What Every DIY Needs!

I can't imagine being a home owner and do-it-yourselfer without a utility trailer. It is an absolutely essential piece of equipment.  This honey of a trailer has saved me countless dollars (thousands) and many hours of time.  Many homeowners mistakenly think they need a pickup truck and then make a poor decision by either purchasing a truck or not considering a trailer  Here is why buying a pickup truck is a mistake for most home owners:
       1)  Simply the cost of a pickup. This can run $60,000 and up.  How can a non contactor possibly justify such a purchase.  Even used pickups can cost $20,000.
      2)  Cost of insurance, maintenance, licenses plates.  Here we have a cost of approx. $3,000 per year!  Add depreciation and you have a costs closer to $5,000 per year.
     3)  Many DIY may have a family.  A wife and kiddos don't often ride well in pickups, particularly if the pickup is not a full size 4 door model.
    4)  Fussy about the truck.  Yes, some folks have such a large investment in their trucks they don't want to subject them to getting dirty and roughed up.
    5)  When not using the pickup to haul items (which is 95% of the time) You drive around with a empty bed and pay for higher fuel costs. 

Why a utility trailer?
   1) My utility trailer cost me $640 for a large tire, heavy duty trailer 15 years ago.  Lets say $1000 now.  Much less than a pickup
  2)   The State of Michigan provides for a ONE TIME trailer license for as long as I own the trailer, cheap!
  3)  I pay no insurance on my trailer. 
  4)  I an mot fussy about what I haul, as I don't care if it gets scratched up, its a trailer.
  5)  I can remove the side rails to convert into a flat bed that can haul huge size items, much bigger than a pickup can.
  6)  I can use my same car to haul the trailer or take on a family vacation with all the kiddos in comfort. 
   7)  I can loan it out to friends and clients. Something not likely done with a pickup truck, particularly if the pickup truck is also my personal vehicle.
   In the last 15 years I have put no more than $200 total into maintenance costs!!!! 

The utility trailer is the most versatile cost saving piece of equipment I own.  It is only a 4 x 8 foot (which is my recommended size) yet it hauls larger, longer, and wider loads than any pickup out there.  Imagine that, for just a fraction of the cost.  Obviously the pickup has a place for many contractors, builder, and home owners. But for the vast majority of the Do-it-yourself nation out there, the utility trailer is the wise choice.
  

Let's Talk Toilets!

It is interesting that with all the bath remodeling going on, rarely do we think about updating our toilets. With all the talk about water conservation and energy conservation, the toilet seems to be pretty much ignored in all of this.  But that old toilet is not only wasting water resources, it is costing you money!  But why replace a toilet when it is working just fine?

Studies indicate that toilets use approximately 45% of water used in the home.  If a homeowner can cut the toilet water use in half, what type of savings may be realized.  Here is a example from personal experience.  I replaced a old, likely original toilet in a older home that had a tank capacity of 4 gallons.  I replaced it with a 1.3 gallon per flush.  Now I understand that sometimes a 1.3 gallon per flush system may take more that one flush to do the job the 4 gallon did in one flush.  So lets say the new toilet was twice as efficient as the old one, or uses half the water of the old one. That takes the 45% of water used for the toilet down to 22.5%.  My water bill from the City of Grand Rapids water department averaged $140 per 3 month cycle.  However, not all the $140 was water usage. In the $140 were base fees, sewer fees etc.  The water and sewer charges came to $68.74. However, if you lower your water fees your sewer fees are reduced likewise.  So 45% of that amount was $30.93.  Now if I take half of that amount for the new toilet, that means a savings of $15.47 per 3 monhts of service. (or $61.88 per year)

The toilet I selected was $129, with tax and also a new wax ring the total came to $147.34. 
Taking the savings per year into the total cost came to a pay back of approx. 2 years and 4 months.
After that, its all $$$ in your pocket.  Additionally, the new toilet looks better, is quieter, easier to clean, and takes less space.

So consider replacing the old toilet with a new high efficiency one and save your money and our water resources.