Sub-flooring is just what the term sounds like: material underneath the surface you walk on. It may be concrete, or plywood, or several other types of material. Unfortunately, even the most robust sub-floor material can become cracked or mildewed. Water can become trapped between the floor and the sub-floor or between the top surface and the sub-floor. Those and many other types of problems will often require making repairs.

It’s usually expensive and never pleasant but, like dental work, putting it off generally leads to bigger problems before long. Depending on the extent of the problem, it may require anything from removing a few tiles to stripping the entire top floor surface off and beginning anew.

The need for repairs can be detected in a number of ways, again depending on the nature and extent of the problem. In some cases, it’s an area in the top floor with a visible gap, say in the bathroom where water will certainly leak down. In other cases, it may be just a musty odor from mildew that won’t go away no matter how well the floor is cleaned. Sometimes it appears as a dip or bowled area in a section of carpet, which becomes especially obvious when it’s walked on.

Once confirmed, tackle the problem as soon as possible.

How to go about that will vary with the type of top floor installed. Vinyl, for example, can very rarely be reused and will have to be replaced from new material. With care, some stone tiles can be removed without cracking, then reused. Wood is a borderline case. Laminates can sometimes be reused, but it’s usually not worth the extra effort required to remove it without damage. Carpet will often have to be replaced with new carpet or another flooring material.

Remove any flooring in the damaged area. Then inspect the damaged sub-floor. The most typical problem is water that has rotted plywood. Though never easy, there are worse things to have to repair. Cut away the rotted plywood, removing an entire sheet if possible. If not, simply cut a large enough area around the damage to ensure that all the rot has been cleared out. Mildew is made of living organisms and they can spread. Termite or other insect induced damage will require an exterminator. If not stopped, they’ll continue to do more damage.

There’s one potential upside to an incident of damaged sub-floor. It creates the opportunity to reevaluate the type of flooring desired. A plywood sub-floor covered with carpet can be re-fitted with finished concrete or a laminate, for example.

Even if the same type of sub-flooring and flooring is laid down as a replacement, it’s a chance to use improved materials for the repair project. Wood sub-floors are much better than their predecessors from 20-50 years ago, thanks to improved treatments that will reduce the odds of ever having to do the work again. Carpets today have better water-resistant chemicals embedded in the fibers than in decades past.

Ensure that the new sub-floor materials, whatever you use, are perfectly flat to support the new floor. They have to be sturdy enough to bear the pressure of intended traffic. Sub-floor repairs are not something anyone wants to have to do twice.

Tags: Floor Repairs

Besides the stone, brick, or slate work that is the base, or core, of your fireplace, fireplace mantles play a big role in the look of the entire structure. There are basically two types of fireplace mantles when you truly think about it. There are the mantels that are one big piece, which consists of the top flat area and it stretches down the front of the fireplace. Then there are the fireplaces that are stone or brick all the way up and the fireplace mantles are just the top flat part, which lifts right off from the rest.

Either way, you are looking at parts that can be removed if the need ever came about. These can sometimes be in need of repair after years of being used or even just simply replaced. And maybe they are in fine shape but you are wanting a different look. Replacing fireplace mantles are an easy fix to that situation. With a few hours of work, you could completely transform a room. All of this because of one slight adjustment and a little bit of time and effort put into a project.

Purchasing Fireplace Mantels

Believe it or not, there are several different sizes of fireplaces within homes so it is important to know exactly what it is you are needing. This is especially true if you are ordering fireplace mantles online and having them shipped to your door. The last thing you want is to end up with something too big or too small because then you will have the mess of trying to ship it back so be careful. It could be an awful sight trying to return three or so fireplace mantles.

You could always search the phonebook or the Internet for places near you that sell fireplace mantles so you can go look at them in person. This may help you in determining which style you would like to go with. Also, you will save yourself a lot of money in shipping charges. Then again, there is always the other option of not purchasing fireplace mantles at all. If you or someone you know is crafty, then you could always design and build fireplace mantles of your own. This is an excellent way to put a little bit of your heart and your own style into your home. This was the way it used to be done and it can surely be done again.

