Our master bathroom remodel project started with replacing a small tub and a window planter. The old tub was a small oval shaped tub with a window planter behind it. The window planter was in a bay window with windows on all three sides. The tub had some lovely pearl colored corian wall panels. It looked nice but wasn’t very functional. We removed the small tub and the planter and this opened up space to remodel my bathroom with a sunken bath tub.

The enclosure around the tub and planter had a pearl style corian wall covering. I purchased more of this corian wall covering. I designed and built a frame around the tub to hold it in place and added corrian around the tub to match the walls. We bought and placed a double wide sunken bath tub with 6 jets in this space. We found a large brass faucet that would reach over the edge of the tub. This bath tub fits nicely in the bathroom and occupies the same space as the old planter and tub.

We purchased and I installed white carrera marble tiles on the floor and exchanged the old toilet for a stylish low flush unit. The sinks and vanity are adjacent to the bathroom in an alcove off the master bedroom. We replaced the sinks with new stylish bowls and faucet fixtures that sit on top of the corian counter. We extended the white carrera marble tiles into this area.

We have a very restful and enjoyable master bathroom remodel which the whole family loves to use and enjoy. This was a great do it yourself home improvement project.

My wife likes to fill the tub and sprinkle bath salts in the water. She will lounge in this salt water for up to an hour.

I enjoy filling the tub with plain warm water and then turning the jets on and adjusting the air intake for a more lively water flow. I can relax for an hour in this massaging water floe in the tub and listen to music.

Our two preteen granddaughters love to fill the tub with water and bubble bath suds. They turn the water jets on and they can get bubbles up to their chins.

Our youngest granddaughter is 2 years old and delights in filling the tub up with about 4 inches of water. She swims around the tub like a fish and writes on the tub walls with water color crayons.

Your home theater system doesn’t need to be a dream system, we have been doing some research on the different systems that can help you design your own system. The decision are many from what type of video monitors, dvds, receivers, speakers to a service provider.

Before we start we need to comprehend a few technical terms and standards to understand how to build a home theater. This is a fun and rewarding home improvement project.

High Definition TV, HDTV, the new broadcast standard format for digital TV signals is ATSC for the USA and DVB for Europe and most of the rest of the world. HDTV also supports surround sound audio 5.1-channel.

The USA plans to stop broadcasting analog signals on Feb. 17, 2009 for large metropolitan areas, rural areas will still have analog signals. If you live in a rural area, check with your local TV stations to see if they are going to switch to digital broadcasting.

If you have a newer analog TV set in the USA , you may still be able to use the old TVs. There is a “TV Converter Box Coupon Program” that USA house holds can use for two $40.00 coupons which can be used to get a qualified converter box. The new HDTVs have an HD tuner built into it.

HDTV systems are describe by three parameters, frames or fields per second, the scanning system, and number of lines in the vertical display.

The progressive p scanning system draws an image per refresh frame. The interlaced i scanning system draws every other line then draws in the other lines on a second pass per frame.

A monitor with a progressive scan with 1280 x 720 pixels at 60 frames per second is called a 720p60 format. A monitor with an interlaced scan with 1920 x 1080 pixels at 50 frames per second is called a 1080i50. Some HDTVs have a 120 HZ refresh rate or frames per second.

Picking the best home theater receiver for your home theater is a challenging effort. The price varies from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. How do you pick the right one for your home. Well first you need to understand what all the receiver can do and what you need to build a home theater.

Blu-ray has won the next generation DVD player battle. The Blu-ray DVD unit still has a high cost. It may take a year or more for the price of these units to come down.

Do you want a stereo system or a surround sound system? If you want a surround sound system, should you choose a 5.1, 6.1 or 71. system? How big of a theater room do you have? You need to coordinate the size of the system to your space.

Also in our area the Telephone company is adding fiber optic cable so that will be another choice for a distribution system of either fiber,cable or satellite.

