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A stripped down, links-only HouseHacker.com.

HouseHacker is sort of dedicated to bringing you the goods on home improvement, household gadgetry, DIY, cool furniture, yada, yada...




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Funny home cut out stickers.

Those salt and pepper shakers you've had your eye on are on sale. They've knocked $800 off!

iTable. These guys have made a touch-screen table that attaches to an iPhone (basically, the table becomes a giant iPhone).

Hungry, but not sure what to make? Check out photograzing! Browse a boatload of quality food pics to find the perfect meal.

Sandwich coasters that you can set your Brass knuckles coffee mug on.

Cold + Pillow = Chillow. Chillow is fun to say. Chillow.

A lightbulb storage solution to a problem we didn't know we had!

Nice magnetic doorstops Via KK's Cool Tools

Do I really need this thing? Ask yourself these questions while attempting to de-clutter the house.

NY Times articles on the tools you really need to maintain your home.

Pumpkin launchers should enjoy this collection of trebuchet/catapult designs.

NOTICE: Large moosehead wall lights have finally been invented.

360 Modern is a real estate firm in the Pacific Northwest U.S. that specializes in modern homes. Beautiful stuff.

Handy way to skip all the intro crap on DVDs that is usually forced on you when you throw a disc in your player. Apparently the chapters on DVDs that you can't skip (FBI warnings, copyright stuff, etc.) are flagged, on the disc, as UOP, or User Operation Prohibited. This site lists some of the techniques you can try to skip the ennui.

This colour coordinated bookshelf looks cool, but you might have a hard time finding a particular title.

For chewie edge lovers or corner brownie fans - it's the Edge Brownie Pan. All edges, all the time. Via BoingBoing

Puzzle carpet.

This to That is a handy site that will tell you what adhesive to use when attempting to glue various objects together.

Super creative bathroom tiles.

Skinny house in Brazil.

Apparently there are many LED lightbulbs available already. Via TreeHugger

WiiRoomba. YouTube of a guy controlling his Roomba with a Wii remote.

Hardcore Lost fans have a party and repackage the snacks and beer as Dharma Initiative rations. Make your own with the PDFs that they've so generously shared.

Here's a nice set of home improvement videos with the energetic and snappy Eric Stromer.

Faucet Fountain turns your regular faucet into a drinking fountain.

Kids and the Home Office. Here's a list of tips for the parent that works from home.

Save the Internet.

Great Pac-Man bathroom tile work.

Crazy toaster from the future TODAY!

Here is a nice napkin folding howto site with clean pictures and straightforward instructions. I think the shirt's my favourite.

DIY T-Shirt Rack via Instructables.

Stainless steel paint.

Onion goggles.

Batman-esque underground garage with hydraulic lift.

Microsoft to unveil a home server at CES this week in Vegas? This article at Arstechnica discusses the possibility of a machine focused on home automation and entertainment centralization.

Here's a blog full of interesting gifts for under 10 bucks.

WikiHow has a DriCore installation howto available for your edification.

Here is an energy saving tips post from last winter.

The USB humping dog you asked for is in.

Unique DIY photo ornaments.

A table that walks. Finally!

Twist and grow table. Amazing.

Roller toaster.

Make a nice 3D paper snowflake.

Tiny houses from the Tumbleweed Tiny House company.

Post-it note wallpaper made up of four different grey tones which, over time, reveals a usage driven design.

Sweet mug that comes with convenient built-in cookie chamber. Here's a great review of the mug in use.

Great unique gift idea and store thread on Ask Metafilter.

This is one massive bed that measures 12 feet by 10 feet.

Build your very own bottomless pit with this howto (heads up: there is some embedded audio on the site).

Laundry chute turned Cat chute.

PacMan arcade cabinet Halloween costume.

Crazy awesome self assembling robotic chair. Amazing.

DIY Bean bag sofa and/or bed from Instructables.

Another site on transforming household items into other useful (??) household items. Thanks for the tip Paul!

Environmentally friendly home cleaning service. I hadn't realized that there were companies that will clean your home using only animal and environmentally friendly products. This particular company is in the UK, but a quick googling pulls up similar companies in North America as well.

Here are some very unique hand made leaded glass doors, produced using the lead came method, a method in use since the middle ages.

Pumpkin carving. This site has some seriously impressive pumpkin carvings as well as a tutorial, which, although informative, still looks like it requires a lot of artistic ability. Worth a shot though - it's just pumpkin.

Another declutter your home tip page. This one's by FlyLady.net.

USB twister hub with Rubik's cube-like rotating ports.

An outdoor pizza oven party would be a cool alternative to summer barbeques.

Skeeter Bag is a bag that attaches to box fans to catch mosquitos by the thousands.

Lego ice cube tray.

Turn maple leaves into roses with the help of this photo tutorial. Very autumn/thanksgiving.

Interesting Alton Brown video on knife sharpening and maintenance. Instructables also has a step-by-step sharpening howto.

CNN Money article: Middle-class families in worse shape than ever.

