Somewhere along the way, I’ve developed a reputation for barbecuing food; king of the grill, fire champ, if you catch my drift. It seems wherever I go, I’m expected to drop my drink and take care of the ‘cueing, while everyone else sits around relaxing and watching me like I’m some master chef. Not that I mind, so long as everything’s in perfect order. A champ cannot perform well in bad conditions.

Problems always arise with out-of-tune grills, barbecues with hot and cold spots, low heat, flare-ups or just plain dirty grilling surfaces. But during the outdoor season, the barbecue acts as your kitchen, and how long could you put up with an oven that didn’t work? People live with these issues as if there’s nothing that can be done, but barbecues, like all tools, require yearly maintenance to keep working at top form. That said, the fixes, like everything BBQ, are easy.

Before I continue, I should clarify: I am talking about gas-powered barbecues, not the traditional hibachi or other charcoal cookers. If you’re a traditionalist and consider gas a sin, skip this lesson. For the rest of us, read on.

Step 1: The Burner

Hot and cold spots, flare-ups and other griller eccentrics are almost always related to the burner, the griller’s engine. Depending on how often you use your grill (year-round for me, 52% of other Canadians, according to a recent study by the makers of the fine Weber grills), it eventually burn out and need replacing.

Simply lift off the grills, pull aside the coals or “flavour wave” and lift out the burner. Not all burners are the same size or fit, so wrap it inside a small bag (so it doesn’t make everything dirty) and take it into a hardware store, where you can show it to the guy and get a replacement. For about $40 you’ll have, essentially, a new ‘cue.

Step 2: Spiders and Rust

Spiders and rust … sounds like an Iron Maiden album. New barbecues come equipped with “spider guards” that prevent these small critters from entering the venturi tubes (the metal connectors that feed gas to the burner). This tends to happen over the winter, with spiders and their webs, plus other dirt and debris, clogging up the pipes.

While you’re at the hardware store, pick up a $4 venturi brush, which is basically a long, skinny pipe cleaner with a bristled end. Then simply push the brush through the pipes till they’re clean and free.

Still in a cleaning frame of mind? Now’s the time to get rid of any rust buildup around the venturi tubes, burners and grates. Fine steel wool (#000 or #0000) and some light machine oil should get rid of any surface rust; if the decay runs deeper, you might need to replace a part, but here we’re usually talking about the burner, which should be replaced every two to three years anyway. Same goes for the rubber gas hose similar to the hoses under your car hood; if it’s cracked, replace it.

Rusty propane tanks should not be tinkered with. As a general rule, these tanks last about eight to 10 years. (Quick tip: get two tanks so that if one empties while you’re cooking, you can quickly hook up the full tank without ruining the meal.)

Step 3: Add new coals

Most gas barbecues don’t require charcoal coals because they come with what’s often referred to as a “flavour wave,” which reflects and directs flames while creating smoke from dripping juices and oils. However, that said, you can certainly add charcoal coals to your ‘cue, just make sure you replace them every season or so.

Besides coals, you can also play around with pieces of soaked wood (apple wood smoked ribs, anyone?), such as hickory. Use your own, or buy specially soaked shavings from a specialty food store.

Step 4: You’re Done

That’s right, there is no Step 4. See, I told you, barbecuing is easy living done well, or in my case, medium rare.

Lately I’ve been enjoying the ramblings of Ohio blogger DIY Diva, a self-described “power tool wielding badass” in Ohio. When she’s not shredding legal documents or dreaming of owning a mini-lathe, this ripped jeans–wearing woman is busy remodeling her 80-year-old house.

I mention the Diva because she’s the one who turned me on to Handyguys Podcast. If you’re not familiar with podcasting, basically it’s a downloadable audio or video program, like a TV or radio show, that you can watch or listen to on your computer. Handyman’s Podcast is a weekly advice show (posted every Thursday) put together by two guys with ample reno experience.

The show covers questions sent in by listeners, as well as general how-to advice on everything from deck refinishing to spring cleaning your lawnmower to head-to-head tool tests. It’s a great show led by two entertaining and informed DIYers.

Handyman’s Podcast isn’t the only home-reno show in the blogosphere. Podcasting works well with renos because you get to hear from real people about what they went through and how to solve problems in a way that doesn’t always work in books or magazines. Here are some other remodelling podcasts:

Podcast Directory lists several building-related podcasts, including shows on tiling and insulation.

