Remodeling Projects Under $10000

You do not necessarily have to add another room to get more bang for your buck. Simple things like windows and landscaping may also do the same job. Here are 5 such remodeling projects:

New Windows: It's amazing what new windows can do for your perspective and for your home's curb appeal. In recent years, vinyl models have dramatically improved in quality while falling in price. Although they come in only a few basic colors, they never need repainting, and their double and even triple-pane glass makes them vastly more efficient than older windows.

Basic bathroom makeover: Start by upgrading your old toilet to a low-flow model. Then add new tile, such as glass varieties that can give you the illusion of depth in a small space. Starting at about $5 a square foot, these popular tiles can also be used to accent lower cost ceramic tiles.

A garden: Landscaping is perhaps the cheapest and most under-rated way to improve the home's curb appeal. But instead of simply resodding a weed-infested yard, consider planting an English garden of flowers, trees and stones. It usually takes a weekend or two to install a medium-size garden and the impact is almost immediate.

A deck to add space: Adding an outdoor deck is a an affordable way to expand your home's footprint. With the arrival of weatherproof composite materials like plastic-and-wood Trex, the days of warped timbers and messy annual costs of sealant are long gone. These decks cost more than wood (about $14000 for 16-by-20 foot finished deck) but, by cutting back on square footage, you can easily stay under $10,000.

August is Month of Recall: Toothpaste ... Mattel, Fisher-Price & Nokia

Mattel voluntarily recalled 63 magnetic toys sold at retail prior to January 2007. Magnetic toys recalled within the U.S. include 44 Polly Pocket™ toys, 11 Doggie Day Care® toys, 4 Batman™ toys, 1 One Piece™ toy, and the accessory part of 2 Barbie® toys. For additional information regarding the magnetic toy recall, contact Mattel at (888) 597-6597, or visit the company’s Web site at http://www.service.mattel.com/. A full list of products is published on the company’s Web site at http://www.mattel.com/, as well as by the Consumer Products Safety Commission http://www.cpsc.gov/. Consumers should immediately take these products away from children and contact Mattel to arrange return and to receive a voucher for a replacement toy of the consumer’s choice, up to the value of the returned product.

On Aug. 1, toymaker Fisher-Price also issued a voluntary recall of nearly one million Chinese-made toys including the popular Sesame Street characters and Dora the Explorer because of excessive lead paint levels. The toys, all marked with “Fisher-Price", may have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product or packaging. The toys were sold at retail stores nationwide from May 2007 through August 2007 for between $5 and $40.
Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact Fisher-Price. They will need to return the product and will receive a voucher for a replacement toy of the consumer’s choice (up to the value of the returned product).

Nokia today announced a recall of 46 million of its BL-5C cell phone batteries, due to potential overheating. The batteries in question were manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. In a statement Nokia said,“While the occurrence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offer to replace any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory".

Urgent Worldwide Toothpaste Voluntary Recall

In a fresh development on the Chinese toothpaste issue, U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site posted a statement today that the company Gilchrist & Soames has voluntarily recalled tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste after tests showed some samples contained diethylene glycol (DEG), a chemical used in anti-freeze.

You may recall that FDA advised consumers on June 1 to toss out Chinese-made toothpaste because diethylene glycol may have been used in place of U.S.-approved thickening agents and sweeteners. Chinese brands cited by the FDA contained 3 to 4 percent of the chemical by weight, and some weren't labeled as having the ingredient, the agency said. The substance, mixed with cough syrup, was responsible for more than 40 deaths in Panama beginning in September 2006, according to the FDA Web site.

The company urged all hotel guests who took the toothpaste home with them to throw it away. The suspect product is from one of Gilchrist & Soames's two Chinese suppliers, Ming Fai Enterprises International Co. The only product being recalled is toothpaste in 0.65- ounce tubes with the label ``Made in China''. Concern about tainted Chinese imports developed in the U.S. after the discovery of contaminated pet food, seafood and toothpaste as well as defective tires and toys with lead paint.

Gilchrist & Soames has a distribution center in the U.S. that sent the toothpaste to hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and the Turks & Caicos Islands, according to the company's statement.