Nice and clean magnetic tool rack from Instructables. The nice thing about this organizer is that the actual tool holders can be positioned and rearranged (on the fly) on the metallic backboard.

Designer wood computers handmade in Canada.

Humanoid shaped shelves. Kind of looks like James the doorstop.

How to find a good neighbourhood. MSN article, via Lifehacker.

How to make clear ice cubes.

Use your PC and webcam as a motion activated security camera.

This Old House has made available a very large fall home inspection checklist for your downloading pleasure.

Mike Jagger of Provident security has been on the scene of thousands of residential burglaries and has put together this interesting walkthrough of a typical break-in.

Concrete countertops on Flickr.

This is pretty damn clever. Sizeasy is an online tool that helps you visualize the size of something you're reading about or considering buying online. Punch in your dimensions and see your widget along side things like a deck of cards or a piece of paper.

Here's the skinny on upgrading your home network to Gigabit ethernet. It's probably worth doing simply because "gigabit ethernet" just sounds cool and not at all nerdly.

Greenpeace is getting on Apple's case about their use of certain hazardous chemicals in iPods, iBooks and the like. Greenpeace claims that other manufacturers have discontinued the use of some of the chemicals that are still found in Apple products.

De-Clutter your home to sell it faster. Here's a page with a lot of ways to do just that.

Consumer Reports: 20 Free Ways to Save Energy is a nice list of things you can do, mostly around the house, to save energy and of course, as the two go hand in hand, cash.







Househacker/tags/improvement

Renovations that Kill Home Value

CNN Money has an interesting article on renovations that can actually decrease your home's value in the eyes of potential buyers. Some renovations can improve your homes value and thus almost pay for themselves over time - kitchens, for example, tend to have a cost recovery rate of 90% or more. Some improvements have a lower ROI, like basement remodelling which has a cost recovery rate of about 75%. This article lists four home renovation/improvement ideas that may please an owner but scare off buyers.

Link: CNN Money: 4 renovations that kill a home's value

Previously: Best Bang for the Buck Home Remodelling Jobs, Best Return on Investment Home Improvement Tips


DIY Kitchen Countertop

Extremehowto.com walks you through constructing and mounting a kitchen countertop. The project appears quite intensive, which, come to think of it, is totally consistent with their site name. The amount of work involved seems to be more than what's involved in the DIY concrete countertop project, although that might not be the case once one becomes more acquainted with both jobs, but it does explain why kitchen work can be so costly.
       



Another Doorway Arch Kit

Of the instant doorway arch kits we've seen, this one by Creative Corners looks like it may be the easiest to install, at least judging by the quick four step process outlined on their site. The company lists four arch sets, three of which come in two corner pieces, and the forth being a full, one piece arch.

Doorway Arch Kit by Insta Arch

As we've said before, doorway arch kits seem like an easy way to make a doorway look a lot less cookie cutter while adding some extra character to your home. Although, as easy as the Insta Arch kit may be to install, the 15 minutes that the company is claiming it takes to do the job seems like a bit of a stretch, especially if you've seen their pictorial step-by-step instructions. That's not to imply that the installation would be difficult, but for a first time installer, 15 minutes seems a little optimistic, to say the least.

Remove your Popcorn Ceiling

If your home is like most, it will have come with a generous serving of the quick and cheap popcorn ceiling. If you're thinking about removing it in favour of something a little sleeker, check out what Jason from jasongraphix.com went through to achieve a clean, popcorn free look. Also, something interesting - and scary, as Jason notes:

Asbestos was used in some sprayed coatings for ceilings from 1935-1978 and can cause Mesothelioma & Asbestosis. It's a good idea to have a sample tested by an NVLAP approved testing center before getting started.


Concrete Floor Staining HowTo

CathyMoore.com shows you how to stain concrete on the cheap. After some initial testing, trial and error, her floor seems to turn out very warm and inviting (and professional). The procedure seems relatively straight forward, although it looks as though there is definitely room for mistakes or misplaced mop strokes. This informative site, Decorative Concrete, says that the age of the concrete is not an issue, but the concrete's condition is. They also go on to caution:

Also remember this is an acid. PROTECT yourself from accidental splashes, spills and fumes. I like to have a 5-gallon bucket of water close by should I need to neutralize myself or anything else. Protect vegetation and other concrete surfaces. Don't inhale the fumes from the concentrate or your mixed solutions.

Also check out their gallery of possibilities.

Great Video HowTo on Laying Ceramic Tile in the Bathroom

Here's an informative video on laying ceramic tile in a bathroom. The Michael Holigan site has many videos such as this on a wide range of home renovation subjects. If you are considering laying ceramic tile, you may be interested in underfloor heating. Warmly Yours offers an online flash app to aid you in estimating the cost of an underfloor heating system.

Cool Doorway Arch Kit

CurveMakers.com offers these clever doorway arch kits. Modern homes are rarely built with doorway arches, which were much more common in the past. Arches offer so much character but usually require some significant renovation dollars. These kits, which are reasonably priced, allow any standard doorway to be made to look more elegant and unique. Very nice.

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