For those who garden in small areas, raising the beds provides plenty of space for good soil. However, shoring up the edges with treated lumber or railroad ties could poison your plants. The toxins in treated lumber (chromium and arsenic to name two) and the creosote in railroad ties will leach into the soil.
If this news comes too late, remove the offending border immediately. Talk with the experts at your local garden center for the best ways to treat existing soil in your area.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Special on Aisle 5
Don't wait for flashing blue lights at the (mostly gone) K-Mart stores. Hidden gems await at your local big box home improvement store. Walk the aisles on weekends and you're sure to find an unadvertised bargain or two. That's how the Handy Imp found the best deal around on window blinds.
Seems a buyer had "misread" a particular type of window covering. These were custom sizes that didn't fit standard windows. What no one realized so much was the fact they could be easily resized by removing the bottom slats as needed. So, stacks and stacks of them went on sale for $5.99 - that's a big whopping difference from the $39.99-$69-99 for standard versions of the same quality.
So, for the price of interim paper shades, 10 windows received new blinds at a fraction of the cost.
When you're building or renovating, it pays to stalk those aisles. You never know.
Seems a buyer had "misread" a particular type of window covering. These were custom sizes that didn't fit standard windows. What no one realized so much was the fact they could be easily resized by removing the bottom slats as needed. So, stacks and stacks of them went on sale for $5.99 - that's a big whopping difference from the $39.99-$69-99 for standard versions of the same quality.
So, for the price of interim paper shades, 10 windows received new blinds at a fraction of the cost.
When you're building or renovating, it pays to stalk those aisles. You never know.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Making the Grade with Plumbing Gear
For do-it-yourselfers, fixing minor plumbing problems is no big deal. Repair a leaky valve in the tank or even re-seat the toilet in more extreme situations. Sometimes, the pipes have a few issues and you need to replace a section of PVC. Now, here's where it's not a good idea to save a little money.
The Handy Imp did a compare on purchasing a section of PVC from the big box home improvement store as opposed to a well-known smaller franchise (whose names shall remain unnamed to protect the Handy Imp, mostly). The required parts from the smaller franchise were considerably less expensive, which initially looked like a good deal. However, an inspection of the quality (i.e., thickness) of these parts explained the difference in pricing. Big Box Store (BBS) came out on top.
The Imp's final word: don't get all excited about lower prices until you've made a real comparison in quality. Plumbing supplies are one area you don't want to skimp on. Otherwise, the law of averages applies - you'll be stuck re-doing the job on a nice sunny weekend!
What's in your home plumbing toolbox?
The Handy Imp did a compare on purchasing a section of PVC from the big box home improvement store as opposed to a well-known smaller franchise (whose names shall remain unnamed to protect the Handy Imp, mostly). The required parts from the smaller franchise were considerably less expensive, which initially looked like a good deal. However, an inspection of the quality (i.e., thickness) of these parts explained the difference in pricing. Big Box Store (BBS) came out on top.
The Imp's final word: don't get all excited about lower prices until you've made a real comparison in quality. Plumbing supplies are one area you don't want to skimp on. Otherwise, the law of averages applies - you'll be stuck re-doing the job on a nice sunny weekend!
What's in your home plumbing toolbox?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Get Hung Up on Outdoor Blinds
If you have south-facing windows, you know how hard it is to keep the house cool in summer. Your air conditioning system probably works overtime to provide a little more relief. Keeping drapes and blinds closed is a help, but you still have walls and windows heating up from Old Sol.
Outdoor blinds are available on the market that can help with energy costs. They'll hang over standard windows on outside frames to beat back those UV rays. That means window glass stays cooler and that leads to reduced heat conduction inside. They come in neutral colors that won't be an eyesore and you can just roll them and leave them out all year long. Even better, if you feel like a fresh breeze, they're breathable so you can raise a window with heading outdoors to raise your blinds. Very nifty.
Outdoor blinds are available on the market that can help with energy costs. They'll hang over standard windows on outside frames to beat back those UV rays. That means window glass stays cooler and that leads to reduced heat conduction inside. They come in neutral colors that won't be an eyesore and you can just roll them and leave them out all year long. Even better, if you feel like a fresh breeze, they're breathable so you can raise a window with heading outdoors to raise your blinds. Very nifty.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Your H&R Tax Cut Disk is in the Mail - for a $$$$$ Price
Actually, you may get more than one nicely packaged disk. It's even the Premium version! With free federal e-file! Sounds like its free all of a sudden, doesn't it?
Here's the kicker - you slide that little disk into the drive and up pops the pay me first window. Yep, they're asking for a whopping $34.95 and that's just for federal only. Now, that doesn't sound so bad until you start shopping around.
Amazon:
As low as $19.99 (federal only)
As low as $24.99 (federal and state)
Granted, this program is easy to use and walks you through every step. (OK, mostly easy to use with limited confusion.) Guess you can't blame H&R Block for trying to make a little extra on the side, huh?
Here's the kicker - you slide that little disk into the drive and up pops the pay me first window. Yep, they're asking for a whopping $34.95 and that's just for federal only. Now, that doesn't sound so bad until you start shopping around.
Amazon:
As low as $19.99 (federal only)
As low as $24.99 (federal and state)
Granted, this program is easy to use and walks you through every step. (OK, mostly easy to use with limited confusion.) Guess you can't blame H&R Block for trying to make a little extra on the side, huh?
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