pdxremodels.com

You wouldn’t think that going $80,000 over on a remodeling project would pay off, but for a lucky Lake Oswego, Oregon couple it did.

Sarah Max, a writer for Money Magazine (a.k.a. CNN Money.com), did a piece last November on Erika and Greg Tansey, L.O. homeowners that learned the ins and outs of remodeling the hard way - by living it.  Sarah titled her article Remodeling School and outlines the four home remodeling lessons the Tansey’s learned:

1. The words “under” and “budget” do not coexist

2. You can get a better price

3. Don’t count on hosting New Year’s Eve dinner

4. Even Bob Vila has his limits

Go here to read the full article.

Have you been putting off painting that kitchen/bathoom/bedroom/ whatever because you know how hard it can be to choose colors? IT CAN MAKE YOU CRAZY!

There have been so many times that I have picked a color (after agonizing over it for a week or so), bought the paint, slapped it on the walls, stepped back to admire my handywork and heard myself say “Yuck! It looks like baby poo/swamp muck/a 60’s flashback!”

Well, now there is help at hand.  Before you go and plop down that $20-$45 for a can of paint you can do search for your perfect color online, and even test them in cyberspace rooms. I realize that many paint manufacturers have small paint sample packets that you can test on your walls, but many times they don’t make sample packets of the colors I like OR they have run out of the most popular choices. However, with the online paint selection tools you can choose a pre-specified color pallete or let the artist in you go wild by trying new color combinations that WOW you (and can easily be changed).

Here are some the paint selection tools I have come across in my internet journeys; some require you to register to use them, but are really fun. If you know of any more that I don’t have listed here, please let me know and I will post them.

1. Behr Color Explore
2. Sherwin Williams Paint Visualizer
3. Dutch Boy Color Simplicty Tool
4. Bob Villa Paint Designer
5. Benjamin Moore Personal Color Viewer
6. Lowes’ Paint online

In addition, I came across this great Colorcharts.org database (powered by CBN) of all digitally certified colors. It has over 80 paint manufacturers listed and all of their digitally certified colors. If you have a colorchip from a paint company that is not in your area, you can find that color in their database, ask it to match the color, and it will tell you all other other digitally certified colors that match it from other paint manufacturers. Fun, eh?  This site has definitely made it to my “favorites” list!

Photo by Sharyn Morrow, used under creative commons licensing.

This is a great video clip showing what some forward thinkers in 1967 imagined what kitchens would be like in 1997. It’s funny how some things are similar to today and some things are still so… so … from the Jetsons. 

While this post doesn’t really focus on home remodeling, per se, it does have to do with some really cool homes. I tiny. In fact, the company’s name is Tumbleweed Tiny Houses and the owner, Jay Shafer, has not only designed these miniscule marvels, but also lives in a home that is about the size of most people’s bathrooms.  

For the do-it-yourself types out there, you can order a full set of plans for each model; however, you can also order some of the homes READY MADE and delivered to you.  How cool is that? The homes do need some sort of foundation, and Tumbleweed suggests one of six types :
1. Piers
2. Blocks
3. Slab
4. Skids
5. Trailer (smaller houses only)
6. Basement

When asked on his website if the homes are environmentally friendly, Jay responds with:

“Yes.  My original house (the 8′ x 12′ Front Gable, now called the Epu) won one of Natural Home Magazine’s Home of the Year Awards in 2000 for its sustainable design, and my subsequent structures have been no less green.  Small houses mean fewer emissions, less construction waste, less fuel consumption and more green space.“

So, okay, maybe you are not so gung-ho to live in something this small, BUT wouldn’t it make a great home office in your backyard? Or maybe a guest house or a cabin get-away? Most of the designs have sleeping lofts and offer many of the creature comforts on a smaller scale.

He also designs homes that can be built as portable spaces. I especially like the VARGO model (designed as a portable office) with its curved roof and old world flair. Imagine, an office you can take anywhere!

Below are links to the floorplans for the various models pictured here. (Run your mouse over the photos above to see the name of the model). There are also other models and plans on the website.

• Weebee floorplan
• Z.GlassHouse floorplan
• Vargo floorplan

Tankless (a.k.a. demand or instantaneous) water heaters provide hot water only as it is needed instead of continuously heating a reserve tank of water as with conventional water heaters.

The basics of how they work:

1) Water enters the heater.
2) A water flow sensor detects the water flow.
3) The computer automatically ignites the burner.
4) The water circulates through the heat exchanger (coil).
5) The heat exchanger instantly heats the water at the designated temperature
(this takes only 5 seconds).
6) The heater can provide you with endless hot water continuously.
7) When the hot water tap is turned off, the unit shuts down automatically.
Read the rest of this entry »

I am always on the look out for new products for my home and I, like many other folks, have begun to realize that choosing environmentally friendly products is not only in my personal best interest, but also benefits the community as a whole. 

In my web wanderings I ran across a type of home insulation I haven’t seen before. It’s called Retrofoam. Read the rest of this entry »