Search Results for: label/uses for used tires/2010/06/the-urban-homestead

892 results

The Art of Sadeli Mosaic

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Design
1 Comment
...dian craftsman creating the intricate decorative art called Sadeli mosaic. Used to adorn small boxes in India, the Middle East and Iran, the technique is similar to the way “slice and bake” cookies and European “rock” candy are made. Narrow triangular strips of wood, metal or plastic are cut using a jig on a table saw: The strips are gathered into bundles: sliced: and applied to a wood backing: It looks simple but I’m sure it takes many years of p...

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Our New Linoleum Floor

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Design
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...be dry mopped with a special Forbo cleaner. We were wet mopping and this caused the floor to peel up prematurely. The floor should be stripped, sealed and buffed every 1 to 3 years (every year if you have pets or heavy traffic). The subfloor needs to be completely flat. The crew used a thin cementitious material to level the floor. Linoleum is not very flexible and will crack if the floor isn’t flat. Properly maintained, linoleum should outlast vi...

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Water your Trees with Greywater

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Gardening, Trees, Water and Power, Water Conservation
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...plants and soil you are irrigating before deciding whether these should be used or not. Ecos: Contains sodium coco sulfate Vaska: Has a D+ rating on the Environmental Working Group’s product safety database. Lifetree: Has a pH level of 7 Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap: Fine for greywater use in general, but it simply is not a laundry detergent–it’s castile soap. You can wash your clothes with it, but the results won’t be spectacular. The bottom line is...

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By Hand and Eye

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Design
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...the hands on use of dividers, compasses, battens and the forgotten sector (used to divide an object into equal parts). It’s not a catalog of magical formulas, but rather an introduction into a way of thinking about design that provides guidance from thousands of years of shared human experience. While written specifically from the perspective of cabinetry and furniture design, I think everyone should read this book. But there’s a downside. Once yo...

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Whacked the President with a Single Stick

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Fitness
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...nterruption and have a bout at single-stick. This ancient English exercise used to have as its point the drawing of blood. Neither the ex-Colonel nor the ex-Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Riders has aimed a making this point, but both havve confined themselves to developing their skill with the weapon and getting as much exercise and fun out of the game as possible. Notwithstanding this, it is impossible to play with single-sticks without occasio...

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