page 2 — Spring Home improvement Guide –– Wednesday, april 11, 2012

SprinG

Home

improvement

pUBLiSHerElizabeth Gorske

manaGinG editorEric Young

editoriaL StaffSherry Barnum

Tim BarnumGreg BucknerKevin Bunch

Jeff PatrusJessie Tobias

advertiSinG SaLeSJama Gates

Anthony KachirosTracy Pardue-Smith

Lisa SaundersCarla Reeves

CompoSitionSharon Ehlert

Adam Thompson

phone:989-345-0044

Ideas and stories alwayswelcome!

email:reporter3@ogemawherald.com

By Greg Buckner

So you’ve just purchased your new homeand you’re moving into a new place. Afteryou fill the new pad with furniture and badwall paintings, you soon look to the emptyTV stand and realize there’s no TV to situpon it.

Like any good American, you figureyou’ll go all in and go with a home theatersystem to really tie the room together.

But where do you start? Do you buy a TVfirst? What about surround sound? Do youbuy a Blu-ray player, or just get a DVDplayer?

These questions can be daunting, but a lit-tle research and a hands-on approach makespurchasing a home theater system a littleeasier.

“It really helps to have an idea of wantyou want when you start shopping,” saidBrandon Jackson, assistant manager atContinental Home Center in West Branch.“It’s good to go online and look at productsbeforehand and read user reviews to get agood idea of a product.”

Jackson said purchasing a TV is the firstpart of the process.

Today, high-definition TVs have quicklybecome a staple of households, with localchannels only broadcasting an HD signal.When looking to set up a home theater,Jackson said HD is the only choice.

“If you’re looking at the home theaterexperience, HDTVs are the way to go,”Jackson said. “The picture quality is justbetter, and if you’re committed to getting asclose to a movie-theater picture at home,HDTV is your best option.”

For screen size, Jackson said anywherefrom 32-50 inches is a good size, especiallyif you want to be able to see the screen fromdifferent angles.

But then you have to figure out what res-olution you want your HDTV to have, andwith numbers like 1080 and 720 soundinglike snowboarding tricks, it can be confus-ing.

According to Jackson, the general rule isthe higher the number, the higher the resolu-tion, and the higher the resolution, the betterpicture you will have.

The three main resolutions are 720p,1080i and 1080p, and Jackson said a 1080resolution is the best choice if you want thebest picture.

“A 720 resolution will provide you with agood picture as well, but you’re going towant to go with a 1080 resolution if you’regoing to have a Blu-ray player or other high-

definition devices,” Jackson said.Once you have your resolution and screen

size down, then you have to figure out exact-ly what kind of HDTV you want. The threeoptions you have are plasma, LED and LCD.

Jackson said plasma HDTVs offer the bestpicture, but can use more energy than theother two choices. He said LCD TVs typi-cally have bigger screens than plasma,sometimes going up to 80 inches, and are alittle more energy-efficient. LED TVs arethought to be the best of both worlds, offer-ing a plasma-like picture while being moreenergy-efficient like an LCD TV.

Cost-wise, factoring in all of the differentkinds of HDTVs and screen sizes, Jacksonsaid the price range you will be looking atcan range from $500 for a 32-inch HDTV toupwards of $2,000 for screens approaching80 inches.

“The biggest thing I can tell people is tocome in and look at TVs in person,” Jacksonsaid. “You need to see the TV in person andfigure out if it fits your needs, and just likewith anything else, you typically get whatyou pay for.”

Now that you have a TV picked out, it’stime to find a sound system and a movieplayer for your home theater.

When looking at sound systems, DanielLaw, manager of Radio Shack of Standish,said there are a variety of sound options.

“People who aren’t looking to go with afull sound system typically like to go witha sound bar,” Law said. “Those can rangefrom $100 on the low end and sometimesup into the over-$200 range. But if you’relooking for the full surround sound experi-ence, you’re looking at a five- to seven-speaker setup with a subwoofer.”

Law said if you’re looking for just thespeaker set, the prices can range anywhere

from around $170 to close to $1,000-$2,000 for higher-end models like thosefrom Bose.

“I’ve listened to some of the Bose sys-tems, and in my opinion, it’s even betterthan being at the movie theater,” Law said.“Like a lot of things, you really end up get-ting what you pay for. It’s also important tojust come in and listen to the systems andsee what works for you.”