The choices are many on remodeling, there are wood, tile, or linoleum flooring, and they come in many various styles, colors and designs. Each kind needs a different skill to place them but to get the floor ready is the same for any type of improvement. The type and tone you determine to use all depends on your inclination and wishes for your home.

Wood planks can come in thickness of 1/4?, 5/16?, 3/8?, 1/2?, 5/8″ and 3/4″ or (6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, 13 mm, 16 mm and 19 mm). They can be solid hardwood, or engineered wood. They can be tongue and grove or interlocking planks. They can be pre-finished wood floors or unfinished which means they must be sanded and finished after they are installed. The engineered wood will normally have a wear layer of 2 mm to 4 mm thick. They can be attached to the sub floor by nails, glue or floating, 1/4″ thick planks cannot be floated.

You need to find out the method that is recommended or required for the flooring you want to use. What is the sub-floor cement or wood? Cement sub-floors are usually on the ground or sub ground level. You need to check the moisture content, and if it exceeds the recommended content then a moisture barrier such as a plastic sheet needs to be placed over the cement. Check the manufacturers recommendation.

You can install this flooring as a do it yourself project, learn all the recommendations, by talking with knowledgeable people. Decide which material you want to use and how are you going to fasten it.

If the manufacturer requires that you glue the floor down, check out the process, you may have to use their glue, and they may have put a tracer element in it to verify if you have used their glue. Does the manufacturer require that a professional install the flooring?

Tile flooring can be either ceramic or vinyl. If the application is for a high traffic area such as a hall way or entrance or if it is a high moisture area such as bathroom?

Ceramic tile can have a glazed top layer that is very pretty but can be scratched easily in high traffic areas. Other kinds or unglazed tile will have the color clear through the tile and are resistant to scratching. Ceramic tile can be installed over a sub flooring of cement or wood which must be structurally stable. A cement board recommended for wood sub floors can be installed and fastened to the sub floor per the manufacturers recommendation.

Vinyl tiles can be the least expensive tile and easiest to install. They may be installed over an existing resilient flooring, over plywood on wood floors or on dry concrete. Clean, dry and level the sub floor, remove all oil, wax or grease. Study all the pros and cons for the flooring you select and the job it must do.

Linoleum can be fabricated from natural materials such as linseed oil, wood or cork powder, resins and ground limestone which are environmentally prudent. Linoleum can come in many rich colors and patterns. It comes in a sheet that is usually 2 meters wide (6′ 7″) and 2.5 mm thick is suitable for household use.

It can be installed over most sub floors but if installing over concrete, the moisture emission rate must be with in limits set by the manufacturer. A high pH level of the concrete can ruin the adhesive and the adhesive may not bond to the concrete if it has a sealer on it. If two sections of linoleum are butted together, they must be sealed either with special seam sealer or a color coordinated linoleum rod that is melted with a specialized welding tool.

Linoleum may expand in width and shrink in length over time so this needs to be compensated for when it is installed.

Designed and build your own water garden Koi pond. I visited Japan a number of times and always admired their Koi and water gardens. Our Koi pond design has three ponds, the top pond has water hyacinths that float on the water and filters it, the water is very clear. Water falls from the top pond and aerates the water in the middle pond. The main pond is about 2000 gallons of water where the Koi and water lilies thrive.

It is very soothing and relaxing to sit beside the pond listening as the water tumbles down a small water fall. The dragon flies are darting in and around shrubs and plants, crickets are chirping, bees are buzzing and humming birds are flittering around. I can sit for hours in a lounge chair listening and watching this while the Koi swim lazily around in the pond.

The water lilies have large pink and red blossoms and the water is crystal clear. I have about 6 water lily plants in there and they cover almost all the pond in the summer time. They die off in the fall back to their roots and re-grow in the spring as the days get longer and warmer.

We have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an correct number as they never stop moving. I buy small Koi that are 2 to 3 inches long. They grow to over 10 inches.

