Home, Garden and Cooking
A Bell Tolls
A central location for information on the telecommunications industry. Included are webpages of long distance carriers, information about the best rate plans, and some interesting tidbits about the industry.
Buying a Home
HUD's Web site for homebuyers includes common questions from first-time homebuyers; rights of a homebuyer; calculating how much mortgage you can afford; dealing with a real estate agent; various homebuying programs, including HUD's special programs; and information on inspections, appraisals, and homeowner's insurance.
Energy Savers
This site, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, has information on insulation and
weatherization, landscaping, appliances, and lots of other ways to save energy.
ForSaleByOwner.com
Database of homes for sale by owner (without a real estate agent) in the United States. Search for a home, or list your property. Also has information on local schools, price comparisons, loans, and tips on home buying. See also another database of for sale listings, allthelistings.com, which covers "62 states and provinces."
Home Improvement Encyclopedia (Better Homes and Gardens)
This online resource for home repair and improvement has five sections: Plumbing - everything from preventing and repairing leaks to installing toilets, tubs, and water heaters; Wiring - basic electrical repair, plus information on fans, doorbells, phones, etc.; Carpentry - basic techniques, cabinets, doors, finishing, walls, and more; Decks - building a deck or patio, plus maintenance and upgrades; and Masonry and Concrete - all about concrete, brick, and stone, with projects. In addition, there are several special sections: Project Calculators (paint, drywall, wallpaper, lumber, and concrete), Tool Encyclopedia, and Glossary. Searchable.
Homestore.com: Home Improvement and Repair
How and what to fix in a house. Includes information on appliances, carpentry, composting, electrical, exterior, interior, painting, plumbing, remodeling, how to choose woods, calculate costs, etc. A vast resource on home repair and remodeling. There is also information on moving, gardening, decorating, insurance, real estate, and appliances.
Landlord – Tenant Law for Washington
Designed to help answer questions about landlord and tenant law. Washington State Bar Association Consumer Information Pamphlet.
Realtor.com
Enormous database of homes for sale on the Web. Currently lists more than one million homes in the U.S. Also has a directory of realtors and a lot of consumer information about buying and selling a home. Includes links to car insurance and salary comparisons for various areas, mortgage information, real estate Q&A, and information on common real estate terms and topics, in English and Spanish. There is a mapping feature if the address of the house is available. From the National Association of Realtors, founded in 1908 with more than 70,000 members.
The Dollar Stretcher
Subtitled Your weekly resource for simple living, this site contains a newsletter each week with articles (many contributed by readers) covering the range of ways to "live better for less." Recent topics covered include: review of WebTV, car warranties, Halloween costume ideas, gas saving tips, first time moms, and healthy freezer meals. The articles are archived back to April, 1996 and arranged in several helpful ways. You can find them listed by subject (Reference Library), Problem, Date, and Author. In addition, Tips, Quips & Quotes contains hundreds of suggestions from readers on each topic covered.
theplumber.com
Subtitled The Plumbing page for plumbers and DIYS'rs, this site includes a basic handbook; FAQ that includes information on water heaters, toilets, drains, faucets, garbage disposals, dishwashers, and water distribution; discussion forum; media reports on plumbers and plumbing; and a history of plumbing from ancient cultures such as Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome through England to America and the White House. Plagues and diseases caused by water are discussed. The site continues with the invention of the water closet and the shower and debunks the story of Thomas Crapper's invention of the toilet.
America's Master Handyman's Help Site
Provides "how to hints" for home repair, manufacturer contact information, seasonal hints, archived articles, "Ask a Question" section, and most requested phone numbers for home repair.
Be Constructive
"Provides information and resources to homeowners and professionals about the benefits of using wood as a building material."
DIY -- Do It Yourself Network
DIY answers the call for more how-to projects with easy step-by-step directions. Whether you're creating a craft, remodeling a home, or planting the perfect garden, the DIY Network gives you the details you need, and the DIY Web site lets you see it again, print it out and take it with you." Instructions on a variety of home and do-it-yourself projects, as well as workshops that provide in-depth instruction on a variety of topics.
Do It Yourself.Com
Information sources and service providers for do-it-yourselfers.
Home Improvement Projects Index from Home Depot
Click on the "Project Index" tab for categories - build it, grow it, decorate it, install it.
Hometime.com
Check out "Project List" for linked categories or repair, remodel and construction.
HowToCleanAnything.Com
Howtocleananything.com "is a comprehensive collection of information, compiled by industry professionals, that seeks to provide the best quality" information on household cleaning methods. Information arranged by house exterior, interior, pets, auto, recreation, and stains. Includes glossary of cleaning terms and articles about topics submitted by readers. Six experts affiliated with the site take e-mail questions from the general public; they are professionals in carpet, janitorial, pets, chemicals, clothing, and computer cleaning.
Lowe’s How-To Library
Lowe’s Home Improvement stores provide repair and installation information.
PM Zone
"Popular Mechanics" is a publication and web site designed for the serious amateur.
RepairClinic.com
Appliance parts and free repair help.
Toiletology 101
Online course about how a home toilet works and how to repair one.
American Society of Home Inspectors
Information on problems such as aluminum wiring, septic systems, and lead in drinking water. In addition the ASHI Library provides articles and links to topics such as chimneys and flues, electrical, foundations, heating, plumbing and all the other fun things involved with being a home owner. You can also search for local home inspectors certified by ASHI.
Construction WebLinks
A searchable collections of links for the construction industry and related fields, including architecture and engineering. Included in Organizations are federal and state agencies, commonwealths, and territories and their laws and regulations; bidding and contract decisions, regulatory updates, and other legal documents of interest to the building industry; business and trade organizations; and colleges, universities, and libraries. Industry Topics contains licensing, financing, building codes, insurance and bonds, specifications, statistics, and more.
