INTERNET IS HANDY TOOL FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

Home improvement is a big-time pastime for Americans. A lot of people do projects to put their personalities into their homes. Others buy fixer-uppers. For some, it's a hobby. For others, a passion.

Whatever the reason, the Internet can provide a door to many home improvement sites.

Peggy: OK. I confess. I've started a small home improvement project in my fixer-upper.

Joni: Mark and I learned long ago that we can do many things together, including work together, but we cannot do home improvement projects together. That's been the success to our nearly 19-year marriage.

Peggy: We'll start at one of the best-known home fixer-uppers, Bob Vila.

www.bobvila.com

Joni: I like this. There is a knocker on the front door of his site. You can hear Bob's welcome with audio. His site has something about just about everything.

Peggy: Under projects online, Bob follows some people through their remodeling project. They start at the beginning, with permits and budgets, and follow through the construction and cleanup.

Joni: You can check out some of Bob's favorite tools, including video of things like power routers and such. I'm sure someone would find this interesting.

Peggy: My dad would be thrilled. He loves power tools. Here's something different -- tables and calculators. You can find the formula for how much paint or wallpaper is needed.

Joni: It goes down to 60 drops makes a teaspoon of paint. You can learn about nails, lumber sizes and grades. There is lots of information for the real hard-core improvers. Let's take a look at Better Homes and Gardens.

www.bhglive.com

Peggy: Click on the first option, house and home. Better Homes and Gardens has a home improvement encyclopedia online. They have more than 1,000 tips home improvements.

Joni: They actually have three interactive calculators here -- a estimator for paint, drywall and lumber costs. That's what I need. Someone to help you do the work.

Peggy: Here's a tool dictionary with information on all kinds of tools, like power routers and pry bars, also known as a flat bar. It includes an animated demonstration on how to use and how not to use it.

Joni: They also have online home plans. You get some choices about style, size and space for your new home. You plug in how many bedrooms and bathrooms, and you end up with a selection of plans that meet your specifications. Another well-known magazine with a Web site is Popular Mechanics.

www.popularmechanics.com

Peggy: The site has a warning that it is computationally demanding. Fast connections are recommended. They have won a lot of awards. Let's see what they can do.

Joni: Apparently we didn't have all the stuff needed to run the 3-D VRML site, so we took the 2-D version.

Peggy: There's a lot more to this site than home improvement, but you can click on home improvement.

Joni: PM readers want to know if something works; they want to know how it works. You can learn about the hot water heater, the refrigerator, the washing machine and much more.

Peggy: Here's a homeowners clinic, a monthly forum covering all different aspects of home problems -- ground water, hot attics, sweaty ducts.

Joni: Quack, Quack.

Peggy: Not that kind of duck. They also give you buying tips on things you will need for improvement projects.

Joni: Our new Tim the Tool Man at the Southeast Missourian is Tim Carter. He is a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and a really nice guy. He lives in Cincinnati. We run his column each Wednesday. Find him online at

www.askthebuilder.com

Peggy: This is a very extensive site. You can find his columns, including this week's on floors and wood joints, and you can find almost anything from blacktop to windows listed alphabetically.

Joni: You can also do a word search if you need information on a topic. You can subscribe to his free e-mail newsletter. He also offers Tim's Tips, thousands of helpful question-and-answer tips, you can search by word. You can also link to newspapers who use his column, including the Southeast Missourian.

Peggy: Tim the Tool Man gets a lot of kidding about the other Tim the Tool Man, the television version. If you like that tool man, try the Home Improvement International Fan Club at, of course.

www.morepower.comJoni: They are getting ready to start their eighth season. At this site, Cyberfans have more power and more fun. They provide a forum for fans to discuss the series and are compiling a data base of Home Improvement fan clubs.

Peggy: Here's a news flash, Jonathan Taylor Thomas will be in just three of the 26 upcoming episodes in the eighth season. He's going to devote more time to his education.

Joni: You can find out about your favorite stars, including Wilson, the neighbor. How come we never see his face? There is no picture of Wilson, or the actor Earl Hindman, but did you know his character's name is Wilson Wilson Jr.

Peggy: You can also find addresses for fan mail and how to get tickets for a taping and places to go to chat about "Home Improvement" and dozens of other links.

Joni: What's your favorite home improvement site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.