Wallpaper Borders

Posted on August 23, 2006 by Tim Carter

Wallpaper borders like this one with palm trees are magic. This tropical wallpaper border was easy to install. It requires minimal wallpaper-hanging skill to achieve professional results. ©2017 Tim Carter

"Wallpaper borders are a true wallpaper product, but they differ from regular wallpaper in the manner in which they are installed and their relative size."

Wallpaper Borders Checklist

Prepasted borders are excellent choices
Use clear paste activator instead of water
Allow border to book for five or ten minutes
Borders can be anywhere on a wall

Wallpaper Borders - Easy to Install & Look Fabulous

Are Wallpaper Borders Like True Wallpaper?

Wallpaper borders are a true wallpaper product, but they differ from regular wallpaper in the manner in which they are installed and their relative size. Traditional wallpaper is hung vertically from the ceiling to the floor. Wallpaper borders are hung horizontally.

Traditional rolls of wallpaper might be 21 inches wide and 20-30 feet long. A wallpaper border might be 20 or 30 feet wide but only 6 to 9 inches high.

But this is perfect sizing since you want the border to dress up your wall surface in the same way as a ribbon adorns a gift box.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local wallpaper hangers who can install your wallpaper border.

Where are Wallpaper Borders Installed?

A wallpaper border is commonly applied to a wall surface where the wall meets the ceiling. However, I have routinely installed a border about 36 inches high off the floor. Wallpaper borders can also be used to separate two different wallpapers in a room.

For example, my basement bathroom has a tropical-themed border that separates a bamboo wallpaper from a light-colored wallpaper that has tropical plant leaves in its background.

The border brings together two vastly different wallpapers making the three wallpaper products look like they were made for one another.

How Hard is it to Install Borders?

It's very easy to install wallpaper border material. The biggest reason, in my opinion, is that you are working with less material than a large sheet of traditional wallpaper.

Furthermore, when you do have to match the pattern, you are working with a strip of paper often less than a foot tall. This makes matching a breeze.

What Tools are Required to Install Wallpaper Borders?

To install a wallpaper border, you do need all of the same tools one uses for traditional wallpaper. Fortunately, you don't need many tools to wallpaper.

Here's a list that will get you going on this job:

retractable razor knife with snap-off blades
4.5 or 6-inch drywall taping knife
smoothing brush or plastic smoother
4-foot level
grout sponge
measuring tape
paint roller & pan
paint brush

Click the Image Below to get all, or some, of the tools now:

CLICK HERE to get all the tools I recommend in one place. It's easy and fast.

Do You Need a Large Table?

It helps to have a large pasting table that serves as a work platform in the event you need to apply a special adhesive or a clear paste activator gel to the back of the border.

What is the Best Border Adhesive?

If you want the border to stay attached to the wall for many years, you must pay very close attention to the type of adhesive you will be using. Some borders come pre-pasted from the factory, but that adhesive may not be suitable if you are installing the border on top of a vinyl-coated wallpaper.

In these cases, you often must use a special adhesive that bonds borders to other wallpaper products. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's written instructions, and use the correct adhesive for your situation.

Will Pre-pasted Border Work on a Painted Wall?

Yes, pre-pasted borders work very well on painted walls.

Since you are applying your border to a painted wall, and you will probably buy a pre-pasted border material, the factory-applied glue will be fine. You can apply water to the border to activate the paste, but I have had far better luck with clear paste-activating gels. These gels are quickly brushed onto the back of the border.

How Do You Hang Borders?

Hanging borders requires the same techniques one would use to hang wallpaper. The biggest mistake often made by rookies is the failure to book the border.

What is Booking and Why is it Important?

Booking is a process where you activate the paste and fold the border so the pasted surface folds back on itself. This process allows the border paper to relax. As the paper relaxes, it swells in size.

You want this swelling to happen on the pasting table while you are working with another piece of the border. If you activate the border paste, and then immediately try to hang the border, you will undoubtedly get all sorts of bubbles and blisters on the border as the border swells on the wall. This swelling action pushes the paper off the wall with each new bubble.

