Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Making sure you measure up to the task
HERE are 15 tips to make sure you measure up.1. Anything can be used as a reference for measuring. For instance, a dollar bill is roughly six inches long. Folded in half, it is roughly three inches long. Knowing the measurements of common household objects will come in handy.
2. Before purchasing wall coverings, measure all windows even if they appear to be the same size. The differences may surprise you.
3. Floor-length draperies should be sized a half-inch above the floor, or just short of the carpet pile. Place a piece of cardboard on top of the carpet for an even measurement.
4. To measure for custom picture frames, measure the exact width and height of the outside dimensions (including the mat) of your artwork to the nearest 1/8". Use these dimensions for the size of your frame, acrylic and backing board. Note: Frames custom-cut to a fraction of an inch are priced to the next whole inch.
5. When measuring carpeting or sheet vinyl, get the longest width and length along the floor. Do not multiply them together. Most carpet and vinyl rolls are 12 feet wide. If the room is less than 12 feet wide, order a roll of carpet as long as the room, being sure to get enough to go through the doorway. Call a professional installer or measuring agent if the room is more than 12 feet wide.
6. When measuring for wood, tile, or laminate flooring, figure floor area as above, but be sure to order extra to account for the material you will have to discard when making cuts. Industry standard is 15 per cent waste.
7. To measure how much paint to buy for a room, add together the length and width and multiply by two. This number is the circumference of the room. Next measure the height of the room. Multiply this number by the circumference of the room. This will give you the basic square footage of the room. Measure any windows and doors in the room. Multiply the width and height of each opening, and then add them together. Subtract this number from the rooms square feet. Simple as pie!
8. The next time you are measuring corn syrup, honey, or maple syrup spray the measuring cup with PAM or a similar non-stick oil spray. Not only will it keep your measurements consistent, there's less waste and clean-up will be less sticky!
9. When measuring shortening or butter, dip the cup or spoon in hot water first. The grease will slide right off.
10. For those of you who would rather take 10 preschoolers shopping then sift flour, this tip is for you. To accurately measure flour without sifting (which is often the difference between cakey and moist brownies), whisk or stir the flour a bit before measuring since flour settles.
11. Here's a way to make a measuring cup that never gets dirty. Find two clear 16-ounce plastic cups and a liquid measuring cup. Measure one ounce of water in the measuring cup. Pour it into the large plastic cup. Draw a mark at the waterline with a fine-tipped permanent marker. Do the same with as many measurements as you need. Remove the cup of water. Place a clean cup inside your new measuring cup. These disposable liners are poor for the environment but help in a pinch when measuring non-edible products.
12. Sometimes markings on measuring spoon or cups become worn off and are difficult to read. When this occurs, paint a strip of red nail polish over the measurements. Sand them lightly and the numbers will stand out clearly against the nail polish.
13. If you're unsure how much batter your Bundt pan will hold, here is a quick way to measure its capacity. Using a cup for measuring liquids, fill the pan to the brim with water and note how many cups it holds. Use a permanent marker to write the capacity on the outside of the pan. Also, measure the amount of batter to make so that it is within the pan's capacity. A general rule of thumb is that a cake pan should be half to two-thirds full.
14. Spice up your life with this easy tip to speed up measuring while cooking. Get rid of the lids in spice jars that have holes in them. Keep the lids with holes for spices that you tend to sprinkle instead of measure such as, paprika.
15. Heading out to the lake? In order to measure your freshly caught fish accurately, measure the fish from the most forward point of the head, with the mouth closed, to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail compressed or squeezed, while the fish is lying on its side.
Speaking of measurements...
Did you know the largest animal in the world is the blue whale? It has a heart the size of a car and tongue as long as an elephant.
Did you know? In the course of a lifetime the average person will grow two metres of nose hair.
Solutions is compiled from various sources: bbqtricks.blogspot.com, hirstarts.com, diynetwork.com, healthy-quick-meals.com, immenseknowledge.blogspot.cominteriormall.com, robinsfyi.com, myfwc.com, tipnut.com, kidsgen.com, pictureframes.com, wikihow.com, dallasnews.com, associatedcontent.com. Thanks to all who contributed. Similar information may be found elsewhere.
Solutions sleuth Reena Nerbas is a home economist and speaks professionally on the topic of household challenges. She is also the author of two national bestsellers, Household Solutions 1 with Substitutions and Household Solutions 2 with Kitchen Secrets. She can be heard on radio and television programs across Canada.
