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Cleaning Out Closets? If you plan to get rid of clothes, sheets, towels, please consider donating to your local Battered Women's Shelter. These women and children often have left without possessions. They really could use anything you give.

Deck Low Down

Low decks are great. A deck one or two steps off the ground provides a nice transition from a higher deck or makes a nice area for activities. However, when building a low deck there are some important things you should know first.

Any deck needs adequate air circulation around and under it to keep moisture in check. This can be a challenge with a ground-level deck. If possible, the ground underneath a low deck should be sloped and a moisture barrier (heavy poly) installed. Besides controlling moisture, this technique will keep those pesky weeds from growing up between the deck boards.

- Stephen Corwin

What's A Ton?

In heating- and air-conditioning jargon a "ton" refers to the cooling capacity of the equipment, or the cooling effect from melting a one-ton block of ice in 24 hours. Heating and cooling energy is also measured in BTUs. One BTU is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree F. Got that? Well, here's one more. One ton of cooling is equal to about 12,000 BTU's. The amount of cooling required depends on many variables, but here is a rule of thumb that will let you know if you are in the ballpark. In general a 12,000 BTU air conditioner will handle about 550 sq. ft. in a building. Sounds like a math problem to me!

- Stephen Corwin

Check for Your Cat If you have a cat...make it a habit to look inside your dryer, every time, before you turn it on. Curiosity may draw your kitty to investigate inside this nice warm spot.

-- Anonymous, September 07, 2001


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