New & Neat
Tucked away among 80,000 square feet of new plumbing fixtures, roofing materials, kitchen appliances and power tools at the recent Pacific Coast Builders & Remodelers Conference were some pretty cool, fairly inexpensive consumer products. Here are some of the neatest.
Leave Your Mark, a company in Ashland, Ore., will make you a red concrete brick with a mounted bronze plaque that expresses almost any sentiment you would like in three lines of engraving. The company promotes the bricks to community groups as fund-raising tools, but the bricks would work fine as a garden marker, a back yard memorial for a pet, a doorstop, a paperweight or who knows what else. The cost is $19.95. Call (800) 569-9869.
Drop in the Bucket is billed as the “ultimate storage system” of stackable trays and boxes in a five-gallon plastic bucket, and is perfect for carpenters, fishermen, handy persons, hobbyists and picnickers. (The trays are microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.) The Drop in the Bucket system, with the bucket, an easy-on, easy-off soft lid and five trays, sells for $19.95. Call (800) 248-8707.
Turbo Plunger (“Let the Water Do the Work!”) is an amped-up version of the familiar plumber’s helper but relies on water pressure, not muscle power, to unclog drains. A burst of water, delivered through a hose from a faucet or a hose bib, blows obstructions out of all kinds of drains, the Turbo Plunger’s makers say. The tool, especially designed for stoppages in 1.6-gallon water-saver toilets, costs $28.95. Call (714) 496-6085.
The Home Fireman is a medicine cabinet-size firefighting system that comes assembled and ready to install or retrofit in new or existing homes. It includes 40 feet of kink-resistant hose, a nozzle that shoots 30 to 50 feet, as well as a five-pound dry powder extinguisher. The unit fits between 16-inch-center studs and connects to standard water lines (a job for a plumber or a very experienced do-it-yourselfer). Price for The Home Fireman starts at $239 and goes up, depending on cabinet finish. Call (404) 993-6000.
Orange TKO (“The Oil From the Peel of an Orange”) is a natural citrus cleaner/degreaser/stain remover whose makers say it will perform wonders on everything from clothing, carpets and household grime to clogged drains, pet stains and garden pests--including aphids and gophers. Plus, it has a great orange smell. Orange TKO is sold as a concentrate, which you dilute to the proper mix and spray on. The cost is $13.95 for eight ounces. Call (800) 991-2463.
Duluth Timber Co.’s motto is “Logging the Industrial Forest” and these “wreckers and recyclers of buildings and bridges” now sell their salvaged wood to the public as timbers, beams, boards, flooring and paneling. Most of the wood is old-growth Douglas fir, but they also have old-growth redwood salvaged from tanks of California wineries. Prices are somewhat higher than those for new wood. Call (707) 462-2567.
Plumb-Barbara, (motto: “A New Shape in Tools”), was perhaps the most talked-about new product at the builders’ show. Plumb-Barbara, a 12-ounce brass casting in shapely female form, is a plumb bob, a weight that carpenters hang from a line to help them determine if a wall, for example, is perfectly vertical. The figure was “computer designed for optimal balance,” its marketers say, and features “aerodynamic wind resistance for faster settling time.” The makers are taking orders for late August delivery, $24.95. Call (800) 984-0404.