Should Borders Wrap Around Inside Corners?

Avoid the temptation to wrap the border around inside corners where one wall meets another. The border may look good as you install it, but hours later the border may pull away from the corner as the adhesive dries.

Run one piece of wallpaper border around the corner and trim it so there is just 3/16ths inch of border on the next wall. Then match up the pattern and start a new strip of border exactly in the corner. The second piece of border overlaps the small tab of the border from the previous strip on the adjacent wall.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local wallpaper hangers who can install your wallpaper border.

Column 636

New Hampshire Real Estate

Posted on August 21, 2006 by Tim Carter

New Hampshire has lots of real estate, even though it is a small state. Many people are attracted to New Hampshire because of its excellent location. Anyone who knows anything about real estate knows the three most important aspects of any lot are: location, location and location.

Imagine a place where you could be in the center of majestic mountains within an hour's drive. How about a rural lot where you could drive to one of the largest cities on the East Coast of the USA within two hours? Would you like a secluded building lot where you could drive to the Atlantic Ocean in less than 90 minutes? Well, I know where several are, and they are right next to the land I just purchased.

My wife and I just recently purchased 90 acres in New Hampshire. The land is located in the town of New Hampton. Look at a New Hampshire map, and you will quickly discover that New Hampton is just west of the center of the vortex of the coveted Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

Our lot is part of a seven-lot high-quality subdivision. The other six lots are still available as of the date this article was posted. I was an early-bird buyer, and purchased my lot before the site improvements and utilities were installed. The utilities are now in, and you and I can build as soon as possible if you like.

I have always wanted to own a larger piece of land. This 90 acres is heavily forested, has a gorgeous southern exposure and across the southeast corner of the land you will discover 1,700 linear feet of a pristine brook that runs throughout the year. Believe it or not, this fairy-tail brook has a series of five cascades that fall a combined 300 vertical feet, and they are all located within my property lines. I still can't believe Kathy and I own this special natural wonder.

If you are thinking of buying land or even a house in New Hampshire, I can recommend a superb realtor. The agent I used represented me as the buyer of the land, and he was very professional. I should know, as I am still a licensed real estate broker here in Ohio. If you want me to connect you with this realtor, just click here and fill out the form.

Here is video for you to watch. Be sure to look at the still photos below the video.

Enjoy!

The trees are blocking the steep canyon walls in this section of the brook.

This pothole was cut into solid granite by a whirlpool that swirls during periods of heavy water flow. You can see the rocks at the bottom of the pothole that grind away the rock. Who knows how many hundreds of years it has taken to create this wonder!

This is the upper cascade just west of where the property line crosses the brook. Can you imagine how much water flows over this when it really rains?

This is a typical photo of the brook between the five different waterfalls. How many lots do you know of that have a stream running across it like this?

This photo simply doesn't tell the whole story. The view to the mountains to the south is amazing if you just move to the east about 300 feet. I will get that photo next time!

This view is looking east southeast towards the conservancy land and Carter Mountain.

This is the view you will see looking out the back of the house.

Ceiling Fans

Posted on August 16, 2006 by Tim Carter

Ceiling fans are a great way to provide both comfort and style to any room of you home, even ones outdoors. I have multiple ceiling fans in my own home, and am thinking of adding more. But I just don't buy any brand, as over the years I have learned that ceiling fans are like many other things. If you want a ceiling fan that will operate quietly and reliably, then you must pay more money when you buy the fan.

Ceiling fans come in different sizes, and this is important to keep in mind depending upon the size of the room you are trying to cool. If the room you are trying to cool is larger, always get a ceiling fan that has a blade span greater than 50 inches.

The way a ceiling fan works is very simple. As we perspire, the heat from our bodies is transferred to the liquid perspiration on the surface of our skin. When a breeze blows across our skin, it evaporates the liquid perspiration. As the liquid sweat turns into water vapor, it takes the heat from your body into the air. This is the exact same mechanism that fuels monster hurricanes. Heat from the ocean water is carried up into the gathering storm as the warm ocean water evaporates. .

