Are you looking for those wonderful and gorgeous lights that you see on the trees at Centerra in Loveland? Have you driven by I-25 and highway 34 and said, wow, those lights are amazing, where can I buy those? Well, look no further than our store for them. Yes, Orchards Ace Hardware has partnered with Blazen Illuminations of Loveland to bring you the Official LED Holiday Lights of Centerra this year! We have all the lights that you saw last season and they’re at a much better price than you have ever been able to purchase them before.

     Last season the lights were available to buy in the $20.00 range at Centerra. This season we have them as low as $9.99, most of them at $14.99 per box. We have the C-6 or pinecone variety available in multi colored, white, red, green, and the remarkable blue. We also have mini string available in all those same color varieties.

     The lights are truly a higher quality LED string than anything else you’ll see in the market. These lights, by Holiday Creations of Centennial, CO, have true Diogen LED’s in them. Each LED is colored, not just a white led with a colored lens over them. This gives them their true and consistent remarkable color. They use hardly any electricity, can be strung end-to-end a long, long way and really, really sparkle and look great!

     We have a wide variety of other LED lights as well this season including, icicle strings, wreaths, and garland. They are in the Celebrations brand and run a little less money, but are not as good looking.

     So remember if you like the Christmas lights that you see at Centerra in Loveland, come on in and we’ll get you what you want!

    One more new product we now have in stock is heat shrink tubing. Yes, very true, we have stocked heat shrink tubing for years, but only in short, packaged lengths. We now have heat shrink tubing in rolls and you may purchase any length that you desire. What is even better about this is that we not only have it in black we also have it in clear! Yes, clear het shrink tubing! It’s really versatile, and can be used for many, many purposes. It is really clear; you can easily see right through it after it has shrunk. Use this for protection of handles, tools, hoses, wires, cables, etc. not only for sealing wire connections. I don’t know how much more exciting can make clear heat shrink sound in a blog, but come see it; it really is cool!

     We have yet another fun new product line in the store: Split Loom Tubing. Yes, we have carried split loom tubing for many years, but only a fraction of what we now stock. We have just brought in colored split loom tubing! We now have red, blue, yellow, white & orange in three diameters and sell it by the foot so you can get just the length you need.

     What is split loom tubing? Well some may now it as convoluted tubing, but we hate to have any convoluted products! It’s the plastic flexible tubing with that is split so you may insert wiring, small tubes, cables, whatever inside it to protect them from abrasion and to help manage tangles. You’ve seen it under the hood of your car, on the back of you home theater system, on computer desks, and anywhere else you may need it. It’s uses are only limited by your imagination. For instance, my cat has a nasty habit of chewing cords, like the one that runs from my alarm clock. So I put the split loom over the cord, and now he only chews on it, saving him from a shocking experience.

     What’s even more fun is that we now have metallic split loom tubing! This comes in red, blue and chrome. All you guys out there with hot rods and Harleys who have wanted to dress up your wiring, come take a look at this. Also available in three diameters, this metallic split loom really looks sharp!

     -Clark

    Today is Halloween, so you know what that means; trick or treaters, falling leaves, the beginning of the sugar holidays? Well yes, but that’s not where I’m going. It’s the start of the snowy season. Growing up in Colorado I can hardly remember a Halloween where it did not snow. At the best it was cold, way too cold to wear your cool costume. After awhile we all figured out how to get a costume to fit over a ski jacket. Well today is warm, sunny and beautiful out, so it seems like I’m being proved wrong today, but none the less, snow season is just around the corner.

    Snow season means that you’ll want to use your snowthrower when we do get that big snow. Well, NOW is the time to get your snowthrower out of storage and get it running again. Every year when that first big snow hits we receive dozens and dozens of phone calls about a snowthrower that won’t start. Most of the time, it’s a very simple thing to fix. Most of the time, the problem began with the last time a snowthrower was used and the fact that it wasn’t put away properly.

    It is very important to use fuel stabilizer, such as Stabil, in the fuel for your snowthrower. The key is to put in Stabil right away when you’re at the gas station filling your gas can. Stabil will keep fresh fuel fresh, but it won’t make stale fuel fresh again. It is more important to use this for your snowthrower than other gas equipment because your snowthrower is more likely to sit for 8, 10, even 14 months between uses. In that time, with modern fuel you’re very likely to have fuel trouble.

