28 Quick Summer Fixes

With summer slowly dwindling away it is important you take advantage of the time you have left. Thanks to the folks at This Old House we now have "28 Easy Summer Weekend Projects." Think about conquering these projects when it's still nice out. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"28 Easy Summer Weekend Projects"
By KAREN ZIGA

What's the use of balmy weather and long summer days if you can't hang out in your yard and have some fun? But if there's nowhere good to sit and nothing fun to do at your house, don't fret. These 28 projects, culled from the TOH archives of great weekend upgrades, will enhance your yard, beautify your exterior, and give everyone in the family something exciting to do. Pick and choose the ones that are right for your home, and soon you'll have the most attractive and entertaining yard on the block.

1. Make a Herb Planter from a wagon
Looking to spice up your container garden? Dig out Junior's rusty old Radio Flyer and turn it into a mobile planter that can go from a sun-steeped corner right to your kitchen door.

2. Build a Tree Bench
This comfy, stay-cool spot has room for the entire family and practically looks like it's a part of the tree itself. Put your bench together, and you'll enjoy lounging on it with a favorite book all summer long.


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Be Prepared For Labor Day

Are you having company over this Labor day? We have found a few tips to help to have your yard in tip top shape for friends and family. Thanks to the folks at HGTV for providing this article titled,  "Cleaning Tips for Your Home's Exterior and Yard."  Click here to read the entire article or begin below.

"Cleaning Tips for Your Home's Exterior and Yard."
By HGTV

1.Washing off the dirt and debris

Some pressure washers come with an assortment of color-coded spray tips. Each one has a different spray, from the high-pressure pinpoint spray to a wider, low-pressure spray. Siding can be cleaned with a low-pressure spray tip. Pressure-washing is also useful for removing algae stains from fencing. 

2. Cleaning the deck
Pressure-wash your deck with a tip that produces a spray about the width of a 2x4, with medium pressure. The trick is to keep the spray moving. Don't rest in one spot for too long or it could permanently damage the surface. Then apply a wood preservative to help prevent water damage and discoloration. 

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Helpful Home Improvement YouTube Channels

We found a great article compiling some of the most handy YouTube channels to follow for DIY and home improvement help thanks to mashable.com. Preview the article below or click here to read full article. 

"5 Handy YouTube Channels for DIY and Home Improvement"
By Amy-Mae Elliott

The easiest way to learn how to do something practical is to first see it done properly by someone else. By breaking it down into easy-to-follow steps, these how-to videos offer an absolute wealth of knowledge that is just a few clicks away.

We've searched YouTube for the very best home improvement instructional video channels where experts and enthusiastic amateurs share their skills for free.

So the next time you have a DIY job to do, whether it's fixing a leaky faucet or a more ambitious project, check out our choice of top five channels where, no doubt, there's a handy video by someone who's been there, done that, and can help you avoid throwing the wrench against the wall in frustration.

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Quick Fixes to Common Household Problems

We found a great series of tips on realsimple.com titled, "15 Quick Fixed to Make Around Your House." These tips were published with the idea of creating a quick solution for a problem. With juggling jobs, toting the kids around, and other errands you might not always have time to prep the house like you wanted to for company. With these quick tips you can fix the problem until a later time when you are actually able to take the time to do a complete renovation. You can check out the tips here or begin reading below.

"15 Quick Fixed to Make Around Your House."
By Realsimple.com

Squeaky Floor

For a temporary fix, sprinkle talcum powder over the noisy area and sweep it into the cracks. Be sure to remove any traces of powder if you’re ever going to refinish the floor.

Peeling Wallpaper

With a knife, smear wallpaper paste onto a piece of writing paper. Rub the paper against the underside of the peeling section. Press the wallpaper against the wall. Slide the writing paper out and smooth away bubbles with a clean cloth.

Worn Caning

A little sagging over time is natural but reversible. To tighten caning back up, use a sponge to wet the underside with warm water. Let dry slowly overnight. Repeat if necessary.

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Keep Your House Cool This Summer

Air conditioning and keeping your home cool during the summer can be very expensive. Thanks to the the team at MSN we have some cheap ways to keep our houses manageable to live in. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"27 Cheap Ways to Keep Your House Cooler"
By MSN Real Estate 

Sure, go ahead and turn that thermostat up to 80. You'll be sweaty and still shelling out a bundle -- unless you take other steps to make summer heat more bearable and reduce stress on your air conditioner.

Most of these cost little or nothing. Thank the Department of Energy's Energy Savers program, which provides most of these tips (and more) on its own Web site.

Get the most from your air conditioning

•Open windows and use portable or ceiling fans instead of operating your air conditioner. Even mild air movement of 1 mph can make you feel three or four degrees cooler. Make sure your ceiling fan is turned for summer -- you should feel the air blown downward.

•Use a fan with your window air conditioner to spread the cool air through your home.

•Without blocking air flow, shade your outside compressor. Change air filters monthly during the summer.

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22 Little Tips That Will Make a Large Difference

Getting your house to be the "Green" dwelling you would like it to be can seem extremely daunting. The new and expensive appliances, changes to the insulation, and time and effort it takes is enough to make someone think twice about helping out the environment. Instead, the folks over at This Old House have provided some excellent inexpensive tips for creating a more eco-friendly home while saving you lots of time. Such drastic changes aren't as necessary when you can make this small ones that will still have a large impact. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"22 Little Ways to Go Green"
By THIS OLD HOUSE


It seems everybody knows you can help the planet—and save yourself some cash—with big changes: adding spray-foam insulation to open walls, say, or installing a tankless water heater. But there are lots of simpler, lower-cost ways to improve your eco-scorecard, too. Here are some low-stress steps to take around the house to reduce your carbon footprint, create a healthier home, and lower your monthly bills to boot.

WORKSHOP
1. Unplug your power tools. Figure out which cordless tools (like drill/drivers) get the most use, then unplug the chargers on all the rest. Most cordless tools have nickel cadmium (NiCad) batteries, which will hold some charge for up to a year. They lose 15 to 20 percent of their juice each month, but only take a couple of hours to power up again. Newer tools with lithium ion batteries lose just 2 to 5 percent of their charge each month, so they'll be ready to go even if you haven't charged them in ages.

2. Spread sawdust on your floor. Take the superfine shavings captured by your dust collection system, wet them down, then push them around with a stiff broom to sweep your concrete garage or workshop floor. The mix is as good as a power-guzzling shop vac at picking up dust but doesn't swirl it into the air. 

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Take Your Kitchen Outside

Although summer is in full swing most of us find ourselves stuck inside all day. Why not take advantage of the weather when you get off and cook outside? The team at the DIY Network have provided some great tips of things to think about before building an outdoor kitchen. Click here to read the article or begin below.

"Tips for an Outdoor Kitchen"
By DIY NETWORK

Outdoor kitchens have certainly become one of the hottest items in home building in the last few years. You can get the same options from your indoor kitchen and you can put those things in your outdoor kitchen. For example, you can get cabinets, grills, refrigerators, but there's one thing that's totally different — everything has to be waterproofed.

The most basic item for your outdoor kitchen is a barbecue grill — don't forget that what makes it a kitchen is that you have a place to cook. You have a few options when it comes to an outdoor grill, you can get something that is prefab, something semi-custom or something that is customized.

You can get something as extravagant as a drop-in stove that's got six burners and a gas kit. You might hire a kitchen designer for your indoor kitchen, but for a more casual outdoor kitchen you might want to do it yourself.

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