Google Street Viewed Our House… And We’re Still Deciding How We Feel About That…

A week or so back, a friend burst into my office at work and said, “Did you see? Google Street Viewed your neighborhood!”  I had heard of street view, but hadn’t spent anytime looking at what it offerred.  Intrigued, I looked up maps.google.com and sure enough, street view was active for our neighborhood.  I punched in our address and here’s what came up: (with edits to protect our information).

Yep, that’s our house, and I’ve actually reduced the resolution of this photo.  The original on streetview is pretty sharp.  Judging by the state of the home (christmas lights in the downstairs windows), and the fact that the back deck on the house was built (you can see that view from a street behind ours), we’re guessing the picture was taken sometime around December ‘07 – January ‘08.

How They Do It

It’s pretty simple.  They drive a car through neighborhoods and take pictures using a 360 degree camera mounted on top of a black pole.  I’ve not seen a car in person, but there’s several articles out on them, including this one from autoblog.

Google Street View Privacy Concerns

I’ve got mixed reactions to this type of technology.  Sure, it’s great for finding some place you’re trying to get to.  But, it opens up huge capabilities I’m not sure I want everyone to have easy access to.  For instance, while the camera is not sharp enough to see license plates on most cars, it can see them on a few.  This could lead to someone (or some company) building a database of license plate / address combinations that would be a little creepy to say the least.

According to CNET, Google will remove any recognizable face or license plate upon request from anyone.  But, you still have to ask to have these features removed, and most people probably don’t even know their picture was taken.

What do you think?  How do you feel about street view?  If you’ve been street viewed & you are a blogger, I’m tagging you to post your own street view screen shot.

Safely Deep Fry a Turkey

I love the taste of deep fried turkey. I’m sure it’s amazingly unhealthy, but man does it taste good. But, whenever you deep fry a turkey, make sure you take the appropriate safety measures.

Safely Deep Fry a Turkey

Most of the potential dangers of deep frying involve the oil. If you can properly manage the hot oil, that is half the battle. Here are some great tips to safely deep fry your turkey.

• Turkey Fryer Setup- Setup the deep fryer on a flat, outdoor surface. Do not setup on wood or any other flammable surface (like a deck). Make sure you are a safe distance from any buildings.
• Prepare your Turkey- Oil and water don’t mix and the water can cause oil to spill over. Be careful how you marinate your turkey. Make sure the turkey is fully thawed. Frozen turkeys can cause a fire or even explode!
• Prepare your Fryer- Fryers get extremely hot even on the outside. Make sure you have proper gloves / oven mitts to handle the fryer and controls. Don’t overfill the fryer with oil. Test how much oil to use by trying it out with water first. Put in your turkey, and fill the fryer with water. Pull out the turkey and see how much oil to heat up. If you see the oil begin to smolder quickly turn down the heat.
• Other Tips- Make sure to keep children away from the fryer, and don’t leave it unattended. Keep a good fire extinguisher nearby. Here’s a post about selecting the right extinguisher. Never use water to put out a grease fire. Check out this post about grease fires for more info.

Happy Thanksgiving

Everyone at One Project Closer (Ethan & Jocie, Kim & Fred) wishes you a fun, and enjoyable T-day. Whether you are cooking a turkey, watching football, getting together with family, or any other Thanksgiving tradition we hope you have a good one.

What do you think? What’s your favorite way to cook a turkey? What did you do for Thanksgiving?
Image courtesy of Ukanda

Install a Ceiling Fan Mount Bracket & Electric Box

Ever since we moved to this house, Kim and I have been longing for a master bedroom ceiling fan.  In our first home, we had a Hampton Bay fan hanging over the foot of our bed.  We grew accustomed to having the white noise & gentle air circulation usher us to sleep each night.  Since our new home didn’t come with this feature, we’ve had a floor fan running almost every night.  It’s not a perfect substitute for a ceiling fan, but it works. 

You can imagine our delight when Home Depot contacted us and asked us to pick out and review a ceiling fan from the hundreds they offer.  We’d love to jump right into a review, but the reality is we had to follow a few steps to get this fan installed.  So, this is the first in a series of three or four articles on ceiling fan installation that wll conclude with that review.   After you’re done here, you might check out Home Depot’s YouTube video on installing and replacing a ceiling fan.  Home Depot regularly publishes YouTube videos on common household projects.  If you like what you read here, you might consider subscribing to their YouTube feed.