HGTV (Home and Garden Television) offers tons of podcasts covering everything from basement makeovers to home wine storage.

If you read Popular Science magazine, you’re already familiar with The Toolmonger, a guy who tests and reviews tools like a one-man Consumer Reports. The podcasts feature The Toolmonger offering his opinions and advice on buying and comparing tools.

Of course, with all online content, please use caution when deciding who’s an expert and who’s blowing hot air; not everyone’s the expert they claim to be.

My friend Antony and I often joke about the pleasant feeling evoked by a “Canadian Basement.” You know what I mean: dark, wood panelling, old curtains, shag rugs and often a hint of brown-orange-yellow. Step downstairs and it’s 1976.

Yes, some nostalgia is fine, but when your whole house starts reeking of a bygone era, it might be time for an overhaul into the new century.

The fine folks over at One Project Closer, a blog co-written by two married couples from Baltimore County, Maryland, tackled this very subject in a post about sanding away stipple ceilings.

Stipple ceilings were very popular in the late 1970s and 1980s as a simple, cheap way for homebuilders and cutoff jeans–wearing DIYers to finish a drywall or sheetrock ceiling without having to mud or sand the drywall joints. Often confused with popcorn or spray-on ceilings, stipple ceilings are renowned for great acoustic properties (they reduce room echo) but the porous, crater-like texture looks dated, too space-like, too 1970s, too, well, I hate to use this word, groovy.

If your home was built before 1990, chances are it’s still got some outdated designs. While my heart belongs to wood paneling, some people—most people—aren’t keen on the dark, dingy look, so the panels are the first to go, replaced by drywall or painted over.

Next stop, bathrooms with outdated bulky cabinets and enough sinks to please the Solid Gold Dancers. As a general rule, getting rid of a cluttered look with big drawers is Step 1 in any bathroom update.

Of course, ceilings and counters aren’t the only parts of your home that can quickly look dated. Walls, especially wallpaper-covered ones, can look out of style before the glue dries. But then again, recovering walls with paint or paper is also the quickest way to bring something from 1978 to 2008 in a weekend.

So now that your home is completely up-to-date, ever wonder which of its features will look dated in 10 years?

A few weeks ago, during Easter dinner, my wife’s cousin pulled out his new iTouch gizmo. He wanted to show me some pictures he’d taken at his cottage. Pretty soon he was showing off his device, logging online through a wireless network—over turkey and wine. Then came the chainsaw videos.

YouTube, as I’ve mentioned before, is teeming with silly, sometimes dangerous acts caught on video. And while the Paris Hiltons of the world think “bedroom” when it comes to dangerous acts caught on tape, some of us think chainsaw, as in: wielding a five-pound tool spinning a chain that would sever your head in five seconds … and using it as a toy!

Dumb acts with a chainsaw: entertaining, yes; something you should try at home, no. Instead, sit back and learn from these lessons.

Lesson 1: Safety harnesses are key when climbing a tree in order to cut it down.

Lesson 2: When removing a tree, yelling “timber” isn’t enough—make sure the surrounding area is clear too.

Lesson 3: If chainsaws make you nervous, try another tool (U.S. readers only).

Lesson 4: In the esteemed words of Dean Martin, “if you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt.” Same goes for chainsaws.

Lesson 5: Chainsaws eliminate the need for hotdog buns.

Lesson 6: Ask yourself, does the tree really need to come down?

Lesson 7: Cutting down a tree with a chainsaw? Easy. Filming it? Not quite as simple.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games when it comes to deadly, gas-powered tools. Here’s some great video on the dos and don’ts of chainsaw operation and maintenance. And its follow-ups, how to remove or tighten the chain.

Safety equipment is a genuinely crucial component of operating a chainsaw. Especially important: how to put on chaps.

But if you’re into talking about chainsaws, learning about the difference between electric and gas, or just looking at pretty pictures of these fine-toothed beauties, the recently launched Chainsaw Blog is where it’s at. No one seems to be sporting chaps, but it’s probably because they know better.

