How bamboo flooring is made

THIS FLOORING VIDEO from the DIY (Do-it-Yourself) network's DECONSTURCTION program, shows how bamboo flooring is made. It is a full program comparing different types of flooring, including carpet.

They demonstrate how bamboo flooring is stronger than oak flooring.

HERE IS A LINK to another DIY video, this one all about WINDOWS. After seeing this informative video about windows, click on WATCH ALL 25 DECONSTRUCTION episodes to see what other topics might be of interest. Using this link search service at the top you can also do a search for other cable shows about fixing up or looking for a house, like Sweat Equity, My First Place, House Hunters, or Property Virgins.

Here's another DECONSTRUCTION episode I liked, about granite counter tops. In one test, they show an advantage to solid surface counter tops (the upgrade on the ihouse), since if you drop a glass, it is less likely to shatter than on granite. They cite a statistic I didn't know... in new homes, 48% of counter tops are now granite.

Here's a link to one of my favorite episodes from PROPERTY VIRGINS, a show which takes first time home buyers through the selection and buying process. This particular show is in Toronto (so Canadian dollars) and I like the last house. It shows how comfortable spaces in a smaller home can be, especially in a colder climate. Each episode is similar. First the couple or buyer is taken to their dream neighborhood where the Realtor brings them down to earth about what they can really afford.

Having the how-to-fix shows on the internet is especially handy since even though they are on cable, the HGTV channel, the internet makes it easier to locate and watch something specific to a project you're considering. Plus, I don't have cable!

The home-search shows are educational and entertaining because they show the decisions all people have to make -- ones like location vs. size -- no matter what price level they are looking at. Even people with over a million dollars to spend sometimes have to choose between the one with the best view, and the house with better interior.

HOUSE HUNTERS is staged. They find a couple who has already bought a house, but hasn't moved in, and take them on a mock tour of two others. Still, it is enjoyable to watch as the viewer doesn't know which house they bought. I like the host of PROPERTY VIRGINS, if only for telling people they probably shouldn't take a sledgehammer to a brand new tile counter top, because they want granite, if money is at all a factor.

One show I saw had a kitchen with new white appliances, and the buyer said she'd change them to stainless steel, "to increase the value of the house." That doesn't make sense. The only way stainless steel appliances are going to do that is if she lives there for ten years, and then buys new stainless steel appliances when it comes time to sell the house.