Monday, March 31st, 2008
For some reason, I am getting a magazine from Sam’s Club. Perhaps it is because we used to be members of the store. A few months ago, we stopped going because we just couldn’t take another bite of their food. Not that it was bad, but let’s just say there wasn’t too much variety.
Back to getting their magazine. Anyway, as I was tossing it into my recycling bin this afternoon, I noticed a big full page ad that read, “Eco Home Makeover.” I saw a picture of a wind turbine as well as solar panels on a roof. It also had a price in large print - $44,000.
Needless to say, I was a little intrigued. Apparently, Sam’s Club is now offering energy efficient home services. Here is what you get for the $44,000:
- One week vacation while your home is being “greened”
- Solar panels
- Wind turbine
- Internet monitoring
- Energy Star appliances for kitchen and laundry
- New Energy Star lighting throughout house (CFLs)
- A housewarming party upon your return home
- PBS will cover the renovation
I’m sure there will be some opinion out there about this, but that doesn’t seem bad to me at all. At least a big retailer is doing something like this. Also, it’s good that this kind of stuff is put right in front of the faces of Sam’s Club shoppers. Sometimes it needs to be put right in front of some people’s faces, if you know what I mean.
They claim that this makeover will be able to provide energy to a 3,000 - 4,000 square foot house. That’s not bad at all.
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Saturday, December 1st, 2007
Ok, I am sure you all think I am rather crazy at this point. If someone told me they wanted to use a belt sander to sand their walls, I would think they were nuts too. That’s why I am writing this post. To show that actually, you are the crazy ones. Just kidding.
I went to Lowe’s this morning to get what was on my list (previous post). I got everything, except for the respirator. I found my old one downstairs. The best things I got were the shims and the Dewalt Belt Sander. I have to say, after talking to the guy who works in the tool department, I was a little nervous about this whole belt sander thing.
Well, here’s how it went. I got home and unpacked the sander. I found a nice spot on the wall that requires some sanding. I plugged the sander in and put it against the wall. A small part of me thought it was going to go right through the minute I hit go. Well, it didn’t. It did a very nice job of finding the high spots and lowering them. Here, take a look.
This is a before shot. I am sure you can see the imperfection in there.
This is the after shot. I spent just a few minutes sanding this. Can you see where the high spots were? Also, this roughed up the paint enough to let the skim coat of joint compound stick better.
What, you can’t really see what I am talking about yet? Take a look at the next picture and tell me you still don’t.
Uhhhh, can you see that? I have no idea how the people before us did that. I also have to say, the paint is like cement. It’s hard and slippery. The sander works much better once it gets through that tough surface. This thing is going to make this job much easier.
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