Put It On Paper

Most people are not artists but anyone can grab a piece of paper and a pencil and come up with a rudimentary sketch of what they see in their mind. Once you have this accomplished, take it to your designer or architect and allow them to help you decide whether your remodeling project requires an actual addition or if using existing space would be to your benefit. Being open to constructive criticism could save you money in the long run.

Set That Budget

Once you have the necessary designs from your designer or architect you can use these to determine your remodeling projects labor and material costs. Any specifications in the design can be changed to meet the price range you are looking for.

Remodeling Bids

Now that you have your plans and budget in place its time to find the right person for the job. Your best bet is to get a minimum of three bids from professional contractors. Make sure you use the same design plans and specs with each contractor and discuss the bid proposal in detail with them. Never accept the lowest bid as this is not always a guarantee you will save money.

Commit To The Project

You have your plans and budget in place and you have chosen a contractor. Its time to sign the contract. Your contractor will present you with a contract which you must sign in order for your remodeling project to get underway. This is a legal document that will bind you and your contractor to the remodeling project. Before signing you should always have a legal advisor review the contract for you and make sure it has the following:

• The contractors license number, address and name
• Beginning and ending dates for the remodeling project
• Description of actual work to be done and materials needed
• Actual cost of the remodeling project & schedule of payments
• Statement of what constitutes substantial commencement of work

The Project Begins

Your remodeling project is set to take off and you can’t wait. One thing to keep in mind
is maintain a cordial relationship with the contractor and workers. It is not uncommon
for either side to get on each others nerves. Be friendly, supportive and more importantly be patient. if you have concerns, discuss these with the contractor and move on. Do not dwell on misunderstandings or mistakes as these will almost always happen.Even though it is your home, you need to stay out of their way. Your remodeling project will go a whole lot smoother and be completed correctly.

The Work Is Complete

Your remodeling project is complete and your happy as can be. Now its time to get together with your contractor and do a walk through inspection just to make sure everything has been completed according to the design specs and contract. If everything is to your liking show your appreciation by offering a letter of recommendation for the contractor to use when they bid on other jobs.

With proper planning and execution you can ensure that your remodeling project will come off without a hitch.

Learn how you can Dramatically & Affordably Remodel Your Home.

While the use of wind energy involves a substantially higher initial investment, an efficient system can be rather competitive with traditional energy sources over a long period of time with reduced or no utility costs at all. This of course all depends on the quality of the system, the wind resource in your environment, the cost of electricity in your area and most importantly, how the system is used.

Aside from cutting costs on your utilities, wind power offers benefits in regard to tax breaks as many states offer favorable rebates on wind power systems.

Do-It-Yourself: Make Your Own Windmill and save $$$

Saves money

While the initial installation purchase of solar panels is typically more expensive than traditional power sources, the long term investment offers a much greater value. Solar power is likely to become more attractive as fuel prices continue to rise.

Additional tax credits

Many states offer tax credits to businesses and homeowners making use of solar power. Some will cover up to 50% for the cost of a solar system.

Less maintenance

Solar panels contain less moving parts and generally require less maintenance depending on the quality of the system.

Natural backup

Solar power can actually be collected and stored for later usage. This could be more expensive in the beginning but is a great solution for emergency situations.

Less pollution

The amount of pollution generated by solar powered panels is significantly less than the amount generated by other power sources. It does not emit carbon dioxide unlike power sources as such as fossil fuels and wood.

Do-It-Yourself: Make Your Own Solar Power System and save $$$

Kitchen Islands

When you add and island as part of your kitchen remodel, you are actually adding extra work space and decorative interest. A kitchen island can be as simple as a small table, or for those who want it all, as elaborate as a custom-built, electrified, plumbed, tiled stove-top center island.

The realities of your kitchen, of course, must be taken into consideration, with practicality going hand in hand with the design specs.

Although that price can easily climb into many thousands of dollars when you include a sink or cook top, you can use affordable materials and stick to those features you really want and will use to keep the cost reasonable—even for a gourmet.

Custom Kitchen Cabinets

When it comes to cabinet design, the choices of door style, wood finish and other options are nearly limitless. Cabinets account for up to 70 percent of kitchen remodeling costs.  Knowing what you need and want for your kitchen and researching those specs will only help you.

