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What's In This Newsletter

Saving Money With DIY-Friendly Products

Product Focus - Chemical Free Real Wood Decking Material

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Saving Money And Getting It Done With DIY-Friendly Products

Who among us doesn't want (or need) to improve their home? Even if it's just a very minor upgrade of a faucet or changing the decor of a room? But in today's economy, and perhaps with a revised mindset on saving more and spending less, letting go of those dollars doesn't come as easily as it might have a few years ago.

So how do you bridge the gap between the upgrade you want and the desire to save as much as you can? Try the DIY route, also known as Do-It-Yourself.

Going DIY essentially saves the money that you would normally pay someone else to do the job, including any product markups that might be tacked on too. You'll also avoid having to search for a reliable and competent contractor, a process that takes time. Lastly, there are multiple kinds of products that are available that make it easy, sometimes easier than you think, to DIY, and achieve stunning results to boot.

Products That Are DIY-Friendly
One of the most powerful aspects of a DIY effort involves products that make it easy to upgrade without possessing the skills of an accomplished contractor. Let's take a look at a sampling to get some of the idea juices flowing.

Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring can be one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects and one that provides a huge visual impact. It's also a quick project, meaning that in most cases, you can literally walk on the floor as soon as you're finished laying it.

Today's click-together laminate technology allows you to simply measure and cut the pieces to fit your floor and click them together. You're not limited to just wood styles either. There are varieties that mimic the look of stone and tile too.

Prefinished Wood Flooring
Prefinished wood flooring is a real hardwood floor that's already been sanded, stained and sealed and is ready for installation. It's a little more involved than a laminate floor installation, but not out of the reach of an average DIY person. You also get the benefit of a very hard factory-applied surface finish, something that's not possible with a traditional site-finished hardwood floor.

Rollout Cabinet Shelves
Aftermarket cabinet rollout shelves and organizers are plentiful and cost much less than getting them with a new set of cabinets. If you already have cabinets, they offer a large efficiency impact by avoiding the bending, kneeling and stooping to look for items buried in the back of those hard-to-reach cabinets. Lots of organizers and rollout kits can be found online as well as at home centers.

"RTA" or Ready To Assemble Cabinets
If you're remodeling your kitchen and are looking to save on cabinets, consider RTA cabinets. They're made to be easily assembled for installation into your kitchen. Lots of RTA cabinets are available from online retailers that can also help with the design of your cabinet layout. You don't have to be an experienced carpenter to get new cabinets and install them in your home.

Wall Panels
Have a room made with cement block walls or some other not-so-attractive material? You can cover it with modular wall panels that are easy to affix to the existing wall resulting in a much nicer, more attractive look. Several manufacturers make this type of wall system, Decor Plastics being one of them.

Most of what this project entails is either attaching wood furring strips to the wall (depending on the existing wall type) or simply gluing the panels to the wall.

Tile
Installing tile, whether it's floor or wall tile, is not that difficult and it can really make a dramatic change to a room. There are countless resources like books and websites that offer help on how to do a tile job and make it easy. I can speak from experience as one who at one time had never laid a single tile and now has a tiled bathroom floor as a result of my own effort. I find most retail centers that sell tile are very helpful in coaching you through the job if you need it, and may have tools available for rental should you need them.

Kitchen Backsplash
A kitchen backsplash is another great application for tile and it's not difficult to install. Even the mosaic backsplashes with those small tile pieces are easy because they're actually pre-attached to a mesh backing that you install in larger sections.

But you're not limited to tile. Easy to install backsplash panels that mimic the look of tile or pressed metal tin are available in kits like Fashion Wall's EZ Backsplash Kit and ACP's Fasade Backsplash. For the ultimate in an easy DIY backsplash project, install a ready-made unit like the Broan pre-made kitchen backsplash that you hang like a picture frame.

The point in all of this is that there are plenty of products out there that can actually have a big impact on improving the look or style of your home that aren't difficult to achieve. Anyone that's even somewhat handy can usually accomplish many DIY projects. I've done a number of my own home upgrades but I've never been trained in any of the building trades. I'm no carpenter either. Most of my time is spent in front of a keyboard.

