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Recently, I put new carpet in a theater room I’d been working on. The room was previously used for a home office and had short industrial-style carpet. The new carpet was a deep shag and thus was about half an inch taller.

As a result, the existing closet door was too tall and wouldn’t close with the new carpet installed. With a couple of simple tips you can remedy this situation in about 20 minutes.

First, assuming the closet door has already been removed, take it out of the room to an area where it’s safe to use power tools. Next, set up a couple of saw horses or 5-gallon buckets to give you a stable surface to work on. With your work area set up, grab a roll of blue painter’s tape. Wrap a single line of tape around the bottom of the door. The blue tape will keep the wood from splintering when you cut down the door and is easy to remove when you’re done.

Now you’re ready to measure and cut. Measure 1/2″ from the bottom and make a mark at each side of the door.  Next take a straight edge (I use a 36″ level) and draw a line connecting the two points. Put on a pair of safety glasses and and cut down the line using a circular saw with a fairly fine-toothed blade.

At this point you’re ready to remove the tape and re-install your door. One thing to keep in mind is how much you need to cut down your door. If it’s a solid wood door, this isn’t a concern. But for most of today’s hollow-core doors, there is a 2″ piece of wood at the base of the door. If you need to cut down the door more than that, you’ll have to buy a shorter door, which is usually a custom order.

Strategies to Combat Heat Loss in Your Home

The objective of any comprehensive heating program is to allow maximum heating at the lowest cost. The three areas of influence that you, the consumer, control are: winterization of your home, heating oil costs and appliance efficiency. While the latter two are important to an overall program, winterizing your home is an integral part of any successful program. A well thought out and executed program for winterizing your home will invariably give you the largest return on investment of the three. Savings can range from 5-20% by employing these simple, yet inexpensive, measures.

A good winterization program is composed of three main elements:

• Appliance performance
• Personal behaviors
• Structural considerations

Appliance performance:

• Change air filters in your furnace at least once a month. Air filters allow only clean air into the furnace, keeping the mechanics dirt and grim free. A dirty furnace works twice as hard as a clean one.

• Insulate your water heater if using heating oil. Maintaining the temperature longer requires less fuel consumption.

• Keep vents obstructions free. Use deflectors to re-route air around obstructions.

• Use humidifiers. Moist air creates a humid effect making your home feel warmer.

Personal behaviors:

• Open the curtains when sunlight is available and close them when it is not.

• Use common sense. Re-evaluate your actual living space. Close off spare bedrooms and other areas not requiring heat. Restrict the in and out traffic of children. Dress warmly.

• Lower the settings on thermostats and consider using programmable thermostats that automatically vary heat settings throughout a 24-hour period

• Use ceiling fans can keep the air circulating and spread the heat in each room.
Structural considerations:

• Check the heating ductwork. Insure sections are tightly fitted, free of holes and sealed with tape. Aluminum tape is a little more expensive, but holds up better under moisture from condensation. Winterizing ductwork by wrapping it in insulation is another option.

• Cold floors result in air inside the home cooling off and requiring re-heating. While some ventilation is required to reduce moisture, check the crawl space for excessive drafts. Seal these with plastic, plywood or Styrofoam. A vapor barrier may reduce excessive dampness as a means of further winterizing the crawl space.

• An annual inspection of exterior caulking around all window and door casings is recommended. Check window glazing in older windows as another source of heat loss.

• Consider winterizing water lines with foam sleeves. It prevents freezing and keeps water as warm as possible.

• Check for drafts around external openings in the house: windows, doors and chimneys. This can be done with a cigarette or incense. Follow the smoke to the source of the draft. Your local home supply store will carry winterization tape, insulating foam, or caulk that will seal these leaks; keeping heat in and cold out.

• Older single-pane windows often allow heat loss through the framing of the window itself. Covering these windows with clear plastic will help remedy this winterization deficiency.

Note: Care must be taken not to exclude the entrance of all fresh air.

• Insure you have 6-8 inches of insulation in your attic or loft area. Heat is lost through the roof if improperly insulated. Materials for this are available at your local home improvement store.