This ceiling fan is in a large sun room. PHOTO CREDIT: Roger Henthorn

To achieve maximum cooling, a ceiling fan has to move lots of air. The distance the fan is from the ceiling and the tilt or pitch of the fan blades must be optimized. If a ceiling fan is too close to a ceiling, say six inches or less, it can't easily get the needed air to push down towards the floor. Just the same, the fan blades must have a tilt to them so they cut through the air and push it down. Airplane and ship propellers operate the same way. They slice through air or water to push objects that weigh many tons.

Ceiling fans that have a blade pitch of 15 degrees work very well. Those fan manufacturers that take the time to perfectly balance the fan blades and mounting hardware do even better. As the fan blades spin around, they need to be balanced just like a car wheel or a washing machine. If you have ever heard an out-of-balance washing machine rattle when it is in its spin cycle, then you know why it is important to have balanced ceiling-fan blades.

Ceiling fans can save you lots of money on air conditioning costs. If you use a ceiling fan in the early parts of the day before the sun bakes your home, you can get effective cooling in the room you are occupying. There is no reason to air condition the entire home if you are just in one place within your home. A ceiling fan uses only a fraction of the electricity that is required to operate a central air-conditioning system.

A smaller ceiling fan for a kid's bedroom. PHOTO CREDIT: Roger Henthorn

If your home is well-sealed, the air inside will still have a lower relative humidity from the operation of the air conditioner the day before. This lower level of humidity will help evaporate the sweat from your skin, even if you don't feel yourself perspiring.

I think it is a great idea to install ceiling fans in all bedrooms, kitchens, family rooms, or any room where you might sit to relax or work. I would also place a ceiling fan on a covered screened porch or even a patio that has some type of awning or other cover to keep rain water from falling onto the fan.

Keep in mind that even when a fan is operating at a very slow speed, it can provide enough cooling to keep you very comfortable. The fan does not need to be blasting you with air as if you were in a gale.

Be sure to purchase a ceiling fan that can be operated with a speed control. Many models have built-in micro processors that allow you to set the fan speed from a wall control. What's more, the fan motor can spin in reverse to pull air up from the ground in winter months. This reverse action takes warmer air from a ceiling and distributes it to lower levels in the room.

Column EM0045

Northern Tool

Posted on August 15, 2006 by Tim Carter

Northern Tool + Equipment is an online business where you can buy tools of just about any type and any brand. Years ago, before the Internet was used for commercial purposes, I used to buy my tools from Northern Tool. Back then, one just used a traditional full-color catalog and a toll-free telephone number to place orders.

One of the power tools I purchased from Northern Tool was a corded one-half inch drill made by Porter Cable. I remember paying $89.00 for this drill back in the late 1980's. This was a lot of money for a drill at the time.

But the moral of the story is that I was buying quality. I still have that drill, and it works just as good as the day it was delivered by the brown UPS truck.

Many of my carpenter friends and subcontractors thought I was nuts for buying tools via mail order. They thought it was crazy to call and send for a tool. My thoughts were about pricing and convenience. The drill was very competitively priced, and I loved how I didn't have to fight a crowd at one of the local stores.

After this positive buying experience, I then purchased a gasoline-powered air compressor from Northern Tool. This larger item was not able to be delivered by UPS, so I had to go pick it up at a freight company. That was a little bit of a hassle, but I got a fantastic deal on the compressor, and it arrived in perfect condition.

There were thousands of people who were buying mail order at the time. It wasn't a new concept, as other major retailers had strong mail-order catalog operations. Heck, L.L. Bean started his successful mail-order business back in the very early 1900's, so you know both mail order and Internet businesses could do well. People love convenience and great pricing.

