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The homebuilding industry has this aura of mystery and awe around it for a lot of people who think that they cannot possibly build their own home. Many mistakenly believe that to build your own home you must know everything about every part of the process of building a home. The fact of the matter is that most people including contractors don’t know every phase and that is why subcontractors are used. We may know a little bit about electrical work, plumbing, or carpentry or even be able to tile our own floor but it is doubtful that we know how to build a house without doing some research.

First off, it is totally unnecessary to understand exactly how everything works to be able to do something. I have no idea how my TV gets 200 channels from a Satellite hundreds of miles above me but I still watch it. I have no idea how my wireless Bluetooth headset works that I am using to talk on my cell phone that I also don’t get the concept of while I am typing this article on my computer.

The point I am trying to make here is that it is not a prerequisite to be a wealth of knowledge about an endeavor in order to participate in it. With an internet connection the knowledge of the entire world is literally at your fingertips so there is virtually nothing that you cannot learn to do if you have the desire and the inclination.

The way the building process normally works is that we purchase a home from a builder who has a general contractor’s license. What does this mean? It means in most cases the general contractor really does nothing more than manage several subcontractors who actually do all the work of building the home. In many cases, they even have supervisors who watch the subcontractors so they aren’t even involved in that!

So why can’t you do that? In actuality there is no reason you can’t. All you have to do is pay a general contractor to help you with the permitting process, which many are willing to do because it basically money for nothing for them. You simply act as the general contractor yourself and manage the hiring and supervision of subcontractors yourself and save yourself thousands of dollars in the process and still have the house of your dreams.

Now that you see it isn’t all that difficult you should try to build your next home yourself and save that money for something else, like retirement and vacations.

Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Research the power tools for your project at http://www.powertoolsplusmore.com

[tags]home improvement, tools, power tools[/tags]

With rising energy costs and massive stress on our electrical grids, solar is gaining in popularity. Not everyone realizes you can heat your home without buying big panel systems.

Heating Your Home With Solar, But Without Panels - Gain

You can use solar energy to heat your home through a concept known as gain. While you may associate panel systems with any mention of solar power, they are not a component of this approach. Of course, this makes the installation a heck of a lot cheap than going with traditional panel systems.

Solar gain is a concept that has been with us for much of the history of mankind. Earlier civilizations obviously didn’t have electricity. To keep structures warmed, they learned to use the heat produced by sunlight. It is fairly humorous when archeologists marvel at the fact ancient structures are always oriented to the sun. If they new anything about solar gain, they would realize the structures were being used to produce thermal heating through masonry, openings and so on. Regardless, these early civilizations were the first to develop and implement solar gain heating.

The simplest way to explain solar gain is with a practical example. Assume it is summer time and your car is parked in the driveway with the windows rolled up. What happens when you open the door to get in? A massive blast of heat comes out. If you have black seats like I do, you also hop around like a fool when you sit down on the black surface. Your car is hot because it has acted as a platform for solar gain. The sun came in the windows, heated up surfaces in the car and raised the temperature. Since most vehicles are poorly ventilated, the heat reached unbearable levels because it couldn’t escape quickly enough. This is solar gain in a nutshell, a methodology that can be applied to your home.

With solar gain heating, the idea is to maximize sun penetration into the home, covert the sunlight into heat, and circulate it through the home. To accomplish this, one typically puts windows on the south side of the home to capture as much sunlight as possible. Thermal storage materials, such as masonry, are placed below the windows to capture and store heat for after the sun goes down. The heat from the sun is circulated throughout the house throughout the day and evening until the stored amount is exhausted. Yes, it works in winter.

Solar gain is an ancient and highly effective method for heating your home. If it sounds interesting to you, visit a solar site to find out the specifics.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and renewable energy.

[tags]solar, gain, home, residence, panels, panel, heat, heating, hot, cool, windows, home improvements[/tags]

Building your own home can be exciting yet nerve racking experience. Paying attention to detail throughout the construction process will help streamline the process and increase your ultimate satisfaction with the home. Here are eight little things not to forget when building your new home.

