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Lots of folks cringe at the thought of caulking their DIY projects, whether it's exterior trim, bathroom remodeling, etc. But believe me, you can caulk like a pro if you follow a few simple rules and put in the effort. The first, and most important thing, is to buy a high-quality, dripless caulking gun. Will you pay more? Sure, but it's worth it.

"Dripless" simply means that the caulk will stop oozing out the second you take your finger off the trigger. Nobody needs that headache, especially if you're working on a ladder or in a tight corner. The gun should have a swing-out "wire" for puncturing the tube seal and a cutter for snipping the nozzle.

Ready for some tips?

• Know in advance if the project needs paintable caulk or not.
• Cut the nozzle off at the size appropriate for the caulk bead.
• Avoid stops and starts. Lay a bead for as long as you can reach comfortably.
• Apply the minimum size bead. You'll save money and have fewer problems.
• Gently smooth the bead with a wet fingertip.
• Always cap the tube when not in use to keep the caulk workable.

Follow these tips faithfully and you'll be caulking like a pro in no time rather than cursing like a sailor!

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I live north of Atlanta, Georgia where it tends to get a bit hot and humid from June through September.

My home has a number of temperature-stabilizing facets to it, the best one being that I have high-efficiency windows with argon-filled, low-e, dual paned glazing. Right now, in fact, I have the windows partly open, and even with an outside temperature of about 88 degrees, it's a very comfortable 71 degrees inside.

But ... there's no airflow through my home office (lucky me, to be able to work from my home, however.) Although I have ceiling fans in four other locations, in- and outside of my home, I have been slow (lazy?) to put one in the office; that ended today. Let's take a reasonably detailed look at how to install a ceiling fan. (Kudos to Kelly Smith for his nice article on this same subject.)

Follow the sequence of the gallery to get a good idea of how simple it is to hang one of these babies.

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• Ceiling fans, in the Summer, don't decrease the air temperature in your home. What they do is increase the evaporation rate of your skin ("wind chill") to make you feel cooler. In the Winter it's a tad different. When the fan direction is reversed, the upward airflow from the fan moves the stratified (your word of the day; look it up) hot air from the ceiling down along the walls to the living space where it hits the cooler air nearer the floor, in a somewhat crude mixing pattern, transferring the warm air to the cooler, via forced convection.
• More fan blades don't equate to more air moved. Too many blades restrict the amount air that can be drawn through the blade area; additionally, extra blades increase the motor load, upping the power use, and reducing the motor RPM, thus reducing the airflow. Many fans have 5 blades for aesthetic and balance reasons; I have four, five, and a six blade fan in my home; I really prefer the four blade fans for reduced noise versus optimum airflow.
• Pick the correct fan size for a specific room; don't get the same fan for different sized rooms. A bunch of research has been conducted to determine optimum size -- go with it.
• The optimum pitch of the fan blades is between 12 and 14 degrees, with increasing efficiency, and increasing motor size and power requirements, above that range. While you can generally choose some facets of the fan's design, like the number of blades, pitch is pretty much not your call. That said, my experience is that an 11-13 degree blade pitch fan is more than suitable for the majority of home installations.
• The distance the fan is from the ceiling, and the floor, is quite important. As you might imagine, the closer the fan is to the peeps in the room, the more breeze you'll feel. Most installation codes (and common sense) require that the blades have a clearance of at least 7'. I mean, if all your NBA pals are wandering about the family room, do you really want to get sued? On the other hand, a minimum of 12" distance is recommended from the fan blades to the ceiling, in order to achieve optimum air circulation. So, you'll have to know the ceiling height in order to ensure that the blades are 8-9' from the floor. That distance will then dictate whether you will require a flush mount, or down rods, available in various lengths.
• Fan power consumption is minimal -- fans use only 10% of the energy of an air conditioner, or about that of a 100 watt bulb (what a deal!) The general consensus is that for every degree you increase the set point on your a/c thermostat, you can enjoy a 6-8% power savings. (Look for an Energy Star fan for the most efficient model.)
• Ensure that your prospective fan has a reversing switch. Except for a real "cheapo", I suspect that most fans do, but it doesn't hurt to check. HINT: some boxes indicate that the blades are reversible; this means that they can be turned upside down to have a choice of color schemes.
• A final note -- be sure that you have your fan rotation properly set for the appropriate season; in the summer, you want the airflow to be down, so the fan should be set to rotate with the leading edge up. The reverse is true for the heating season.