Column EM0044

Construction Loans

Posted on August 12, 2006 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: My husband and I plan to build a custom home. Since we already own an existing home and need to stay here while the new home is built, how do we pay for the new home? What type of financing do you get that allows you to make payments on your existing home and the new home at the same time? What can we do to minimize the financial pain of owning two homes at one time? Gina M., Park City, UT

DEAR GINA: You need a construction loan to build your new home. This is a common product sold by banks, credit unions and traditional building and loan companies. Bankers and lenders know that building new homes is great for their businesses, so they have developed loan products that takes most of the sting out of borrowing money for a new home.

One of the first things I think you need to get your arms around is the concept that banks, credit unions and other lending institutions sell money just as a grocer sells food. The money you and I borrow when we go to banks is a commodity item your lender gets from other banks, their customers and the Federal Reserve. Just as grocery stores get stocked with fresh food from farmers and other food producers, your lender may need new money each week.

You often need a special construction loan to build a new home. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This system allows you and I a slight competitive edge since lending institutions are always trying to sell their supply of money each week or each month. This supply/demand situation forces many lenders to offer competitive rates, terms and loan packages. For this reason, it can really be to your advantage to shop different lenders to see what rates and terms they are offering for new home construction loans.

Traditional construction loans work in this fashion. You borrow a fixed sum of money that you combine with any personal savings and/or equity in your own existing home. The total of all of these monies should be equal to or slightly greater than the total cost of your new home. I suggest a loan package total that is at least five percent greater than the total projected cost of your new home, as there always seem to be cost overruns or surprises that can ding your pocketbook.

As your home is built, the builder will make draws against the loan money. To draw down the loan money, he will have to supply to your lender legal affidavits for all subcontractors and material suppliers that have performed work on your home and/or supplied material up to the time of the draw. The bank then issues checks to these individuals that match the amounts stated on the affidavits.

As soon as this happens, the interest meter starts running on the construction loan. The following month you will have to make an interest payment on the amount of money drawn from your loan account. You continue to make these monthly payments as time progresses. But as the house is built and more money is drawn down, your interest payments grow larger and larger each month.

Once the home is finished and it is time to move in, your construction loan must be converted to a permanent mortgage where you make both interest and principal payments. If you bargained well before you purchased the loan, you will have a competitive interest rate for the life of the loan.

You can minimize your financial risk and pain by selling your existing home before you build the new home. This allows you to cash out of your existing home and have all of the equity at hand. You will have to make rent payments for your temporary living quarters, but see if you can't survive in a smaller apartment for the time it takes to build your home. Find an apartment, if possible, that allows you to rent month-to-month. If you sign a fixed lease and your house is not completed by the time you need to move out of the apartment, you may be in a world of hurt as you have to find very short-term living quarters.

One of the biggest advantages to selling your existing home early in the process is that you can use your equity to fund the initial stages of construction. This will minimize the time you actually use the bank's construction loan money. Furthermore, you may be able to get a better interest rate since you present a lower credit risk to the lender. You also have enormous peace of mind knowing that you don't have to make two mortgage payments after you move into your new home while your existing home sits vacant.

It is vitally important that you talk with your lender about all conditions regarding your construction loan. For example, the lender will want to be assured of a clear title with your land, and furthermore, he will want to be in the first position with regards to lien rights. Since many states have strong protective lien laws that are in place to protect the rights of workers and suppliers, the lender will often insist that no one is allowed to do anything on the land until you have closed on the loan. This means you can't even have the lot staked out by a surveyor for the builder before the loan closing!

Try to shop for a combination loan that only requires one closing. This is a construction loan that is bundled with a permanent financing mortgage. Getting a loan such as this minimizes closing costs, and could save you thousands of dollars in loan fees.

If you want to discover more information about constructions loans and many other types of loans, I suggest you check out a cool website I recently uncovered. Don't let the name of this website fool you. It has scads of information about all types of loans:

www.StudentHomeMortgageLoans.com

Column 635

How to Build a Deck

Posted on August 12, 2006 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I need to know how to build a deck. What are the most important steps to take?

I live in an area where it snows, and a neighbor told me I have to worry about the frost line. What is that?