Tags: Fireplace Mantles

Edison’s invention is about 100 years old. It’s about time we thought about using something a little more up to date.

Actually Edison didn’t invent the light bulb. He improved it, devising one in 1879 that burned for 40 hours, achieving 1,220 hours a year later (a number a little better than modern incandescent bulbs, 750-1,000 hours). GE patented tungsten-filament bulbs in 1906.

But all these still require a source of electricity. Batteries made the situation better, but they still have to be replaced periodically. They’re also not great for certain applications, such as the lawn where sprinklers can get them wet.

Enter: solar-powered lawn lights.

Though the initial cost is sometimes a bit higher than other lawn lamps, they make up for it in several ways. Since they’re stand-alone units, no wiring is required. No need to dig trenches and plug into the house current. They also outdo battery-powered units because, as noted, there’s no risk of internal decay. They’re well sealed.

With that degree of independence and functionality, solar lawn lights can be placed anywhere. If you later decide to expand the lawn, adding more is a snap. Just shove them into the new ground and you’re good to go. Ditto, if you decide to turn part of the yard into a walkway or patio. Pulling up solar-powered lawn lights entails no risk of hitting the wires and no need to re-wire an existing design.

That flexibility makes it ultra-easy to move lights. It makes it just as easy to replace them. They can last for 10,000 hours or more (that’s almost three years if they burn 10 hours a night, every night). But ultimately the batteries will need to be replaced. That’s super easy since you just pull one up and insert the new ones. With the rate at which people move houses today, they may well last as long as you own the house.

The Ni-Cad or NiMh batteries used in these units today have little or no ‘memory’ so they’ll recharge fully over and over again, even when the light doesn’t run out of power before dawn arrives. That can be an issue in certain Northern climates where, during the summer, there’s only a few hours of darkness.

By the same token, there may not be enough sunlight hours to fully recharge the batteries. The lights may not burn all night. But many people set a timer on wired lights to turn off well before dawn. So, as with any option, solar lighting is an individual choice.

There’s no need to turn them off and on, or even to set a timer. Sensors cause them to charge as long as there’s sunlight and to come on when the ambient light dips to levels at dusk. Most modern solar lamps will produce almost 7 watts for 8-10 hours. They can achieve that because most use highly efficient, low wattage consumption LEDs instead of incandescent bulbs.

They’re a great option, durable and attractive. Give solar lawn lights a try.

Tags: Solar Lawn Lights

With the upheaval and uncertainty in the home mortgage lending business, more and more homeowners are deciding to stay put for awhile. No one wants to sell their house at a loss, and homeowners who can wait out the housing crunch prefer to wait it out rather than to lose money and sell now.

Gas Crunch Means Staying In

Converging with the trend of keeping a home longer before selling it is the trend of rising gasoline prices. High gas prices mean more and more families are staying at home instead of going out on weekend vacation trips or weeknight evenings away from home.

Staying In Means Remodeling

Spending all that time at home makes homeowners look at their residences with a new eye. Suddenly, worn surfaces seem shabby, and outdated looks need to be updated. The more time a homeowner spends at home, looking at their house, the more they will want to remodel or redecorate.

Redoing The Fireplace Hearth

A fireplace refacing project is one of the best investments you can make in your home. Updating brick or plain tile to stone or custom tile can give you a huge bang for your buck. Not only that, but most fireplaces are located in open areas of the home that a lot of people see. By replacing your fireplace surround and hearth, you are changing an area that will get a lot of attention, as the fireplace is also often the focal point of the room.

Fireplace Hearth Choices

Any time you are dealing with a fireplace surround and hearth, you will need to check your local building code to see what the regulations are for fireboxes in your local area. Obviously, the purpose of a fireplace hearth is to protect your flooring and home from live sparks and embers. Therefore, your fireplace hearth must be constructed of fireproof material, and it must be a minimum size which will be dictated by your local building code.

Other than these two requirements – fireproof material, and minimum size – your imagination is your limit when it comes to planning a new fireplace hearth.

