After seeing the price of a new 1000w wind generator we decided to learn how to make a wind generator. It just made sense. The home wind turbine we looked at cost in excess of $3000 and we just couldn’t afford that much. But we did need to upgrade our power production for our newly built off the grid home.

After building our own house we didn’t have very much money left over. We did buy a solar panel array, but it turned out that our investment just wasn’t enough to power our home.

What options did we have?

· Learn how to make solar panels

· Find free solar panels (we had heard they were out there)

· Learn how to make a wind generator

We opted for the last option because the project looked like it had the potential to produce the most power for our home and also cost the least. That decision proved to be a good one as the plans we got showed us where to find free or very inexpensive material to build it with.

We found the PVC pipe for the blades from a friend who works in construction. They use it for sewer pipe.

The wind turbine blade design was not that difficult to figure out either. The individual blades are cut from a pattern and sort of on an angle. In this way they catch the wind more efficiently so the home wind power machine produces the most power for your home.

Learning how to make a wind generator was not that difficult, even finding the DC motor used as a turbine. It’s available online and only cost us $35 including the shipping costs.

When you build your own wind turbine you won’t have any trouble finding the special parts. Most of them are available free or at your local hardware store. We even found a source of free wind generator towers. People everywhere are getting satellite TV and are discarding their old TV towers. The 40 foot towers work great for most applications.

How long did it take to build?
We spent about 4 days in total working on the project until it was producing power for our off grid home.

How much did we spend?
In total it cost us $89 to build a 1000w wind generator and that includes the cost of the plans.

With all of these benefits, isn’t it time you built your own?

If you are planning to replace a few tiles on the kitchen floor, you need not call the mason for doing it. It is a simple job and can be done by a few helping hands. I will give you some tips on how installing floor tile can be done quickly with a few helping hands.

There are five steps that have to be followed when installing floor tile. The first step is to prepare the base floor. The kitchen floor should be cleaned of all wax, grease, oil and grime with a good cleaner. It is always advisable to use a good quality, environmental friendly cleaner for the cleaning purpose. If you have a wooden base floor, it should be made smooth by removing any uneven areas and any loose boards on the floor should be properly tightened.

The technique to installing floor tile is start laying the floor from the center of the room. The measure of the room should be done exactly and the any irregularities ignored. The center location on the floor has to be marked accurately using a chalk line. Lines should be drawn across the length and breadth of the room and the place where the lines intersect is the center. Recheck the accuracy of the center position as it is very important for quality floor tile installation.

The second step is to lay loose tile from the centre along the marked chalk lines. After laying the loose tiles, measure the distance of the last tile from the wall. This will give you an idea of the size of the last tile that needs to be placed to finish the row. Once you have an idea by placing the loose tiles you can have an idea of the number of tiles required to complete the entire room.

The third step is to place different color tiles at different locations as per your choice. Open the boxes and place the tiles at the accurate places on the floor. Now, start applying the adhesives on one fourth of the floor area and wait for sometime. It generally takes about 10-15 minutes for the adhesive to dry before you can start installing floor tiles. However, the time may depend on the temperature and humidity.

Start placing the tiles along lines starting from the center of the floor. Remember, placing the first tile correctly as it is very important and determine the finish. Place each tile firmly on the ground and also against another tile. This will ensure a quality finish. The border tile should be cut accurately to give a perfect finishing to the room. When fitting a tile along a pipe or any other obstruction, simply cut the tile into that shape so that it fits exactly into that position. Do not wash the tiles at least one week after installing floor tile.

Sunroom prices vary greatly based on two things – the materials that you choose and how much it costs you in labor. When these expenses are combined the cost of your sunroom may seem quite exorbitant, but you will find that this cost is outweighed by the amount of satisfaction that you will get from the room. It also increases the value of your home, because you are adding square footage that many people look for and enjoy. Constructing a sunroom will cost much less than adding an addition to your home. It also takes much less time than building a traditional room onto the home as well.

One thing that you will want to be careful about is the materials, size, and features that you choose for your sunroom. If you do not plan, then you will find that the cost is much more than you expected. Planning and preparing by choosing the right style, design, and materials can help to increase your satisfaction level when you meet your budget. Make a budget for materials and labor and stick with it.