As you can tell, I am a rookie and need lots of direction. I am determined to do this job, and just need to be pointed in the right direction. Mary Jo G., Vancouver, WA

DEAR MARY JO: Holy Moly! There is so much to know about how to build a deck, I don't know where to begin. One thing is for sure, I can only scratch the surface in the limited space I have.

Perhaps the most important things to consider are: zoning and deck structure. If you drop the ball in these areas, I feel you will have a disaster on your hands. Finally, do not underestimate the amount of physical labor this project will consume. The framing materials used for decks can be very heavy and cumbersome. If the deck surface is over four feet in the air, then an extra degree of difficulty is added to the job.

Many homes are built in areas that have zoning laws. Since most decks are attached to homes, zoning laws can dramatically affect the overall size and shape of the deck. An interesting loophole might exist in some zoning codes if you design the deck so it does not attach to the house. Be sure to read the code carefully, and ask if you have more or less latitude if the deck is a free-standing structure that is only one inch from your back door.

The building codes that are in force in many parts of the nation look very closely at outdoor decks. Each year decks collapse and injure or kill people. In fact, a serious deck collapse happened in my own city years ago, while a large group of people were having a party to view a fireworks display. The building codes require decks to support loads much greater than standard floors inside residential homes.

This deck was built by a novice with a little coaching from a pro. The homeowner planned it well as the deck is large enough for two separate seating areas. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

One thing that causes me great concern is the amount of bad advice I see on other websites. For example, one website says to lag bolt a ledger board to the side of the house. This is exactly why the deck collapsed in my town during the fireworks display! Lag bolts do not have the holding power of through bolts. Lag bolts can pull out of the structure and/or have reduced holding power if they are overtightened.

A through bolt is one that penetrates completely through the exterior wall. You then install a washer and a nut on the inside of the house. This method is the strongest possible connection. Also, you must provide spacers between the ledger and the house so water does not get trapped between the ledger board and the house wall. Provide these spacers in addition to flashing that laps over the top of the ledger board.

The deck building codes are stringent because code officials know that large parties with many people are common on decks. Furthermore, the group of people might start dancing which can create a motion that can cause decks to sway. For these reasons and others, you must ensure your deck is designed to code-minimum standards. Diagonal bracing applied to the underside of the floor joists helps minimize sway, as do braces and special metal framing connectors that can be used where deck beams attach to deck support posts. If you are in doubt about any of this, hire a registered architect or structural engineer to provide you with a detailed framing plan.

The frost line is a distinct depth in your local soil to which frost can be expected to penetrate during the coldest part of any given year. This line is generated from years of historical data, and it can vary widely depending upon weather conditions. For example, the frost depth in my city is 30 inches below the top of the surface. But in the recent decade, there have been winters when the frost maybe penetrated only three inches into the soil. But I remember the horrible years of the late 1970's, when the frost penetrated to over six feet in certain areas of my city.

The importance of the frost line is significant. When water freezes it expands in volume about nine percent. Since most soils retain water, they freeze, expand and almost always lift upwards. Soils against exposed retaining walls also freeze and expand sideways. This expanding soil can tip over retaining walls and lift up structures. The lifting force is extremely powerful. If the lifting force is not equal and consistent at all points, then stress can build up within the deck causing it to twist. This helical motion can cause severe structural damage.

By placing the bottom of deck foundation supports below the frost level, you can rest assured the deck will not move as the ground freezes. Always be sure that vertical concrete piers or columns are dug so the bottom of the hole is wider than the top. This upside-down cone shape helps lock the foundation into the freezing soil just as a dovetail joint works in carpentry.

One of the biggest challenges rookies face in building decks is how to accurately locate any and all foundation piers. The margin for error is very small, and it is important that deck support posts are plumb.

One trick I learned years ago is to simply build just the outer frame of the deck. As it is being built, support the frame up in the air with temporary posts placed at least two to three feet away from the planned vertical support posts. Add extra temporary posts so the deck frame will not collapse as you work beneath it.

Using a level, tape measure and grade-school geometry, you can make this shape level and square. Brace this frame so it doesn't move, and then use a plumb bob to transfer the outer corners of the deck down to the ground. This fool-proof method allows you to precisely locate all foundation piers with a minimum of effort.