Alright, enough nerd stuff; on to the fun.

There are a bazillion options for fans and light kits and remotes. I bought my fan at a "home store" and was very satisfied. This is the third fan, from the same maker, that I have installed, and I have two of the same model -- 52", four blade, three-speed reversible, sealed bearings, 12 degree blade pitch, three lamps, pull chains for the fan and lamps.

First off -- safety: you're working with electricity here, so extreme caution is called for. Throw the circuit breaker(s) and test the line(s) before you go to work. Don't just "slap" the wire to see if you get a jolt! Please note I mentioned circuit breaker(s) -- some of you folks may have fans that are wired into two wall switches; shut both circuits down and check both of them or you may get bitten.

The time -- took me about one hour and 15 minutes to do this installation, but I was in no particular hurry.

The tools --

• flat and cross-tip screwdrivers
• wire cutters
• electrical tape
• circuit tester
• ladder
• work light

The materials --

• The fan, of course, described above; it had all the required parts except the electrical tape -- $78.
• A switch to replace the old rheostat -- $.78
• A suitable metal electrical box to support the weight of the fan -- $2.59
• a new cover plate for the switch -- $1.06

The process --

All fans, in general, have to be installed in pretty much the same fashion, and have basically the same parts. That said, there are always nuances, so read the material enclosed with the fan. As my dad used to say, "when all else fails, read the instructions." So, here goes ...

1. Ensure all the power to the fan is off.
2. Remove the old fixture.
3. As necessary, replace the old electrical box if it won't support a 35 or so pound fan; better safe than sorry.
4. Hang the fan support bracket on the fan box.
5. Temporarily supporting the fan -- a helper is really valuable here -- make the wire nut connections between your house and the fan. Don't be surprised to see that you may have to tie the black house power line to the black (fan power) and blue (light kit power) leads on the fan motor. You'll also have to connect the white neutral and the green ground lines to their respective leads. You'll likely have to cram a lot of wire into a little bit of space; that's why I like to tape the wire nuts to the lines so they don't come apart in the "stuffing" phase of the project.
6. Lock the fan motor in place with the keeper.
7. Hang the fan motor cover.
8. Assemble the blades.
9. Attach the blades to the motor.
10. Attach the light kit, if you have have one, connecting the appropriate leads.
11. Install the lamp globes and lamps.
12. Replace, as necessary, the fan switch and cover plate.
13. Re-energize the circuits and test the fan.
14. Ensure the blade direction switch is set in the correct position.

OK, good job. Clean up the mess so The Boss doesn't disparage your mechanical acumen (yet another word of the day -- a three-fer!) by tripping over your tools and junk. (Remember that leftover parts are not always indicative that the manufacturer was overly generous with his nut and bolt inventory.)

If you've found this article helpful, you may be interested in my features on water conservation, rain barrels, and "greening" your home.

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1. Turn off the power to the heater and A/C.
2. Remove the cover.
3. Obviously, change any batteries.
4. Clean the bimetal coil with a soft, clean brush. On a round thermostat, you might have to turn the dial for complete access.
5. Remove the body from the base on a round model. There are usually screws involved.
6. Clean the switch contacts with a piece of bond paper.
7. Replace the body on a round model.
8. Adjust the anticipator. Start by finding and noting the amp setting; it may be in your manual, on the furnace service panel or on the boiler's transformer. Look at the anticipator setting on the scale. If it's off, adjust it with your fingernail; or you nail-biters (you know who you are), use the point on a pen.
   NOTE: On an air heating distribution system set it to the amp setting. On a water heating distribution system set it to (amp setting X 1.4). I have no idea why.
9. Replace the cover.
   

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At last, the fifth of the five articles I promised! I have previously written about walls of natural stone, engineered wall blocks, cultured stone, and pressure-treated timbers.

Mortared stone is technically not the most difficult, but it is the most labor intensive; essentially you're taking big rocks and making them into little ones. Done correctly, mortared stone is, in my mind, the nicest looking work you will ever see. I think that you'll agree when you see some of the gallery photos.

That said, take a gander at the gallery and we'll move on to the fun stuff.

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For the sake of this article, I will limit the scope of the work to a free-standing wall about 2' tall and 10' long. Bigger walls than that, or those cutting into a slope, really require something more than DIY experience, and you might want to get a price from a contractor.

