Improve Your Home and Garden
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Termites like wood. They don’t care if the wood is old growth, new growth, responsibly harvested or clear-cut; they just want to eat it. Wouldn’t it be grand if you could just explain to the bugs that you are trying to be green and therefore don’t want to use pesticides in your home? You could [...]
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Timber frame homes are grand mansions for movie stars and cowboy millionaires. They require a Montana-sized backyard and a NASA–sized budget, right? If you really believe that, you should meet Rick Stockmann of Specialty Built Construction, Salem, OR. He doesn’t live in Montana, or work for NASA, and he isn’t interested in building castles only [...]
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What does it take to get the average American driver to seriously consider an electric vehicle? Paying $3 per gallon and above for gas is a good start. Increasing the availability of affordable electric vehicles could do it, too. Maybe it would also help to wean us gently away from gasoline by flooding the market [...]
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Now that our annual 100-year floods are over with, you may find yourself thinking once more about how to protect your basement from uninvited drips, drafts and dampness. While a sump pump and the right insulation are a good start, chances are there is a basement contractor in your area who could offer you a [...]
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My friend Janelle is from a family of pioneers. No, they didn’t own a covered wagon, but her dad was one of the first people I knew to go solar. When Janelle and I were in sixth grade, her father spent most of that spring installing a solar panel the size of Nevada on his [...]
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When did fashion shows become earth friendly? Why would I want chickens in my garden? And how can my sofa become a heat source for my home? These questions and other green living mysteries will be explained at this year’s Portland Energy Trust Better Living Show, running March 26 – 28, 2010. This Show is not your [...]
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Visit this year’s Energy Trust Better Living Show in Portland, OR, on March 26 – 28, 2010, and you will see very quickly that this is not your mother’s home and garden show. As a matter of fact, it is not a home and garden show by any measure. This 3-day sustainable lifestyle festival is [...]
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I moved my peony bush last year from the back yard to the front of my home. I didn’t need to hire a professional to do that job, but I wouldn’t have minded renting someone else’s back for the afternoon. This summer, I’d like to swap out an ailing evergreen for a red maple, plant [...]
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If you want to install a roof, you should hire a roofer. If you need someone who will help you protect the people and things under your roof, you should hire a roofing contractor. Crystal Anderson owns AGC Contracting of Maryland Heights, MO, and she fully understands what lies under a roof. Finding hidden leaks, [...]
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The Builders St. Louis Home and Garden Show will be the best place in the Midwest this weekend for shopping, learning, playing, and just stopping to smell the roses. The show offers attractions for kids of all ages, gardeners and garage gearheads, home designers and home improvement DIYers – all in one sprawling location. Kid [...]
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Set your 10-year-old inner balloonist free at the Builders St. Louis Home and Garden Show I want to be 10 years old again. This year at the Builders St. Louis Home and Garden Show, I want to be 4-ft high, have a cookie in my pocket, and be responsible for nothing. I don’t want to [...]
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It may happen just before the first frost. Sitting on your couch in the evening, watching TV, you will suddenly feel the air wash over your toes. That’s no tropical breeze, either. The cold draft causes you to reach for your slippers, turn up the heat, and call a contractor. It’s time for an energy [...]
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Visit the Builders St. Louis Home and Garden Show this weekend for green home design inspiration Ten years ago, you were green if you recycled your plastics and insulated your attic. Five years ago, we were told to change to CFL light bulbs and buy a hybrid car. Now, in the spring of 2010, America’s [...]
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One of today’s most popular home improvement projects is energy efficient window replacement. Today’s new replacement windows are better insulated and longer lasting than ever before. Of course, installing a window involves some serious structural issues, so finding dependable, capable window replacement companies is as important as finding the right windows. Thomas Construction, located near [...]
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If you’ve found your dream home and are now in the process of making it your castle for life, a bathroom remodel is likely on your project list. You might even think about upgrading your bathtub. While you’re in the planning stage, consider the advantages of installing a walk-in tub. Laimonis Magone owns Ella’s Bubbles, a [...]
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Many homeowners have discovered that their front and back yards can be used as outdoor rooms, before and after dark. It follows, then, that a homeowner should take outdoor lighting design as seriously as their interior design. Low-voltage landscape lighting has become very popular. Jim and Tracy Landsiedel own NiteLites of Cincinnati, OH, which puts them in [...]
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Remodeling a kitchen requires planning and teamwork. One of the more important decisions you will make, after you set your budget and expectations, is where to purchase top kitchen appliances. The appliance distributor you choose will ultimately become an important part of the kitchen remodeling team. If you can’t spot the difference between a ringer [...]
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The Situation: Fence vs. Invisible Fence Fences are frowned upon in our neighborhood. Most houses have large backyards that connect to form an open area which can be used as a football field if enough of your neighbors are cooperative. We also have a dog. He has no particular talents, and has the IQ of [...]
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LED lighting is the latest bright idea in your local home improvement store. LED light manufacturers tout advantages like energy efficiency and environmentally responsible engineering. A few even insist that their product will last a lifetime. If you’re thinking, “So what’s the catch?” then good for you. As with most new technologies, LED fixtures have [...]
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