Home Building

Green Footstep's Carbon Footprint Calculator To The Rescue

2009-11-14T17:45:37Z

If you are an architect, a commercial or residential building designer or a developer/builder, how in the world do you calculate your carbon footprint for your building project? In today's growing carbon footprint-conscious building industry, it's important to know how to calculate it and how to use the results to lower the overall carbon emissions, and strive for net zero site energy of your residential or commercial project. This includes not only new projects but also retrofits, remodels and renovations.

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is providing a free calculator to architects, designers and builders (called Green Footstep) to help them achieve carbon emission reduction goals. You read that correctly...FREE! If you are building your own home in cooperation with an architect and a contractor, the Green Footstep calculator could prove to be a mighty handy tool.

]]> Bringing the commercial and residential building industries closer and closer to carbon neutrality is essential to reducing global warming. The Green Footstep carbon calculator helps designers meet the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED energy credit guidelines and assists designers in achieving the goals of the Architecture 2030 challenge.

This is a global effort and it's amazing to see how much effort is being put forth to reduce greenhouse gases on such a large scale.

The Green Footstep calculator derives your carbon emission footprint with 3 criteria in mind:

Location
Site Characteristics
Building Characteristics

Location Criteria

Once you choose your region, the average carbon emissions coefficient will be displayed. My region (Georgia, USA) has 0.68 kg CO2e/kWh (kilogram of carbon dioxide equivalent/kilowatt hour). That is the baseline average. Obviously, areas within each region will vary, but it's an average so you have a good idea of where you stand.

Let's say you want to customize the carbon emissions coefficient of your project in order to meet a goal of lower life cycle carbon emissions. Simply key in your desired CO2e and the criteria for each building material, and a myriad of other variables, will be adjusted to help you meet that goal. This is an awesome tool!

Site Characteristics

This is the stage that determines the net carbon storage of your building site in its native state. Enter the square footage of your site, choose your Ecological Type (Forest or Grassland) and whether or not your site was previously developed. My Native Site Carbon Storage, based on my input, is 38 tonne (t) CO2e.

Building Characteristics

Next you determine your baseline construction emissions. Choose your Economic Input - Output Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the building type. Mine is 1-unit residential. You are then required to choose your Space Type to determine the baseline operational emissions. Again...mine is Residential: Single Family.

You then choose a few other key characteristics and now you're ready to adjust design targets and determine goals for your builidng project. Pretty simple so far, eh? Well...strap on your hard hat, ladies and gentlemen. The easy part is over with and it's time to get down to the nuts and bolts of each and every aspect of your project because it all contributes to the overall carbon footprint over the life cycle of your building.

The construction emissions for my pseudo-project is 77 t CO2e and the operation emissions are 11 t CO2e/yr.

The most important thing to remember is the big picture: lowering the carbon emissions of your project to lessen your impact in the environment.

Design Decisions

Now it's time to make some design decisions regarding your impact on the site, project construction, and the operating emissions of the building itself over its life cycle. There are all sorts of changes and decisions to be made here that impact the all-important carbon footprint. When you choose the Construction tab, you need to check the box stating that you used the Athena EcoCalculator. With the EcoCalculator,

"...architects, engineers and others now have access to instant LCA results for hundreds of common building assemblies. The results embedded in the tool are based on detailed assessments completed with the ATHENA®Impact Estimator for buildings, which in turn uses ATHENA’s own widely-acclaimed datasets and data from the US Life Cycle Inventory Database."

You can make all sorts of informed decisions on materials and design to lessen your carbon emissions impact in the planning stages by downloading the EcoCalculator provided by the Athena Institute. You have to register with Athena Institute in order to take advantage of this fantastic tool, but registration is free and so is the EcoCalculator. What more could you ask for? Probably a Tylenol for that massive headache you're lilely to acquire in this process, but then again, lowering carbon emissions "in your backyard" is worth the effortin the long run.

Life is good.

Sources:

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)

Green Footstep

Athena Institute EcoCalculator

Residential Architect online

Pierced Brick Walls: A Classic Screen Alternative

2009-10-31T14:29:44Z

Pierced brick walls are a great alternative to traditional screens, such as lattice or some type of natural hedge. Homeowners also use them strictly as walls around the borders of their property rather than screens . Brick walls are definitely more durable and they lend permanence to your landscape. A well-planned landscape with complimentary hardscapes combine to make an attractive garden.

Pierced brick provides privacy and air flow while providing only a hint of what's in your garden by passersby.

This particular style of masonry has been around for quite awhile. I see the pierced brick wall style every once in awhile and it's interesting to see the slight variations that each homeowner has chosen for their wall. It happens to be one of my favorite configurations when using brick.

]]> Basically, the differences seem to be the height of the base for the pierced portion of the wall, the pierced configuration itself (alternating half-bricks vs. using all full-sized) and having either an integrated column (see below) or a traditional one (top right).

Another variation is the choice of colors used for the bricks. I personally prefer variations in tone of the same color group vs. one single color used for all courses. I might as well list the other two variances that I tend to notice with pierced brick walls.

The color of the mortar. Red mortar...nope...don't like it. Just use the standard gray. Please don't add oxide pigments to your mix, people. Natural looks best in this application.You don't want the mortar to attract attention. It's much more attractive when it blends with the surrounding material.

The surface of the bricks themselves. Smooth vs. Rough. I prefer rough bricks as they seem less formal and lend character...as in instant aged. If you are going for a more formal look, definitely choose smooth over rough or pitted. My favorite....handmade and/or reclaimed bricks. Go Green! Choose reclaimed bricks!

