Bathroom Renovation Checklist

Planning a new bathroom can be a lot of fun, but not taking care of all the details properly can lead to disappointing results. Use this checklist to keep track of the decisions that need to be made as well as details that should be discussed with your designer, installer or carpenter.

BEFORE YOU START Asses how much storage you will need for the following items. Keep in mind how many people will be using this bathroom, and be sure to take their items into consideration. Knowing just how much "stuff" you actually use on a regular basis will help tremendously when planning your cabinetry space, number of drawers or size of medicine cabinets.( ) Makeup (if you keep it in the bathroom)( ) Facial cream / wash / toner( ) Lotion / body cream / sunblock( ) Sponges / scrub brushes( ) Shaving supplies (Razors, creams, etc.)( ) Hair products (Gel, Mousse, etc.)( ) Hairdryer / curling iron, etc.( ) Toilet paper / tissues( ) Bath supplies (salts, bubble bath, etc.)( ) Shower supplies (shampoo, conditioner, wash, etc.)( ) Medications (if you keep them in the bathroom)( ) Traveling Items (Little bottles, mending kits, small containers, etc.)( ) Toothbrushes / toothpaste( ) Overstocks (Extra creams, tissues, toilet paper, etc.)( ) Cleaning supplies (if you keep them in the bathroom)
STYLES AND FINISHESCheck these off as your decisions are being made. You'll feel like work is progressing as you take items off your To-Do list. You'll also have a good idea of all the decisions that still need to be made. Keep a separate list of all the model numbers, colors and details you've chosen, this way, when a delivery is made, you can easily double check that it is in fact what you've ordered.
CABINETRY( ) Style( ) Material( ) Color( ) Finish( ) Hardware( ) Special StorageESSENTIALS( ) Sink(s)( ) Bath / shower( ) Toilet( ) BidetACCESSORIES( ) Sink faucets( ) Bath / shower faucet( ) Shower head( ) Towel bars( ) Toilet paper holder( ) Magazine rackFLOORS ( ) Material( ) Color( ) Finish( ) ExtrasCOUNTERS ( ) Material( ) Color( ) Finish( ) Edge( ) Corners( ) BacksplashLIGHTING ( ) Task lights( ) Ambient lights( ) Bath / shower lightELECTRICAL ( ) Outlets( ) Light switchesOTHER DETAILS ( ) Mirrors( ) Windows( ) Window treatment( ) Moldings( ) Baseboards( ) Door( ) Doorknob( ) Medicine cabinet( ) Shower curtain / doorWALL TREATMENT - GENERAL( ) Material( ) Color( ) FinishWALL TREATMENT - IN BATH / SHOWER( ) Material( ) Color( ) FinishWALL TREATMENT - ABOVE SINK(S)( ) Material( ) Color( ) FinishOf course there are probably other things you will need to add to this list, but at least you've got something to start with. It's also a great tool for planning your budget. Happy renovating!

By Marijana Kuljis - Professional Organizer

organized! http://www.youareorganized.com

Rusting Heaters

How to Build a Simple Computer Desk

Back a few years ago I decided I needed to buy a computer desk. After looking around at a half dozen furniture stores and department stores, I came to the conclusion that there were only two types of computer desks on the market; very expensive ones from high end furniture stores and pressed board garbage from low cost box stores. Neither suited my budget or tastes, but I needed a computer desk.

It was during this realization that I came up with an idea of building my own simple computer desk. I remember seeing standalone kitchen cabinets for sale at one of the local home improvement stores. I thought, hey if I could affix a countertop surface to two kitchen cabinets I'd have a functional computer desk.

Finding the Components for my Computer Desk

With the idea in mind I grabbed my tape measure and drove to a local home improvement store. The store had numerous standalone kitchen cabinets for sale, made from all types of wood. Some were low end constructed, while others were more high-end constructed. I found one cabinet that consisted of a top drawer and a large front door with adjustable shelves. I then found another cabinet consisting entirely of a column of drawers. After pulling them aside, I then visited the countertop area of the store, and surprisingly I found pre-fabricated 5 foot countertops for sale. I selected one that was aesthetically appealing to me and rested it on top of the two kitchen cabinets. I spaced the two kitchen cabinets apart so that they were located at the far ends of the countertop to allow room for a chair and seating. I then made a height measurement and determined that the only modification required was to cut about 2 inches off the bottom of each kitchen cabinet.

