{Re}habitat
Learn how adaptive reuse and upcycling can add hip design to your home, apartment, or yard with the Go Green channel's {Re}habitat series. Follow host Rachael Ranney as she shows you how to repurpose salvaged and found materials, adding fun and function to your space without breaking your budget.
Contractor to Contractor: Follow professional Interior Contractor Robert Thimmes as he produces a layout and final shoot-down of a metal stud track system.
Plumb, level, square, and straight: all carpentry is the same, right? Well, no. Basic building principles apply, but how you build with metal studs differs greatly from building with wood. The following discussion offers a systematic explanation of installing metal studs, with various best practices for each step.
Columbus, Indiana is an architectural destination that continues to reinvent itself. A major infusion of modernist structures in the mid-20th Century established a precedent for place building that continues today.
Most people who know and love Columbus, Indiana have moved beyond its story of unlikeliness. Still, a great deal of what’s written about Columbus plays up the improbability angle: how does a city like this, with more than 70 modernist masterpieces designed by internationally-acclaimed architects and artists, spring out of soybean fields? Unlike the obvious architectural hubs in the United States, such as Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., Columbus has a ‘have-to-see-it-to-believe-it’ quality. But it has earned its stripes: the American Institute of Architects rated it sixth in the U.S. for architectural innovation and design— next in line after the aforementioned cities.
Don't know what to do with that old refrigerator? Take a tour of a refrigerator recycling facility with Jeff Wilson, and find out how your old appliance can be decontaminated, deconstructed, and reused.
Now, refrigerator recycling may not be what you consider an essential “DIY” topic, but in light of a recent experience I had, I thought you might like to have this question answered: Where the heck do my appliances go when they get hauled away?
Understand product basics: what a primer is, what functions it serves, and how the marketing hype underserves the consumer.
The latest trend in the paint industry is "paint and primer in one," and it has proven to be quite the controversy. Technically, the only newness about it is the hyper-marketing aspect. The phrase "self-priming" has been a line item on some paint labels for decades. Indeed, some products are formulated for application directly over bare substrates, such as floor enamels and some concrete products. Given the variety of products available in the wider market of general, non-specific paint finishes, it is impossible to say which ones employ precisely which technologies. However, it is possible to understand product basics: what a primer is, what functions it serves, and how the marketing hype underserves the consumer.
Do you know the green building code basics? City and state governments continue to adopt new ordinances that support sustainable building, and the new laws require new ways of doing business.
In recent years, more and more municipalities have been adopting green building codes as a strategy to help them to develop in a more sustainable fashion. Green building codes are issued for the purpose of improving public health, safety, and general welfare. They encourage sustainable construction practices in planning and design, energy efficiency, water efficiency and conservation, environmental quality, material conservation and resource efficiency; improvements in these areas have been shown to reduce negative effects and enhance positive environmental impacts.
In May of 2011, a domestic modernist masterpiece opened its doors to the public at last, after spending 50 quiet years situated amid the architectural treasures of Columbus, Indiana.
J. Irwin Miller and Xenia Simmons Miller were like a lot of their contemporaries: raising children in a home they cherished on a quiet street in a friendly Midwestern town. Their children chased each other, roller-skated on the patio, had slumber parties with their friends, and scattered their toys on the floor. The only difference is that this family was living in one of the most spectacular modernist houses in the country, designed by Eero Saarinen, one of the most important modernist architects of the day. The home’s interiors were brought to life by designer Alexander Girard, and the landscape was designed by Dan Kiley.
In the past year, we’ve seen many wrenching images of post-tsunami Japan. What has happened since March, and how much hope is there for the affected area’s recovery?
Media coverage was intense following Japan’s Tohoko earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Despite the scale of this disaster, coverage inevitably shifted to other news stories. The people of eastern Japan still have a long road ahead in the rebuilding and recovery process. How are they faring, nine months later?
Contractor to Contractor: The Five Questions That Really Matter for Interior Contractors
Written by Robert Thimmes Fri Dec 09 2011What makes for success as an interior contractor and what are the basics of staying in business? An experienced contractor takes a look at some of the misconceptions that plague the industry and brings the focus back to fundamentals that can help you understand the full value of your skill set.
Being in business in this economy means understanding the fundamentals of our industry and where it's going. As a small business owner I've seen my fair share of ups and downs. Usually most of the misunderstandings and problems can be solved by a little inquiry and a lot of listening.