Old Mississippi Brick Co. is a great source of reclaimed bricks if you're looking for the ultimate in getting the instant aged look. Old Carolina Brick Co. is another great source. There are many others that you should consider. Look in the phone book...yes...the phone book, as well as looking online. Buying reclaimed bricks is a great green choice these days and it's plentiful. Look into it before making your choice.

Related:

How To Build a Brick Screen Wall

Brick Walls and Steps photo gallery

Various types of brick screens found in The Garden Designer by Robin Williams

Robin Williams and Associates photo gallery. This is a great idea site. Mouse over the Portfolio tab to view all 3 galleries.

Pierced Brick Screens and a few other great ideas using brick in the landscape.

Many variations of handmade bricks were used in this large project at the English Cottage I featured in 2006 here on The Fun Times Guide To Home Building.

An Outdoor Fireplace: A Focal Point For Entertaining

2009-10-30T23:19:10Z

It's that time of year again. Time to gather 'round the outdoor fireplace with friends and family for a cozy, conversation-filled evening. When I think of an outdoor fire, I think about s'mores, toasted marshmallows and sharing a nice bottle of wine.

This post is about showing one of the best examples of an outdoor fireplace that I've seen to date. The "core" of the fireplace consists of Isokern fireplace components for a quality unit. The fireplace is the focal point of the backyard on the estate of one of Marietta's most prominent citizens and was constructed by the wonderful folks over at Bonner Custom Homes.

]]> I wrote a post about Isokern if you have an interest in top quality fireplace and chimney components. The process of obtaining the materials and how it's all made is pretty amazing...just to make some bricks.

This amazing outdoor fireplace plays anchor to an incredible backyard. The center of the fireplace is aligned with the main back door so the sight lines are very nice in this fairly symmetrical back garden. It serves as the backdrop for the gunite pool as seen from the porch of this new Victorian-style home. Notice that the hearth is at the right height to sit comfortably. There is plenty of firewood storage off to the side, too.

The fireplace is flanked by a pierced brick wall, a jammin' stainless steel grill, plenty of firewood storage...and an outdoor kitchen. Did I hear someone ask "What is a pierced brick wall?"

Pierced brick is a type of wall that I've had my eye on for quite some time now because it provides plenty of privacy while also allowing adequate ventilation and it allows the wind to pass through without issue. It's architecturally pleasing to the eye and mind.

You can easily see the pierced brick wall from this angle, which flanks the fireplace.

Everybody Needs A Li'l Water Putty In Their Life

2009-10-29T00:18:22Z

In my most recent post, I talked about planing the bottom edge of a door that sticks on the threshold. You may have noticed a can of Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty in one of the photos. I also mentioned it towards the end of the article. "Rock Hard" is a great product and nice to have around when you come across small wood rot problems here and there. I've used this stuff for years, on occasion.

I happened to have one of those small wood rot problems on one of the door frames of my house. I originally wanted to replace the 2" x ½" board that is attached to the frame. Trouble is...it's part of the door frame itself and not sold in places like Home Depot and Lowe's. You have to replace the entire door frame...OR...do what I did...and what was also suggested by the folks at the big orange box.

Buy a can of Rock Hard!

]]> In my case, I always have some Rock Hard available...um...err... that's sitting on my shelf on my work bench...yeah..ok.

Water Putty is not like wood putty. It comes in a powder form, much like talcum powder, and it's not pliable out of the can. Rock Hard is a gypsum-based filler product that has to be mixed with water in the correct amount to become something resembling putty, or bread dough, that you can apply with your putty knife.

In my case, I had a water rot issue on the exterior of the door frame at the bottom. I used a flathead screwdriver to dig the rotted wood out of the hard-to-reach crevices. I also used a small chisel and hammer to chip away the wood that was in the process of rotting and a small paint brush to clear away all of the rotted debris.

Once I was satisfied that the rotted wood was removed in its' entirety, I got out my daughter's hair dryer (Lord knows I don't use one) and let it blow on the interior of the cleared-out hole to thoroughly dry the wood that remained. This would insure a good bond with the water putty that I would apply. The dryer ran for about 15-20 minutes before I was satisfied that it was about as dry as it was going to get.

You can follow the directions on the can for mixing instructions or you can do what I do. I just pour some Rock Hard putty powder in an old coffee can, soup can, or whatever I have sitting around that I could easily toss in the trash and then add a small amount of water. You want the consistency to be much like wood putty, if not a little bit drier than that. It is easier to work with and stays where you put it if you follow that one simple rule.

If you want to be green, have a re-usable pail, or vessel, on hand and wash it out thoroughly immediately after you've finished applying the water putty. Otherwise, you might as well just throw it away. By the way, work quickly with the putty as it will becomes more difficult to work with with each passing minute.

Once you get it to the right consistency, take your smallest putty knife (1" blade is good) and work it around just a bit and put some on your blade or spatula. Basically, just fill the hole and smooth it level to the surface. Give it plenty of time to dry and sand it smooth. Re-apply a second coat, if desired.

Feel free to prime and paint once the water putty has had adequate time to dry. This will depend on the thickness of the the water putty in the hole and the humidity level.

I would certainly recommend this product to the DIY weekend warrior. It's like having a $5 insurance policy sitting on the shelf.

Related:

Everything you ever wanted to know about Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty but were afraid to ask. It's scary to even think about all of the possibilties!

