Another "DRIVE-BY"

Hey Wawa Coffee Fans,

We are having another "Drive-By" tomorrow so don't forget to swing by between 7:30 and 8:00 and snatch up your coupon for a free Wawa coffee. We are only giving out 50 tomorrow so I wouldn't expect them to last very long, so try not to be late. Remember that you can use them at any of the local Wawa's so it doesn't matter if you're heading north or south, there is going to be a Wawa on the way. Now, if you've never tried Wawa coffee, and you still think good coffee has to cost $4.00, well then this coffee will definately change your mind!

I'll see ya in the morning, and by then I'll already have my coffee.......hmmmm, you know what, we only have 49 coupons to give away tomorrow.

I tell you what though, to be fair....I'll give the 50th person an invite to the OHG.com Rap Party, or a Kings of Leon shirt that I pilfered on my way out of a radio station the other day. It still smells like that candy store though.

Solar Hot Water Systems "Everything you ever wanted to know, but didn't know who to ask"

Okay, I'm probably not the guy to ask, but I know more now then I did before this project began. Heres' the basics as I know them on solar hot water. First off, you need to place them in a spot that is exposed to the sun, duh! Yes, you might need to cut down a tree or two, but they are still a very green thing to do. Just plant some trees in some other place. Basically what my system does is heat up water in the day, and then it stores it in a tank for use over night. Of course you can use as much hot water in the day time as you want to.

Now, the Tax Credit situation for Solar hot water is a big mess most of the time, but it is usually a pretty great thing to do if you want to "Go GREEN, and SAVE Green."

I'm using a company called American Design and Build, and so far they have been great. They have educated me. I don't think they tried to sell me a bunch of stuff that I don't need, and they have not tried to talk over my non-solar head.

If your interested in learning more about, and what goes in to a solar hot water installation, ours will be done on the 17th. day of the project, and the guys will be here from 5-7pm to answer all your questions. Stay tuned for that, and don't forget we are having another movie night at CineMark later that night, and that means half priced tickets for everybody in our group!

The Basketball court was really the first step in the renovation.

The first part of our renovation was actually this basketball court that I built a while ago. After we get done with the renovation, the court will be integrated in to the overall landscaping plan. It really turned out much better then I could have dreamed, and I did everything but the actual paving, which was done by Pat's Paving, who did a fantastic job, and were very easy to work with. Not to mention that he fixed a big mistake that I made.

People have asked me, "why a basketball court, and not a pool?" Well, for one, My son and I both love basketball. Plus, you can play it almost anytime of the year, and day or night with lights. With a pool you only really get three or four good months to use it.

The first thing I had to to do was to find the best goal availible. I was going to do the court right, so I didn't want a beautifull court, and a cruddy hoop set-up. The goal I went with has a a real glass backboard, a reflex rim, a 5" x 5" solid steel mast, and it's easily adjustible from about 7-10 feet. It's pretty sweet!

Below you can see the junky old hoop and dirt court that my son and I played on before.

The next step was to plan out how the court would be situated in the yard. After that, I had to create access to my back yard for the trucks, and paving equipment by creating a gate in my fence that was wide enough for the full-sized dump trucks and other equipment to get in to my back yard. You can see it here, and it's not too pretty, but it is functional, and I did stain the other side to make it semi-presentable. When all the construction is done, I promised my neighbors that it will be fixed properly.

I then created a frame with three levels of treated 4"X4"s from Lowes, and started moving some of the dirt around to make room for the base material. The base material is called millings. It is basically recycled asphalt roadway. I have about four compacted inches of it. That is about 30 tons (yikes!), and yep, I spread it all with a shovel and a wheel barrel. I enjoy a good workout! After spreading it, you compact and level it with a vibrating machine.





When it's compacted and level, it's time to call Pat and get it paved. Then he comes out and tells you that you did a great job of making it completely flat.....only problem is you don't want flat, you want a crown....uh oh!

When a mistake like this happens, don't get upset, anything can be fixed. We had some more millings delivered, and the paving crew leveled and compacted them, and then paved and rolled the court. It ended up great, and the court drains perfectly because of the crown.

Looking back at how I did it, about the only thing I would change is.....I would have Pat's Paving spread and compact the millings.

Now for the painting, you can get the good paint at Lowes, and do most of the lines for the key and three point line with painters tape, a tape measure, a cardboard box, and a little string. I did the big Under Armour logo with a projector, and the cardboard that the backboard came packed in. I had the stencil for the graphics for "The Future Is Ours", "Sportsmanship", and "Intensity" done by a place called "Signs by Tomorrow." I did the Under Armour theme because I like their message, and my son is twelve, and he loves his UA gear!



If you want to come see the court and shoot around on it to see how it all feels, just email me, and we will find a good time.

Here is some of the stuff I've done recently

Like I said, I'm not a carpenter by any means, I just like to build things.

I also like the fact that it comes out cheaper (most of the time) than buying it, and if it comes out good, you can sit around drinking beer with your buddies looking at it, and say "Yea, I built that".

This is a pole building that my friend had built in his back yard. It was suppose to be somewhat of a "Mancave", but with the help of Lowes and a bunch of antique dealers, him and I turned it in to more of a "Manshrine"! We watch football, Races, movies, and it's great for just hanging out. It is a simple pole building on the outside, but it has the feel of a barn on the inside....a really sweet barn!

As I had said before, I really like the Russell and Mackenna furniture and you should really check out their website to see what I'm talking about, and make sure to check out their "Room Views", they may give you some good ideas. Below is a design of theirs called a wave table. I built this one in my shop and gave it to some friends of mine that also like their stuff. I had it professionally painted with lacquer by V/E in Annapolis who did a great job, and Nick and John were the funniest people I have met in a while! It all came out perfect, and the table became the center piece for their beach house down in Ocean City.


Something to note, If you want Nick and John to paint something like this for you, they recomend bringing it in as seperate pieces, and putting it together after it's painted.

Okay, so here's the deal...

I'm doing a fairly large renovation on my tiny little house. I'll be adding about 1,300 square feet, renovating some other parts of the existing house, and I want to do it all as "GREEN" as I can.

On this site, I'm going to open up every aspect of the project. Through this site, you will be able to watch the entire process of doing a major renovation in a "green" way, or as I like to call it, a "GREENOVATION". One of the main focus points will be to explain everything "Green". The tax credits, the rebates, the products, the contractors, the savings, we will try to decypher it all for you.

You will get to see all the mistakes I make while acting as my own general contractor. You will see all the potential stumbling blocks that you will run in to if you ever decide to do a project like this. You will see new products, materials, and techniques that we will be using.

Now, because I'm not exactly the next great design star, I would appreciate any ideas that you might have. Please feel free to offer ideas for everything from construction methods and paint colors, to tankless water-heaters and home theater and surround sound. Don't get carried away though, I'm on a seriously slim budget.

I have no idea of the direction this project will go, but it should be informitive, entertaining, and sometimes very agonizing, at least for me.