Home Improvement Blog

Energy efficiency is always important on the stove or in the oven. In winter, energy costs are higher and those wasted BTUs really start to add up. In the summer, heating costs may be lower, but careless cooking results in wasted heat, which fills the home and causes the cooling system to work harder. Gas or electric, your stove is vital to energy efficiency. For exact information be sure to consult with a kitchen contractor, however there are ways you can cut your energy usage by as much as half and they will cost you nothing.

On the Stove

• Using the correctly sized pan is essential: a six-inch pan on an eight-inch burner results in a lot of wasted heat. Also, don't use a 10-inch skillet to fry one egg. Pare things down as much as possible. Make an effort to use only as much heat as you need.
• Use lids when boiling water and other liquids. This traps heat in and boils the water faster. This will also keep your kitchen cooler.
• Turn the heat off early whenever possible. The remaining heat in the pan will finish the job, especially with cast iron skillets. Use hard boiled eggs as an example; as soon as the water comes to boil, turn off the heat and cover for at least 15 minutes. In that span of time the eggs will be hard-boiled and you will have used roughly half the energy.

In the Oven

Hardwood flooring is a prize for most homeowners. It is versatile -- accenting both traditional and modern home designs -- and eco-friendly flooring as well. But like any prize, it deserves some special care. Even more so for hardwood flooring, which has several enemies that can do damage over time. Hardwood floors are a durable flooring option, but are by no means infallible. Knowing your enemies, and preventing their subtle takeover will guarantee a long and lustrous life from your hardwoods.

Water is hardwood's biggest enemy. It is the enemy of any wood surface. If you've ever had a water leak you know how crafty water is at getting into nooks and crannies, causing warping, rot, and a loss of luster. The key to water control is

With the higher cost of home energy, homeowners have become conscious of their home energy efficiency. As a consequence they are looking for ways to reduce their homes energy consumption and save on their utility bills. Seeking out a professional energy audit is a choice a growing number of people are making when deciding to lower their homes energy usage. Unfortunately finding a professional to do such audits is often very difficult to find.

The original energy auditing program dating back to some time in the 1970s is the Home Energy Rating System now revised and referred to as the HERS index. This system is strictly for homes that are currencly in the construction phase, not existing homes. The system works off a standard or Reference Home based on the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. A home is "rated" on a 0 -100 scale. 100 being the Reference Home score, the lower the score the more efficient the home.

The HERS index is an integral part of the DOE, EPA Energy Star program. New homes that score either 80 or 85 depending on climate zone are considered Energy Star homes. This is a great tool for home buyers seeking energy efficient new homes (not necessarily "green" however).

The problem is the HERS index is not designed for existing homes. With approximately over 80 million homes in this country built prior to 1980 this represents a large home demographic that can not effectively benefit from this home energy auditing efficiency system. Older homes would obviously score low on the HERS index. With this current rating system, what advantage is there for the average home owner?

My husband and I have finally decided to follow through with our dreams of designing and building a gourmet kitchen and remodeling all of the bathrooms in our St. Louis, MO home. We have always wanted to do this but never could find a company that we trusted. I think we found that with Agape Construction www.agapeconstruction.com. They are a design and build firm here in Kirkwood, MO and we have hired them on because of their award-winning designs, expertise, and overall great attitude. We have a really good feeling about them and their skilled team of 15. Check out their portfolio: http://www.agapeconstruction.com/_portfolio.htm It is pretty impressive stuff! So my question now is, have any other St. Louis homeowners used Agape Construction?

Green Construction--First Remove Harmful Materials

It used to be that years ago home builders weren’t terribly concerned about building materials and their impact on the environment. The goal, especially during the post-war housing boom in the United States during the 1940s and 50s, was to put up a lot of houses and put them up fast. Keeping building costs down was also a concern of most builders, and inexpensive materials were used in favor of maintaining a healthy bottom line. When remodeling for a greener home it is important to remember that toxic materials could still be hiding.

The main concern is dealing with the potentially- toxic materials that are already inside the existing house. If a homeowner is converting a home that wasconstructed prior to 1980, chances are that asbestos and other hazardous materials may be present. Asbestos was widely used for
the first three-quarters of the twentieth century and removing it properly is critical and usually involves the services of a licensed abatement professional. Asbestos exposure can of course lead to the deadly cancer known as mesothelioma. Manufacturers knew this for a long time, which is why the mesothelioma lawyer industry is thriving.

Have cracks in your plaster walls and ceilings? Older houses shift over time, naturally developing cracks in the walls as the plaster breaks loose from the wooden lath behind it. The only way to fix the problem is to reattach the plaster to the lath behind it. Plaster repair professionals generally spend enormous amounts of time reattaching the plaster with hundreds of screws and plaster washers, then covering these screws with mesh tape. The process is tedious and, if not done properly, leaves bumps in the wall.

Luckily, there is a new method for repairing cracked plaster walls. The method uses an special adhesive, rather than screws, to effectively "glue" the plaster back in place. It's been featured by Tom Silva on "This Old House" (see the Plaster Repair Video) and makes plaster repair much easier and faster.

For more info check out www.plastermagic.com

Most often, home improvements will include fixing things in your house in need of repair, such as a leaking roof, re-varnishing a floor, or painting the walls a different color. However, sometimes even furniture needs repair or replacement in a house. A dining set, for example, can become outdated in style or can bear signs of wear – nicks in the wood, worn varnish, discolored plastic-coated table tops. If you can’t fix your current dining set with a bit of repair, perhaps purchasing a new dining set would be an option.

For your kitchen for casual dining, a dinette set would be more appropriate. For more formal dining in your dining room, a proper wooden table and chairs set would be best. Generally, a dinette set will have two or four chairs with a smaller-sized table.

