By Dinah Eng
To many consumers, Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are most commonly thought of as those squiggly light bulbs that offer energy-efficient lighting and are advertised to last at least six times longer than incandescent bulbs.
Advocates say the biggest advantage of using CFLs is the energy savings and long life of the bulbs. When it comes to cutting electric bills, a CFL uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb. At the same time, while prices for incandescent bulbs can run as low as 25 cents each, CFLs may range from $2 to $5 each.
“For long-term savings, one CFL bulb is the equivalent of replacing 6 to 10 incandescent bulbs,” says Gabrielle Boose, CFL product manager for General Electric.
But CFLs also come with a cautionary warning -- an essential ingredient in the CFL’s glass tubing is mercury, considered a hazardous waste in large amounts. Exposure to mercury, which is a toxic metal, can affect the spinal cord, brain, liver, and kidneys, causing memory loss, trembling hands and difficulty moving. While CFLs are not legally designated hazardous waste, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urges consumers to dispose of the bulbs properly when they burn out. Retailers like Home Depot now offer recycling programs.
“While Home Depot is the first to offer a national recycling program, there are many retailers, like Wal-Mart and Ace Hardware, who offer take-back programs on a local level as well,” Boose says. “Consumers should understand, though, that the amount of mercury used in CFLs is very small. Our average dose in a bulb is 3.5 ml, which fits on the head of a pin. In comparison, household thermometers may have 1,000 ml of mercury in them.”
If recycling isn’t offered in your area, the EPA recommends placing the CFL in a sealed plastic bag and disposing of it as you would batteries, motor oil and oil-based paint at a local Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site. Caution should also be used if a CFL breaks in your home. Be sure to open windows so that any vapor that escapes can disperse, sweep up the fragments with a broom, and wipe the area with a disposable paper towel. Do not touch anything with your hands, and do not use a vacuum. Place all fragments in a sealed plastic bag and dispose as outlined above.
There are many different types of CFLs now available, designed to look more like traditional bulbs, hiding that once bulky spiral element. Some CFLs even work with dimmable switches as well. Truly green-minded consumers are waiting for the development of LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) technology, which was invented by GE scientists in the 1960s. LEDs can offer up to 90 percent energy cost savings, minimal maintenance, and are not made with mercury.
Common applications today include car taillights, cell phone displays, camera flashes and architectural accent lighting. “LED is the next future wave of lighting,” Boose says. “In terms of consumer use, LEDs are not ready to take the place of incandescent bulbs like CFLs are. They’re where CFLs were 10 to 15 years ago.”
To find information on CFL recycling and household hazardous waste programs in your area, check Earth911.org, which will identify the nearest recycling facility. You also can call (800) 253-2687 for an automated hotline, or the local government entity responsible for household hazardous waste collection.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Curb appeal tips that pay off
By Dian Hymer
Imagine going on a job interview looking shabby, or trying to sell your car for a good price when it's filthy and loaded with stuff. In a competitive market, you wouldn't do well.
The same can be said about selling your home. If it looks neglected and in need of work, some buyers won't even take a look. This is particularly the case in today's market where, in many parts of the country, there are far more homeowners anxious to sell than there are buyers interested in buying.
In a business where emotions and pride of ownership play a big role, first impressions can have a lasting effect. Most buyers lack the ability to imagine what a house might look like with a different exterior paint color or a landscaped yard. When there is a lot of inventory on the market, you may have only one chance to catch a buyer's attention. Make sure it's not lost before he or she walks through the front door.
One of the first items on a home seller's agenda should be a critical evaluation of how the home and yard look from the street. It's a good idea to ask your real estate agent to help with this. Sellers often have strong emotional attachments to their homes and have difficulty seeing it objectively.
Your goal is to identify cost-effective changes you can make to your house and yard that will make it more appealing to buyers. This could be as simple as cleaning up the yard, adding colorful plants, mulching, power washing the entry walk, and washing dirt off the exterior of the house.
However, if the paint is peeling, shutters are deteriorating, the fence is leaning and the yard is a mess, you have a bigger project on your hands. You can sell a house in this condition. But, it will appeal to a limited number of buyers who are willing to tackle a fixer-upper in order to get a bargain price.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Your home will appeal to a larger audience and will sell more quickly and for a better price if you put the time and money into improving its curb appeal. Curb appeal refers to how your house appears from the street. Even if you're selling a fixer-upper, it's a good idea to do some cleanup so that buyers can perceive the potential.
You don't need to spend a fortune to get the work done. Your goal is to have good, not superb, work done at a reasonable price. It's wise to get bids from several contractors. For instance, exterior paint estimates can vary widely. Your real estate agent or neighbors ought to be able to provide references.
By the way, if you are going to paint the exterior of your house before selling, this could be a prime opportunity to improve curb appeal. Consult with a color expert to pick colors that are currently in fashion for the house, trim and front door.
One seller had the exterior of his house repainted before consulting with his agent or a color expert. It was painted the same drab color it had been for decades. Most of the buyers who seriously considered the house mentioned that they thought the house needed an exterior paint job because the color was so unappealing.
