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Basement Waterproofing
2008-04-25 02:00:00
One of the most frustrating things for people with basements is water leakage. With many homeowners trying to create as much usable square footage in their homes the basement becomes a target for family rooms, play rooms, man rooms and teenager hide outs. Unfortunately most basements have some sort of water leakage problem.The B-Dry® System Wet Basement Waterproofing Process has been time tested for over 50 years and in over 200,000 homes nationwide. The B-Dry® Patented Waterproofing System is backed by a full warranty which lasts for the lifetime of your building. If you're looking for a qualified basement waterproofing company then check out one of these licensed basement contractors.

Solar Garden Lights
2008-04-23 01:20:00
Today I received the perfect gift for Earth Day. The kind folks at Malibu - Lighting the Way to Outdoor Living, sent me some really great solar garden lights to try out and do a review on. As you can see I installed them this afternoon after work and I was VERY impressed not only with the quality of the lights but also the ease of installation and the simplicity of the system.My wife and I have wanted to put solar walkway lights along our walkway since we built the house and I've been putting it off mostly because I couldn't find any lights that looked "rugged" enough to handle the elements and my sons outdoor torture! Let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of these lights.The lights that they sent me to review are the Solar Select Premium Metal Garden Lights - LZ3001-2. The light housing is made of cast aluminum which I think is great because most solar lights on the market are made of plastic. These solar garden lights use two white LED light bulbs and an inter...
More About: Environment , Solar Power , Energy Star

Earth Day 2008
2008-04-22 14:13:00
April 22nd is Earth Day. Why not take some time today to think of a new way to help out mother earth. Maybe you can start recycling, maybe you can start using more energy efficient light bulbs, maybe you can buy Energy Star rated appliances, maybe you can choose Green Building products for your next remodeling project, maybe you can use low flow shower heads, sink faucets and toilets, maybe you can make a difference. If we all take one small step each year there will certainly be a positive effect on our environment.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, environment, energy efficiency, energy star, green building
More About: Environment , Earth Day

Planting Lilac Trees
2008-04-22 02:32:00
On Sunday my son and I planted three lilac trees for my wife. She loves lilac trees and we've been trying to decide what to plant along the west side of the house. That side of the house has two retaining walls the step the land along the "walkout" basement.The lilac trees we bought are about 36 inches tall with a root ball about 10 inches in diameter. The directions recommend a hole about 2 to 3 times larger than the root ball. Our lot is VERY sandy, in fact there is about 5 inches or so of loam on top of what I call beach sand. The good thing about this is lilacs like a well drained soil. So, we dug the holes and then filled the bottom with some good loam.Lilac trees grow best in a soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Unfortunately our soil has a pH of about 5.3 (see previous post on soil testing). After I put some soil in the bottom of the hole I applied some dolomitic lime to help "sweeten" the soil and raise the pH so it's not quite as acidic.Then we planted the trees making s...
More About: Trees , Planting

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
2008-04-20 21:10:00
I've finally decided to jump on board and try Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFL) in my new home. Today I bought three GE Energy Smart 20 watt CFL's. The 20 watt CFL is equivalent to a 75 watt incandescent light bulb. These new bulbs are supposed to last 6 years or 10,000 hours of operation. An incandescent light bulb typically only lasts about 750 hours. That means you'd need 14 incandescent bulbs to each fluorescent bulb. The cost of the bulb is payed for just comparing bulbs not even considering the energy savings.Obviously using these bulbs is a great way to start living "green". Some may argue that the Mercury contained in them poses a significant environmental issue, however, with proper education people will realize that they need to be disposed of properly. These bulbs are also energy star certified.I put three of these in an overhead light fixture in our breakfast nook and I was quite impressed. The color of the light has improved drastically and the bulbs come on almo...
More About: Energy Star , Green Building , Energy Efficiency

