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July 11. 2008 4:53PM
Great Ideas for House and Home
Oak barrels recycled for home
This is sustainable gardening with class.
TerraCycle
Inc. is recycling Kendall-Jackson wine barrels into composters and rain
barrels. The oak barrels are clean and safe for outdoor household use,
the winemaker says.
The rotary composter holds grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste
while they decompose into nutrient-rich compost. A roller system makes
it easy to load and rotate the barrel, speeding up the composting
process.
The TerraCycle rain barrel captures roof runoff from a downspout for use in the garden.
Each product has a suggested retail price of $99. They're sold at some Sam's Clubs and some garden centers.
A guide to building green homes
Eco-friendly housing used to be thought of as expensive, ugly or just plain weird. Now it's becoming common.
David
Johnston and Scott Gibson offer guidance on environmentally sensitive
home building in "Green From the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and
Energy-Efficient Home Construction."
The book helps builders and
homeowners create houses that conserve natural resources and are
energy-efficient and healthful. It's packed with information, tips,
illustrations and case studies that offer wisdom earned from experience.
"Green From the Ground Up" is published by the Taunton Press and sells for $24.95 in paperback.
Easy caulking at home
Tear, squeeze and toss. That's how easy it is to use GE Caulk Singles.
The
single-use, disposable packages of caulk make the days of messy
caulking using bulky squeeze-tubes a thing of the past. Use them to
apply caulk around molding and trim, fix worn-out caulk around
fixtures, or seal gaps and cracks before painting.
Singles can
be used with one hand and dispensed with no tools, leaving little or no
waste in the package. The best part: Unlike caulk guns, they are small
enough to fit in vanities, drawers and even your purse.
Available
at Lowe's Home Improvement stores, Ace Hardware, True Value and Do It
Best, caulk singles come in white paintable acrylic, or white or clear
waterproof silicone.
Cost ranges from $2.29 to $2.99 per 1.25-ounce packages. Details: CaulkSingles.com.
On the blogs
The
employees at your local home-improvement store would love to answer
your every question about paint, if there weren't 10 other people
waiting to be helped. So why not blog about your paint issues on Color
Buzz, Beehive Studio's Color Blog, colorbuzz.valsparblog.com.
Through
this blog, you can get advice on making color choices and tips on the
painting process, while learning from others in similar situations.
The
designers of Beehive Studios, color consultants for Valspar, lead the
blog and take questions, comments and pictures about the color troubles
and happy moments you experience.
Categories include bathroom
finishes, bedrooms, color trends and designs, among others. Oh, and
don't worry about missing posts. The blog has an archive.
Show answers perplexing home questions
“Deconstruction”
has the answers to life's most perplexing questions. You know, the ones
that keep your head spinning throughout the night, such as:
How does pressurized wood get pressure-treated?
How strong is tempered glass, and how is it made?
Is home insulation really fire-retardant?
The show airs at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on the DIY Network.
Viewers
can join host Matt Blashaw, contractor, handyman and Stud Finder
finalist, on his field trips to research labs and testing facilities
and for his personal experiments. The premise behind the show is to
turn ordinary do-it-yourselfers into experts by helping them learn the
science behind home improvement.
Details: DIYNetwork.com/ deconstruction.
Book offers window on decorating
You're
not finished decorating your home until you've found the perfect window
treatments. And you won't find the perfect window treatments unless you
consider all your options.
“Beautiful Windows: The Ultimate
Window Treatment Design Book” (Filipacchi Publishing; $17.99;
paperback) is a guide for creating window treatments that blend with
your decor.
The book, from the editors of Woman's Day magazine,
covers a range of treatments including blinds and shades such as
roll-ups and Roman styles; curtain and drapery styles such as panels,
sheers, tab-tops and valances; and alternative coverings such as
decorative folding screens, trends in tiebacks and tassels.
All
styles are paired with tips on choosing print and color fabrics,
step-by-step instructions, solutions to common problems, photos and
illustrations.
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