The Environment for Our Installation

In our current home, our master bedroom is on the top floor and has attic access.  The room had no overhead lighting.  In fact, nearly every room in our home has a wall switch wired to a nearby receptacle, a common cost-savings strategy builders use to avoid paying for light fixtures.   Since we wanted that switch to control our fan and future overheads lights, we had to rewire the switch and run electric up the wall to a ceiling mount box.  I’ll cover repurposing the switch and running electric up into the ceiling in a later article.  This article focuses on the first step of installing a ceiling fan in a room that didn’t previously have a fan: installing a ceiling fan electric box strong enough to hold the fan.

Selecting a Ceiling Fan Eletrical Box System

There are two types of ceiling fan mount kits: those designed to mount directly to the side of a joist, and those designed to be suspended between joists.  Our attic consists of a 2×4 truss system with each truss spaced 24 inches on center (a common attic setup).  Without measuring to find the center of the room in advance, we knew the odds were good that the fan box would need to sit between two joists.  If the center of the room happened to fall on a joist, we could move the box 2 inches off that joist without creating a visual detractor in the room.  So, we opted to buy a mount system designed to suspend between two joists.  (This later proved a good decision, the center of the room is between two joists).

We chose the Westinghouse Saf-T-Brace for its promise of simple, quick installation, and relatively inexpensive price ($14.95 from the local HD).  When suspended between joists 24 inches on center, the Saf-T-Brace is rated to hold 50 lbs.  This correlated to the minimum strength required by the ceiling fan we picked.  (At 16 inches, the rating increases to 150 lbs.  If we wanted to hang a heavier fan, we would have simply added some blocking to the joists.) 

The Saf-T-Brace turned out to be an extremely well-engineered system.  You can see in the picture below the brace consists of a square metal shaft with a corkscrew-style expansion bar.  Each end of the Saf-T-Bar has a triangular plastic piece that sits on the overhead drywall to ensure proper vertical spacing.  The ends terminate with a circular metal component with spikes that dig into the joists on both ends.  The result: a brace between the joists strong enough to support a fan.

 

How to Install a Ceiling Fan Box Between Joists

Here’s the simple steps we followed to install the ceiling mount box.  Note that these instructions are not a replacement for the ones that come with the Saf-T-Bar.  Always follow manufacturers’ instructions when performing home improvement projects.

• Step 1: Measure to find the center of the room and mark the center point with a pencil.
• Step 2: Use a stud finder to ensure that no joist is close to the center point, and that two joists will be reachable by the Saf-T-Bar within a 24″ span.
• Step 3: Hold the metal ceiling fan box that comes with the Saf-T-Bar to the ceiling, centered on the pencil mark.  Trace the ceiling box with a pencil so that the ceiling box shape is on the ceiling.
• Step 4: Use a drywall saw to pierce and cut out the shape of the box in the ceiling. 
• Step 5: Move any insulation impeding your access to the joists on either side of the mounting box.  This may be easier to do from the attic-side depending on the type of insulation.  (Note, the Saf-T-Bar claims that one doesn’t need attic access for the installation, but we think its much easier if you have the access to go ahead and use it).
• Step 6: Push the Saf-T-Bar into the ceiling and start unscrewing the cork screw to expand the shaft.  Ensure that the Saf-T-Bar stays centered over your access hole while unscrewing the shaft.  Keep unscrewing the shaft until a strong bond is reached between the ends of the shaft and the nearby joists.
• Step 7: Place the U-shaped bracket over the rectangular section of the shaft and screw the mounting box to U-shaped bracket.
• Step 8: Remove one of the punch-outs on the box and run electric into the box (note: a wire holding  insert for the punch-out is included).
• Step 9: Replace the insulation and continue the installation from the room below.

What do you think?  Have you installed a ceiling mount box in your home?  Leave a message here and let us know your experience.

Scheduling Your Filter Changes

This came up today, since I needed to do it, so I thought I’d post a quick tip about remembering to change furnace filters on-schedule.  If you’re anything like me, you rarely go visit your utility closet in the basement, so writing down the date of the last change – or the date of the next – on a piece of paper taped to the front, like in olden times, isn’t all that helpful. 

So I began scheduling them in Outlook, a couple years ago.  Once you enter “Change Filter” and set it as a recurring appointment with a reminder - every 3 months is recommended – you can forget all about it!  Three months later, a reminder will pop up on your screen and you’ll know it’s time.  Google Calendars and any others like these two also work.

