It’s been a busy few weeks.
Going through some of my archives here at Safe’n’Dry and come to find out I have no interviews! I was shocked at myself. There’s so many questions out there that so many of the Grate Products contractors could answer.
So the first step was making contact with some of the contractors whom I’m personally friendly and sitting down one-on-one and talking about the business and about foundations. Every contractor has interesting stories, but more importantly interesting insight from their experiences which has lead them to become part of Grate Products.
In the coming weeks I’m planning on interviewing Rob Hicks from Virginia Basement Waterproofing and Chris Brown from Rescon Basement Solutions in New Hampshire
Radon Information
Pioneer’s project managers recently went through intense radon measurement and assessment training, so I will be talking more in depth about radon in weeks to come.
Other than that I'm shocked that I've made 100 posts in a little under a year! Thanks to all of my readers for sending me questions, emailing me and following this site!
5/08/2009
My basement renovation project progress: May 2009
Spring is officially here and yard work and family has been taking priority for me. One of the new things to happen is my Girlfriend’s sister has moved into our basement and will be living there for the next Month.
2 Projects came from this all in the same day. a.) Renovating the Basement’s ½ Bathroom and b.) Installing a temporary door to keep her cat downstairs (I’m allergic).
Like with any project around the home you have the helpful “check list” for projects
1.) Measure! If you don’t know how much space you have or are going to be dealing with you’re looking at a large percentage of material waste in your project. In today’s economy and with urgent need to help our environment, every little bit of scrap needs to be avoided.
2.) Draw it out. When you’re building anything that requires solid cuts, making a drawing and measuring it will help you do the math, make your cut list and keep waste down and your work time down.
3.) Clearing the work area: Making sure we had a clear work area, work surfaces, and a clear place to store things makes life so much simpler.
Our bathroom flooring was chosen because it’s an inorganic laminate flooring with a built in sub floor in it. This will have to go down first and cut outs made so that the toilet can be installed. The walls in the bathroom are going to be painted as well.
The Door will be installed on the walk in mud stones. Because it’s only temporary and the Homeowner didn’t want too much damage to the walls (which I’ll have to repair later anyway) we’re going with simple wood studs and a pre-framed door.
Next Projects on the list: Molding, More Painting, and a built in bookcase.
2 Projects came from this all in the same day. a.) Renovating the Basement’s ½ Bathroom and b.) Installing a temporary door to keep her cat downstairs (I’m allergic).
Like with any project around the home you have the helpful “check list” for projects
1.) Measure! If you don’t know how much space you have or are going to be dealing with you’re looking at a large percentage of material waste in your project. In today’s economy and with urgent need to help our environment, every little bit of scrap needs to be avoided.
2.) Draw it out. When you’re building anything that requires solid cuts, making a drawing and measuring it will help you do the math, make your cut list and keep waste down and your work time down.
3.) Clearing the work area: Making sure we had a clear work area, work surfaces, and a clear place to store things makes life so much simpler.
Our bathroom flooring was chosen because it’s an inorganic laminate flooring with a built in sub floor in it. This will have to go down first and cut outs made so that the toilet can be installed. The walls in the bathroom are going to be painted as well.
The Door will be installed on the walk in mud stones. Because it’s only temporary and the Homeowner didn’t want too much damage to the walls (which I’ll have to repair later anyway) we’re going with simple wood studs and a pre-framed door.
Next Projects on the list: Molding, More Painting, and a built in bookcase.
4/23/2009
Basement Decorating Ideas - All manors of Basement Finishing
After starting a thread on the Pioneer Basement forums: Basement Decorating I went back through my files of emails to go through some messages from readers and from clients about attempting to decorate their basements.
People all over the world, and especially in urban areas like Boston, New York, and London have sent me questions about how to best decorate their basements. My first question:What do you want to do in your basement?After a moisture control system is installed, the possibilities are endless!
Home Basement Finishing has a great basement idea photo gallery to get the juices flowing.
My design ideas for a basement always tend to lean towards lighter, brighter, more reflective colors. This helps to bounce light further into the basement and thus, making it less bleak and dark. The main idea is to pick a color that you want to design around. (My family for instance really loves greens...I'm sure you'd find another color that you love).
Support piers can be covered up with a variety of different options. I decided to cover mine in a wood finish. I kept the column covers "square" to match the basic furniture patterns in the rest of the basement (no sense in having a Round object interrupt the sea of straight lines). If you're into more modern, round, or elliptical furniture and headboards then you might consider dressing yours up with a more traditional round lolly column cover. But like I said, your imagination is the only thing holding you back.
People all over the world, and especially in urban areas like Boston, New York, and London have sent me questions about how to best decorate their basements. My first question:What do you want to do in your basement?After a moisture control system is installed, the possibilities are endless!
Home Basement Finishing has a great basement idea photo gallery to get the juices flowing.
My design ideas for a basement always tend to lean towards lighter, brighter, more reflective colors. This helps to bounce light further into the basement and thus, making it less bleak and dark. The main idea is to pick a color that you want to design around. (My family for instance really loves greens...I'm sure you'd find another color that you love).
Support piers can be covered up with a variety of different options. I decided to cover mine in a wood finish. I kept the column covers "square" to match the basic furniture patterns in the rest of the basement (no sense in having a Round object interrupt the sea of straight lines). If you're into more modern, round, or elliptical furniture and headboards then you might consider dressing yours up with a more traditional round lolly column cover. But like I said, your imagination is the only thing holding you back.
Copepods and Rotifers: West Hartford, CT Residents asked to Boil Water
Hartford Courant Story: MDC asks CT residents to boil water after contaminants are found
Needless to say: I'm going to bringing home bottled water for my mother this weekend. Read more about the details in the Hartford Courant Story link above.
"While they are not a threat to public health, their presence indicates a problem with the water treatment system, according to a statement from the Department of Public Health."
Needless to say: I'm going to bringing home bottled water for my mother this weekend. Read more about the details in the Hartford Courant Story link above.
"While they are not a threat to public health, their presence indicates a problem with the water treatment system, according to a statement from the Department of Public Health."
4/20/2009
AP Article: Drug companies releasing drugs into drinking water
AP IMPACT: Tons of released drugs taint US water
another reason to pay attention to the EPA under their categories of "water"
another reason to pay attention to the EPA under their categories of "water"
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