By Mark J. Donovan
Roof rain runoff can play havoc with your yard, particularly around your home’s foundation. If left unchecked the roof rain runoff can cause deep gullies in the soil near the home's foundation. Besides the fact that the gullies are unsightly they also end up acting as conduits for water to penetrate into your home’s basement.
The simplest way to resolve this problem is to install gutters along the roof edge. Gutter down spouts can channel the water away from the home in a controlled and directed way to prevent erosion and the threat of water penetration through the foundation.
However not all folks are pleased with the sight and maintenance required of gutters. An alternative to installing gutters to prevent rain from eroding soil around the foundation is to use mulch or crushed stone around the foundation. The mulch or stone not only prevents erosion but also dresses up the area around the foundation. When used in conjunction with small trees, bushes and plants the mulch or stone can act as a great landscaping base.
Readmore »»
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Discount Granite Countertops
Granite Countertops Provide an Unmatched Beauty to a Kitchen
By Mark J. Donovan
When designing a new kitchen many people elect to use granite countertops due to their beauty, timelessness, and low maintenance. Granite countertops are also highly resistant to heat and scratches. High end granite countertops however are pricey and can cost upwards of $100 per square foot. This said, discount granite countertops can provide much of the same charm and functionality as higher end granite countertops.
Granite countertops are grouped into different categories based on factors such as their colors, patterns, and thickness, as well as where they are quarried. Higher priced granite countertops are usually associated with ornate colors and patterns and are made from thicker slabs, e.g. 1.25” or 3cm. Discount granite countertops are usually made from less popular colors and patterns and are thinner, e.g. ¾” or 2cm.
So for the homeowner willing to accept a less popular color or ornate granite slab, discount granite countertops may be an option. The only installation tip that should be consider is to mount the discount granite countertop on a more rigid surface to better support the thinner granite slab. As a matter of fact, some granite countertop manufacturers pre-fabricate discount granite countertops at their factory by laminating the thinner granite slabs to a plywood underlayment. By pre-fabricating the discount granite countertops at the factory they save on manufacturing costs, shipping costs, and risk of product damage. Much of these savings get passed onto the homeowner to enable a very cost effective countertop solution. Readmore »»
By Mark J. Donovan
When designing a new kitchen many people elect to use granite countertops due to their beauty, timelessness, and low maintenance. Granite countertops are also highly resistant to heat and scratches. High end granite countertops however are pricey and can cost upwards of $100 per square foot. This said, discount granite countertops can provide much of the same charm and functionality as higher end granite countertops.
Granite countertops are grouped into different categories based on factors such as their colors, patterns, and thickness, as well as where they are quarried. Higher priced granite countertops are usually associated with ornate colors and patterns and are made from thicker slabs, e.g. 1.25” or 3cm. Discount granite countertops are usually made from less popular colors and patterns and are thinner, e.g. ¾” or 2cm.
So for the homeowner willing to accept a less popular color or ornate granite slab, discount granite countertops may be an option. The only installation tip that should be consider is to mount the discount granite countertop on a more rigid surface to better support the thinner granite slab. As a matter of fact, some granite countertop manufacturers pre-fabricate discount granite countertops at their factory by laminating the thinner granite slabs to a plywood underlayment. By pre-fabricating the discount granite countertops at the factory they save on manufacturing costs, shipping costs, and risk of product damage. Much of these savings get passed onto the homeowner to enable a very cost effective countertop solution. Readmore »»
Monday, June 1, 2009
Installation of Inexpensive Garden Fencing
By Mark J. Donovan
Every year as I plant my garden, I wrestle with the idea of replacing my old garden fencing or living another year with it. Due to the voracious appetites of wood chucks I am forced to have some fencing around the garden. And due to the tenacity of these not so little creatures I need to install the fence approximately 6 inches into the ground to prevent them from digging under it.
This year I decided it was time to invest in a new fence, but being a fiscally conservative type of person I did not want to spend a great deal of money on it. Heck, why should I spend $100 or more on fencing if I am only going to save $50 dollars on fresh vegetable purchases, if I am lucky.
