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Architecture : Home & Garden
How to Install Armstrong Bruce Flooring
Wood flooring looks solid and hard, but in fact it "moves" before and after installation more than any other flooring material. The wood expands and contracts with environmental changes, which is why it’s important to let it adjust to the room before you install it, and then leave space betwee
Benefits of Solar Window Screens
Today's solar screens provide lower energy costs, glare reduction, comfortable room temperatures and furniture protection without breaking the bank. In many cases, rooms with direct sunlight exposure, typically south- and west-facing, are the warmest and can be treated, lowering energy bills even wh
Residential New Windows Installation Instructions
When it's time to replace those worn old wooden windows in your home, you won't want to replace them with the same kinds of sashes. Modern replacement windows are very different from old sash windows. The more modern ones are pre-hung in self-contained units, so you don't have to mess with hardware
How to Fix Welding Holes
All types of welding require clean metal and a protective shield to keep contaminants from causing welding holes -- called porosity -- in the molten weld puddle. Porosity weakens a welded joint, leading to the joint cracking and eventual failure. Attempting to weld over porosity will not fill in the
Decorating Ideas for a Kitchen With Blue Pearl Granite
Blue Pearl granite gets its name from the pearly shades and darker blue shades running through a single piece. Also known as Blue Perl and Labrador Blue, the color ranges from a fairly light color of silver to a deep and dark blue. Decorating around granite of this type in the kitchen is difficult b
Types of Fireplace Grates
Fireplace grates can help improve the burn of your wood fire.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty ImagesThe fireplace grate is sometimes an afterthought. Very often, fireplace users tend to use whatever grate was in the fireplace when they bought or rented the home. But fireplace grates can...
How to Make Plaster Table Bases
Plaster is a strong building material that is easy to handle and easy to mold, making it a good choice for table bases. Plaster table bases take many forms: classic columns, statuary, geometrical shapes, vases and urns. Creating a plaster table base using a plaster mold allows you to turn a traditio
How to Insulate a Cement Slab
Insulating a basement slab is a great way to add functional living space to your home, while saving money on utility bills. The slab should be properly sealed from moisture so the subfloor can't rot, but as long as a vapor barrier is in place, there should be no trouble building a subfloor to house
Grants for Adaptive Gardening
Adaptive gardens are used in occupational therapy.Fountain in garden. Garden design image by L. Shat from Fotolia.comAdaptive gardens are an integral part of horticultural therapy. These gardens are designed specifically with the handicapped in mind and include widened pathways and ramps...
How to Replace Kitchen Cabinets Door Fronts
One way to bypass the cost of replacing kitchen cabinets is to simply replace the fronts. Professional companies offer new stains for existing cabinets and matching new doors. You can do the same, whether you choose to stain the base cabinets, paint them or simply leave them as they are. Most home a
How to Make a Trundle
Sleeping space for guests is limited, in most homes, to a guest bedroom with a full-size bed. When friends or family visit and bring along children, they may have to share beds or sleep on the floor. Similarly, when children host sleepovers, their friends may have to sleep on the floor or far away i
How to Make Grooves in Wood for Flooring
Wood flooring ranks high as a home improvement project that adds value to your home. Manufacturers offer a variety of species, types, styles and grades of hardwood strip or plank flooring with a tongue on one end and one side, and a groove on the other end and side. After cutting a piece of flooring
What Is a Composite Shingle Roof?
Roofing materials need to be tough enough to weather the elements because they must protect the rest of the home. Composite shingles, referred to in the roofing industry as composition shingles, are one of the most common roofing materials because of their versatility and low price relative to other
How to Chisel Out a Hardwood Floor Plank
If you've got a few planks in your hardwood floor that are rotting, warped or damaged beyond repair, you don't have to replace the entire floor. It is possible to extract and replace individual planks from a hardwood floor, though it's not as simple as just prying all of the floorboards out. The pla
How to Stop a Leak in a Concrete & Stone Basement
Leaks in a concrete and stone basement can be some of the most tedious and difficult to repair because the concrete, acting as the mortar for the stone, often has rotted in areas you cannot access or see. Discovering the true nature of the leak is half the problem; trying to patch it without rebuild
How to Put Hot Water Heating Tubes in New Concrete
Radiant hot water heating systems are extremely popular. Installing the PEX pipe, also known as crosslinked polyethylene, is relatively easy and not that expensive. Many property owners are adding the lines to give themselves the option to use radiant floor heating at a later time. The average do-it
How to Connect Laminate Flooring Sections
Homeowners installing laminate flooring in their home may want a seamless look throughout their home. Instead of trying to connect laminate flooring into one long run through the home, many homeowners find it easier to install the flooring in sections, then install transition moldings between the ro
Signs of Termites on a Deck
Termites outdoors feed on unprotected wood that is in contact with the soil surface, making fences, garden stakes, decks and porches easy targets. They leave various signs that can help you determine their presence.
What Are the Differences in Concrete Floor Coatings?
At one time, concrete was a surface that you covered up with tile or carpeting, but now decorative concrete floors have become quite fashionable. Concrete owes much of its new-found popularity to durable and attractive finishes that can be easy to apply and easy to maintain. In fact, you can choose
How to Refinish Kitchen Cabinets in Antique White Distressed Glaze
Call it country French, country or Tuscan, glazed and distressed antique-white painted wood cabinets are charming and add character to run-of-the-mill kitchens. This is a good do-it-yourself project, plus doing the work yourself will save beaucoup bucks. This is also a good cure for old cabinets tha