    So you forgot to use Stabil and now you can’t get your snowthrower started. Here’s a trick we’ve used many times with good success: Empty all the fuel out of the tank. Replace it with fresh fuel. Prime the engine, really prime it. Prime it to the point of flooding by pushing the primer bulb 15-20 times. The engine will be flooded, so let it sit for an hour or so. After the flooding goes away the engine will likely start more or less normally. Run it for several minutes, and then it should run normally after that. What this does is pump the fresh fuel that you’ve just put in through the line and through the carburetor and flushes out the old stale fuel.

    Remember Now is the time to do this, when it’s nice out, when there’s not snow on the ground that you need to clear right away, and when you have time to get it fixed if it’s something more major. We recommend Mac Equipment here in Loveland for all small engine work.

A word of warning, it is not the manufacturer’s responsibility to use fresh fuel or keep the fuel in good condition. That is your responsibility. No manufacturer warranties will cover bad fuel and you will have to pay for repairs.

What you see above is one of the best new products I’ve tried in a long time, the Edge Brownie Pan. Finally someone got the great idea of making a pan that bakes brownies with more edges than the traditional pans do. I happen to be a major brownie connoisseur, ask my wife she’ll verify this, and I love the edge pieces. Always have, ever since I was a kid. You could tell if I had been to the brownie pan, because all four corner pieces were cut out first. Well with the Edge Brownie Pan, I don’t have to do that anymore, because every piece has an edge! I tried it for the first time last night and the brownies came out wonderfully. Very easy to use, nice non-stick coating to serve from and the brownies baked much more evenly than a rectangular pan. No more crispy edges and gooey middles pieces with this pan. You can guarantee that my Brownie Edge Pan will be getting lots of use from now on.

We have them in stock and they make a great gift for the brownie lover on your list. My brother-in-law also loves the edges, and he’ll be getting one this Christmas. You’ll like our price as well; I haven’t seen them anywhere else for less.

-Clark

We have new exciting light bulbs in stock. They are LED accent bulbs. We have them with candelabra base for chandelier type bulbs, with a medium base for standard type bulbs or with a GU10 base. Gu10 is the two prong base that many halogen fixtures take. What is so great about these LED bulbs? Well, they use virtually no electricity. The manufactures claim that the medium base bulb pictured below replaces a 40watt bulb, while using only 1.5 watts of electricity. Yes, 1.5 watts. Wow! Now that’s a huge energy savings. They also run cool, creating almost no heat. LED bulbs have a very long life as well. The bulb pictured below has a 30,000 hour rating.

I will admit the 40 watt replacement may be a bit optimistic. Possibly because the light is a little different in color and quality, it does look different from a standard, soft-white 40 watt bulb. These would be great in fixtures where the bulbs are covered and would be especially good for accent lighting.

The best thing about these LED bulbs is that this is just the tip of the Iceberg, so to say. We have been talking to several bulb companies about LED bulbs for some time. The technology is just hitting the consumer market now, and will only get better and cheaper in the years to come. This is much like the CFL market was ten years ago. I predict that someday, before too long, if you’re not buying a CFL bulb, you’ll be buying an LED bulb. Between the two we’ll all be able to save a huge amount of electricity used in our homes every day. Keep watching for new and innovative bulbs, they’re coming soon.

Another new product in our paint department: Soy Guard. Soy Guard is a wonderful new exterior wood finish product that is bio-based, ultra-low V.O.C. and safe for kids and pets. Soy Guard is made by Bio Preserve. Soy Guard really penetrates the surface of wood and soaks in deep for protection. Water beads on the surface very well after Soy Guard is applied.

Soy Guard stain comes in four colors (which match Superdeck colors almost exactly). Soy Guard may be used on decks, fences, spa enclosures, anywhere you’d use any exterior stain. It is especially nice to use on kids playsets or playhouses. Since it is very safe for kids and pets, you’ll have no worries with the kids playing around it. Soy Guard clear sealant will give you premium protection against water damage to your wood. Soy Guard is simple to apply, even simpler to clean up, since you can use soap and water to clean up with.

There’s a LOT more information at the Bio Preserve website www.soyguard.com . I highly recommend that you read through their information. If you’re staining your deck or fence, this is a great new green alternative to the old standard stains.