We have had a lot of visitors to our pond. The most frequent ones are egrets. They land on our roof or the neighbors roofs then swoop down to our patio and wade into our pond. If I or the grandchildren see the egret, we let our dog out and he scares the egret off. He won’t jump into the pond.

The raccoons like to play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I saw a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi in our water garden pond.

I used stakes and strings to outline the pond design for our do it yourself Koi pond. I placed 3″ PVC pipes from the pump in the lower pond to the top pond. I used an asphalt paste on the block wall before I piled dirt against it. I placed 4 railroad ties two layers high in an L shape to make the front edge of the upper pond and the back edge of the middle pond for the waterfall.

I then made a 1/4 circle ridge from the ends of the ties to make a small middle pond where water would roll over the full 1/4 circle edge into the bottom pond. I dug the lower pond about 18″ deep putting most of the dirt into the retaining walls of the upper two ponds. I covered all the ponds with a PVC liner that I cut and glued to fit.

I bought and installed an above ground 1/5 horse power pump with a 2″ inlet and outlet. This was the right amount of water flow over the waterfall. Some times I would have to re-priming the pump when the inlet pipe sucked air.

I finally found a submersible 1/3 horse power water pump that was OK to use in a Koi pond. Check the fine print, some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond. I found this out after about 6 months when I tried to get a replacement pump.

We’ve had this pond design for about 15 years. We have had good luck with this design and the raccoons and egrets like it too.

I decided to build this Koi pond after visiting Japan a number of times and admired their water gardens ponds and Koi. Our design has three ponds, the top pond has water hyacinths in it and is the filter for the pond, the water is crystal clear. The middle pond has a waterfall from the top pond where the water gets aerated. The bottom pond holds about a 2000 gallons of water and the koi.

We sit beside our water garden pond listening to soothing and relaxing water rushing down a small water fall. The dragon flies are fluttering in and around shrubs and plants, crickets are tweeting, bees are whizzing and humming birds are dancing around while the Koi swim lackadaisically around in the water garden pond.

The water lilies have large pink and red blossoms and the water is crystal clear. I have about 6 water lily plants in there and they cover almost all the pond in the summer time. They die off in the fall back to their roots and re-grow in the spring as the days get longer and warmer.

I have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an accurate count as they never stop swimming. I purchase small Koi, 2 to 3 inches long and place them in the pond. They will grow to over 10 inches long.

Egrets are the most frequent visitors to our pond. They will fly onto our roof or the neighbors roof then drop down onto our patio and wade into our pond. If we see the egret, we will let our dog chase them off. He hasn’t jumped into the pond since he was a pup.

We have had raccoons play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I watched a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi.

I used stakes and strings to outline the pond design for our do it yourself Koi pond. I placed 3″ PVC pipes from the pump in the lower pond to the top pond. I used an asphalt paste on the block wall before I piled dirt against it. I placed 4 railroad ties two layers high in an L shape to make the front edge of the upper pond and the back edge of the middle pond for the waterfall.

I made a 1/4 circle ridge with about an 8 foot radius from the ends of the ties to make a pie shaped middle pond where water would flow over this ridge into the bottom pond. I made the lower pond about 18″ deep and put most of the dirt into the retaining walls of the upper two ponds. I enclose all the ponds with a PVC liner that was cut and glued to fit.

I bought and installed an above ground 1/5 horse power pump with a 2″ inlet and outlet. This was the right amount of water flow over the waterfall. Some times I would have to re-priming the pump when the inlet pipe sucked air.

I found a 1/3 horse power submersible pump that could be used in a fish pond. Some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond, check the fine print. I found this out the hard way when I tried to get a replacement pump.

I have rebuilt our pond about 3 times but we have had good luck with this design and the raccoons and egrets like it too. We’ve had this pond design for over 15 years.