This is not a total list of all that can be done, but it should get you started on your individual winterization program. Look around your home and think it through. Each situation is unique and will offer you opportunities to save money if you winterize properly. STAY WARM!

About the Author:

For more information on Home Heating Oil Prices and energy solutions, visit Home Heating Oil Prices Do your research,save yourself some money. John Bogdanski a renegade Oil Heat marketing executive, rips open the curtain, exposing the industry.

A steel garage is a perfect addition to any home. Steel garage doubles as a shelter for your vehicle, storage for tools and equipment, and can even serve as a working space for a do-it-yourselfer. Steel garages have become a favorite among savvy homeowners, as they are flexible, easy to build and very affordable. With a steel garage, you can store one vehicle or even a truck or a boat, even though you cannot accommodate a guest apartment or an office there. In any case, you can always choose a garage building plan that suits your needs without sacrificing space or look of your property.

When built according to garage building plans, a steel garage can cost you up to 40% less than conventional garages. With a steel garage, you can add a roof of your choice, install the doors and windows right where you want them, and of course, you can pick materials you can afford.

When picking a garage building plan, you must decide what your family needs. Would that be a two-car garage or a simple tool shed? With a clear idea in mind, take a look at your property and find a suitable space. You need to make sure that the garage has an accessible driveway and connection to the house for water and electricity. Avoid damp areas, if your property has them. To find the balance in form and function, you can add a steel garage to the side of your house. In fact, most garages today are attached to the house. Check your building permits and local building codes to make sure you don’t violate any of them.

Steel garages are fairly easy to assemble, but even with the simplest plan, you need to consider if you have enough time and expertise to build the garage by yourself, or maybe you need to hire a contractor to finish the job. As for the tools, most of them you might already have. If not, you can always rent them instead of buying. The garage building plan will list all the tools you need. Expert constructors recommend having all tools on site before beginning construction.

Steel garage building begins with precise marking of the excavation area. Most likely you will need a contractor to excavate the area and build the garage foundation with anchor bolts enclosed.

When the foundation is ready, you can raise walls. Before lifting the steel sheets into place, make sure the bottom is correctly positioned. At this stage ensure you have some help with lifting and holding the wall in place while fixing it in.

The roof must be built immediately after you have finished constructing the walls to avoid any weather damage inside the steel garage. Roof trusses will sustain loads only when they are vertical. Carefully lift the trusses and set them in place. Now you are ready to add roof sheathing. Polyurethane or particleboard is the most common material.

Steel garage building plans allow you to build exactly the garage you have in mind to fit in perfectly in whatever style home you have. Best of all, complete steel garage building plans are available for any project with blueprints and detailed walkthrough for every stage of the construction.

About the Author:

For more information on Steel Garages ideas please visit the home improvements blog.

Vinyl replacement windows are a great way to increase the resale value, curb-appeal, and style of your home. Early vinyl replacement windows were not very popular, but advances in design and improved technology have made vinyl windows a desirable addition to homes everywhere. Many of today’s replacement windows meet requirements that older wood-frame and metal windows couldn’t possibly match.

Frames

Probably the greatest benefit of today’s vinyl windows is the quality of construction. These high-quality windows are fusion-welded at the corners to form a structurally sound frame. The frames themselves are strong, watertight, and airtight.

Another great benefit of vinyl windows is that they will never need sealing or painting, as traditional wood windows do. The vinyl window frames are extremely durable and will withstand fading and discoloration much better than wood frames.

The high quality of today’s vinyl windows can also offer superior security over older windows. Many vinyl replacement windows are available with a wide range of locking devices designed to give your home exceptional security.

Glass

Today’s vinyl replacement windows use high-grade products and ingenuity to deliver high-performance. Most vinyl windows use double or triple-paned glass units. These units create an insulation barrier of air, which provides protection from damaging elements, higher energy-efficiency, and greater sound protection.

These airtight layers of protection are key to the high standards of energy-efficiency that today’s vinyl replacement windows offer. Each manufacturer’s windows are submitted to an energy-efficiency test conducted by a government-backed program. These tests are meant to determine the window’s U-value, or U-factor.