Related Column: Deck Material List

Column 634

Door Hinges

Posted on August 11, 2006 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: The door hinges in my existing home are starting to rust. The hinges in the house I grew up in never rusted and seemed better than my current door hinges. Can I switch out door hinges? The current hinges on my doors have large rounded corners, but the hinges I want have square corners. How do I successfully install the new hinges? Do I need expensive tools? Regina M., Johnstown, PA

DEAR REGINA: Your current door hinges are probably inexpensive steel hinges that have a thin brass coating. I have seen this type of hinge rust as well as the screws used to attach the hinges to the door and door jamb. These steel door hinges are very common ones used by production-door builders. If they can save a dollar or less per pair of hinges over high-quality ones, and they are using hundreds of pairs of hinges a day, one can see why they might want to substitute a low-cost product. The savings adds up to a big number over a period of weeks or months.

This door hinge is solid brass and is a traditional square-butt hinge. They are readily available, affordable and add a touch of class to any home. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

The hinges in your old home were probably solid brass. What's more they were probably thicker metal and had decorative tips on the hinge pins. You can still buy high-quality solid brass hinges, and some of the hinges have decorative hinge-pin kits that are still available. I am very partial to the Victorian style solid brass finials that adorn the top and bottom of my door hinge pins. The traditional ball tips are also still widely available if you prefer that style.

You can switch out your door hinges with relative ease. For the job to be as easy as possible, you need to find new hinges that are the same overall size as your existing ones. My guess is you will discover your existing hinges are 3.5 inches high. The thickness of the door hinge metal is also important, so try to take one of your existing hinges off the door and jamb so you can hold them up to the new hinges you are thinking about buying.

Assuming that you find new 3.5 inch square-butt hinges that are the same thickness or just slightly thicker, the only challenge will be to remove the wood on the door and the door jamb to create the 90-degree corner where the rounded corners are currently located. The only tools you will need to accomplish this are a simple razor knife with a new blade and a one-half-inch-wide wood chisel. These are fairly inexpensive tools and they will come in handy for other projects if you do not currently own them. You will also need a screwdriver or two.

The most accurate way to create the straight lines that will square up the existing hinge mortises is to temporarily screw one of the new hinges right on top of the existing mortised area for your current door hinges. The new hinge will lay up on top of the wood at each of the rounded-corner locations, but that is not a problem.

You will do just one hinge at a time, and there is no reason to remove the door from the door jamb. The entire process can be done with the door in the full open position.

Start the job by opening the door a minimum of 90 degrees. If you can open it even further, the job will go faster. Take some wood shims or a small block of wood and shove it under the lower corner that is below the door handle. This will prevent the door from dropping when you work on the top hinge. If you do not block the door and support the it's weight, it can create enormous stress on the other hinges once the top hinge is removed.

Remove the top hinge from the door and the door jamb. Temporarily install the new hinge in its place. Use the razor knife to slowly and carefully cut the lines where the wood must be removed at each rounded-corner location. Glide the edge of the razor along the metal side of the hinge to create the perfect lines at the corner. Push hard enough so the tip of the razor cuts into the wood the thickness of the hinge metal.

Once the lines have been created, remove the hinge and use the wood chisel to carefully carve away the wood. It will take minimal effort, if the wood chisel is sharp and held at a low angle. Once the wood has been removed, install the hinge and tighten all screws. Do the same process for each hinge.

Use extreme caution when working with the razor knife and wood chisel. Both tools are very sharp, and can cause serious injuries if you use too much uncontrolled force. Always use multiple gentle cutting strokes. Do not try to cut full depth with one stroke of the razor knife. Cutting across the grain of wood is always harder than cutting parallel to the grain.

If the old screw holes are too large to securely hold the new hinge, fill them with small pieces of wood and yellow carpenter's glue. Wooden matchsticks are great to use. Coat each matchstick with some glue, and force several at once into the screw hole. Let the glue set up for at least an hour before installing the new screw. If you need to work faster, purchase rapid-set carpenter's glue.