Rock Hard water putty General repair uses such as filling holes in wood, tightening drawer knobs, fix door bumpers, patch cracked walls...and more. You can even color it to match your needs!

Tips for Using Wood Fillers on Stained Projects via About.com

Make Your Own Wood Putty via About.com

How To Repair A Wood Door That Sticks

2009-10-26T22:13:35Z

We have a 15 pane single French door that needed some repair. It's original to the house, so 20+ years of weather and wear have taken its' toll. Besides the glass panes, it is solid oak so you can work with it to make repairs, if necessary.

The door is actually not the culprit here. It appears that the cantilevered breakfast room had sunk a fraction of an inch to the point that the door frame wasn't square anymore, therefore causing the door to stick on the left side of the bottom threshold when trying to open or close it. I just couldn't take another day of a door that didn't work properly.

What did I do to the door to have it open and close clean and firm? It wasn't a fix requiring great skill. Just a lot of patience through trial and error. Fixing the door to match the frame was a quicker, easier and just plain cheaper solution than raising the breakfast room a half-inch.

]]> I knew that the bottom of the door wasn't sealed properly so moisture had been getting in and making matters worse. So I had two things to accomplish in order to get the door in proper working fashion:

First and foremost, I had to plane and sand the bottom of the door to keep it from touching the bottom threshold.
Second, I needed to properly seal it to avoid a moisture problem in the future.

Determine Where The Door Sticks and Plane It

The first step was to take a look at the gap at the bottom of the door where it meets the threshold. You can take a sheet of paper and see if you can slide it underneath or you could do what I did; take a flashlight (in my case I used the Flashlight app on my iPod Touch) and asked my helper to stand inside the door while I stood on the outside. I just moved my "flashlight" along the bottom seal and she told me if, and where, she could see any light coming from underneath the door. All this told me was where I needed to plane the door.

The next step was to remove the door from the frame. You can take a 16d or 20d nail or a skinny screwdriver and a hammer to tap out the bolts (from underneath, of course) from the hinges. It's best if you have a helper to steady the door while you do this. You don't want to damage the hinges, your floor, or your head from a falling door.

Carefully slide the door away from the door frame and turn it sideways on its' edge. Examine the bottom edge and carefully begin to plane the area(s) that you've identified as the sticking points. Use nice, even pressure while planing. Take off as much wood as you think you need to...but remember that once you shave it off you can't put it back on.

While the door was off, I removed the old threshold seal and the door seal and replaced them with new ones that I picked up at the store.

Put the door back on and close it. If it still sticks, remove the door and plane and/or sand it a little more. When my door closed nice and firm without sticking, I removed it once more and used my palm sander to make the bottom edge of the door nice and smooth to prepare it for sealing with primer and paint.

How To Seal The Bottom of an Exterior Door

After sanding the bottom edge for a smooth finish, I removed all dust from the bottom of the door. I then applied a coat of exterior primer and let it dry thoroughly. The next step was to apply a couple of thin layers of exterior grade latex paint allowing plenty of drying time in-between. Remember that the more humid it is, the longer it will take to dry properly. The same goes for cold weather. Cool (not cold) temps and low humidity is the ideal time to complete a project like this. Read the instructions on the paint can for proper use. I live in Georgia so a dry day just doesn't happen that often.

The recommended paint to use for this type of project is actually an oil-based alkyd paint, as it dries harder and doesn't have a perpetual tackiness to it like latex does. If you happen to use latex paint like I did, the tip of the day (with a nod to The Natural Handyman) is to dust the door edge with talcum powder to keep the tackiness to a minimum. I haven't tried it yet but I intend to where the door touches the threshold ever so slight.

After I gave the paint plenty of time to dry, I re-installed it and took great pride in a door that finally opened and closed trouble-free. Now onto the next project...installing a door sweep.

As a side note, I had to repair some water rot on the exterior portion of the door frame. I'll go over how I did it in a secondary post.

Good luck with your wood door repair!

Resource:

How to Fix an Exterior Door That Sticks via The Natural Handyman

Reclamation Of A Kid Bathroom: DIY Painting For The Soul

2009-09-30T20:51:45Z

We recently finished painting our kids' bathroom. We allowed our daughter to choose the paint color when she was 5 years old. Yes, I know ... what were we thinking letting a 5-year old pick the paint color?!! How could we refuse such a cute little face. You understand what I'm talking about if you are a parent.

Well, time marches on and a change has been long overdue. When she chose the color, Barney was the most popular children's television character at that time. That's right...the secondary bathroom has been Barney purple all of these years with an aquatic themed wallpaper border and shower curtain/bath set just to make it interesting.

]]> I can't believe we left it purple for so long. It just kept getting pushed to the bottom of the job jar for so long that eventually the time would come to repaint the bathroom.

Times have changed since then and she's grown out of Barney now that she's almost 19 (snicker snicker). It was our turn to choose the paint color so we went with a nice, light beige. It's a semi-gloss latex made by Valspar and the color is called Hopsack. Keep reading to see the color we chose.

What a difference a few coats of paint has made! It took a while to paint because of the intensity of the purple and the huge contrast the new color is from the old color, but it was well worth it.