Ample High Performance Lighting - Be sure to install ample high output energy efficient lighting in high use areas. This rule absolutely applies to kitchens and bathrooms. If installing recessed lighting, be sure to several lights through out the kitchen or bathroom to avoid shadows. Chandeliers, track lighting, florescent lights or under cabinet light will all work fine. Just be sure to install plenty of them in high use areas.

Insulate Your Garage - Most builders only install insulation within interior walls of the home that face the outside of the house. Generally, builders do not insulate the exterior walls of your garage. Forget this tip and your garage will be hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Have your builder insulate the exterior facing walls of your garage before the drywall is installed. Better yet, do it yourself to save some money.

Electrical Outlets Under Eaves - If you like to install lights during the holiday season on your roof line, be sure to install electrical outlets under the eaves to simplify installing the lights. Also be sure to install a switch to turn the lights on or off from inside your home near the front entrance. When you are up on that ladder on a blustery winter day, you will be thankful you can just plug the lights in with minimal extension cords and flip the lights on or off with a switch from inside your home. Speaking of holiday lights, install an outlet near the mantel of your fireplace too.

Double Coaxial Connections in Wall Jacks - Given the popularity of high definition televisions and digital video recorders, be sure to run two coaxial cables into each wall jack where you may want a TIVO or DVR unit. This will allow you to record one show and watch another simultaneously. Forget and you will need to drop that second coaxial line later which can be very tricky after drywall is installed.

Gas Line In Utility Room - Even if you plan to use an electric clothes dryer, it may be prudent to install a gas line into your utility room to allow for a gas clothes dryer in the future. Although gas prices are on the rise, if you have a large family and do many loads of laundry each week it may be cheaper in the long run to use gas. If you do not add a gas line in the utility room, an electric clothes dryer will be your only option.

Seal Your Garage Floor - Consider sealing your garage floor before moving into the home. Concrete sealer is available in do-it-yourself kits that will protects your garage floor from deterioration caused by road salts and prevent stains due to oil and other fluids. It also adds to the aesthetics of the garage and may make your home more marketable when you sell in the future. You might also consider a drain in the floor of your garage.

Ample Height for Shower Heads - This may seem like a no brainer. However, if you forget to raise your shower head to a comfortable height during construction, you will have to squat or bend over while you should be relaxing under a nice warm shower.

Automatic Pool Water Filler - When installing a pool or spa, remember to hook the pool fill line into your sprinkling system so you can automate adding water to your pool. This is especially convenient in the south where water evaporation rates are high in the summer. This will allow you to set one zone of your sprinkling system to add water to your pool. You then simply tell it to run 10 or 15 minutes once a week.

The character of your home will often shine through in the details. Paying attention to the details, such as those noted above, will help increase your satisfaction with your new home and should help simplify your lifestyle.

For more home improvement and remodeling related tips visit: www.inhomeimprovements.com

Webmasters and publishers, please feel free to use this article provided this reference is included and all links remain active.

[tags]Home Building, New Home, Home Improvement, Home Remodeling[/tags]

The first time I gave a wallpapering demonstration, my knees were knocking together and my hands were trembling as violently as my aging grandfather’s. I was standing before a class of peers in my college speech class, and my “wall” was a refrigerator box!

Speaking to an audience will never be my forte. Wallpapering, however, is an experience not to be feared. You can beautify any room in your home or office, simply by applying wallpaper. It is easy to do, and the results are always magnificent!

Before you jump in with both feet, however, you do need to know a few basics about how to wallpaper.

Preparing Your Walls

Wallpapering over painted walls:

Clean walls are a necessity. Use a mild cleaner to wipe the walls down with a damp cloth. In the kitchen, especially clean walls near the oven to remove any grease.

Fill in any holes or dings with spackling and allow it to dry.

If paint is loose, use a paint scraper to remove those areas.

If flat paint was used, and is in good condition, no further preparation is needed.

If painted walls are shiny with glossy enamel or oil based paint, you can either roughen it up with sandpaper or apply a coat of wallpaper primer.

If the wall is slightly bumpy and textured, you can either sand it down or use a wallpaper liner. The liner looks like a roll of stiff interfacing and is applied to the walls with a special adhesive that is painted directly onto your wall. The liner lessens the bumpy appearance of your walls.

