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The sun's heat and light provide an abundant source of energy that can be harnessed in many ways.
In my quest to discover what there is to know about solar power, I found all kinds of uses for the suns rays that can help us conserve energy. First off was my discovery of solar water heaters.

Also called solar domestic hot water systems, solar water heaters generate hot water for your home in any type of climate, fueled solely by sunshine.

Solar water heating systems usually cost more to purchase and install than conventional water heating systems. However, a solar water heater can usually save you money in the long run. Check out the U.S. Department of Energy site on solar power for the economics of potential savings. Find out more about solar water heaters here; and if you're feeling particularly DIY, check out how to build your own unit!

The next interesting thing I found was an article at News Scientist Tech about solar-power paint.

Scientists are developing a way to paint solar cells with a photovoltaic paint onto the steel sheets of walls and roofs of warehouses and other buildings to generate electricity from the sun.                                                                                                                                                   
The paint will be based on dye-sensitised solar cells. Instead of absorbing sunlight using silicon like conventional solar panels, they use dye molecules attached to particles of the titanium dioxide pigment used in paints.                                                                                                                                                     
Finally, the solar panel. Through the use of photvoltaic cells, solar panels make use of renewable energy from the sun, and are a clean and environmentally sound means of collecting solar energy.

If you are looking for information on solar panels and don't know where to start, check out CALFINDER's blog on solar panels and going solar.

Not quite ready to tackle solar projects on your own???   Don’t forget the fact that searching for a qualified solar installer will never be a dilemma. CalFinder Solar does the FREE screening for you and only works with the best installers in the industry. Get a bid now!

Say hello to warmer colors, and goodbye to minimalism. It appears that several interior designers and industry insiders are saying you should be ready to introduce color into your decor. According to Sean O'Driscoll of the Associated Press in an article Hot Trends Of Home Design for 2008 , Minimalism is out.

“Susan Gutfreund, who designs for some of the most expensive apartments in the U.S and Europe, said that minimalist white and beige are being pushed out in favor of color, textures and layers. Speaking from Paris where she is redesigning an apartment, Gutfreund said there is a move toward warmer colors and away from the shininess and flatness of interiors over the last few years.

In 2008, red tones take on a decidedly soft, warm feel, such as watermelon or a carrot orange. Black and white continues to be used, but with unexpected combinations of yellow, lime orange and fresh green," she said.

Janice Simonsen of IKEA Designs said

“fruit colors such as lime yellow, kiwi and tangerine will be very popular in 2008, especially when used in the kitchen. But blue will continue to be the number one color choice for homeowners. In 2008, blue will be combined with camel and tan, pale green and yellow,” she said.

Think you’re ready to try out 2008 colors but not sure what fits your style? CALFINDER (the source for certified remodeling contractors) has an excellent post about basic color psychology. They say,

"All too often homeowners choose colors without understanding basic color psychology. Color impacts our mood, appetite, and energy level. Years of color response research have shown that certain colors elicit specific and often strong responses."

Check out their awesome post Color Options-Painting for a guide to help you narrow the choices when choosing colors for your home.

Also remember you can get FREE ESTIMATES from CALFINDER for pre-qualified contractors in your area to do the work for you when you’re ready to add that splash of color to your life! From painting to general remodeling, to complete home renovations, they have the expert for you.

What colors do you plan to decorate with this year? Leave us a comment, we'd love to know!

Finding a good contractor for your remodeling project can be a dicey proposition. A friend of mine recently interviewed a contractor who got into a screaming match with his ex-wife on his cell phone while she was interviewing him. My parents hired contractors who left the state, leaving their job unfinished and with their money long gone. We've all heard the contractor horror stories before.