If you’re thinking about choosing a dinette, most dinette sets come in two varieties: mix and match and matching dining sets. A matching dinette set often has the same wood or metal work for the table and chairs, while mix and match pairs chairs with a table that blends in by color, design, or type of material used. In addition, a mix and match set will have a standard metal and glass or wood table paired with a more elaborate-looking set of chairs.

While a standard table and chair set will often come in finished wood, dinette sets are made with a variety of materials. Although dinette sets can come in an all-wood design, with upholstered chairs, glass and iron combinations are more common. A glass and iron dinette will feature a glass table top, as well as chairs with a glass seat and back, with the legs of both the chair and table made from iron, which often create a more modern furniture look. Other combinations for dinette sets are wood and metal and rattan wood wicker.

How to Turn Your TV Room into a Home Theater

If you bought a 50” plasma and receiver with surround sound a few years ago and you want to kick it up a notch for the upcoming football season here’s an idea…

Thanks to the fact that HDTV projectors are far less expensive than they used to be, you can turn your TV room into a full blown Home Theater for as little as $3,000.00.

Here’s the concept….use your plasma for most TV shows and when it’s time to watch the big game or movie, turn your room into a home theater by sending your HDTV signal to a projector that shoots an image 120” diagonal on to a screen mounted in front of your plasma.

How to Do It

Screen: You are going to mount a retractable HDTV screen above and just in front of your plasma and mount a HDTV projector in the back of the room. The most common size screen is 120” diagonal. Determine what screen size you should purchase, refer to the information below or go to www.mountsandmore.com

A 106” diagonal screen is 94” wide and 52” high
A 120” diagonal screen is 104”wide and 58” high

Projector: Sony is the biggest player in the front projector market. Two favorites are:

Sony VPL-VW60: Home Theater magazine says the “SonyVPL-VW60 is a” great projector at a great price”. It projects a beautiful1080P image and sells for about $5,000.00.

Sony VPL-VW60

If you’re tight on money, the Sony VPL- AW15 is an incredible deal at about $1,100. No kidding, no typo! Although this model is only capable of projecting an image in 720P format, (1080 is best) Home Theater Magazine says “No rear projector or flat panel at anywhere near the cost can offer a big screen experience like this!”

Sony VPL- AW15

Projector Mount: Due to variables like ceiling height, you’re going to need a little help here. I suggest contacting www.projectorpeople.com and have them help you determine the correct projector mount.

Home elevators are being perceived as less of a luxury home furnishing, as more people seem to be installing them for practical reasons. Corresponding with the Baby Boom generation aging, the addition of a home elevator can be practical if you have a hard time getting up stairs or often need to carry large loads up one or more flights of stairs in your home. In fact, installing a residential elevator has gained popularity in comparison to purchasing a one-floor or ranch house or remodeling a current home to include the master bedroom on the ground floor.
Installing a residential elevator involves more than purchasing a kit and installing it yourself. If you plan to install an elevator in your home, configure a plan about where to put the elevator and consult a contractor or architect about potential spots in your home. Although smaller than a commercial elevator, the elevator shaft can take up enough space as a walk-in closet, and, for some elevator systems, an additional machine room is also needed. An elevator cab can take up from 12 to 15 square feet and the shaft needs to be six inches wider.

Where can I find the corbels used in the maple colored mantle at the bottom left of the page on fireplace mantles that was created by homeimprovementblog.net? I have been looking for the corbel for about two weeks during my evening hours after having seen it in a white river catalog. Thanks for the info.

Send to baugherc@cfl.rr.com attn. fireplace mantle if possible. -Stay safe.

I just to introduce myself and the MN Painters Network which connects metro-area homeowners with pre-screened painters. We also look forward to sharing our tips and experience in the with this community!

Hi everyone. I am an Interior Desinger. I have a new web site www.beautifulint.com. Please look over it and tell me what you think. I would love the input.

The energy costs of having a home are high enough without the excess costs of bad windows. Investing in energy efficient windows is a great way to reduce your energy bills for years to come. Imagine being able to pay less monthly for heating and cooling because of a one-time cost that saves energy in the long run.

Most windows that are currently installed in homes are either old or not properly installed. In either case, leaks and cracks in the window cause a lot of energy to be wasted. In the winter, these leaks will let the hot air from inside a home escape making your home as cold as the snow outside. These leaks also let cool air escape from a home in the summer months. Many windows are also made with materials that not only allow sunlight in but also the heat from the sun, causing the summer cooling to cost a lot.

Energy efficient windows are designed to reduce the energy costs in a home and increase the comfort inside the house. These windows are built so that there's no room for air to escape through, lowering the cost of heating a home in the winter. The glass panes can be made with special glass that allows for the light to come into a home without the heat from the UV rays.

Window replacement can be expensive no matter what kinds of windows are put in. The savings come over the long term. With regular windows a person can expect to have higher energy costs, but with energy efficient windows there's long lasting savings without significant extra installation costs.

By Linda Paul Studio www.lindapaul.com

Pictures of backsplashes and tile designs. We hope these kitchen backsplash photos give you some ideas for decorating your own kitchen.
go to our tile murals & backsplashes for sale

Wine & Roses Tile Mural with a trendy tin backsplash. you can mix backsplash materials to great effect!

Wonderfully simple & clean looking, modern backsplash. The border tile around the mural perfectly matches the surrounding subway tile and the mosaic tile at the bottom adds style and interest
see all versions of The Vineyard by artist Linda Paul

Sunset over Tuscany on tumbled marble installed in a beautiful custom wall cabinet. go to Sunset over Tuscany

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