Estimates are not fixed, but there is normally an average price based on the size and style of the sunroom. Materials, size, drainage needs, location, ventilation needs, style, and more dictate the prices, so that is why it is important to include all of these components in your budgeting.

Building Your Sunroom

If you want to build a sunroom, but the labor costs are throwing you over budget, then you can consider building your sunroom yourself. The new building price can be dramatically decreased by using one of the many do-it-yourself sunroom kits. You will have complete control over the materials and design of your sunroom. These kits come in a variety of styles for you to choose from and then you add the features that you need and that fit you budget.

Where you live can have a big impact upon your sunroom as well. If you live in an area of weather extremes, then you will need to spend more money to help decrease the effect of temperature changes on your sunroom. You may also need to have a heating and cooling system installed and this can increase the price as well. Furnishings and accessories are also another expense, so you want to make sure that you choose all of the features and items wisely to help you stay on budget and increase your satisfaction level.

A solar pool heater means more enjoyment, more fun out of your swimming pool. After all, why do you have one? It’s an expensive asset on which you also spend valuable time and money, maintaining it.

There are four ways to heat your pool

• electric heater
• gas, usually a propane heater
• using a pool cover
• solar pool heating

You would know already that heating a swimming pool electrically or with gas is very expensive. Consequently many people make a choice – not to heat the pool at all at cooler times of the year or day.

But this means wasting your asset just because it is expensive to heat. Why have a pool and then not swim in it? Use solar power energy and make your pool or outdoor spa an hospitable environment to enjoy at any time. A solar pool heater – or spa heater – allows you to extend the use of your pool or outdoor spa into spring and autumn, cool evenings and mornings.

Further advantages of solar pool heating include:

• You save on energy, gas or electricity, running a conventional pool heater
• Solar energy is free!
• You reduce greenhouse gas emissions

You can buy a solar pool heater, up to a cost of $2000. Or you can build one yourself. For much less.

Is a DIY solar pool heater not incredibly complex and expensive to put together? No, it only requires a good set of instructions and basic handyman’s skills to build one yourself.

And the cost? It can actually be done for as little as under US$100.

Yes, of course you do need a circulation pump and if that runs on mains power it will take a measly 15 to 20 Watts only for a 30,000 litre pool. But of course, using a solar powered pump will not even require this use of mains power.

There are solar pool heaters for different situations, and they come in any size. Rooftop systems lay flat on your roof and are best for the very large pools, or you may like to consider an on the ground system. The on the ground system is installed right next to your pool with a maximum exposure to the sun’s warmth.

It is the on the ground system that could be built for under US$100.

So, in selecting your solar pool heater system you need to know the size of your pool and your local weather conditions (you do need sunshine!).

Just remember that heated pool water is a good environment for bacterial and algae growth so must monitor correct chlorine or salt levels to the water. You should get expert advice about that from your local pool supplier.

Oh, and the pool cover. Yes, by all means use it as a passive solar top-up of your pool enjoyment.

Now enjoy your swim!

With all of the design tools and resources on the internet, buying, and installing your own kitchen cabinets is now a realistic DIY project. With the wide selection of RTA Cabinets (Ready-To-Assemble) on the market, high quality, easy to assemble cabinets are now a viable option. They are available just about everywhere that you look. The big box stores have even started carrying their own version, but the best deals are still found on-line. While you won’t get the advantage of talking to a personal designer, the monetary savings will be well worth it. By buying your cabinets direct from the manufacturer, the savings can be as high as 30-40%. Most websites are now offering design tools and templates to help make the buying process an easy transaction. If you are still unsure about buying RTA Kitchen Cabinets, let’s address the most common question people ask…. what makes them different? The cabinets that are on the market today are in most cases, made of better materials than the higher priced name brand cabinets that are on the market today. That being said, not all of them are made the same. When you are shopping for them, make sure you look for the following features: 1) Solid wood face frames, stiles and doors 2) 1/2 or 5/8 inch plywood sides (stay away from particle board or fiberboard) 3) cam lock assembly, versus screws or dowels 4) Solid wood backs or atleast solid wood strips for attaching them to the studs 5) Solid wood drawer boxes, preferrably with dovetailing 6) European hinges and self-closing or epoxy drawer slides. The nice thing about most of the sites out there is that they will deliver the cabinets directly to your house.