Matching the Hearth To The Surround

Matching the fireplace hearth to the surround is not always a good idea. Marble, for example, is a fragile, brittle stone that is perfectly suited for light duty vertical surfaces, like a fireplace surround. However, marble stone may be too fragile for a horizontal hearth that will have to bear foot traffic, hold firewood and fire tools, and so forth.

Tags: Fireplace Hearth

There is a lot to know about a propane fireplace before you get one and most of the things will make you want one even more. Many people are starting to see that a propane fireplace has many benefits to it, which means that it is easy on the homeowner. When it comes time to install a propane fireplace, a professional crew can come out and set everything up. This is extremely easy on the homeowner as they barely have to do anything at all for preparation. The crew that comes in will basically do everything for you. All you do is sit back and watch your new fireplace being installed.

If the home does not already have a flue or a regular chimney in place then the propane fireplace can be ventless. This ventless options means that the homeowner will save on energy as well and space since a chimney will not have to be built from scratch. The propane fireplace is also known to heat very fast and can be used to transfer heat all over the house. There is the option to have an electric starter for the fireplace but there is always the manual start option in case of the electricity being out.

More Benefits

Now that we have the basic grip on what makes a propane fireplace so special, there is even more to learn about. The fact is, propane is available almost everywhere instead of natural gas, which is localized only to distribution grids. Also, what makes this kind of fireplace so special is that the propane fireplace can come with a remote control to help control the size of the flames. These are things that you just cannot get with a regular wood burning fireplace and you will always be reminded of that when you sit near your new fireplace to enjoy its warmth.

If you are ready to have one installed, then call a company near you for a price. The job will not take them long to complete and you will never regret your decision to bring a propane fireplace into your home. How could you ever go wrong with such a purchase? It will provide controlled heat for your home and add beauty to the room that it is in. There is almost no better way to spend a chilly winter night. The sooner you get started the better as looking around will allow you time to find some great deals and maybe even big discounts.

The exact procedures for installing tile will, of course, differ from one type to the next. But there are several things in common between them.

Preparation

As with any do-it-yourself project around the home, preparation is often 80% of the effort. That’s true in spades where installing a tile floor is the project. Laying down the tile itself is simple. Getting ready takes some effort.

For an existing floor, all the material has to be completely and cleanly removed. Old wood, previous tile, vinyl, whatever it happened to be have to be chipped, chiseled or stripped off.

Any sub-floor problems have to be addressed at this stage. Even the best tile with the most careful placement will be uneven if the plywood underneath sags or has holes. Any moisture that has collected has to be dried and any mildew removed. If left down, the problem will only continue to expand beneath the tile, leading to early cracking.

Edges are important, too. Professional-looking results can only be achieved if the job is finished properly. That’s impossible if there is any remaining grout, partial tiles or other elements left over from the previous floor.

Even brand new floors installed for the first time say in a new room addition project or a basement that has never had flooring have to be prepared. Ensure that any concrete is perfectly level. Any gaps will cause tile to crack as pressure is applied from walking.

Some concrete floors will require a sub-floor of plywood, pressboard, cork or other material in order to make the surface ready to receive tile.

Installation

Once the floor is well-prepared, the rest of the job will go quickly. Read the instructions that came with the tile. They’ll tell you something like the following…

Measure the floor and calculate how many tiles will be needed, and whether partial tiles will be needed around the edges. They usually will. It’s optional at this stage whether partial tiles will go around only one edge or the floor will be laid symmetrically with partial tiles all around.

Test any tiles first by laying several down without any adhesive. Get comfortable with the tongue-and-groove system, if the tiles are designed that way. If they have flat edges, practice laying them down straight without grout.

Then, remove the backing from tiles with pre-applied adhesive and lay them down, starting at one edge if you plan partial tiles along only part of the perimeter. If you plan partial tiles around the entire floor, start in the middle and work out.

For tiles with no tongue and groove system, it can be helpful to lay down tiles without adhesive and use a thick pencil to make lines between them.

For tiles with no backing, apply tile adhesive to the back and press the tile in place. Before it sets, quickly use a long straight edge (drafting T-squares work well for this) and keep all tiles along one line. Then ensure they’re straight in a perpendicular direction. Once dried in place (usually overnight), use a caulking gun to spread a bead of grout between the tiles and quickly wipe off any excess before it dries.