Water stains and smoke stains cause headaches whether you choose to paint or wallpaper. If the water stain is old and dry, you’ll need to apply a primer/sealer that prevents stains from bleeding through. If anyone has smoked in your home, you may notice a yellow film on your walls. If not thoroughly cleaned or painted over with a wallpaper primer/sealer, the nicotine stains could cause problems with your wallpaper adhering to the walls.

Removing Old Wallpaper:

While it is possible to paper right over existing wallpaper, please realize that your newly-papered walls will not have a sleek, smooth appearance if there are several old layers of wallpaper underneath. Every seam and bump will show through.

If the old wallpaper is loose anywhere, or if there are several old layers of wallpaper, you probably need to remove it all.

Sometimes, especially if the old wallpaper is a heavy vinyl, you get lucky and can strip the dry wallpaper off by loosening from the ceiling and pulling gently downward.

In my experience, however, removing several layers of wallpaper can be a real chore. You can rent a wallpaper steamer from your wallpaper store and use a paint scraper to scrape away the old wallpaper. If the old paper isn’t very porous, you may have to roughen it up or etch the surface so that the hot steam can penetrate adequately. This can be hot, tedious work, but is so rewarding when you see the naked walls ready for your designing touch.

Chemical wallpaper strippers are also available at wallpapering supply stores.

Wallpapering over wood paneling:

The previous owners of our home were sorely lacking in creativity. A cheap wood paneling covered one kitchen wall and a thickly textured paneling ran halfway up the family room walls. ‘Twas not my idea of “pretty”. I wanted to lighten up both rooms. The family room took 2 coats of stainkiller and 3 thick coats of paint to camouflage that oppressively dark, textured paneling. But my heart was set on light, airy wallpaper for the kitchen.

When we wallpapered the kitchen, we did not want to rip off the paneling for fear that a more costly remodeling job might lie beneath. But three beautifully-papered walls with a fourth unsightly wall was simply not the kitchen of my dreams. So we explored the possibility of wallpapering right over the wood paneling.

Luckily the research informed me that wood paneling has usually been stained or treated, and would soon bleed through my new wallpaper. So let me pass along this simple little secret for papering over paneling.

You’ll need to paint the paneling thoroughly with a stain-preventing primer/sealer. Then, if there are grooves in the paneling, fill them with spackling and let it dry thoroughly. And lastly, apply a wallpaper liner over the paneling to smooth out the grooves.

ESTIMATE HOW MUCH WALLPAPER TO BUY

Save yourself time and headaches. My recommendation is that you

Measure your room and take these measurements with you to the wallpaper store.

_____Length of room

_____Width of room

_____Height of walls

_____Number of doorways

_____Number of windows

Remember to describe any unusual features of the room (partial paneling, cathedral ceiling, etc).

If the clerk has been in the wallpaper business very long at all, he or she will be able to use your correct measurements to rapidly calculate how many rolls (or double rolls) your wallpapering project will need.

She will also be able to look at the specific wallpaper you have chosen and make allowances for any additional yardage you will need for matching a pattern. It is so much easier to have it figured for you, and calculating wallpaper needs is her daily job!

The clerk will also be able to suggest what type of wallpaper paste is best for that particular wallpaper, and to calculate how much paste you will need. Save your receipt and any unopened wallpaper rolls or paste can be returned for a refund.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Table to paste on
Stepladder
Large paintbrush or pasting brush
Large bowl or pan for the paste
Paperhanging brush
Large sponge or washcloth
Trimming utility knife with sharp blades
Metal yardstick
Tape measure
Pencil
Scissors
Plumbline

Are you ready to wallpaper now?

How to Make a Plumb Line

Use a 4-5 foot string and tie a small weight (a bolt or pencil) to one end. Tie the other end to a small tack or nail. Attach the tack to the wall near the ceiling and let the string hang freely. Gravity will give you a straight line to guide your placement of the first strip of wallpaper. Older homes have settled and moved quite a bit. But even walls in a new home are rarely straight.

