Tips
Vinyl Base Installation Tip
This tip comes from observing Pat Creamer of H & D Creamer in Warsaw install vinyl base at LaPaz Garden Court. Outside corners are always difficult to perfect with vinyl base. It’s not unusual for the adhesive to lose its grip and allow gaps at the corner.
Using scrap cardboard, cut a form to fit the corner. This can be used to fit any corner dimension or configuration, whether 90 degree or not. Each form can be duplicated as necessary using a razor knife. Once you have forms for your corners, here are the steps for using them to create perfect corners:
- Cut the base to fit the linear dimension required.
- Heat the base with a heat gun to maximize flexibility. Be careful not to over heat as this could cause discoloration or could actually melt/burn the vinyl.
- Apply adhesive to base and wall. Place base while adhesive is still tacky. Reheat if necessary, but take care not to over dry the adhesive.
- Apply the form to the corner with an appropriate weight. Leave the form in place until adhesive has set. (Read the specifications for the adhesive you’re using to determine recommended curing time.)
Thanks Pat!
CFL’s
Although compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s) still offer a large amount on energy savings, it turns out that they might not last as long as expected.
According to the Wall Street Journal, when PG&E Corp. first started the CFL rebate program, it expected the bulbs to last 9.4 years. But, the company has decreased the estimated lifespan to 6.3 years, therefore limiting energy savings from the bulbs. Higher burnout rates were experienced in certain locations throughout the home, like in bathrooms and in recessed lighting. Turning them on and off a lot also seems to impair longevity.
From Hardware Retailing Magazine, March 2011
Marshall County Economic Development partners with Small Business Develoment Center
Marshall County Economic Development is pleased to announce that in partnership with the North Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, free, confidential, one-on-one business assistance will be available at our Plymouth office on Miller Drive once a month beginning Wednesday, March 23rd.
Individual appointments to meet with Alan Steele, ISBDC Business Advisor, will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. This opportunity is open to entrepreneurs considering starting a business and those new to business ownership. But it is important to note the wealth of information and support services that SBDC can provide to ANYONE making critical decisions about how to improve their small business – particularly useful for existing strong Marshall County businesses facing new challenges brought by the digital-global-information age!
See the range of services provided below and at the SBDC website at http://www.southbendbcg.com/ for more information on how SBDC can help you succeed in taking your business to the next level.
Adult ADD
I don’t know if I would have passed this test or not. I got distracted and didn’t finish it. <rim shot> Anyway… I ran across this test in Bottom Line Personal, February 15, 2011. I actually scored a four, so I guess I’m borderline. Not something that comes as a surprise to me! If you’re still reading and haven’t clicked on to the next site, you might want to take the test.
Pulverizer
We can’t all be Tim Taylor of Home Improvement or worse, the reality version, Norm Abram from This Old House. You know these guys. They have every tool known to man… and often a few they created on their own.
This doesn’t mean that there isn’t something to having the right tool for the job. Case in point, the Pulverizer is a 3.3 lb demolition hammer with a 1-1/2″ hammer face and two prying faces with serrations for improved bite. Couple this with a rubberized grip to cushion your hand from jarring blows. This is a compact tool that will do a lot of damage on your next demolition project. (Insert your own Tim Taylor simian grunts here.)
Available from Amazon.com for $34.99, it is a fairly economical, heavy duty tool.
What they say about it:
