Grill Features To Look For

Fuel Gauge. Some grills locate the propane tank on a side hook. Often this hook is connected to a fuel gauge. This gauge will determine how much propane is left based on the tank weight. It’s a helpful addition to let you know approximately when you’ll need that next tank.

Extra Side Burner. An extra burner on the side of your grill is great for preparing / warming side dishes (like chili, mmmm). This keeps the main grilling area available for other food.

Rotisserie Burner. Want to cook a whole bird? Rotisserie burners are located along the rear. Be careful as motors and spits are often sold separately.

Smoker. Smoking uses smoldering wood and low temperatures (200 - 275 F) to slowly cook the food. This process may take time but results in tender, flavorful food. A suitable grill will trap heat and maintain a consistent temperature.

Stainless Steel. Much is made about stainless steel. But after your grill has spent time outside it won’t look nearly as good unless you’re prepared to clean it on a regular basis. And not all stainless is equal. Often a grill is composed of different grades of stainless. Cheaper composites will rust.

Grates. Your grill grates should transfer heat without causing food to stick. My research and personal experience point me toward coated cast iron. These grates do not rust or chip easily and they heat well. It’s important to clean and oil your grates to keep them in top shape.

My Grill: Weber Spirit E310

My grill is a Weber Spirit E310. It has three stainless steel burners and push button ignition. Some will say that an electric starter is better, but I’ve never had any problems. The grill heats up quick and doesn’t have many flare ups. The stainless cart doesn’t show any signs of rust despite limited attention. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but I can cook an amazing burger on it.

What do you think? What kind of grill do you have? What features do you enjoy most?

Image courtesy of Woodley

As I mentioned in a prior post, the architectural committee that was just elected in our community has taken a more active approach in enforcing the community’s covenants.  About 15 houses in the community have porches or decks that are at least partly white (railings, or in some cases, the whole structure). Most of them didn’t realize they needed approval from the HOA to make changes to the exterior of their homes.  None of them realized that white was not an approved color for decks.  (And one claims that she had approval to build her deck… and I tend to believe her).

Our community is set in the woods.  Almost every home in the community backs to treed areas.  Some back up right to the state park.  I believe that the idea behind the rule was to make decks and porches “blend in” to the surroundings.  Of course, this rule was created in 1983, before newer composite materials came into style.  Now, white decks and railings are commonplace in newer communities in our area.   In some cases, contractors will only install a white railing if certain composite materials are used for the floor boards.  (This is apparently because the matching composite color is not manufactured for the railings).

The folks in violation of the covenants we’re given 30 days notice to remove or paint their white decks and railings.  Those who aren’t in compliance within 30 days will have the HOA will file a lien against their property.  Several of the folks that were cited are starting a petition to change the deck color rule to allow “natural wood tones or white.”  After thinking about this for a few weeks, I think this is the right move for the community - not because I want to change every rule that folks accidentally violate, but because many homeowners would like to install newer, composite decks with white railings or floor boards.  These decks look nice, add value to their properties, and thereby add value to all properties in the community.

What do You Think?  Would you vote for a change in the rule to allow white decks?  Have you found yourself on the wrong side of an HOA rule before?  What did you do?

Photo: Shadow on Deck by JasperYue.

Stihl KM 90 R

This is a great tool. Basically it is a motor that can handle up to 11 different attachments making it very versatile. This model has a 1.27bhp, low emission motor. It lasted a long time and started right up. Some of the attachments include a hedge trimmer, grass trimmer, pole pruner and edger. Changing attachments is very easy. Simply loosen the bolt and slide the attachment on.

I’ve never edged my lawn before but it made a huge difference. Now my sidewalk has nice, clean, straight lines. I hope to use the grass trimmer and pole pruner attachments to landscape the lawn a bit more.

The real value of this tool is the ability to tackle many different jobs. The pole pruner can be used to trim tree limbs, hedge trimmers for your bushes and a blower for easy clean-up. For more information check out their site here.

What do you think? Which multifunction do you use? What attachments do you like the most?

• Durable cast aluminim construction w/ black finish.
• Lamps provide 300% brighter light output* via two True-White LEDs.
• Solar cell automatically recharges internal NiCd battery.
• SolarSELECT switch provides maximum seasonal performance.
• 12″ high x 4″ wide

Give Away Entry Details

Last day to enter: Saturday, May 17, 2008. 

How to enter:  Leave a comment on this post telling us where you’ll use these lamps (driveway, garden, porch)?  Alternatively, write a post on your own blog (your pingback should appear on this post automatically if you’re a WordPress or Blogger user).

Limitations:  You must be a resident of the United States or Canada. 

More stuff: If you win and you have your own blog, we encourage you to write a review of these lamps on your site as a thanks to Malibu.

*as compared to Malibu’s other solar lamps.