How to Hang Wallpaper Like a Pro

First strip:

Start the wallpaper against an inconspicuous corner or doorway. Hang a plumb line approximately 1/8″ from the right side of where the first strip will be placed. Measure from ceiling to floor and add another 3″ to allow for wall imperfections. Unroll the wallpaper on a table, measure it, and use a yardstick to draw a straight line across back side of paper. Cut and reroll the strip of wallpaper in reverse (wrong-side out) to lessen the paper’s curling.

For pre-pasted wallpaper:

Completely submerge rolled-up strip of wallpaper in lukewarm tray of water for 15 seconds. Fold one end of the pasted side to the middle, Do the same with the opposite end, so that the two ends are touching. Loosely roll the strip and leave it alone to set up for 5 minutes. Then hang immediately, beginning from the ceiling.

My own recommendations for pre-pasted or nonpasted wallpaper:

Mix wallpaper paste as directed on label. Turn the cut strip of wallpaper wrong-side up on table. Apply paste using a large paintbrush. Make sure you cover every square inch of the back side of the wallpaper strip. Especially make sure the edges are pasted. If you leave a tiny spot anywhere unpasted, it will bubble up when drying on the wall. Spread the paste smoothly and evenly with the paintbrush.

Fold one end of the pasted side to the middle (pasted sides together). Do the same with the opposite end, so that the two ends are touching in the middle. Loosely roll the strip and leave it alone so that the paper has time to expand for 5 minutes. Then hang the strip immediately, beginning from the ceiling.

Hang first strip against the corner where you’ve chosen to begin. Leave 1

Before you purchase your next comforter, whether it’s to place on your latex foam mattress, tempur pedic mattress, futon mattress or any other type of full-sized bed, it is important to do a bit of homework first. They are the most popular items on the market today when it comes to bed linen items. You are going to add a completely new tone to a room by adding pattern, color and insulating warmth. Measure your matress before you buy your comforter. As you will find many of the popular matress manufacturers will cut corners by lumping together a mix of sizes such as Full/Queen or king size. You will find that a better comforter is made specifically for each size bed and is marked with a finished size. Compare these sizes with the measurements that you bring to the store.

Most comforters’ today are generally filled with polyester batting. The physical size of the comforter, as well as its insulating ability is determined by the “loft” of the filling. The filling is secure inside the comforter and is evenly distributed by using quilting or stitching patterns. As well, designer features such as fringes, welting, buttons, contrasting borders and ruffles will add a stunning look to the comforter, or futon cover you place on your matress.

You will find a lot of comforters on the market are made with contrasting fabrics on each side. If you are after a winter or summer look all you have to do is reverse the comforter on your matress. Your memory foam mattress will look dressy and finished. Pay attention to thread count. It refers to the number of threads per inch used to weave a fabric. Of course, the more expensive fabrics have a higher thread count usually over 250. All the cheaper ones have a lower thread count in the low-100’s or low-200’s. The higher thread count comforter is more luxurious and softer to the touch and will often last longer.

By Terry Price- Memory foam mattress products are worth a serious look! http://www.mattressbedsfutons.com/our-affiliates.html or the folks at tempurpedic know how to do it right! http://www.mattressbedsfutons.com/related-resources.html

[tags]matress, latex foam mattress, tempur pedic mattress, futon mattress, futon cover[/tags]

Earthworms are a gardener’s best friend.

Research has shown that earthworm excrement, also called
castings or vermicompost, improves the aeration, porosity,
structure, drainage, and moisture-holding capacity of soil.

Many studies prove that when compared to conventional
composts, vermicompost is less variable and much more
stable. Mixing vermicompost into the planting medium
essentially eliminated the need for additional fertilizer in
the production of tomato plugs as one example.

Studies show that earthworm castings increase height, stem
diameter, enhance root growth, increase dry weight, and
produce more flowers per plant than peat moss.

Redworm castings are the richest and purest humus matter in
the world. Humus is believed to aid in the prevention of
harmful plant pathogens, fungi, nematodes and bacteria.

One pound of worms can convert one pound of pig manure into
compost in 48 hours!

Worms consume three times their weight a week or more. Red
wrigglers are very active, reproduce quickly and consume
their own body weight of waste every 24 hours. Therefore ten
pounds of worms will eat ten pounds of waste in 24 hours!

