The fine folks at Home Depot sent me the Homelite UT42100 electric blower so I could try it out. I already own a much larger leaf blower so I was eager to try out this smaller one. This little guy packs quite a punch and makes cleaning up a walkway, driveway or small project site a breeze.
This little 7 amp power house has two speeds; quiet and power, ranging from 120 mph to 150 mph. At a very reasonable suggested retail price of just under $30 it's really hard to find much wrong with this blower. The only thing I don't like (and I don't like this about my larger one) is the fact that you have to plug it into a electrical power supply. But, for $30 it's really hard to complain and expect a gas powered unit! The unit only weighs 5 lbs so it's very light and easy to use. I'll definitely use this around the yard this summer cleaning up my messes and keeping the walkways looking great.
I would definitely suggest this product for anyone looking for a very inexpensive lightweight leaf/dust blower. If you're interested in this product it's available exclusively at Home Depot.
For any of you that read my blog on a regular basis you already know that I've been diagnosed with Melanoma (skin cancer) twice. The first time was really scary as I had Stage III Melanoma, several surgeries and a year of chemo treatment. Well....today I found out I have Melanoma again. Last time was just a very shallow lesion that didn't require any special surgery. This time it's a little worse and it sounds like I'll be having at least one surgery maybe two. The good news is from what they are telling me this isn't as serious as the first time I had it so hopefully the treatments won't be too bad.
I share this with my readers for a couple of reasons. First and foremost I think that if I can help just one person by making them aware of the dangers involved with skin cancer then it's worth sharing my personal experiences. Two it helps me deal with the emotional battle that cancer plays on someone.
Wish me luck....or better yet say a prayer for me and my family.
Tonight I started working on our kids new swing set. The instruction manual says it will take two moderately skilled people 20 to 24 hours. So if I do all the work myself that should be about 40 to 48 hours of labor.
Tonight I managed to get the base frame put together in about 1 hour. My 3 year old helped so maybe we can "deduct" a few minutes that I had to chase him around the yard for parts.
So far the directions are great, the materials are in very good condition and I must say I'm very pleased with the purchase. I had my doubts especially when I ordered it online through Ebay but so far so good. I hope to so quite a few posts following the progress and my overall opinion of this project and product. Stay tuned for more....
May is National Deck Safety Month and deck failures and collapses are on the rise according to the North American Deck and Railing Association. According to NADRA there have been over 30 deaths reported in this country between 2000 and 2006 as a result of deck collapses. It is also estimated that there are over 40 million decks over 20 years old in this country.
Statistics like that make it abundantly clear that it is important to inspect your deck on a yearly basis and make sure that it's structurally sound. You don't have to be a structural engineer to do a basic inspection of the structural members. It's important to look for split, checked and decayed wood. Over time foundations can move causing movement of structural members, misalignment, buckling and settling.
If you find split, checked or rotten wood members you should replace them. Check to make sure you're fasteners are not corroded, missing or loose. It's also important to make sure railings are secure and meet current code standards. Stairs are also very important to safety and egress. Take a little time each spring to inspect your deck and make repairs will help you enjoy your deck for years to come and ensure the safety of your family and guests.
My deck is only two years old and I've found a couple of loose fasteners and warped members. It only took a few minutes to fix those minor problems and ensure another safe season on the deck.
Well today the kids new wood swing set was delivered. An 18 wheeler pulled up the driveway and dropped off 5 huge heavy boxes and one plastic slide. My son Timmy was beside himself with joy and excitement. "Daddy let's build the swing set!" Ahh...Timmy....Daddy needs to go back to work......needless to say Mr. Timmy shed some tears when he realized that daddy wasn't going to just drop everything and make his new swing set appear.
When I saw how many pieces were involved with this swing set I started having second thoughts. Oh well whats one more massive project when you're totally swamped at work and home. The directions say it should take "two moderately skilled people" about 20 to 24 hours to put together. We'll see how accurate that estimate really is. I plan on taking photos and writing a few updates as we put it together.
Tonight when I got home from work we carried all the materials down to the area in the back yard that we'll built the swing set. I opened up all the boxes to check the materials and all of it looked good. The wood is cypress even though it was advertised as "red cedar or similar". Cypress is actually another good alternative to pressure treated lumber.
The Cypress tree grows mainly along the southern coastlines and inland areas. The tree produces an oil called cypressine which acts as a natural preservative within the wood. This inherent characteristic of the Southern Cypress makes it durable and extremely resistant to harsh weather conditions, insects and fungus.
Since Cypress wood lacks sap and doesn't bleed, it takes well to sealers, stains and paints. Its color varies in shades of light to dark honey. If left outdoors unfinished in its natural state, the appearance of the wood will become a light pewter color over time.