First off, safety. On the possibility that you'll be building a wall somewhere in the vicinity of the power or gas lines, make sure you get your utilities marked. My experience is that the power and natural gas guys generally put their lines down fairly deep, but not so with the telephone, cable, and water folks. In any case, if you cut any of the utility lines, you will have, at the minimum, angry family members or neighbors on your hands. If you cut off service to your entire area, you will then be in BTT (big time trouble). Don't take a chance; it only takes a phone call. For this project, you will need hand and eye protection and maybe some knee pads, unless you have very young knees.

The layup of the stone is pretty much confined to two principal dimensions. You can install the stone horizontally (stacked) or with the long axis vertically (veneer). Look again at the gallery to get some sense of the appearance; veneer has the advantage (for the same square footage) of requiring requires less material and less labor.

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The materials:

• The rock, of course -- You should have some notion of the kind you want, but I recommend that you not actually buy it until you have either a very good idea of the scope of your project or the base of the wall already constructed. It's much easier to measure the base construction and then purchase the stone, so you don't have to sheepishly return to the rock yard and get six or seven additional square feet of material in order to finish the work -- not that I have ever had to do anything like that. Check with your stone supplier, but for stack stone material you can expect to pay about $250 a ton with coverage of approximately 35 square feet per ton. For veneer stone, you will pay approximately the same amount and get about double the square foot coverage. These prices reflect the stone available in the Atlanta, Georgia area and are not necessarily representative of your neck of the woods. The big determinants of the cost will be the freight from the quarry nearest you. Measure the project and add 10-12% extra; remember you will be chipping the rock away, so the waste is fairly significant. In any case, you will probably have to buy the rock by the pallet, so be prepared. Have it delivered; don't mess around hauling the stuff in 14 trips to your home. Don't forget to include the cap rock for the top of the wall.

• The cinder block sub-structure -- block comes in several dimensions, but a very popular size is 8" x 8" x 16". You'll need about 9 blocks for each 10 square feet of wall; get enough block for your work plus 10%, of course. Blocks generally cost about $2 each.

• Masonry cement -- Your vendor will have the necessary masonry supplies. You will be looking for Type N, generally used for above-grade projects; it will run $8-9 a bag. I like to mix the mortar, fine sand, and portland cement in a 1:2:1/4 ratio, by volume. (In some locations you can find a "mason's mix" of all the required ingredients.) Check with your vendor, but you can generally expect coverage of 30-40 block and 25-35 square feet of stone. You'll use this for laying up the block (unless you pour the cavities -- see below) and sticking the rock to the wall.

• Concrete for the footer-- the footer is the solid concrete base upon which you will erect the cinder block wall. Get enough bagged "sakrete" (pre-mixed cement, sand, and gravel) to build a foundation a foot wider and longer than your project and below the frost line of your area. You'll pay $3-7 a bag, depending on the size and type; coverage is noted on the bag.

• Reinforcing bar ("rebar") -- in combination with the poured cavities, to strengthen the wall. I recommend that you get enough rebar to put in every third block, with the bottom 12" of the bar in the footer and the length to be as tall as the wall. In addition to the rebar, especially for walls under 2' in height, you can fill all the cavities with concrete and you have, essentially, a poured concrete wall. The advantage here is that you don't have to mortar the blocks together (a big plus for a DIY project) so you save substantial labor time.

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Time:

A wall 2' tall and 10' long (the scope of our discussion), from start to finish, will eat up a weekend. That said, if you can get help with the hard part of the job (which covers pretty much all of the job), that is to your benefit. The more, the merrier. There may be a trade-off, however, for the next time someone says "Honey, will you go look at curtains with me?" Think about it...

Tools:

• Shovels -- round-point and flat, for the excavation part of the work and mixing the concrete and mortar.

• A brick hammer -- to knock the stone into an acceptable shape.

• A 4' carpenter's level -- to keep the block wall horizontal.

• Mason's trowels -- for applying the mortar.

• Grout bag (optional) -- to get the grout into the joints; alternatively, you can use a small trowel, if the joints are large. For stacked stone, you should try to chip the rock neatly enough such that joints are not visible; no joints, no grout! What a deal.

• Wheelbarrow or just a piece of old plywood -- to mix the concrete and mortar.

• Brick ties -- generally used for brickwork, sometimes a mason will use these guys to stabilize the wall rock as it's put up.

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The process:

• Dig the foundation below your frost line, and about a foot wider and longer than the finished work. Pour your footer with the "sakrete" at least 12" deep, or more, depending on the frost line. It doesn't have to be perfectly level -- you can let gravity take care of that. If you are going to add rebar to the block wall, now is the time to insert the steel about a foot into the concrete, after eyeballing about where the cavities of the block will end up. Let the footer cure for about 24 hours, unless you used the rapid-hardening type of "sakrete", in which case you're good to go in about four hours.

