Comments for HomeImprovementsAndRenovations.com - Home Improvement | Home Repair | Home Renovation

Comment on What home improvement, home renovation and home restoration grants should I apply for if I live in upstate NY? by YahooWhiz

YahooWhiz — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:55:01 +0000

The first step is to check with your local bank and realtors…there are also national grants available from the government. Take a look at this article ‘How to Get a Home Improvement Grant’ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/459112/how_to_get_a_home_improvement_grant.html for some tips.

Good luck!

Comment on How much would a piece of concrete from a renovation of a capitol be worth? by Kevin k

Kevin k — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:19:21 +0000

About $2 unless you can prove the block actually came from the capitol building. There should be some sort of certificate stating the authenticity of the block. At the very least, go back to the newspapers from Montgomery in 1991 and 1992 (Sunday papers would probably be best). You want to find the notice or ads for the sale of the blocks like you have and make a copy of it. On your copy, please note the source and date of publication. The sale price of the pieces will give you some idea of the value of your chunk.

Comment on renovation that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 400 tons? by Helmut

Helmut — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:44:11 +0000

(a) (400 ton/yr)($30/ton) = $1,200/yr
(b) ($130,000)/($1,200/yr) ? 73.5 years
This is an exceedingly poor ROI. Attempting to implement the renovation would almost certainly result in the manager being discharged and replaced.

The surface area of Earth is about 510,072,000 km²
The weight of Earth’s atmosphere is then
W = (510,072,000 km²)[(100,000 cm/km)(1 in./2.54 cm)]²(14.696 lb/in^2)(1 ton/2,000 lb)
W ? 5,809,426,000,000,000 tons
W ? 5,809,426 billion tons
(400 tons)/(5,809,426 billion tons) ?
0.000068854 parts per billion ?
0.068854 parts per trillion ?
68.9 parts per quadrillion

It would take around a million years for 400 ton/year to have any effect one way or another on our atmosphere.

Comment on What are the rules on doing a complete renovation yourself in Virginia? by crazymacaroon

crazymacaroon — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:44:36 +0000

You need to pull permits for any work you do in Virginia. The only exception to this is if you were replacing the same with the same (a light fixture or socket etc…) After you pull the permit you will be required to have each part of the project inspected. Most localities in VA you can talk to an inspector for advice before starting. I know in Henrico and Chesterfiels County the inspectors will work with you.

Comment on What are the rules on doing a complete renovation yourself in Virginia? by Sherry R

Sherry R — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:44:36 +0000

your best thing to do is first check the county/city website for restrictions my understanding from a few years ago was that interiors didn’t need a permit. Structural changes did, due to safety concerns ( moving walls that are weight bearing without replacing braces) best is to call the inspectors directly and then make note of who spoke to and what said to get the correct information the first time around.

Comment on What are the rules on doing a complete renovation yourself in Virginia? by mrrosema

mrrosema — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 01:44:36 +0000

call your town hall and they will tell you of the permits needed and who can do the work. typically there aree alot of rules, mostly to ensure the work results in a safe place with adequate quality of structural, electrical and plumbing components, but some rules are made to make sure you don’t mkae something that doesn’t fit into your neighborhood or bother your neighbors. If you can get your neighbors to buy in then typically a hearing is held and some deviances from the towns codes such as set back rules are allowed. It is really up to your town and your neighbors not us yahoos.

Comment on Kitchen renovation – suggestions for microwave cooking? by theanna2000

theanna2000 — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:06:42 +0000

We just finished (well almost) a complete kitchen rennovation. We did a lot of the work ourselves so it took a lot longer than we expected. We moved our old regrigerator to the laundry room, and we had an old electric frying pan, an outside grill, a crockpot and a microwave. We eventually bought a toaster oven and a 2 burner butane hotplate. Basically, we cooked about everything that we would normally cook in a real kitchen on those few appliances.

Other than corn and popcorn, I really didn’t use my microwave for much except reheating leftovers. I used the crockpot a lot which was quick and easy, but the toaster oven and hotplate were the two things I used the most.

Tell your relative to invest in a toaster oven with temperature controls. We baked everything in there, from baked potatoes to small roasts. Also, tell her to add at least 2 months to any renovation project…it always takes longer than you think it will. Tell her it will all be worth it in the end. I still have a concrete floor, but I LOVE my new kitchen.

Best of luck!!

Comment on Kitchen renovation – suggestions for microwave cooking? by Flowerlady

Flowerlady — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:06:42 +0000

Goodness, I sympathize! I just got done finishing the painting from my kitchen redo, and I’m exhausted!

Rather than try to get a cookbook, my suggestion is that your relative cook various meals and freeze them in individual portions. Then it is just a heat and eat, and tastes good.

Good luck…that’s a lot, lot, lot of work!

Comment on Kitchen renovation – suggestions for microwave cooking? by Shiny Happy People

Shiny Happy People — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:06:42 +0000

Anyone who has taken a junior high school home ec class knows the microwaves do not cause radiation poisoning.

Actually, you can cook more than leftovers in a microwave. I have a wonderful recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese that’s made in the microwave (except for the cooking of the macaroni itself). Most people have not tried anything beyond leftovers and frozen meals so they incorrectly assume you cannot.

The best microwave cookbook I’ve ever seen was the one that came with my mom’s late 1970s Litton microwave (my macaroni and cheese recipe is from that cookbook). This wasn’t some odd recipes included with the instruction manual, but an actual hardbound cookbook. Unfortunately, I am not sure you can buy it without scouring garage sales, used book stores, or eBay.

My only other suggestion would be to check Amazon for microwave cookbooks and read the reviews associated with each cookbook. I’ve found the Amazon reviews quite helpful in determining whether a product or book is worth the money or not.

Good luck!

Comment on Kitchen renovation – suggestions for microwave cooking? by Angela Q

Angela Q — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:06:42 +0000

Most microwave cookbooks attempt to cook all kinds of questionable things in an effort to make you think you can do almost anything in a microwave oven. But you can’t, at least not well.

You can cook vegetables in a covered casserole in the microwave oven. You can cook potatoes this way, but you can also roast potatoes on a grill.

I suggest an electic frying pan and maybe a rice cooker to supplement the microwave.