Guidance To Your Perfect Living Space

Shingling or roofing a house is a major undertaking for a homeowner and extreme caution is required. This said, a DIY tips for homeowner can shingle or roof their own home with a little knowledge and the right tools.

Required Tools

In order to roof a house properly and safely the following tools are needed: Ladders, Roof Jacks, Hammer, Carpenters Knife, Chalk Line, and preferably a compressor or nail gun.

Estimating Materials

Typically the roof is measured in squares, where a “square” represents 100 square feet. There are eighty shingles in one square. However, when you go to your local home improvement store shingles are usually sold in bundles. Usually three bundles equal one square, however this can vary slightly pending the shingle style.

Measure the area of your roof (length x width) and divide by 100 to get the number of squares required. Then multiply this number by three to get the number of bundles of shingles required for the job. Add an additional 10-15% for spare, leaning toward the 15% if your roof has hips and valleys.

Drip edge, ice and water shield, asphalt paper, flashing, roofing nails, and hip and ridge vents will also be required. The Drip edge comes in various lengths. Measure the outside perimeter of the roof to calculate the drip edge required. The ice and water shield, asphalt paper and flashing come in roles. Use your roof square area calculation for determining your asphalt paper requirements. Typically only one or two courses of ice and water shield is required along the bottom/eave of the roof and in the valleys. Calculate 2 times the length of the roof and v Read the rest of this entry »

Over time, grease, water, heat, stains, and food residues leave indelible marks on your once beautiful kitchen cabinets. If you didn’t want to spend a large sum of money buying new cabinets, you should study your options carefully and you will find a way out. Instead of replacing the cabinets, you can think of giving them a face-lift by a repainting them.

Do the job yourself, and you can cut down the costs further. Of course, there will be an added bonus of the creative satisfaction you’ll get on doing the work yourself. If you decide to paint your kitchen cabinets, keep in mind that the work could well spread over a period of three days. This will mean three days of eating out, so plan the work when it is most convenient. The first thing is to decide on the color.

For this, consider factors such as the color of the kitchen walls as also that of the tiles. The size of your kitchen must also be considered. Also keep in mind that light colors give the impression of spaciousness.

Next, decide if you want to paint both inside and outside the cabinets. A paint job involves a minimum of three days, and if you decide to paint the insides as well, you’ll have the additional task of emptying out the drawers. The first step in the paint job involves the cleaning process. That means you have to remove the dust and grease stains. Remember that cleaning for a do-it-yourself paint job is different from the usual hygienic cleaning pattern that you follow. Cleaning ensures a uniform and even finish to the paintwork.

Examine the surface carefully for any cracks and damages because paint will not cover these blemishes. Use coarse sandpaper to clean the surfaces and file down the scratch marks and cavities with wood putty. Read the rest of this entry »

Greenhouses provide a warm, humid atmosphere and are home to a variety of different plants and flowers which is why they are a perfect target for insects. There are numerous types of insects which will want to live in your greenhouse and feed off of the wonderful plants and flowers which you have put so much time and effort into maintaining. The information below will provide you with tips and guidelines to follow in order to ensure you are doing everything in your power to ward off any unwanted pests.

The first step in learning how to prevent and eliminate insects from entering into your greenhouse is to understand and become familiar with the types of insects which are likely to reside there. The following is a list of the most common types of insects which you will likely find in your greenhouse:

Aphids, Fungus Gnats, Flies (many forms), Bloodworms, Thrips, Caterpillars ,Mites,  Slugs and Snail.

Now that you are aware of the different types of bugs and insects which may have taken up residence in your greenhouse, it’s time to learn how to prevent and/or eliminate them from remaining there.

Here are a number of things to keep in mind in order to ensure there are no bugs in your greenhouse:

1. Always keep all doors, screens and windows shut when not being used for specific purposes.

2. Inspect all new plants to ensure there are no bugs on them to begin with. Bugs have the ability to multiply quickly and can potentially cause a huge infestation in your greenhouse.

3. Make sure there is no water lying around whether it is in jugs, cups or in a puddle on the floor. Insects are attracted to wet areas. Read the rest of this entry »

If your basement leaks I am sure you are tired of the headaches it causes. But what can you do? You have basically 2 choices: either call an expensive contractor, or do it by yourself. Do it yourself basement waterproofing can be a simple task if you choose the right product, and it will help you save time and most importantly, money.

Don’t let waterproofing your home without the aid of professionals intimidate you. There are many different products out on the market to assist you in waterproofing your basement. Here are some of the choices to help you decide:

Basement Dry: To use this product a hole is drilled into the basement floor, a probe is then inserted into the hole. The probe is essential for detecting ground water. Once water is detected, the probe will suck up the water into the self-priming pump. What makes this product effective is, when the water is removed from under the floor, the pressure is removed also. If the water was never removed, pressure would still be present, resulting in the water being pushed into any crack in the floor or wall.

Aqua-Stop Crystalline basement waterproofing: Used all over the world for many years, brought to North America for residential use by Aquasealusa.com. Highly effective as it penetrates deep inside your walls/floor where the crystals expand over the years sealing it permanently! Withstands extremely high pressure. Can be applied to any concrete surface. Comes as a powder in bucket, you just mix it with water and apply with roller or brush according to instruction. What can be easier than that?

SquidGee Dry: This fabrication works on poured and block walls. With block walls water is trapped in the holes of the block. To drain the water simply drill small holes on the bottom layer of block, using the SquidGee Dry. It is not necessary to drill in every single block. Once the water is released it goes to the SquidGee Dry. With poured walls the process is also simple. Unlike block walls, poured walls are not hollow. Water comes through the cracks and goes to the “cold joint” (where the floor and wall meet.) Seal these cracks from top to bottom. But leave the very bottom unsealed, so the water can then go to the SquidGee Dry.

Another alternative is to go to your town’s hardware store, and buy some Concrete Water-proofer. This method may be the least expensive route to do it yourself waterproofing, but also the least reliable. The process is also quite easy, but this is where the time consuming part comes in to play. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a good chance that high heating bills are here to stay. As the prices of natural gas and heating oil go up, homeowners will find themselves paying more and more to heat their homes in the winter. Fortunately, you can offset some of the price increases by beefing up your home insulation. In fact, most homeowners can save 30 percent or more on home heating costs by making a few inexpensive home improvements!

Older homes are often most in need of an insulation upgrade. But don’t assume that, because you have a newer home, it’s as well-insulated as possible. Many homes built after 1980 have inadequate insulation because local building codes aren’t up-to-date with US Department of Energy recommendations. Also, occasionally home-builders do scrimp on “little” things like insulation to lower costs and increase profits.

Here are some relatively simple and inexpensive steps you can take to lower your heating bills this winter:

1. Increase attic insulation.

Your attic is a big source of home heat loss and is one of the easiest places to get in to. If your attic does not have at least 12 inches of insulation you can lay paperless rolls of insulation on top of existing insulation, including cellulose or vermiculate. These types of insulation tend to “compact” over time, reducing their effectiveness. Read the rest of this entry »