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Review of Ty’s Tricks by Ty Pennington


Review of Ty’s Tricks by Ty Pennington 


If you're into do it yourself television, you've undoubtedly heard of Ty Pennington. He's been on Trading Spaces as well as Extreme Makeover Home Edition and has become a national phenomenon, thanks to his quirky style and ease with tools. If you're looking to improve your home the easy way, this book offers some great advice and, much like Ty, it's a little quiry and a lot of fun.

First off, if you're looking for blueprints, exact specs and technical information, this is the not the book for you. The book covers the renovations that Ty made to his own home and while it does get into how to do things, it is more of a reflection of his techniques and tricks for working on a limited budget to get the best results. However, even if you are a seasoned pro, it's still well worth the read.

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As we mentioned earlier, the book covers the projects that Ty completed in his own home, from remodeling the kitchen to adding a koi pond in the back yard. He goes into great details on the kinds of materials that he used as well as the ways he was able to cut corners. He managed to remodel his entire kitchen for less than $3,000 and the whole house for less than $15,000.

In this vein, the book is packed with incredible money saving tips that will help anyone find ways to make their house look great for less money. Best case in point: for his kitchen, Ty chose flooring to redo the ceiling and used tile for the flooring. The finished result was surprisingly well put together and gave the room a lot of warmth.

If you're looking for tips on how to work inside the space you already have and get it done on a budget, this is a terrific book. It's got plenty of pictures (many of them including Ty) and it is a very quick and fun read. While it's not the most technical of tomes, it does cover basic design principles and can help the reader come up with their own ideas to make their home their own unique extension of their personality.

While the average person may not need a koi pond in their backyard, this book serves as a great jumping off point that is very inspirational. When you're done with this book, you'll feel able to take on the world, or at the very least, your own home with plenty of confidence. It's great for beginners, but like we said before, even professionals can get some tips that are useful.

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Overall, we recommend this book, but with a caveat. Read it with the right mindset and you'll walk away with a feeling that you can tackle your home. Read it with the wrong mindset and you'll most likely be disappointed that it didn't include more exact specs and technical information. At face value however, this is a book that has a place in most DIY bookshelves.



How To Selecting the Right Glue


How To Selecting the Right Glue 

Here are some of the glues that work best for certain tasks and their drying times and setting times and any important application procedures as well. Still, you should prepare to look at the label for the glue product that you choose to make sure that you are choosing the proper glue for the intended application process and purpose.

Tasks Requiring Strong Bonding
For the strongest bonding needs, you are going to want to make use of epoxy glue. There are a number of indoor as well as outdoor products that work well with this particular type of glue including metal, wood, glass and also plastic. Depending on what surface area you are working with, the glue is capable if setting in as little as five minutes or as many as ten hours. It is capable of curing completely in between 3 and 48 hours from when it was initially applied.
This is a type of glue that is somewhat trickier than the others. You are going to need to be wearing protective gloves, and you are going to need to work quickly using a disposable applicator. You are going to want to mix the two different ingredients together and it will need to be applied to the surfaces immediately. If you end up spilling, you need to clean it up as soon as humanly possible using an acetone product. This is a glue that is extremely strong, rigid and waterproof.


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Tasks Requiring Instant Bonding
On occasion you may find yourself dealing with an immediate fixing need. If your item is a nonpourous material such as metal, rubber or plastic, then you can use super glue in order to achieve a quick level of bonding. This glue is capable of setting in between 10 seconds and 30 seconds, meaning that it is essential that you move quickly when you are using it. It is capable of curing in half an hour up to about 12 hours depending on what surface area you are working with. You can apply a single drop or two and you should be wearing gloves when you are using this type of glue. Press the two surfaces together for a period of approximately 30 seconds. If clean up is necessary, then you are going to require acetone to get the glue out. Super glue is not only really strong, but it also happens to be water resistant.

Gluing Wood
Plastic laminate products and wood veneers both require a special type of product for binding, which is contact cement. This product sets nearly instantly and it is capable of curing in a matter of mere minutes. You should apply the contact cement to both of the surfaces and then allow it to dry completely. Now place both of the surfaces together and press them together completely and thoroughly for the contact cement to bond.


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Green Flooring For Your Home

Green Flooring For Your Home
Green Flooring For Your Home

Green Flooring For Your Home


If you are considering installing new flooring for your home, now is the time to consider reducing your carbon imprint. There are many new choices for flooring that are not only eco-friendly but also beautiful, economical and long lasting. Let’s go over some of the most popular choices for green flooring that are currently on the market.

Bamboo –
This is one of the most popular forms of flooring and it is incredibly green. Bamboo grows quickly and does not need to be replanted. It is not as hard as some woods, however, bamboo floors are usually quite durable. They add a unique look to your home’s flooring system and you can find this flooring in many finishes and colors.