If you’re looking for a full bundle withthe sound system and a Blu-ray player,Jackson said a bundle can run from $399into the $1,000 range as well.

“If you get a bundle package, you’re look-ing at getting the Blu-ray player, and typi-cally five to seven speakers,” Jackson said.“Some people like having all the same brandfor their home theater system, but I person-ally like to buy everything separate becausesome brands just make certain products bet-ter than others.”

When hooking all of these productstogether, Jackson said using an HDMI cordis the best option, because it is made ofhigh-quality material that allows for onecord to transfer both the audio and visualsignal to the television, instead of having tohook up a mess of traditional AV cords toyour TV.

While there are multiple options forHDTVs and home theater systems, it allcomes down to doing your research andseeing the products in person to find outwhat will work for you.

“Online research can help out a lot duringthe process, but you have to see and hear theproducts yourself,” Jackson said. “You canhave an idea of what you want, but seeingand hearing it for yourself is the best adviceI have for anyone looking to purchase a newhome theater system.”

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Kitchen remodel,not for the faint of heart

By eric Young

Before I begin, I must issue a disclaimer. Iam not a handyman, in any sense of theword. I highly respect people who can builda house, run wiring for a light, or fix a dish-washer.

But I am not one of those people. I am capable of breaking the aforemen-

tioned things, but when it comes to workingon them, I’m as clueless as Tim Tebowwould be if you put him in as the pitcher inthe World Series.

Several months ago (it feels like yearsnow), my wife and I made the decision toremodel our kitchen. Since we had moved intwo years prior, we wanted to replace the old,worn out carpeting, among other things. Wehad also purchased a dishwasher, but didn’thave any counter space to actually put it in.

So we decided to put in new laminateflooring, install extra cabinets, move ourrefrigerator, and install the dishwasher.

Of course, when you’re putting in newcabinets, it means the old ones you have willlook outdated unless you update them aswell.

Originally we thought it might be a goodidea to look at the option of having a profes-sional come in and reface our cabinets.However, after looking into it we discovered

that would cost approximately $27 million,which we determined was a little higher thanour budget.

We had discussed the project for a fewmonths leading up to it, with much of thatdiscussion revolving around how much ofthe project WE (read: me) could do our-selves, and me arguing that if we wantedthings to actually look nice, we should hiresomeone to do it.

So we did, for much of the project. We hadsomeone come in and install the new cup-boards, the dishwasher, and the floor.

But we determined that we were qualifiedenough to strip the paint from our cabinets,remove the wallpaper from the walls, andrepaint.

And so the project began. It started with us removing wallpaper that

I’m pretty certain was installed at approxi-mately the same time as the extinction of thedinosaurs, based on its lovely, “antique”(read: ugly) patterns.

My wife, Kay, had a clothing steamer sheused to remove the wallpaper. Seeing as weonly had one steamer, and she was such apro, she ended up doing most of the work. Ialso “had to work late” many of the nightsshe was doing this.

Fortunately we had a few helpers whowere able to lend quite a bit of assistance

with the wallpaper removal, as well as paint-ing afterward. There was one wall, which werefer to as “the wall from hell,” which with-out our helpers, we’d probably still be scrap-ing.

And then there were the cabinets. Ournemeses.

Obviously in order to paint the cabinets,we needed to remove all of the doors. Not tomention they’d been nicked and incurredlight damage over the years, so they wouldneed to be sanded down and repaired beforethey were painted.

Kay will often tell me about projects shewould like done, and if I don’t get to themwithin a couple of months, she will sudden-ly start them, without me knowing, usuallyaround 2 in the morning.

Such was the case with the cabinets. Sheremoved the doors of all our upper cabinetsso they could be sanded and painted. Theproblem is, the people who built our houseand installed our cabinets were not exactlycareful with measurements and leveling andlining things up. So the way the cabinetdoors are installed, they probably wouldn’tfit in any other location.

Yet when Kay removed the cabinets, shedidn’t label which ones went where. Andthey were all down before I could say,“Wait!”

She did inform me the other day that sheactually did label the hinges. But then sheremoved the hinges from the doors, so thatdoesn’t exactly help.