Worm castings provide a rich source of a variety of
essential plant nutrients.

Microbial activity in worm castings is 10 to 20 times higher
than in the soil and organic matter that the worm ingests.”

How to use worm castings:

When planting vegetable and annuals line the rows and holes
with about two inches of castings. About every eight weeks
side dress the plants with one-half cup of castings per
plant or one cup per foot of row.

For perennials work one-half cup of castings into the soil
in the spring, middle of summer, and early fall.

For pots and hanging baskets add one-half inch castings to
the top and water in. Then reapply every eight weeks.

Roses appreciate four cups of castings per plant.

If starting a new lawn add 15 pounds of casting per 100
square feet when sowing. Once established use seven pounds
per 100 square feet.

For more information about vermicompost and castings visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/garden/earthworm.htm

REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish
this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter,
ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it
remains unchanged and you include the copyright and author
information (Resource Box) at the end. You may not use
this article in any unsolicited commercial email (spam).

Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

Please leave the resource box intact with an active link,
and send a courtesy copy of the publication in which the
article appears to: marilynp@nctc.net

Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the
environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

[tags]earthworm, garden, fertilizer, organic, chemical, pest, vermicompost, casting,[/tags]

Country curtains add the mood of warmth and calm to just about any space. Whether
adorning a bay window in the kitchen or in the living room, these days’ delicate
window hangings are a perfect way to set the frame of mind. Every country home
needs country shower curtains.

Without speaking too loudly or overwhelming other fundamentals of decor, they make
the home surroundings seem all the more welcoming and attractive. Window hangings
are difficult to decide. There are so much to choose from.

It goes without saying that you want something fashionable and stylish, but it can be
really difficult to imagine what a particular window treatment will come across like
when it’s installed at home. Sometimes what seems sleek and modest in the showroom
will seem bland and dull at home.

On other times, a bit of decoration that initially seems appealing can come across as
garish or overdone once it’s actually hung. Though there’s no simple answer to this
problem, some bets are safer than others. Meticulous, it’s hard to go wrong with
typical designs. Country curtains are one such alternative, and there are a number of
fabrics and designs that one can carefully choose to brighten and improve a home.

About The Author:

Roger King is a successful author and publisher of http://www.all-shower-curtains.com

Country curtains and ideas to showcase your bed and bathroom.

[tags]Country curtains, country curtains[/tags]

We have a very strange relationship with the furniture in our house. At least most of us anyway. We run to the store, see something we love, can’t wait to get it home and then finally after it’s delivered and we get to admire how beautiful our home now is, we then wait until we start to see spider webs and dust bunnies before we clean under, over or around it. Funny how we just expect it to sit there and serve our purpose and yet not give it one-tenth the care that it deserves.

Admit it. Unless you’re a real little Suzy Homemaker, dusting your coffee table or vacuuming your sofa is not exactly on the top of your list of things to do. There’s always something else to do, like go to work, cook dinner, wash the dishes, do the laundry, or whatever else we have laying around the house. Oh and paying the bills is a definite top priority. Of course for some of us, they sometimes take a back seat as well.

And it’s funny how when we’re sitting in the living room and watching TV and sipping our glass of cola or whatever we’re drinking, we’ll take a moment to wipe up the water spot on the table but we’ll completely disregard the ten tons of dust that’s accumulated around that water spot. Would it kill us to take a dust rag to the table and clean it off? It takes all of maybe two minutes to dust an average size coffee table. Yet, we don’t do it until it gets to the point where people start to talk or you can’t find your pencil for doing the crossword puzzle.

And our lamps? Forget about every dusting around them. There’s always a great excuse for that too. They’re on and too hot to get near. And after all, you can’t dust in the dark so you can’t turn the lamp off to dust it. Next time you get the chance, take a good look under the lamp shade. You’ll see a family of heaven knows what growing under there. But the worst offenders have to be the sofas. These are for sitting on, period. And since we’re not exactly dirt free why bother cleaning our sofa on a regular basis? It isn’t until we spill something on them that stains because it is a different color than the sofa that we finally do something to make it look a little more presentable. And let’s not even get into cleaning under or behind the sofa. This is where things that we’ve lost disappear to. It’s also where the king of the dust bunny family lives. And of course the excuse for not cleaning under and behind the sofa is obvious. It’s too big and heavy to move. And where would we move it to? There’s way too much furniture around to move it more than a couple of inches and there’s no way we’re going to start moving all the furniture around.