As a result, I have decided to try this year a plastic type of garden fencing that is 36 inches tall. In addition, instead of using wooden tomato stakes for the posts I decided to use green, four foot high metal stakes that I picked up from the local home improvement store.
The installation was a breeze. All I did was pound the stakes around the perimeter of the garden and then attached the plastic garden fencing to the stakes. The stakes come with little tabs that can be bent to hold the fence in place, however I found 4 inch plastic tie wraps did a better job.
In addition, I elected not to bury the fence this time. Instead, I chose to have the fence sit only 30” high and then folded the bottom of the fence outwards from the garden. My hope is that the wide fence tab that this creates, will make it nearly impossible for the woodchucks to attempt to dig or crawl under.
The beauty of this type of fencing, versus the metal garden fencing material is that I can easily take it down at the end of the gardening season and roll it up nicely. You cannot do this with the metal fencing.
So we will see how the garden works out this year and I will report my findings in the fall.
Stay tuned……….. Readmore »»
Every year as I plant my garden, I wrestle with the idea of replacing my old garden fencing or living another year with it. Due to the voracious appetites of wood chucks I am forced to have some fencing around the garden. And due to the tenacity of these not so little creatures I need to install the fence approximately 6 inches into the ground to prevent them from digging under it.
This year I decided it was time to invest in a new fence, but being a fiscally conservative type of person I did not want to spend a great deal of money on it. Heck, why should I spend $100 or more on fencing if I am only going to save $50 dollars on fresh vegetable purchases, if I am lucky.
As a result, I have decided to try this year a plastic type of garden fencing that is 36 inches tall. In addition, instead of using wooden tomato stakes for the posts I decided to use green, four foot high metal stakes that I picked up from the local home improvement store.
The installation was a breeze. All I did was pound the stakes around the perimeter of the garden and then attached the plastic garden fencing to the stakes. The stakes come with little tabs that can be bent to hold the fence in place, however I found 4 inch plastic tie wraps did a better job.
In addition, I elected not to bury the fence this time. Instead, I chose to have the fence sit only 30” high and then folded the bottom of the fence outwards from the garden. My hope is that the wide fence tab that this creates, will make it nearly impossible for the woodchucks to attempt to dig or crawl under.
The beauty of this type of fencing, versus the metal garden fencing material is that I can easily take it down at the end of the gardening season and roll it up nicely. You cannot do this with the metal fencing.
So we will see how the garden works out this year and I will report my findings in the fall.
Stay tuned……….. Readmore »»
Monday, May 11, 2009
My Exploding Cedar Mailbox Post
By Mark J. Donovan
A few weeks ago I replaced my old pressure treated mailbox post with a new and more attractive, prefabricated cedar mailbox post. When selecting it from the bin at the local home improvement store I noticed that all of them had knots and hairline cracks running the length of them. I chose one with a minimal hairline crack and chalked up the cracks as more of an aesthetic imperfection rather than a structural one. I was wrong!
Last night my daughter asked while standing at our front door, why was the mailbox lying on the ground? After getting over the initial shock of seeing my new mailbox post lying broken on the ground, I looked closely at the post and did not observe any types of marks on it that would give any indication that it was hit. What I did notice, however, was that that the post had calved on the hairline crack that I had observed when I purchased it. Apparently the 20 mile an hour wind gusts we had during the day were too much for it.
What was even more annoying was that the cedar post splintered as if it exploded. Consequently it was virtually impossible to marry the two halves back together.
So, I will find myself removing the post, and the 100 lbs of concrete that it is set in, this weekend. However this time I will replace it with a traditional pressure treated mailbox post. Readmore »»
A few weeks ago I replaced my old pressure treated mailbox post with a new and more attractive, prefabricated cedar mailbox post. When selecting it from the bin at the local home improvement store I noticed that all of them had knots and hairline cracks running the length of them. I chose one with a minimal hairline crack and chalked up the cracks as more of an aesthetic imperfection rather than a structural one. I was wrong!
