Home Improvement Ideas, Photos and Answers

Repurposing & Upcycling: Repurpose

I found this at an old home site and need some ideas, as how to use this somewhere outside.

Sia@South 47th 8 hours ago

Judith F Have you done a check ...»
here on hometalk for a tutorial? There have been tons of these made into benches and look great!

Gardening: My pomegranate tree is being attacked by ants!

I love looking outside and seeing how well our pomegranate tree is dong this year. We've raised it over the past 6 years from a tiny sapling and now it's producing some beautiful fruit. ...»

Losvlam 9 hours ago

we use quicklime to draw a line around the place, ( people used quicklime to liming the widows ...»
in the summer to block out the sun out l the greenhouses , so ask in gardencenters or paintshops for the powder) i stay out the garden , i'm allergic, this will not harm the tree or your place, or try to lure them to an other place with sweets

Remodeling: Need someone to build this!

The previous owners made a stupid box looking fireplace. I want to upgrade! Please see the pics and let me know if this is work you can do. I'm getting quotes together and would like it done ASAP if possible. I live in McDonough, Ga.

Valerie H Yesterday

Love the inspiration. And I have a friend that's done that kind of work herself! (She still ...»
amazes me...). I think it can be accomplished quite easily...with the right contractor, of course!

Gardening: Planting corn?

I'm looking for advice about growing corn. I'd like to plant some in my backyard, but I have a lot of questions. Does corn need a lot of sun? What type of soil is good for growing corn? Does it require a lot of water? Also, when is the best time to plant? Spring or fall?

Judy 7 hours ago

Please don't confuse GMO with hybrid seeds. The corn seed in the little packets for home ...»
gardens are mostly hybrid varieties which simply means they have been cross pollinated with other varieties to selectively breed them for certain desirable qualities such as stalk height, sweetness, kernel tenderness, yield etc. I like the super sweet varieties such as Polka Dot & super sweet Jubilee. Here's a handy dandy list of corn varieties: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sweetco...
GMO varieties, on the other hand, are sold in bulk to farmers who grow crops for retail sale of the produce. A lot of the corn, canned, frozen & on the cob that you buy in the grocery store is GMO. I've read that since the seeds are patented, farmers have to sign a document promising not to save seed from the GMO crops they grow so that Monsanto can retain control of their lucrative product. I'm sure Monsanto would strenuously object to seed companies growing & selling their patented seeds. If you are in any doubt buy seed only from companies who have taken the safe seed pledge.

Cleaning & Organization: I've had my stove (Maytag) about two years and have never cleaned the

oven. Until recently, it didn't need it. Now it does. I've never had a self-cleaning oven until this one and after quickly reading the instructions, I'm hesitant to turn it up to 500 degrees for so long. Is it better to do that or to clean it with an oven cleaner? Oven cleaning has never been a favorite thing of mine. Which works better? Self-cleaning or DIY? And if DIY, what's the easiest way to do it? In the past, I've always bought something like Easy-Off, but would rather go a more natural way, if possible.

Losvlam 17 hours ago

i use soda salt and dishwash soap and warm water mix ( on a cloth ) that i put over it . ...»

If not gone after an hour i will remove with a plastic spoon ( not making scratches) and a cloth as much as possible and pull more mixture over it , No heat! if you have time let it to ,next morning.i use it for my pan after i bake . i whipe it up and if needed i put the mixture again, now i use a aluminium paper (tinfoil) when i bake and have just to take the paper out and will put a bowl of hot water to clean out easier when the oven is cold. (see also yahoo solutions)

Gardening: I bought a somewhat leggy tomato plant and upon looking online to see

how to plant it, I found a video that said to put it into the ground sorta lying on its side but then pull it up into the upright position. Said the part underground would form roots and send up new plants (I think that what's she said). Shown here is a screen shot from the video showing how she's lying part of it down into a long hole in the ground. She also said to put some bone meal into the planting hole to produce more tomatoes instead of more green parts. Ideas on whether any of this is a good idea?

Louise 2 hours ago

Thanks. I'll try cinnamon. A lot of the ants dispersed, running for their little lives. They ...»
didn't know I didn't plan to kill them. :-( When I planted the tomato, I put a plastic cup around the base of the stem, having read that it keeps cut worms from eating the plant, and today when I went to check on things, the cup, which I had pushed a bit into the soil, was on the ground!!! (This planter is on top of a retaining wall.) Odd. So I put it back in place.

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Design & Décor: I need to add something... WHAT?

I need to add something above this bed, but NOT a mirror. Any suggestions.

The room is a neutral guest room ~ nothing too personal.

See the original post: http://www.stonegableblog.com/2012/08/a-look...

Becky 11 hours ago

I made picture out of old shoe box lids and hung them with clear head thumb tacks. It depends ...»
on your style.. I used scrap booking paper, but you can download any image and print it out, then glue on.

Outdoor Living: Our Front Yard Pond and Other Projects

We just purchased this house and it has a great 3/4 acre yard with a pond in front. It has a fountain, w/a spray fountain (see white pvc pipe in pic). We like it OK, but it is dirty as it ...»

KMS Woodworks 13 hours ago

As a fellow Rocky Mountain Resident...I know exactly what you mean. We have 9 months of winter ...»
( I define winter as any month I have had to shovel snow) ...the last patch of snow melted from my yard last Thursday ( 5-14-13).
Many of the smaller alpine lakes around me have the same issue, and it is fun to rib some of the tourists that come up here to vacation and "fish". Most of these folks are clueless that the majority of these small mountain lake do not have any fish in them at all due to freezing...solid. Ice here is often measured in feet and not inches. We had a cold snap two years ago that bottomed out at -40 or so.
http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/2010/01/31...
My tool trailer pictured in the above post is a bit over 7 feet high.

Design & Décor: Chevron Wallpaper

I am looking for Chevron Wallpaper :( any suggestions? OR I would like to find wallpaper remnants, please HELP!

Home Rejuvenator 21 hours ago

http://paintedfurnitureideas.com/how-to-tran...

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Gardening: Get the Yucca Out of My Yard

I'm trying to get rid of some yucca plants that came with our home we purchased last year. As I was digging, I discovered HUGE tubers attached to these lovely guys, which made me think ...»

Sia@South 47th 2 days ago

Tanya Peterson Felsheim ...»
Yeppers, Epsom Salts is Magnesium! Good for so many many things. Internally? Just be careful if you suffer from kidney/renal problems. ;)

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