Concrete –
A lot of new homes feature poured concrete floors, especially in the kitchen. While they are very hard and a little expensive, you can’t ask for a more durable and eco-friendly floor. You can have it cast in patterns, stamped with designs and even stained to the perfect color. Adding throw rugs is recommended, especially for rooms where you will be doing a lot of standing. When it comes to cleaning, concrete floors are probably the easiest to maintain and they should last for many years to come.

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Cork –
This is a nice soft flooring that will actually feel warm under you feet. It is quite popular and although cork comes from the bark of the tree, it is a renewable resource. Cork trees reproduce bark within a few years of having it removed and the removal process does not harm the tree. This is a great solution for areas that have a lot of foot traffic, since cork is pretty durable when it is installed correctly.

Cork flooring is highly recommended for those that are allergic to mold or other common allergens. The flooring is resistant to moisture and will actually repel insects. You can find this flooring in natural colors or you can have it dyed to match the color of your choice.

Linoleum –
You wouldn’t think of linoleum as being a green flooring, but it actually is. It is actually made up of several natural ingredients, and when removed, it does not take up a lot of space in a landfill, since it will easily degrade. This is probably the most cost effective eco-friendly flooring that you can find and it is incredibly easy to maintain. You can find linoleum in just about any color or pattern and installing it is also very easy.

Last but not least, if you already have wood floors, you may want to consider refinishing them before ripping them out. You can add rugs made of natural materials to hide trouble spots and you’ll be adding to the value of your home since natural wood floors are always preferable to many home buyers. It’s a great link to the past and if you already have them, you should try to get as much use out of them as possible.

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Fixing a Leaky Faucet

Fixing a Leaky Faucet 

At best, a leaking faucet is more than capable of being annoying. At worst, a leaking faucet is capable of being extremely wasteful. The sound of water as it continuously drips into a sink can be completely maddening over time. Luckily, the fix required for repairing a leaky faucet is relatively simple as a DIY home repair project. With a few simple tools and some basic DIY know how, there is no reason why you cannot learn what it takes to fix a leaky faucet all on your own.



First and foremost, before you attempt this fix you need to make sure that the water has been turned off. Look under the offending sink and you should find a shut off valve that will allow you to turn the water off. Older homes may not have this shut off valve beneath the sink, meaning that you would need to go into the basement to turn the water off. Once the water has been turned off, you should open up both faucets so that any water that is still in the pipes can be let out. You need to take care to make sure that a drain stopper is put down so that if you drop a loose part, you do not end up losing it down the drain while you are working on the repair process.


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If you happen to have an old lever handle faucet, then it is going to require that you use a screwdriver in order to remove the screw from the top of the faucet. Newer faucet handles are not going to have any visible hardware in the top but rather you will need to undo the set screw using a standard Allen wrench. Once the screw has been removed from the faucet handle, the handle can be removed.

If you have a knob handle, then you should remove the knob from the fixture so that you can gain access to your screw. Use an adjustable type of wrench to take apart the handle's inner workings. Make sure that the pieces are lined up as they are removed so that you can replace them in the right order. Keeping them in the right order will make reassembly easier when you are done.

Remove the washer and prepare to replace it. Bring it to the hardware store as a reference when you are buying a replacement. If you use the old washer as a guide, you will make sure to buy the proper new washer. Set the newly purchased washer in, and then replace the rest of the hardware to reassemble the faucet. If you have a double handled sink and it is still leaking, then you are going to have to repeat this same process for the other faucet in order to address the problem completely and fully.


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How to Do Home Window Installation



How to Do Home Window Installation 

Replacing and installing windows can seem like a daunting and expensive task, but it can actually be incredibly simple to do yourself. When you do your own home window installation, you’ll be greatly cutting down on the costs since most of the cost of having windows installed is the labor. If you have a basic toolbox, you can easily replace windows, or install brand new windows if you can cut out a rough opening.

If you want to replace your windows, the easiest way to go about it would be to get the model of the windows you currently have installed. If you can, also be write down the measurements of the window and get them to be as accurate as possible. Any home window installation place or home improvement store will have information about your window and can help you find another window that will fit in the same space. If for any reason they don’t have your window model in their registry, the measurements you took will be able to help them find the right window for you. To install brand new windows, you might find it easier to buy the window you are interested in first and then measure out what you are cutting based on the measurements of the window.


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Either way, you’ll need moisture seal to place around the edges of where you will be mounting the new window. Make sure the seal goes all the way around the edges and goes right up against the inside edge near the opening. You’ll then want to install shims at the base of where the window will go. They must be level and cut to be even with the opening. If there are already shims in place, you should examine how they look before removing them so you know what yours should look like. Even if there are already window seals and shims in place, you will want to replace them with new ones each time you do a home window installation.