• Lay the first row of blocks over the pieces of rebar, with the ends of the blocks as close as possible, and check that the tops are level. If not, you can shim the bottom of the blocks with flat stone chips. Lay up the succeeding rows of block, making sure that you don't line up all the block joints on top of one another. (This will, of course, ultimately cause the wall to fail and subject you to muffled laughter from family and friends alike.) As you lay up the block, you may mortar the joints together, or pour the cavities with the rebar, or pour all the cavities. As opposed to other walls, you don't have to batter or set the walls back; they go straight up. Again, let the wall cure from four to 24 hours, depending on your choice of concrete.

• Now the fun begins. With the rock hammer, chip a bunch of rock to shape. For stacked stone, the usual configuration is akin (your word of the day -- look it up) to a small loaf of bread. If you want to veneer the rock, knock the stone into pieces about the size of a piece of paper (legal or otherwise, your choice). You'll break a lot of rock to get the shapes you want, but don't be discouraged. This work is labor-intensive, but you'll be surprised how quickly you get the knack of it; press ahead.

• With an inventory of prepared rock at hand, apply the mortar mixture to the wall and the stone and then stick it on the wall, with a slight twisting motion, to squish the two layers of mortar together; hold it for a few seconds. For stacked rock, set the succeeding row on top of the one below it, making sure you alternate the joints, for the sake of a good look. For veneer, you can use stone chips (not to worry, you'll have an ample supply) to use as spacers for later grouting (there's a pic in the gallery).

• Alternate colors, sizes, and shapes as you move up the wall. HINT: When you get about halfway up the wall, start thinking about the rock that will be in the top half and cut them so they they aren't all little tiny pieces just below the caprock level, leading some of the bystanders to ask " how come all the rock at the top is about the size of a little tiny piece?" Plan ahead.

• OK, getting to the finish line. Hammer your caprocks into shape and mortar them to the top of the wall; if you filled all the cavities, this will be a snap, as you have a very flat surface to work on. It's only a little more effort if you filled only the cavities with the rebar. Make sure the caps are stable and don't rock and roll -- at some point someone will sit or walk on the wall and you don't want them (the peeps or the caps) to fall off and break.

• Grouting. Using the grout bag or a small trowel or your finger push the grout into the joints (after removing the spacer chips, as necessary). Let it dry a few minutes then smooth it with a damp rag. Avoid getting grout on the face of the rock; it's hard to remove when dry, as you might imagine.

Clean up the mess and wait for the adulation (yet another word of the day) to begin. You will be the envy of the neighborhood, oh yeah!

(Thanks to the good folks at Stone Forest Materials in Kennesaw, GA for the use of their displays for several of my photos.)

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In my house, there's a small wooden cabinet, somewhat scratched-up, which was given to us by a relative a few years ago. It has strange knobs in the form of faceted acrylic balls; they looked good in my aunt's antique-loaded home, but aren't so great in mine. The plastic parts look cheap to me, and overall, they don't quite suit the style of the cabinet.

So, last night, I took on a fifteen-minute project that I'd prepared for a few weeks ago: I changed the knobs.

The last time I was at The Home Depot, I bought four replacement knobs on a whim. The knobs I found, by Liberty Hardware, cost less than a dollar each; they have a nice design, reminiscent of stylized Japanese cherry (sakura) or plum blossoms (ume). If you don't like my selection, Liberty makes a number of low-cost brass decorative knobs. Some of their designs have a vintage feel.

The photo above is a "before" (taken from a slightly odd angle; this cabinet faces the end of a sofa with about an 18" gap between the two); click through to the break for an "after" and some instructions!

Check for new knobs or drawer pulls in home improvement centers like The Home Depot and Lowe's, but also in smaller hardware stores, and even in places like the Anthropologie chain of boutiques. There's a wide selection out there that will allow you to change and customize the look of just about any drawer or cabinet.

It only takes a minute to get inside the drawers and the door and unscrew the old knobs; all that is usually required to put on the new ones is a screwdriver. Most knobs come packaged with appropriate bolts (the knob acts as a "nut"). The head of the bolt will usually be inside the drawer or door, almost flush against the front, so it may help to clean the drawers out first.