Building a Computer Desk

With my desk idea nearly realized, I purchased the two kitchen cabinets and countertop and brought them home for assembly.

Using a skill saw I removed two inches of the base of the cabinets. This was easy to do since the cabinets had about a 3 inch area below the fixed base cabinet shelf and the drawers that was effectively empty space. I then positioned the two cabinet pieces in my office area and mounted the kitchen countertop to the two cabinets using screws and brackets.

Finally, I mounted a keyboard tray slider to the underside of the countertop and my good looking and functional computer desk was ready for use.

Note: Keyboard tray sliders can be found at most office stores.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more home improvement information visit http://www.homeadditionplus.com and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com

How to Get an Extra Room Without Extending

Want an extra bedroom but can't extend? You may already have all the space you need.

Creating a new room from the space you already have can be a low-fuss way to make your home more practical - or more luxurious. Some of the most popular additions include another bedroom, an en suite, utility or dressing room.

You could even increase the value of your house, too!

The projects and permissions

First you need to check if you have enough space. There are no official guidelines to the minimum size of a room, but you need to be practical. For an en suite shower room, you'll need at least 180 cm x 80 cm.

What's involved?

If your original room is big enough, you can divide it into two by putting up a partition wall made up of plasterboard nailed to both sides of a wood frame and skimmed with plaster. Or you can carve out a space from two rooms to create a room in between. Before you knock down any walls, you'll need to call in a structural engineer to check if they are load bearing.

What permission do I need?

Contact your local building control department to ensure that your work meets safety regulations. If you live in a conservation area, a listed building, or need a window fitted to an external wall, you'll probably need planning permission, too. Check with your local council.

Can I do it myself?

A competent DIYer could add a partition wall - check out ultimatehandyman for advice. For most jobs you'll need to call in the professionals.

Time and costs

How long will it take?

If you're just dividing one room by putting up a partition wall it should be complete within a week. This assumes all the trades (builder, electrician, etc.) dovetail with the next. To create an en suite, add three more days to fit and tile.

How much will it cost?

Prices start about 500 to add a partition wall. For a finished en suite excluding sanitary ware expect to pay around 5,000. If you need planning permission or an architect, this will add several hundred pounds of fees

Top rooms to add

Bedroom

Adding a new bedroom will make your house more attractive to buyers but avoid making a double into a single. Also, the new room you create should be able to fit at least a single bed and bedside table.

Utility room

Using part of your kitchen to create a separate utility room is a good idea as long as your kitchen is left with at least a 3m run of cupboards and worktops.

Dressing room

This is a luxury and should only really be considered if you already have an en suite and four bedrooms - buyers would rather have an extra bedroom.

You can find more information on interior design and interior design ideas at house to home, helping you create a look you'll love

Roof Repairs

Tips and Ideas for Decorating With Indoor Wall Fountains

Indoor fountains can easily fill an entire room with a splashing, running water sound that is relaxing and calming in so many ways. Placing fountains on your walls does not take up any precious horizontal surface space such as tables and floors, yet it still allows for you to include a stunning water feature in a living room, a bathroom or a bedroom. The only necessary element you need to add to indoor wall fountains is moving water, so once you add that element, everything is set.

Indoor fountains essentially combine containers, water and a submersible pump with tiers and other water features, offering you a peaceful accent that is both visually appealing and emotionally and mentally relaxing. Wall fountains are comprised of a wide variety of different materials, and come in a myriad of different colors and textures so that there is a wall fountain to accent any home dcor idea or concept. Some of the design possibilities that you may see while shopping for fountains includes glass, plexi-glass, steel, copper, cement, limestone, fiberglass or marble. Indoor fountains can come in forms as small as a single lily pad, or as large as an entire bedroom wall. Most of these fountains produce sounds that are trickling or cascading in nature and in some cases, the sounds are as customizable as the fountains are.

All you need when it comes time to install your indoor wall fountains are a source of power and sturdy wall studs to connect your fountain to the wall. Many fountains can be heavy, including those that are constructed from plaster, concrete or stone. These heavier fountains have to be hung securely, meaning drywall studs if you do not want your indoor wall fountains to disconnect from the wall. Your fountain's pump will also require a source of electricity so that you can move the water around within the fountain, allowing it to move from bowl to bowl, or from top to bottom and then to top again.