Once you’ve got your foundations laid out, it’s time to put in the window. Place the window in the certain of the opening. Make sure it is as even as possible on all sides and use a nail in one corner of the trim to help keep it in place. When you have the nail in, you can take the time to see if the window is level. Your home window installation should be as accurate as possible so you don’t need to redo it later on.

When the window is level, you can continue nailing the trim. You will want to use caulk around the edges to fill in any holes or cracks that might be left between the siding and the window. Every window is slightly different and there may be special instructions for your window and how to properly caulk it. After the caulk is dry, go back through one more time to ensure that there is no air getting through the window when it is closed. If there isn’t you can remove any protective coverings your window might have had because you have successfully installed your window.

Read Also : The Basics of Drilling How To Operate The Drill


The Basics of Drilling How To Operate The Drill

The Basics of Drilling How To Operate The Drill

The Basics of Drilling How To Operate The Drill 

Hold the drill properly! If you want to drill a much straighter hole and to avoid breaking your drill bits, you need to hold the drill in such a way that the force you are exerting is going to help you push the bit directly straight into the wall. You should be placing the palm of your hand so that it is line with the drill chuck and you should be extending your index finger so that it is along the length of the body of the drill. You should pull the trigger using your second finger rather than your first.

Keep the drill level! You will find that newer power drills often come equipped with between one and two levels built in, in order to help you drill holes that are straight and perpendicular. To upgrade a drill that is older, simply cut the hooks off of a mason's line level and then attach it right to the top of your older drill using common every day duct tape.

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Hole Starters: In order for you to keep the bit from skating all over the place when you are starting a hole in most types of materials including wood, you can draw your cross marks where you are planning on drilling. Now use a center punch to create a dimple right where the cross marks intersect. Now you can use a star drill if you are dealing with masonry building or any other drill to suit your needs. If you are working with ceramic tile on the other hand then what you are going to want to do is to use a carbide masonry drill bit to scratch an x where you want the drill to create a hole.

How deep to go? When you are drilling to a specific precise depth, you should be marking the depth on the actual Drill Bits">drill bit using a small piece of masking tape. You can cut the piece long and then stick the overlapping ends to one another in order to create a little flag. When you have reached the right depth with your drill, the flag will automatically brush the debris away for you, serving two purposes at once.

Choosing the right sized bit. If you need to drill a clearance hole to suit a bolt or a screw, but you do not have a drill gauge at hand, what do you do? You can use the fastener itself along with the chuck of the drill in order to gauge the right diameter for the bit that you need. Chuck the fastener just lightly into the drill that you will be using, and then remove the fastener without making any adjustments to the chuck's setting. You can dry shanks of different bits until you find the bit that fits in snugly and securely.

Read Also : Closing Down a House for the Winter

Closing Down a House for the Winter

Closing Down a House for the Winter


Whether you have a vacation home that will not be in use for the winter, or you will be gone from your home for an extended period of time this season, it is a good idea to properly close up your home for the winter. This is not difficult and the steps you take here can save you thousands of dollars by preventing burst pipes, water damage and other damage. Here is a quick checklist to help you get prepared.

1. Drain the water heater and the pipes.
This is something that many homeowners forget, but it is the most important step to take and should be done before anything else. If you don’t get rid of excess water in your pipes, plumbing and water heater, there is a chance that they could freeze. Since you won’t be at the home, you may never know what happened until it is too late. If you are not used to flushing your home’s plumbing system, you can easily hire a plumber to help with this job. Once everything has been flushed, double check to make sure that the main water line to the house has been shut off.

Some people recommend adding antifreeze to toilet water, but this is a hazard, particularly if you have pets and small children. It is best simply to flush the house system and close down the water line for the winter.


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2. Seal all the windows.
In order to keep the temperature at a constant level, it’s a good idea to seal up and winterize all of your windows and doors. This can save you money on heating an extra home throughout the winter and will help keep the interior less dusty. You can purchase window and door sealing kits at your local hardware store and do this on your own.

3. Set your furnace to the desired level.
If you don’t mind heating the house all winter long, or if you haven’t completely flushed the house water system, you will need to make sure that you leave the heat on. Most people prefer to set the heat at about 50 to 60 degrees to keep it above freezing. This should reduce the cost for heating the house throughout the winter. If you prefer to just turn everything off, double check and make sure that no water is left in the pipes before you do.

Turn off the electricity.
If you will not be using the heating system, you can simply turn off the electricity for this portion of the year. Many people feel more comfortable doing this, since they won’t have to worry about electrical fires if something happens when they are not at the house. Talk with your power company about shutting down for the winter. If you have propane or natural gas lines in the home, you should also have those shut down for the winter.

These easy steps will help you make sure that your house is safe and sound for the winter and will be ready for you next spring.

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