the attic out of ourhomes during the summer. During the winter the issue flips a 180° for those upnorth who want to keep the heat out of the attic & stop a major cause ofice dams. The nice thing about an insulated attic hatch is it performs bothfunctions quite well & helps one #KeepCozy. Besides the materials below allyou need is a tape measure, a utility knife or saw, and a caulk gun.

For this attic hatch you need:

2" thick foam-board (4×8 sheet) with an R-Value of 10 orgreater (you might need two sheets for larger hatches or to make it thicker)

8 -20' foamweather stripping (the wider the better)

1 can Great Stuff® foam or similar

1 tube Liquid Nail® or other construction adhesive

Misc. hardware & 2 small bungee cords to seal ittight

Getting started – depending on your region & insulationlevels you need to rip the side pieces at 11". For our friends up north thatrequire an R49 in the attic it should be ripped at 15". Make sure you leave thefactory edges for the lid to sit on. Move any insulation in the way gently outof the way & place the side pieces in place.

Attaching the pieces – The end pieces should span the sidepieces unless you are doubling up the foam. Apply Liquid Nail to where thepieces will meet & put them in place. I simply used some 16 penny nailsinserted through the side to help hold everything in place while the glue set. Oncethese panels were in place, I foamed up all the seams any cracks and theadjoining areas. Not only does this stop air leakage but also helps keep everythingin place. On top of this, simply add some self-stick foam insulation to helpensure any imperfections don't allow air-leaks.

The Lid – the lid overlaps the side assembly by about aninch which means you don't have to fidget with it trying to get it justperfect. To help hold it in place, I just used some eye hooks – 2 short ones toattach into the wood & two longer ones for the lid. I also added 2 differentsize washers (a small one that would prevent a larger 1 ½" washer from slippingpast the nut) & some nuts to attach to the lid. Then I simply used a smallbungee cord to help hold the lid down.

A few other quick notes – If you do not wish to create yourown, you might want to check out Battic Door which makes a great product withan R-Value of R50. One other option is foam board with Radiant barrier alreadyintegrated into it – if you go that route it should be facing in towards the interiorof the house for best results. To see the original article with a few more tips& links: http://blog.sls-construction.com/2011/air-se...

this house we knew it would be a rescue mission. With no plumbing, heat and very little outdated electricity, it was suitable for the bees and squirrels, but not for humans. After almost six years of living in a construction site, our hard work is done! The decorating may never end, but the construction has!

not pressure wash, but used Olympic deck cleaner and a good scrub brush. I also replaced 12 ea. Kiln Dried PT 2 X 6 boards.....(which I bought at Lummus Supply at the same price, without the special order freight charges from the 2 big boxes in town).

All in all I'm happy with the results of the first coat, and will add the 2nd coat in about 2 months (at 800 SF, I need a break). More important, my wife was happy with the results.

Here are a few before and after photos', and a few comments based on my experience:

It may have been the age and condition of the deck, but I had to add 20% to their stated coverage rate of 2 gallons per 100 SF.

The honeycomb roller does leave a nice texture finish....but it's not as easy as their video show....and a fully loaded roller does cover only the 5 -7 SF as stated. So have patients and allow plenty of time......it's not like rolling out paint or stain.

The matching Solid Stain offers great coverage, but it is expensive.

And most of all, what they don't tell you is that this finish absorbs heat and it is hot as hell in direct sun light on bare feet....as my wife discovered.

So if you try it, have fun....I'm sure you will like the results

Gary

walnut from the neighbor's barn that was torn down. Using only a circular saw and a Kreg Jig, we finished the table in record time. We cut off the ends of the table for the legs at 15" tall, leaving 50" for the top. We measured the width and used scrap furring strips for cleats on the legs, then nailed walnut planks into the cleats. With a quick trim piece of walnut on the lip of the shelf, we were done! Our only cost was in screws and nails. Since then we've found several discarded doors on the curb in our town, and have built door tables for friends! For step-by-step instructions visit my post: http://www.killerbdesigns.com/reclaimed-door...

and few new bits and pieces.

#Bestof2012

throughout Italy nine weeks after Easter to commemorate Corpus Domini and occur when townspeople create floral carpets-some modest, some dazzlingly splendid-in front of their church. One of the most notable occurs in the Umbrian town of Spello, where there are said to be three kilometers of floral tapestries, and 80,000 people reportedly attended last year. (Given the width of the streets in a typical Italian hill town, it is not an event for those who need their space.) Although the preparation begins long before, the real work begins at midnight, when teams (rather like a krewe for Mardi Gras) trace their designs onto the street, lay in the outlines in dirt, and then fill them in with every manner of flower and petal (and, in some cases, whole fruit). When I arrived in Spello shortly after 8 a.m., finishing touches were still under way, which sometimes involved tweezers and sometimes required a gymnast's sense of balance. As the designs are completed, other team members constantly mist them from water tanks on their backs to "glue" the designs in place. Then, toward midday, there is a grand processional from the church, on those much-labored-over carpets. Truth be told, the parade tends to keep to the sides, and protective ropes are returned around the designs. But as they dry the petals begin to blow. You made need to repeat, as you look at these images, "They're all made of flowers."