You should choose fountains based on their sounds, sizes, structural elements, the serenity and tranquility that they create, and their drama. For example, you may choose indoor wall fountains with water cascading down chiseled slate into a clear rectangular trough filled with quartz, or water may slide along a textured stone surface, trickling past polished river rocks before collecting in a large stone bowl. Or you may prefer fountains such as concrete cast angels pouring water from their hands into a bowl, or a stained concrete in an aged ceramic color with animals pouring water from their mouths into individual bowls.

When it comes to indoor wall fountains and all of the sophistication and uniqueness associated with them, there really are no limits. By purchasing these types of water features, you are bringing elements of the outdoors inside, you can incorporate the natural soothing sounds of waterfalls and brooks with your home, you can turn an often stressful living or working space into a truly harmonized atmosphere.

Some designers even take feng shui into the water features that they create, because there is a concept in feng shui that states that water features like wall fountains can help to balance the home as well as to energize it.

Elizabeth Jean is a writer, gardening enthusiast and frequent contributor to Garden-Fountains.com, a premier water feature web site where you can find a beautiful collection of indoor and outdoor wall fountains, waterfalls and garden statuary.

Considerations When Building a Backyard Pond

Liner ponds are probably the most widely used as you can create the size and shape you want (within the constrictions of the chosen site). The pond is dug out and an underlay is put down first to protect the pond liner from sharp objects that could puncture it and cause a leak. A concrete 'collar' needs to be constructed around the shape of the pond to give rigidity to the area if people are likely to stand on the edge of the pond. The paving or other material you chose to put around the edge of the pond will camouflage the concrete and the pond liner.

Rigid pond shells offer a convenient and trouble-free method of creating a pond. There are several different shapes to choose from and are light enough to enable you to move it around until you find a suitable position to place it.

Make sure there are no tree roots or drains nearby that can interfere with the pond. Check for any damage i.e. holes or cracks before putting it in the ground.A patio pond can be created using any form of rigid shape and a wall can be created around it. There are new shaped materials on the market that can be used to create the walls making job this much easier. The materials can be dry laid and this means you can move the pond in the winter. As you lay the walling ensure that it is level and upright as it would be unstable and could be dangerous and even fall over. If you want to add lighting or a fountain it's a good idea to site it close to power points.

You can learn more about wildlife and fish ponds by visiting my site http://www.backyardponds.info

Leaking Heating Duct

Paper Towels - 3,000 Tons of Landfill Waste Each Day

With over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of paper towels we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day. Is this problem insurmountable? No - if each home simply replaced one roll of their traditional paper towels with paper towels made from recycled paper, we could avoid wasting 3.4 million cubic feet of landfill space and prevent 864,000 trees from being cut down.

The Benefits of Recycled Paper Towels

By using recycled paper towels we are doing much more than just reducing landfill waste. According to Ideal Bite, "For every ton of 100% recycled paper that is bought, about 4000kWh of energy and 7,000 gallons of water are saved. It also avoids releasing 60 lbs of pollutants into the air."

Reducing Paper Towel Waste

Even using recycled paper towels people tend to have wasteful habits. What can you do to graciously help remind people to reduce their paper towel consumption? You can participate in campaigns against consumer paper waste. It is these very wasteful habits that motivate projects like "These Come From Trees."

"Remember... These Come From Trees"

According to the "These Come From Trees" blog they are an "experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper!" What exactly is this "experiment?" Using low cost vinyl stickers and guerilla marketing tactics the ad-hoc "The Come From Trees" team spread the message of reducing consumer paper waste. Here is a breakdown of their strategy:

• People just like you affix vinyl "Remember... These Come From Trees" stickers to public area paper towel dispensers.

That's it. To quote the These Come From Trees Blog, it really is amazing "how the right message at the right time can make the difference." Since each sticker includes a URL for people to visit (http://www.thesecomefromtrees.com/) they help promote public awareness to this growing issue.

How Effective Are Projects Like This?

According to testing completed by the These Come From Trees team, their awareness stickers can reduce paper towel consumption by up to 15%, they continue, stating each sticker can save about 100 lbs of paper a year which is the equivalent to one tree. When you consider that the average coffee shop uses around 1000 lbs of paper towels and the average fast food restaurant with two restrooms can use up to 2000 lbs a year, 15% can add up to a lot of savings.

What about Reusable Replacements for Paper Towels?

Even though paper towels are commonplace they are not the only solution, products made of cotton or linen can be washed and reused many times over. In some cases sponges which offer a longer product lifetime, can handle the work you may normally relegate to a paper towel.

