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Fall Home Improvement: Tips for Staying Warm

by eclectic on September 25, 2008 in DIY, Home Improvement with 1 Comment

Summer is officially over. Even the calendar tells us it’s fall, regardless of what the thermometer says. The forecasts for this winter from the Energy Information Association says that if your house is heated with natural gas or heating oil, you’ll see a dramatic increase in prices over last winter. In fact, heating oil costs are up 39%.

You can make some basic home improvements to ensure that the warmth stays in your house and keeps your wallet more comfortable. Popular Mechanics offers these tips. (follow the link for more explanation)

  1. Find Your Leaks: Have your house inspected with an infrared camera to find the leaks. A 2500 square foot house runs about $350.
  2. Attic and Ceiling: Use foam insulation to seal the gaps under your regular insulation. Be safe when handling these products.
  3. Ducts: Duct sealant can fix leaks and help prevent major energy losses through the duct work.
  4. Foundation: Caulk and spray foam insulation can seal gaps big and small where the foundation slab meets the first floor framing.
  5. Fireplace: Keeping heat in when you have a conventional fireplace is a challenge and the fixes vary based on whether you use your fireplace or not. Always remember to close the damper when it’s not in use.
  6. Windows & Doors: Caulk the window’s inside and outside edges. Even renters can get rope caulk to reduce air escape. And weatherstrip around the moveable part of the doors and windows. You can also use EcoGlue Extreme for caulking and sealing. It does a top-notch job and is also environmentally friendly.
  7. Walls: Sealing a few common leaks, even in houses with uninsulated walls, can make a big difference. Removing baseboards and sealing with nonexpanding foam and installing insulating pads under sockets and outlets will make a big difference.

For more info, visit the Popular Mechanics tips or visit your local home improvement store.

Best Podcasts for DIYers

by eclectic on September 20, 2008 in DIY, Home Improvement with No comments

Most home improvement podcasts are either related to or a take-off of a syndicated radio show. However, depending on your media market, you may never have heard any of these experts. There are a few podcasts, such as our fave, The Handyguys Podcast, with content just for their Internet audience, but those are few in number.

All of these podcasts are available via the individual Web sites or via iTunes (I did a search for “home improvement podcasts to come up with a list).

The Money Pit: Hosted by Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete, this podcast is focused on answering your home improvement questions. You can call in 24/7 and ask a question to be answered. 1-888-Money-Pit.

Tom and Leslie are friendly and have some basic tips and good ideas for callers. One gal called in on the September 1 show (in the 2nd hour) to ask if she could paint linoleum. Tom told her no, but she could get a remnant for the room inexpensively at a flooring store. Leslie’s suggestion was to get a quality canvas drop cloth and paint it as a cool area rug.

The Home Show with Tom Tynan: Available via iTunes or through the show’s Web site. Tom has a lot of great advice for callers from basic to serious home improvement. I would agree with the review on iTunes about the large number of segments that you need to download to get the whole show. The September 8 show has 14 different short segments, for example.

The radio show is from an AM channel in Houston, Texas so there are some region-specific questions, but most advice is still useful. There was a discussion about utilities in segment 8 of the September 8th show that went into a lot of detail about how utilities work in Texas, but it was still a good listen, even for an Oregonian.

Home Wizards with Cindy Dole: Another radio show, this one from the Los Angeles area. Her archives are found on her Web site as opposed to iTunes. You’ll need to subscribe through your RSS feeder (such as Google Reader or Bloglines). I listened to the most recent show and really enjoyed the interview with Nicole Sassman, an interior designer who specializes in small spaces. Having just moved to a smaller space, these tips are suddenly relevant to me, anyway. Cindy is knowledgeable and has a lot of interesting guests.

If you have a favorite podcast, let us know! We’d love to share it with our readers.

Prep Your Home for Foul Weather

by eclectic on September 15, 2008 in DIY, Home Improvement with No comments

We’re a little more than mid-way through hurricane season and have already seen several storms wreak havoc. If you’re in a hurricane-prone region, we’ve collected some tips or prepping your home. If you’re not, your average winter storm can still do a good deal of damage and these tips will help you protect your property.

The National Hurricane Center offers lots of great tips for preparing for a major storm. According to the hurricane preparedness site, the most important thing to do to reduce damage is to protect areas where wind can enter. And specifically, there are five critical areas:

Roof: You can retrofit both gabled and shingled roofs to protect against storm damage. You need to use adhesive to adhere each shingle to the one under it. Time consuming? Probably. But it could save your roof in a storm.