Designed and build your own water garden Koi pond. I visited Japan a number of times and always admired their Koi and water gardens. Our Koi pond design has three ponds, the top pond has water hyacinths that float on the water and filters it, the water is very clear. Water falls from the top pond and aerates the water in the middle pond. The main pond is about 2000 gallons of water where the Koi and water lilies thrive.

We enjoy relaxing beside the pond listening to the water cascades over the waterfall into the pond. Dragon flies dart in and around the shrubs and plants, bees and humming birds are busy flying from flower to flower. We sit for hours lazily in our lounge chairs listening and watching while the Koi swim around in the water garden pond.

The water lilies have large pink and red blossoms and the water is crystal clear. I have about 6 water lily plants in there and they cover almost all the pond in the summer time. They die off in the fall back to their roots and re-grow in the spring as the days get longer and warmer.

I have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an accurate count as they never stop swimming. I purchase small Koi, 2 to 3 inches long and place them in the pond. They will grow to over 10 inches long.

We have unwanted visitors to our water garden pond. Egrets will stop on our or the neighbors roofs then fly down and wade into our pond. If we see the egret, we will let our dog out to scare off the egret.

The raccoons like to play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I saw a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi in our water garden pond.

I used stakes and strings to outline the pond design for our do it yourself Koi pond. I placed 3″ PVC pipes from the pump in the lower pond to the top pond. I used an asphalt paste on the block wall before I piled dirt against it. I placed 4 railroad ties two layers high in an L shape to make the front edge of the upper pond and the back edge of the middle pond for the waterfall.

I constructed a 1/4 circle ridge from the ends of the ties to make the front edge of the middle pond where water would tumble over the edge into the bottom pond. I removed about 18″ of dirt for the lower pond, putting the dirt into the walls of the upper ponds. I put a PVC liner that we cut and glued to fit over the ponds.

I bought and installed an above ground 1/5 horse power pump with a 2″ inlet and outlet. This was the right amount of water flow over the waterfall. Some times I would have to re-priming the pump when the inlet pipe sucked air.

I found a submersible pump that is 1/3 horse power and was OK to use in a fish water garden pond. You need to check the fine print as some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond. I found this out the hard way when after about 6 months my pump failed and I tried to get a replacement pump.

I designed and built this water garden pond about 15 years ago and we have had good luck with it. The raccoons and egrets like it also.

Food preparation is done here. It must be easy to clean and sanitize. You want it to be peaceful and colorful. You need to select your counter carefully and deliberately. You want to do it right the first time as it is a major upgrade and expense.

There are any choices to make in selecting counters for your home improvement project. Do you want a natural stone, an engineered stone, wood, tile, Solid Surface Acrylic or Laminate?

Natural stones have a depth and beauty of a polished surface that is hard to match, like granite, limestone, and soapstone. They must be kept cleaned, sealed and waxed as they are porous and will become discolored if not properly cared for.

An engineered stone has a beautiful polished surface that usually uses quartz rock and a resin, to bind it together. There are many colors and blends of rock that are very durable. You can clean and sterilize them easily and they do not require waxing.

Solid Surface Acrylic such as Corian or LG Hi-Macs is a fabricated counter that comes in many different colors. It is durable and easy to clean, if the surface becomes discolored, it is easy to take a fine sand paper of 400 grit or higher and lightly sand out the stain. It can also be bonded together at the seams so that it looks and feels like one continuous counter. Even the sink can be built in with out any seams. It makes a lovely counter.

Wood counters have a gorgeous look and feel to them but they require upkeep and care to keep them looking good such as teak, maple, cherry, walnut or mahogany. They are easily scratched, burned or stained.

Tile counters come in many different colors, and sizes. They are durable and easy to assemble. They can be cleaned easily, but you need to seal the grout between the tiles as it can become stained and is hard to clean. Tiles are easy to brake or chip, so they must be taken care of.

A concrete kitchen counter can be built in any shape you want. A form is built to hold the concrete until it sets. It requires knowledge and skill to make a quality counter. It must be sealed and waxed to keep it from staining.