Snow Mound Spirea - Spiraea Nipponica
2008-04-20 01:49:00
The other plant we put into our flower garden today was two Snow Mound Spireas or Spiraea Nipponica. We actually had one of these plants at our last house and I liked it. Its more of a flower shrub than a plant I guess. The nice thing about these plants is they are not especially sensitive to varying pH levels. This is good considering our acidic soil.These shrubs will blossom in late May or early June with a nice white flower. At maturity this shrub will be approximately 4 to 5 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide (not if I can help it....pruning to the rescue).Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, Snow Mound Spirea

Purple Gem - Rhododendron
2008-04-20 00:20:00
Today we started planting some plants in our flower gardens. Since we built this house we've had a hard time coming up with a landscaping "plan" that we both like. The biggest problem we have is the huge size of our yard and house. Trying to get enough landscaping done so that the place actually looks nice is a challenge. I'm sure we could hire a landscape architect or landscaper to help us out but frankly I can't see spending the money.Today we planted a couple of Purple Gem Rhododendrons in the flower gardens in front of the farmers porch. The Rhododendron that we chose was a dwarf variety that only grows to a height of two feet. These plants can survive up here in New Hampshire with a -20 degrees. The beauty of these plants is they love acidic soil. If you've been reading my blog you know that I had my soil tested last fall and the pH was 5.3 which is quite acidic. These plants also like a well drained soil and that's not a problem either considering we built our house on an...
More About: Plants

Check Out a Great DIY Blog
2008-04-18 12:53:00
Once and awhile I find a really great DIY blog and this one is no exception. One Project Closer is a blog I read daily and one I think you'll find tons of great information and find yourself returning often. Tell them Todd sent you!
More About: Blog , Great , Check

Leviton 6260M Electronic Timer Switch
2008-04-18 02:23:00
Yesterday I received the three Leviton 6260M electronic timer switches that I ordered for the bath fans. These switches allow you to choose pre-set times of 10 min., 20 min., 30 min., and 60 mins. I plan on installing them this weekend in each of the three bathrooms.The unit has 4 wires, a green, white, blue and black. The installation instructions (as usual these directions are not very good) include a wiring diagram that says:1. Connect the green wire to the ground.2. Connect the black wire to the line voltage.3. Connect the blue wire to the hot wire of the fixture.4. Connect the white wire to all of the neutrals.I do a post this weekend on how to wire one of these up. The one problem I can see is the device is fairly large so fitting all the wires, wire nuts and device into the box will most likely be a HUGE challenge.Tags: home improvement, home improvement blog, electrical timer switch, energy star
More About: Electronic , Energy Star , Energy Efficiency , Switch , Timer

We Need Patio Furniture
2008-04-17 00:45:00
Our back deck needs patio furniture desperately. My wife has been harping on me since we moved into the new home that she wants to eat dinner out there in the summer. Last year a friend gave us a hand made Adirondack chair that he made for us out of Cambara wood (that's what our decking is). Today I came across this Adirondack Chair site that sells chairs, rockers and market style umbrellas. I'm amazed at how cheap you can find furniture online these days. Things that once seemed so heavy and pricey to shop for online are becoming very reasonably priced.
More About: Furniture , Patio

John Deere Tow-Behind Broadcast Spreader
2008-04-16 18:11:00
Last week I purchased the John Deere 3.5 cu ft tow-behind broadcast spreader. I finally assembled it and put it to use.First off let me say that John Deere has got to be one of the last companies selling products in this country with extremely well written directions and parts. All of the small parts (bolts, clips, nuts, etc.) are packed in a shrink wrap package that is labeled to coincide with each step in the assembly directions.What a novel concept.....great directions that include well written English sentences, great diagrams and a unique label/packaging idea. More companies should take a lesson from these folks and put some time into the assembly directions. Anyway, it took me about 35 minutes or so to assemble the spreader (that even includes my 3 yr old tagging along with me).As you can see in the photo there is a control level located just behind the mower seat so you can easily reach back and adjust the flow or completely shut off the spreader. The one bad feature if you ...
More About: Broadcast