Most of us—Tom and Katie, if you’re reading this, skip to next blog posting—care about our home’s resale value, even if we’re not planning to move anytime soon. We renovate for more space, to update appearances and to increase the value of the house. With the proliferation of home reno TV shows and magazines, homeowners are renovating more than ever before, fixing up rather than selling. Canadians spent $9.2 billion on renos in the first quarter of 2007, an increase of more than eight per cent over last year, according to Statistics Canada, with similar growth in the U.S.

When it comes to return on investment, not all renos are created equal. Some huge investments (installing a swimming pool, for example) curry zero ROI, while seemingly simple and inexpensive quick-fixes (painting kitchen cupboards) instantly up the ante when it comes to resale value. According to the Royal LePage Renovations and Returns Survey, released this week, the top three ROI renos are interior painting, installing hardwood flooring and kitchen upgrades.

The survey ranked renos according to approximate cost and approximate ROI, grouping projects by DIY and jobs that likely require professional help. In the DIY category, painting the interior ($1,000) curries a 50 to 100 per cent ROI; replacing carpeting with laminate ($2,000) is 50 to 75 per cent ROI; and installing new light fixtures ($2,000) has about 60 to 70 per cent ROI.

In the professional section, installing an additional bathroom on the main floor (less than $5,000) has a staggering 80 to 100 per cent ROI; renovating existing bathrooms ($6,500) equals 75 to 100 ROI; and a kitchen reno ($13,500) offers the same 75 to 100 per cent ROI.

The survey outlines 11 upgrades, from simple to complex, that will increase your home’s value. You can read the details yourself here.

Of course, Royal LePage isn’t the first organization to look at home renos and ROI; the web offers an abundance of surveys, some more applicable than others depending on location and climate. Here is a small assortment:

Kitchen design blogger Laurie Burke has a great post on her page, talking about Fidelity National’s Cyberhomes site that allows you to check ROI according to your zip code. You can discover, for example, that if you live within, say, 10 miles of Matt Damon in South Beach, Florida, and you decide to renovate an existing bathroom, the $6,500 spent will increase your home’s value by $8,765. Not bad at all.

Utah blogger Chris Pearson outlines the top 3 rooms to invest in here. He also warns against “over-improving” your home to the point where it doesn’t fit in with the neighborhood and is actually hard to sell. Neverland Ranch, anyone?

CNN warns us that some renos actually lower your home’s resale value. Swimming pools, boxy additions and trendy finishes or fixtures like a 40-jet, Eliot Spitzer-worthy hot tub, are costly to install, have low ROI and might just have your neighbours thinking you never left 1974.

Last week I talked about portable tool organizers, a topic that’s dear to my heart now that I’ve begun my springtime cleanup. Having a mess of screws, glues, tape and tools tangled together inside my front-hall closet was causing me to curse. Now that I’ve got that under control, it’s time to tackle the rest of the house.If you’ve ever worked in a professional kitchen, or even watched shows on The Food Network, you know the French term “mise en place,” which means, loosely, “put in place” or “prepared and ready to use.” The term is equally applicable to every room in the house, but especially shared areas. Is there anything more annoying than looking for something—scissors, bike tire pump, the remote—and discovering it’s nowhere to be found?

Luckily, the web is full of home organizing tips, although like exercise and dieting sites, most offer “the easy way” rather than giving effective, realistic tips. There are some gems though:

Organized Home is like an online magazine dedicated exclusively to getting your home in order. While it may drift into women’s magazine clichés (“Many hands make light work! Reward the team with dinner at a pizza parlor!”), it does contain some great ideas for cutting clutter and getting kids motivated to help clean.

Organization can become a personal religion for some—that’s why some of us dust and vacuum when we’re feeling anxious—and it follows that those who are passionate about keeping clean become tidying evangelists. Blogger Tracy runs a site dedicated to her passion: tips and techniques for an efficient, well-organized house. Tips to Organize Life includes room-by-room plans for keeping clutter at bay, and runs the gamut from a step-by-step checklist for the bathroom to creating a schedule for your home office.

OnlineOrganizing.com has a very cool tool in its clickable house; click on a room and up pops a list of organization tips and ideas. The site also features a clickable office, 15-minute quick fixes and checklists used by professional organizers.