If only you knew who to call, to avoid getting ripped off. Well, now you do; our friends over at CALFINDER has started a network that has taken the worry out of the process. CALFINDER was developed by homeowners for homeowners.They do the screening of contractors for you as well as conduct ongoing monitoring and customer satisfaction surveys. All CALFINDER's contractors are carefully pre-screened and monitored. Here's just a few of the services you get when you partner with CALFINDER to find your next contractor;

"Before we certify a contractor we perform a variety of checks. Below are just a few of those checks:In-depth check of current license and insurance coverage   

• Personal interview with at least 10 previous clients ensuring customer satisfaction and business reliability
• Ongoing monitoring and customer satisfaction surveys
• Follow up with each homeowner we work with to ensure that our contractors are providing a great service

CALFINDER’s founders, who have a diverse background in construction, computer technology and business management, realized that planning and executing home improvement projects are incredibly time-consuming and expensive and believed they could fill a void by developing a reliable source to help local homeowners find high-quality contractors. CALFINDER was established in 2005 covering main home improvement projects including home remodeling, painting and window installation. Working with a vast network of 200 top-notch, professional contractors, CALFINDER handles more than 600 homeowner service requests per month."

We at Shakhammer think this is a great solution to taking the worry out of finding a good general contractor who is good enough to work on one of your most valuable assets- your home. Check out their home improvement and remodeling blog too for the most up-to-date information on home rejuvenation trends and remodeling projects.

Create You Squidoo Lens On A Shak Subject And You Could Be Featured On Shakadoo! Once you have built your lens, submit it to the group HERE.

Laminate Flooring Guide by JonitasKalimpo

Laminate Flooring, Make a Dream Home

Unlike hardwood, laminate floors will not stain, fade, dent and are far more scratch and water resistant. Warranties range from 10 years to lifetime and cover such factors as mentioned above. Entry level laminate wood flooring is designed for light traffic areas and come with warranties ranging from 10 to 15 years. Most people set their expectations too high and expect that entry level floors will perform under heavy traffic conditions and still look good for the duration of the warranty. This is however not the case, as an entry level floor subject to high traffic will start to show wear and tear within three to five years.

We hope this guide will help to understand better what laminate flooring is and how can improve your home, ALOT!

Everything You Need To Know on Laminate Flooring

Laminate Flooring mimics the look of traditional woods while offering easy installation and lasting durability. At first glance, it can be difficult to spot the difference between hardwoods and laminate flooring. What appears to be a natural wood grain pattern is really a thin layer of decor paper (a photographic image) under a tough-as-nails protective film that is glued and pressed to a high-density backing board. Laminate Flooring comes in an array of wood effects as well as stone and ceramic effects.

Laminate floorings main advantages are that it is easy to install, is very hardwearing and relatively inexpensive compared to real hardwood flooring.

Laminate flooring is a floating floor, which means it does not fasten directly to the sub-floor. Instead the planks are clicked together. This enables the floor to be fitted fast and with no real mess.

Most laminate floors today fit together with a click system with the most common being the UNICLIC system as used by Quick-Step. This is extremely easy and fast to fit. The ingenious UNICLIC-system has a special shape of tongue and groove. You simply place the tongue of one plank into the grove of another at an angle and press down. Their sophisticated and very accurate milled shape makes it possible to create a very tight connection during the installation. The floor can be walked on straight away.

If you are laying laminate flooring over a concrete sub-floor then you will fist need to lay down a damp proof membrane (DPM). This is basically a sheet of plastic usually around 5mm which helps protect the Laminate from moisture. On top of this goes the foam underlay this acts as sound absorption and also helps even out minor irregularities in the sub-floor.

Most manufactories now offer a combined DPM and underlay along with several underlay's that have better sound absorbing qualities
Most of the leading laminate floor manufactories now also have ranges of flooring that also include built in underlay. This underlay is pre-fitted to the bottom of the flooring and is usually of sound absorbing quality. You do not need to install this type of floor a secondary but if you are laying over a concrete sub-floor you still have to lay down a D.P.M. (Damp Proof Membrane) first.

Laminate flooring has been around in Europe for around 15 years and has seen massive growth in the past few years read the rest....... 

To learn everything you ever wanted to know about laminate flooring, visit the entire lens by clicking: Laminate Flooring Guide

Create You Squidoo Lens On A Shak Subject And You Could Be Featured On Shakadoo! Once you have built your lens, submit it to the group HERE.

Hiring Contractors For Service Work by SemperFidelis

Hiring Contractors for Service Work

A lens devoted to hiring contractors to do work in your home or business.  Avoiding the pitfalls of hiring the wrong contractor.

Lies From Contractors

If you have dealt with contractors, you have probably heard the same lies I have. They erupt from their mouths as rationale for their questionable behavior and unreasonable demands. They are often accompanied by "righteous indignation" that anyone would question this contractor's forthrightness.

