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Decorative outdoor lighting is a worthwhile investment for your home, and installing it can be a rewarding intermediate-level do-it-yourself project. Outdoor lighting adds safety to your home environment by increasing visibility along paths and stairs, and helps eliminate dark spots and shadows. ...

Vermiculite is a mineral in the earth. It is mined to produce a variety of products. When heated to a high temperature, vermiculite "exfoliates" or pops like popcorn into lightweight pieces of material, ideal for use as thermal insulation. Pieces of vermiculite are anywhere from 1/4 to 1 inch thi...

Those of you in Oregon are most likely aware of Senate Bill 102 that was passed into law in 2009 and went into effect on August 1st, 2010. It required the removal of uncertified wood stoves when a home is sold. Well they've been adding to and change the bill since before August of 2010 and now at...

What's it take to heat your home these days? Can you save money, be fuel-efficient, or at least be environmental? What makes sense depends on your present system, and the level of your cost, convenience, and environmental concerns. Your particular balance point may vary according to the pricing a...

Windows are the first things you see when you enter a room. If the curtains are open, the outside world becomes a presence in the room; if drawn, then our atmosphere is confined to inside our homes.  Windows provide security, views, warmth, ventilation, and mood. The care and thought we put into...

Designing a garden should be easy, right?  Just wander around the garden store, pick out the plants that you like, take them home and plop them in the ground.  Unfortunately, unless you have a really excellent eye for design, your garden probably isn't going to turn out quite like you hoped it wo...

  One of the ways you can tell spring has arrived, besides the change in outdoor temperature and trees beginning to bud, is by the many roofing company trucks parked along curbs and driveways. This is the window of opportunity before April showers. For some reason, it seems as though many people...

Automatic thermostats offer the most intelligent, and cost-effective use of your heating and cooling systems, but many people fail to take full advantage of them. Here's how to use yours to get the most bang for your buck. More Important Than Ever Our energy bills would make our grandparents gas...

There are no hard-and-fast steps for installing light fixtures. Most new lights have diagrams and instructions which you should read over at least once before you get started. In an add-on situation, you can run a new circuit. Or, you can draw power from an existing circuit. But too many devices ...

These pages will show you the step by step procedure for installing a ceramic tile floor. Although many of the general rules of installing tile apply to most any tile job, there are specific techniques that apply only to floors, and others that apply to countertops and walls - See our complete pr...