The wood came with a red colored stain applied already. However, they recommend applying a sealer each year to maintain the wood. We'll see if I get that far this year!
Installing a dishwasher is a fairly easy to intermediate home improvement task. If you already have a dishwasher installed and you have the proper water shut off valves than installing a new dishwasher is very straightforward.
As with any home improvement project make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions carefully and obey all local laws involving plumbing and electrical codes. The first step should always be to shut off both the electrical power supply and water supply to the existing unit. The water supply shut off valve is typically located in the cabinets below your kitchen sink. The power supply should be hooked up to an independent breaker in your main service. After you shut off the electrical breaker make sure you test the power to verify that it's shut off.
Remove the lower toe-kick cover plates on the old dishwasher. This is where you'll disconnect the power supply and the water supply. The power is almost always located on the right hand side. There should be some kind of cover plate over the electrical junction box. Remove the cover and remove the wire nuts to the black and white leads. Disconnect the ground wire and make sure any bushings on the electrical box are removed as well. On the left side sh
ould be the water supply line. Typically the water line will be either soft copper pipe or a stainless steel braided water line. Disconnect the water supply line and have a small cup or bucket handy so you can catch any excess water in the line. Now you'll need to disconnect the drain line. If you have a garbage disposal the dishwasher drain will be connected with a small corrugated white drain line. Disconnect the drain house and again drain out as much of the excess water as possible.
At this point you should be able to remove any screws holding the dishwasher in place. Typically the screws are either attached to the counter top or sides of the cabinets. Some dishwashers are now being screwed into the floor along the bottom steel runners (this is due to the popularity of granite counter tops that cannot be drilled into). Once you remove the screws you should be able to remove the old dishwasher from under the counter top.
To install the new dishwasher you'll basically reverse the previous steps. Again remove the lower toe-kick cover plates so you can access the electrical junction box and the water supply line connection. As you slowly push the new dishwasher under the cabinet make sure you guide the drain line back through the cabinets into the sink base. Make sure you grab the electrical wires and water supply lines and pull them forward as you slide the washer back.
Reconnect the water supply line and the black, white and ground electrical wires. Re-install the electrical junction box cover and make sure everything is tight and cleaned up. Adjust the dishwasher feet so that the dishwasher will be within a 1/4" of the counter top. Push back the dishwasher and install the screws that secure the unit (into the counter top, into the cabinet sides or screws into the floor along the runners). Now connect the drain line back into the back of the garbage disposal and secure the clamp. Turn on the water supply valve and check for leaks. Turn on the power and run the dishwasher through a cycle so you can check for leaks. If you don't find any leaks than re-install the lower toe-kick cover plates and you're finished!
As I said this is a fairly straight forward do-it-yourself project. Just make sure to take your time, shut off power and water and follow the manufacturers directions closely.
May is National Home Remodeling Month so I thought it would be fitting to talk about easy home improvements and remodeling ideas that DIY folks can do themselves. Remodeling your home can add value, efficiency and peace of mind for years to come.
One of the most popular remodeling ideas is painting a room in your home or even painting an exterior door to add curb appeal. Painting is one of the basic DIY activities that most home owners feel comfortable doing. When I read home improvement blogs over at Houseblogs.net a large percentage of the home owners talk about painting projects. Painting doesn't seem to overwhelming to folks, the materials are fairly reasonably priced, the tools are simple and inexpensive and honestly the skills required are pretty basic. Today color seems to be the name of the game when it comes to painting. Adding a distinctive accent wall color or darker earth tones seems give homes a warmth that wasn't present when all we did was paint the wall Navajo White.
Here are three examples of painting projects that we did in our new home that really added character and warmth:
Paint Your Front
Door With An Accent Color
Add A Chair Rail and
Two Tone Wall Color To A Room
Paint A Room With A Dark Color
Contrasting White Wainscoting
So far this spring our grass seems to be doing VERY well. Last year (first growing season for the new lawn) the lawn just never really grew very well. It wasn't very green, didn't grow very fast and overall seemed to be struggling to stay alive.
So last fall we had our soil tested and found out that our soil was very acidic and lacking in some important nutrients that grass needs to grow well. The biggest thing our soil needed was lime in order to "sweeten" the soil and increase the pH. We also had to choose the correct fertilizer based on the soil report.
I think the combination of the lime and fertilizer that we applied has worked wonders for the grass. As you can see it's very green and it appears to be growing in much thicker. I'm hoping that the lawn will establish itself much better this summer so we won't have to rely on fertilizers as much.