These are the steps that we went through to make this bathroom much easier on the eyes:

Removed all picture frames, light switch covers, shelves and anything else from the wall.
Attempt to remove the wallpaper border only to discover that the vinyl wallpaper adhesive I used to make it adhere better to the wall caused it to be very difficult to remove cleanly.
Discuss why the wallpaper border isn't coming off clean and go to Lowe's for a piece of advice to cover up the remnants of the adhesive.
Purchase a quart of oil-based primer that will stick to the leftover adhesive per the Lowe's guy. Let the oli-based primer dry thoroughly and sanded it as smooth as possible. Regular primer was then painted over the oil-based primer to create a more uniform look.
Remove the toilet tank to make it easier to paint.
Paint two coats of latex-based primer on all walls with a 3-4 coats of primer for areas bleeding through.
Paint two coats of the semi-gloss latex top coat (Hopsack).
Paint the trim the same color as the remainder of the house.
Let dry for a couple of days (dependent upon the humidity level of your area).
Replace all fixtures, shelves and picture frames.

We've done a couple of other things to the bathroom to bring it up to date such as:

Replaced the outdated Hollywood-style six-lamp fixture with a more modern three-lamp satin-nickel finish light fixture.
Built a custom-made frame to surround the mirror.
Refinished the vanity cabinet with a rich cappucino paint color .

In the near future we plan to:

Replace the linoleum with travertine tile,
Upgrade the counter-top and sink.
Replace the toilet with an eco-friendly toilet.

After all is said and done, this will be a great looking bathroom that we can be proud of. If you have a project to tackle with similar challenges, I hope you found this article helpful. Let me know how it turns out. Send in a photo, or two.

Refinish Your Bathroom Vanity Cabinet For A Fresh Look

2009-09-25T00:27:05Z

Do you have a bathroom vanity cabinet that needs to be renovated with a fresh coat of paint? We certainly did. In fact, our cabinet wasn't painted to begin with. It was just as the builder had left it many years ago with a honey oak stain and clear varnish to protect it. It looked dated so we decided that painting the bathroom vanity cabinet would put us one step closer to accomplishing our goal of completely renovating the secondary bathroom.

The improvements we made with the cabinet were well worth the effort and the results speak for themselves.

]]> Changing the appearance of the bathroom vanity cabinet from an oak stain (Provincial by Porter Paints) to a dark brown paint color that resembles chocolate pudding was dramatic. We were going for the cappuccino dark brown look and decided on a color that's called Black Raisin by Valspar in a semi-gloss latex(available at Lowe's). The sleek, satin nickel finish hardware (pulls) that replaced the old gold-toned pulls made a huge difference, as well.

Funny thing about painting the cabinet...we had seriously considered gutting the cabinet in favor of a pedestal sink teamed with an over-the-toilet cabinet for storage. It's such a small bathroom that removing the cabinet seemed like a radical thing to do but would have made the bathroom seem larger. Now that the cabinet is painted, we've agreed that painting it was the right thing to do.

How We Refinished The Bathroom Cabinet

We began by removing all of the doors and sanding them to remove all traces of sheen. The paint needs to be able to adhere to the wood and sanding the varnish off is a good start. We used a sponge sanding block with two different grits on either side...medium and fine. We used the medium grit first, then the fine grit to smooth it out.

Once the varnish was removed to our satisfaction and the surface of the wood was relatively smooth to the touch, we began to apply the first coat of paint. We didn't prime it at all. We painted the interior and the exterior of the cabinet, as well as the exterior portion of the doors and propped them up on pedestals to let them dry just enough to allow us to put them back on the cabinets and paint the interior.

In the morning, we sanded all surfaces to remove any rough spots with the same fine grit side of the sponge sanding block.

We then put a second coat of the Black Raisin semi-gloss latex paint on all sides, including the interior of the cabinet. The sanding block worked great and the paint looks super smooth. It was at this point that we decided that the old hardware had to go. We jumped in the car and picked out the pulls you see in the top photo.

The new pulls required two holes to attach them and the old pulls were attached through a single hole, which meant that I had to precisely measure and drill an additonal hole for the doors since they would be positioned vertically. It was a little bit nerve racking because a great deal of effort had gone into the cabinets to that point. Any mistake in drilling a hole in the wrong spot would have meant wood putty and some re-painting. Luckily, all went exactly as planned and not a single hole was out of place. Actually, there was no luck involved...just pure skill (insert laughter here).

The upper panels are fake, meaning that they are stationary panels. Having pulls on all of the panels balances it out and we agreed that is was worth a few extra dollars for the look we were after. You see in one of the photos that I had to repair a hole with wood putty. That was due to the old pull only requiring one hole that was dead center, and the new pull which needed two new holes in order to center it (horizontally) on the panel.

All that was left to do was a little bit of touch-up and we had a brand new cabinet...or so it would seem.

I should mention that we were fairly lucky that we had a good base to start with. The cabinet (original to the house) was constructed using real wood throughout. No wood fronts or veneers here. I would highly suggest painting the interior of the cabinet...walls and all...for a professional, finished appearance.

Painting The Bathroom Vanity Cabinet Was Fun...No Kidding!

If you're thinking about refinishing some cabinets in your house, it's easier than you might think. The steps are easy, the work required to accomplish great results are worth the effort so take your time and do it right. We broke a rule by not priming but the results were outstanding, nonetheless, due to the time and energy put into sanding.

Big Thanks to my wife, Sandy, for leading the charge on this project and to our good friend, Julie, for volunteering a few hours to help prep the cabinet and prime the walls of the bathroom.

How to Prep, Prime, and Paint: Wood - Furniture (including cabinets) and-or Clear Coated/To Be Painted via Paint Quality Institute

One Very Easy Painting Tip To Save Time, Energy and Paint

2009-09-23T09:13:42Z

Here's a very handy tip to use when you're doing a little (or a lot) of painting around the house.