What do you think?  Have you had a good experience with Malibu’s solar lamps?  Leave a note with your entry into the contest!

We just signed up for Revolution Money Exchange (RME), a new online money exchange program that allows you to send and receive money for free online (much like PayPal).

Once you sign up, RME deposits $25.00 into your account and gives you the ability to refer others and receive $10.00 per sign-up.  (Yep, that’s what we’re doing here).   After you sign-up, you can add the RME sign up button to your site and refer your visitors to the program.

Sign up takes less than 5 minutes. You’ll be instantly $25 richer and on your way to referring others! What’s not to love about that?

In response to a few questions I’ve received:

1. The offer expires May 15, 2008. 
2. You do not have to link a bank account to get the funds, but if you do, you can have a withdrawal of funds transferred to your checking account for free.
3. If you don’t link an account, RME will mail you a check for a $2.50 processing fee.

When we looked for a house three years ago, one of the criteria for our purchase included the home having at least four bedrooms… One for us, two more for kids or house guests, and the remaining one for a home office.  We had a home office in our prior home and had grown accustomed to sitting in it for hours working on our computers (which both happened to be desktops).   This year, I upgraded my 7-year-old PC to a new Dell Vostro 1400 laptop, and all of the sudden Kim and I found ourselves trading the laptop back and forth on the first level.  Rarely did we walk upstairs to use our desktops.  In fact, we only did when the other person was on the laptop and we were forced to.  This led to the purchase of a second, identical laptop for Kim.  The office started seeming more like Siberia.  There’s were still great resources there, but who really wanted to visit.  We’d much prefer to sit in front of the TV with laptops on … laps.

At the same time we began to find our home office too confining, we received news from friends, BJ and Kimberly, that they will be moving back to the area from Scotland so BJ can pursue a Ph.D. (Congrats, bud!).  They are planning to stay with us for a few weeks/months while they shop for a place in this area and get established in jobs, etc.  Since Lori is already living with us due to the house fire and we’re not sure when she’ll be able to move back into the townhome, it seemed like the signs were all pointing in the same direction: downsize the home office to make room for more people.

Kim and I had talked about moving the computers to the first level of our home once the kids were big enough to use them, anyway.  The catalyst of more house guests just sped up the move.  We started combing Craigslist for a computer armoire that would house all of the computer stuff in one place, and would fit in with the rustic/country look we like.  Since we like using our laptops on the couch, and the kids can use them sitting at the dining room table, we didn’t need to be able to work at the armoire sitting down.  We found a woman about 30 miles away in Crofton selling a Pier 1 Imports solid pine armoire in very good condition for $50.00.  We contacted her, met her at her storage unit, and hauled it away in our minivan on the same day.  (This armoire retailed on clearance for $300.00.  Yep, we LOVE Craigslist).

The pictures below show the result.  We’re still in the process of cleaning out the office upstairs and Craigslisting lots of things we no longer need.  We’re also still looking for where exactly to store our file cabinet, the only other essential thing from the office.  Our master bedroom closet is one option for the short term.  Once we finish the basement, we’ll either build or buy a pine file cabinet to go with the armoire.

Before (the Home Office):

After (Office in an Armoire):

Now it’s your turn!  If you’ve had any great Before and After successes recently, link in your posts below (and be sure they have a link back here).

A few weekends back we poured the second area of self leveling cement over the ThermoTile radiant heating wire mats in the basement.  Prior to the pour, we secured the heating wire to the slab with hot glue every 16″ on the loop ends to ensure the wire did not protrude from the self leveling cement after the pour.  Overall, the pour worked great - all the heating wires were fully encapsulated. 

After the cement hardened, I noticed one small wire protruding from the surface about 3/4″.  (Sorry, this is where a picture would have been helpful).  The offending wire was the end of one of the temperature probes that is embedded in the cement between two parallel heating wires.  The probe has leads that run back to the baseplate in the wall and then up to the thermostat. 

I followed the steps below to repair the wire, which I’m sure would work just as well for a heating wire as it did for the probe.  I haven’t finished step 5.  I’ll fill in the hole with self leveling cement when we pour the 3rd area of the basement a few weekends from now.

Steps to Reseat the Heating Wire

1) Carefully chisel out the self-leveling mortar around the wire, ensuring the you don’t cut or nick the wire.  Severing the connection in the wire will render the probe or heating element useless.  This would be very costly to fix. 

2) Continue chiseling out the cement out until you reach the spot on the wire that is firmly fastened to the slab.  Ensure that you have created a large enough hole to refill it will self-leveling mortar or thinset easily.

3) Use hot glue to re-attach the wire to the slab.

4) Prime the area in and around the repair with the appopriate primer for your self-leveling cement (e.g. LevelQuik Primer).

5) Fill in the area with additional self-leveling cement or thinset.

What do you think?  Have you ever run into this situation with self-leveling cement or radiant heating?  Was this article helpful to you?

