tmgeorgo's blog
New Water Heater
By tmgeorgo
My water heater sprung a leak over the weekend, right around the seal where the pressure relief valve connects to the tank. It was 12 years old and the thermostat was flaky anyway so I decided it was time to replace it. After a few calls to the hardware store, plumbers and the local gas utility, I learned that the direct vent natural gas model I have is not a common type for the local hardware stores to keep in stock and that I should give some consideration to switching to a tankless unit. One thing that I knew I wouldn't do was to switch from gas to electric--gas wins that fight hands down.
After weighing my options, I decided to skip the tankless model and go with a farily efficient natural gas tank model. My heater is i » READ MORE
Choosing the right CFL bulb color
By tmgeorgo
Wired posted a nice CFL bulb color selection guide to help pick the right CFL bulb for each room/task. It's a nice and simple guide, but I will add that I don't agree with their advice on bathrooms. I use 2700K bulbs in both my kitchen and bathroom and they work fine. I got rid of incandescents from every room in my house 2-3 years ago. I don't think I could go back--the energy savings and reduced heat in each light fixture and lamp are well worth the higher initial cost of the bulbs.
Bathroom remodeling is done
By tmgeorgo
Bathroom remodeling project is done now and I'm pretty happy with the results. It used to suffer from a case of the 1980s remodel, with brass fixtures, an off pink vanity with a shell sink bowl, and excessive use of mirrors. I did all of the remodeling work myself and basically replaced everything except the tub, toilet and tiles. My goal was to use as many off the shelf, in stock modern design decor from the big box stores as possible, and reuse old stuff where ever I could to keep down costs. Also, the bathroom is small so we needed as much storage as possible, but not in a way that made you feel cramped or like you were in a warehouse. Energy efficiency was absolutely required for the light fixtures and exhaust fan, all » READ MORE
Ultra Cheap Prices for Todd Oldham Lazboy Furniture
By tmgeorgo
Overstock.com has ridiculously low prices on Todd Oldham Lazboy Furniture. Not only are the pieces like 60% off the retail price, shipping is $3 for most things! Score a deal here.My favorite of the bunch:
Handmade Modern Baby Storage Console
By tmgeorgo
Here's the storage console I made for my daughter's nursery. We needed some furniture next to our chair to store bottles, books, etc. while feeding and playing with her. I got the idea from the bedside library project in the "Handmade Modern" book by Todd Oldham and modified his plans a little bit to make the console better sized for our nursery and use materials and paint I already had on hand.
I got the Waddell brand conical prefab legs & brackets and self adhesive cork shelf liner from Lowes, and a local unfinished furniture store called "CJ Woodmaster" sells premade cubes in all sorts of configurations (1x1, 1x2, 1x5, etc). I just had to sand the cube, prime and paint everything, then drill holes underneath to attach » READ MORE
Online Energy Audit Tool for Fanatics
By tmgeorgo
One of my favorite home improvement/DIY topics is energy efficiency. I've always been interested in saving energy and eliminating waste, but shortly after I bought my first home my moderate interest went far beyond obssession and is dangling somewhere in the unhealthy category. Fiberglass windows, CF bulbs, beefing up the insulation--family and friends are probably sick of all this this stuff, but I'm not. A lot of the energy saving websites offer decent, generic info, but not enough for the serious energy efficiency DIYer. Those of you who have read the FAQs and guides of their local utilites know what I'm talking about: I don't need to be told to run the dishwasher only when I have a full load or that my furnace will » READ MORE
tmgeorgo
From: Raleigh / Durham