I figured with this blog-reading crowd, pop up on-screen reminders might be the only thing that gets us all OFF the internet and down to that dark basement room wherein sits the furnace.

Where to Buy Tools Online (Often with Free Shipping and No Sales Tax)

Buying home improvement tools and other equipment online offers significant savings over buying at the big box retail stores.  Many online tool and equipment vendors don’t have brick and mortar stores to maintain, which allows them to offer discounts to their customers. While online vendors do have to cover the cost of shipping (when it isn’t charged to the consumer), in many cases those costs are more than offset by the savings on retail space.  Plus, you don’t have to use your gas to get to the store, and most online vendors don’t charge sales tax in every state, meaning even more savings to you.

We’ve compiled a list below of several places we like to buy tools and equipment online.  Before you make your next purchase, it would be well worth your time to look up the tool online.  You could save $100 or more over walking into a store and purchasing retail.

Editors note:  We’ve since published a complete factory reconditioned tools vendors list that is worth looking at if you’re in the market for tools. Reconditioned tools save hundreds off their non-reconditioned counterparts.

Online Tool Retailers on our Short List

Amazon.com:  Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer and has a HUGE inventory of tools.  The site is incredibly easy to search, and  Amazon boasts free Super Saver shipping on most purchases over $25.00 total order.  The best part: Amazon doesn’t charge sales tax in most places which makes the savings even larger.  Amazon is also a great place to find factory reconditioned (refurbished) tools, with a large and growing collection of these types of tools which are typically 25-50% off their retail counterparts and usual carry the same factory warranty.  In the case of a large power tool,  the savings can amount to hundreds of dollars off buying retail.

ToolKing.com:  ToolKing is a large and rapidly growing online tool retailer that offers significant discounts off retail.  ToolKing boasts all kinds of power tool brand names including Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, Makita, and more.  Like Amazon, ToolKing also offers a large selection of factory reconditioned tools at significant discounts.  If you’re in the market for just about any large power tool, ToolKing is a definite place to stop.

Sears.com:  Sears‘ online catalog mirrors their in store offerings.  We love Craftsman hand tools (the standard in DIY and professional hand tools for their exceptional warranty), tool storage, and many of their Craftsman power tools.  Sears also offers a wide variety of lawn and garden equipment online (inlcuding snow blowers, and even lawn tractors).  And what would be Sears be without their almost unparalleld appliance offerings, featuring Kenmore, Maytag, Frigidaire, and more with hundreds upon hundreds available from their online catalog.  Sears also offers coupons on their online products every week.  Visit our Sears Coupon Page for all the current deals.

NorthernTool.com:  Nothern Tool and Equipment offers a large online catalog of power tools and all types of commercial and residential equipment, including some hard-to-find parts and equipment not available at most DIY retailers (e.g.,  welding equipment).

HomeDepot.com:  Home Depot is one of the two primary competitors for most of our home improvement tool purchases.  With their virtually ubiquitous brand and huge catalog of products, it certainly doesn’t hurt to stop at Home Depot’s site.  Unfortunately, Home Depot currently doesn’t offer reconditioned tools for sale, which reduces the number of highly discounted products they offer.  Home Depot also doesn’t offer different online pricing, which reduces their competitiveness with online-only vendors.

Lowes.com:  Lowes is the other home improvement titan competing for our hard-earned money.  They too offer tens of thousands of products in store and online, and often serve as the first stop on our home improvement shopping Journey.   As with Home Depot, Lowes doesn’t offer some discount products (like reconditioned tools), which limits their ability to compete with the cheapest of prices available on other sites.

What do you think? What other online retailers do you use for your tool purchases?

Photo courtesy of Batega.

Welcome to One Project Closer… Thanks for Reading!

It’s been a while since we’ve said welcome to our readership.  In fact, the first time we did seven months ago, the article became our about page.  Since then, about 300 more readers have subscribed. We think it’s time to introduce ourselves again, thank all of you for reading, and let you know what we’re doing next.

Who Are We?

We’re Ethan, Jocie, Fred, and Kim… four best friends living in the same neighborhood in Baltimore County, Maryland.  We’re married (Ethan to Jocie; Fred to Kim), and we have 3 homes between us, a single family and two townhomes (1 is a rental).

