Home Improvement Blog Improving Your Home And Your Life

As times goes on, exterior paint fades. This is just reality. When that dreaded time does finally come around, here’s what to do.
Depending on what condition your walls and siding are in, the need for scraping and cleaning will vary. Light peeling is easy to scrape (be prepared for paint scrapings to be everywhere) and sand for a nice finish, while real bad paint or damaged wood could require pressure-washing and adhesive/filler. The importance of this first step is crucial for a paint-friendly foundation; a new coat of paint will only hold to clean original paint or fresh primer.
After your siding is touched up and cleaned, it is time for probably the most important part of the prep-work; masking. This task involves multiple kinds of tape (white tape is stronger but should be removed by the end of the day, blue tape can be left for multiple days at a time), paper (typically for the snug spaces a tarp can’t close up), plastic (for windows and small, fragile bushes) and big tarps for wherever. Mask off everything you don’t want primer or paint on (if you have to put tape on areas that need to be primed, go ahead and carefully prime those specific areas first). This process can get tedious after a while; just remember, outside of the actual paint, the quality of your entire job rests on the precision of your masking. The few places you can be a little sloppy are on the “out-of-sight” areas around your roof (on top of chimneys, deep inside over-hangs etc.). Spend time on quality masking, better to be over-impressed than under-whelmed at the finale.

If you have an older home, it might be time for those crusty, stained, humidity-damaged walls in your bathroom to be renovated. Thankfully, this process is as simple as removing and replacing the dry-wall (also known as sheet-rock) pieces. The only problem is taking all movable objects out of the bathroom, knowing where the electric and water lines run, and finding a place to take out and dispose of all your old dry-wall. But fear not, these issues are usually solved without any extreme measures.

When your bathroom is stripped and ready for carnage, I suggest a few specific tools to do your damage; a big hammer, cat’s paw, medium-sized crowbar, eye protection and a good pair of gloves. After learning the electric and water lines, just pick your spot and lay into your bathroom wall with whatever tool you prefer. As you pull out sheets of dry-wall, I suggest pulling all nails as you go as well; they will be a nuisance later on if you don’t. Once you’re done with the walls, move to the ceiling. Be careful with the ceiling for the simple fact that it will come down on your head if you aren’t mindful (yes, this has happened to me). Continue Reading...

Back in May Boston's ABC 5 tracked down a convicted sex offender who was working as an unlicensed contractor for Home Depot. Not only was the guy a registered sex offender...he didn't even refinish cabinets well.

Home Depot promised changes and now ABC 5 is following up:

Boston’s Team 5 Investigated obtained Home Depot's most recent online reference guide for service providers who are sent to customers' homes, and it shows significant changes to what has been published in the past. "I think this is a step in the direction of tightening up the requirements and recognizing the public needs to have confidence and know that it's going to be safe to have these contractors doing the work," said professor Jim Post of Boston University's School of Management.

The most significant changes relate to background checks. There are now new obligations for those who are supposed to be doing them and an increase in how often they're supposed to performed. Home Depot is also demanding that service providers verify the identity and social security number for each worker. A failure to do so could result in hefty fines.

Workers must also wear a new type of badge to show they've met the new requirements. If they don't, the fine is $500. Licensing infractions, including a failure to pull permits, could cost a contractor $1,000. And for every consumer complaint filed with an attorney general's office where the service provider fails to demonstrate an effort to resolve the complaint, than that service provider is subject to a $2,500 penalty. "It certainly shows that they're serious about making sure the quality of service that's delivered to customers is consistent with the standards that they've set," said Post.

You have a plot of land you wish to enclose. First you need to ask yourself for what purpose. If to retain horses or livestock, you might need to consider an electrified fence. For domestic pets such as medium or large dogs, a chain link fence might be your best bet. Perhaps you simply wish to liven up your yard or establish/highlight property lines for your neighbors.

Regardless of the original purpose, always buy a fence at least one level stronger than you would image necessary. A sturdy fence will never be a poor investment, cheaping out always will be. Fences can last from 5-100 years depending on the materials used, the extent to which they are installed, and of course, the environment they protect. The best material to use for a lasting fence that combines functionality and aesthetics in my opinion is cedar.

Over the years, split rail cedar fences turn a beautiful soft silver while its structural integrity holds strong. If a rail is broken by a charging bull or other intense force, simply replace the damaged rails rather than having to re-due any posts or even worse, an entire section as you might with other fences.

If you have a tighter budget, consider vinyl fencing. Typically three rails high, vinyl fencing is a great solution for retaining large animals only (as a dog or cat can easily run under). Vinyl fencing gives a little when leaned on as opposed to wood or metal. One neat feature about vinyl fencing is the customization abilities. Being a simple assemble with no specific holes or grooves, vinyl fencing can be cut down to any desirable length making a curved edge possible as well as a lower one if you cut down the posts. Vinyl fencing however is best installed with cement poured in around a foot and a half deep. This is quite an undertaking and if indenting to install the fence yourself, the best way to dig is with a Little Beaver Earth Auger which should not be hard to rent.

Plastic Fence Installation:

I got going on that last post about conserving energy and decided to research air conditioners. In general I learned that since the 70s, AC units have increased in efficiency by over 50%. If you have one even ten years old, you could gain 15-30% better energy usage by switching it out for a newer one.

If you have personal AC for each specific rooms, you may consider switching to a central system as they are more efficient for cooling the whole house rather than each room individually. The room ones are great if you only want say, your bedroom cool. In the last blog about energy efficiency, it talked about using a central system like personal system by shutting off the vents in other rooms and raising the desired temperature on the thermostat. This is interesting because I think that your AC will be working too hard and losing some of its efficiency trying to power air all the way over to just one room and losing much of its coolness in traveling though the rafters. But I’ve been wrong before.

Something else I found insisted that when having a new system installed, ensure that the contractor has measured your room and has had a computer run a calculation to find the best size system. Efficiency is greatly determined by even having a proper size unit. Something too small will obviously work too hard and draw excessive amounts of power, burning out sooner. A unit too large will cycle quickly turning on and off all day overworking the sensor and consuming unnecessary power to continually start up.

If you are purchasing a new unit, check out the BTU (British Thermal Units) rating. This tells you how much hot air is ejected from your home by the hour. Get one with a minimum of 12,000 BTU/hour or EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) of at least 10.0. In hotter climates, go with even higher.

I feel like a nomad. I either move countries, states, cities, or apartments almost twice a year. Between switching schools and jobs, I am always on the move. All my life I have had the same dream – to live in one house and make it exactly the way I want from the theme of the house to the organization of my closet, I have it all planned out. So far, the only consistency I’ve been able to maintain is my plants. I have had the same plants travel with me for years. Call me a botanist, but I seriously have a special relationship with my flora. They have been relational stability wherever I go. No, I don’t talk to them, much, but they always cheer me when I come “home”. Some people say you need to be able to take care of a plant before you get a pet, or even a wife. I don’t know about that but my plants sure have been comforting.
Being that this is a home improvement blog, my advice for those who don’t necessarily have that dream home, or even a consistent one, having a plant or two for the long haul does bring a little “home” nostalgic to the table, so to speak. Home is where your plant is.