WRAP 'EM WET!

(What is he talking about?) Allow me to elaborate.

We recently painted one of our bathrooms along with the cabinet. We had a good friend that volunteered to come over to help prep the cabinet for painting and to prime the walls of the bathroom. Now that's a really good friend to volunteer for the dirty work. Not only did she help out with the prepping and priming, she also laid this really great painting tip on us.

When you're in-between coats of paint while waiting for it to dry, or if you want to end your painting day and pick up on it the following day...or a few days later...or even a week or two later, simply wrap the wet paint brush or roller in plastic film (also known as Saran wrap, stretch film or plastic wrap). Whatever you call the stuff it keeps the brush or roller wet until you're ready to get back at it. I've read that aluminum foil will work, also.

]]> It really works and it saved me so much time cleaning my brushes and rollers. I always buy really nice paint brushes and I take care of them because I want them to last as long as possible. I rarely buy the "one-use" brushes because the results are usually not that good. This handy tip has saved me a lot of time and trouble because I don't have to worry about taking so much time to get my nice brushes and rollers...well...nice.

Not only did it save me time and energy, it also saved paint. The amount of paint you'll save wrapping your rollers and brushes vs. cleaning after each and every use is more than you might think.

Go ahead...use your handy 5-in-1 tool to squeegee the paint out of a roller and into the bucket. You'll see what I'm talking about.

Anyway...it's a great little painting tip that saves time, energy and paint...and it's cheap, too!

Related:

How To Clean Your Paint Brushes

Paint Safety, Clean-Up and Disposal via the Paint Quality Institute

How To Build A Custom Frame For A Bathroom Mirror

2009-09-20T15:24:10Z

We live in a house that has a builder-installed, run-of-the-mill mirror in the bathroom. It's a very plain looking 33-inch x 38-inch mirror that's been glued to the wall over the sink like a gazillion other homes.

We decided to improve the looks of the mirror and the bathroom. It was long overdue and we're very pleased with the results.

We built and installed a frame around the bathroom mirror. We built it ourselves from scratch. It was easy to do and just a couple of tools were needed to complete the job.

]]> We looked at the mirror frame kits at Lowe's and weren't happy with how they looked. We also had an issue on the left side of the mirror because the wall comes in at an angle so there wasn't enough of a gap for the overlay of the underside of the kits. That's when we made our way towards the lumber area of the store to look at the finished trim that they have available.

That's right. A decision made on-the-fly with no concrete plans in hand, just a clear idea of what we wanted it to look like and what it would take to make it happen. We had plenty of paint leftover from the bathroom cabinets that were being renovated, as well.

Are you ready to get started? Here's how we did it:

How To Build and Install A Bathroom Mirror Frame

Materials Needed:

These are the materials we used. You may opt to make whatever changes you wish to suit your style.

Two 2-1/4" x 7' pieces of fluted casing
Four 2-1/2" square corner blocks - bullseye style
Cartridge of Liquid Nails-Clear I bought and used Liquid Nails adhesive for mirrors. DON"T BUY THAT KIND!!! If I had to do over again (and I will in the master bathroom) I would use a clear adhesive due to the reflection from the mirror.
Paint - Your choice of color. We chose the same color as the cabinet.

Tools Needed:

Miter saw with a fine trim blade installed. I used a 10" - 60 tooth blade. You could just as easily use a miter box with manual saw if that's what you have.
Measuring tape
Pencil
2" angled paint brush
2' Level (optional); I used the iHandy Level application (free) on my iPod Touch
Very Fine grit sanding paper
Painter's tape (I prefer 3M - #2090 blue)

I tend to be very detailed so be sure and read through all of the instructions before beginning.

Measure your mirror.
Buy the materials and gather your tools.
Paint all sides of the fluted casing and bullseye corner blocks. I didn't prime any of it because there was such a small amount to paint.
Sand the rough spots.

Paint a second coat on all sides of the fluted casing and bullseye corner blocks and let dry.
Apply the adhesive to one of the corner blocks and gently press it into place making sure to overlap the edge of the mirror 1/4" to hide it behind the frame.
Apply the adhesive to a second corner block and press it into place across from the first one (width-wise).

Note that the adhesive allows 10-15 minutes working time for precision placement.

Measure the distance between the two corner blocks and cut the fluted casing to fit. Go ahead and cut another piece the exact same distance for the opposite side of the frame.
Touch-up any bare wood on the ends with a tiny amount of fresh paint.
Apply the adhesive to the reverse side of the casing in an S-pattern for better coverage. Don't apply the adhesive too close to the sides as it will show in the reflection when applied to the mirror. Trust me on this one.
Press the casing into place between the two corner blocks.

Tip: The casing was 1/4" shorter than the corner block and I wanted to center it so I placed a dime on top of a quarter (1/8" when stacked) and placed them under the casing on both ends (see photos) to ensure that it was level and didn't shift around as I pressed it in place. You can do what I did or eyeball it and use your level to check it, if you'd prefer.

Apply adhesive to a third corner block and press it into place.
Make your measurement between the third corner block and one that is directly below it.
Make your identical cuts for both lengthwise pieces to make it all square.
Apply touch-up paint where necessary.
Apply the adhesive and press the second piece of fluted casing into place (I worked counter-clockwise). I also overlapped the edge of the mirror by approximately 1/8" to hide the edge.
Adjust your corner blocks for a flush fit.
Apply adhesive to the second piece of cross-width casing and press it into place.
Make your adjustments to the corner blocks once again for a tight fit.
Finally, repeat the same steps for the fourth corner block and lengthwise piece of fluted casing.
Make any final adjustments and check it for square, if you'd like.
Use painter's tape to keep it all in place for a good 24 hours. See the adhesive cartridge for instructions.
Remove the tape.
Stand back and admire your work.