We started One Project Closer to share our home improvement experiences, get advice from others, share deals and coupons we find, and recommend the tools we like most.   None of us our professionals; we all have day jobs we love.  This is a hobby for us.  As such, you should treat everything you read here like an amateur friend giving you tips.  If you aren’t confident in your ability to tackle a project, you should seek advice from a professional (or at least another friend who can help you through it).

Want to get in touch with us?  We answer just about every e-mail we receive.  If you’ve got a home improvement question or other inquiry, we’ll do our best to help.   Send your message to oneprojectcloser@gmail.com.  Or, you can reach any of us individually by writing to name@oneprojectcloser.com, where name is one of our names (e.g., fred@oneprojectcloser.com).

What’s with the Name?

Each of us has a home. Whether we rent, own, or live with other family members, we get up and go to bed in the same place (most of the time). Most of us are working to make our home and community better, either through remodeling, community involvement, or simply painting a room in the house a more cheerful color. Each of us envisions the perfect home and community for our family and our neighbors. And we work to get there – one project or cause at a time.

Anyone who’s owned a home for more than a few years knows that the list of house and community projects never ends. But that doesn’t stop us from tackling them, because every project moves us one project closer to the perfect home, or community, or life. So that’s what the site is about: tips, advice, experiences, products, reviews, giveaways, finances, how-tos, tools, and more that help us build better homes, communities, and lives. Whether we get to the perfect end, well, that’s not really that important, is it?

What Are We Doing Next?

We’re in the process of a major site redesign.  We’re not ready to unveil the design yet, but we’re shooting for sometime around New Years Day 2009.  That redesign is largely cosmetic, but it will include some new features we’re excited about.  Over the next 12 months, we’ll be working on some expansions to the functionality here, including adding features like discussion boards.

In the meantime, we’re going to keep plugging away on our homes and writing about the progress here.  We’ll also keep sharing deals and other goodies we find on the web.

Oh yeah… and don’t forget to check out this month’s DIY Network tape measure giveaway.  We’ll select 5 winners on November 30.  Also, consider subscribing to receive e-mails.  You’ll automatically receive 10 entries into every giveaway we run… and December’s giveaways are going to be really great.

Let us know who you are! Leave a comment here or on future posts and let us know what you’re doing in your own home.

Photo based on an original shot by Annie Mole (used and modified under the CC license).

Lay Hardwood Flooring in Tight Spaces or Along a Wall

Laying a hardwood floor is not difficult. But one area that may seem intimidating is laying the last few rows. You slowly loose working space as the floor gets closer and closer to the wall.

Securing Hardwood Floor without a Toe-Nailer

Eventually, the toe-nailer won’t fit or you won’t be able to cleanly strike the hammer face. So how do you nail down your floor? First, there are a few necessary tools.

Required Tools and Materials

• Compressor and finish nail gun – These are a must-have. A regular hammer requires too much space to swing. That link will take you to a Bostitch compressor and nailer kit that is about $150 off retail.
• Pry Bar – This is the exact pry bar I use and it always gets the job done. You’ll need a pry bar to squeeze the floor boards snug.
• Scrap material – Every floor install has some scrap so this shouldn’t be hard to find. You’ll place the scrap against the wall and use the pry bar to push against it.
• Table Saw – You need a good table saw to rip boards length-wise. The very last row of each area almost never fits perfectly.

I’d estimate that they last 3 or 4 rows of floorboards can’t be nailed with the toe nailer. So here is an alternate way to make sure they are secured.

1. Continue selecting floorboards as before. Use the heavy, rubber mallet to push the new board snug against its neighbor.

• Use the pry bar in lieu of the mallet when space is limited. Setup several scrap pieces against the nearby wall. Stack enough pieces to create a small gap (1.5″ or so) between the scrap and new floor board. Leverage the pry bar against the scrap pieces pushing the new board into place. Make sure not to damage the face of the new floor board.
• You may need to hold the new board in place while someone else nails it.

2. Use the finish nail gun to secure the board. Place the nail gun at a 45° angle from the floor and shoot the nail through the tongue much like the toe-nailer. When you fire a nail, push the nailer firmly in place. Too much recoil can cause the nail to go only part way through and will often damage the floor board.

3. Eventually, even the finish nail gun won’t fit. At this point you need to top-nail the boards. Make sure your compressor is set high enough to sink the nail just below the surface of the board. Place nails at least 1/4″ away from any edge. You don’t want to split the wood. Remember to push firmly when firing the nailer. This helps create a nice, smooth entry. These holes are easily repaired with Blend-Fil pencils or covered by molding later on.