The satisfaction you get from tackling a DIY job is twofold - the satisfaction of achieving the result by your own hands and the money you save in the process.

DIY Websites That Can Help
You don't have to go it alone with these DIY projects. In fact, I gutted my first floor powder room, tiled it, and replaced all the fixtures, never having done such a project before. And I certainly took advantage of the "how-to" resources that were available.

To give you a head start, take a look at these DIY websites. You might find a project that calls to your inner handyperson.

DIY Network
This is the website that's companion to the television series of the same name. Lots of information on various kinds of projects and resources.

DoItYourself.com
Another good site for how-to resources that includes text instruction and videos. The website also includes a forum that offers additional information and a place to ask questions and review answers from previously asked questions.

TheNaturalHandyman.com
A website by a tried-and-true actual handyman. It's got lots of articles that tackle all sorts of projects ranging from home improvement to home repairs. The bulk of the information is contained in the "articles" link, visible on the home page.

Easy2DIY.com
This site has a wide range of how-to procedures that include step-by-step instructions as well as videos. The site also has product (tool) demonstration videos to help you identify appropriate tools for the job. Yes, the tool demo videos are basically like watching commercials but you have control on whether you click on them or not.

As one final resource, don't overlook the "old-fashioned" DIY books that you can find at your local hardware and home center stores and even the public library. I like the Black & Decker series of books which cover virtually any type of remodeling and home improvement subject. They offer great pictures including cut-away pictures of projects in progress and good "how-to" instructions. You can also find them at Amazon.com at a pretty good discount over Black & Decker's retail prices.

So don't be afraid to roll up your sleeves and put a little sweat equity into your home. There are products and how-to instructions for just about any skill and budget level.

Product Focus - Chemical Free Real Wood Decking Material

If you're thinking of adding a new deck this summer and want it to be made from real wood, you're probably aware that you'll need to use treated lumber to avoid decay and deterioration.

For many years wood processed with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) was the mainstay of treated wood but the downside of it's decay resistance was its health hazards. It's no longer produced for use in residential applications.

What's available today is better and less toxic but there are downsides with these products too (either copper based or borate based). They still contain chemicals and you have to choose the right fastener and bracket materials so that you don't end up with corroded fasteners and joist hangars.

If you're looking for a more natural alternative, you can check out PureWood™ Decking, a real wood that's free of any chemicals but resists rot and decay like "treated" wood.

PureWood is made by Bay Tree Technologies USA, LLC and is thermally modified to produce its decay resistance. It's a derivation of the thermal (heat-treatment) processes used by the Japanese to treat wood, combined with additional technology that's been in use in Europe for over a decade. By using a process that employs heat, time and moisture, the wood undergoes changes whereby wood sugars are changed, making them impenetrable by bugs and other natural predators.

From my perspective it seems like a rational approach to making a 'greener' decking material. I find it funny how many of today's more natural and green products and processes have elements of natural treatments that were used for centuries, before the advent of synthetically-developed chemicals.

You can learn more information about PureWood at their website, www.purewoodproducts.com. The site has a lot of information including a dealer locator. FAQs about the product can be found here on their site.

What's New At HomeStyleChoices.com

Here's what's new at the website:

The Latest Blog Entries
(You can see them here at the Home Design Blog page)

"Choosing The Right Bathroom Sink"
A blog post announcing the new article on choosing a bathroom sink.

"Is It Time To Renovate?"
A brief discussion about how now may be the right time for home improvements based on lower prices and contractor availability. I included a link to a Washington Post article on the same subject.

"Considerations On The Kitchen Backsplash"
An announcement of the new web page about kitchen backsplashes and considerations to think about before deciding on a particular style.

"An Interview With TheCabinetFolks.com
This blog announces a new article that deals with the subject of buying cabinets online. To article is an interview with TheCabinetFolks.com, a cabinet builder in Maine that sells cabinets over the internet, aimed at answering some of the typical questions a customer might have about the process.

New Web Pages and Articles
Choosing The Right Bathroom Sink

The Kitchen Backsplash-Art & Function Combined

Buying Online Cabinets-Demystifying The Process

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