DIY Life

Having stumbled upon the concept (which seems to be gathering momentum) of ecofeminist organizations, well, I just had to look. The world is either getting more confusing or more cohesive; it depends on how you look at it. Like the chicken or the egg, I'm not quite sure which came first, feminism or the ecological movement.

It seems the motivation for ecofeminism is that Al Gore just isn't cutting the cake - what the green movement needs is some good old-fashioned maternal care. So how exactly do they do it? Well, one thing they do is get together, have a bit of frivolity, and then learn about all the bad chemicals in commercial cleaning products.

The Women's Voices for the Earth organization shows how to host green cleaning parties. Since this is an international organization, you might want to call it a Fiesta de Eco-Limpieza! They'll send you a kit for the party that educates your guests about chemical hazards and gives recipes for eco-friendly alternatives. So, let's get this party started!

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!

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.

Ask any real estate agent, and she'll tell you that when it comes to home equity and return on investment, the two most important rooms are the kitchen and the bathroom. Forget the fancy pool; it's nice, and it might close the deal at sale time, but prospective buyers are going to decide yea or nay in the kitchen.

The kitchen is a focal point for family gatherings and entertaining guests. So what are the main components of the typical kitchen? Well, there's the major appliances. They should match and be energy-efficient. Storage? There should be plenty of cabinets to stash food, dishes, pots and pans.

But what really stands out are the kitchen countertops. This is where the real work is done. Because of that, lighting should be focused on them, literally putting them in the spotlight.

Whether you're planning on building a new home or you're rolling up your sleeves for a remodel, you have a lot of choices when it comes to selecting the countertops. The things to consider are personal preference, aesthetics, matching the rest of the decor, and, of course, budget. Let's have a look at some of the choices.

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!

How many days are we into our kitchen renovation now? I've lost count, and it feels like 100. Living without a kitchen is hard. Living without a kitchen when you're a SAHM to two small children is even harder. Luckily, in the scheme of things, this project has gone really quickly.

Last weekend we were able to move most of our stuff back in, including our stove and microwave. In about 10 days our counter tops and sink will be in, making the kitchen fully functional again. We thought we were going to move right into a bathroom renovation after this, but I think I need a break.

For the most part, things have gone smoothly. The falling plaster was too much to patch, so we ended up covering it with a birch wallboard. We'll seal and paint it the same color as the walls. To the casual observer, it shouldn't look any different than if we had plastered it.

All week, I've been slowly preparing for this weekend's gutting of my kitchen. Arrangements made with brother-in-law to help? Check. Non-essential cupboards emptied? Check. Bedroom closets cleaned? Check. Wait... what? Ok, I got a little side-tracked with all the cleaning and organization.

In any case, as of yesterday, I had three days left to prepare. I planned to go scouting for boxes and label everything carefully as I packed it away. Then, I intended to create a little mini-kitchen for myself in our dining room so that we could still eat in during the renovation.

Then last night at 9:30 P.M., our cabinet installer called.

"Will you be ready for us tomorrow morning?" he asked.

"Only if tomorrow morning is really next Monday," I replied.

I had recent occasion to work on a 100 year old cabin. It required major construction to make it habitable; one of the projects that fell to me was the repair of three areas of the hardwood floors that the termites had taken a liking to. They had attacked parts of the floors in two different rooms and to different effect; as for the repairs, one site had convenient access and was easy to fix, one had inconvenient access and required replacement of a number of short pieces, and the last site had a hole clean through the floor about 8" in diameter! (Look right.) I'll go through the process -- it was not difficult, but some time-consuming -- so you can see the easy way to do this repair.

Take a look at the gallery to familiarize yourself with the procedure and we'll begin.

After ordering our new cupboards and counter tops, I left my husband behind to settle the bill because our kiddos were getting restless. He barely blinked at the cost -- by far the biggest non-car, non-mortgage purchase we've made as a couple. I was impressed. But a few minutes later when I shoved the cart full of paint and supplies at him so I could wrestle our little ones out the the car, he came back with a slightly twitching eyelid.

"I have never paid so much for paint in my life," he said.

The paint in question was Freshaire, which DIY Lifer Mike wrote about here. I had come to the store hoping to purchase a low-VOC paint, and was thrilled to discover the new no-VOC Freshaire. I learned early on that home improvement was hard on my asthma, and I had hopes that this paint would at least let me stay home while it was being applied, and maybe I could even help. It came at a cost, though. Freshaire is about twice as much per gallon as conventional paint.

It's going up as we speak, and I'm pleasantly surprised. When I opened the first can, I got a whiff of that "new paint" smell and my heart sunk. But after brushing a bit on the wall, I could hardly smell anything. Now that the room is coated in it, the house is definitely filled with a paint-like odor, but so far (knock wood) I'm breathing easy. Even if it does end up triggering my asthma (and I'm hopeful that won't happen), at least I know that the air quality is safer for my kids.

Progress towards safer DIY materials is a good thing, even if it causes a little spousal eye-twitching...

With thanks to Kelly Smith (DIY Life's Perpetual Remodeling Syndrome expert), I'm going to do a follow-up to his excellent post on floor tile, but change directions a bit, vertically to be exact. Let's look at the procedure for installing tile on a wall; in this case it was for a dorm bathroom, with the usual sinks, showers, etc. I had already done the rough electrical and plumbing and put in the sheet rock, concrete backer board, and bead board, so now the fun began. I frankly enjoyed myself because it was a lot less physically demanding than the aforementioned projects and I got to use my brain to do the necessary layout that would ensure a nice looking result.