I’ve been reluctant to post about the ordeal online, primarily because writing about someone else’s misfortune can remind them of the pain of the incident. Also, the story is so detailed, it is hard to do it justice in a blog-sized post.  That said, it’s been 6 months, and Amy said I can write about it, so I’ll give it a shot.  The big question for the community is at the end - I hope you’ll weigh in.

In late October 2007, around 10pm, Amy and Lori were talking in their kitchen.  A domestic dispute in the neighbors’ place had just died down.  (These disputes were not uncommon and the wall between the units was thin).  Apparently frustrated with the situation, the owner of the left side of the duplex, a man in his late 60s, left to go to the local bar.  The woman living with him, in her 50s and apparently high on drugs, was so mad that she decided to light a fire in the back room on the first floor to get back at him. 

Another neighbor saw the fire and thought it was an accidental kitchen fire.  He came running in to help.  The woman wouldn’t let him in, saying that she had lit the fire and wanted to let it burn!  She then went outside to survey the damage and discovered the fire wasn’t burning fast enough, and that the fire department was audibly on it’s way.  So, she went back inside and lit a second fire, this one on the second floor in the front of the house!  The neighbor who tried to help put out the fire quickly alerted Amy and Lori – banging on the door and yelling (thank goodness!).   In minutes, the left side of the duplex was engulfed in flames.

When the fire department arrived, they did what all firefighters do. They aggressively contained and extinguished the fire, which of course created more damage on Amy’s half.  The picture on the right is of her master bedroom.  We had spent months refinishing the upstairs.  You can see the remains of the original pine floors beneath the ash.  The combination of smoke, soot, and water damage in both homes is in excess of $150,000! 

Amy has been working with the insurance company to get her half restored.  That process has been long and arduous, but is finally under way and looking promising.

The police charged the woman with multiple crimes, but, the case never went to trial.  This April, the arsonist agreed to a plea deal that allowed her to walk with only 3 years probation and a requirement to get mental health / drug addition treatment.  Amy was not given any opportunity to testify. 

As a result of the fire, Amy and Lori will be displaced for about 12 months, and of course could have been killed.  We’re hopeful that insurance will completely restore the place, but that hasn’t been an easy road, either.  Things are progressing now, and I’m hoping to do a great Before and After post when everything’s wrapped up.

—

So my thought on this is that the arsonist should have been required to serve significant jail time - at least 1 year, and should have been sentenced to probation and community service after that.

What do you think?  Was the sentence fair?  Would any additional information make it easier for you to decide?

Growing up, my step-father was a very handy guy. I helped him with projects ranging from building a gazebo to laying shingle on the roof. It seemed like he was always planning something. And he was generous enough to teach me a few things along the way.

Now I look around my home and see projects that I can do rather than hiring someone. I like the work and being able to shape my home. I take a lot of pride from finishing a project. Some major milestones include remodeling my kitchen and master bathroom. I’ll write about them one of these days. We’ve painted just about every wall in our home and the hope to lay hardwood floors this summer(2008).

Some of the other things I love include listening to music (U2), playing Ultimate Frisbee, video games and technology in general.

I really enjoy blogging about my home improvement experiences. And I’ve gained plenty of know-how, discovered creative solutions and avoided many problems from reading about other peoples home projects. A couple blogs I really enjoy reading are Homeowner’s Blog by Paul and The Box House by Joanne.

Feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment. I always enjoy the feedback. Hope to see you around.

With 3% cashback on the most common purchases these companies make, this card reduces expenses by an additional 2% over more common 1% cards, leaving more money in your pocket on every job.  Further, with online account management capabilities, you can keep track of all your business spending in one place.  See below for sign up details and more features of this card.

Sign Up for the Chase Business Rewards Card

Apply for the 3% cash back Chase Business Rewards Card

3% Cash Back Bonus Explained

The Chase Business Platinum Visa offers 3% cash back* on business purchases made at the store types listed below, and 1% back on all other purchases. 

• Home Improvement Stores
• Hardware Stores
• Office Supply Stores
• Restaurants
• Gas Stations

*Some terms and conditions apply.  See the secure sign-up page.

Other Features

• 0% on Balance Transfers Feature
• 0% on Purchases Feature
• Free additional cards for employees/partners
• Free account management reports
• Free online management tools

What if I’m not a Corporation, LLC, or Partnership?

It is both customary and acceptable to operate a business as a sole proprietership using only your social security number as your tax ID.  The Chase Business Rewards sign-up page allows you to substitute your social security number for this employer/tax ID.

Most independent landlords and other rental property owners operate as sole proprietorships.

What if I’m not a Landlord or Contractor?

This card may still be right for you. For instance, you may purchase $500 a month at major office supply stores. This card will pay you 3% for those purchases, even though you don’t take advantage of the Home Improvement and Hardware Store benefits.