Now is the time when you may also want professional guidance.  And architect, professional residential designer, or even a home supply store consultant from a big box store like Home Depot can offer assistance.  They will likely be able to help you narrow your style and component choices to make the most of your space, as well as your funds.

Do-It-Yourself: Design and Build The Kitchen of Your Dreams Yourself!

Obviously, you’re not gonna be able to go for a full on kitchen renovation, or be able to replace all your old kitchen cabinets with custom cabinets. Neither will you be able to rework your kitchen to include that fancy new island with an inlaid granite top.  Still, you should be able to make a difference with a little ingenuity and fresh ideas.

Go for High Impact

Both kitchen and bath design—generally the smaller rooms in a house—rely on accessories to create a ‘look.’  On a budget, the easiest way to change a room is to concentrate on these.  Bright red canisters, a red tea pot, and red-themed poster prints, for example, would make a retro, fun statement in a modern kitchen.

Another good idea is a new paint job.  The mood and tone of your kitchen can go from country to contemporary in just the time it takes to paint the walls.  Yellow tones bring a warm feeling to almost any room, cooler shades, a feeling of calm.  It all depends on what you want your kitchen to say.

Inexpensive Furniture Options

Have you looked into some of the home sections of your friendly neighborhood discount stores lately?  Both Walmart and Kmart, for example, are now carrying higher quality, well designed items like bar stools and dining sets, for only a fraction of the price of higher-end stores.  Nobody needs to know where you got something that looks great and fits right in to the kitchen design theme that you had in mind.  It’s no longer about something being expensive, but about how you create a harmonious, comfortable, and functional space.

Thrift stores also offer a wealth of good stuff for a fraction of the cost you would usually pay for it.  Dining sets, chairs, dish sets, window treatments, and cushions are just a few items that can be scored for dirt cheap prices and which can really go far in perking up your room.

Do-It-Yourself: Learn how you can Save Thousands On Your Kitchen Remodeling Project

Manufacturers normally will have their own set of installation instructions and we recommend you read these instructions before you begin any installation project.

Installing That New Floor!

1.) When you bring your flooring home, allow up to 48 hours before any installation to allow the laminate to acclimate to the conditions in your home. After the laminate has been installed, this small pre-installation step will keep the laminate from shifting after it is put in place.

2.) Always cut laminate with a fine tooth jigsaw or a circular saw, placing the top surface face down. This will reduce tear outs.

3.) Before you begin, make sure that you measure the area you wish to cover and add ten percent to the total for excess.

4.) Make sure you have the necessary tools you will need for installation. If you do not have the proper tools you can purchase an installation kit that will have everything you need.

5.) Decide which direction you want to go. Normally laminate is installed along the length of the room, however you can install it parallel.

6.) Remove all molding, baseboards and doors.

7.) Check to make sure your floor is level and use leveling compound to level off any depressions. Remove any nails or tacks if you are replacing carpet. Also you may want to nail down any floorboards that squeak or may be loose.

8.) Roll out the underlay. If your installing over concrete, you may want to add a layer of plastic that will act as a vapor barrier. Make sure the ends of the rolls butte up against each other and do not overlap. You can use duct tape to seal the seams.

9.) Depending on the thickness of the laminate, you may have to modify your doorframes. A simple way to check is by placing a piece of flooring onto the underlay to see if it will fit under the door jam. If it will not fit, make sure to mark the jam so you can cut it.

10.) Measure across the room from the far side so you can determine if you have to cut the first piece. Remember you want the pieces for both sides to measure about the same width.

11.) When you start to lay the boards, lay them against the starting wall making sure that the groove side is facing the wall. If you need to cut your first row of boards to width, always cut them on the groove side. Also when laying boards near walls, use spacers to ensure you have 1/4″ gap between the boards and the laminate. This gap will allow for expansion during seasonal changes.

12.) When you lay your first row, the first board of the first row has to be full length, the first board in the second row must be 2/3 of a full-length board and the first board in the third row must be 1/3 of a full-length board. Fill in each row with full-length boards and cut boards repeating the pattern over and over again ensuring that the seams are at least 8 inches from one another.

13.) To join the pieces of laminate, you must come in at a very steep angle and once the tongue is in the groove make sure you press down. You will hear a snap, meaning the two pieces have been joined together. You can also gently tap with a hammer to ensure the boards have locked.

