Blog - Home Design Plans

27Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Energy Efficiency

Energy Efficient Refrigerators Keep Your Food Cool and Your Bills Low

There are many ways in which we can bring our energy bills down; in recent years we've been urged to reduce our usage by turning off unnecessary appliances when we aren't using them or using them more effectively such as only running dishwashers when they are full. One of the main appliances that are hard to reduce our usage of is our refrigerators, they are always on and we can't really turn them off to save a few pennies on our electricity as our food is likely to spoil and require replacing.But there are energy efficiency tips when it comes to buying a refrigerator, buying the cheapest one you can find is risky as these are often models that are not very energy efficient and will quickly cost you more to run than an expensive yet efficient model. Most modern appliances will have their e...

27Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Roofing

Using a Black Light to Attract Bugs to Your Bug Fan

Virtually all Bug Zappers and Bug Traps use a black light bulb, or at least a purple tinted light bulb, to attract insects to the machine. How effective are they? University studies have shown that the Zapper they tested killed very few female mosquitoes. Less than 2% of the bugs killed were female mosquitoes. How they could tell what the fried bugs were is a bit of a mystery, but these guys went to college for this.My experience with Bug Zappers goes back around 30 years. They all would be zapping away at night, but I was still getting bit by mosquitoes. When something that looked like a mosquito would start to build up a layer on the zapping grill, this layer would expand each night. I theorized that the dead bugs stuck on the grid were heating up and releasing CO2, attracting more mosqu...

27Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Kitchen Improvements

Choosing the Perfect Granite Worktop

Investing in a granite worktop will involve spending a considerable sum of money. When spending a large amount on something that will be used everyday, it is important to make the decision carefully. Choosing the right stone worktop will finish off your kitchen perfectly, and will be used and admired for many years to come.Colour ChoicesThe first thing to consider when selecting a granite worktop is what colour you prefer. The majority of people opt for dark colours, such as absolute black or star galaxy. Which colour you choose will come down to personal preference and the existing colour scheme in your kitchen. Black is an excellent choice for teeming with chrome, black or white colour schemes.Layout OptionsIt is important to remember that granite is not usually produced in sizes over 3....

26Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Cleaning Tips and Tools

A Foolproof DIY Home Improvement

Among the biggest winners of the 2012 stock market was Home Depot - up just a tad over 47%. This reflects renewed confidence in the housing recovery and the willingness of home owners to once again sink some money back into their properties in the form of home improvements.Many of these projects are of the DIY variety such as decks, patios, or bath and kitchen upgrades.Although most of these do it yourself projects have happy endings, many languish in a half finished state for months or are never completed. Worse yet, some end up looking like, well, I don't want to be unkind, but we've all seen examples of what I'm referring to.But who can blame a guy or gal for trying? If these do it yourself projects were so easy there wouldn't be a need for trade schools or apprenticeships.There is, how...

26Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Pest Control

Using Your Garden for Natural Pest Control

Pest control companies have successfully been eliminating unwanted and harmful insects and pests from our homes and landscapes. However, a new realization has dawned with people beginning to use natural means of keeping the pests away. It is found that certain arrangements, if taken care of at the time of planting, can create natural ways of keeping pests away from your garden. Apart from working as a pest control measure, the technique offers many other benefits too. It proves helpful in providing shades to other plants, creates climbing spots for them and generates additional nutrients. Following you'll discover more about using organic pest control techniques. Flowers like alyssum, basket of gold and columbine that bloom earlier than other varieties also attract many helpful insects and...

26Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Remodeling

How To Make Money With Garage Sales

Drive through almost any neighborhood in any city or town on a weekend, and you're sure to see garage sales scattered throughout.These homeowners are spending their weekend time off making money. The average profit is $600 for a one-weekend garage sale.It's time to get your share of the pie. Organization is the key.Step one: Check with the local officials to see what the local laws and regulations are on operating garage sales in your area.Step two: Spend a few weekends going to garage sales in your area. See what is selling, what people are buying, how the items are priced, how the sellers advertise. Observe how the sellers display their items. Take notes.Step three: Clean house and take stock of what you have and what it's time to get rid of. Be sure to pick out at least one i...

26Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Kitchen Improvements

5 Types of Kitchen Tools You Cannot Do Without

A kitchen is an area where you strengthen the bond of relationship with the aroma of food. Every kitchen looks different depending on its owner. But it has few essentials that can be seen in every household kitchen. If you are a creative home keeper, you would like to keep your kitchen in the best way.When it comes to tools, kitchen has an amalgam of various types of equipment that support everyday functionality. No matter, how big or how small kitchen you have, you cannot do without these tools:Cutting ToolsThe cooking job is not easy but cutting tools ease it off. Various types of cutting tools make chopping easy and fun for you. No matter how much food you have to prepare, cutting items make it easy and reduce your time and efforts. Knife Cutting Board Peelers Potato Masher Graters...

26Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Storage Garage

Self Storage Facilities – Protecting Your Belongings All The Way

The Self storage industry is booming with a country like the U.S. having more than forty thousand facilities for self storage. Many causes can account for this sudden boost in the numbers of self storage facilities built to store personal belongings. Millions of people wish to downsize their individual homes and are looking for a place to keep their belongings while others going through a messy divorce have no safe place to store their belongings, so they rent storage space from a self storage company. It is here that self storage units can make a world of difference.Things to Do Before Buying or Renting Self Storage Units:Before investing in storage units, you need to shop around carefully. Every self storage facility is distinct from another and as a customer you should get exhaustive in...

25Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Cleaning Tips and Tools

The Easiest Way to Measure for a Fireplace Grate

Making sure you have the correct measurements is a vital process when purchasing a brand-new fireplace grate. We will walk through the process to obtain the right measurements for a new fireplace grate.You will need a few things to help you:Measuring Tape for correct measurements, paper to write those measurements on and a pen or pencil to write with, and depending on the light levels in your room, a flashlight might help. We also recommend that you wear some clothing that you don't mind getting dirty, because there is a good chance you will get dirty and sometimes that soot is hard to get out of your clothing.Step 1 - Measuring the Width:Measure the width of your fireplace opening in the very back of your fireplace and write this measurement down. Make sure to get as far back as possible ...

25Jul

By Vincent J. ThomeNo Comments

Bath and Shower

Finding and Choosing the Right Shower Door Seal

Like with so many finer things in life, it is the little details which dictate the beauty of an object. This concept applies to many different situations in life, one of which is the remodeling of a room. In many cases, when a detail doesn't fit in when compared to the rest, it sticks out like a sore thumb and may very well drive many people insane. Luckily, there are many details in the bathroom which may need customizing from you, one of those being the shower door seal, which can make all the difference between a bathroom you cherish and one you despise. As with pretty much any product these days, there are many different shower seals for sale at the market, and each one has it's benefits as well as it's luggage.Firstly, the most common door seal used by people these days is the aluminu...