I myself have a dog. So I can attest to how hard it can be to find a pet-friendly rental, especially if your dog weighs more than 25 pounds (some arbitrary threshold at which dogs apparently get violent and dirty). To make matters worse (financially), on top of a hefty security deposit there may also be a significant pet deposit as well. So right off the bat pet owners are stung with a double-whammy in deposits. That’s no small change for most of us and getting those deposits back when the lease is up is crucial for finding yet another place to live.

If you want your double deposit back (and we all do), then there are some tips and tricks you can utilize to ensure that happens.

1. Training is obvious but it bears noting nonetheless. It is probably not a good idea to be moving with an untrained puppy anyway but if you must you must. You’ll just have to be double vigilant with the training.
2. Exercise is essential to the happiness of any dog. Too many dogs are left in the house for extended periods of time without attention or exercise. An unhappy, unexercised dog is a dog that relieves itself in the house, chews furniture, and otherwise makes a mess. Get to know your local dog park if you’ve got one. Give Fido some room to expend his energy; it’s good for him and your rental unit.
3. Cover it up. Ruined carpet is a big cost to renters and therefore the biggest worry to pet owners. So cover it up. I don’t mean laying newspaper over “oops” spots. I mean putting down throw rugs to protect that renter’s carpet. You can get rugs cheap at most any store with housewares. Choose carefully to combine function and fashion.
4. Make it home for your dog as well. Designate a place that is all Fido’s; namely…a comfy bed, toys, and bones. Just be careful which bones you choose. (more…)
   

Original post by nospam@example.com (Dominique Hazaël-Massieux)

If there’s one thing that we never expected to see, it’s the sight of an 8-wheeled electric vehicle attempting to break the land speed record. But that is exactly what the Eliica is attempting to do. Designed by a team at Keio University in Japan, this fully electric lithium-ion vehicle may be short on subtlety, but it has a range of 200 miles and can hit speeds of up to 230mph!

(more…)

Original post by Yoni Levinson

Sigh, what would I do if I could build my dream home?

Unfortunately, although of legal age, I am not a resident of the US - two restrictions on eligibility for HGTV’s Dream Home Contest. The prize in question being a somewhat splendiferous house in Sonoma, California. If you are an American adult however, you can enter everyday until February; check out more details here.

Happy with the home you have, but wishing for some ultimate rooms? Until March 31st, 2009, Americans can also enter to win a Room Makeover using this form.

I can’t help but think even with the money and the means to build a dream home, it wouldn’t be that easy. As with any ultimate dream, you need to be able to visualize what you want and perhaps immersing yourself with the best, the most creative and talented will help get you there.

One of the more fun parts of my job is writing our Renovations of the Month and so far I’ve been most impressed with the work of BDR Artisan out in Vancouver. A major shout out to Brent Repin for sharing his stunning work with us; the award winning Tsawwassen Beach House. Of course the finished house is just breathtaking, however, seeing the “Before” shots of just what he had to work with, completely changes the conception of its true expanse.

Here is a look of the before:

and the magnificent after:

Continue reading for the full story…

If you have a great room makeover or home renovation project you’d like to share, please email your photos and description to editor@homerenovationguide.com. I look forward to your inspiration!

Original post by nospam@example.com (Dominique Hazaël-Massieux)

When it comes to pipe maintenance the easiest thing to do is obviously shut the entire system down and work at your leisure to fix any problems. Of course this not always an option. In some cases work needs to be done without shutting off the water supply. In these cases a very handy tool to have around is the Ridgid SuperFreeze. The SuperFreeze pipe freezer unit allows you to keep the water system operating while making repairs. The RIDGID SF-2500 is a mini-refrigeration unit that circulates self-contained refrigerant to its aluminum freeze heads. These heads form ice plug in as little as 5 minutes in copper tube up to 2 1/2″ or steel pipe up to 2″. The ice plugs remain frozen while the unit is on allowing ample time to repair any sprinkler head, valve, leaking pipe, etc. 
 
The Ridgid pipe thawers units KT-190 & KT-200 do just the opposite; they thaw pipes that may have frozen. Recently we’ve seen a bit of a spike in interest for these units with colder weather and ice storms shutting off power in some areas. Not a good combination for pipes full of water. Thawing Units provide continuous heating to quickly thaw 1/2″ to 1 1/2″ frozen metal pipes. With these lightweight, versatile units, there is no need to dig or tear apart walls. Simply attach the clamps to the metal pipe on each side of the frozen section and the pipe is thawed within minutes.  

Both of these types of units can be very handy for any contractors. For more information on these or any other Ridgid Plumbing Tools contact the experts at Ohio Power Tool (800-242-4424) and they will be happy to help you find the right tool for the job.  

Original post by nospam@example.com (Dominique Hazaël-Massieux)

With the housing market in the slumps, real estate agents and Internet companies are stepping up the high-tech approach to home shopping. The most popular Web site for homes in the U.S. is Realtor.com, and for several years they have supported the various links to virtual home tours on their site but have only recently upgraded to support a virtual open house. An old virtual house tour has basically been a series of images you could scroll through or do 360-degree views of room, but it was …

Original post by blogs@bobvila.com (Greg)