Renovation & Design
Toxics among common scents
SEATTLE -- The fumes that waft from top-selling air fresheners and laundry products contain dozens of chemicals, including several classified as toxic or hazardous, says a University of Washington study published last week.None of the chemicals was listed on product labels, nor does the federal government require companies to disclose ingredients in fragrances, said study author Anne Steinemann.
"I was surprised by both the number and the potential toxicity of the chemicals that were found," said Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and public affairs.
The health effects of the chemicals are unclear, but Steinemann launched her analysis after years of fielding complaints from people who said air fresheners and other household products made them dizzy, left them short of breath or caused headaches, seizures or asthma attacks.
"After you hear about a hundred of these stories, you realize there's something going on," she said.
The report is the latest in a string of unsavory news reports about consumer products, from the presence of lead in children's toys to the discovery of hormone-disrupting compounds in plastics and baby lotions.
Steinemann's study focused on six widely used products: dryer sheets, fabric softener, laundry detergent, a liquid spray air freshener, a plug-in air freshener, and a solid disc deodorizer used in commercial-airplane toilets. A contract laboratory sealed each product inside a container, then used two types of instruments to identify chemicals emitted into the air.
Collectively, the six products gave off nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acetone -- the eye-stinging ingredient in nail-polish remover and paint thinner. (VOCs are compounds that vaporize easily, like paint and gasoline fumes. Many VOCs are known to be harmful.)
The study didn't report the levels of individual chemicals, but all six of the products emitted at least one substance the federal government classifies as toxic or hazardous.
Among them are three chemicals the Environmental Protection Agency considers "hazardous air pollutants" with no safe exposure levels: acetaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both likely human carcinogens; and methyl chloride, which has been linked to liver, kidney and nervous-system damage in animals.
A spokeswoman for the Fragrance Materials Association of the United States, an industry group, said all ingredients are tested for safety and the results reviewed by independent scientists.
"We are certain that, when used in compliance with standards, these fragrance ingredients are safe and can be used ... with confidence," Cathy Cook said in a written statement.
For most healthy adults, slight exposure to toxic or hazardous chemicals is probably not much of a health concern, said Lance Wallace, a retired EPA scientist who is collaborating with Steinemann. But up to 30 percent of people are sensitive to perfumes and other fragrances, he pointed out.
-- Seattle Times
Renovation & Design
Many causes for plumbing odour
Q: We purchased a five-year-old, three bathroom, cab-over home two years ago and noticed an unpleasant odour in one of the bathrooms. This odour appears to be worse in winter. We checked the floor for mildew, etc., when we had the bathroom floor tiled this winter and there were no problems. The toilet does not have a slow leak.After doing the "sniff test" we determined the smell was definitely coming from the main floor bathtub drain. My husband took out the plug and cleaned a lot of guck out of the drain and I attempted to remove any residual odour by using a "green" vinegar-baking soda-hot water solution. The smell stopped for about one day and now it is back. The lower level bathroom, with a bathtub, and master en-suite in the cab-over, with a shower, are not affected.
What could be causing this odour and what suggestions can you give us to eradicate the stench?
-- Harv & Pat Rosenbaum, e-mail
A. In many cases, the origin of seemingly mysterious odours in homes can be very difficult to pinpoint. Fortunately, plumbing odours are usually much easier to diagnose, as there are a limited number of possibilities. I will discuss these and try to help you identify the source of the problem.
The first possibility for the drain odour, and easiest to remedy, is debris in the drain, itself. This could be a combination of hair, soap, and various hair products that get stuck to the sides of the plastic drain pipes or in the trap underneath the tub. Correctly, you have taken the first step to address this problem with your environmentally friendly drain cleaning method. Unfortunately, while your solution may have temporarily eliminated some of the debris, it may not have cleared the drain of excess hair, which can still allow build-up of new soap and continued odours. While not as green as the vinegar and baking soda mixture, use of commercial drain cleaners may be more effective in removal of excess hair in the drains, allowing proper drainage of soapy water from the tub.
