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HOME AND GARDEN / Fall 2014 Page 3

Supplying Quality Building Materials


for Over 50 Years
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HOME AND GARDEN / Fall 2014 Page 31
By EMILY LINGO
For a weekend project or spur-
of-the-moment do-it-yourself idea,
grab your hammer, nails and your
cellphone. Whether its choosing a
paint color or rearranging the furni-
ture, cellphone apps can help make
the process easier.
Here are a few apps to download
to help with your DIY project.
BrightNest
(Android, iOS free)
Once you
specify certain
facts about your
home and living
situation, Bright-
Nest delivers tips
and tricks for cleaning and home
maintenance. You can store ev-
erything from product manuals to
preferred paint colors. The app also
allows you to track what needs to be
done around the house.
Chairish (iOS free)
Need furniture
to ll a space, or
trying to down-
size? Chairish is
an online market-
place for buying
and selling furniture and home d-
cor. The app even allows for offers
to be made directly to the seller.
MagicPlan
(Andriod, iOS free)
This app al-
lows you to scan
the dimensions
of a room, even if
furniture is in the
way, to create an
instant oor plan. Once you have
the oor plan, you can easily move
items around to create the ideal
space.
Paint Calculator Pro (iOS
$2.99) (Android $2.80)
Have every-
thing planned be-
fore you start the
next paint project.
This app enables
you to calculate
the total width and height of a project
and the total paint needed, and esti-
mates the cost. It features a painting
checklist, and tips and tricks.
Paint Tester (iOS free)
The fear of
painting may
be over with the
PainTester app.
This app allows
you to take a pic-
ture of you room and try out paint
colors on the walls before lifting
a brush. You can test more than
one color, for instance a main col-
or and accent walls. Similar apps
are available on Android. Behrs
ColorSmart, Benjamin Moore Col-
or Capture and Sherwin-Williams
ColorSnap allows users to view
their respective paint colors only.
Eden Garden (iOS $1.99)
Eden Garden
allow beginners
to experienced
gardeners to
create beautiful
gardens. The app
starts with a picture of your house
and can search for plants by name,
height, zone or even blooming sea-
son. Then you simply place the
chosen plant at the location where
you want it to grow. The newer fea-
ture allows you to see what your
garden will look like during the
different season. Eden Garden is
perfect for those that want to see a
completed garden before trying to
plant it.
Home Design 3D
(iOS $6.99)
Turn a two-di-
mensional view
of your home
or space into a
three-dimension-
al graphic that
you can redesign. See what your
house would look like with extra
walls, create openings or just sim-
ply redecorate. A similar app, Build
App Pro, is available for Android for
$6.
Houzz (Android, iOS free)
This app is
like Pinterest on
steroids. Not only
can you browse
and save photos
of styled rooms,
you can click
green tags that appear on the x-
tures, furniture and paint colors
to see a full description, including
color and model numbers so you
know from where and how to order
the same exact item for your home.
iFixIt (Android, iOS free)
Lost the repair
manual? Not a
problem with iF-
ixIt. This app is
lled with thou-
sands of how-to
guides for repairs, with step-by-
step instructions.
iHandy Carpenter
(iOS $1.99)
This handy
virtual tool kit in-
cludes a plumb
bob, surface lev-
el, bubble level
bar, steel protrac-
tor and steel ruler.
Construction Master Pro
(Android, iOS $19.99)
All the same
features of the
Cons t r uc t i on
Master Pro cal-
culator are now
available for your
phone. This handy app has built-in
solutions for calculating the amount
of drywall or paneling needed, g-
uring stair riser heights and stair-
well openings, converting decimals
to feet and inches, and much more.
It features built-in help by pressing
and holding down the desired key
for denitions and explanations.
EasyMeasure
(Android, iOS free)
This app mea-
sures the height of
objects and the dis-
tance between ob-
jects through your
phone camera.
Handyman Calculator
(Android free)
With the Handyman Calculator,
you can calculate
material, track
time spent on
projects and save
your calculations.
The app also al-
lows for creating customized lists of
favorite calculators.
Home Improvement Calcs
(iOS $1.99)
This app has
more than 170
home improve-
ment calculations
and unit conver-
sions. Calcuator
options include: concrete and
bricks, electrical, framing, heat-
ing and cooling, interiors, lumber
and materials, yard, area/volume/
angle, conversions, linear mea-
surements and a miscellaneous
category.
I.D. Wood
(Android, iOS $4.99)
A reference
guide to woods,
c o n v e n i e n t l y
stored in your
phone, this app is
lled with screen
samples and detailed information
for more than 200 different woods.
Photo Measures
(iOS $6.99)
This allows
you to take pho-
tos of an object
and then type in
the dimensions.
You can then
store the photos by category. A
similar app is available for An-
droid, My Measure and Dimen-
sions ($4.99).
Pinterest
(Andriod, iOS free)
If you can
dream it, chances
are its on Pin-
terest. Explore a
variety of catego-
ries from home
improvement to food to costumes
and save your favorite ones to
customizable boards. Build your
dream home and share the ideas
with your friends.
WikiHow
(Android, iOS free)
Have a ques-
tion, get an an-
swer. WikiHows
collection of how-
do articles can
provide an an-
swer to virtually any question.
Doing it yourself? Theres an app for that

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