Most often, the obstacle to getting organized is knowing when to let go of useless clutter and collections and how to keep regular, everyday items in their mise en place. General rule: if it’s something you use regularly, keep it in an easily accessible spot; if it’s something you use infrequently, put it away and take note of where it’s hidden so the next time you need that tire pump ASAP, you won’t need to tear apart the garage to find it. Now where did I put that note …

What is it about springtime that makes us want to clear out the clutter? Walk down any residential street in the spring and you’ll encounter garage sales—or better yet, a pile of free stuff—offering you more junk to replace the items you just got rid of. Still, the trick to spring organizing isn’t just what you remove from your home, but how you organize what you keep.

A few weeks ago, I faced this problem after cleaning out my front hallway shelving, where I keep a small assortment of everyday tools and fasteners, items I want at-the-ready for quick fixes, like small screws and nails, a multi-head screwdriver, duct tape, and so on. Rather than jimmy an awkward storage system, I’ve been considering getting a small storage container for these items.

Virtually every hardware store offers its version of “the ultimate” portable tool storage solution. Of course, “ultimate” depends on your needs and space, but the three storage solutions below should work for most lifestyles for everyday tools and fasteners.

Order a Bucket

Milwaukee’s Bucket Organizer: finally, a sensible solution to lugging tools around the house in one easy-to-carry tote. Milwaukee gets it right with its heavy-duty, 55-pocket bucket organizer made from water-resistant polyester. The various-sized pockets can house everything from a flashlight to screws and fasteners; inside the bucket is a holster for a cordless drill; and there’s a dedicated square sleeve. At $15, it’s cheaper than the Colonel’s bucket.

Fast Fasteners

Keeping screws, nails and other fasteners in jars or large, wall-mounted storage containers is fine for the home workshop, but not in spots where space is limited, like the garage. Enter Stanley Hardware’s portable, 684-piece kit (pictured below, not yet online) filled with everyday fasteners—nails, thumbtacks, pushpins, anchors, screws, picture hooks—all neatly sorted into 14 separate compartments. Made of plastic, this lightweight tray can hang on the wall or sit on a shelf. Retailing for $13 and available at Wal-Mart, other versions are sold North American-wide at other retailers.

Box it up

Toolboxes are a dime a dozen; unfortunately, most of them aren’t worth the 10 cents. For basic storage of everyday items, keep it simple and don’t overload yourself with a hefty, hard-to-carry tool box filled to the brim with tools you don’t need. Stack-On has the right idea with their 26-inch box with two removable storage boxes. Rugged, built-to-last, and inexpensive—what more could you ask for? Retail: $20.

It seems every time I flip on the boob tube, there’s another happy couple—well, generally happy, but momentarily disgruntled couple—undergoing a home reno while TV cameras roll. Welcome to prime time, where homeowners and professional renovators flip the ugly, the outdated, the unlivable into a contemporary nest in less time than it takes most of us to re-tile a small bathroom.

If home reno shows have done one thing well, it is to expose the bad guys in the business. But while they have raised the status of a few good men, and women, these shows have also given off the impression that renovation is a card game where you need to call bluffs and gamble your savings.

Money Blue Book, a blog about “smart investing, frugal living and credit card offers” offers up what it considers the best house-flipping and house-hunting TV shows. But it should be noted that “best” here refers to “most entertaining.” For example, here’s Blogger Ray (no last name) on A&E’s Flip This House: “I love the show and found it irresistibly entertaining due to the endless stream of scam and fakery controversies [including] Atlanta “real estate developer” Sam Leccima and his Season 2 housing-flip scam debacle. His on-the-air house flipping prowesses were later exposed and discredited as shams by news investigators when it was revealed that he had duped many investors in an elaborate flipping cover up.” “Ray’s” passionate analysis continues on the site.

But I don’t mean to just focus on the negative. Instructional TV has come a long way since the days of Bob Ross reminiscing about wartime while painting his latest water-colour masterpiece. While we’re inundated with a few too many shows these days, there are at least a few worth your half hour.

Canada’s HGTV carries a wide selection of less glamorous, more realistic reno shows, even if they are slightly sped up—hey, come on, it’s television. Most notable is Holmes on Homes, starring contractor Mike Holmes as the tough-talking, bicep-wielding here-I-come-to-save-the-day pro.

The original reno shows belong to This Old House, the New England program starring everyman Norm Abram. Beginning in 1982, this is probably television’s longest-running reno show.

Of course, we can’t really talk TV without mentioning the Kenny Rogers of DIY, Bob Vila. This guy can sell, and unlike us regular folk, his hair never seems to grey and his golf shirts never seem to fade.

