TV HOST DUE AT SHOW

TV host due at show
CLEVELAND -- Kenneth Brown, host of Home and Garden Television's "reDesign," will appear at the 25th anniversary Home Improvement Show on Jan. 28 at the IX Center. He will appear at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The show is sponsored by Professional Remodelers of Ohio.
Cleveland Home & amp; GardenShow set Feb. 4-12
CLEVELAND -- Twenty indoor acres planted with 30 blooming gardens and four, full-scale dream houses will be featured at the 63rd annual National City Cleveland Home & amp; Garden Show planned Feb. 4-12 at the IX Center. Among attractions will be a massive entry garden, circular hurricane-proof home, zero-energy architecturally modern home, energy-savers showcase and replica of the Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse. Visit www.homeandflower.com for more information.
Akron home, flower show
AKRON -- The newly named Home Builders Association Akron Home and Flower Show will take place Feb. 24-26 at the John S. Knight Center. Home improvement exhibits, stage presentations and celebrity speakers will be featured. Visit www.akronhomeandflowershow.com for more information.
Adaptive equipment
Adaptive equipment to help people who have suffered a disabling injury or illness is available in the Don Krebs' Access to Recreation catalog. Among items are an electric page-turning device, specialized tools for gardeners, modified fishing gear, assistive golfing implements and portable wheelchair ramps. For a free copy of the catalog, call (703) 267-1495.
Linda Linonis 12/30/05 OK
Building code change
Changes made to the 2006 International Residential Code no longer recognize moisture-resistant, paper-faced drywall as a suitable tile backing material in wet areas such as tub and shower surrounds. Instead, a cement-based backerboard or other approved moisture-resistant tile backerboard product must be specified to meet IRC requirements. For information on controlling moisture and product options, visit the U.S. Gypsum Web site at www.usg.com or call (800) 874-4968.
Linda Linonis 12/30/05 OK on web site and number
New wallpaper samples are guaranteed to be easy
One snag with choosing a wallpaper has been testing it out in the room; signing out the huge sample book and holding it up to the wall is awkward at best, and even sample swatches need to be taped up and tend to curl.
York Wallcoverings is offering another method: free pre-pasted sample squares that peel off easily.
"The pre-pasted squares are wallpaper's answer to paint chips," says spokeswoman Barbara Carpenter. "In the past, customers have had to buy an entire roll of wallpaper to try it out in their space. Now they can decide which designs work best before purchasing anything. They just take home as many sample squares as they like, dip them in water, apply them to the wall, choose the one they like and peel off the rest."
And it's not just the samples that come off easily. The company's Extreme Room Makeovers Wallpaper Collection uses an adhesive technology called SureStrip, designed to make wallpaper application and removal easier than ever. Consumers simply wet strips and place them on walls -- no shrinking, no stretching and no visible seams. When it's time for a change, the strips peel off in complete sections without damage to walls. (York is so confident in the technology, it guarantees 100 percent strip-ability. If the paper doesn't peel off, the company will send a professional to redo your walls.)
The collection of 140 designs, ranging in price from $17 to $37 per single roll, features realistic looks of distressed plaster, faux marbling, granite and metallic, as well as harlequin patterns and tone-on-tone stripes in neutrals and bolder colors. For locations or more information, call (866) 967-5925 or visit www.yorkwall.com.
Some screwdriver advice
All across America, parents are putting toys together and teens are hooking up shelves for racks to hold tons of CDs. Millions are having problems because there just aren't that many good screwdrivers out there. Some are using bent or broken tools or the wrong-sized ones, or worse, a coin or butter knife to do the job. Screwdrivers that are too small twist and chew up the head. When they're too big, they damage the surface when they go in. A simple screwdriver set with an assortment of tip styles and sizes will make any job easier.