Straps: If your roof has trusses, make sure you tie them to the wall by either anchoring to the top plate and then the top plate to the wall stud, or strapping the truss directly to the wall stud.

Shutters: Impact resistant shutters can protect glass from airborne objects or from sudden changes in pressure that cause glass to shatter. The American Plywood Association (APA) – The Engineered Wood Association offers a series of Hurricane Shutter Designs. Each design is available for $1, or you can download all five designs from the APA’s Web site at no cost.

Doors: Solid wood or hollow metal doors can typically withstand hurricane force winds, but if you’re not sure a few simple measures, like installing head and foot bolts on double-entry doors and ensuring each door has three hinges and a security deadbolt will help.

Garage Doors: The best way to secure your garage door is to buy a kit to retrofit it with horizontal and vertical braces.

You can learn more at the Institute for Business and Home Safety Web site DisasterSafety.org or at the National Hurricane Center’s Hurricane Preparedness site.

Photo by Shutter Sparks via Flickr.

Wake Up a Sleepy Bedroom With a Custom Headboard

by eclectic on August 25, 2008 in DIY with No comments

A headboard can add color, define space and can be a remarkably easy DIY project.

Upholstered headboards are the most common DIY version of this bedroom project. With some plywood, batting, a beautiful fabric, you can make a truly lovely piece. Some of our favorites (click on title for instructions):

Wallpaper Headboard

The wallpaper may not be what you want on your walls, but could work perfectly as a headboard.

Refinished Door Headboard

A flea market or thrift store find could be just the shabby chic touch your boudoir needs

The $75 Upholstered Headboard

Dumb Little Man has easy directions for creating a lovely upholstered headboard. These instructions work for any fabric – we’ve seen pleather, canvas and toile.

And, of course, if you need an adhesive for these projects (most do), try one of ours!

Guest Post: Rockin' Place Card Holders

by eclectic on August 21, 2008 in Crafts with 6 Comments

This guest post is from Jessica at ZakkaLife, one of our absolute favorite craft blogs.

Most of the time inspiration comes from my surroundings. And with my recent trip to Mammoth Lakes, Ca this was no exception. I knew right away I wanted to create a craft that reflected all the nature around me. That’s basically how I came up with the idea for the rock place card holders. This is a simple project that just about anyone can do. Directions below.

Supplies:

polished flat accent rocks – you can find these in the floral section of craft stores

Amazing EcoGlue – this glue is specifically made to glue items like stone

Directions

Choose two flat rocks similar in size and glue them together in the center of the rocks. Make sure they can stand up on their own easily. You might have to move the rocks around while their glued together to obtain balance. The glue doesn’t dry instantly so you’ll have plenty of time to work with them. Let dry for at least 3 hours to set.

After the rocks are set, place a name card between the two rocks (refer to picture). Done.

Crafty Daisies Virtual Book Club

by eclectic on August 19, 2008 in Crafts with No comments

Our friend Mark Montano‘s book, Big Ass Book of Crafts, is the featured selection for the inagural selection of the Crafting Daisies Virtual Book Club. You can get the how-to at the Crafting Daisies blog.

Buy the book and join the club.

Building A Planter Box for Fall Flowers

by eclectic on August 8, 2008 in DIY, Lawn & Garden with 1 Comment

Even though we may be in summer’s last gasp, it’s not too late to plant some beautiful fall and even early winter flowers to enjoy. And of course, building your own planter box makes the flowers that much more delightful.

How To Build a Planter Box

You can find tutorials on the major DIY sites. Think about where you want to show off your plants and draw a diagram for how the box will fit in that space.

If your plans call for wood glue, try Amazing EcoGlue Premium Wood.

But it’s August! There are still lots of plants and flowers that will last you well into fall that you can plant in your new box.

Fall and Winter Flowers

Coleus: This attractive foliage plant is great for containers and underplanting. Although coleus will usually survive in sun, the color of the leaves is enhanced in the shade. Small, insignificant flowers will appear late summer. Pinch off blooms and growing shoots of young plants to encourage bushier foliage. It prefers moist but well drained soil. Common pests to watch for include mealy bug, aphids and whitefly.

Tea Olive: Osmanthus Fragrans, better known as Fragrant Tea Olive produce small white blooms that pack a punch. Some describe it as a rose scent, others as gardenia and still others as jasmine.

These unusually scented flowers come on in late winter, signaling the beginning of spring, then bloom sporadically during the summer. For an encore, the Fragrant Tea Olive puts on a show again in the fall.