You could probably tape the corner blocks into place and make your cuts ahead of time, but the adhesive allows you to make slight maneuvers to your trim pieces for a short period of time so I made my cuts as I worked.

How Long Did It Take and How Much Does It Cost to Do-It-Yourself?

Once the trim pieces were painted and dry, putting the frame together on-the-fly took about 15-20 minutes. The trim and adhesive set us back around $29. The big advantage to making it ourselves was that we got to choose the style of trim pieces that we preferred rather than what came in a kit.

That's all there is to it!

Fewer Twirlers Are A Sign Of The Times

2009-09-01T00:29:39Z

Hey...you know what I haven't seen in a while (due to the home building industry woes)?

Real estate advertising sign twirlers.

You know...those guys that you see standing at the side of a busy intersection holding, tossing, twirling, flipping and spinning real estate directional signs to get your attention (and other types of businesses, as well).

You might have a different name for these guys:

Street Corner Twirlers
Human Sign Holders
Sign Jugglers
Sign Spinners
Coroplast Manipulators (or is that Corocel they're twirling around?!)
Cirque du Sign Guy
(in Real Men of Genius style) Mr. Busy Intersection Real Estate Advertiser Guy (I just made that up)

...or WHATever.

Some of them are actually quite entertaining and look like they practice their craft in order to maintain their gig. I don't know what the going rate for a sign twirler is (probably $8 - $15/hr) but I'd imagine that the more highly skilled you are at spinning, tossing and flipping signs...the more your rate of pay is and the more in demand you are. If that's not how it works then there's an error in the system. The guy shown above looks like a beginner. Ain't no action goin' on there. Although, he did manage to catch my eye enough for me to take his photograph...only for a different reason...this article.

]]> I mean, look at the picture I took (top of this post) of this guy just standing there holding the real estate directional sign. It looks like the sign is actually helping him stand on his own two feet!!! He was obviously a warm body looking to make a little extra cash. I don't know...I always feel for the guy if he's older because he is probably in need of some fast cash, may be down on his luck, or just doing what he can to buy his family an evening's meal. If he's a young cat then he is more than likely a student or something like that.

Not only that, but the young guy seems to be having fun with it. Old guy...not so much.

Anyway, that is not the kind of action that I'd want out of a real estate sign holder if it were me. Think about it. A person has the unique ability to really grab your attention by performing all sorts of unusual stunts to make himself stand out and be noticed for his client. That IS the advantage of a sign twirler over a semi-permanent sign sitting on a post on the side of the road...barely noticeable.

Coroplast: A Sign Twirlers Best Friend

The signs that these guys are twirling around are not made of cardboard. Cardboard wouldn't necessarily be stiff enough and would wear out and get flimsy within a matter of a few flips and twirls. Most real estate directional signs are made of corrugated white plastic. The majority of corrugated plastic signs made in North America are made by Coroplast of The Jim Pattison Group. Coroplast is moisture resistant, durable, light and stiff. Corrugated plastic is a highly customizable product that is great for outdoor advertising...including sign twirling.

Now...What Was I Talking About?

Oh yes! I started this post talking about sign twirlers and the lack thereof. From a business perspective, advertising reels in potential customers and the product and/or salesman close the deal. Human sign holders (and Coroplast) are a contributing factor in drawing potential homebuyers to homes for sale. To my point, the home building business is in a pickle but sales are starting to pick up again in some areas. Let's all hope it's sooner rather than later because the homebuilding industry is a leading indicator of how healthy our economy is as a whole. Steady growth would be great to see again.

Coroplast FAQ

The Makings Of A Mudroom

2009-08-30T14:08:54Z

Just like laundry rooms, mudrooms are often times an afterthought by some builders. Obviously, there are house plans which do not incorporate mudrooms into the plan. I applaud the architects that incorporate a mudroom when drawing up the blueprints for a house. It just makes sense.

It's one of those features that's really nice to have in a house because it gives the residents somewhere to store their gear and outerwear in an organized fashion upon entering their home, not to mention giving muddy boots a home without tracking mud into the house.

]]> A nice boot scraper just outside of the side door or back door is a useful addition to have around, too.

I'm going to show you a few pictures of mudrooms and you'll probably notice a formula that most builders tend to follow...bench...storage cabinets...tile or stone floor...hooks, although not many hooks were installed when I took the photos because they were not complete. You've got to have hooks in a mudroom to hang coats, hats, book bags, and anything else you can think of.

A Few Mudroom Pictures To Give You A Few Great Ideas

You don't necessarily have to have a "room" in order to have an area of your home to put your things when you arrive. If you have an oversized garage you can easily construct a mudroom bench with plenty of storage like the photo below.

The photos below are more examples of builder-constructed mudrooms. I especially like the slate flooring in the first two photos. That particular mudroom is in a multi-million dollar mansion with a multi-million dollar view of north Georgia sitting on the side of Lost Mountain. The stone masonry work is simply incredible.

The next two photos show an entry hall from the garage. It doesn't show the mudroom itself, but it gives an example of the type of flooring that is a great choice upon entering the home from your side door or garage. It happens to be used brick pavers supplied by Simons.

