new lawns. Hydroseeding involves mixing, water, seed, fertilizer and mulch into a slurry type mixture and then spraying it onto the soil as shown in the picture. The mixture promotes quicker germination and in most cases quicker thicker growth.The water serves two purposes, first it acts as a carrier for the seed, fertilizer and mulch. Secondly it helps the seed germinate. You can even have "pre-germinated" seeds used if you're short on time late in the fall. The mixture typically uses a high phosphorus starter fertilizer to promote good strong root growth. The mulch is typically a pa...
More About: Landscaping

How To Repair Cracks In Asphalt Driveways
2008-05-19 17:02:00
If you own an asphalt driveway in a part of the country that freezes in the winter then most likely you have visible cracks in that driveway. Cracks are typically formed as a result of the freeze/thaw action and frost heaves. It is important to repair those cracks in the spring after they appear to help keep those cracks from turning into much larger problems.Once a pavement cracks it allows water to seep down into the sub-base. The water can then freeze and create even worse frost heaving and additional cracking and failure of the pavement. Sealing cracks in asphalt driveways is a very easy do-it-yourself project that doesn't require any special tools or knowledge.Last week I sealed several cracks in my driveway. I used Latexite 2X Premium Asphalt Crack Filler with pretty good results. The product is really easy to use. First you need to clean out the crack making sure to remove any debris, grass or old crack filler. Then you cut the tip on the bottle and fill the crack. They reco...
More About: Repair

Swing Set Update
2008-05-18 01:58:00
Today I spent most of the day working on the kids new wooden swing set. My friend Mike came over with his two boys and gave me a hand this afternoon. That was a HUGE help having a second set of hands. Needless to say the three boys were also lots of "help", especially asking us every 5 minutes if we were almost done.As you can see we got the upper "club house" put together today along with the swing support and tunnel platform. We also go the main roof on and shingled. The porch shed roof frame is up and I just need to finish putting the shingles on it. I should be able to finish most of this up in 4 more hours.So far I figure I've got about 18 man hours into the project. If it takes another 4 or so hours this project will come in under the 48 man hours the directions predict. I hope I'm correct in my estimate!! Stay tuned for more updates.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, wooden swing set
More About: Update , Swing

Top 5 Must Have Power Tools
2008-05-16 19:47:00
I've had a couple of people ask me what basic power tools should they buy for basic home improvement projects or a new workshop. I've listed my top 5 must have power tools that I think every home improvement do it yourself person should own. They are listed in order based on how versatile they are.1. Table Saw - It is my opinion that if you're going to buy one expensive power tool then go buy yourself a decent table saw. A table saw can do almost any cutting task you have and most likely give you the best results. I own a Delta table saw and I can honestly say it's my most used power tool that I own and one I couldn't live without. I will warn you that I think the table saw is also the most dangerous tool you can use. Make sure you respect the power and danger of this tool and understand how to properly use it.2. Miter Saw - I own a Bosch Sliding Compound Miter Saw and it's a close second to the table saw when it comes to how often I use it. I use my miter saw for everything f...
More About: Power , Tools

Top Five Money Savings Tips for New Home Construction
2008-05-16 02:55:00
Considering how fragile the economy is right now and how timid banks are to loan money for new homes I thought I'd share my experience with saving money on new home construction. It wasn't that long ago when getting loans was really easy and building large homes was the trend. Today banks are less likely to fun new construction because of the premium costs associated with new construction.In most real estate markets today you can purchase an existing home for quite a bit less money than a comparable new home. Because of this banks are much more likely to focus their loans on very good customers with plenty of equity (skin in the game!) and homes that will hold their value in this turbulent real estate market.Having said that if you're really set on building a new home there are ways you can keep the budget down and the banks more likely to fund your project. Here are my top five ways of saving money on new home construction.1. Square footage is the name of the game. No matter how...
More About: Money , Tips , Home , Construction , Savings

Wood Swing Update
2008-05-16 02:45:00
So far I've spent about 3 1/2 hours working on the wooden swing set for the kids. The directions said it would take two moderately skilled people about 20 to 24 hours to build. I hate to jinx myself but based on the progress I've made so far I can't possibly see how it will take me that long. So far I'm extremely satisfied with both the quality of this product and easy to follow instructions. Stay tuned for more photos and updates as I get further along.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, wooden swing set
More About: Wood , Update , Swing

