Home Decorating Tips and Tricks From the Pros

Do-it-yourself decorating and remodeling projects aren’t complete without those final, finishing touches that will make your friends think you hired a professional to do the work.

The pros use a variety of tools, tricks and techniques to make their work look good. One of the simplest, most effective “shortcuts” is to use caulk to bond, seal, fill and otherwise finish off just about any material you work with.

Here are a few suggestions on how to use caulk to make your next DIY job look great:

Caulk the Curl
Wallpaper that curls up at the edges is like wispy hairs that stick out after a haircut. When you try to paste them back down, they just pop right up again. A better way is to apply a bead of caulk where wallpaper edges meet door frames, moldings and other installed materials.

A neutral color caulk was once the only option, but now you can mix your own custom colors directly into the caulk, using the Create-A-Color Caulk Coloring System from Red Devil. With this unique new product, you can blend in the same latex paint used on the molding, or mix in a different latex paint color to match your wallpaper. The Create-A-Color system includes a plastic syringe for measuring and injecting paint directly into the caulk cartridge, and a sturdy, reusable hand pump that makes quick work of mixing in the color.

Read the Complete Story »

In Home Wiring, Lower Gauge Means Greater Power

Someday you may need new electrical wiring in your home and the electrician may ask if you want 12 AWG or 14 AWG (American Wire Gauge). You may not know what this means, but opt for the lower number. When it comes to electrical wiring, a lower gauge number means larger wires with lower electrical resistance, and that translates into greater load-carrying capacity.

It also means better power quality. Fatter wires produce less waste heat and less “voltage drop,” which simply means they can transmit full, unimpeded power for critical applications such as home entertainment and the home office. With 12-gauge wiring, lights will flicker less. Moreover, fatter wires provide room for growth—that is, they allow homeowners to increase electricity use without the need to rewire.

Consider this: One thousand feet of 14 AWG solid wiring has a resistance of 2.53 ohms. The same length of 12 AWG has a resistance of 1.59 ohms. That 0.94-ohm difference equals a 37.5 percent drop in resistance, and less resistance means less chance that your home’s circuits will overload because too many appliances are drawing too much power. And make sure your circuit breaker matches the wire size: 20 Amps for 12 AWG of 15 Amps for 14 AWG. Otherwise, you negate the protection the circuit breaker provides.

Read the Complete Story »

Plumbing has seen significant changes in methods, codes and materials since it moved indoors in the 1920s. Despite this, copper tube continues to be the most common piping material found in both residential and commercial plumbing, and the standard against which all other types of piping are judged.

Pipe connections, in particular, continue to evolve. In today’s green building environment, these innovations – some old, some new – will increasingly compete with the familiar, time-honored trade practice of heat-soldering copper tube connections (for more on copper fabrication and installation, visit www.copper.org). New solderless or “cold” joining products are the latest improvement in this area

Although soldering is easy to do, it requires a gas-fired torch, and it’s not as quick – or as environmentally acceptable – as today’s newest cold joining methods. With these fittings, no heat, solder or chemical flux are required to produce dependable, watertight joints.

The two principal types of solderless fittings for copper tube are press-connect and push-connect. Depending on the type, these connections are permanent or may be disassembled for refitting or adjustment. The press-connect method is generally permanent and requires a special tool to bond the fitting to the pipe. Push-on fittings simply require an installer to manually push or twist the fitting onto the tube. Both types employ gaskets to create a watertight seal.

Read the Complete Story »

New Building Codes to Require Fire Sprinkler Systems in Homes

All newly constructed one- and two-family homes will soon have to include automatic fire sprinkler systems, according to a recent ruling by the International Code Council, which develops model building codes and standards in the U.S.

The “burning” question for builders and buyers of those homes, beginning in January 2011, is whether they would rFire Safetyather be protected by plastic, steel or copper—the three principal piping materials used in today’s sprinkler systems. All are approved for use in both commercial and residential structures.

Threaded steel pipe was for many years preferred for sprinkler systems in commercial facilities. Steel pipe is inexpensive and easy to install in open, accessible areas, and where its bulky, rough-looking appearance is not objectionable to occupants.

But appearance matters to homeowners, and rigid steel pipe is hard to work with in confined spaces and especially difficult to accommodate in design-conscious residential interiors. Another drawback is that in “wet” (water-filled) fire sprinkler systems, rusted or discolored discharge water from steel pipe can multiply the damage caused by fire.

Read the Complete Story »