Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

Can I Do It: Building Wood Exterior Doors

Friday, April 4th, 2008

There are a lot of fun home improvement projects that you can do on your own: painting a room, remodeling a basement, re-siding a house.  But there are also a few home remodeling projects that should not be attempted by the average weekend home remodeler.  Most of these projects need to be done by professional contractors, carpenters, or stone masons.  Projects like building wood exterior doors should only be attempted by a professional carpenter; this is because exterior doors provide protection for your home both from the elements and from potential prowlers. 

Building wood exterior doors may sound like a fun weekend project for you, and that’s completely understandable.  After all, if you have some basic experience in carpentry, you are probably always looking for more challenging projects.  But while there’s nothing wrong with a good challenge, some things should be left to the professionals; building wood exterior doors is one of those things. 

Building Wood Exterior Doors

Think about it for a minute: building wood exterior doors is not just about getting a piece of wood that is the right size for your entry way, carving it the way you want it, and then hanging it in the existing door way.  You need to be sure that not only does the door fit, but that it is weather proof and seals when it closes.  Otherwise, a hard rain storm or heavy snow storm could cause leaks of wind and water to ruin your home.  Building wood exterior doors is an exact construction science as well as a carpentry art. Also remember that if the wood door you hang is not weather proofed it will eventually rot and warp.  This will cause a smelly, bent mess that won’t seal correctly but rather will pull against the door jamb. 

Building wood exterior doors can be done by any licensed and insured carpenter who has extensive experience in wood doors.  If you want something a little more expensive, hire a carpenter with the skills to carve an intricate design on the door.  If you need to go cheaper, purchase a prefabricated wood door; remember that as with any other home improvement project, custom building wood exterior doors will cost a lot more than purchasing manufactured ones.

For more information on building wood exterior doors

What’s New: Home Heating Innovations

Monday, March 17th, 2008

With the new information coming to light about energy and natural resources, it is not a wonder why so many home owners are trying desperately to revamp their heating and cooling systems in their homes. Not only do a lot of home owners want to protect and help save the environment, they also want to save some money on their heating bills. That is why so many heating and cooling companies have come up with effective home heating innovations.

There are two things that a home owner must consider before changing the heating system in their home, or before purchasing a new home with one of the newer heating systems already installed. What type of heating system is it, and how efficient is it? Another important consideration for a lot of people is the cost of the system: will any of these new home heating innovations save them money on their heating bills, and will these potential savings make up for the cost of installing these new home heating innovations.

Home Heating Innovations

The best place to start when you are considering putting in one of the newest home heating innovations is what types are available. The most popular of all the new home heating innovations is the in floor heating system. These work in different ways but all operate on the same principle of heating: since heat rises, and a most of the heat that is wasted from other types of heating systems is lost in the area close to the ceiling of the room, putting a heating system in the floor will prevent much of the heat loss and will also heat the room more efficiently.

One type of these in floor home heating innovations is the type that uses water pipes within the sub flooring of the house. Most people cannot afford to have this type of heating system installed in a house because it requires the flooring to be ripped up and piping installed. However, if you are building a house, this is a good option to consider. Other types of floor heat, like radiant heat, can be used and these systems are much easier to install. They simply pull cold air from the floor and release warm air at floor level from the same base board unit. These do not require any ductwork or work on a thermostat.