Column 633

Small House Plans

Posted on July 30, 2006 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: Small house plans are the topic of discussion between my husband and I. As we approach retirement, we are going to move from a larger home into a new smaller house for a number of lifestyle and financial reasons. What advice can you offer so we do not make a mistake building a house that is too small? Are there distinct do's and don'ts when it comes to scaling down from a large home to a small one? What can we do to make our small home feel like a large one? Meredith M., Bryan, TX

DEAR MEREDITH: I can certainly see the attraction of moving from a large home to a smaller one. There is less space to clean, heat, cool and redecorate. All of these things can save money when you think about living in a home for a period of years. As I grow older, I do not want my own home to become a black hole that consumes my time and money. Golf courses, ski slopes and other activities will do a fantastic job of consuming both, and yield pleasure in return.

The small house plans you and your husband will settle on are the most important documents in the entire construction process. They will communicate your dreams and desires to the builder, and to all of his subcontractors and suppliers. The plans must be complete and well thought out in every respect. To proceed with half-baked ideas and concepts you hope will work is foolhardy.

Some of the biggest planning mistakes I have seen happened when homeowners looked at blueprints and three-dimensional renderings of a new home that dazzled them. The contracts were then signed and work begun before the people even realized how the new home would relate to their living and entertaining habits.

This house is perhaps too small. The narrow rooms might not handle furniture very well. There is no room for mistakes when working with small spaces. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

The best analogy I can give you is building a deck. People think that a 10-foot by 14-foot deck is large when it is first built and the carpenter is loading up his tools. But the deck shrinks dramatically in size when you try to fit a standard table and chair set as well as a few other items on the deck platform.

As for your list of do's, I would make a list of all furniture you intend to move from your existing home into your new home. Be sure the rooms in the new home are large enough to handle the furniture. Make scale cutouts of the furniture and position them in the scale conceptual drawings you can get from the builder or architect. Don't forget about the space you need to navigate around furniture.

Think long and hard about your entertainment plans for the future. If you plan to have large parties, where will everyone sit? If you invite family over for holiday occasions, think about how the house will handle this brief influx of people. Will your new kitchen be large enough to handle guests chatting while you stir the simmering sauces at the stove?

Do not assume everything will work out. Do not overlook storage. If you are going to bring lots of things with you from the old house, where will they fit in the new home? Storage solutions are many, but keep in mind that off-site storage costs can eat into your future retirement budget. Talk to your builder about using storage trusses over the garage and attic trusses over the main part of the house. These affordable structural elements create vast amounts of storage space for a small initial investment.

Don't forget about future mobility issues. As you and your husband age, stairs, bathtubs and even door knobs can become trouble spots. Plan now for a house that will be easy to use if you or your husband lose both dexterity and mobility. Consider a larger bathroom that allows you to enter a shower in a wheelchair. Hallways need to be a minimum of 42-inches wide and 48 inches is even better. Lever-type door handles are far easier to operate than a knob you must grab.

Column 632

Golf Training Aid

Posted on July 24, 2006 by Tim Carter

I happen to know a little bit about home improvement, and slightly less about golf. The reason for the disparity is I have thousands of hours more of hands-on experience in home improvement than I have swinging a golf club or gently sweeping a putter on a dew-covered green.

Over the past six years, I have become very interested in golf. I enjoy the solitude of golf courses, the challenge of hitting the golf ball with an assortment of clubs on different types of grass, and the comradery of playing with friends. You might think the same thoughts about home-improvement projects. For example, I'll bet you might be very excited about trying to install plumbing or tackling a roof, even though you have never tried doing either project.

At first I struggled with golf, because I did not understand the mechanics of the golf swing. I listened to some friends who tried to help me, but they were not expert golfers by any stroke of the imagination. Each one offered different advice, none of which improved my golf score.

Two years ago, I decided to take several golf lessons. I paid money to learn from a card-carrying Professional Golf Association member. The golf lessons were the best money I ever spent on a golf-training aid. The few simple adjustments the pro made to my swing and stance took 15 strokes off my game. Now that is improvement!

