This is the final week of the four-week Bob Vila “Easy Summer Living” Give-Away. The winners of WEEK 1 (a John Deere Lawn Tractor); WEEK 2 (a Fiji Bay All-Weather Wicker Outdoor Chat Group from Hayneedle.com); and WEEK 3 (an Outdoor Living Today Storage Shed from Wayfair.com) have been selected and notified, but we still have WEEK 4 and your chance to win $2,000 in Do It Yourself Home Improvement™ gift cards from InComm.
ENTER NOW and every day this week (from 12:01 a.m. EST Sunday, July 22, through midnight EST Saturday, July 28, 2012) to be eligible to win $2,000 worth of gift cards to spend on your home improvement needs.
The Do It Yourself Home Improvement™ gift cards from InComm are redeemable at thousands of home improvement retailers in the U.S. where Discover® cards are accepted, including The Home Depot, True Value, Sears, Sherwin Williams, Restoration Hardware, Lumber Liquidators and Menard’s.
Think of the projects you would be able to tackle this summer with an additional $2,000 to spend! Put it towards that deck you’ve alway dreamed of. Use it to replace outdated appliances with newer, more efficient models. Upgrade your home with energy-smart replacement windows or invest in paint, shutters, pavers and landscape lighting to improve your home’s overall curb appeal. The choice—and dream—is yours to make.
For official rules and entry, click here. Be sure to enter Bob Vila’s “Easy Summer Living” Give-Away daily to be eligible to win the $2,000 in gift cards from InComm. Contest ends midnigt EST Saturday, July 28, 2012. For more information on the Do It Yourself Home Improvement™ gift card and locations accepted, visit InComm.
The “Bob Vila’s Easy Summer Living Giveaway” sweepstakes is open only to permanent legal U.S. residents. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Contest Period runs from 12:00 a.m. (EST) Sunday, July 1, 2012 through 11:59 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, July 31, 2012. One entry per household per day on BobVila.com. Alternative means of entry for Drawing is available by faxing your name and address to 508-437-8486 during the applicable Entry Period. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. See Official Rules.
Bob Vila Radio: Irrigating Sustainably
Irrigating your yard can really be wasteful and expensive; clean water is a precious commodity, and not just in desert communities.
Photo: sweettmakesthree.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON IRRIGATING SUSTAINABLY, or read text below:
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DIY Deals: Container Gardening
Photo: container-gardening-for-you.com
Whether you’re a city dweller, rural resident, or citizen of suburbia, container gardening is a convenient way to get the best of the backyard on a small, manageable scale. Rectangular planters are ideal for the patio or a balcony vegetable garden, but circular containers and urns are perfect for the gardeners wishing to plant for purely aesthetic purposes. With the middle of summer upon us, there are some fantastic deals to be taken advantage of. We’ve done the bargain-hunting for you; all you need to do is get to the store and start your DIY project today!
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How To: Install Floating Shelves
Photo: Apartment Therapy
Before hanging anything, it’s important to find out what your wall is made of. Ideally, you should attach floating shelves (or anything else you’re hanging) to a wall stud, as this will give you the most supportive base for your project. A stud finder—a hand-held device that uses a magnet to detect metal, such as the nails and screws in the wall studs of your home—can help you locate these.
But what if you want to hang a shelf in a spot with no stud? First, check to see if your wall is made of drywall or plaster. To do this, simply knock with a light fist against the wall. If it sounds hollow, it’s drywall. Not hollow? Probably plaster. Another test is to see how readily a nail goes through. If it slides right in, you’ve got drywall. If it takes a few more taps, then you’ve either got plaster or have found a wall stud (tapping around the sides of the hard area will help you determine which). Knowing the type of wall you’re working with will help you decide what kind of hardware is necessary for your project.
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Bob Vila Radio: Home Recycling Centers
By now we all know that recycling’s the way to go, but to get your whole family on board, you need a system that’s easy to use.
Photo: rickandsusiebuildahouse.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON HOME RECYCLING CENTERS, or read text below:
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- Bathroom >
- Top Tips for Adding Cabinets in the Bathroom
Top Tips for Adding Cabinets in the Bathroom
Contemporary minimalist drawer vanity. Photo: lkrunk.com
Traditionally, bathroom cabinetry was limited to small medicine cabinets above the sink and sink vanities with limited storage space. That’s changing.
In small bathrooms today, homeowners are putting in space-saving plumbing arrangements in order to use every cubic foot of their vanities. It takes some ingenuity, but if you can install the drain, trap, and supply lines and valves close to the wall, then you can buy a vanity with several deep drawers that slide under the sink. Drawers allow better organization of miscellaneous bathroom items—hair dryers and tissue boxes, etc. Drawers also make it easier to see and reach stored items.
If you don’t want to buy a new vanity, or if rearranging plumbing is not your cup of tea, one option is to install a pull-out drawer under the trap with shelves to either side of it. (ShelvesThatSlide.com sells DIY kits at a fair price.)
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