A Charmingly Simple Mudroom

The last photo I wanted to show is one that my wife found, by chance, in a 1999 Southern Living the other day. I want to show it because it gives a great example of a mudroom that doesn't look "manufactured" or sterile. All you need for a great mudroom is a nice bench, a shelf or two, some hooks for hats, bags, etc. and a side table to set your keys and mail down on until you get inside of your house. The point is to make it your own.

photo credit: Southern Living/Sylvia Martin

Please remember that you should have a little fun in decorating your mudroom to suit your tastes and needs. It should be comfortable and serve a purpose. Good luck with yours!

Related:

Mudroom Design Solutions via Remodeling Center

Mudroom Ideas

Laundry Rooms Deserve Great Design

2009-08-29T15:36:36Z

Laundry rooms come in all shapes and sizes. Some are built with convenient cabinets to keep everything out of sight and some with just a wire shelf, or two, to store your laundry essentials. Builders almost treat laundry rooms as afterthoughts, it would seem, in some cases. I just don't get it (shaking my head to and fro).

Doing laundry is enough of a chore without having sufficient elbow room to fold laundry, hang up delicates and shirts, and all the other tasks that go along with it. I should know. I live in a home where the laundry area is an over-sized closet just off the kitchen. Not exactly ideal but we've managed.

]]> We've also talked about building a laundry room in the basement but that would require a sump pump and all that mess. An expensive proposition. So for now...we are stuck with the laundry "closet", although, we are considering taking our high efficiency washer/dryer off of their pedestals, building a shelf just above the units and putting in a row of nice cabinets overhead. That would be nice and it's something that's definitely on our "To do" list.

What Elements Combine To Create Great Laundry Room Design?

A large utility sink.
A nice, big counter to fold clothes on.
Overhead cabinets and maybe one or two down below to store all of your laundry detergents, starch, etc.. You know that you've got to have a drawer for lost socks. Eventually the match will show up.
A fold-away ironing board.
Room to move and a space plenty deep for your washer and dryer.
Plenty of bright light.
A vent to keep the temperature in the room warm/cool.
A window that can be opened to let some natural light in and to let some fresh air in if it's a nice day.
A clothes rod to hang shirts, etc. as you're pulling items out of the dryer.
A couple of electrical outlets for a sewing machine, an iron, and maybe a TV or music playback device of your choosing.

Laundry Room Pictures

To give you some ideas on how to design your laundry room, I've got a few photos of some laundry rooms that I've come across over the years. Good luck with designing yours.

More Laundry Room Pictures...

Related:

A cozy laundry room via Country Living

Great laundry room design information via laundry-and-dishwasher-info

Laundry Room Storage, Organization and Inspiration via Home-Designing

Laundry Room Design Ideas via Remodeling Center

7 Key Solutions to Great Laundry Room Design via Service Magic

How To Design A Laundry Room via This Old House

Ideas For Hidden Bookcase Doors For Use In Home Libraries (and throughout the home)

2009-08-16T00:09:43Z

If you have a library in your home and shelf space is getting tight, or if you're about to become an empty-nester and want to remodel a bedroom into a library, then you might want to consider some of these options for bookcase doors. Bookcase doors provide an added dimension to any room as well as hide a secret room, home gym, wine cellar or hallway. You get the idea.

Bookcase doors come in a variety of styles and shapes dependent upon varying factors such as door frame dimensions, architectural styles, and personal preferences. Homeowners with library rooms might want to consider bookcase doors as a means to maximize shelf space in a home library as well as shutting off the outside world for a period of time.

]]> The dream of having a personal library is a "dream come true" for many avid readers. Wall-to-wall bookshelves with a rolling ladder (the library shown below utilizes a Putnam rolling ladder) to have every book within reach, a nice comfy chair and side table next to a fireplace is the perfect reader's retreat.

There are a couple of vendors that have some really nice hidden bookcase designs that I wanted to show here.

Creative Building Resources "...builds hidden doors, bookcase doors, secret doors, bookshelf in doors, passages and passageway hidden behind doors with book shelves built in seamlessly. All hidden doors fit into standard door openings, or can replace an existing doors. Hidden doors and bookcase doors can be also be used for an entertainment center or pantrys."

They have a really nice selection of the aforementioned products and I really like that they have products that fit into standard door openings.

Woodfold Manufacturing has a variety of bookcase doors to offer. You can also have custom folding bookcase doors custom made in widths of 36" to 66". They're made from 3/4" Appleply with a solid wood veneer and can support up to 500 pounds. This short video shows the Woodfold folding bookcase doors in action. I like that some of these bookcase doors can be installed in a pre-existing doorway, much like Hidden Passageways bookshelf doors.

APPLEPLY Description: American version of Baltic birch with alder and birch core plies and quality veneer faces. Birch face is standard, other woods available. Uses: Same uses as Baltic above, plus applications where a fine-hardwood face veneer is needed. Available Sizes: Available in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 3/4", 1", and 1-1/4" thicknesses, in 4x8' sheets. Common Grades: No standardized grades, but manufactured with void-free plies and face veneers carrying a grade of B or better. Pros: Stiff, stable, void-free, nice-looking edge, holds screws, offers a variety of face veneers. Cons: Difficult to find, costly, requires large order to get optional veneers. Where to find it: You'll find distributor information at www.statesind.com. Price (3/4"x4x8', sheet unless noted): $50+.
source

A library must have doors in order to insure that there is peace and quiet and to keep the riff-raff out (kids) for some "me" time. The library in the photos in this post show the custom built bookcase door in the library of the Victorian home I featured over the past few months. It was extremely heavy and difficult to hang.