The U-value is a measurement that represents the rate in which heat passes through the window. The lower the U-value assigned to the window, the lower the amount of heat allowed to pass through the window. The windows with the lowest U-value receive Energy-Star ratings, which can be claimed as a tax write-off. These windows can offer tremendous savings on monthly electric bills, by keeping in heat or cool air.

Ease of Use

The function of vinyl windows also typically last longer than wood-frame windows. This is because wood will tend to swell and retract in reaction to changes in temperature and humidity. Over time, this swelling and retraction may cause the wooden window frame to become misshapen. If this happens, the window will become more difficult to slide or close properly.

Choice of Options

Vinyl replacement windows come in a large variety of styles, sizes, and colors. All replacement windows are custom-made in order to properly match your home’s existing windows, so size is no hindrance.

Replacement windows are available in many styles, including casement windows, double-hung windows, bay and bow windows, and sliders with two, three, or more sashes. At first, vinyl windows were only manufactured in white, but today most manufacturers offer many color options to match the existing features of your home. Windows can be ordered with solid colors, two-toned, or with wood-grains. You can even purchases windows with one color on the exterior, and with a wood-grain finish on the interior.

Vinyl windows offer the same style features found on other top-quality windows. Divided light grids, decorative glass, tilt-out sashes, and high-efficiency locking systems allow for many options.

Vinyl replacement windows offer many great values for your home. They are an excellent way to add value to your home, giving them a positive cost-to-benefit ratio. If you desire to add security, style, and savings to your home, vinyl replacement windows should be one of your first considerations.

About the Author:

Mr. Oliver is a marketing agent for Richmond Window Corporation. The Renewal by Andersen replacement window dealer provides window installation throughout the central Virginia area. For more information on their replacement windows Richmond Virginia please visit their website.

Paint is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to change a room. But choosing the right paint colors for your home can seem like an overwhelming task.

Paint, accessories, fabric, furniture, and flooring should all blend, so take a good look at the room you will be working on, preferably before you choose a paint color, and decide what will stay in the room, and what you may want to move out of the room.

The first thing you should do when choosing interior colors for your home, is look around at colors that make you feel good, happy, and relaxed. These colors are probably already in your home. A few examples are the colors you love to look at in your flower garden, the colors in your jewelry, or pottery, or they can be found in the colors of the clothes in your closet.

The second thing you should do is go to your local paint store and pick up a color wheel, and or sample cards, pick the sample cards that really catch your eye, and don’t be afraid to get as many as you want. Take these cards home and look at them at different times of the day and night, to see how the color will look when the sun shines in on them, or at night when you have lamps turned on, or candles burning. Study this for several days. Be patient when deciding which color feels best to you.

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Complimentary colors - are the colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel.

Harmonious colors - are the colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. Like blue and purple.

Tints - are colors with white added.

Shades - are colors with black added.

Saturation - is the amount of color used. The more color, the more vibrant.

Color tone - is the degree to which it changes.

Pastels - use only a hint of color.

Decorating with Paint

When decorating with paint, Use the following ten suggestions for optimal results:

1. First consider the style or decor of your home. This will impact the color. Work out what sort of look or feel you are going for, whether it is urban, contemporary, modern or traditional. Once you know the look that you like and what look will work well with the other rooms in your home, the choice of color becomes much easier. So before decorating with paint, pick the look you are going for so that the paint you choose can help you meet that objective.

2. Decide on the mood you want the room to evoke. If you want a light happy feeling, dark colors will not accomplish that mood. On the other hand, if you want a mood that invokes intimacy, study, and cuddling up with a nice book in front of a warm fire, then darker colors are perfect. Os pick your mood and you will have a better chance of pickin your colors.

3. When decorating with paint you should know that some paints look differently in different lights; then look closely at the natural light exposure the room has. The amount of natural light and exposure to bright sunlight may influence you towards a choice of cooler shades like blues and greens. Less natural light may lend itself to warmer shades. So, when selecting your choice of colors make sure you check how it looks in daylight and artificial light.