In the meantime, we found out that Kaywas pregnant, which meant we instantly hadto start working in other portions of thehouse. So now, six months later, our cabi-nets still have no doors. Well, they do;they’re just not very effective, as they aresitting on the floor in the other room, wait-ing to be painted.

Needless to say, even though we wereonly actually doing a very small portion ofthe project on our own, it still ended upbeing a lot more work than what we origi-nally planned. Our kitchen is much nicernow, despite the fact that it isn’t technicallyfinished. But it would be nice to have itdone.

My advice to you is, if you have a lot oftime and don’t mind your kitchen being tornapart for months, and if you have actualbuilding skills, you can save a lot of moneyby remodeling your kitchen on your own.

However, if you have the handyman skillsof a donut and work long hours withoutmuch free time, it’s definitely worth themoney to hire someone else to do the workfor you.

It’s totally worth it in the end.

Spring Cleaning Tip:

Hire someone else to do it and don’t count on your husband orkids to do their chores.

Tips courtesy of the staff of the Arenac County Independent

page 4 — Spring Home improvement Guide –– Wednesday, april 11, 2012

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Gas, pellet grills becoming equally popular

By Jeff patrus

With the temperatures rising, many peoplewill want to take advantage of the warmerweather by cooking outside.

Paul Ressler, owner of FairviewHardware, said while barbecue grills may beexpensive to purchase, getting a reliable grillis a good investment.

“We like what we have,” Ressler said.“We don’t have cheap ones. We have goodones.”

Ressler said while gas grills are still verycommon, wood pellet grills are becomingincreasingly popular among customers. Hesaid neither one has a distinct advantage ver-sus the other in terms of sales.

“Both are pretty evenly split,” he said. Ressler explained how pellet grills work.“It uses wood pellets instead of gas,” he

said. “That’s a good flavor. Pellet grills aregaining momentum.”

Ressler said one of the reasons pellet grillsare becoming more common is because peo-ple can use them in a variety of manners. Hesaid people can use them for slow-cookingpurposes, or they can turn up the heat onthem when necessary.

“They can do it all in one grill,” he said.As an example, Ressler said someone may

want to cook a large roast, and they mayneed to cook that roast for about 10 hours. Inthat instance, he said a pellet grill would beideal.

As far as gas grills are concerned, Resslersaid Holland grills are the most common athis store.

“We’ve sold Holland gas grills for manyyears,” he said.

Ressler said one of the appeals of theHolland grill is that it is guaranteed not toflare up. He said customers have enjoyed theflavor of items they cook using a Holland

grill.“The meat comes off very juicy,” he said.

“You can put a pretty good-sized turkey onthere.”

Ressler said whether customers are usinggas or pellet grills, they usually select large-sized grills. According to Ressler, one of themore common grills among the Hollandbrand is one that is 16.5-by-24.5 inches,which equates to 400 square inches.

Meanwhile, Ressler said FairviewHardware carries a pellet grill that is 36-by-19.5 inches.

According to Ressler, one of the main sell-ing points when a customer decides to pur-chase a grill is how the food tastes. To thatend, he said the store has demonstrationseach Saturday morning of the various grillsat the store.

Ressler said if customers are simply look-ing to purchase the cheapest grill available,then they are not making a wise decision.

“People are looking for the longevity ofthe grill and the flavor,” he said.

Pruning trees and shrubsBy Kevin Bunch

With plants warming up in the springweather, pruning season has reopened,according to area gardening specialists.

Anytime after a tree has warmed up isgenerally a good time to considering prun-ing, according to Billie Jo Scheid, ownerof Indian Summer Landscaping andGarden Center in Standish. If the treeblooms and flowers, however, Scheid sug-gested waiting until after it finishes flow-ering before doing any pruning.

Dead, decaying, or spread out branchescan make for a tree that is not nearly ashealthy as it could be with proper andperiodic pruning procedures. Scheid saidpruning could help promote new growthand keep plants healthy, notably by help-ing with airflow.

“A lot of plants go downhill if they’reold,” Scheid said. “The new growth wouldhave to go through the old.”

Scheid said when pruning, it is impor-tant to watch for bugs — or on a shrub,white spots — which indicate disease. Ifthese are spotted, she said your pruningequipment should be disinfected withalcohol to prevent any contamination fromspreading.

