Reliable Remodeler Blog

Weekly Digest of Reliable Remodeler Tweets

hly — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST

Top Green Kitchen Renovations: How to Create a Sustainable Cooking Environment - http://bit.ly/2Xwtx8 # Cheap Home Renovations That Pay Off - http://bit.ly/4CLOIT # 10 Tips for Cleaning Ceramic Tile - http://bit.ly/15ngH4 # The Best Kitchen Lighting is Practical and Dramatic - http://bit.ly/LKxtB # Granite Countertops: Pros and Cons - http://bit.ly/274P6j # Tie Everything Together with a Stunning Kitchen Backsplash - [...]

Caulk Talk: Draw Your Guns

woodrow — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:21:50 PST

If you’ve never sliced the top of your thumb cutting open the edge of a tube of caulk, you have greater dexterity than most part-time home handy workers. I grew up around ratchet-rod caulk guns and cursed a few. Today’s drip-free caulking guns operate by a spring-loaded pressure rod that works smoothly off of the [...]

Preventative Plumbing for the Winter

woodrow — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:19:23 PST

It’s neither fun, nor cheap to repair and replace burst pipes in the winter. If you live where outside temperatures drop below freezing, you can spare yourself money and heartache by wrapping your exposed pipes with insulation. The process is straight-forward, and you should be able to complete it yourself. There is a wide range of [...]

Weekly Digest of Reliable Remodeler Tweets

hly — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST

Green Your Home With Eco-Friendly Flooring - http://bit.ly/1gNqay # RT @Webinetry You’ve got to check this out. Watch the video. The Sliding House by dRMM http://bit.ly/1qpGSm - Wow! # RT @remodeling: Helping the Third World Get On Its Feet: There’s a charity out ther… http://bit.ly/39vu7r # RT @cavinskitchen: Good article! RT @DanzeFaucets Liked this article from kitchens.com about [...]

On-Demand Hot Water Systems: Are We Ready?

woodrow — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:35:29 PDT

Years ago I was visiting a friend in Tokyo and was astonished that she took water from the tap for tea, and it was too hot to drink. This was way back in 1979. I was amazed that all the hot water for the home’s kitchen and bath came from a heat-on-demand water tank powered [...]

Anticipating Thermostat Problems

woodrow — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:52:58 PDT

Your thermostat, when working properly, runs on a transformer to set and adjust the amount of heat your furnace delivers to your home. Imagine how you might feel one cold winter morning when you adjust your thermostat and nothing happens! Brrr! There are simple ways to troubleshoot your problem, but ultimately you may have more [...]

Building Your Home-Repair Toolkit

woodrow — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:58:37 PDT

Here are suggestions for building your own home-repair toolkit.

Winter and Your Chimney

woodrow — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:15:12 PDT

It doesn’t matter whether your fireplace is used for aesthetics or heating the house, every fall is a great time to have a chimney inspection and cleaning if it needs it. If you’re changing the amount of use, the kind of fuel you burn, or your home heating venting, be sure to include a chimney [...]

Tripping Over Electrical Problems

woodrow — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:10:11 PDT

The kids are home from college for the weekend. The washer and dryer are running like some crazy commercial laundromat, the sub-woofer in the living room is pounding like a toothache, and you’ve just booted up your computer to check your savings balance and—wham!—your house goes dark and silent. Do you have an overloaded circuit or [...]

Turn Up the Heat: Add some warmth to your home this winter

Paige — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:45:32 PDT

It’s cold and windy outside and I’ve been reluctant to do anything that involves leaving my nest of three blankets. So, I’ve got “staying warm” on the brain, and thinking about heat in the home, here are some things to make your life a little warmer. Fireplaces There are lots of options for fireplaces. There are gas [...]

When a Leaky Toilet Keeps You Running

woodrow — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:42:20 PDT

Whether it’s a toilet that runs constantly or one that bursts into action after intervals of silence, it’s enough to drive you crazy. It’s bad enough that more than a third of your total water usage goes down the toilet. Raising the tank level with a brick or water-saving device can spare you gallons, but [...]

Seeing the Light: Are Incandescent Bulbs Finished?

woodrow — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:43 PDT

Not since Edison’s 1879 incandescent electric lamp hit the market has there been such a hubbub about lighting. One can only wonder if the American population was concerned about the quality of light produced by the filament bulb when compared with the illumination from gas lamps. They probably loved the convenience. Now, forced by Federal legislation [...]

Considering Outdoor Patio Heaters

woodrow — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:46:10 PDT

It may be too late where you live to have an Indian Summer barbecue, but many Americans live in mild climates with seasonally warm winters. For them, and for those of you saving up to improve your patio come springtime, let’s have a look at outdoor patio heaters. Most consumers choose natural gas power to stoke [...]

Vanity Lighting for Effect

woodrow — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:51:48 PDT

When it comes to lighting in your bath, all is certainly vanity. Kidding aside, the kind of lighting you install in your vanity ultimately has more to do with how you look than how your bathroom looks to others. Uneven lighting over the make-up table or sink can cause your eyes to look like you haven’t [...]

Radiant Floors for Your Kitchen and Bath

woodrow — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:57:45 PDT

As I grow older, my feet get colder. Every winter I wish I had radiant floors. I first encountered a radiant floor kitchen in Washington State where friends had rehabbed a Victorian home. They used a hydronic tubing heating system, which is usually too pricey for most homeowners. It can cost more than putting in [...]