Here, in no particular order of deceitfulness, are four of them.

It's a standard agreement

Sure it is.  It's your standard agreement that requires the property owner to give away the store and that doesn't require the contractor to complete the job in a workmanlike manner or, for that matter, even complete it at all.  The "standard agreement" does require you to pay, though.

One electrician who did work on a property of a landlord I know had a "standard agreement" that didn't even require him to clean up his mess or repair the wall he put holes in for the wiring.

Everybody does it that way

I certainly hope they don't, because if everybody did it that way, buildings would be falling down all over the country.  Those are the words you hear when you ask about the corners the contractor cut to get the job done cheaper. Because contractors always "did it that way" we have building codes.  Those building codes were not instituted because every contractor was meticulous in his work.  They were instituted because of the work that goes along with "everybody does it that way."

I need the money up front

Then you don't need to work on my property.  You get paid when you are finished and the work is done properly.  Not getting paid should not be a problem for a contractor because of contractors' lien laws, which can result in a lien on the property they worked on if the owner doesn't pay.  If the contractor doesn't have the money or credit to buy the necessary equipment to do the job, that should raise a crimson flag.

To learn everything you ever wanted to know about hiring the right contractor, visit the entire lens by clicking: Hiring Contractors For Service Work

I posted on Love Shak, Baby earlier this week about doing a massive bunch of laundry. I posted that Monday, and here it is Friday and I am still doing laundry. I wrote in that post that I thought we had too much clothing. I didn't know the half of it.

Since Monday I have gotten rid of 6 kitchen sized trash bags full of clothing. While doing the laundry, I hung a bag on the laundry room door for getting rid of clothing that looked bad, didn't fit, or otherwise needed to exit my house.

Today, I'm nearly finished with the laundry, so I went into all our closets and got rid of tons of stuff. I looked at the clothes and thought, "Do I feel good when I wear this?" If I didn't, in the bag it went. Also, I got rid of a great deal of items that I have several of. for example, I had 7 white button up shirts. Why? Who really needs seven white button up shirts? Not me, so in the bag it went.

I also got rid of every single pair of overalls I own, except one pair. I got rid of many, many pairs of jeans. I don't know why, but I have a problem with hoarding bluejeans. Out they went. Once I had all the clothing I no longer wanted out of the closet, I pulled all the unused hangers out. I was surprised- I have a ton of hangers. Hangers have always been a scarce commodity in our house, but they won't be anymore. I have enough hangers to hang up half the clothing in the state of Rhode Island, I'm convinced.

Now that I have the clothing pared down to a minimum, I have new rules. If I get a new item of clothing, one item of old clothing must go. If I try something on and hate it, it goes in the "I don't like this" box. I think if I keep to these rules, I will be able to keep the clothing clutter down. That's one less thing to have to worry about!

My mother decorates for Thanksgiving, but I do not. I like having a nice period of neutral decorating before the long, long Christmas decorating season, personally.

On the other hand, after seeing Jennifer's Thanksgiving decorating over at her blog, The Felt Mouse, I may have just changed my mind. After looking at Jennifer's pictures, I am inspired. That's just another great thing about blogging, it opens your decorating horizons!

[Photo Credit: Jennifer at The Felt Mouse]

Create You Squidoo Lens On A Shak Subject And You Could Be Featured On Shakadoo! Once you have built your lens, submit it to the group HERE.

Who Is Mike Holmes by dougeby

Holmes on Homes - Hero to Home Owners

He's a modern day hero.  He's every shoddy contractor's worst nightmare.  He's the star of Holmes on Homes.  He's Mike Holmes.

Once a week we get to watch Mike Holmes rescue home owners from the clutches of despair and often times, financial ruin.

Mike apprenticed under his dad who frequently told Mike "If you're going to do something, do it right the first time" and has continued to use this as his motto.  Mike is a craftsman with integrity, who knows the importance of resourcefulness and craftsmanship.

"I've been fixing a lot of sloppy, lazy and dangerous work for the past two decades" says Holmes. "I think it's time to expose the work of these so-called contractors and help some homeowners make informed decisions. I want to take the word 'minimum' out of the construction industry and stop the slow death of craftsmanship".

