http://homerenovations.about.com/ Get the latest headlines from the About.com http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hh http://www.about.com/ 118 20 en-us 2012-02-14T20:16:55Z Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:16:55 +0000 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/15/inexpensive-kitchen-cabinets.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/G/X/5/-/-/refacedcabinets.JPG" alt="" width="160" height="160" /></p> <p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/kitchencabinets/tp/Inexpensive-Kitchen-Cabinets.htm">Inexpensive kitchen cabinets</a> is a bit of a misnomer, since cabinets are never really cheap--just less exorbitantly expensive&#160; than you might imagine.</p> <p>Used kitchen cabinets can be a desultory thing, caked with the grime and muck of 20 years of another person's hamburger grease.&#160; New custom, semi-custom, or even some stock kitchen cabinets...they're wonderful but pricey.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/15/inexpensive-kitchen-cabinets.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/15/inexpensive-kitchen-cabinets.htm Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:22:02 +0000 2012-02-15T20:22:02Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/showroom-display-kitchen-cabinets-giant-savings.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/G/x/Y/-/-/Display-Kitchen-Cabinets.JPG" alt="" width="160" height="144" /></p> <p>Lately I've been looking at the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/kitchencabinets/a/Display-Kitchen-Cabinets.htm">display kitchen cabinets</a> found in kitchen/bath showrooms and home improvement stores.&#160; When the stores no longer need the cabinets, do you think they chop them up and throw them away?</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/showroom-display-kitchen-cabinets-giant-savings.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/showroom-display-kitchen-cabinets-giant-savings.htm Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:16:55 +0000 2012-02-14T20:16:55Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/craftsman-house-colors-whatever-they-are-i-like-them.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/5/s/Y/-/-/Craftsman-Colors-8.JPG" alt="" width="400" height="218" /></p> <p>I enjoyed looking into the issue of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/Exterior/ss/Craftsman-House-Colors-and-Ideas.htm">Craftsman house colors</a> (exterior, that is; interior is next to come).</p> <p>First, I<em> just like</em> those colors, Craftsman house or not.&#160; It's a certain, predictable <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/Exterior/ss/Craftsman-House-Colors-and-Ideas_2.htm">palette of colors</a> that seems to hearken back to the past.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/craftsman-house-colors-whatever-they-are-i-like-them.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/14/craftsman-house-colors-whatever-they-are-i-like-them.htm Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:22:19 +0000 2012-02-14T09:22:19Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/13/what-size-insulation-for-2x4-and-2x6-walls.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/G/w/Y/-/-/Fiberglass-Wall-Insulation-Batt.JPG" alt="" width="160" height="228" /></p> <p>Fiberglass batt insulation is very squishy.&#160; Place R-19 insulation--a rather thick product--in a wall framed with 2" by 4" studs, and it will fit if you compress it with the drywall.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/13/what-size-insulation-for-2x4-and-2x6-walls.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/13/what-size-insulation-for-2x4-and-2x6-walls.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:04:28 +0000 2012-02-13T14:04:28Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/09/today-is-the-first-day-of-spring-here-are-exterior-paint-ideas.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/5/j/Y/-/-/7.JPG" alt="" width="240" height="143" /></p> <p>Spring?&#160; Who said?</p> <p>It's February, but where I live we've been having such an unseasonably warm Winter that it feels like the trees should be sprouting leaves already.</p> <p>It was so warm and inviting, in fact, that my hands almost robotically moved toward the paint sprayer and cans of Valspar paint I had begun applying to my house exterior months ago.&#160; <em>Almost</em>.&#160; Then, in a heartbeat, the weather changed for the worse, and I found myself fireside watching a DVD of <em>The Flintstones</em>, Season 1, with my son.&#160; I tell you, it was so hard to tear myself away from that project.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/09/today-is-the-first-day-of-spring-here-are-exterior-paint-ideas.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/09/today-is-the-first-day-of-spring-here-are-exterior-paint-ideas.htm Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:24:44 +0000 2012-02-09T13:24:44Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/07/fha-203k-little-known-financing-solution-for-home-remodels.htm <p>If you're replacing a bathroom vanity or kitchen countertop, you'll probably pay by cash.&#160;&#160; It's not worth taking out a loan for a project in the hundreds of dollars:&#160; pay now or don't do the remodel.&#160; But if you're taking on substantial home remodels, you need a loan.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/07/fha-203k-little-known-financing-solution-for-home-remodels.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/07/fha-203k-little-known-financing-solution-for-home-remodels.htm Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:21:37 +0000 2012-02-07T16:21:37Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/decobloc-glass-block.htm <p><img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/homerenovations/1/9/c/Y/-/-/DecoBloc.JPG" alt="DecoBloc" /></p> <p>DecoBloc came my way recently.&#160; It looks just like those loose architectural glass blocks you often see that form shower enclosures, windows, and walls--permanent installations.&#160; The difference is that DecoBloc is open at one end and hollow inside.&#160; The open end is generously wide--so wide that I could fit my entire hand through the opening.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/decobloc-glass-block.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/decobloc-glass-block.htm Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:46:28 +0000 2012-02-04T11:46:28Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/4-tools-for-cutting-tile.htm <p><img class="alignnone" src="http://0.tqn.com/h/homerenovations/1/3/b/Y/-/-/Tile-Cutting-Tools.jpg" alt="Tools For Cutting Tile" /></p> <p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/toolsbuildingmaterials/tp/Tools-For-Cutting-Tile.htm">Tools for cutting tile</a>, shown above, clockwise from upper-left:&#160; wet tile saw, rail tile cutter, RotoZip, and tile nibbler.&#160; Do you need every single tool?&#160; I think if you're undertaking a whole whole remodel, with a kitchen and a couple of baths in your future, it's worth it.&#160; The only expensive power tools here are the RotoZip and the wet tile saw.&#160; The RotoZip can be used for all kinds of jobs outside of tile installation; the wet tile saw is the complete opposite:&#160; worthless for anything unrelated to tile.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/4-tools-for-cutting-tile.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/02/04/4-tools-for-cutting-tile.htm Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:31:21 +0000 2012-02-04T10:31:21Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/31/unpermitted-remodels-who-is-liable.htm <p>Well, here's a situation nobody wants.&#160; Imagine this:</p> <blockquote><p><em>You're ready to sell your house.&#160; But during the negotiation process, the buyer points out that various <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/fundingyourrenovation/f/Unpermitted-Remodels-Who-Is-Liable.htm">remodels had been made which were unpermitted</a>.&#160; You did not do those unpermitted remodels; a previous owner had. </em></p> <p><em>You're stuck in the middle between a previous owner and a prospective owner.&#160; Who is liable for permitting this work and for any work needed to receive permits?</em></p></blockquote>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/31/unpermitted-remodels-who-is-liable.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/31/unpermitted-remodels-who-is-liable.htm Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:48:55 +0000 2012-01-31T14:48:55Z http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/30/sewer-video-inspection.htm <p><img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/homerenovations/1/5/T/Y/-/-/Sewer-Video-Camera-Inspection.jpg" alt="" width="168" height="133" /></p> <p>I used to think that a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/od/plumbing/a/Sewer-Video-Inspection-Basics.htm">sewer video inspection</a> was just a nice little thing--certainly not necessary or anything--until the moment I stood on a piece of ground with a shovel, contemplating shoveling up a grave's worth of earth to find a sewer line.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/30/sewer-video-inspection.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://homerenovations.about.com/b/2012/01/30/sewer-video-inspection.htm Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:39:13 +0000 2012-01-30T16:39:13Z