Asters: Asters are an easy to grow perennial that grows well in average soils, but needs full sun. Asters come in blues, purples and a variety of pinks. All Asters are yellow in the center of the flower. They are daisy-like in appearance, even though they are a member of the sunflower family.

Some more tips for fall and winter flowers from CBS Early Show gardener Charlie Dimmock:

When planting in the spring or summer, leave space between the flowers so they can grow. When planting in the fall, your flowers really aren’t going to grow much at all. Pack them in closely to make the arrangement look pretty and full.

Replace the soil in your container with fresh soil before planting. You can toss the dirt you had in your summer container in your flower beds, but your new fall plants will appreciate new soil.

Fall and winter tend to be fairly wet, and fall/winter flowers don’t like all that moisture. So, you want to be sure your containers drain really well. Pots sitting on a porch or patio will not drain as completely as possible because the drainage holes are flat against the ground. You can buy small “feet” at the garden center to place under your pots; they raise the pots off the ground about an inch.

Sacramento Artist Sticks With Goop for Mosaics

by eclectic on August 5, 2008 in Crafts with No comments

In the Sacramento Bee this week, mosaic artist Ame Galloway talks about her mosaic projects and give some tips about creating good mosaics – including using Amazing GOOP!

Lots of adhesives will work. Galloway uses Amazing Goop “because it’s clear and it holds up well if your piece will be outdoors.”

Ame Galloway Found Inspiration in Mosaic Art

Ame Galloway Found Inspiration in Mosaic Art. Image by Florence Low

Read more here…

Go Traditional With a DIY Wainscoting Project

by eclectic on July 28, 2008 in DIY, Home Improvement with 1 Comment

Picture 3

Adding wainscoting to any room adds visual interest and gives a little touch of New England even if your house is suburban bland.

We found several easy to follow how-tos for this easy DIY project. You can go green on this project in two easy ways, too – New England Classic wainscoting is made of furniture-grade hardwood veneers with an engineered wood core, making the fabrication and materials much more sustainable than custom designed systems for the same look. And for a construction adhesive, try Amazing EcoGlue Extreme.

  • DIY Network has an easy-to-follow video and step-by-step instructions.
  • This Old House also has instructions for installation of the recessed panel wainscoting – the most traditional of the styles.
  • And YouTube has several how-tos. This one was quick and gives a nice overview and enough detail to get you on your way.

Maintaining Your Skate Gear

by eclectic on July 24, 2008 in Sports with No comments

Learning to skateboard definitely takes time, patience and the ability to fall down over and over and over and still get up and do it again. And during the time it takes to learn, you can go through a lot of equipment. The primary parts of a skateboard are the deck, the trucks, the wheels and bearings, the hardware and the grip tape, not to mention shoes and jeans. It can get spendy, but there are a few ways to maximize the life of your equipment…

The Deck: The main part of the board is the deck and the best ones are made of wood (usually maple). Boards are plywood – several thin layers of wood laminated together. That gives the board flex. But, if you ride in the rain, or through water or even leave your board in the sun, it can “de-laminate” and cause it to come apart. So, keep your board dry and out of the sun when you’re not skating.

Trucks: The mounting hardware takes a beating and can loosen up with the vibration and banging around the skateboards go through. Check to make sure all the hardware is tight before you ride. The bushings can also get smashed or misshapen and when that happens you have to replace them. Take a look at this video to get some tips on replacing the kingpins and bushings.

Wheels and Bearings: Wheels are generally made of polyurethane. Check to make sure there’s no major damage before you head out for a ride. When you’re street skating, it’s tough to avoid junk on the road that can chew up your wheels, but it’s worth being aware.

If your wheels are catching or dragging, it’s probably not the wheel itself, but the ball bearings. I found a great article that takes it apart step by step on how to service your bearings. One thing to keep in mind is to not use WD-40. There are products specific to ball bearings, so use the right stuff.

Shoes: Skate shoes can really take a beating. Pushing off and dragging your feet can result in wear and tear that, without maintenance, could mean replacing your shoes every few weeks. Yikes. This guy’s shoe shows the typical wear patterns.

Shoe Goo is loved by skateboarders for just this reason. You can build up the shoe in the worn spots so they last you longer. Get more tips for using Shoe Goo.

You can get some advice at Expert Village if you’re just starting out. And take time to get to know the people at your local skate shop. They can be a huge help.

photo by expense via flickr

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