I have a simple answer to that question. DON’T install hardwood into your bathroom. That truly is the silliest thing I have ever seen people do. Your asking for an insurance claim or to lose all the money you invested in the project in the first place.

A bathroom is the worst place ever to put wood on the floors. That is the room where the most water hits the floor from getting out of the tub, or from your toilet tank sweating. My tip for this is simply don’t do it. Your asking for trouble!

Post from: Blisstree

Follow up from yesterdays post on washing hardwood floors.

Collin

My husband and I just installed new hardwood floors in our home, and they are the type that are pre finished. We forgot to ask the installer if there was anything we needed to know for washing the floors so we thought maybe you can answer this question for us. 

I sure will Deb, even though there is a lot of different products out there for cleaning and maintaining hard wood floors and like always some say they are better then the rest. What I have always found to be good and safe on the hardwood floors is just to use warm water and a damp mop. Make sure how ever that the mop is not to wet and dripping or anything. If to much water is put onto the floor, it can seep into the cracks where the boards meet and cause them to swell which is something you don’t want.

I hope that you found this helpful Deb, and if any of my other readers have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Collin

Post from: Blisstree

Asking Collin – Washing Hardwood floors

Collin

I noticed here on your site you are getting some new windows for your home. I am wandering though what is the big difference if any, between double or triple pain windows. 

The biggest difference between them is that there clearly is an extra pane of glass and if you live in a cold environment in the winter that can really help you save some money on your heating bill and that extra pane can help keep your cool air in your house when it is hot out as well.

There is not much difference in cost so for the extra money it is well worth it. I think it only added a few hundred dollars to my bill for my project. I thought that was not bad at all.

Hope this helps you make your choices a bit better.

Collin

Post from: Blisstree

Asking Collin – Triple or Double Pane

Hi Collin

My Husband and I are repainting our home in the next few weeks and we were wandering what type of paint is better, Latex or Oil Based?

Hi Susan, thanks for the great question! Myself I like to use Latex paint, they are environmentally friendly and it is way easier to clean up  after as you just need to use water. Have you ever tried to get oil based paint out of your hair? That is not fun!

You can also get more colors in latex paint then oil as well. So enjoy the new look your going to get. I hope this helps you and your husband out in the future and good luck with the painting project.

Post from: Blisstree

Asking Collin – Oil Or Latex

Hi Collin

I was wandering if you are paid for the reviews you complete on your site/blog simply because if you are paid for them aren’t we getting a false review? 

I will tell everyone here the same thing I told this lady who brought up a good point, but one that does not apply to Toolbelt Tips simply because I give my honest opinion of everything that I review. If you have seen the video’s I made on Thompson’s Water Seal you will see that I actually use the product from start to finish and give it a good test. That is also why I do not do reviews with out the products simply because I don’t know if they are good or not. I have 15 years working in the trades so I know the difference between good and bad and if I think something is bad I will say so.

I have been very good in my off line sales as an estimator and such simply because I thrive on being honest and that is something I am bringing to this site and any recommendations I make or products I review.  If you have a product you want reviewed please visit this page or fire me an email and I will be glad to take a look at what you have. But remember, I will be honest.

Post from: Blisstree

Asking Collin – Are you paid for reviewing products?

The reason why I like Duraceramic flooring for a kitchen is the fact that it looks just like ceramic tile but is not cold like it. It comes with a 25 year warranty which is awesome and it also comes is many, many different styles and colors. The grout that is supplied with the tiles when you buy them is also stain resistant, so you know those wine parties you have that get out of control and you have little spills all over your kitchen, well that’s fine with this stuff too. When a dish falls off the counter, it don’t break either. Really I can keep going on and on about this product and how good it is.

Installation for me was fairly simple as well, it took me one day to install the flooring right over my vinyl floor I use to have, and a few hours to grout it. Nothing major and there is one more thing I want to point out too, it still looks like the day it was installed and that was 2 years ago.

If you want to get a new floor for your kitchen, this is my number one pick by far.

Post from: Blisstree

Asking Collin – What flooring is the best for kitchens

I have spent hours upon hours renovating my home over the past 8 years but one thing I have always done so that I can always keep enjoying my renovating time is to make sure when the weather is nice, I take advantage of it.

Why is it important to take a break from renovating. 

If you are at all like me, your busting your back to make your home nicer for you and your family right? If you don’t take some time out of your schedule for your family then your doing it for nothing in my mind. Getting out and enjoying a day at the beach is just what the doctor has ordered for me and my son today and that is just how I plan on taking a break from my daily renovating schedule.

Also getting away from the dust and drywall mud for a few hours can give you some really good time to sit and think about how your project is going and if there is anything different you think you need to do. Sometimes looking at the same walls over and over again you end up just drawing blanks.

So take this tip from a pro, get out there and have some fun, you will be amazed at how well things will work once you get back at it with a clear head. You don’t need to go to the beach to do this either, a park works too.

Post from: Blisstree

All work and no play makes you just plan old dull!

This past week has been one of my most busiest weeks for blogging yet. I have another blog that I run which has run into feed related issues and it not working right. I have had over 3000 emails hit just one of my in boxes as well as a few advertising campaigns start up.

Crazy, crazy busy!

To top that all off, I start a rehabilitation program for my torn disc’s in my back as well which has also sucked the energy right out of me. That’s the energy I need to make some really cool video’s for you guys on some products that we sent to me, there almost does not seem to be enough hours in a day to do what I need to get done.

If you are new here and want to take a look at some of my most popular articles please check out a few in my painting category by clicking on the following link.

Painting! 

Post from: Blisstree

When a blogger gets busy!

There is a lot of crap on the market and even the brand names have some products that are fit for the garbage can.

Another way to pick a good, long lasting tap for your house in to pick it up and feel how heavy it is. The heavier it is, the more brass that is in the tap and the higher quality the faucet is going to be.

That is not saying that plastic taps are all junk, but there are levels of good think plastic verses thin plastic as well and the weight of those taps can help you figure out if it is good or not.

Odd are if it feels flimsy then it is!

Post from: Blisstree

Tips on how to choose quality faucets!

Why is in important to sit down with a real estate agent before you tackle anything like building a new garage or putting in granite counter tops for your kitchen is you want to make sure your area that you live in will support such an expensive project, if every other house is worth 150 grand chances are your not going to get 250 grand for yours. There is no reason why anyone should lose money, in the long run just to have something that is really nice in there home.

With out even realizing it you might be able to still achieve a nice renovation by using different materials. Lets talk about that nice counter top you want again. Instead of spending 10,000 on granite you could easily get away with a very classy ceramic counter top that flows right into a back splash for a 10th of the cost and it is something you can do yourself unlike granite that you have to hire someone to do.

So in closing, make sure you check if your market (meaning the area you live in) can support the upgrade you want to do and if not, change products and do it yourself to save money.

Post from: Blisstree

Before you renovate – know your market