Last night my daughter asked while standing at our front door, why was the mailbox lying on the ground? After getting over the initial shock of seeing my new mailbox post lying broken on the ground, I looked closely at the post and did not observe any types of marks on it that would give any indication that it was hit. What I did notice, however, was that that the post had calved on the hairline crack that I had observed when I purchased it. Apparently the 20 mile an hour wind gusts we had during the day were too much for it.
What was even more annoying was that the cedar post splintered as if it exploded. Consequently it was virtually impossible to marry the two halves back together.
So, I will find myself removing the post, and the 100 lbs of concrete that it is set in, this weekend. However this time I will replace it with a traditional pressure treated mailbox post. Readmore »»
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Installing Baseboard Trim with Existing Carpet
By Mark J. Donovan
Question: I want to replace my baseboard trim in one of the rooms in my home, however I do not want to replace the existing carpet. I want to know if I can replace the baseboard trim without having to pull up the carpeting and have it re-stretched back into place after I install the new baseboard trim.
Answer: The carpet is held in place by carpet tack strips. The baseboard trim does not hold it in place. It is possible, however that when the baseboard trim was installed, it was installed prior to the carpet. Sometimes finish carpenters will install baseboard trim about a quarter inch off the floor if they know carpet is to be installed. This baseboard trim installation technique is mainly for aesthetics, however carpet installers use this gap to push any excess carpet material underneath the baseboard trim. The baseboard trim, again, is not holding the carpeting in place.
So you should be able to replace the old baseboard trim without having to lift the carpet. Simply use a nail punch to push the finish nails through the existing baseboard trim. Then remove the old trim from the walls. Next, pull out the old finished nails from the wall and your ready to install the new baseboard trim.
The new baseboard trim can sit flush onto the carpet edge and between the wall and the existing carpet tack strip. Readmore »»
Question: I want to replace my baseboard trim in one of the rooms in my home, however I do not want to replace the existing carpet. I want to know if I can replace the baseboard trim without having to pull up the carpeting and have it re-stretched back into place after I install the new baseboard trim.
Answer: The carpet is held in place by carpet tack strips. The baseboard trim does not hold it in place. It is possible, however that when the baseboard trim was installed, it was installed prior to the carpet. Sometimes finish carpenters will install baseboard trim about a quarter inch off the floor if they know carpet is to be installed. This baseboard trim installation technique is mainly for aesthetics, however carpet installers use this gap to push any excess carpet material underneath the baseboard trim. The baseboard trim, again, is not holding the carpeting in place.
So you should be able to replace the old baseboard trim without having to lift the carpet. Simply use a nail punch to push the finish nails through the existing baseboard trim. Then remove the old trim from the walls. Next, pull out the old finished nails from the wall and your ready to install the new baseboard trim.
The new baseboard trim can sit flush onto the carpet edge and between the wall and the existing carpet tack strip. Readmore »»
Monday, April 27, 2009
No Water Coming out of Frost Free Outdoor Faucet
By Mark J. Donovan
Question - I have a frost free outdoor faucet that is not working. There is no water coming out of my outdoor faucet. I tried to turn it on this spring and no water comes out of it. We did have some frozen pipes this past winter for a few hours one day. Do you have any ideas on why it may not be working?
Answer: Frost free outdoor faucets can be a little tricky. There are faucet nuts and washers that can sometimes fail, or become loose, and can cause the faucet to leak. Sometimes outdoor faucets can be installed wrong, e.g. leaving the valve system in the pipe while sweating it into your plumbing system. This can lead to a failed outdoor faucet.
Regarding your question on the frost free outdoor faucet not working. Your situation sounds a little odd. If you had a frozen pipe situation then I would think the faucet may have a leak.
I only have a couple of thoughts on this situation:
First, make sure you do not have an internal shut off valve inside the home that provides water to the outdoor faucet. Frequently even frost free outdoor faucets have inside shutoff valves for added protection.