In 2006 the Holmes Foundation was launched by Mike Holmes.  The foundations main goals are to assist Canadians who need help or resources to get their homes and lives back after botched renovations; and to support the training of youth in the skilled trades, through apprenticeships, scholarships and bursaries.

A True Hero.To learn everything you ever wanted to know about Mike Holmes, visit the entire lens by clicking: Who Is Mike Holmes

Mike Holmes - Holmes on Homes Seasons 1-4

Get the first four seasons of Holmes on Homes.

Holmes on Homes: Season 1

Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 11/01/2007)
List Price: $29.98

Holmes on Homes: Season 2

Amazon Price: $26.99 (as of 11/01/2007)
List Price: $29.98

Holmes on Homes - The Complete Third Season

Holmes on Homes - The Complete Fourth Season

Holmes on Homes - The Complete First, Second, Third and Fourth Seasons

Tools for the DIY

Stanley 45-300 Aluminum Carpenters Square

Amazon Price: $11.54 (as of 10/15/2007)

Robotoolz 3610-3 Torpedo 3 Level with 3 Beam Laser

Amazon Price: $89.99 (as of 10/15/2007)

Starrett 11H-12-4R Combination Square with Cast Iron Head and Black Wrinkle Finish

Amazon Price: $58.09 (as of 10/15/2007)

Swanson 9-Inch Sliding T-Bevel (Hardwood Handle Stainless Steel Blade and Brass Fittings)

Amazon Price: $12.68 (as of 10/15/2007)

M-D Building Products 63388 48-Inch Carpentry and Construction Aluminum Level

Amazon Price: $27.23 (as of 10/15/2007)

To learn everything you ever wanted to know about Mike Holmes, visit the entire lens by clicking: Who Is Mike Holmes

I think if you can say you have never, ever been guilty of one of HGTV's "25 Biggest Decorating Mistakes", then you are either a professional decorator or you're lying. I think we've all fallen prey to at least one of these in our lifetimes. I've definitely been a perpetrator of hanging my pictures too high, and I still don't have all my cords hidden.

I think their list is good, but some of their examples, like this one on the "Everything Matches" no-no, actually look pretty cool. Maybe it IS too matchy-matchy, but I quite like it anyway.

What do you think? Can you add some major decorating faux pas to the list?

HT: Ribbon Rock Star
[Image Credit: HGTV]

The Clutter Control Freak Blog has some great advice for people who have to control their clutter in small spaces. There's some great advice here. I would add a couple of things, like:

1. Be especially wary of paper clutter. Somehow this ends up being worse in smaller houses. Make sure you have a good filing system for the paperwork you need.

2. Use bold accents, but try to keep them within the same color range. Too much color of different types can make your room look even more cluttery, even if it is not.

That's about all I've got, does anyone else have any suggestions?

My husband, who runs a multi-million dollar kitchen, cannot seem to understand the concept of a laundry hamper. He will sit his dirty clothing beside the hamper every time. Needless to say, it's frustrating.

So when I saw this idea today on the Clutter control Freak Blog, I jumped for joy. Here's a way to break the cycle of men who have no idea how to use a hamper! Capitalizing on most boys' love of sports, tossing the laundry into the basketball hamper will certainly help to curb the laundry drama in my household.

I wonder how strange this would look in my own bedroom.

Closets are very handy until they reach the point where the doors cannot be closed any more. At that point they all of a sudden become a nightmare, so what can you do about this? Like everything else closets need to be organized, yet there are many people, including myself! Who would not even know where to start, which is a real problem.

However there is a place that deals with this particular problem, found via Home Office Woman, the site is called Home Decorating Reviews and on the many pages there is a section dedicated to organizing closet space. It is full of interesting and useful ideas, such as: “Build Your Own Organizer” this project may not be for the novice, but it will give you an idea of what can be done in such a small space. “Doubling Your Storage Space” has some really great ideas too!

But be warned, once you have caught the organizing bug, there will be no stopping you.

Have you ever made a goal to get organized? Like when the first of the year comes and you set those New Year's Resolutions. Or, it's time for school to start and your kids are out of the house, so you just know you'll have tons more time to get stuff done.

If you have years or months worth of clutter that has accumulated in your home, it's going to take more than the statement "I'm going to get organized!" to tackle the problem. It's going to take a serious step-by-step plan.