It usually doesn't make financial sense to completely re-landscape a front yard that is shot. Salvage what you can, bring in new plants to replace dead ones and roll out new sod, if necessary.
THE CLOSING: Mulch does wonders to freshen up a garden, particularly one that is sparsely planted.
Imagine going on a job interview looking shabby, or trying to sell your car for a good price when it's filthy and loaded with stuff. In a competitive market, you wouldn't do well.
The same can be said about selling your home. If it looks neglected and in need of work, some buyers won't even take a look. This is particularly the case in today's market where, in many parts of the country, there are far more homeowners anxious to sell than there are buyers interested in buying.
In a business where emotions and pride of ownership play a big role, first impressions can have a lasting effect. Most buyers lack the ability to imagine what a house might look like with a different exterior paint color or a landscaped yard. When there is a lot of inventory on the market, you may have only one chance to catch a buyer's attention. Make sure it's not lost before he or she walks through the front door.
One of the first items on a home seller's agenda should be a critical evaluation of how the home and yard look from the street. It's a good idea to ask your real estate agent to help with this. Sellers often have strong emotional attachments to their homes and have difficulty seeing it objectively.
Your goal is to identify cost-effective changes you can make to your house and yard that will make it more appealing to buyers. This could be as simple as cleaning up the yard, adding colorful plants, mulching, power washing the entry walk, and washing dirt off the exterior of the house.
However, if the paint is peeling, shutters are deteriorating, the fence is leaning and the yard is a mess, you have a bigger project on your hands. You can sell a house in this condition. But, it will appeal to a limited number of buyers who are willing to tackle a fixer-upper in order to get a bargain price.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Your home will appeal to a larger audience and will sell more quickly and for a better price if you put the time and money into improving its curb appeal. Curb appeal refers to how your house appears from the street. Even if you're selling a fixer-upper, it's a good idea to do some cleanup so that buyers can perceive the potential.
You don't need to spend a fortune to get the work done. Your goal is to have good, not superb, work done at a reasonable price. It's wise to get bids from several contractors. For instance, exterior paint estimates can vary widely. Your real estate agent or neighbors ought to be able to provide references.
By the way, if you are going to paint the exterior of your house before selling, this could be a prime opportunity to improve curb appeal. Consult with a color expert to pick colors that are currently in fashion for the house, trim and front door.
One seller had the exterior of his house repainted before consulting with his agent or a color expert. It was painted the same drab color it had been for decades. Most of the buyers who seriously considered the house mentioned that they thought the house needed an exterior paint job because the color was so unappealing.
It usually doesn't make financial sense to completely re-landscape a front yard that is shot. Salvage what you can, bring in new plants to replace dead ones and roll out new sod, if necessary.
THE CLOSING: Mulch does wonders to freshen up a garden, particularly one that is sparsely planted.
Want a fancier-looking room? Try wainscoting
By Paul Bianchina
One way to really dress up a room and try your hand at some different decorating techniques is to consider wainscoting. There are a number of ways to combine materials to create some very attractive wainscoting effects, and the cost doesn't need to be prohibitive.
Traditionally, wainscoting is tongue and groove boards or raised or flat paneling sections that are applied to the lower part of a wall. The wainscoting extends from the top of the baseboard up to a height of usually between 3 and 5 feet off the floor, and is topped off with a horizontal molding. In addition to its decorative appeal, wainscoting had the very practical advantage of protecting the lower portion of the wall from wear and tear.
Today, however, wainscoting has taken on a somewhat less specific definition. It can be just about any combination of materials, including paint, wood, wallpaper and even fabric.
A wainscoting application consists of three elements: the lower portion of the wall, the upper portion of the wall, and the dividing line between the two. How you mix and match those three elements is up to your individual taste and budget.
Splitting Up the Wall
One of the first things to decide for any wainscoting project is where the dividing line will be between the two different materials. For a room with an 8-foot-high ceiling, a division of approximately 3 feet on the lower half and 5 feet on the upper half tends to give the best balance. Many Craftsman-style homes used the reverse of that, with about 5 feet of paneling on the lower half, capped with a wider molding that was suitable for shallow storage. For best appearance, the dividing line should not be exactly half way up the wall.
To get a better idea of how different proportions will work, tape some newspaper or other material on the wall at a couple of different heights. This will give you a better representation of how the two halves will balance out, and you can adjust them accordingly.
Installing Traditional Wainscoting
To achieve the look of a board wainscoting, you can install individual narrow, tongue and groove boards; you can install wider boards that are milled on the face to look like two or three narrower boards, which simplifies installation; or you can install 4-foot-wide beaded paneling, which again replicates the look of individual boards but installs faster. With any of these methods, finish off the top of the boards with a horizontal molding such as a wainscot cap or a chair rail.
For a paneled look, there are kits available that include a routed base molding, a routed top molding, routed vertical strips, and the panels themselves. The pieces all interlock with one another, and as long as you take some time with the layout to ensure that the panels are balanced to the width of the wall, you can achieve a beautiful, traditional paneled wainscoting in a relatively short time. If you are an avid woodworker, there are specialized router bits that help you cut the individual pieces yourself and save some money.