4. The very last row almost never fits perfectly. 99% of the time you need to rip the boards length-wise to make them thinner. This is why you need a table saw. A table saw will cut the boards quickly, and precisely. Check out this review of a Refurbished, DeWalt table saw. Cut the boards thin enough to leave a small gap for expansion. That gap it will be covered when you install your baseboard. Also, make sure you measure from the correct side (usually the groove side).

What do you think? Any tips for installing the last few rows?

Choose the Right Size Air Conditioner for Your Home

Installing the proper size air conditioner in your home can make all the difference in your comfort and budget.  Install a unit that’s too large, and you’ll be wasting money on higher electric bills with suboptimal performance.  Install a unit that’s too small, and your A/C won’t have enough power to lower the indoor temperature to a comfortable level, roasting you during the Summer’s hottest months.  

Here’s a brief summary of how air conditioners work. Thoughts on right-sizing your air conditioner follow at the bottom of the article.

How Air Conditioners Work

Air conditioners transfer heat from the air inside your home to the air outside.  Of course, when its 95 degrees outside, this seems pretty magical.  How can an air conditioner produce cool, 55-degree air when it’s smoldering outside?  The answer lies in something called the evaporation cycle, whick takes advantage of a convenient rule many of us learned in high school chemistry:  if you compress a gas, all other things equal, its temperature goes up.  If you decompress a gas, all other things being equal, its temperature goes down.  Your air conditioner is filled with a special gas called freon that is constantly being compressed and decompressed.  Freon’s temperature fluctuates significantly under compression, making it ideal for use in an air conditioner. 

While most of us refer to our home’s outdoor unit as the air conditioner, there are actually two major parts of an air conditioning system:  the outdoor compressor/condenser unit, and the indoor air circulation / evaporation unit.  These two units are connected by copper piping that contains the freon.  Inside both units, the copper piping is coiled / finned to create a large surface area for air to pass over for heat exchange. 

In a nutshell, here’s how the evaporation cycle works (remember, this is a cycle, so the starting point is arbitrary).

1. Low pressure, relatively cool freon gas is pushed to the outside unit.
2. The outside unit compresses the freon gas which heats up the freon significantly (remember high school chemistry!).
3. The freeon then passes through a series of coils (or fins) in the outside unit called a condenser.  A fan blows air over the coils/fins.  This cools the freon gas to the ambient outdoor temperature.  In the cooling process, the freon is converted to a liquid.  Remember, the liquid is still compressed.
4. The compressed freon liquid is pushed to the interior unit where it is allowed to decompress and evaporate.  As it evaporates back into a gas, it cools down significantly, well below the ambient outdoor temperature, and even below the indoor temperature.
5. Air is blown over the copper coils/fins containing the decompressed freon, thus cooling the air.  This air is ultimatly blown through the duct work in your home to cool your family.  Note that when air passes over the coils, there is also a dehumidifying effect.  Water in the air condenses on the coils and then falls to the bottom of the handler where it is pumped out of your house or drained to the sump pump.  This dehumidication makes the air in your home feel even cooler on your skin.
6. The decompressed freeon’s temperature decreases as the air is blown over it.  It is then pumped back out to the exterior unit where the cycle is repeated at Step #1.

That’s pretty much it.  Of course, this is a high level view.  There’s a few more parts involved, but this will get you through at the next cocktail party.  So what about right-sizing your air conditioner?

When an Air Conditioner is Too Small

This one is simple and straightforward: if you install an air conditioning unit that is too small for your house, the unit will not be able to keep up with the cooling demands of your home.

When an Air Conditioner is Too Large

This one is a bit more complicated: the thought of cooling down the whole house in a shorter period of time is certainly alluring. The problem with purchasing a large air conditioner is that it actually cools the air so quickly that the unit turns off before the air is sufficiently dehumidified (see Step 7 above).  As a result, you must set the thermostat lower to achieve the same comfort level, which wastes energy and leaves you with suboptimal performance.

What do you think?  Did you install the right sized air conditioner in your home?

Photo by DaynaR.

Dimmable Compact Florescent Lightbulb (CFL) Review

When we moved into our home, the kitchen had a lovely ceiling fan. It promptly broke because it wasn’t wired correctly. So, I installed a simple light fixture but never got around to removing the dimmer switch. It wasn’t really a problem except that the CFL bulbs we used are not designed (read: should not be used) with a dimmer switch.