Unscrew it, pop off the knob, then push the new bolt in from the interior of the drawer and screw the knob back onto the front. The procedure is basically the same with drawer pulls, except that there will be two screws instead of one and you'll want to try to tighten them evenly.

When I was done, I found that the cabinet had originally been varnished with the knobs in place. The old knobs had a wider base than the new ones, so there's a little varnish-ring spot, with an unfinished center, around each new base. This is mostly in the shadow of the new knobs, but it definitely shows if you look closely. (This picture shows it much more readily than the naked eye, because of the flash.)

I'm not worried about the look of the unfinished spots: the piece is never well-lit, and I eventually plan to refinish it in either red or black lacquer, or a dark green stain. At that point, I may also paint the knobs themselves with enamel. But that's a while in the future, and in the meantime, I think the look of the cabinet has been pleasantly improved. I really hated those acrylic knobs!

(This post has been edited since publication to correct a link.)

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I live north of Atlanta, Georgia, an area currently under homeowner outdoor watering restrictions. Not much is allowed because of a lingering drought. In addition to trying to do my part to conserve water, I want to be able to water my plants, without waiting for Mother Nature to send the rain. I liked Dan Chilton's article on rain barrels, but I wanted to do something a bit different. I built my barrel in about two hours and it's now the repository for all my recycled water and rainfall, such as it is.

Peruse the gallery, follow the construction steps, and you can be the proud owner of your very own rain barrel and, might I say, the envy of your neighbors.

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I had very specific requirements for my barrel; it must:

• Be food grade -- no prior chemical or petroleum contents.
• Be plastic -- steel barrels are heavy and prone to rusting (duh), difficult to cut or drill, and generally are used for transporting the aforementioned chemical or petroleum products.
• Have a removable top -- to facilitate access to the inside in order to remove the pinestraw and leaves coming from my backyard trees.
• Be reasonably attractive in appearance so as not to be a problem for the neighbors; since it will not be sited at ground level, it will be some difficult to disguise it with plantings.
• Not cost a bazillion dollars.

You can buy rain barrels for $40-60 at various venues and complete kits for $100-300, but I wanted to customize the setup to my specs, so I started looking, visiting restaurants, an auto repair shop, even the home stores -- no luck. After a couple weeks, I happened across a man who had a bunch of various sized barrels and cisterns lined up along his driveway -- OK! I paid $20 for the only barrel that met all my requirements -- what a deal, literally!

So, lets get started.

The materials:

• A six inch drainage atrium; I turned it upside down to have the big opening facing up -- $6.
• A " quarter turn" hose bib, to facilitate easily opening the faucet -- $7.
• A downspout extender -- $8.
• Two cans of spray paint -- $4.
• Teflon tape; had this in my shop.
• Four self-tapping sheet metal screws, also in my shop.

The tools:

• A drill with 9/16 and 1" spade bits.
• A jigsaw.
• A hacksaw.
• A measuring tape.

Safety:

You might want some eye protection for the cutting and drilling parts of this project, and a dust mask for the spray painting.

The process steps:

1. Thoroughly clean the interior of the barrel. I used recycled water, dish soap, and vinegar.
   
2. I turned the atrium grate upside down, marked the outline of the collar on the barrel top, punched a hole with my one inch spade bit and then cut it with the jigsaw. I put the atrium over the location of one of the bungholes and left the other one intact as a view port. The grate serves not only as an support entrance for the downspout extender but also as a crude filter. I have loads of trees in my back yard and I didn't want all the leaves and pinestraw to easily make their way into the barrel. Some folks use a colander, but I wanted bigger holes; others use window screening in order to minimize mosquito colonies, but the openings in that were way too tiny for me. It seemed to me that as soon as a small amount of gutter gunk hit the screen it would occlude (look it up, it'll be your word of the day) the surface of the screen and the water would not enter the barrel . You can solve the mosquito issue with dunks, a small amount of vegetable oil on the water's surface, or gold fish!
   
3. I secured the atrium with two brass sheet metal screws to keep critters and kids from fooling around with it or having it dislodge in a heavy rain.
   
4. I marked the site for the hose bib about three inches from the bottom, allowing me to easily attach my hose, and keeping the valve inlet above the level of any accumulated gunk in the bottom.
   
5. With my one inch spade bit, I punched a hole for the hose bib. Because the bib has an increasing thread diameter, from inlet to outlet, I didn't need a thread tap to pre-cut threads; the bib cut its own when screwed into the barrel. Very cool!
   