Laminates, such as Formica or Wilsonart, have a durable surface and come in numerous styles and colors. They are easy to clean and to take care of but they can be burnt.

My sons and I built this 6 shelf lazy susan pantry cabinet into the closet.

We bought two 4 by 8 foot by 3/4 inch oak panels, and cut each panel into four 2 by 4 foot pieces. We needed six pieces to make the six shelves. We cut them to fit inside the pantry closet by using our template as a guide.

We transfered the template design onto one of the 2 by 4 foot plywood pieces. We used the center point of the door as the pivot point for the router to route out a 14.375 inch radius half circle out of the plywood to make the back shelf. We then shortened the radius of the router to 13.625 inches to make the half circle 3/4 of an inch smaller so that it would easily fit into the half circle of the back shelf.

We added a 1.5 by 1/4 inch oak lip around front of the back shelves and the half circle shelves so that food items would not fall off as the lazy susan is rotated.

We fabricated a pivot post out of three 1 by 4 inch by 8 foot oak boards. The three boards were glued together as a 3 by 3 inch post 8 foot long. We drilled 5/8 inch hole in the bottom end 3 inches deep and fit a 4 by 5/8 inch steel rod in it and drilled a 5 inch deep hole for the top and placed a 7 by 5/8 inch steel rod in the top hole. The lazy susan pivots around these rods which are anchored in the floor at the bottom by a thrust bearing which we made and to the inside wall of the pantry closet at the top with a pillow block bearing.

We then mounted three 70 inch double track standard rails to the post on three sides. These rails were used to mount three sets 11 inch double track brackets for the half circle shelves to sit on. We cut a notch into each half circle shelf so that they would fit around the 3 by 3 inch post and rails snugly.

I sanded, stained and varnished all the pieces for the lazy susan pantry cabinet shelves. We then took them inside to the pantry closet for final assembly. We placed the back shelves in the closet first and then mounted the pivot post in the thrust bearing on the floor and attached it to the wall with a 5/8 inch pillow block bearing. We placed the half shelves on the brackets of the pivot post.

We tested the lazy susan pantry cabinet to make sure it would pivot around the center post and not hit the back shelves. It worked and it is easy to get to all of the stored items on the back shelf and all the items on the lazy susan pantry cabinet as it swings out for easy access. My wife loves it.

Our pantry cabinet design began after my wife got fed up with trying to reach and find items in the back of our storage closet.

It had 5 shelves from ceiling to floor and was so deep. You could store a lot of stuff in there, but you couldn’t get to over half of it with out pulling a bunch of stuff off of the shelves.

We searched for solutions and were dismayed at the wasted spaces they left in the pantry. So I designed a lazy susan pantry cabinet with 6 shelf and they fit into the back shelves. This design used all the space in the closet.

The pantry cabinet is 76 inches high, 23″ deep, 27″ wide at the back and 41″ wide at the front. The pantry is large and can hold a lot of storage items.

I decided to make the lazy susan as a one half semi circle shelf with the pivot post at the front of the closet door. I wanted to make the Lazy Susan shelves as large as possible so that we all could reach into the back of the pantry easily.

We had to find the center of pantry entrance and still clear the pantry door as the Lazy Susan pivoted. After we found this point we mounted a 5/8 inch pillow block bearing to the top inside of the pantry door. We hung a plum bob from the center of this bearing above the front center of the pantry door to the point marked on the floor.

You need to make a poster board template of the closet floor of all the measurements and drawings. Each shelf has a different size so make sure you know the largest and smallest size. You should be able to come up with one size that will work for all shelves. The shelves can then be cut to the smallest size and they should fit any location.

My wife, my sons and I decided to paint the inside of the pantry a white color so that it would be bright and easy to find items on the back shelves and the lazy susan shelves. We wanted to used all oak plywood panels and stain them a natural oak color.