How Dimmer Switches Work

Electric dimmer switches work by passing electricity in short bursts. These short bursts turn the light on and off so fast that the human eye doesn’t notice. Traditional, incandescent bulbs use electricity to heat up a thin filament and thereby create light. Incandescent bulbs limited by dimmer switches simply don’t heat up as much.

The Problem with Regular CFLs and Dimmer Switches

CFL’s create light in a different way. They don’t use heat or a filament to create light. CFL tubes are filled with an inert gas. The electricity excites the gas molecules and they give off energy in the form of ultraviolet light. The UV light then excites a phosphor coating on the inside of the tube which creates visible light. Unfortunately, typical CFLs are not compatible with dimmer switches. What’s the exact reason? I’m not totally sure but, I think it’s because CLFs require a minimum threshold of constant power to properly excite the gas molecules. The intermittent bursts created by dimmer switches don’t adequately maintain that threshold.

The real problem is that using regular CFLs on a dimmer can result in shorter bulb life. That means it can cancel out any potential savings. Plus, it often voids any manufacturer’s warranty. Regular CFLs can also flicker and create a noticeable hum.

ECOSMART Dimmable CFL Review

Fortunately, industry has created dimmable CFLs! I just purchased three ECOSMART brand dimmable CFLs from Home Depot. Here are the details:

• Soft white light
• 23 watts of energy used
• 90 watt equivalents
• 1400 lumen output
• 10,000 hours of life
• 9 year warranty

Pros

These bulbs are great. They put out a generous amount of light and are not harsh on the eyes. Best of all, they don’t flicker, no matter what light setting. They come on quickly and “warm-up” in about 30 seconds. Each bulb puts out about the same amount of light so there isn’t any obvious imbalance.

Cons

Dimmable CFL’s still have room for improvement. They don’t dim completely. Energy levels lower than 20% result in the CFL turning off. So, you’ll never get the ultra-low, romantic light that incandescent bulbs provide. I also noticed a slight hum when these bulbs are not on full strength. It’s slight, but still there. I plan on testing these bulbs on another dimmer switch to see if the hum persists.

What do you think? Have any dimmable CFLs? What brand do you like most?

Giveaway! 25-foot, Double-sided Stainless Tape Measure from DIY Network! (FIVE WINNERS!)

This is the One Project Closer November Giveaway!

This month, the nice folks at DIY Network are giving FIVE lucky OPC readers a brand new 25-foot double-sided stainless steel tape measure. 

We’ve tried this tape measure ourselves, and we were impressed.  It has fantastically clear markings, double-sided markings & stop, and cool DIY Network branding on the side (so you can tell everyone you got this tape measure for FREE).

DIY Network wants to get the word out that Cool Tools will be airing a special holiday blitz of episodes over the Thanksgiving weekend to gear up for the holidays and get viewers prepared to tackle their own home renovation projects.  To get a little taste of some of the hottest tools this season, check out an inside look at Cool Tools featuring host Chris Grundy.

What You Get in this Giveaway

Five winners of this giveaway will get a 25-foot stainless steel DIY Network tape measure delivered right to their front door.

How to Enter this Giveaway

There are three ways to enter the contest each month. In fact, you might already be entered into the contest and not even know it! Here’s how to maximize your chances of winning:

• 1 entries: Leave a comment. Leave a comment on this article to get one entry into the contest.
• 10 entries: Subscribe via e-mail. Just follow this link to subscribe to receive e-mail updates every day. We’d love to be able to reward our RSS subscribers as well, but unfortunately RSS subscriptions don’t report any identifiable information for us to link you with the giveaway. If you’re already subscribed, you’re already entered!

Details on all One Project Closer Giveaways

Giveaway Deadline

This giveaway ends at 11:59pm, EDT on November 30, 2008.

Enter an Even Bigger Giveaway for a $100,000 Makeover!

A free tape measure might just be the beginning of your winning spree…  After you enter here, head on over to DIY Network and enter to win a $100,000 kitchen & bath makeover!  You can enter once per day through November 24, 2008.

The Fine Print

Only residents of the U.S. and Canada are eligible. One entry per person. Spam entries will not be counted. Spam entries are determined at the sole discretion of One Project Closer. For blog-based entries, the blog must be a legitimate blog and not a “spam” blog, or a blog set up purely for the purpose of entering contests. All rules are subject to change without notice.

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