You can often do the same thing with home-improvement projects. You may be able to find a pro who will come and teach you certain specific tasks, or you might see one working at a jobsite who will be kind enough to answer a question or two.

Let's say you just want to learn how to properly hold a drywall knife. You might get a free lesson if you stop by a construction site and wander inside while the finisher is working. Ask if you can watch while the finisher works. Pay close attention to the hand movements, and the manner in which the job is performed. You might think about offering some money, since you are interrupting the person's work flow.

The message here is to think about contacting a professional before you waste lots of time and money. The money spent learning from a pro may save you lots of frustration over time.

If you are a weekend golfer like me, you might find a new website pretty cool. There are some great tips at www.GolfTrainingAidandTeachingTool.com that may help you improve your golf game.

I have found that some websites like this really help you learn about aspects of the game, and the mechanics of golf. A professional golfer may not be interested in a website like this, but are you a real golf professional who earns her/his living playing the game? If you are like me, you might only get out twice a month or so. I don't know about you, but I will take all of the good golf advice I can find.

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Ace Hardware

Posted on July 21, 2006 by Tim Carter

Ace Hardware is a name you might find very familiar, even if you are located in a large city that has numerous newer big-box home centers. The Ace Hardware store near you might be the friendly and convenient smaller hardware specialty store you have visited for years, or it might be a store you have passed by on your way to the larger plain-vanilla home improvement big-box stores.

There is a world of difference between an Ace Hardware store and a giant big-box home improvement center. I can think of all sorts of ways to compare the two different stores based upon my years of personal buying experiences at both businesses.

Convenience

An Ace Hardware store is ideal for a person with limited mobility or a walking disability. Ace Hardware stores are often much smaller than a giant big-box improvement store, so you can get to the products you need with fewer steps. Exercise is a good thing, but once you visit a smaller Ace Hardware store, you will appreciate the coziness of the shopping experience.

Variety

Ace Hardware stores often have every hardware item you could ever want. They frequently stock items not available in other stores. You usually do not have to buy a bag of screws if you just need one. Yes, if you need just one screw or one nail, you can often buy just that at an Ace Hardware store. Visit a smaller hardware store and you will be amazed at the variety and quality of the products.

Advice

The employees who work at many Ace Hardware stores often have real hands-on home-repair experience. Many have years of both repair and sales experience, and know the problem areas with each repair job. You can't always count on that from the employees at many of the big-box home improvement centers. Occasionally, you will run into an employee at a big-box store who knows what she or he is talking about, but your odds of getting good advice each shopping trip might be better at a smaller hardware store.

Pricing

Don't believe for a moment all of the hyped advertising you see from the big-box stores about how they are the low-cost leaders. Always remember, you get what you pay for. If a product is cheap, there may be a reason. Secondly, the large big-box stores operate like grocery stores have for years. They have loss-leader products. This means they sell one product at a low price, but make up the profit on a related product that is often needed to complete the job. Ace Hardware stores offer competitive pricing, and you can prove it with ease.

Speed of Transaction

After you have walked up and down the long aisles of the big-box stores, you often have to wait and wait at the checkout lines. Yes, some stores have self-service checkout registers, but I have found these to be clogged with people or worse yet, bogged down with a consumer who does not know how to work the machine.

Visit a smaller Ace Hardware, and there are rarely any traffic jams at the checkout. You pay for your items, and are out the door in moments. That has always been my experience. My time is valuable, and I am willing to pay a small amount more so I do not have to wait for five or 10 minutes while someone ahead of me fumbles for a checkbook or ID.

Ace Hardware stores are not the only small hardware stores. Another national chain called True Value Company has a network of over 6,000 independent small hardware stores across the world. I visit a local True Value hardware store just a few miles from my own home on a weekly basis. It is a delight to be able to find exactly what I want at a competitive price, and be back out to my car in just minutes. I have never had to wait in a long line to complete a purchase there.

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