Now that you have your new cabinets, let’s talk about assembly. RTA cabinets are about as easy to assemble as it gets. The basic box is held together by cam locks, which create a nice tight box (much stronger than staples or dowels). All that is required for assembly is a flathead screwdriver. For the drawer base cabinets, you may want to have a drill handy to help tighten the screws that are needed to hold the drawer slides and even the drawer faces together. Most can be assembled in less than 5 minutes. All of the cabinets will come with step-by-step instructions on how to assemble them.

Once you have your cabinets assembled, it is time to start prepping for installation. The preparation work is the most important part of the process, since in most cases, the floor is not going to be perfectly level and the walls are not going to be perfectly straight… that is just the way it is. By finding the high spots on the floor and the bumps in the walls, you can take steps before installation to ensure that your kitchen cabinets are flush and level. If you go to the website Hubpages and search for kitchen installation, there is a great article that walks you step-by-step thru the kitchen cabinet installation process called Kitchen Cabinets: How to Install Them Yourself. While RTA cabinets will involve more labor on your part, the savings versus custom cabinets, plus the savings from installing them yourself, will make this a rewarding DIY, both personally and monetarily.

If you are looking for tips on saving thousands on your kitchen, follow the links in my author bio.

You feel like changing up the look of your kitchen, but you don’t want to do anything to dramatic, plus, spending a lot of money is not something that you had in mind either. Well, what will fit into that budget of yours and make a decorative statement all at the same time is kitchen cabinet hardware. If you install something new, your kitchen will have a lovely, improved appearance.

Really, purchasing new kitchen cabinet hardware is a great way to change up the look of your kitchen. How so? Well, it is because it is made out of a variety of breathtaking materials that can have a number of lovely finishes applied to them. For instance, you can get hardware that is crafted out of stunning bronze that has an oil rubbed finish to it. Or, you can get ones that are made out of ceramic that come in different colors and can be hand painted with designs. There are other materials available too including other metals like stainless steel and aluminum along with wood, stone, plastic, and even glass and crystal.

The different material and finishing options create selections of all sorts of styles and designs. Like, those that are made from bronze and feature an oil rubbed finish would be something that features antique styling. A few other style options include ones that have a contemporary or modern feel, others that are on the traditional side, some that are colonial in nature, and there are ones that have a country vibe going on. All of the styles make it a breeze to find something to match the current style of your kitchen space.

When purchasing kitchen cabinet hardware, keep in mind of everything that you will need and have to replace. So, get out a pad of paper and pencil to make a list that consists of drawer pulls, knobs for your cabinets, drawer slides, and hinges for your cabinets. It is important to buy everything new because you want things to match and have a lovely completed appearance. For example, if you get new drawer pulls and do not purchase new cabinet knobs, things are going to look mismatched and awkward, something that might give others the impression that you don’t have style or taste. Now, you definitely don’t want that to happen.

For an easy way to check out the kitchen cabinet hardware options and find just the right ones for your kitchen, the thing to do is hit the Internet for some online shopping. It’s fast and convenient since you can browse all the choices in no time at all and don’t even have to leave your home to do it. Plus, when you do come across something you like, it generally is at the best prices possible.

Ultimately, if you want to change up the look of your kitchen and don’t want to spend a lot of money doing it, just turn to lovely kitchen cabinet hardware to make it happen. With all the choices, you’ll be sure to find something you like and your kitchen will be looking fine in no time.

People take their kitchen cabinets seriously. In fact, they are often the most prized components of a kitchen and their design and aesthetics can make or break the entire room’s overall appearance.

Consumers have become more educated about everything related to their homes, and their kitchen cabinetry is no different. With consumers being more knowledgeable about the products that are available and the features they are looking for, there is less of a dependence on interior designers and kitchen designers.