6. I wrapped the bib threads with Teflon tape, taking care to put it on in the correct direction (there is a wrong way; I'll let you figure it out) so that the tape stayed in place when I screwed the bib in the barrel. Don't feel bad -- unless you do this stuff for a living, you generally don't think much about how tape should correctly go on a threaded shaft.
   
7. I screwed the bib into the wall of the barrel until the collar of the bib was snug against the outside. That's a mistake easily made, screwing the bib hard against the outside of the barrel and stripping the threads you were carefully cutting (remember, this is a plastic barrel). If you strip the threads, you will now have a 55 gallon trash can with a drain hole and you'll have to begin again, cutting a bigger hole, and fitting it with an adapter for the bib. Gently but firmly is the watchword.
   
8. Next, I secured the top on the barrel with self-tapping screws to keep critters and kids from taking a swim and possibly not making it to the other side.
   
9. I drilled 9/16" holes in the top in order to catch any rain, or spillage when I add my recycled water to the barrel. I purposely did not install an overflow on the barrel. My barrel is not near the foundation of my home and there is no erosion danger. The holes in the top, and the atrium, serve the purpose of an overflow and there is less junk hanging off the unit.
   
10. Now the fun begins: most folks place their barrels on the ground, with the really adventuresome types sticking the unit up on some cinder blocks. About the only thing you can do with that setup is to run some drip irrigation. I know something about water and head pressure -- more height, more pressure and an increased ability to water my plants.
    
    There's a reason that water tanks are way up in the air, and it's not so that some high school kid can inform the community of undying love for his girlfriend. My barrel is on my back deck, about four feet in the air, and right above a support point so that the weight of the water (about 7.5 pounds/gallon) won't do any structural damage. I'd really like to hang the barrel right under my second story gutters but I'm pretty sure my neighbors would take umbrage (look it up, for another word of the day.) I get about two gallons per minute from my unit, not much different from the two and a half gallons from my low-flow kitchen faucet, although at much lower pressure, about four or five psi (pounds per square inch) rather than 45 psi. My principle desire is to water my plants and I can do that admirably, thank you.
    
11. With my hacksaw, I cut my downspout about 3 1/2' above the top of the barrel and just slightly below the level of the top.
    
12. I permanently attached the top of the downspout extender to the bottom of the gutter and I put the bottom of the extender into the atrium grate. Voila, bring on the rain!
    
13. If I don't want water in the barrel, I simply move the extender from the atrium, on the the top of the barrel, to the bottom part of the downspout and the water runs through the existing downspout drain system and out into the drainage field in my back yard.
    
14. My barrel is located under the edge of my steel-roofed back porch. It is approximately 162 square feet in area. Theoretically, one half inch of rain will yield about 51 gallons of water. You can do the math here. Anecdotally, I have confirmed that calculation. Additionally, I put about 40-50 gallons of recycled water a week into the barrel, so it's not very likely I will run short even if we don't get a drop of rain the rest of the summer. And, LUCKY ME, because the barrel is on my deck, the roof of which is directly under my bathroom window, I can dump my shower water out the window, where it goes onto the roof, though the gutter system, and into the barrel. How cool is that !

Eventually I will "hard pipe" the barrel to another faucet closer to my plants, thus eliminating the hose strung under the deck. But that awaits some testing (the engineer in me, sorry) and observation of the rainfall in the coming months.

So, there it is. Your turn; get with it and build a barrel with your kids or friends, save some water (and money), and pray for rain -- except on the weekends, of course.

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• Sharpen the blade.
• Change the oil; go with a synthetic and you'll only have to do it once a year.
• Clean or replace the air filter.
• Clean or replace the spark plug.
• Check for frayed or broken cables.
  

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It's hard to turn around these days without being bombarded with information on being "green." There certainly are many good reasons to adopt ecologically-friendly habits, but why not do the things that both contribute and save money?

I recommend that you start with another offering of mine: a number of ways to conserve water around your home. Then, combine those tip with some additional ideas, some of which you may not have considered as realistic for your residence, such as the solar hot water heating panel pictured at the right.

First, some suggestions, via the gallery.

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A disclaimer -- my information is primarily anecdotal, as any cost savings suggested would be dependent on local weather conditions, utility costs, and your use of the products or ideas noted. Additionally, I have included only those things that I believe to be DIY-friendly, and not any that would consume large amounts of cash (e.g. large photo voltaic arrays, wind turbines, roof gardens).

