Electric Power Washer versus Gas Power Washer

Last year I bought an electric power washer and wound up returning it the same day. Last week I bought a gas power washer from Craftsman, and what a difference.

The electric power washer put out about 1600 psi of water pressure and came with only one attachment, whereas the gas power washer from Craftsman puts out 2200 psi using a 4.5 HP engine and came with 4 different head attachments for the wand. There is one attachment specifically designed for soap and three other heads for various uses; e.g. car washing, house siding, and sidewalk cleaning.

Besides the benefit of the higher water pressure, the gas power washer also has one less wire/hose to drag around (the electric extension cord), has a lower center of gravity and can be rolled around. The electric power washer on the other hand sat like your typical vacuum cleaner and tipped over easily. Also, the one plastic head clogged within 5 minutes of use and I spent much of my afternoon with it unclogging it.

The cost of the gas power washer was about 50% more than the electric power washer, but it was money well spent. The electric power washer was more of a toy than a tool and I spent more time playing with it than actually getting any work done with it.

The only downside I found with the 4 separate attachments is that you could loose them if you are not careful. I wound up keeping the soap and house siding attachments in my pocket and kept switching between the two as I power washed my home.

One final note: When using a power washer, make sure you use safety glasses. The high water pressure could seriously injure an eye if the wand/nozzle were accidentally directed towards your face and the trigger pulled. This is more likely to happen then you might think as you switch between the various attachment heads. The gas power pressure washer from Craftsman did have a safety switch to prevent inadvertent pulling of the trigger, but the user has to make a conscious effort to set the switch.

Unfinished Homes - A Great Way to Buy a Home

So you're looking to purchase a new home and contemplating on whether or not it makes sense to buy an unfinished home to save money.

An unfinished home is great way to get into a new home and save dollars. Buying an unfinished home can lower your initial investment and keep the monthly mortgage payment lower. In addition, you might be able to buy an unfinished home with a larger foundation size, such that someday when you finish the home you’ve gone from a “Starter Home” to a large highly sought after custom home.

Typically an unfinished starter home (e.g. Colonial/Gambrel/Cape of around 24x36 or 26x36) means that the upstairs is unfinished. How unfinished is a question of how much sweat equity you are willing to put into it. I have seen some unfinished homes where the only thing done to the upstairs was a framed center bearing wall to support the roof trusses. Others have included all of the rough framing, electric and plumbing. Based on my experiences, not finishing the upstairs will save you around 15%-20% of the finished cost of the entire home. For example, a normally finished home of $200,000 would cost you around $160, 000 to $170,000 unfinished (upstairs not completed).

If the homes you are considering have attached garages planned for them, you could possibly save another $25-30K if you were to forgo the garage. Also, if there is an attached family room planned, you may achieve similar savings as the garage by forgoing it as well.

Another possibility for savings, if the home is planned to include a fireplace you could suggest to the builder to forgo the fireplace for the short term and have him build a cap on top of the jog in the foundation for the fireplace. You may be able to save several thousand dollars by eliminating the fireplace.

You need to remember though, when builders get a piece of property to build a home on they want to do everything possible to make as much money on their investment as they can. So you might get them to accept some of these ideas but probably not all of them.

The other thing to be aware of is what the banks will accept. Assuming you get a mortgage, they will want to make sure the unfinished home is livable and to local building codes. Thus the downstairs will probably need to have a room that can serve as a bedroom (with a door and closet). This means your future dining room, den or living room may need to be designed and built to support a closet and door that they may not have otherwise had.

The banks will frown upon unfinished homes that they may have trouble selling/auctioning if you were to default. So typically the downstairs rooms will need to have flooring installed, trim installed, etc. This will also hold true for landscaping. You may be able to save a little money on landscaping, but the builder will probably need to satisfy the bank with at least spreading some topsoil and grass around a 50 foot radius of the home.