I have had clients follow these same steps and have also used them myself when I felt like my home needed some revamping. Yes, I am organized, but I am also human and there have been times I've looked around my house and wanted to pull my hair out!

Here's how to identify those pesky problem areas in your home:

Decide what the room's purpose is - Sit down with a notebook and pen write down each room in your house. Then write down what goes on in that room or what you would like to be able to use the room for.

For example,let's say you would like your master bedroom to be a quiet retreat for yourself. You want to be able to go in there after the kids are in bed and watch a great movie or read a book.

Or maybe you want the garage to be an area where you can getaway and experiment with your hobbies. Possibly you would like to actually park the car in there!

Giving each room a purpose is your first step to reclaiming your house.

Decide what's wrong with the room - For this step you will need to walk around your house with the pen and paper in hand. Write down 4 things that are the biggest headache in each room. This can be anything from an uncomfortable bed to a pile of clothes that has no home.

Does your master bedroom have only a bed and nothing else for storage? Maybe your child's room look like Toys R Us threw up in there and they are always complaining about not being able to find anything.

Whatever it is write it down, but only write down 4 things. Remember, you're overwhelmed as it is.

Decide what needs to be done to the room - This is the last step in identifying the problems. You now have written down what you want the room to be used for and what's wrong with the room. Now decide what you would like to do to the room to help it fulfill the use you assigned to it in the first step. This step is all about dreaming.

Remember that master bedroom that you wanted to use as a retreat? What does it need, besides getting rid of the clutter? Maybe you would love a nice reading chair and a beautiful lamp. Or you the room needs a dresser to put that pile of clothes from the corner in.

As far as the garage that you wanted to use as a hobby area, is it so cluttered with junk that you can't even walk through it? If the answer is yes, then it sounds like you need some storage. Overhead storage and wall grids would be perfect so that the floor space would be freed up.

Like I said, this step is all about dreaming. You're probably not going to be able to purchase all these things up front, but at least you have a nice list of ideas in front of you and you know what things bother you about each room in your home.

It's amazing how purchasing the simplest things like a hamper or a chair can help you create the room of your dreams. It's all about planning and dreaming when it comes to identifying those problem areas.

Be sure and join me tomorrow when I talk about "How to Declutter It!".

Making space in the home is always difficult, unless you know how! Popular Mechanics have put together seven great tips than can help you with this and other complicated jobs, check them out you wont be disappointed.

1. Be Ruthless
First, move everything that's cluttering a room into another area. Organize it into three piles: everyday must-haves, items for long-term storage and stuff you can give away.

2. Get Creative
Now, take a fresh look around. In a typical house, there's space waiting to be tapped behind knee walls where a roof cuts through a room, above appliances and underneath cathedral ceilings.

3. Avoid Wiring and Pipes
Before opening any walls, inspect the house from the attic to the basement to see where electrical wiring, phone and data cables, air-conditioning ducts, and water and waste piping may be hiding.

Check Popular Mechanics for the rest.

The great home design help site Design Talk have managed to convince top painting expert Debra Conrad to help answer some of the questions that their regular visitors have.

We all know that by adding a different color to a room can make all of the difference, but how do we know which color is best, and to what effect is may have on the entire room and actually the house itself. This is where an expert like Debra Conrad can help.

The question on site at them moment is regarding How to paint around Recessed Arches, Niches and Shelves?

Its great to get some expert information every now and then. The Painter Lady teamed up with Design Talk is a win double.

The Forth meeting of the Interior Design Professionals, artists, furniture designers and just about anybody who is interested in this subject is being held at the Design Within Reach offices Beverly Hills, this is a fantastic opportunity for people involved in the business to meet up with fellow professionals and bring along portfolios, cards and just get down to some serious networking.

DWR Studio.

9647 Brighton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310.247.8030
Fax: 310.247.8050

Source  [La Apartment Therapy]

When you put your home up for sale, you are probably going to get comments from the agents that certain things need changing in order to get a better price, it sometimes does take an outsider for you to realize this, but do not go over the top with your spending as you may not get the return on your investment.

What not to do.

Carpet - It is true that a carpet that is dated and dirty may hinder the sale, so go ahead and change the carpet, but to a reasonable replacement, not a top of the range carpet, which the new owners may even hate and replace.

