WNY Handyman

If you have a backsplash in your kitchen that you really don’t like, but don’t want to go to the trouble to do a major tile job, consider some of the peel and stick alternatives.  If you can do it for your floors, you can do it for your walls.  In addition to that, the price isn’t too bad for a real unique look.  I found some tile at Amazon for between $3.50 and $5.50 per square foot (click the image below for details).  The price depends on the color that you choose.  Oddly enough, copper was the least expensive option.

You could even go over an existing tile backsplash.  You will have to address any exposed ends in a unique way, but the look is completely new in just a few hours.

The idea behind this project came to my attention while at Home Depot. They carry a beautiful peel and stick tile product from Aspect Metal Tiles.  The tiles are 3″ x 6″, come in boxes of 8, and are available in 4 colors. The price is around $20 a box, so you can see how pricey this option might be with each box covering just 1 square foot.

Metal backsplash tile installation

You can find other options out there if you look hard enough, so if you are after something unique, you might want to give Ebay a try.  There are manufacturers who well direct such as www.stainlesssteeltile.com. This company seems to have the largest variety of designs and colors available.  The installation isn’t the peel and stick type, but it is still very simple with the use of a tube of construction adhesive.  The unique tile shapes provided make this a great source for a unique back splash look.

Good luck with your tile backsplash project.  A couple of hundred dollars and a few hours of your time can have your kitchen looking like a new, modern home.

I received an ad via e-mail from Home Depot today.  In the ad it discusses the savings that you can achieve with an LED bulb over a traditional Halogen or incandescent bulb.  The savings claim really surprised me.  The claim is that you could save $30 per year per bulb when replacing your incandescent/halogen with an LED (view the graphic in this post to the right to read the claim).

The part that surprised me the most was to think that a single bulb in my home could cost more than $30 per year.  How many bulbs are in your home.  Just looking around, I have 10 bulbs in my home office alone.  As with most, we won’t be turning on every light in a room, but it really got me thinking about the cost of running the bulbs that we do have.

I did a quick search to see if I could find a light bulb cost calculator.  Sure enough (the Internet has everything).  I located a comparison calculator at the following site: http://www.ledwaves.com/led-calc/index.php

Energy Efficient LED Bulb

If you are looking to find the savings number in your home, you will need a few bits of information.

• Bulb wattage
• Your electricity cost per kilowatt hour (KWH).  You should be able to locate this on your electric bill
• Cost of bulb (easy to estimate)
• Life of bulb (check the package or take the average suggested)

The math becomes easy when you have these numbers. The wattage of the bulb will determine the energy used. The calculator will take that number, along with the hours used per day and multiply it times your electricity cost.  That will provide you with the cost per bulb.

I was surprised to find that a 75 watt bulb in my home, on for 6 hours per day, could cost about $11 per year.  The math used in the Home Depot ad must be getting rather liberal.

One nice function of the LED bulb calculator is that it will provide the math for the break even point of a new LED bulb. This will factor in the bulb life expectancy and cost of the bulb.

After seeing that the LED being pitched by Home Depot was $49, I did a little checking.  Not a bad price.  Some of the replacement LED’s are made specifically to replace halogen bulbs in recessed lighting fixtures.  It can screw in an provide a more modern look for your old 6″ cans.

Can you stomach the $49 price tag?

It seems like everyone loves a makeover. We renovated a home in Lancaster NY and never posted the before/after shots. The difference is pretty dramatic. The project seemed to take forever, but we didn’t have the man hours to commit to getting it done quickly. .

Take a look at the before and after photos:
Lancaster NY Renovation.

Garfield before and after photos

We took this chopped up floor plan and opened it up to give it a modern feel. We had to move some windows and add others to make the kitchen functional. Overall, it turned out great. Take a peek.

In the 50′s plastic wall tile was used in a lot of homes. If you want to get rid of it, you might be considering removing the tile. That probably isn’t the best idea. The adhesive that was used in a lot of these installations is very tough, and you might even find that it is still not completely cured behind the tile.

A good option to address the old plastic wall tile is to cover it with decorative panels. Not necessarily panelling, but panels that are current and attractive.

In our case, we used beadboard panels from Georgia Pacific (the brand name is PlyBead. The panels are 3/8″ thick and installed easily by using a construction adhesive along with some finish nails to hold in place until the adhesive set. We didn’t do anything to prepare the plastic tile other than cleaning the surface. Since the panels were only 3/8″ thick, we did not have to replace the window or door trim near the panels. In many cases, you can find decorative wall panels that are from 1/8″ to 3/8″.

Another nice product option is called “Styleline” (again from GP). There are many decorative options for this product such as a leather look, or a linen look. I know that Lowe’s carries the product but I am not sure about Home Depot. The cost can add up if you hare a large area to cover, but the time to complete the project will be short.

Your only other feasible option is probably going to be to tear out the existing plaster or drywall behind the tile. The adhesive isn’t going to want to come off cleanly, so a complete demo is probably called for. If you choose this option take the opportunity to update wiring, plumbing and to insulate the walls that you demolish.

Good luck.

If you need a uniquely sized shim, or spacer, that is rather thin, you should consider some items that you might have laying around and will give you the uniform thickness that you need.

Consider the following to use as a uniform thickness shim. They are inexpensvie items and things that you might have around your garage, workshop, basement or attic.

• Formica
• Laminate Flooring
• Pegboard or Hardboard
• Paneling
• Vinyl Tile

One of my favorites is Linoleum or vinyl tile (the 12″ x 12″ stick on variety). If you have a couple of peel and sticks around, you can cut them to size and layer as needed. The best part here is that you can use the peel and stick backing to hold it in place.