Repeat until you near the edge. Use a tile cutting tool to make any partial tiles needed around the perimeter. Lay them in the same way, leaving a thin space for expansion. About 1/8 inch is usually good, but this will vary with climate.

Tags: How to Install Tile

A lot of people who have a real wood burning fireplace may notice that they are not getting as much heat to the rest of the house as they would like. While it may be extremely nice sitting right front of the fireplace, to truly save money on gas heating costs, there needs to be more heat being transferred into the rest of the house. Without that, the homeowner is not really going to save a lot of money on their gas bills. That is unless they add a fireplace fan into the mix.

A fireplace fan is the perfect way to get heat to the adjoining rooms. It helps to get the heat transferred fast and in an efficient way. As long as you go with a good brand and a high quality machine, you should have no noticeable sound coming from the fireplace fan. By adding one of these little machines into the mix, the homeowner is sure to finally start saving the fuel costs that they were trying to save in the first place. Without a fireplace fan, you might as well be throwing money out the window because it seems that your heat is not sticking around very long.

Where To Shop

It seems that the Internet is the easiest and fastest way to find a big selection when it comes to a fireplace fan. Although there is going to be a shipping price, with the cost of gasoline and the time you would spend searching different stores, it is well worth it. Make sure that you are going with a good online store though and make sure that you compare prices on the same model in other online stores to make sure that you are not being ripped off and that you are getting the best deal possible in terms of price and shipping costs.

The fireplace fan is easy to install and in no time you will be noticing the difference that it will make. And if it breaks, there should have been warranty information that originally came with it so take advantage of that. A fireplace fan should last you a good few years and it is very much worth every penny that you put into purchasing it. So go ahead and start your search now so that the rest of your home can begin to get a little warmer for those cool evenings and late nights.

Tags: Fireplace Fan

You buy a bulb at the store, put it into a fixture and flip the switch. On comes a light. What could be simpler?

True, many home lighting situations are as easy as that. But if you want to get the most out of your budget, and also to design a more pleasing and practical home environment, a little more thought is useful.

Lighting the bedroom, for example, can be as quick as the scenario described above. But you won’t be getting the maximum value out of your lighting scheme. If you want lighting that offers better reading, with less eye strain, a little designing is needed. If you want to create an elegant atmosphere for evening that is still functional in the morning, a little homework is helpful.

Even when you’re lighting the exterior of the home both esthetic and functional factors come into play. Home security requires careful placement of just the right kind of lights. Motion sensors are a great addition. Decorative accents to make your home look its best have to be carefully selected and optimally placed.

The deck is another opportunity to make your home shine, literally and figuratively. Post lights, recessed lighting and many other options are available to give that often used structure just the right illumination. Whether providing a safe walk along the surface, or a decorative glow along the path to the pool, deck lights can add a stellar look to an otherwise ordinary area.

Indoors, track lighting can perform a similar function, even though using very different means. Highlighting a fine piece of furniture or wall decoration is one popular purpose for track lighting. But they can even add dramatic spots and shadows to dress up an area where no objects reside at all.

Naturally, these design elements can be enhanced by using colored lights. But going one step further to give control over placement and intensity is another way to optimize your lighting design. Movable track lights, dimmer switches and many other forms of control increase the beauty and usefulness of these elements.

When planning all that activity it’s helpful to know a little bit about the various kinds of lamp and fixture. You’ll want to find out about incandescents, CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lights) and LEDs, along with halogens and other lighting types. That will help you select the look and function you want within the budget you project.

It’s also useful, both for the best results and for safety reasons, to know something about basic electricity. If you confuse a watt with how bright your light is, learn about lumens and color temperature. If you get nervous every time you hear the word voltage, do a little homework and take the edge off.

Lighting is one of the areas of do-it-yourself home projects that don’t take a lot of experience or special tools. A good eye for what looks good, combined with some elementary information, can get you well down the road of creating just the look you want and need.

Tags: Lighting Your Home

Whether you are ripping out your old fireplace or adding one into your home for the first time, there is a lot to know about fireplace construction. The first thing is, depending upon where you live, you may need to speak with your town for any possible permits that you may need. If your town requires a permit for this type of work and you are caught building a fireplace without it, you could be facing a big fine. Work permits are not that much money and you just simply place it in the front window of your house so everyone knows that you applied for the proper papers.

You will also want to check and see if there are any local fireplace construction regulations or inspections required. In most areas you may find that none of that is needed but it is better to be safe than sorry. This is especially the case if you plan on selling the home as an inspection report may be needed and if so, you will want to have that. Once you get all of the needed paperwork done, it is time to start your fireplace construction and hopefully you have done it before. But if not, there are things you can do to help you get through it.

How To Build One

Everyone can pretty much draw out the basic shape of a fireplace and if you are simply doing the typical design for your fireplace construction job, then you are off to a good start. Another good start would be if you have cut and laid brick before. If not, then this is something that you should get help with because if it is not done properly, it can become a complete mess and look like a big waste of money. You do not want this happening to you so if you do not know of anyone to help, start researching.

There are several books that can be found on home remodeling and fireplace construction. These are actually excellent books to have on hand as you never know when something may come up that you have to attend to. If you cannot find any books that can help you, you can always turn to the Internet for tips and hints on how to go about fireplace construction like a professional. It is important to take your time with projects like this because there are no cutting corners when it comes to fireplace construction.

Tags: Fireplace Construction

Choosing a type of flooring can be a daunting task. There are several varieties - wood, ceramic, stone, vinyl, carpeting and many specialty materials. Within each broad category, there are literally hundreds of choices. Fortunately, narrowing them down is a simple matter of attending to a few basic guidelines.

For most, especially do-it-yourselfers who are strongly motivated to save money, budget is the first consideration.

Carpet is often the least expensive option, but there are many low-cost vinyl floorings that will allow homeowners to pinch pennies as well. The difficulty here is that you often get what, and no more than, you pay for. Cheap carpet doesn’t just look cheap, it is cheap, this means poor quality. Ditto vinyl.

That means that many desirable qualities like durability and ease of cleaning are often absent. If the material has to be replaced every couple of years is it worth the price? If you have to spend inordinate amounts of time cleaning carpet with low stain-resistance, are you really saving much? The answers will depend, of course, on individual circumstances, including application. Some areas, such as basements, may not warrant more expensive options.

Hardwood is fairly expensive, but it has excellent durability, is easy to care for and looks outstanding. But not everyone can afford Brazilian Teak or Chinese Cherry. One option is a laminate. They can often be quite attractive and they last for years. Their wear characteristics aren’t quite as good as hardwoods, which can easily last 50 years if well cared for. But they do quite well and they’re pleasant to walk on.

If investigating a laminate, look for the AC rating. These are assigned based on careful testing and represent the durability of the material, resistance to staining and scratching, and other measures. AC 1 laminates are suitable for moderate traffic areas, while AC 3 will stand up better to heavy use. The higher the better, but AC 5 is generally only needed and used in public buildings.

Ceramics run the gamut from cheap tile to highly expensive. One difference is how durable the tiles are. All ceramics have very hard surfaces, but some tiles are more brittle than others. That means that, under normal use, they are more likely to crack. If a tile has to be replaced often, which is costly and time consuming, it might be worthwhile to spend a little more up front.

Stone tends to be on the more expensive end of the choices, but of course it may well outlast the house. Many are removed from old houses being torn down and re-used elsewhere. If you’re looking for something stylish and ultra-durable, a good sandstone or slate might be just the thing. With modern treatments they’re generally stain resistant and can be easy to care for.

One of the least expensive, but today very stylish choices is concrete. Once relegated to basements, with modern surface effects they can be stained with a variety of colors and designs. They can emulate marble, stone or even wood. They clean easy and, of course, will last for decades without cracking. That makes them great for any area.

Consider your budget, wear needs and potential traffic, and throw in your esthetic desires. Very quickly, you’ll be able to narrow the choices.

Tags: Guidelines For Flooring