Yes, we hate to clean our furniture. Make no mistake about it. And what we hate even more than that is having to explain to our kids why their friends aren’t allowed in the house until after spring cleaning.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Furniture

[tags]furniture[/tags]

Bean Bag Chairs are a great way to dress up any room. They are great in a child’s room as the perfect support for the video player or as a nest for the reader in your family. Bean Bag Chairs work great as extra seating in your family room, they can be easily stored in a closet and pulled out when the kids have friends over or when you host a party. Sitting in a bean bag chair is a cozy nest for your guests and is much better than sitting in a hard chair.

Bean Bag Chairs come in such a wide range of fabrics these days that they do not have to be hidden away; they can be a part of your d

Basements or cellars (depending on which part of the country you are from) are primarily seen as dark and dingy parts of a home. In most cases they are considered a useless area or are used as a “catch all” for family discards that haven’t quite made it to the curbside for trash pick up yet. Well, with the skyrocketing prices of real estate these days and the lack of any substantial property to use for an addition to our homes, the basement, after years of being ignored and neglected, is finally being recognized as a useful, cost effective resource for adding more living space to our beloved homes.

Several factors that have to be considered before any serious basement renovations take place include ceiling height, stair pitch or steepness and emergency egress. All three of these requirements can differ considerably depending on where you live. You can call your local building department and they can tell you these requirements. As for what emergency egress is, it is basically an emergency escape. A door of at least 30″ wide in most areas is considered a very safe egress but a window has to be a certain size and a minimum distance from the floor in order to be considered safe.

Believe it or not, the way the safe size and height of a basement window is calculated is by determining how easily an overweight elderly person (considered worst case scenario) can open and climb out of in case of a fire or another emergency. In reality, these building codes were put in place because no one is going to get out of one of those old metal framed 18″ X 30″ pull in basement windows very easily (especially an overweight elderly person) and they would probably die trying in the unfortunate event of a fire.

Most local building codes require both a door and a window egress in order for the basement to be considered safe enough for a living area. In many cases building codes require an emergency egress be placed in every bedroom in a basement as well. If you are in the habit of doing home remodeling or repairs without the proper building permits, it is very important for you and your family’s safety that you find out what the code is in your area and adhere to it.

By adding all of the necessary emergency egress you are essentially killing two birds with one stone. As I already stated, you are adding safety to an otherwise unsafe area but you are also adding the benefits of natural sunlight. Adding natural sunlight to your basement really gives the area a desirable look and a warm feeling you generally can’t get without it. Now, you may be wondering how people get a perfectly smooth, plumb and square openings in their foundations. You may have never heard of such a thing or don’t realize the process even exists.

Fortunately, there are companies in almost every part of the country that actually specialize in the process of cutting doorways and windows in concrete walls. These companies are called concrete cutting services and / or sawcutting outfits. Either way, they are listed in your local or online yellow pages under the heading of “concrete breaking, cutting, sawing, core drilling etc.”. A professional concrete cutter will make the process look exceptionally easy and help make short work of your basement-remodeling project.

If you are going to take the time to renovate your basement you might as well do it right. By following or exceeding your local building codes you will ensure your family’s safety. Also, be sure that you cut as many window openings in your basement walls as your budget and the structural integrity of your home can handle. This in itself will make your basement the most cherished area of your home. You’ll be glad you did it. Good luck.

© Copyright 2006 New Hampshire Concrete Cutting and Core Drilling, Inc. All Rights Reserved

New Hampshire Concrete Cutting and Core Drilling provides concrete cutting and core
drilling services to the contractor and homeowner in New Hampshire or NH. Visit our
website at http://www.affordableconcretecutting.net for more information on concrete
cutting and core drilling.

[tags]concrete cutting,concrete,core drilling,homeowner,contractor,home improvement,remodeling[/tags]