4. Decorate with paint colors that compliment the rest of your home, and your things. The color chosen should especially be compatible with the fixtures which are difficult to replace easily, for example the fire surrounds, furniture, or carpets and curtains inside the home. Paint is a lot cheaper to change then furniture is, so choose colors that compliment what you have, or your money savings in using paint to decorate will go down the drain.

5. When decorating with paint, get sample cards and hold them up to your walls in all different lights, also compare them with swatches of fabrics for furniture, window treatments etc. If you collect samples of everything from carpet to curtains, and put together a storyboard, this will help inspire your creativity and make sure you are happy with your final selection, all before you spend any money at all.

6. Before you start your paint job make sure you have bought enough paint. This is especially important if you are having it custom mixed. It can be difficult to perfectly match colors later, so rather than deal with the hassle, know what you need before hand, and be sure to get a little more than you think you need for touchups etc.

7. Decorating with paint is fun, but cleaning paint off furniture and floors is not, so be sure to clear as many items out of the room beforehand as possible, and use drop cloths to protect your floor. Also, make sure the room is well ventilated throughout your painting job so you don’t hurt yourself.

8. Decorating with paint is fairly inexpensive, but you do not want to have to do it every few months, or even years, so spend a little more and make sure you buy a top quality paint. Don’t use poor quality materials, and put all your hard work and planning to waste. 9. Prep your walls well before painting, even the highest quality paints do not adhere well to dirty surfaces. 10. Paint color is one of the most profound and powerful ways to shape our surroundings. Don’t be afraid to go bold, you can always change your paint later if you find you hate it, but chances are you will wish you had used even more color.

About the Author:

Smith Chen is an author and internet marketing consultant.
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If you love the outdoor lifestyle, then tropical style deck design can provide you with an additional living space during the months of pleasant weather. Whether your deck is raised or ground level, whether it has an ocean view or not, you can enjoy a tropical lifestyle on your tropical style deck.

When planning your outdoor deck, you want to ensure that the overall design enhances and blends into your residence and property pleasingly. Deck construction should include sturdy materials for long years of wear and tear and a weather-proof finish should ensure longevity of the deck materials.

Once you have your deck in place, you can add the look and feel of the tropics. Add a bamboo or faux bamboo wet bar in one corner as a station for mixing drinks. If possible, choose a thatch roof design or add a palm frond roof to the wet bar to give it a touch of the small tropical beach shanties commonly seen in the islands and tropics. A couple of comfortable bar stools will provide seating in this area.

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For the central seating area of the tropical deck, unless your deck is covered, you should choose an umbrella table so that you can enjoy the sun without being burned by the ultraviolet rays. These tables can be obtained as a set with comfortable cushioned chairs in tropical designs with all-weather upholstered cushions. Add citronella candles to the table to discourage mosquitoes and other insects.

To obtain that lush tropical look, you will want to include several specimen size potted palms. Fishtail palms work really well for this application. Place the pots on plant dollies with casters so they can be rolled indoors during freezing weather.

Potted bird of paradise makes another great tropical deck addition. These plants are easy to grow in full sun to partial shade in any southern climate but should not be exposed to chilly weather. Protect the plants during the winter months and enjoy their exotic blooms again the next year.

Orchids are another plant that is perfect for an outdoor deck in humid climates. While orchids require a bit of special care unless you live in a semi-tropical zone, they are worth the trouble to obtain the gorgeous blossoms which last and last. They can be mounted using pot hangers which attach to the wood posts of your deck or hung in a hanging orchid pot using an attractive macrame hanger.

Mandala vines grown in pots and allowed to entwine around posts or crawl up a wall add additional tropical lushness and color. These vines will not overwinter but will regrown the next year if the root stock is maintained in moderate temperatures during the winter.

You and your friends and family will love holding tropical theme parties on your outdoor tropical paradise. You will feel as if you added another room to the home at a very reasonable cost.

About the Author:

Ted Roberson owner of landscape living is a landscape and garden enthusiast who has years of experience working and creating outdoor living areas. Discover how you can improve and maintain your landscape and garden area with simple projects around your home. www.landscapeliving.com