Please excuse the dust on the lens that you see in some of the photos. Many times when I visited this house there was a lot of finish work going on so it was difficult to keep a clean lens as I walked through.

This short eHow article for advanced DIYer's shows how to install secret bookcase doors with simplified instructions for (what I believe to be) a complicated carpentry job. Not sure how that would turn out. Here's a much better DIY hidden bookcase effort coming from the world of instructables.

Want more DIY material? This article on hidden bookcase doors is a little more detailed than the last one and is written by Gary M. Katz, a nationally recognized author and finish carpentry specialist.
source: Woodweb - an all-encompassing carpentry website with galleries, forums, knowledgebase, product directory and buy/sell hub. You could spend hours...days...looking...reading...and learning from this site.

Top Selling House Plans - 2009

2009-07-31T15:46:46Z

What are the top-selling house plans? How do I know what house plans consumers are buying? Simple. My source is Builder House Plans (Builder Online) and they have announced the Top 10 Best Selling Consumer House Plans for 2009.

photo credit: Builder Online

**Builder House Plans is the largest supplier of house plans in the United States.**

An interesting fact about the top 10 selling plans for 2008 vs. 2009 is that the top plans for 2008 were more budget-minded designs and had a slightly less average square footage (2,584 sq. ft vs. 3,075 sq. ft for 2009).

]]> These top selling/best house plans that builders are buying are based upon current consumer needs and plans that home buyers are searching for most.

A larger portion of home buyers are older (rather than younger couples) and are requesting first floor bedroom suites with sitting rooms. Recurring features in many of the house plans include morning kitchens, large master bathrooms, multiple porches, large windows, fireplaces and garden tubs.

I expected house plans to reduce in square footage rather than increase but it's really just a matter of these top 10 selling house plans in particular.

Here are the 2009 Top 10 Best House Plans:

#10
3,310 square ft. European/Ranch house plan designed by Fillmore Design Group.

#9
2,246 sq. ft. New American/Traditional plan designed by Frank Betz Associates.

#8
4,629 sq. ft. European/Traditional house plan designed by Carmichael & Dame.

#7
2,090 sq. ft. classic country Farmhouse house plan designed by Home Planners.

#6
2,151 sq. ft. East coast style Country/Colonial house plan designed by William E. Poole.

#5
2,720 sq. ft. European/Victorian Ranch house plan designed by Fillmore Design Group.

#4
4,012 sq. ft. European/Country house plan designed by Todd W. Reed.

#3
4,376 sq. ft. New American/European/Traditional house plan designed by Garrell Associates.

#2
2,097 sq. ft.Country/Bungalow/European/Ranch house plan designed by Donald A. Gardner Architects.

#1
3,126 sq. ft Craftsman/Country/Country Ranch house plan designed by Garrell Associates.

My #1 choice amongst these top 10 house plans is the #1 plan. It's not because it's already #1 but rather that I like that style of home. It fits my personality and style more than any of the others. That's my two cents worth.

Here are the Top 10 Best House Plans from 2008 if you're interested.

Spruce Up Your Walk-In Closet. Get Organized!

2009-07-30T01:23:14Z

I was out looking at new houses again recently (no surprise there). As I was walking around to check it out, I opened a door to a walk-in closet. What I discovered inside was a pleasant surprise that I don't see very often these days in moderately priced homes. A solid wood closet organizer with a red mahogany stain. (A definite improvement over those ugly wire shelving systems!)

It's a kit sold by John Louis Home. As it turns out, they have some really nice looking shelving and organizing systems.

]]> Their website states that it sells for $250 (at time of this being published) which includes delivery. It fits in a 10' space and provides up to 24 ft. of shelf space. Anyway, you can read more about it at the link I provided earlier.

I decided to write about it because this type of wood shelving system deserves more attention. It's affordable and makes a huge difference in the look and feel of a closet...not to mention the added storage it provides for the homeowner.

Now I have to admit that the system I show in the photos here is fairly bare bones when compared to some of the custom shelving systems that are out there waiting to be installed (and installed in homes already). But...my point is that this is a big improvement over wire shelving...which should be strictly limited to sheds, basements and garages. What I'm trying to say is that I'd like to pretend they never existed and that solid wood (or slat wood) shelving systems were the norm used throughout the home building industry.

Luxurious Custom Closet Organization Systems

Check out these links to some really cool custom luxury walk-in closets:

Closet Solutions
A simple Google search of luxury walk-in closet images.
Closet Organizing Systems
Celebrity Walk-In Closets : Eva Longoria, Nicky Hilton, Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey...and more...OMG!!! Too many shoes for one person!!! (Thanks Fashion-O-Lic)

Build Your Own Wood Shelving and SAVE $$$

If you're handy with the compound miter saw and want to save a little money, you might want to tackle a DIY project for fun and pride!

eHow shows you how to build wood closet shelves.
Extreme How-To gives their very detailed DIY version of a installing wooden closet shelves.
Here are a few great tips from DoItYourself on building custom made closet shelving.
Bob Vila has a great video on How To Install a Closet Organizing System. Warning: Wire shelving being installed (but it's good basic stuff if you're going the cheap route!).
Ron Hazelton shows how to build your own child's closet organizing system.

So there you have a few links to get you started. The main thing is to keep in mind what you will be using it for and any special specifications you need to include in your closet organizing plan.