—Jay Somerset

Re-doing on YouTube

YouTube is known to be full of “interesting” time wasters—a recent entry, Star Wars commentary by a three-year-old comes to mind—and home renovation is well represented. But it isn’t all jokes on this great digital hope when it comes to renos and design ideas. As soon as a tricky problem is conquered, people want to share their know-how with others. This used to mean telling your softball team or work buddies; now it means sharing it with millions through video. Note: soundtracks apparently are not optional.

• A complete house reno on hyper-speed in two parts

• A before and after video, where this house is transformed from bland to . . . not bad. Hey, it’s the spirit of the job, right?

• This film brings you right to the job site before revealing the final finish

• Ah, the classic bathroom reno, Hollywood style

• Small houses deserve loving care too, especially in the wilds of Alaska

Makeover Madness

Of course, for every stellar example, there is its complete opposite.

• A homeowner is visited by a renovating ghost (warning: scary stuff here)

• A spoof of TV reno show Holmes on Homes (warning: funny stuff here)

• Hammer juggling, possibly a German pastime?

How-to Videos

YouTube is also chock-full-’o installation tips; however, for every useful, thoughtful, safe renovation video there are dozens of ill-conceived, dangerous “tips” and “techniques” from amateurs without proper knowledge of safe, efficient building techniques. Here are some helpful videos:

• How to get the most from your stud-finder, narrated by a, uh, stud

• Curious how contractors devise the framing layout for your house? Finally, real answers

• A time-lapse video showing kitchen floor tiling

• Speaking of tiling, here’s how it’s done in Australia

• How to fix the toilet (not exactly glamorous, but undoubtedly useful)

Before attempting anything shown on YouTube, use caution; if you’re unsure of what’s being shown, ask your contractor or hardware retailer for a second opinion. After all, those same people posting how-tos on YouTube? Well, they could also be the ones posting “Handyman.”

Placing a sub floor over a concrete is one way to help you finish off your basement. The sub floor will act as a level base and not be as cold on the feet. When you’re getting ready, prepare the surrounding area properly, ensuring that water will not seep through to the concrete underneath.

Map It Out
Plan your renovation by drawing it out on some graph paper, using each square as per square. Calculate the number and length of 2″ x 3″ strips of wood required for the area of the basement. Then, measure and calculate the length and amount of 2″ x 3″ pieces needed for sleeper, which you will nail on 40 cm (16 inch) centres. Lastly, measure the number of 4′ x 8′ fibre or plywood pieces that you will need to cover the sub floor.

Waterproofing
Place 6mm polyethylene on top of the concrete to act as a barrier and prevent humidity to the ground floor. Be sure to leave about 4 inches of polyethylene along the side of each wall. This will prevent any further humidity damage.

Note: Instead of 6mm polyethylene, you can also use a 15 lb felt paper.

Framing
Build a sub floor frame throughout the basement along the floor. Using 2″ x 3″ strips of wood, place them directly on top of the 6mm polyethylene along each wall of the basement. Now, using a 16-inch centre, place sleepers throughout the frame, making sure that the first sleeper is 16 inches from the wall with the rest being 16 inches apart. Be sure to lay the sleeper in the direction to the smallest area of the room.

Making it Level
Make sure that the sleepers are level. You may have to use shims in order to get the entire floor leveled - this is very important. After they are leveled, anchor them to the concrete floor using a concrete drill or ramset. Allow a distance of 12 inches between each nail. Cut off the excess polyethylene with a utility knife. Using a pencil, mark the placement of each sleeper along the basement walls as a template for when the sheets of plywood.

Laying It All Down
Before laying down the fibre or plywood, ensure that they are 5/8″ thick. Also, apply a strong adhesive to each sleeper throughout the basement prior to laying the sheets down. Make sure that you stagger the plywood sheets from one sheet to the next, creating a stronger floor area. Place the sheets perpendicular to the sleepers, making sure that they are parallel to the shortest wall. Now, using the templated pencil marks, screw in the sheets of plywood to the sleepers and framing. Space out the screws approximately 12 inches while using 1-1/2″ wood screws.

You will be able to find or rent all the tools and materials at your local building supply store.

Chris Paulsen
cpaulsen@homerenovationguide.com