HOME IMPR0VEMENT CONTRACTORS

I hate moving. I’ve had enough experience that you’d think it would be easier by now: I grew up in a military family and have been bit of a tumbleweed ever since. But it feels daunting every time, and it's expensive. It’s enough to make you want to chuck all your earthly possessions and live like a Zen monk, with just a sleeping mat and a bowl. So this last, and I do hope last, time I moved (from California back to New York), I was looking for advice on everything from how to pack dishes so they don’t arrive as mosaic scraps to whether the cat and I should travel by car or by air.

Kitchen-appliances-14 Kitchen & Bath Design News calls our attention to cracks in stone counters caused by hidden rusting. Since when does stone rust? When it has been reinforced…to prevent cracks. Seems conscientious counter fabricators strengthen the thin strip in front of the sink with an embedded steel rod so the strip won’t crack under the weight of those dirty pots and pans. But with water nearby, the rod gets rusty and expands, like ice in mortar. Father-and-son correspondents Jim and James Heaphy, drawing from a scary science journal called Advances in Fracture Research, explain the phenomenon as “oxide jacking,” which is another way of saying “homeowner heartache.” There’s a solution to the solution-solving problem, they note, namely using rods made of stainless steel or fiberglass. But it kinda makes you wonder if some larger rethinking may be in order. Ever experienced a similar sort of problem-hidden-inside-a-solution? Send it along. I’m keeping a list.

Today is my most favorite day of the year, times two! It’s Halloween and tonight we get to set our clocks back, which means an extra hour of sleep. Yay! Now, it won’t be all fun and games. Ok, it will be mostly fun and games, but this is also the time of year when you should test and replace the batteries in all of the important devices in your home. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms, security systems, and even the remote controls for your entertainment center, if it runs on a battery it’s time for a check up. Battery testers only cost a few dollars and will save you from replacing batteries that still have plenty of life in them. So before you get in costume, party, and pass out from eating too much candy, take 15 minutes for this simple yet important chore. Don’t fret, you still get an extra 45 minutes on the back end!

You gotta go. That’s why you should have a go bag. You know, a kit full of essentials in case of an emergency, that’s ready to go when you are. I’m certain you all are aware of the concept of a go bag, but how many of you have followed through and put one together? That’s what I thought… Lucky for you some entrepreneurs in Old Westbury, NY have put together an entire line of emergency preparedness kits called In Case of Emergency Qubes, or Ice-Qubes. Ranging in price from $20 to $950, Ice-Qube kits pack everything from basic essentials to comfort items in a neat cube shaped box… of varying size. The Ice-Qube Luxe has enough previsions to sustain a family of four for up to 72 hours (half that if we’re talking about my family). Ice-Qubes are also available specifically for babies and for dogs. It’s true that with a little bit of research you can put together an emergency preparedness kit the suits your every need, but if you or someone you care about just can’t seem to get around to getting it done, the ICE-Qube is a pretty good plan B.

A typical day at work in my store usually has me introducing a product to a customer for the first time to solve this problem or that. Every once in a while though, the roles are reversed and one of my customers will present me with a product that in their opinion should be stocked in my store. Now, I like to think that my store has everything and that when presented with a “new” product that there is already a reasonable facsimile of said product that can be found in my shop. Sometimes though this is not the case. Recently one of my regulars presented me with a bottle of magic potion that can seemingly get anything off your skin. After testing it I knew I had to have some, and you will (and should) feel the same way. Presenting: Removeez.