Oil-Based Paint

Many older houses, especially those built prior to the 1990's, were originally painted with oil-based paint. There are two characteristics of oil-based paint that make it undesirable today: 1)It changes color through time and 2)It cannot be topcoated with latex paint without first priming. To determine whether or not you have oil-based paint, purchase some denatured alcohol from a paint store and rub the alcohol on your paint with a rag; if the paint comes off then it is not oil-based. If the paint does not come off then it is oil-based and you must first prime the surface before painting.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com.

How to Fix a Door that Swings on its Own

Many times doors are either set out of plumb or a house shifts due to soil movement resulting in a door that slowly swings open or closed without any assistance. This can be aggravating but it is a problem that is easily fixed with a few simple hand tools. First remove the hinge pin from one of the hinges on the door. Take the hinge pin outside and place it on the concrete. Using a hammer hit the pin in order to place a slight bend in it. Finally, reinstall the pin in the door hinge. If the problem persists, it may be necessary to bend the pin more or bend all of the hinge pins for that particular door.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com.

Removing Rust Stains From Concrete

Rust can be one of the hardest of all stains to remove, especially if the stain is on a porous substrate such as concrete. These stains often originate from a rusty piece of metal stored on the concrete or even from fertilizer containing iron. Removal of rust stains from concrete is best achieved by dissolving the rust with a chemical that unlike muriatic acid, which is often used to clean concrete, does not etch the concrete. The best product that I have found for this task is called Iron Out. It comes as a granular powder and can be purchased in most home improvement stores. Look for it in the plumbing section next to chemical drain cleaners such as Drano. If you follow the instructions you should be able to eliminate your rust stains without damaging your concrete.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com.

Granite vs. Quartz Countertops

There is no doubt about it, granite is a beautiful product for countertops. The material does however have some inherrent problems that can be avoided by using man-made quartz countertops that can be equally attractive. Granite is a natural stone product and like most stones, granite is porous. Those small pores can allow certain substances to stain granite if it is not properly sealed and cared for. In fact most sealant manufacturers recommended that granite be sealed at least once per year. Quartz never needs to be sealed since the natural quartz is encapsulated in a nonporous resin that will never stain. Granite can also be easily etched with acids such as citric acid found in citrus fruits and other household chemicals. Again, quartz does not have this problem; leave a lemon on quartz all night if you wish and the product will look the same in the morning. Both products are heat tolerant and both are premium countertop products. Most people cannot even tell the difference between granite and quartz. I suggest quartz in almost all circumstances except when either there is a very tight budget, since quartz is a little more expensive than low-level granite, or when an extremely exotic type of granite is desired.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com.

Save Money with a Programmable Thermostat

There many myths floating around about saving money by raising and lowering your thermostat while you are away from home or asleep. As with most things, the simplest answer is the only true answer. If you lower your thermostat during the winter for any length of time you will save money and if you raise your thermostat during the summer for any length of time, you will save money. The only exception to this rule is when an electric heat pump is used. Electric heat pump thermostats use resistance heating when the call for heat is too great for the heat pump to provide in a short period of time. For example, if in the winter time you lower your thermostat to 60 degrees while you sleep, then raise it to 70 when you wake-up, the thermostat will engage resistance heating to help the heat pump. Resistance heating is the most expensive of all forms of heat so such drastic adjustments are not recommended when heat pumps are used. However, an adjustment of 1-2 degrees can be implemented using a heat pump system without risking excess expense since such a minimal change will not engage resistance heating under most circumstances. As previously stated any temperature adjustment will save money. However, most people do not adjust their theromstats at night or when away because they do not want to wake-up or come home to a cold or hot house. Programmable thermostats are the solution to this problem. By installing a programmable thermostat, homeowners can enjoy a compfortable home when they are a awake and at home and also enjoy energy savings when they are asleep and away. An additonal benefit of most programmable thermostats is that they have a "Refresh" or "Recirculate" function which runs the fan periodically whether air conditioning is needed or not. This results in a more uniform temperature throughout the house even during months when almost no temperature adjustment is needed due to mild outdoor air temperatures. This also helps filter the house air during those same months when with a standard thermostat, the air would almost never be filtered. Programmable thermostats range in price from $30-$150 but for around $80 a good programmable touch-screen thermostat can be purchased. Installation is straight forward and should take no more than 30 minutes and then your savings begin.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com

Removing Airborne Chemicals From Your Homes Air

Benzene has made the news lately in many major cities where natural gas production seems to be at odds with civilization. There is mounting evidence that natural gas production is resulting in elevated levels of benzene and other chemicals in the air. While there is still debate over the source of observed levels of benzene, the health of your family is paramount above the blame game. In other words it is imperative that any cancer causing or in any way harmful chemicals be removed from as much of the air that you and your family breathe as possible. The most cost effective means to achieve this end is to install an activated carbon air filter in your homes air conditioning system. Activated carbon is highly reactive with a multitude of airborne chemicals yielding them harmless. This is not only important in removing carcinogens such as benzene, but also in removing the pollutants that enter the air as a result of the slow gasification of most of the chemicals used in the manufacture of your homes amenities such as carpet. Activated carbon air filters are often sold as odor air filters and many times are used as a supplement to a standard air filter. These filters can be found in the air filter section of your local home improvement store or can be ordered online. Make sure to look for "activated carbon" on the packaging.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com

Convert Your Fireplace To Vent-Free Gas Logs

Wood burning fireplaces were the staple installation of homebuilders for the past 50 years and many homes today come equipped with these energy hogs. The reason wood burning fireplaces are energy hogs is that in order for the fire to burn it must draw air from the house. As that air is drawn into the fireplace and then out the chimney, there is a vacuum created inside the home. In order to equalize the pressure, unconditioned air must be drawn into the house. This air enters the house around windows, doors, light fixtures, etc. As a result burning wood in most fireplaces actually results in a net energy loss in the home. To solve this problem, the homeowner can install vent-free gas logs into their existing wood-burning fireplace. Vent-free gas logs are a great alternative to wood. In order to use vent-free logs effectively in a wood-burning fireplace, the user must close the damper on the fireplace. When installed and operated properly, these logs will actually heat the home. As with most alterations, the homeowner should check with the manufacturer of their fireplace to determine whether it is approved for "closed flue" operation with vent-free gas logs before making this improvement.  Discover and share home improvement knowledge at www.HomebuiltHowTo.com