The second location of possible build-up of similar materials may be more insidious. All bathtubs have an overflow drain near the top of the tub that is rarely needed, unless the tub is overfilled. It is common for some people to fill the tub with too much water, so that a significant amount is drained through the overflow, once they enter the tub and displace some water. If this water is full of soap, bath oil, or bubble bath, it may also be causing a build-up within the overflow waste piping. This piping is connected to the drain piping below the tub, so an odour could easily be detected through the drain at the bottom of the tub, if this were the situation. The same "sniff test" you did on the tub drain should be done at the opening in the cover to the overflow, which is located below the tub spout. If the smell is stronger in this area than at the drain, the cover should be carefully removed and drain cleaner or a pipe cleaner used to clear this area, as well.
If the first two checks do not yield the results you seek. In that case, there is likely only one other possibility for the source of the odours. The problem, which I suspect is the true culprit, is improper venting for the tub drain. This may be much more difficult to determine, but proper repairs will yield a permanent solution.
To explain the problem of improper venting, without getting too technical, we must understand one basic principal of modern plumbing drains. Sufficient quantity of air must enter the top of the plumbing drain system, through the vents, to allow for proper drainage. Also, the drains must be configured according to specific guidelines, addressed in the plumbing codes, to allow for proper venting. If the venting is missing or the pipes improperly designed or installed, the drains many not function properly.
Sometimes, lack of proper venting can cause drains to run too slowly, which may lead to easy blockages or slow draining. In other cases, improper venting may cause drainage to be too fast, which can allow the water in the P-traps under bathroom fixtures to be siphoned out. In that situation, the traps may not be effective in achieving their primary function, to prevent sewer gas intrusion into the home from the drain system. The water in the bottom of the trap, which is located directly below the drain in your bathtub, must remain in place to prevent gasses from escaping from the larger drains, below. This gas can be quite strong smelling and noxious to occupants. I would suspect that this is the true cause of your problem and figuring out where the mistake has been made is the next step to eliminating the smell.
Improper venting issues can be due to either blockage of the vent pipes as they exit the home through the roof or improper pipe design or installation. Determination of either of these defects may be well beyond the capabilities of the average homeowner. Evaluation by a licensed plumber, which may involve walking on the roof or entering the attic and basement, may be the only way to see where the source of the venting defect is. If simple cleaning of the bathtub drains and overflow doesn't help, listen for gurgling noises after the water is fully drained, following a bath, which will be a sure sign to call the plumber.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed or sent to: Ask The Inspector, P.O. Box 69021, #110-2025 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB. R3P 2G9. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
Renovation & Design
Technology makes green innovations in the home
NEW YORK -- A decade of quantum technological leaps mean today's designers have in their hands a virtually bottomless toy box of new materials and methods.Take the award-winning installation Lightshowers put on by DuPont Corian at this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Egg-like polished rocks and smooth slabs of Corian were underlit, with nature sounds generated from a hypersonic speaker; when a person crossed the sound wave's path, it essentially "woke" the sound.
Or look at Vetrazzo, a Richmond, Calif., countertop maker that turns a good portion of the state's recyclables -- old traffic lights, curbside trash, windows, even dishware factory rejects -- into chic countertops.
The technology boom echoes an earlier era: The icons of early 20th century Modernism -- Breuer, Le Corbusier, van der Rohe, Gray, the Eames, and others -- eagerly adapted machine-age materials like tubular steel and moulded plywood into furniture that was new, daring and still accessible.
Now advances are not just industrial -- they're green. Eco-friendly paints and adhesives, water-driven machinery, precision lasers, even organic powder coatings for steel are all relatively new technologies borne of the industry's desire to balance style and stewardship.
With computers, designs are generated, presented and communicated digitally for what the industry calls "rapid prototyping and manufacturing." What it means is that software helps the designer draw, say, a chair, then it creates a 3D prototype in a few hours, which can then be produced with minimal waste in a variety of customizations, a process that used to take months.
Emmanuel Plat, president of ConranUSA, is excited about the technology used by a Swedish design firm called Front.
"An artist uses a special pen to sketch her design in the air -- she can't even see what she's drawing," he said. "A motion capture camera records her strokes, then the image is prototyped -- the process is really remarkable."
But does the "wow factor" translate into useful furniture? Max Shangle, chair of the furniture design program at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., says products made with revolutionary technology must still resonate with the consumer.
"The question isn't, 'Can we make it?' but 'Should we make it?' At the end of the day, we have to produce things that appeal to and satisfy the consumer," he said. "Using a radical new material isn't enough."
In his book, The Design of Everyday Things, Donald Norman chides those who put artistry or gadgetry before good design. "Well designed objects are easy to understand," he writes.