Our newest and one of the most fun products we have is on the shelf, Team Lights! What are Team Lights? Well, Team Lights are strings of mini lights in team colors. You may think they’re Christmas lights at first, but they come in two colors for teams. For instance, we have black & red, green & gold, gold & black, white & purple and orange & blue. Dress up your TV room, your house, your school or your party with these lights and add more fun while you watch your favorite team.

To get a better idea of what these are go to www.teamlights.com. You’ll like our prices, too as they’re a little better than what you see there.

Come in and check ‘em out. They’re unique, they’re fun and they’re great for any time of the year!

It has been about five weeks since I applied Get Growing to my lawn. If you recall I only got about half of my lawn covered, so I thought it would be good to compare the two halves later on. It’s now later on and when I compare the two halves there is a difference. I can tell just looking at the lawn that the half that received the Get Growing spray does indeed look better. It’s greener, stays greener between waterings and feels much nicer to walk on. I cannot say that I can physically see a huge amount of difference when I really get down and look at / feel the ground. I thought it might clear up more of the thatch and mulch to the naked eye. It must be doing something right, though. It must indeed be breaking up the thatch at the ground level and really helping it to get back in to the soil somehow.

I’d give Get Growing a thumbs up. I plan on covering my entire yard again in a few weeks to keep the good part looking good, and help the bad part catch up. Should make an even bigger difference in the hot months to come.

Clark

Haven’t written for awhile. Been too busy working in my bathrooms. Good news is they’re done, or at least for now they are. I must say that all turned out well, very well. The process was quite tough at times. It all was much more difficult than it looks from a book or a TV show. But I did learn some new things, dealt with some good companies, some bad ones, and get some experience with new products.

The shower door I bought from our store was junk. I was really disappointed in it. We don’t stock them, but I special ordered one in. It was a Sterling and was very poorly designed and did not ever seal the way it should have. I looked all over northern Colorado for another shower door. Nobody, I mean nobody had a good door on-hand or to order. I finally ended up at Handy Glass in Loveland. Why I didn’t go there in the first place is beyond me. Handy Glass was very helpful and had expert installation of a wonderful shower door. It looks great, didn’t cost too much and works just right. I should have known to go to a good old Loveland locally owned business in the first place.

It took awhile to get and was a bit confusing to order but our vanity turned out really nice. We had it custom made at Tharp Cabinets in Loveland. Tharp does really nice work. The quality of the vanity is much, much better than anything else we looked at, and the price was almost equal to the big box stores. Again the locally owned business comes through. The granite top done by BC Granite is really nice. They also did a top notch job installing it, with really easy and friendly service.

Tim Clark did a great job with the tile work. We used 12″ square tiles on the wall on his suggestion and boy do they look nice. They were cheaper than 4″ quicker and easier to install and should be easier to maintain. Yes we had a few problems in the installation, but Tim and his buddy Alex did a terrific job of following up and fixing everything. They had a few areas where they used Loctite’s Power Grab adhesive and boy it did a great job of holding the tile, and solving their problems where regular tile adhesive fell short.

We used Benjamin Moore semi-gloss for the main bathroom walls and ceilings. Took awhile to pick a color, but when my wife finally did, the paint came out great. The semi-gloss over existing semi-gloss did take two coats, and did have more odor than I thought it would. The fully dried finish is so smooth and silky looking it’s something else. We went with a medium dark color and the walls just look a thousand times better than before. The Benjamin Moore colors really are amazing.

Put up a Moen curved shower rod. They should outlaw straight shower curtain rods. These curved ones are really nice when your inside the shower, and they look nicer from outside as well. The Moen rod installed quickly and easily as well.

The newest item I used was Frog Tape. Frog Tape is a new masking tape that we’ve had for a few month. It has polymers embedded in the edge of the tape that lays a barrier down when the liquid of the paint comes in contact with it. I had two areas right along the new counter top that needed absolutely clean and crisp edges between them and the paint. Regular making tape could have worked, but may have had some leakage, which would have really ruined the look. The Frog Tape worked really well. I put it down just like regular tape and just painted like normal, not trying to be extra careful while painting. Pulled it off in just a few minutes and wow! A perfect straight edge! Much easier and nice than regular tape. I highly recommend Frog tape!

So that’s what I know about remodeling a bathroom. A project that many of us do. Well worth it in the long run. Well worth the peace of mind of new plumbing and new walls. A lot of mess during the process, but what isn’t? Much harder than it looks on TV, but most things in life are.

-Clark