An overall trend toward furniture-grade cabinets has taken a firm hold in the marketplace. Now that Ready-to-Assemble or RTA Kitchen Cabinets are even being made of higher quality materials, consumers are turning their attention toward more particular aspects, such as pull-out waste cans, slide-out towel bars and pull-down shelves. These accessories often are requested by clients who are aging or may have special physical needs, but many others see the benefits as well. This points to an overall customization movement that puts as much emphasis on function as it does on form.

Homeowners expect their kitchen cabinets to perform at a high level. They’re even paying attention to the hidden hardware by specifically requesting self-closing undermount slides on cabinet drawers, and the fully concealed European hinges. Another cabinetry trend has grown from the consumer’s demand for professional-grade appliances in the kitchen. In addition to high-end stainless-steel refrigerators and commercial-quality cooktops, such things as warming, cooling and dishwashing drawers have become very popular. By integrating these cabinets into the drawers, or using customized panels to hide the appliances, homeowners are trying to make the appliances less noticeable.

Wood-finished cabinets are still the style of choice; they represent about 80 percent of all kitchen cabinets purchased, according to a 2002 survey conducted by the National Kitchen and Bath Association. And even though consumers are demanding furniture-quality styling, they are opting for a more casual appearance overall. Many of these have multi-step finishes and glazes to make them look like antiques that have weathered generations of use.

While consumers are looking for that antique or old world look, they want all the latest features. Glass-front kitchen cabinets are also in demand, although only on certain cabinets where contents are easily arranged and kept neat for an uncluttered appearance. Many manufacturers offer a mullion door option which allow you to display your fine china or glasses. Appliance garages that house microwaves, blenders and other countertop appliances help keep the room looking neat and clean.

Maple and cherry are still the most popular wood species, but a lot of people are taking advantage of the new choices out there as well. Wood types such as alder and beech have been getting a lot of attention. But so have some more unusual species like lyptus, which comes from a quickly renewable tree, so it is considered a ‘green’ product.

One of the tings to decide when building or remodeling a kitchen is the type of stove that will be fit in. The countertop stove is a popular choice to give the kitchen an integrated look. Depending on which type of countertop stove you choose, there are different considerations that you need to consider for your kitchen countertop.

Let us start with the countertop gas stove. Being a gas fed stove, you will need to have a connection to you gas line leading all the way up to the countertop. An electrical connection is also needed if your gas countertop uses electrical features such as automatic igniting sparks and digital timers. Be sure that the gas countertop stove has removable tops to make it easier to clean. A lot of heat is generated sideways from the source of the flame while cooking so it is worthwhile to keep this in mind when deciding on the placement of the gas countertop stove. Adequate insulation is advisable to avoid damaging your kitchen countertop.

Next up is the electrical countertop stove. This countertop stove type generates heat by feeding electricity into heating elements. The only thing to get used to with electric stoves is that it takes a while for the heat level to reach the desired level due to the heating up or cooling down of the elements. On the plus side, the electric countertop stove does not lose a lot of heat sideways compared to the gas countertop stove. Installation is straightforward in which you will need to pick a spot on your kitchen countertop and ensure that there is an electrical power source coming through.

Then there is the induction type countertop stove. This countertop stove uses magnetic induction to heat up you pan directly. There is no heating of any elements on the stove itself. Instead, heat for cooking is generated on the surface of the pot or pan. However, the pot or pan used with an induction type countertop stove must be made of metal that sticks to a magnet. If you a magnet sticks to your pan, then it will work with the induction type countertop stove. You will need to get used to the stove a bit as it is very efficient in generating heat since there is in heat loss to the environment. Water boils very quickly and you can burn your steak quite easily if you think that it fries like a gas or electric stove. Installing the induction type countertop stove is similar to installing the electric countertop stove.

Now more than ever because of the different types of cooking methods and the styles of ovens available people are becoming confused over which is the best oven option for them when redesigning or building a new kitchen in their homes. Hopefully the information provided below will help to make the decision on what is the right oven for your kitchen much easier.

Firstly we come to the conventional oven which normally uses either gas or electric (heating element) to provide heat to the oven for cooking food. Unfortunately with this style of oven there seems to be one problem which is that the heat does not always get dissipated evenly throughout the oven and you may find that you can only cook one dish at a time (even if you have the space for more).