For that, consider the LED lights that now may line the perimeter of a sofa, a room, even a swimming pool.
On the creative horizon, Don Goeman, EVP of Research, Design and Development at Herman Miller, sees organic LEDs, as well as programmable lighting scenes, "and smart surfaces that are changeable and customizable."
Says Shangle, "The potential to change the landscape of product offerings in the home furnishings marketplace is limitless."
That makes the new generation of modern home furnishings just as exciting as the first.
-- The Associated Press
Renovation & Design
Make sure basement reno is a space you'll love to be in
A common phenomenon in houses of the super-rich is creating extravagant basement additions. Never mind using your cellar as a wine store. Now it's all about digging two, three or even four underground levels for home gyms, swimming pools, media rooms, playrooms, squash courts and additional laundry, storage and bathrooms.
The key to a successful basement remodelling project is to make sure the feel is in keeping with the rest of the home. By taking the time to plan your course, your basement remodelling project will be a space you will love to spend time in.
It is important to be sensible about the budget of a basement reno because it won't typically bring the kind of return at resale that a kitchen or bathroom renovation will.
Before renovating consider whether mould has been a problem; if so it must be treated with a microbial agent and then removed. There are special mould inhibitor paints available that yield excellent results in preventing a re-occurrence, with a single application.
If moisture in the crawl space is a problem, try this inexpensive do-it-yourself trick; lay down 6-mil polyethylene plastic over every single square foot of the crawlspace. Overlap the seams by no less than 1 or 2 feet. Bring the plastic about 1 foot up the crawl space walls. Tape all seams down.
Insulated walls create a warm, cosy space that can help reduce whole-house energy costs by up to 30 per cent. Also note, basements below ground level, even unfinished ones, are naturally insulated, holding in warmth in the winter and being cooler in the summer.
When it comes to older homes, furnaces and water heaters are often in the centre of the basement, which hinders circulation. Rather than trying to work around these utilities, it may be advisable to move them.
Typically, basement ceilings are low, creating a "cave" feeling. To offset this, use indirect lighting that splashes large pools of light on the ceiling. This will open up the space and make rooms appear higher. A mixture of lighting types will offer flexibility to create a variety of lighting moods. Tip: Mirrors, mounted on the walls, can also amplify and reinforce lighting effects.
For the ceiling, consider installing plasterboard, or if you have enough clearance acoustic or suspended tiles are another option. For floor coverings a sub-floor is recommended rather than installing a product such as carpet, tile or laminate directly on the concrete floor.
in bedrooms or habitable space in the basement. An egress window is a window that is required in specific locations in a dwelling and must meet specific size requirements. It is intended to provide an emergency means of exiting a dwelling.
Locate a smoke detector and fire extinguisher in a central area close to bedrooms or in a bedroom hall or corridor. Whether or not a bedroom is part of the basement design, at least one smoke detector should be mounted in the basement.
As home theatres gain popularity, more and more home owners are creating theatre rooms from previously unused basement space. If possible, avoid square rooms and long narrow rectangular rooms because deep bass sound waves misbehave or "pile up" in square or extra-long rooms.
If part of your basement renovation design includes a bathroom, time and costs can be cut if bathroom fixtures are located near existing plumbing. This means designing the bathroom floor plan close to the main waste-vent stack and house drain. Tip: it is easier and less complicated to arrange bathroom fixtures along a line on one wall.
When designing the basement entrance, have something inviting to view as you enter such as; a fireplace, bar or family portrait. Resist building a bathroom to accommodate the rough-in nobody wants to stare at a toilet as they glide down the stairs into your newly renovated basement!
Solutions, is compiled from various sources; rona.ca, property.timesonline.co.uk, gidesigns.net, handycanadian.com, weyoungrenovations.com, axiomaudio.com, basementsbyballantyne.ca, homeandgarden.canoe.ca, renovationdesigngroup.com, renovationexperts.com, servicemagic.com, canada.com, homesafetysolutionsinc.com, homerenovations.about.com. Thanks to all who contributed! Similar information may be found elsewhere.
Solutions sleuth Reena Nerbas is a home economist and speaks professionally on the topic of household challenges; she is also the author of two national bestsellers, Household Solutions 1 with Substitutions and Household Solutions 2 with Kitchen Secrets. She can be heard on radio and television programs across Canada.
Visit me online at: www.householdsolutions.org