The second thought I have is that if the faucet was old and rusty, the handle may not actually be connected/engaged with the valve stem any longer. If this was the case you could turn the handle and the valve would remain closed. Readmore »»
Question - I have a frost free outdoor faucet that is not working. There is no water coming out of my outdoor faucet. I tried to turn it on this spring and no water comes out of it. We did have some frozen pipes this past winter for a few hours one day. Do you have any ideas on why it may not be working?
Answer: Frost free outdoor faucets can be a little tricky. There are faucet nuts and washers that can sometimes fail, or become loose, and can cause the faucet to leak. Sometimes outdoor faucets can be installed wrong, e.g. leaving the valve system in the pipe while sweating it into your plumbing system. This can lead to a failed outdoor faucet.
Regarding your question on the frost free outdoor faucet not working. Your situation sounds a little odd. If you had a frozen pipe situation then I would think the faucet may have a leak.
I only have a couple of thoughts on this situation:
First, make sure you do not have an internal shut off valve inside the home that provides water to the outdoor faucet. Frequently even frost free outdoor faucets have inside shutoff valves for added protection.
The second thought I have is that if the faucet was old and rusty, the handle may not actually be connected/engaged with the valve stem any longer. If this was the case you could turn the handle and the valve would remain closed. Readmore »»
Friday, April 17, 2009
How to Buy an Unfinshed Home
By Mark J. Donovan
Question: How to I go about finding an unfinshed home to buy?
Answer: I have purchased two homes in the past that were unfinished. The first was a spec home that the builder left the upstairs unfinished. This type of spec home was fairly common in the New Hampshire area back in the 1980s. Many builders offered these type of starter homes to consumers. Though unfinished they did qualify for occupancy permits and banks gave out mortgages for them. Typically in an unfinished home the downstairs is completely finished and there is a bedroom. The upstairs is shut off via a door at the top of the stairwell. The upstairs contains insulation in the floor, and depending upon what you negotiate, insulation and studding can be completed in the upstairs. Typically limited rough electrical wiring is also fed to the upstairs.
The second unfinished home I purchased I actually negotiated with a builder who was building a development to not complete the upstairs.
From a builder's perspective there is an advantage of building an unfinished home to a committed buyer versus building a spec home with no committed buyer. In today's housing market I would locate a builder and ask him about such an option. Sometimes builders are hesitant to build unfinished homes for a couple of reasons. First, buildable land is becoming increasingly scarce. Second because the buildable land is scarce the cost of it is high. Consequently many builders are hesitant to build an unfinished home because they want to maximize the amount of money they can make on a piece of property. However, with the state of the current housing market builders may be more willing to accept an offer to build an unfinished home.
So if you have interest in buying an unfinished home check with your local builders and town building inspector. Readmore »»
Question: How to I go about finding an unfinshed home to buy?
Answer: I have purchased two homes in the past that were unfinished. The first was a spec home that the builder left the upstairs unfinished. This type of spec home was fairly common in the New Hampshire area back in the 1980s. Many builders offered these type of starter homes to consumers. Though unfinished they did qualify for occupancy permits and banks gave out mortgages for them. Typically in an unfinished home the downstairs is completely finished and there is a bedroom. The upstairs is shut off via a door at the top of the stairwell. The upstairs contains insulation in the floor, and depending upon what you negotiate, insulation and studding can be completed in the upstairs. Typically limited rough electrical wiring is also fed to the upstairs.
The second unfinished home I purchased I actually negotiated with a builder who was building a development to not complete the upstairs.
From a builder's perspective there is an advantage of building an unfinished home to a committed buyer versus building a spec home with no committed buyer. In today's housing market I would locate a builder and ask him about such an option. Sometimes builders are hesitant to build unfinished homes for a couple of reasons. First, buildable land is becoming increasingly scarce. Second because the buildable land is scarce the cost of it is high. Consequently many builders are hesitant to build an unfinished home because they want to maximize the amount of money they can make on a piece of property. However, with the state of the current housing market builders may be more willing to accept an offer to build an unfinished home.
So if you have interest in buying an unfinished home check with your local builders and town building inspector. Readmore »»
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