For evergreens, Scheid suggested prun-ing around July, after the new growth hashardened. She said new growth comes insoft and light green, but as the leavesdarken and harden, it becomes ripe forpruning.

Eric Green, manager with G H LawnCare and Landscaping in West Branch,said smaller plants, such as shrubs andhedges, are usually best cut during theirdormant season, after the blooming hasfinished. He suggested cutting treebranches at angles, and using clean cuts.

Furthermore, Green said he uses notchcutting techniques to make sure the cutsare clean, which is safer for the tree. He

said notch cutting involves making a smallcut midway through the tree, cutting com-pletely through farther down the branch torelieve the weight, and cutting where thebranch collar on a tree — the swollen area— transitions into the smoother branchbark.

However, he recommended against cut-ting to the split in the trunk or otherwisecutting too short, lest the plant’s regrowthtake too long, causing it to miss that year’sgrowing season.

Whether it is a tree, grass, hedge, orshrub, however, he recommends keepingsharp tools available.

“You want sharp blades,” Green said.“You don’t want to cut your hair with dullscissors, and it’s the same with hedges.”

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Get started early onspring planting

By Kevin Bunch

As the strange winter of 2012 recedes intomemory, gardening enthusiasts are preparingto clear their property and breathe new lifeinto the ground. For those new at it, howev-er, specialists with two local landscapingcompanies have some advice.

Billie Jo Scheid, owner of the IndianSummer Landscaping and Garden Center inStandish, said when it comes to transplanti-ng plants in a person’s yard, the key is doingit while the plant is still dormant.

“A transplant depends on the variety ofplant,” Scheid said. “Some you want to do inthe late fall, and others in the early spring.”

The key, especially for perennials, shesaid, is getting them moved before the hotterweather of late spring comes up. The warmweather that has permeated this winter hasshifted the timetable a bit, Scheid said, butoverall she said it is still early enough in theyear that the plants can be moved safely.

The mild winter also meant that many

plants survived despite the low snowfall. Asan insulator, Scheid said snow can helpplants survive a cold winter, but a cold anddry winter is a bad combination for manyplants.

“A lot of stuff didn’t really die off (overthe winter),” Scheid said. “Some are flower-ing already.”

Eric Green, manager with G H Lawn Careand Landscaping, said when moving a plant,the key is making sure there is enough soilaround the ball of roots. His rule of thumb ismaking sure to include enough dirt to filldouble the amount of root space the plant has.

“If the plant has a 12-inch root ball, youwant to dig out 24 inches,” Green said.

Once replanted, he said he personally usesorganic fertilizer or potting soil to help theplant adjust.

He stressed, however, that the transplanti-ng season is different for every plant, and ifa person is unsure they should do someresearch or call a local gardening or land-scaping shop to find out when to do it.

8 steps to smart gardening1. Start small. The surest way to become frustrated with gardening is to bite offmore than you can chew. Of course, small is a relative term; in an area of, say, only100 square feet, you can plant a lot more than you might think.

2. Start a compost pile. Whether you choose to build an elaborate bin and composton a grand scale, create a simple pile in an out-of-the-way corner of your property,or place a store-bought composter in a sunny spot in the yard doesn’t matter. All thatmatters is that you make compost — and use it, of course. Spread a thin layer overyour garden beds at least once a year. Mix it with the native soil when planting.Apply it as a topdressing to lawns. Top off containers with it. And use it to makecompost tea.

3. maintain healthy soil. The use of compost goes hand in hand with maintaininghealthy soil, but there are other things to consider:

• Try to avoid walking on the soil in established gardens, because every step compacts the soil, and compaction makes it difficult for roots to grow. Create paths between rows or in beds, or place a board on the soil adjacent to areas where you work to distribute your weight more evenly over the soil.• Avoid working the soil when it’s wet. Otherwise, once it dries, you'll wind up with big clumps of hard-packed soil. And finally, don’t overwork the soil, espe-cially with a rototiller. Good soil isn’t powdery; it’s a mixed bag of particles of varying sizes and shapes.

4. mulch. Mulch suppresses weed growth, maintains soil moisture, stabilizes soiltemperatures and much more. So do yourself a favor: Mulch everything in sight withwhatever organic mulch you like.