Homelite UT42100 Electric Blower Review
2008-05-15 04:31:00
The fine folks at Home Depot sent me the Homelite UT42100 electric blower so I could try it out. I already own a much larger leaf blower so I was eager to try out this smaller one. This little guy packs quite a punch and makes cleaning up a walkway, driveway or small project site a breeze.This little 7 amp power house has two speeds; quiet and power, ranging from 120 mph to 150 mph. At a very reasonable suggested retail price of just under $30 it's really hard to find much wrong with this blower. The only thing I don't like (and I don't like this about my larger one) is the fact that you have to plug it into a electrical power supply. But, for $30 it's really hard to complain and expect a gas powered unit! The unit only weighs 5 lbs so it's very light and easy to use. I'll definitely use this around the yard this summer cleaning up my messes and keeping the walkways looking great.I would definitely suggest this product for anyone looking for a very inexpensive lightweight ...
More About: Review , Electric

My Melanoma Saga
2008-05-14 03:35:00
For any of you that read my blog on a regular basis you already know that I've been diagnosed with Melanoma (skin cancer) twice. The first time was really scary as I had Stage III Melanoma, several surgeries and a year of chemo treatment. Well....today I found out I have Melanoma again. Last time was just a very shallow lesion that didn't require any special surgery. This time it's a little worse and it sounds like I'll be having at least one surgery maybe two. The good news is from what they are telling me this isn't as serious as the first time I had it so hopefully the treatments won't be too bad.I share this with my readers for a couple of reasons. First and foremost I think that if I can help just one person by making them aware of the dangers involved with skin cancer then it's worth sharing my personal experiences. Two it helps me deal with the emotional battle that cancer plays on someone. Wish me luck....or better yet say a prayer for me and my family.
More About: Saga

Wooden Swing Set - Construction Begins
2008-05-14 01:52:00
Tonight I started working on our kids new swing set. The instruction manual says it will take two moderately skilled people 20 to 24 hours. So if I do all the work myself that should be about 40 to 48 hours of labor.Tonight I managed to get the base frame put together in about 1 hour. My 3 year old helped so maybe we can "deduct" a few minutes that I had to chase him around the yard for parts.So far the directions are great, the materials are in very good condition and I must say I'm very pleased with the purchase. I had my doubts especially when I ordered it online through Ebay but so far so good. I hope to so quite a few posts following the progress and my overall opinion of this project and product. Stay tuned for more....Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog
More About: Construction , Swing , Wooden

Deck Safety Month
2008-05-13 16:03:00
May is National Deck Safety Month and deck failures and collapses are on the rise according to the North American Deck and Railing Association. According to NADRA there have been over 30 deaths reported in this country between 2000 and 2006 as a result of deck collapses. It is also estimated that there are over 40 million decks over 20 years old in this country.Statistics like that make it abundantly clear that it is important to inspect your deck on a yearly basis and make sure that it's structurally sound. You don't have to be a structural engineer to do a basic inspection of the structural members. It's important to look for split, checked and decayed wood. Over time foundations can move causing movement of structural members, misalignment, buckling and settling.If you find split, checked or rotten wood members you should replace them. Check to make sure you're fasteners are not corroded, missing or loose. It's also important to make sure railings are secure and meet current...

Woodridge Model 6008 Wooden Swing Set
2008-05-13 01:45:00
Well today the kids new wood swing set was delivered. An 18 wheeler pulled up the driveway and dropped off 5 huge heavy boxes and one plastic slide. My son Timmy was beside himself with joy and excitement. "Daddy let's build the swing set!" Ahh...Timmy....Daddy needs to go back to work......needless to say Mr. Timmy shed some tears when he realized that daddy wasn't going to just drop everything and make his new swing set appear.When I saw how many pieces were involved with this swing set I started having second thoughts. Oh well whats one more massive project when you're totally swamped at work and home. The directions say it should take "two moderately skilled people" about 20 to 24 hours to put together. We'll see how accurate that estimate really is. I plan on taking photos and writing a few updates as we put it together.Tonight when I got home from work we carried all the materials down to the area in the back yard that we'll built the swing set. I opened up all the boxes ...
More About: Model , Swing , Wooden

How To Install A Dishwasher
2008-05-11 13:58:00
Installing a dishwasher is a fairly easy to intermediate home improvement task. If you already have a dishwasher installed and you have the proper water shut off valves than installing a new dishwasher is very straightforward.As with any home improvement project make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions carefully and obey all local laws involving plumbing and electrical codes. The first step should always be to shut off both the electrical power supply and water supply to the existing unit. The water supply shut off valve is typically located in the cabinets below your kitchen sink. The power supply should be hooked up to an independent breaker in your main service. After you shut off the electrical breaker make sure you test the power to verify that it's shut off.Remove the lower toe-kick cover plates on the old dishwasher. This is where you'll disconnect the power supply and the water supply. The power is almost always located on the right hand side. There should be so...
More About: Plumbing

National Home Remodeling Month
2008-05-10 21:18:00
May is National Home Remodeling Month so I thought it would be fitting to talk about easy home improvements and remodeling ideas that DIY folks can do themselves. Remodeling your home can add value, efficiency and peace of mind for years to come.One of the most popular remodeling ideas is painting a room in your home or even painting an exterior door to add curb appeal. Painting is one of the basic DIY activities that most home owners feel comfortable doing. When I read home improvement blogs over at Houseblogs.net a large percentage of the home owners talk about painting projects. Painting doesn't seem to overwhelming to folks, the materials are fairly reasonably priced, the tools are simple and inexpensive and honestly the skills required are pretty basic. Today color seems to be the name of the game when it comes to painting. Adding a distinctive accent wall color or darker earth tones seems give homes a warmth that wasn't present when all we did was paint the wall Navajo White...

