Posted By breddings on June 29, 2009
Today’s addition to the toolbox is dualflushkit.com. This site features a dual flush toilet kit and a water conservation devise for standard toilets.
This device promises to save water in a way that could never be easier. It promises to convert your toilet to a dual flush system that enhances the performance of your current system for a fraction of the cost of a new dual flush toilet.
The selectAFlush dual flush retrofit produces a current toilet that performs like low flow toilet. It even saves water in the same way that a high priced HET toilet does. No need to buy a whole new toilet and send your old toilet to the trash heap. With dualflushkit.com you can just convert your current toilet into a water saving dual flush system. Sounds good to us!
Category: Additions to the Toolbox |
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Tags: Additions to the Toolbox, dualflushkit.com
Posted By breddings on June 25, 2009
We’re always looking for nice home improvement websites here at With the Grain. We were sent a link to FairfieldBathroomsDirect.com, a site that features a whole range of bathroom accessories from faucets to radiators to some groovy toilet seats. Any readers who are redecorating their water closet or just need to replace an item or two might want to check them out.
Fairfield has a nice selection of bathroom accessories from lighted mirrors, towel warmers and almost anything else your bathroom’s heart may desire.
The website is easily navigable and well laid out. Besides listing the available accessories for bathrooms by product type it also provides a brand name index. If you are looking for any bathroom tap you can browse through the selection or if you already know that you specifically want a tap from Marflow St. James that is easily enough found as well.
Category: Additions to the Toolbox |
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Tags: Additions to the Toolbox, bathrooms
Posted By breddings on June 22, 2009
For today’s Additions to the Toolbox let’s look at Shopwiki.com. This shopping site is a different type of shopping site. Most Internet shopping sites charge ecommerce websites for their listings. This guarantees that only the sites with substantial marketing budgets will be found by them. Shopwiki works more like Google and other search engines in that it actively searches for relevant ecommerce websites. It seems apparent that this will provide a more accurate and fair snapshot of the ecommerce Internet landscape.
What does that mean for users? Starting from their home page one can easily find their Home & Garden section which includes many helpful subtopics for readers of With the Grain.
But Shopwiki.com is more than an Internet shopping mall. It also provides a lot of great, useful information to its users. Check out their pages about garden hoses, hedge trimmers and home furnishings. These buyers guides and consumer information pages do a lot more than simply show you where you can buy this stuff.
Category: Additions to the Toolbox |
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Tags: Additions to the Toolbox, shopwiki
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 18, 2009
Are you the type who loves having the perfect resource right at your fingertips to flip through whenever the need arises? You’re not alone. While the Internet is my favorite resource, I love having books around as well.
Here is a list of sites containing “good guides” to consider adding to your arsenal:
I’m always on the hunt for good guides that will lead me through an array of projects, and guides that I can take along with me while I’m working on this, that, or the other thing. Sometimes I’ll check these books out from the library first, and then make a buying decision later. Good luck!
Category: home improvement project |
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Tags: diy books, home improvement books, home improvement guides, home improvement resources
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 14, 2009
This weekend, I’m working on getting my vegetable and flower gardens in. We are working on a LOT of landscaping (heavy equipment excavation) to fix the drainage issues surrounding our foundation, so all of my gardening will be in containers this year. Here are some resources I’m using to help me through the process:
When I lived in apartments and rental homes, digging in the dirt was never something I was allowed to do (and, in some cases, there was no yard where I was renting), so container gardening was part of my yearly routine. It’s nice to revisit this type of gardening again, despite how much I can’t wait to plant beds in the ground!
Category: gardening |
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Tags: container gardening, gardening, planting, vegetable garden
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 13, 2009
In addition to adding value to your property, the addition of a rock retaining wall also benefits many features of your yard’s landscape (handling erosion, mud sliding, etc.) However, this is a very big project for the following reasons:
- The rocks in a retaining wall are very large and very heavy
- The rock’s placement must ensure they will be able to handle a substantial amount of weight and pressure
- Consider having the roll engineered to ensure it meets the standards you have in mind
- Keep in mind heavy-equipment might need to be brought in to lift and move the rocks
For more information, visit the following website: Retaining Walls: Building Stone Retaining Walls (About.com)
Category: landscaping |
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Tags: retaining wall, rock walls, stone walls
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 12, 2009
Whenever I think of home improvement, I can’t help thinking that most improvements already follow green standards because, well, there’s wood involved. And, for the most part (unless it is chemically treated), wood is “green.” However, it wasn’t until I started learning about “green” building in 2005 that I learned there are a lot of not-so-green ways of building and renovating. Thinking completely “green” when working on home improvements is not nearly as simple as I thought it would be.
Do you understand what green building is? Here is a good explanation, as well as tips to help guide you though green building: Definition of Green Building.
Once you have a firm understanding of what green building, and what green home improvements are, you’ll be able to better create your list of goals (do you want to use only green products, are you trying to be more energy efficient, etc.). Good luck!
Category: green building |
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Tags: green building, green home improvements
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 11, 2009
When I say bathroom re-do, in this case I’m not talking about renovations or remodeling. But rather, I’m talking about decorating. This is the fun part that comes after all the plumbing, tiling, electrical, and fixtures have been tended to successfully. There’s typically so much involved with bathroom renovations and remodels that the decorating often gets shouldered for awhile. If you are in the market for some ideas, consider the following:
Depending on the size of your bathroom, as well as its location in your home (half bath, full shared bath, master bath, etc.), that will dictate a lot of what you can and cannot do in terms of decorating. For example, if the bathroom is shared with a lot of children, you are not going to want to fill it with luxury bath essentials, or lacy curtains!
Category: bathroom |
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Tags: bathroom decor, bathroom decorating
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 8, 2009
Do you have a microwave with one or more of its light bulbs out and it’s driving you absolutely nuts? Yeah, I do too. It’s frustrating, especially when it’s a new microwave and one of the light bulbs goes out! Here are some links to help you learn how to change a microwave light bulb:
Needless to say, this will be on my list of home improvement projects to complete. I’m not saying it will be completed right away, but it is going to be done in the very near future!
Category: appliances, kitchen |
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Tags: microwave light bulbs
Posted By Jenn Hollowell on May 7, 2009
Unfortunately, issues with ceilings are more common than they are not. These issues can range anywhere from old age, to water damage, to the original installation being done incorrectly. Whatever your ceiling issues are, it cannot be ignored. You can, however, remedy many of these situations on your own (weekend warriors, here we go!!). Here are some links to lead you down the path of ceiling restoration:
Working above your head is not going to be fun, so be prepared for some sore shoulders and an aching back. You are also going to make a huge mess if the need to tear down the entire ceiling comes into play, so be sure to clear the room out and rent a dumpster. Because electrical wires may be present, be sure all breakers are shut off before demolition begins. Good luck and be safe!
Category: ceilings |
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Tags: DIY ceiling repair, DIY ceiling replacement