5. Water properly. Don’t water frequently for only brief periods of time. Doing socauses plant roots to hover near the soil surface. Instead, deep soak each time youwater to encourage roots to grow deep down into the soil. And to the extent thatyou’re able, water early in the morning so plant leaves have a chance to dry duringthe day. That will help minimize fungal diseases.

6. Go native. Native plants tend to be easier to grow, have fewer pest and diseaseproblems and require less supplemental watering. As a result, if you grow a lot ofnative plants, you'll develop more confidence with fewer hassles.

7. minimize maintenance. Each suggestion so far — from starting small to goingnative — will reduce the amount of time you have to spend in the garden.

8. visit the garden regularly. If you’ll spend just 10 minutes a day wanderingaround your lawn and garden — say, early in the morning with a cup of coffee orright after work — you’ll form an invaluable bond with everything that grows. Andalong the way, you might stop and pull a few weeds, spot a plant in need of water,realize that slugs or aphids are on the move, and so on.

Tips courtesy of HGTV

Spring Home improvement Guide –– Wednesday, april 11, 2012 — page 7

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Must-haves for man cavesBy tim Barnum

According to mancavesite.org, a man caveis “A dedicated area of a house, such as abasement, workshop or garage, where a mancan be alone or socialize with his friends.”

If you are looking to create your own per-sonal space to celebrate all that is manly,there are a few essentials.

“The first thing you need is a giant TV,”said Ryan Drabek, zone merchandise supervi-sor for entertainment at Walmart in WestBranch.

“I never saw a guy that says ‘I want asmaller television,’” he added.

Kevin King, of Standish, has had a mancave, which he dubs “the man’s room,” forabout four years. His man cave sports a 54-inch television.

“You got to have a large-screen TV,” Kingsaid.

Drabek said a person building a man caveshould think about whether they want a wall-mounting television, or one they can place inan entertainment center. Of course, loud,clear sound is important from whatever typeof TV you choose.

“You’re probably looking at some sort ofsurround sound for it,” he said.

But a television isn’t much good if there’sno place to sit and watch it. Drabek said com-fortable furnishing is a must.

“You have to have, of course, comfortablefurniture,” he said.

“We’ve got leather furniture,” King said.To customize the space more extensively,

King, who coaches the Standish-Sterling girlsbasketball team, said he decorated the roomwith pictures of past championship teamsfrom SSC.

“A lot of photos (are there) that bring backa lot of memories of great teams at Standish-Sterling,” he said.

Although King calls his man cave theman’s room, it is sometimes the place thewhole family hangs out, he said.

“We call it the man’s room, but oftentimes

my whole family of seven ends up in there,”he said. “We use it for entertainment.Whenever we have family over, we end upthere.”

Others have different purposes for theirman caves. Tammy Jo Kirven-Ahearne post-ed on the Ogemaw Herald’s Facebook pagethat her husband uses his for video games.

“I won’t let him play his video game in theliving room,” she wrote.

Kirven-Ahearne added the man cave at herhouse includes movie posters, movies, anXbox and a futon.

Krystian Huizar said her father, FranciscoHuizar, has many of the essentials, as well assome hunting trophies.

“He has a huge flat-screen TV, fluffycouches, and deer heads on the walls,” sheposted on the Herald’s Facebook page.

King said the man cave has become a spotwhere family and friends spend a lot of qual-ity time, and where he holds parties or get-togethers. Between his room’s bar, desk andtelevision, there are several purposes forKing’s man cave.

“We enjoy a lot of sporting events on thebig screen, and a lot of episodes of ‘Law andOrder,’” he said. “It’s just kind of a placewhere people mingle. A lot of cards areplayed at the bar.”

A desk in the room, which King said is thequietest one in the house, gives him a place totake care of paperwork for his driving school,he said.

If one was to go back in time five or sixyears, though, there would be no sign ofKing’s man’s room.

“It was a one-car garage, and we added athree-car garage onto the house, and convert-ed that one-car garage into a man’s room,” hesaid.

The process was done over one summer,and King said the cost to renovate was about$20,000.

However, he doesn’t regret it one bit.“It’s probably the best investment I ever

made,” he said.

Man CaveMust-haves:

• A Great Bar

• Vintage Jukebox

• Collection of Some Sort

• A Unique Place to Sit

• Sports Memorabilia

• Games

• Wall Advertising Pieces

• ‘Cool’ Place

• ‘Wow’ Piece

• Real World Reminder