Green Grass
2008-05-09 22:52:00
So far this spring our grass seems to be doing VERY well. Last year (first growing season for the new lawn) the lawn just never really grew very well. It wasn't very green, didn't grow very fast and overall seemed to be struggling to stay alive.So last fall we had our soil tested and found out that our soil was very acidic and lacking in some important nutrients that grass needs to grow well. The biggest thing our soil needed was lime in order to "sweeten" the soil and increase the pH. We also had to choose the correct fertilizer based on the soil report.I think the combination of the lime and fertilizer that we applied has worked wonders for the grass. As you can see it's very green and it appears to be growing in much thicker. I'm hoping that the lawn will establish itself much better this summer so we won't have to rely on fertilizers as much.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog
More About: Green , Landscaping , Grass

World's Tallest Building
2008-05-09 20:36:00
The world's tallest building is being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates right now. This building is absolutely breathtaking when you compare it to the world's current leaders. The top of the new building is scheduled to be finished some time in August of this year. It will stand over 2,600 feet high, that's over 1/2 of a mile high.I'm totally amazed by large structures. As much as I love seeing these incredible engineering feats I know the reality is that one day the engineering will be beyond our current knowledge and something bad will happen. My engineering background and knowledge of engineering history tells me it's only a matter of time. It will be interesting to see what the final height is and how the building does.When it comes to my construction background I can only look at these pictures in awe. I can't even begin to imagine how high that really is. I've inspected bridges that were several hundred feet in the air but nothing even close to several thousand feet....
More About: Building

Renuzit TriScents Semi-Finalists Chosen
2008-05-09 01:44:00
Renuzit TriScents ?Transform Your Home with Tanya Memme? Promotion has chosen ten finalists for the $20,000 Home Make Over Grand Prize. I thought the house shown above is deserving of the grand prize because it reminds me of our first home. A house stuck in the 50's begging to be remodeled. Our home was just like it, very outdated bathrooms, kitchen and living rooms. Old houses like that smell musty, moldy and old. We eventually completely remodeled that house and it looked like a new home all over again. I have no doubt that a $20,000 home make over would create a very nice new home feel.I love the pictures they submitted, pink and green bathrooms. I think every house built back then had the same hideous tiled bathrooms. Just the site of those pictures gives me flashbacks that remind me how lucky we are to live in a new house. Make sure you vote for your favorite home owner and help them make their home make over dream a reality.You can see the semi-finalist gallery and vote for y...
More About: Finalists , Semi

AuroRa - Wireless Lighting Control System
2008-05-07 20:15:00
When we built a our new home we installed this wireless lighting control system from Lutron. This wireless lighting control system is a very versatile product that allows you to replace single pole or three-way switches. Each wireless switch is controlled by the master control that you plug into an outlet and place somewhere in the house. It works great on a bedside table, in a kitchen or living room. Pick a place that you'd want to be able to remotely turn on or off any of the five switches.The system also comes with one car remote. This is the feature that we like best. As you approach your home in the car you can remotely turn on all the lights. So obviously placing these switches in places you'd like to light up when you come home is the key. Entries, foyers, garages, walkways or porches are all good places. The other nice thing is you can take out the switch and move it anytime you want. The whole package retails for about $525 which I think is a great price for an entry leve...
More About: Wireless , System , Lighting , Aurora , Control

Applying Water Based Urethane To Hardwood
2008-05-06 03:31:00
I learned something new today that and I thought it was worth sharing. Because of today's strict new VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) laws most Urethanes are now water based. Most wood fillers however are still an oil based product. So you ask what's the big deal?If you apply a water based urethane over an oil based wood filler it will most likely turn yellow or at least not match the color that you started with. I've actually learned this the hard way a few times but I had no idea what actually caused it. So, a painter suggested that next time I apply the urethane prior to filling any holes. Get all your coats of urethane applied, all the sanding and preparation done. Then go back at the end and apply the oil based wood filler. You know what.....it works fantastic! Next time you're working with urethane give this a try, I think you'll be very impressed.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, urethane
More About: Water