With wood, you have the choice of painting or staining the material to get the look you want. For painting, the boards and paneling are available in medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which paints nicely and is less expensive than solid wood. For stained wainscoting, you can select from pine, fir, oak, cherry, maple and other woods.
Wood strips, paneling and moldings can all be found at most home centers and lumberyards, along with all the installation materials you need. Some larger stores also carry the paneling kits, or they can order them for you. You will also find a wide selection of wainscoting paneling kits online.
Other Wainscoting Materials
In addition to traditional wood, there are lots of other material combinations that will work very well together. You can experiment with different combinations of materials to achieve the exact look that works for your décor. In general, heavier materials such as wood and fabric look best on the lower half of the wall. Also, darker paint colors and darker, more heavily patterned wallpapers look best on the bottom.
Your wainscoting choice may be something as simple as two different colors of paint. You can also use a solid paint on one section of the wall, and some type of textured paint effect on the other section.
Another easy wainscoting can be achieved with two different wallpapers. Select a lighter paper with a more open pattern for the upper half of the wall, and a darker paper or one with a vertical stripe or heavy pattern for the bottom. You can also combine the two materials by using paint on one section of the wall and wallpaper on the other.
With any of these combinations, separate the two sections of wall with a painted or stained wood molding. To really accent the installation, finish everything off with a crown molding as well.
One way to really dress up a room and try your hand at some different decorating techniques is to consider wainscoting. There are a number of ways to combine materials to create some very attractive wainscoting effects, and the cost doesn't need to be prohibitive.
Traditionally, wainscoting is tongue and groove boards or raised or flat paneling sections that are applied to the lower part of a wall. The wainscoting extends from the top of the baseboard up to a height of usually between 3 and 5 feet off the floor, and is topped off with a horizontal molding. In addition to its decorative appeal, wainscoting had the very practical advantage of protecting the lower portion of the wall from wear and tear.
Today, however, wainscoting has taken on a somewhat less specific definition. It can be just about any combination of materials, including paint, wood, wallpaper and even fabric.
A wainscoting application consists of three elements: the lower portion of the wall, the upper portion of the wall, and the dividing line between the two. How you mix and match those three elements is up to your individual taste and budget.
Splitting Up the Wall
One of the first things to decide for any wainscoting project is where the dividing line will be between the two different materials. For a room with an 8-foot-high ceiling, a division of approximately 3 feet on the lower half and 5 feet on the upper half tends to give the best balance. Many Craftsman-style homes used the reverse of that, with about 5 feet of paneling on the lower half, capped with a wider molding that was suitable for shallow storage. For best appearance, the dividing line should not be exactly half way up the wall.
To get a better idea of how different proportions will work, tape some newspaper or other material on the wall at a couple of different heights. This will give you a better representation of how the two halves will balance out, and you can adjust them accordingly.
Installing Traditional Wainscoting
To achieve the look of a board wainscoting, you can install individual narrow, tongue and groove boards; you can install wider boards that are milled on the face to look like two or three narrower boards, which simplifies installation; or you can install 4-foot-wide beaded paneling, which again replicates the look of individual boards but installs faster. With any of these methods, finish off the top of the boards with a horizontal molding such as a wainscot cap or a chair rail.
For a paneled look, there are kits available that include a routed base molding, a routed top molding, routed vertical strips, and the panels themselves. The pieces all interlock with one another, and as long as you take some time with the layout to ensure that the panels are balanced to the width of the wall, you can achieve a beautiful, traditional paneled wainscoting in a relatively short time. If you are an avid woodworker, there are specialized router bits that help you cut the individual pieces yourself and save some money.
With wood, you have the choice of painting or staining the material to get the look you want. For painting, the boards and paneling are available in medium-density fiberboard (MDF), which paints nicely and is less expensive than solid wood. For stained wainscoting, you can select from pine, fir, oak, cherry, maple and other woods.
Wood strips, paneling and moldings can all be found at most home centers and lumberyards, along with all the installation materials you need. Some larger stores also carry the paneling kits, or they can order them for you. You will also find a wide selection of wainscoting paneling kits online.
Other Wainscoting Materials
In addition to traditional wood, there are lots of other material combinations that will work very well together. You can experiment with different combinations of materials to achieve the exact look that works for your décor. In general, heavier materials such as wood and fabric look best on the lower half of the wall. Also, darker paint colors and darker, more heavily patterned wallpapers look best on the bottom.
Your wainscoting choice may be something as simple as two different colors of paint. You can also use a solid paint on one section of the wall, and some type of textured paint effect on the other section.
Another easy wainscoting can be achieved with two different wallpapers. Select a lighter paper with a more open pattern for the upper half of the wall, and a darker paper or one with a vertical stripe or heavy pattern for the bottom. You can also combine the two materials by using paint on one section of the wall and wallpaper on the other.
With any of these combinations, separate the two sections of wall with a painted or stained wood molding. To really accent the installation, finish everything off with a crown molding as well.
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