ImproveNet
This site offers many useful tools and calculators for home remodelers. There are estimators for specific jobs such as roofing or kitchen remodels or total house redesign; there are house plans and room "visualizers" and project calculators for tile, wallpaper, painting, etc. Most are free; some require Adobe Acrobat Reader or other free software. Registration (also free) allows the user to participate in newsletters and expert advice forums. It is also convenient, for comparison purposes, to have in one place the major suppliers of a particular appliance or product.
Sweet's Online: Building Product Information
A searchable collection of information on building materials based on manufacturer's catalogs, arranged in 16 building trades divisions. The Business Directory of construction may be searched by state and city, name of company, and business type. There are links to trade organizations and relevant federal agencies. From the publisher of the print Sweet's Catalog Files (since 1906).
Timber Press
Well-known publisher, site includes book of the week, reviews, best-seller list and new and forthcoming.
Monthly Garden Projects
Ed Hume’s year-round gardening calendar.
Washington State University Gardening in Western Washington
What to do in your Western Washington garden and when.
Butchart Gardens
Complete visitor information and beautiful photos of this Victoria B.C. garden.
Heronswood Nursery
Great website for one of the best internationally known nurseries in the Pacific Northwest.
The Bloedel Reserve
The primary purpose of the Reserve on Bainbridge Island is to provide people with an opportunity to enjoy nature through quiet walks in the gardens and woodlands.
Washington Park Arboretum
The Washington Park Arboretum is a spectacular urban green space on the shores of Lake Washington just east of downtown Seattle and south of the University of Washington.
Greenhouse Garden Companion
A site that focuses on all of your greenhouse gardening questions.
Hobby Greenhouse Association
Non-profit organization of people who enjoy growing ornamental and edible plants year-round through the use of various structures.
BinettiGarden.com
Marianne Binetti, the compleat home gardener, is a northwest horicultural expert.
Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington
A horticulture reference library serving the gardening public, the academic community and professional is the field.
Fancy Fronds Nursery
Located in Pacific Northwest- information and care about all types of ferns.
Gardening in Western Washington
Presented by WSU Cooperative Extension.
Gardening with Ciscoe
Ciscoe Morris is the host of KIRO radio's "Gardening with Ciscoe" show.
Great Plant Picks
Great Plant Picks is a new plant awards program designed to help the home gardener identify unbeatable plants for their Pacific Northwest garden.
Growing roses in the South Puget Sound
Includes all types of successful rose, rose care calendar, planting and caring diseases and pests and pruning.
Maritime Pacific Northwest Gardening
Two Rainy Side Gardeners focus on resources, ornamentals, edibles, herbs, landscaping, natives, events and a forum.
Northwest Flower & Garden Show
Annual garden show in Seattle
Rose Petals; the unofficial Seattle Rose Society Website
Maintained by Don Julien, newsletter editor. Don't miss this rose site -- excellent Seattle information ranging from Getting Started, Fertilizer Basics. Seasonal care (pruning!)
Slugs and Salal
Everything you need to know about gardening in the Pacific Northwest.
Washington Native Plant Society
Appreciate, conserve & study the native plants and habitats of Washington.
KidsGardening.com
This site supplies many creative ideas for teachers and parents to use while gardening with children. Ideas
are provided for theme gardens and users can participate in activities or connect with other "garden" teachers.
Kinder Garden
An introduction to the many ways children can interact with plants and the outdoors.
Cyndi's Catalog of Garden Catalogs
Find all the mail-order gardening catalogs in the US and Canada.
Garden Guides
Garden forums, articles, excellent resources and advice.
Garden Helper
Gardening, flowers and plants. An ever-growing guide to home gardening.
Garden Web
Seed and plant exchanges.
Organic Gardening
Organic gardening tips and solutions, monthly advice, national events listings, links to other organic
commercial sites and organizations, book recommendations, and subscription information for print magazine.
Hortsense
Washington State University cooperative extensions home gardeners fact sheets for managing plant problems. Excellent site for Western Washington.
The Garden Helper
Insects, bugs and pests that invade your houseplants and flowers.
Allrecipes
Search recipes by ingredient or category (including a wide variety of special diets, such as dairy-free), find menu ideas and cooking tips, and submit your own favorite recipes.
Epicurious
Includes over 10,000 recipes, food etiquette rules, dictionary of cooking terms, lists of cookbooks by topic or by year, and access to recipes from Bon Appetit and Gourmet.
Recipe Center
Includes more than 100,000 recipes.
RecipeSource
RecipeSource is the new name of SOAR: the searchable online archive of recipes. Search the archives of more than 34,000 recipes, categorized by ethnic region or by type of dish.
Fatfree: the Lowfat Vegetarian Recipe Archive
Low-fat and non-fat vegetarian recipes.
Vegetarian Recipe
Search for recipes by category, or choose top recipes (ranked by quickness, kid friendliness, easiness or overall ranking).
USDA Nutrient Database
Search for the nutritional values of food items.
Cook's Thesaurus
Find cooking substitutions, as well as descriptions and pictures of over 1,500 cooking ingredients.
Cooking Media
Links to TV and radio chefs, food magazines, newspaper food sections, and food industry sites.
Epicurious Wine
Over 25,000 wines can be searched by wine type, region, price, vintage and rating.
MikeL's Guide to WA Wineries
Links to Washington wineries.
Pacific Northwest Enological Society
Local wine-lovers association.
Wine Lovers Page
Wine-tasting basics, label decoding, and large archive of wine tasting notes.
Wine Spectator
Search for ratings and prices of over 15,000 wines.
Revised
5/29/2001
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