Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 15

Thursday, July 31, 1986 Santa Cruz Sentinel B-3 Homes for Californians Do-it-yourself trend may grow Painting and room additions lead list of home improvement projects In one day, Americans undertake $252,000 in do-it-yourself projects, or about 1.8 million projects per week. aye vn. turn eite (jg stow i- OTTM KAHMfNT twin. By JACK MACKEY McClatchy Newi Service SACRAMENTO In an era when Americans are spending nearly $154 million each day in building-supply centers, hardware stores, and home-improvement outlets, some observers wonder whether do-it-yourselfers may be overdoing it. Not Larry Eisinger, a do-it-yourself writer and editor for more than 40 years.

"I think people can do even more than they think they can," Eisinger said during a recent visit to Sacramento. "Any problems they run into can most times be solved very logically. And with the new products, new tools and new techniques available, you can't really make any mistakes." Eisinger, former crafts and science editor of Mechanix Illustrated magazine and editor-in-chief of the Fawcett line of how-to books, said that in a column he writes for newspapers, he likes to motivate people visually to do things. "I have yet to see an entrepreneur in home improvement who couldn't recalled. By 1940, Eisinger's enterprising writing had landed him a job with Airtrails magazine for $90 a week.

He spent World War II writing training manuals for the Army Air Corps, was crafts-and-science editor for five years at Mechanix Illustrated, and left Fawcett books in 1970 to establish his own publishing business. Eisinger built his own home on Staten Island in New York when lots could be bought for $30,000. After property appreciation over the years, he says, "I am the only millionaire do-it-yourselfer around." His book "How to Build and Contract Your Own Home" has sold 400,000 copies. While experience still serve him well in writing about sound building methods, Eisinger keeps himself well-informed on new products and techniques in home improvement. "I go to all the (home-improvement) shows to find new items of interest to people, and to see the trends," he said.

"I'm a great believer in making a house as maintenance-free as possible. That's why I built mine out of brick," said Eisinger. "I've always told my bride of 37 years that we're always going to have a maintenance-free house. And, you know, I do all the maintenance. And it's free." being spent, and fire and burglary prevention, 10,000 projects a day.

Eisinger's own interest in working with his hands goes back to his youth, and his avid interest in building rubber-band-propelled model airplanes. For one of his planes, he designed a "folding propeller" to reduce air resistance after the rubber band ran out of energy to turn it. Only 19 years old at the time, he wrote an article about it in Flying Aces magazine. It was the first story he ever sold, and it led to a lifelong career. His early experimenting with gasoline-powered scale-model airplanes made him interested in putting them on control wires.

"I wrote the first article ever published on scale control airplanes," Eisinger Us 4 PEST CONTROL The open design of this single-level home belies the fact it's only 998 square feet in size. The front door opens into the combination livingdining area with a large fireplace and sliding glass doors to a rear patio. A unique wrap-around bar separates the dining room from the kitchen. There are three bedrooms off to the side, the master has its own private bath. For more information, write to Curtis California Homes, 4777 Sunrise Fair Oaks, 95628.

Ask for plan PB 111. Raising the height of fences cr OAK get out of a situation with all of the how-to books," he said, and if you do get in difficulty, all you have to do is go to a home center and get the answer." To support the growing interest in D-I-Y projects, Eisinger quoted Martin Fleming, senior building economist for Cahners Economics. The amount of money spent in home centers in one day by Americans represents about $53 per household per month. "In one day, Americans undertake 252,000 do-it-yourself proj ects," Fleming reports. "That's about 1.8 million projects per week." Some of the most popular projects are painting, in which almost 97,000 people are involved each day; room additions, in which $29,000 a day is -( Andy Lang ,1 Your horns quaitloni remember that everything now will be higher.

Check to see whether the added height will interfere with the opening of cabinet doors, and what can be done about it. Q. I recently stained some wood after taking off the old finish. I then had to put the project aside for a week. When I returned to it, I decided the stain was too dark.

I tried rubbing it with turpentine, which I had read was the correct thing to do, but it did not work. Is there any other way I can lighten the stain before I apply the final coats? A. You will have to sand the wood lightly. Use a very fine grade of sandpaper and work carefully. Using turpentine to lighten the stain works only if the stain is not thoroughly dry.

YOURSELF SOP 28c SQ.FT. SANTA CRUZ COMPOST LANDSCAPE SUPPLY (408) 462-2553 NOW Estimates at no charge Reliable Service Depend On CARDIFF Q. We have a wooden fence at the front of our house and around one side. The one at the side divides our property from that of our neighbor. We have decided to add a couple of feet to the height of that fence, which now is six feet high.