Kitchen - Some appliances may need changing, but remember some people want to either use their own appliances or buy new ones, so instead of you going out and buying the most expensive models, buy the lowest price appliances you can find, they will look good and make the kitchen look much cleaner.

Bathroom - It is true that the bathroom can be a the pivot on which a house sale hinges on, if the bathroom is a bit tired, then all that is needed is a major clean up, remove everything from the bathroom, all cosmetics etc, and then buy some expensive cleaning materials that really do the job, these will cut through all of the grime and bring the shine back.

Exterior - It is always tempting to give the outside a coat of paint, but in most cases a power wash to clear anything that is unsightly, but the one thing that can really do a great job and make your house look clean and tidy, is a coat of paint on the front door, nothing that stands out to much from the rest of the houses, though.

Trees and Hedges - At first it is tempting to cut back everything, but this can have a serious effect on the salability as an established garden is for the most always desirable, whereas by cutting back the garden will look bare and open.

Source  [Salem News]

In some way decorating a small space can be harder than decorating a larger space, because of the limited space you need to consider furniture, and light.

Here are just three simple tips for decorating a small space.

1. Spaces saving furniture, this can make all the difference to a room, take a bed, if it is a normal bed then you require storage and therefore this will reduce the space in the room and close it in, so a platform bed would the solution here, they come in all shapes and sizes, they also have different configurations to include a wardrobe, drawers and desk.

2. When it comes to painting, start by looking at the ceiling, you will need to work your way down from the top, this can include putting up shelving, placing the TV on a bracket fixed to the wall and virtual anything that can lifted up from the floor onto the wall, again like music systems, by having this stuff wall mounted, not only looks great, but frees up space on the floor.

3. It is essential to work out the furniture against the size of the walls, you do not what to be putting small furniture along big, high and long walls, and the same goes for opposite, large furniture against a small can be equally as bad, it just uses up all the space.

In order to work all this out, all you do is to think the room over, do not rush, it s not a race, and few moments of thinking and working things out can make all the difference to the end result.

Source  [Manila Mail]

Why waste money on expensive professionals who only give you the same information that can be obtained by other methods, remember if you have a budget it is pointless to waste a good portion of it, on advice, when the money can be spent on the actual decoration and maybe even have enough to for some nice little extras.

There are many guides out there that can help, but you need to seek out the most cost effective ones, just because something is more expensive than the others does not necessarily mean that it is much better, and the same goes for materials, buying these can really mount up, but what if you looked around your home, could it be that there are suitable items lying around, or stored away? Put these items to use and make some space as well.

If you have the time and inclination you can quite easily achieve a professional looking project, it just takes time and planning, this is the key to making a success of any project and what could be more satisfying than sitting back and listening to all the compliments from family and friends, knowing that it is all of your own handy work, after all anyone can hire a professional to come in and do the job, if they have the money, by doing it yourself you know that it has been done properly, and that it is going to last.

These tips and guides to how to decorate your home on a budget are all in the book, Budget Decorating Tips, cost around $6.

Source  [The New Home Maker]

If you have the urge to build or maybe just do a bit more than just the average DIY jobs, but you unfortunately do have the skills required to do the job properly, safely and more importantly without damaging the value of your property, then maybe it is time to go back to school.

School sometime puts the wrong image of any course in adults as they tend to be reminded of the days when they were actually going to school, the good and the bad times come rolling back, it is at that point where a lot people think that they cannot be bothered and leave it.

Yestermorrow Design and Build School, situated in Vermont, is not the average type of school, in fact they are the one of the only schools that offer both building and design courses, so no matter what your required skills are this school can help by offering a choice of courses that range from one day up to two week hands on courses.

The staff are made up of a wide selection of trades people which include, architects, builders, and other craftspeople from all around the country, which offers people of all ages and experiences to get the skills that they are looking for, which include courses that have certificates to show the skills that you have obtained.

Source  [Charles and Hudson]

It is a known fact that when any homeowner or expert for that matter begins any excavation project, the underground cable wires and utility lines need to be marked.  Normally this involves calling your local one-call center and having them send out someone to mark and or stake the yard as to where all those lines, cables and pipes lie. But knowing where to call or where to find the number to call almost makes the project more of a hassle as opposed