sheetrock

• Read, Ruminate, Renovate... Repeat

'HOME improvement is an ongoing collaboration between a dwelling and its residents," U.S. author and journalist [David Owen] says in enjoyable new book. Sheetrock & Shellac is Owen's personal odyssey of renovating an old house in rural Connecticut, plus the construction of the family "cabin" just 10 kilometres away in the same town. Along the way, the reader discovers many practical tips based on Owen's experiences. The 200-year-old farmhouse provides an abundance of home-improvement projects, which Owen uses as an entry point to the history of home construction and the utility of lost living spaces, such as the screened-in porch.

• Winnipeg Free Press
• August 11, 2009

• Drywall Dust Tough to Contain, but Hope Is at Hand

Johnson has used Sheetrock Dust Control with good results. "You'll never completely eliminate dust, but this does a pretty good job at minimizing it. There's definitely a difference," he said. "When the customer sees that can that says 'dust control' at least it shows that I'm trying to contain things. Bob Johnston is well aware of the angst rogue dust causes homeowners. As a drywall contractor in Batavia, Ill., he's on the receiving end of customer complaints. "I come in and set off a dust bomb that creates a disaster zone," he said. "For someone who's lived in a remodelling mess and then I come in -- boy, that's the straw that breaks the camel's back. I'm the messiest guy they see."

• Winnipeg Free Press
• August 14, 2009

• Most Kitchen Remodels Begin After Holiday Season

* Pick your countertop before you select your cabinets. The cabinet company won't know what height to build the lower cabinets without knowing the thickness of the countertop -- they're all different. * Pick your backsplash before you hire the electrician. The placement of the electrical boxes will depend on the thickness of the counter's backsplash. Will it be tile or a solid material? What thickness will the material be and will it be affixed directly to the wall or will mortar be placed between the wall and the splash? There is nothing worse than paying the electrician extra to go back and add spacers to the electric boxes because they aren't flush with the finished surface -- fire hazard!

... of backsplash that will be used the sheetrock contractor and the painter will be able to give yo...

• Winnipeg Free Press
• August 21, 2009