But first, the gallery! It will help as an initial guide and you should refer to it at the parts of the project that require a bit of thought and planning.

If we've learned anything about this house, it's that no project can ever be straightforward. We have to always leave a little extra money (and time) in the budget for unforeseen issues that are impossible to plan for. Though it's a small hurdle, we hit our first today.

When we took the wallpaper off the soffits, we discovered that they had been constructed of some sort of cheap material (Plywood? Paneling? I can't be sure.) and then skim coated with an ultra-thin layer of plaster. This wasn't an issue when there was wallpaper covering the area, but we plan on painting and this is not a paint-able surface.

The solution is a fairly simple one. We'll wash off all of the old glue, being careful not to let too much moisture soak in to the material, then carefully sand. Then a fresh, new skim coat of plaster will go on. Finally, we'll prime and paint. It won't be a huge expense, but it will definitely slow us down. We have to be out of the contractor's way in three weeks, and I'm already feeling the time crunch!

See some "before" pictures of the renovation below, as well as some of the other trouble spots I'm anticipating!

When my husband and I bought our 90-year-old home nine years ago, we were young and ambitious. The house has incredible bones -- oak and pine woodwork throughout, high ceilings, large rooms, built-ins, beveled glass windows, etc. And though the "big" jobs like roofing, electrical, furnace, and plumbing were recently updated, the house had been a rental for 10 years and then left vacant. From what we could tell, the last major cosmetic updates took place in the early 70s.

So we became do-it-yourselfers, more by circumstance than by desire. After all, when someone comes in to do work for you, they usually want something in return...like money. We don't like to part with our money if we can help it. So with the help of friends and family (who usually only ask for beer and pizza), we picked a room and got started.

I think it's only fitting that my first post as a DIY Life blogger also marks the weekend we start our kitchen makeover. It's by far the biggest and most expensive project we've tackled to date. We won't be doing the entire thing ourselves. The cabinets and counter tops will be installed by professionals, but we've saved a considerable amount of money by planning to do all of the prep and finishing work by ourselves. Though I hope to be bringing you lots of other DIY projects in my posts, I'm sure I'll be sharing the trials and tribulations of kitchen renovation as well!

You've picked out the perfect new cabinets, and installed them yourself. Congratulations! Now you are ready to move on to the counter tops. What do you do? You can't place regular tiles on your masterpiece. You want to use solid granite, but the cost is way too high. You consider using stone tiles to achieve the same look, but we all know that even with the best installation you will still be able to see all those joints.

Granite2Go has come to the rescue for the DIYer in this quandary. Partnering exclusively with The Home Depot, they have arranged for 3 colors of granite to be stocked in some the home improvement giant's retail stores.

My Dad is a handyman of sorts. One day, when I was about 8, my Mom commented that she wished she had a bigger kitchen. She went on about how nice it would be if it were brighter and open onto the backyard. She described a space with big window and French doors. She wanted a table big enough to fit our family of 8 and guests, along with a separate seating area. Obviously she was just dreaming right? Obvious to us maybe, but to my Dad, not so much. She went out for the day and came home to my Dad having torn down the outside wall. "I'm building you a kitchen!" he announced.

This might have been a chivalrous act if he had any idea what he was doing, but he didn't. It may have even been OK if he had free time to finish what he'd started, but the weekend ended and he went back to work. He used his holidays, evenings and weekends building this perfect kitchen. This meant over 5 years without a kitchen sink! With 6 kids and no kitchen sink I don't know how my mother survived, but she did, and she's been enjoying a show-home kitchen ever since (eventually finished by contractors). We all take a bit of fun in giving my Dad a hard time about the projects that he starts and doesn't finish.

According to research done by Saga home insurance, my Dad isn't alone. 52% of homeowners in London have unfinished DIY projects around the house, with an average yearly spending of 2000 pounds. That's almost $4000 USD. Reasons for the unfinished work ranges, but lack of time falls high on the list. My Dad has become better since retirement, seeing most projects through until the end rather quickly. The research reflects this same thing, noting that only 36% of homeowners aged 50 and older have un-finished projects, making them the age group that is most on top of their DIY projects.

Can you top my Dad's 5 year kitchen re-model? Share your stories of unfinished DIY projects in the comments. Also, what's your number one reason for letting time pass on projects?

Sometimes we all get in over our heads and need a little professional help. Here are a few things to remember when you find yourself needing to locate a little hired help to fix up the homestead.

1. If they won't come give you a free estimate keep dialing until you find those that will. 3 written estimates is a good minimum.

2. Check their license. Use the Internet and verify that it is both valid and under their name. Contractors sometimes let other friends work "under" their license. Don't get caught using someone "borrowing" a license.

3. Make sure you only pay up front what your state allows them to charge you, and never finish paying for the job before it is done or you can bet on never seeing them complete the job.

4. Make sure the contract has a finish date with built in penalties for delays and time over runs. You can make this more palatable to the contractor by offering a bonus for early completion.

5. If you are buying the materials make sure you keep track of receipts AND where the material goes. Buying 400 sheets of drywall and then only counting 75 sheets hung on the studs should raise a red flag. Look at coverages of materials used and how many square feet of work is being done to try to minimize the chances of being taken for a ride.