Buying an unfinished home is a great way to enter into the housing market and to get a piece of the American Dream. It allows the potential buyer to grow into the home as their family and financial resources do so. Talk with your builder about the options you may have for buying a home unfinished. You could save a bundle!

For more information on building a new home, see the New Home Construction Bid Sheet from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The New Home Construction Bid Sheet provides extensive and important advice to the future homeowner on how to work with a general home contractor and his sub-contractors in order to ensure your home is built the way you want it to be.

About the Author: Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more home improvement information visit http://www.homeadditionplus.com/ and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com/

Changing a Toilet Wax Ring

If there is water slowly leaking around the base of your toilet, or you constantly smell a foul odor in your bathroom chances are the toilet wax ring has begun to fail and it is time for it to be replaced.

A toilet wax ring is pretty much described by its name. It is a 1 to 2 inch thick ring of wax, frequently found surrounding a plastic funnel. The toilet wax ring works by forming a water/air tight seal between the base of the porcelain toilet base and the toilet flange (plastic or cast iron).

If a toilet rocks when it is sat upon, over time the toilet wax ring will breakdown and fail. This failure manifests itself in the formation of small water and odor leaks around the base of the toilet. If left unchecked, damage could occur to the bathroom floor and unsafe sewer gasses may build up in the home.

A new toilet wax ring should also be replaced any time a toilet is removed (e.g. during the installation of a new bathroom floor).

Replacing a toilet wax ring is easy to do and can be done by the do it yourself homeowner with a little knowledge and some preparation. Replacing a toilet wax ring can be done in about 1 hour assuming there are no extenuating circumstances.

The basic steps required to change a toilet wax ring begin with turning off the water supply line and emptying the tank and bowl of water. The supply line also needs to be disconnected from the toilet.

Next the anchor nuts, secured to the Hold-Down bolts, need to be unscrewed.

The toilet is then lifted off the toilet flange and turned over.

The old toilet wax ring can then be scraped and removed off the base of the toilet, and the floor can be cleaned of any old wax ring residue.

The new toilet wax ring is then pressed onto the base of the toilet and the toilet is then reseated onto the toilet flange.

The anchor nuts are then re-screwed back onto the Hold-down bolts and the supply line reconnected.

The water supply line to the toilet can then be turned back on and the toilet is back in business.

For more help on changing a toilet wax ring see the Changing a Toilet Wax Ring Ebook from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Changing a Toilet Wax Ring EBook will quickly explain to you in detail the step-by-step process for changing the wax ring on a toilet and includes how-to pictures for every key step in the process.

Remodeling a Bathroom and Refinishing and Restoring Baseboard Heating Element Covers

If you are considering remodeling your home's bathroom then you should add refinishing baseboard heating element covers to the list of tasks. Rusty baseboard heating element covers are frequent occurrences in older bathrooms.

The installation of new toilets, tubs, sinks, vanities, and flooring are typically involved in a bathroom remodeling job, however sometimes the heating element is forgotten. If not refinished, the rusty baseboard heating element covers can be even more unsightly when the rest of the bathroom is remodeled. Refinishing your Bathroom's Baseboard Heating Element Covers can play a major role in restoring a new look to your bathroom.

If your home is a few years old and has hot water baseboard heating in it chances are your bathroom baseboard heating element covers are rusted and in need of refinishing.

Bathrooms are more likely to see rusty baseboard heating element covers due to the high moisture levels and condensation that typically occur in them.

Refinishing or restoring baseboard heating elements is something simple enough for a homeowner to do (with the right knowledge) and can save significant dollars. The cost of installing a new baseboard heating element typically involves the purchase of an entire new heating element and a plumber.

For information on refinishing and restoring baseboard heating elements see the Refinishing Baseboard Heating Element Cover Ebook from HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Refinishing Baseboard Heating Element Cover EBook will quickly teach you the step-by-step process for restoring baseboard heating element covers and includes how-to pictures for every key step in the process.