First off, I believe the most important step in "greening" your home is to have an energy audit performed. This will give you some idea of where the biggest expenses of your home, heating and cooling costs, are going. You can do the audit yourself (it's really a common-sense approach), or have a professional perform a more sophisticated test to obtain the maximum possible benefits.

Inside your home:

• Solar hot water heater: I have a 30 gallon unit on my roof; I can go two days without sun before I have to move the water heater thermostat off the "vacation" setting. The panel is very efficient; my experience is that, during the period April through October, with about four to five hours of sun exposure, the water will get to about twice the ambient temperature (e.g., if the air temp is 75 degrees, I will get hot water at about 150 degrees; what a deal!). That gets me showers and my other hot water needs; I also save my "warm up" water for my rain barrel and outdoor plants. The last solar season, I only cranked up the water heater seven times. I paid $2700 for the panel, installed, and I received a 30% federal tax credit. I calculate that the panel will pay for itself in just over three years, and I am reducing my natural gas usage significantly.
• High-efficiency windows: I have dual pane, low e, argon gas-filled windows in my home. I got them several years ago when I noticed one cold morning that I had frost on the inside of one of my kitchen windows! They work as well as I expected in the winter, and much better than I expected in the summer. I paid about $450 per window, installed, and I expect the payback to be in the range of six to seven years.
• Attic fans: Especially in the southern climes, an attic fan is essential for removing heat buildup, which is detrimental to both cooling costs and, more especially, long life of the roofing. If you need an attic fan, think about a solar unit. It isn't cheap, but when you consider the costs to bring power to the attic, it may save you cash over a conventionally powered model.
• Ceiling fans: I have three of them and will add another this month; they are great for providing the perception of cooling my rooms well into the air conditioning season. The power expense savings come from adjusting your cooling or heating thresholds to reflect the apparent change in air temperature on your skin.
• Fluorescent bulbs: I like them for their extended lifetimes and the fact they don't produce the heat that incandescents do. Coming soon, to a box store near you, LEDs; the latest iteration (look it up: it'll be your word of the day!) in lighting.
• Energy Star appliances: If you are in the market for a new air conditioner, be sure to take a look at the Energy Star-recommended ones; they have high SEERs, which can translate into considerable energy cost savings. On the heating side of the equation, search for a high AFUE for furnaces or HSPF for heat pumps in the heating mode. Keep in mind: the higher the SEER number, the better performing the appliance, and the more money you'll save, other things being equal. HINT: if you're not in the market for a new furnace, consider changing your pilot light system to a spark igniter.
• Low flow faucets and toilets: A no-brainer; save water, save cash.
• Recycled wood: It's especially great if you can get wood for free; plenty is thrown away every day. Look for construction sites and trash boxes (but remember to get permission, and to be careful of sharp stuff in the box). You'd be amazed what a contractor will toss, just to get it out of the way. You can generally use it for framing projects; sometimes you'll find finished wood that can be used for cabinets, wall coverings, or furniture.
• Programmable thermostats: "Set back" models save energy by reducing unnecessary energy use. I especially like mine when I don't have to get up on a cold winter morning to turn the heat on, or reduce the summer air conditioning after I go to bed. My experience is that a programmable model will save me 8-11% on my energy bill over the course of the year. A good one runs about $80.
• Caulking, insulation, and weather stripping: For my money, the best return on your energy dollar. For example, a poorly fitting exterior door with no weather stripping and a 1/4" gap around the perimeter is equivalent to a 4 1/2" square hole; if your roof insulation is R19 in lieu of R30 you may be paying up to $50 a month in unnecessary energy costs. Think about all the wall penetrations: electrical outlets, water and power lines, outside faucet penetrations from unheated crawl spaces or basements. All these guys need a shot of foam to seal them up and save you some bucks. I find that it also helps to keep the critters out.
• Tankless water heaters: Heat the water at the point of use, instead of heating, storing, and then moving it on demand from the tank, possibly through unheated spaces, to the point of use. The new units are about the same price as a standard water heater, have a predicted lifetime of 18-20 years, and may be eligible for a federal tax credit through 2008. What a deal! Of course, (family) size does matter -- you might need a couple of these guys to heat all your water, but you can do the math right here.
• Air filters: Change them frequently (at least quarterly): a dirty filter increases the load on your fan motor and ups the power required to run the fan. More importantly, if the filter gets really dirty, the airflow may buckle the filter frame and bypass the filter... now you're just re-circulating dirty air within your home.
• Power strips: "Instant on" electrical appliances are actually on all the time; you're paying the bill to in order to have them just sitting there waiting for you to use them. Use the power strip for those items that really don't have to be turned on in a heartbeat.
• I have an insulated garage door on my north-facing garage: I love it! It cost me $1100, but I got a federal tax credit for part of the cost. It is about half the weight of my old wooden door. The new door has increased the lifetime of my door opener drive motor, and it keeps the garage cooler in the summer and much warmer in the winter, when the wind is ripping from the north. As a very DIY-friendly option, you can even get after-market kits to insulate the door yourself.
• If you have south-facing windows, open the curtains in the winter (northern hemisphere) when the sun angle is low, allowing the solar radiation to increase the interior temperature of your home. A caution to be noted is the possibility of sunfade on your furniture and carpets. Conversely, in the summer you'll need to keep the curtains closed to minimize heat gain. What to do with west-facing glazing that gets beat up by the sun? Investigate solar films or awnings.
• Kilowatt meter: Try something like this gadget to see how much energy your appliances are using. You can even project your costs -- how cool is that ?
• Hang your wash outside: I know you're thinking, "What a quaint idea!" But you'll stop chuckling when you next run your clothes dryer and boogie out to see how fast the kilowatt meter disk is spinning: it resembles a helicopter rotor at takeoff. Try it, you won't like it.