Next we come to the convection oven, which uses a fan inside to move the hot air around the oven and this results in a more even heat being dissipated around the whole oven, which means that all the shelves can be used effectively. Another advantage of a convection oven is that they are more energy efficient, not only do they reach the required temperature faster, but they can also be used for cooking at lower temperatures as well. As previously mentioned these styles of ovens have either a fan assisted or fan forced delivery system for dissipating the heat more evenly around the oven. For those ovens that are fan assisted you will find that the heating element/gas flame and fan are separate usually the heating source is at the bottom of the oven and the fan at the back. Whilst if you have a fan forced oven then you will find that both the heating element/gas flame is surrounded by the fan. In some cases you may even find that your oven is a combination oven meaning it is both a conventional and convection oven. Then there are some combination ovens that are both a microwave and convection oven as well and this has a number of advantages over a normal convection oven, not only can food be cooked quicker in it but you will discover that even less energy is used than a normal convection oven.

Another thing that needs to be considered when looking to purchase an oven for your kitchen is the space where it will be located. Some ovens can be installed in a wall, others under a counter and there are those that are part of a traditional stove/oven combination unit. Then other people will look at just how easy the oven will be to clean. A standard oven will have to be cleaned the old fashioned way (using oven cleaner, scrubbing pad and a good deal of elbow grease). However, if you want you could purchase self cleaning ovens which are provided with a super high temperature setting which is used when the oven is empty and the door is locked. This style of oven will burn off any food left in the oven until it turns to ash and all you have to do is wipe it out using a damp sponge or cloth. But if you don’t want to get dirty, and then consider using your vacuum cleaner to get rid of the ash and dust that has been made. Or it may be you decide to purchase a continuous cleaning oven which has a special surface that helps to absorb and spread out any spills that appear during cooking which can be burned off at a lower temperature. These styles of ovens can be cleaned periodically with just either a damp sponge or cloth just like the self cleaning oven. Unfortunately any larger spills that occur in this type of oven will have to be removed using the traditional method of using oven cleaner and elbow grease. It is wise to clean up any spills as soon as possible else if left too long they will become a permanent feature of the oven.

Vacuum cleaners are devices that use an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dirt and dust, normally from carpeted loors. Most homes that have carpet floors have a vacuum for cleaning. The dirt that is pulled up from the carpet is collected by a filtering system or even a cyclone for later disposal.

There are several type of configurations possible for vacuum cleaners.

Upright vacuums have the pump mounted directly above the suction intake, with the bag mounted directly on the handle, which will rise to waist height or so. The upright type designs normally employ mechanical beaters which often rotate brushes, to help disturb dust enough to be vacuumed up. These beaters are normally driven by a belt that is attached to the vacuum motor.

Also known as cylinder vacuums, the canister type designs have the motor and bag in a seperate canister unit that connects to the vacuum head by a flexible hose. Even though upright units have been tested as being more effective, the lighter and more maneuverable heads of the canister models are quite popular. Some models have power heads, which contain the same type of mechanical beaters found it upright units, although they are driven by a seperate electric motor.

Wet vacs/dry vacs, these types a specialized form of the canister vacuum and they can be used to clean up wet or liquid spills as well. They will commonly accomodate both wet and dry soilage, with some being equipped with a switch or exhaust port that reverses the flow of air. This is a very useful function for everything from clearing clogged hoses to blowing dust into a corner for easy collecting.

Back pack vacuums are commonly used for commercial cleaning, as they allow you to move about quickly and efficiently in a large area. They are basically canister vacuum cleaners, except for the fact that straps are used to carry the canister on your back.

Built in or central types of vacuum cleaners will move the suction motor and bag to a central location in the building and provide vacuum inlets at strategic places throughout the entire building. You only need to carry the hose and pickup head from room to room, while the hose is normally 25 foot long and allows a large range of movement without changing vacuum inlets.

The plastic piping will connect vacuum inlets to the central unit. The vacuum can either be unpowered or have beaters that are operated by an electric motor or an air driven motor. The bag in the central vacuum system is normally so big that emptying it or changing needs to be done less as often, sometimes only once a year.