Choosing the Best Option for the Situation

While you can easily control your options at home and guerilla projects like "Remember... These Come From Trees" remind people to reduce their usage in public areas, it's important to always understand the best option for each situation you find yourself in - environmentally speaking.

If you are drying your hands and have the choice between an electric hand dryer and paper towels, what is the best choice for the environment? While electric hand dryers have the environmental cost of the electricity used to power them, in terms of overall energy costs, solid waste, maintenance and janitorial costs, electric hand dryers are more efficient than paper towels. While electric hand dryers are continually improved by manufacturers and continue to get more energy efficient, the paper towel has, for all intents and purposes, reached it's plateau.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

While you are constantly bombarded by the three R's, "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle," this is yet another case where the three R's offer society the best solution. By reducing our paper towel usage, we can prevent more trees from being cut down and prevent the emissions created by the manufacturing of new paper. By moving towards more reusable options such as washable cloth, we can stop the cycle of waste completely. By purchasing recycling paper products and recycling our paper products at the end of their lives we can conserve our valuable natural resources and reduce emissions.

Convenience items such as paper towels began as a luxury, became commonplace and now are subject to mass abuse. Who pays the cost for this abuse? The environment. By making smarter choices we can reduce the paper waste we contribute to and recycle our existing paper products. With an ever growing population and a static land size we are faced with the sobering prospect of running out of our precious natural resources. Do you part by remembering to conserve what and where you can.

Sam Greyhawk is an energy efficiency evangelist working with Cool-N-Save(tm), an Energy Star Partner, based in Huntington Beach, California.

Cool-N-Save(tm) is an amazing new energy efficiency add-on for air conditioners and aircon units. It can be installed in only 10 minutes with no tools required. In the hottest summer months, your air conditioner can be responsible for up to 90% of your electric bill each month. Cool-N-Save(tm), an air conditioner mister, has been scientifically proven by Tulane University to improve air conditioner efficiency by up to 30% - which translates into real monthly savings for you. Saving energy helps fight global warming and Cool-N-Save(tm) is a cost effective way to reduce your energy use.

House Framing Books

Use a Draft Stopper As a Way to Save Energy Year Round

Most people winterize their homes before colder weather arrives and the winds begin to howl. However, it's not always easy to block all the colder air from entering your home, especially if you have older windows and doors. Learn how to use a draft stopper as a way to save energy.

In times past, people would roll up blankets and place them in front of the door to help keep out some of the draft. They may have worked in the past, and will still work in a pinch today, but there are new draft stoppers that work much better than an old blanket.

Heating and cooling costs are probably the largest chunk of a household budget, outside of mortgage and car payments. So everyone wants to save money on these costs wherever possible. Energy experts agree that keeping the hot air in and cold air out is the best way to do this.

There are a number of ways to reduce heat loss during colder months. They recommend increasing insulation where possible, adding insulation around all electrical outlets and light boxes, and blocking air from coming in through windows and doors. Unfortunately, some of these recommendations can run into a good deal of money.

Using a draft stopper as a way to save money is one solution that is effective and won't put a huge dent in your pocketbook. Here's how they work:

a) Older windows and doors don't fit properly, or the house has settled a little, which leaves small gaps around them. If you have a gap, you have heat and air conditioning loss and the occurrence of drafts.

b) The window draft stopper creates a seal around the bottom of your windows to keep cold air out and hot air in. Made of finely ground corn cob filler, you can easily push the window draft stopper closely against your windows to fit snugly against them.

c) The door draft stopper also creates a seal, at the base of the door, which stops drafts. They can be easily moved so the door can be opened, just remember to push the door draft stopper back in place to keep your energy costs downs.

How much could you feasibly save using a door or window draft stopper? Some experts believe by just using draft stoppers around doors and windows the average home could save between 10 and 25% of their heating bill. That's quite a savings!

You're not limited to using the draft stopper only during the winter months, either. You can continue to use them year-round to lessen the amount of cold air that is lost when you run the air conditioner. Draft stoppers are economical and effective. Now might be a good time to use a draft stopper as a way to save energy, and a pretty penny on your heating and air conditioning bill.

You can get more information on an inexpensive energy saving draft stopper today. Sign up for a free newsletter filled with tips and tricks on saving not only energy but also saving money in general during these tough economic times at http://www.cleanupstuff.com

House Renovation Books