For the outside of your home:

• Roofing: When you next need a roof, consider architectural shingles, with a 40-year life, or a steel roof, which sometimes is offered with a 100-year (!) life. Both of the varieties are generally made from recycled materials and, while they initially cost more, the lifetime more than compensates for the initial cost.
• Cementitious siding: Another product with a long life cycle. It saves trees because it's made of cement (too bad for you, termites), sand, and cellulose fibers, it's easily installed and painted, and it's available in textures. The cost is competitive with standard siding, about $3-3.50 for a square foot.
• Shade trees: A properly-sited deciduous tree, on the sunny side of the house, will allow less solar radiation to strike the structure, thus reducing the cooling costs. Additionally, your paint job will hold up longer. A 10-12' tree will run you about $100.
• When my gasoline-powered mower goes belly up, I am going to buy an electric mower; it will more than handle my 800 square feet of sod. I think that one of the best things about an electric mower is the fact that it is quieter, by about 60%, than a gas model. Electric mowers are certainly not suited to all yards; you have to do your homework to see if one is the best choice for you. They go for a couple hundred dollars, depending on the bells and whistles.
• I painted the cover on my outdoor air conditioner compressor white; years ago, an air conditioner serviceman told me that if the cover was a light color, the heat buildup in the box would be reduced, and the compressor would be more efficient in cooling my home. These folks agree with him.
• Minimize your lawn to minimize water usage: sod needs more water per square foot than plants.
  
• Native plants: A no-brainer; if you use plants that already are accustomed to your neck of the woods, they require less TLC and less water.
• Build yourself a rain barrel: It's easy, and I'll show you how, in a few weeks. Put your gray water in it (you'll be surprised how much you generate), and water your outside plants with it.

OK, my head is exploding with all this information. You are welcome to it, and to all the good feelings that come with reducing waste, helping Mother Earth, and saving a few bucks. Carry on.

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• Where you stand with your current cooling and heating system.
• Your home's efficiency overview. This details where your home is bleeding hot and cold air.
• The most efficient use of your dollars to save you money by saving energy.
• Bigger outlays of cash that will begin paying for themselves right away.
  

• If you need to insulate ductwork or your water heater.
• Where you can use motion sensors to turn off lights.
• If your shower heads should be modernized (think low-flow).
• Where to seal around windows and doors.
• Which appliances should be upgraded to Energy Star rated ones.
  

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• a sink plunger
• a bucket
• a pipe wrench
• a flexible wire (like a wire coat hanger twisted out of shape)
• a drain snake

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When the switch is disconnected, it puts the iPod into a lock setup to keep buttons from being activated in your pocket; when the connection is closed you can push the buttons again. To fix this somewhat, you have to close the connection so the other buttons work again.

To close the connection, I pried open the broken switch and shoved a tiny piece of tin foil in there. This at least lets the thing function, just without the lock feature. Follow along in the gallery for a detailed description, and to see close up pics. By the way, this is something you do if you have no warranty left, or are just cheap like me (it'll definitely void your warranty).

1. Open the case.
2. Remove some screws.
3. Pry back the circuit board 1/4".
4. Pry the switch apart .
5. Use a tiny piece of tin foil to make new contacts.

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