14.) As you near the wall, you will need a special pry bar or pull bar. This pry bar or pull bar helps pull the boards into place locking them together. You should never use a hammer on laminate flooring as this may cause permanent damage.

15.) Only after you have all of the laminate in place can you reinstall the baseboards or moldings. Make sure you nail the baseboards to the wall and not the laminate. The baseboards or molding should fill in the 1/4″ gap you made with the spacers.

You should now have an exciting new floor in place and a completely new look for your room. Remember, these instructions should never replace the actual instructions that are provided by the manufacturer.

Do-It-Yourself: Learn how to Save Hundreds even Thousands of Dollars Installing It Yourself

Almost anything you do out of doors involving land or plants can actually be called landscaping.

There are projects that can appeal to almost any home owner in any part of the country—from simple garden landscaping, to water feature landscaping, to landscaping suited to special environments, such as desert landscaping, rock landscaping, or tropical landscaping.

Here, we’ll look at a few popular options that can enhance almost anyone’s enjoyment of the outdoors.

Front Yard Garden Landscape

Planting trees, shrubs, and ground covers that increase in size and value takes little maintenance. You should think about these features, as well as any architectural features, such as landscaped edges, and landscaped stones, as a kind of frame for the design first.

Annual and perennials come next. You can even use many edible plants in place of or along with ornamentals. Unlike a large grass lawn, they take little maintenance.

Think about how your house and yard look from the street—approach it without the emotional feeling and satisfaction you get when you “go home.” Try to see what other people see, and how the trees and other elements around your house add to the ‘design.’

Backyard and Patio Container Landscaping

Container gardens are easy to do, and also offer mobility. They can be easily grouped around patio perimeters as landscape borders and can create visual interest around your deck chairs and tables.

Landscaping can be centered around a color theme if you wish, or can reflect the change of the seasons with different garden plants, such as snap dragons and baby breath, for example, in the spring, and chrysanthemums and other hearty plants in the fall.

Plants in potted containers offer a big splash of color and atmosphere for very little cash. When it is too cold outside, the plants easily move indoors to become houseplants, or onto the porch or area of the house for a cheerful ‘winter greenhouse’ landscaping nook.

Rock Landscaping

Rock landscaping offers a practical solution to problem areas in your yard, or rock can be imported for ambiance. Rocks can help to designate space, add visual weight, and can be used to border plantings in your garden or as borders around pathways.

Rock landscaping can be used within flower beds to vary the monotony of vine or other ground covers. It can be used to elevate beds, and add to the garden’s color and variation. Both gravel and pebbles—river or beach rock—can be used in and among flowers.

Whatever project you decide to tackle, remember that there are all kind of landscaping ideas out there. It’s up to you to decide what is best suited to your home sweet home.

Do-It-Yourself: Learn how you can Increase Your Homes Curb Appeal

Wall-to-wall carpeting gained in popularity in the 60’s and 70’s, so many beautiful hard wood floors in older houses and apartment buildings were covered up so that the domicile looked “modern.” How do you know what’s underneath that orange and brown raggedy looking shag that makes you sneeze, anyhow? There’s only one way.

Tear that carpet up.

To do so, you’ll need a pair of pliers and some determination. Start at the corner of the room, and pull. Let’s hope you are dealing with the ‘laid-in’ type of carpet, and not anything that was glued or stapled down. Unfortunately, you may encounter this. If so, it will take more work, but all is not lost.

Removing carpet staples can be difficult, but it is not impossible. You will need some strong pliers and some sort of lever, like a screwdriver or the edge of a small hammer. Using the lever, lift the staples from the floor.

This can take quite a bit of time, but usually, the exposed hardwood beneath all that old carpeting is worth it. The staples may leave small holes in the wood floor, but you can usually take care of this when you refinish or paint the floor.

Another common issue you may encounter is that the old carpet has been glued down. If you find this was the case, you will have no choice but the damage the floor, especially with strong glues.

Those unfortunate enough to encounter glue can remove it using a glue solvent and a strong scraper. This process will be messy and time consuming, and really shouldn’t be attempted by one person, as it will take much work and an extensive time period to complete.

Get someone to help, ventilate your rooms well, or consider having this job done by a handyman or contractor who is familiar with what needs to be done.