Can we add lath to the top of the fence? A. Yes. Lath usually is added to an existing fence when you want the wind to pass through. But there is more to it than that. Do the local regulations permit an 8-foot fence? Have you talked with your neighbor about it? Do you have a good reason for the change? Have you thought about it for a considerable amount of time? Why the reason for all these questions? Because high fences have caused more dissension among neighbors than almost any other single thing.

Q. There is an old ceramic tile floor in our bathroom. Before putting down a new floor, we want to install a new subfloor right over the old ceramic. Is this practical? A. It can be done, but there are two things to take into consideration.

The old floor, including its base, should be in sound condition. And you must PRICES EFFECTIVE THRU AUG 5TH DO-IT (The techniques of using varnish, shellac, lacquer, stain, bleach, remover, are detailed in Andy Lang's booklet, "Wood Finishing in the Home," which can be obtained by sending 50 cents and a long, stamped, self-addressed envelope to Know-How, P.O. Box 477, Huntington, NY 11743. Questions of general interest will be answered in the column.) Q. I have to paint the outside of our house, a job I have never done before.

I am confident I can handle the painting part of the project, but wonder about the necessary surface preparation, since a lot of scraping must be done. I have seen blowtorches used in removing old paint. Can this be done by a novice or should one have experience in handling a torch? A. Using a blowtorch on the outside of a house is risky, especially for a novice. Shop around for other kinds of paint softeners, including the type that operates by electricity.

After using any kind of paint-softening tool, you will still have to use a scraper and sander. Removing the old paint from the outside of a house is no easy task for anyone. nunnr in AND SAVE! SALE! HERBS FUCHSIAS i MARQUARD FARMS fcl Ihi fl Lots ol different colors to choose I BASIL, THYME, SAGE SikSCVK, from. Upright and hanging types C1LTTRANO, DILL, rrTlfflFy fj to brighten a shady garden spot. MAJORAM, PARSLEY, -A 1 i 1k.

marTS Hrr JLv REG. 3.59 QQ CHEVRIL AND MORE. ill I iuMW GALLONS aSat ReS 1V JM BIRD BELLS -afltf 'tUV AUDUBON 1 POUND OYttrVAT BIRD SEED FEEDER REG. 1.49 1 AQ jTh SAVE40' lMlf teJ 41C s1 A We have the new Sra9 LIQUID HUMMINGBIRD 0c6- aTV FOOD IN HALF GALLONS SAVE 30 Vv Blue or white SIX PACKS FELICIAS I FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES I I a S1r i I ANNUALS AND PERENNIALS I I NJj ennlri h'd. SOME FOR SUN, SOME FOR SHADE.

Grows 2 to 3 ft. tall. fT 'Jr, npnwnnn nrnvmn 2 1 RAMIK GREEN MOUSE RAT BAIT For Imloor. or oat 4 89 McAbee Gopher Traps 3.98 Grants Dog Repellent 3.39 We stock Rat and Mole MASTER CARD AND VISA OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK SUNDAYS 10 AM TO 4 PM AD PRICES THRU AUG. 3rd.

REG. 3.39 LOG TYPE VH DOGHOUSE-- Np I A ill I REGULAR (79.00 KM 1 1 "jUi) REG. $89.00 MEDIUM gaj Lut 1 VOS HT "EG. 99 .00 2-ln. 60-Yd.

Cloth i I Duct Tape helps keep healed and cooled air i I Inside. 360fs 1 PRESSURE TREATED I 00 jf3 lyU MEASURE JmI plywood 0,07 I liters VA REGULAR $10.80 fl flfl SALE! UltiU POWER RETURN 1- FTtjr Ma.a. WBWW INCH WIDE BLADE CYCC CASE Redwood Planter SHULTZ INSTANT 10-15-10 LIQUID PLANT FOOD FOR INDOORS OR OUT 249 nIf 52 OZ. 12 OZ. 28 OZ.

REG. 1.69 REG. 2. REG. 4.29 Hang it or mm on the ground for aprights 2.42) Supersoil Pornng ad.

Favorite of ulm gards neis For indoor or emu. 2 CUBIC FOOT REGULAR MI CMjUf eerier Ml 99 4. 423-3792 SEABRIGHT AND SOQUEL AVE. 33UD.