You may also find yourself choking on lots and lots of nasty dirt! No getting around this. If the room you are concentrating on is on an upper floor, consider throwing the ripped up carpet remnants out the window so you don’t have to drag the old dirty carpet through the house.

One more issue that you may encounter is old linoleum beneath the carpet. This was actually popular prior to the 60’s, so turn-of-the-century homes are likely to have had this installed as well. This usually comes up easier, although you might find damaged floors beneath the linoleum.

After the laborious process of removing the old floor coverings is finished, you need to make sure that any nails are either nailed down into the floor completely, or removed. They can cause a safety issue if not. Rough boards will need to be sanded down, holes filled.

You may have to find a wood plank of the same wood or similar in order to fill any seriously gaping hole. Other imperfections can be lived with, even celebrated, as a unique feature of your home’s beautiful wood floor.

And now comes the fun part! Deciding which paint or stain will be used on the hard wood that will most enhance your room. Good luck!

Do-It-Yourself: You can be your own Do-It-Yourself-Handyman

Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural resources. The sun, rain and wind are all renewable energy sources. Mother Nature herself replenishes these resources every single day. There are many different ways to harness the power of these resources using renewable energy technologies. A few of these technologies include wind power, solar power and bio fuels.

Wind Power

Wind is an excellent source of natural energy. In order to covert the power of wind into electricity you have to use what is called a wind turbine. This is a propeller that is connected to a shaft, which in turn is connected to an alternator just like the one in your car. When the shat turns, magnets located inside the alternator spin around a coil of wire causing electrons to move through the wire creating electricity. The electricity is then stored in batteries, known as banks. These banks can then power anything that is connected to them but before that can happen the electricity must be run through an inverter to make sure any household appliances can use it.

Solar Power

Solar energy is the energy that radiates from the sun. Anyone can take that energy and covert it to electricity by using Photovoltaic. Photovoltaic, simply put, are when metal surfaces are exposed to electromagnetic radiation such as x-rays or visible light and electrons are emitted after the absorption. To convert solar power into electricity you have to use solar panels. Solar panels are groups of Photovoltaic cells that are normally placed on top of roofs or installed in any open area where they will come into direct contact with sunlight. These cells convert the absorbed sunlight into electricity. Just like electricity from the wind, it is stored in banks of batteries. Once the electricity is run through an inverter, anything connected to these banks can then be powered.

Biofuel

Biofuels are another excellent renewable energy source from Mother Nature. These are fuels that are made from biomass. Biomass is any living or recently expired biological material but more commonly refers to plant matter. This can also include animal and plant matter used for fiber production. One of the most popular types of biofuel is Ethanol. Ethanol is mainly derived from corn or sugar cane and is used as an additive for gasoline. Another biofuel that is rapidly gaining popularity is biodiesel. Biodiesel is made from different types of vegetable oils such as palm oil, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil.

These are just a few sources of renewable energy. There are many different alternatives that one can switch to in order to save money and help the environment. Whatever your choice may be, renewable energy sources have been here since the beginning of time and will be here long after we are gone. Choose wisely.

Do-It-Yourself: Learn how you can Make Your Own Electricity & Save $$$

Yet, biodiesel production has a great deal in common with the gas most of us are putting into our guzzlers everyday. Fuels made from coal and oil are fossil fuels—or, fuel derived from long dead plants and animals. Biodiesel, on the other hand, is basically the same thing, only the fuel is derived from recently dead plants—for example, corn or algae. Because of this, it can be produced domestically from renewable sources, and is likely to prove to be an excellent source of energy for the future.

We have actually been using biofuels for a millennia, as wood burned for heat, light, or cooking fits the classification of a biofuel.

Why are biofuels better than fossil fuels, then? Here are a few simple reasons:

1. It’s good for your car! Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, lubricates the engine more. This in turn, extends the life of your car—requiring less maintenance.
2. It can run in any diesel engine! No modifications required. It can even be mixed or blended with normal diesel. In many areas of the world, this is already being done.
3. Biodiesel is non-toxic and biodegradable! Much safer for people and the
   environment. It has zero emission as well. The exhaust actually smells rather nice—a big change from fossil fuels.
4. It is harder for your car to burn. When a car filled with biodiesel crashes, it’s not likely to explode. It’s also safer to transport across the country because of this.

So, now that you know, what is your opinion of biofuel? Add your comments.

Learn how you can Make Bio Diesel At Home