You could probably write a history of the United States and Canada based on the prevailing trend of kitchen countertop styles. How did Formica affect world events? What does the choice of ultra-swanky granite countertops say about the financial bubbles of the early 2000's?

Even concrete countertops have had their heyday. But when will soapstone counters have their resurgence? Even though soapstone has an appealing soft-and-warm feel, it is surprisingly harder than you might think (and no, doesn't dissolve on contact with water!). But the most surprising thing about soapstone countertops is that they are nearly impervious to staining, something that granite cannot claim. Part of this is the fact that new soapstone must be wiped down with mineral oil, and then this process repeated monthly for about a year. The light-gray soapstone turns dark gray, so possibly it may stain but the stains simply don't show.

Soapstone counters aren't for people who are looking to pare their remodeling budget close to the bone (but again, it does beat the cost of some granite). Nor is it for people who want a very sleek, sterile, contemporary look. It will develop what soapstone owners like to affectionately term "patina."

Image Copyright/Courtesy Vermont Soapstone

Garage insulation - some people have zero insulation, some people have fully insulated garages. It's not so strange when you consider the fact that the garage, while not living space, is attached to your living space and thus affects that living space's heating and cooling.

So, I don't think that some minimal garage insulation is weird. That means:

• Insulate garage door.
• Insulate garage door threshold.

See how things stand. Then, if you must, go from there to more labor intensive projects, such as insulating the wall between garage door and house.

That's only for people who don't work in their garage. And I'm not talking about the occasional oil-change or car vacuuming. People who work under cars in the winter or who do hobbies or woodworking--they probably want to go full-bore and insulate everything in the garage, including the garage attic and the side (exterior) walls.

Image Copyright/Courtesy AutoSport

In a Consumer Reports blog post about cost overruns for home remodeling projects, around 17,000 readers said that they experienced budget overruns for the following projects. I have turned the Consumer Reports list around, so that the highest number of readers experiencing cost overruns is #1, and working downward to the least number.

1. Bathroom Remodel (60 Percent)
2. Basement Finishing and Kitchen Remodel - Tie (56 percent)
3. Room Addition (55 percent)
4. Deck Addition and Major Landscaping - Tie (45 percent)
5. Interior Painting (31 percent)
6. New Windows (33 percent)

Image Public Domain

Paint rollers sure are great--and they accomplish a great many things that you cannot do with a brush or other method of painting--but they come with their own set of problems. Here's how to avoid getting frustrated when painting with a paint roller:

1. Use a paint strainer. It's easy to be cavalier about lumps and junk in your paint, until you start seeing them show up on the wall. Instead of picking them off of the wall, pick them out of the paint beforehand. Buying a cheap strainer is the easiest way to do this.
2. Don't try to reuse the roller covers. I suppose that, in these tough economic times, I'm supposed to tell everyone to wash out their paint roller covers. It's just a pain and not worth it. Toss and put on a new one. Want to reduce the waste? Then, plan ahead so that you get a full room's use out of your roller cover before tossing it. If you have to take time out for lunch, wrap tightly with plastic and reuse a half-hour later.
3. Use an extension pole. Extension poles aren't just for ceilings and those unreachable places. Extension poles can also be used for those places you can reach but tend to stretch--like towards the tops of walls.
4. Avoid thick-napped roller covers, unless the wall texture requires it. Thick-nap roller covers are for highly textured surfaces like brick, cottage-cheese ceilings, and the like. It's tempting to use them on smooth surfaces, because they do suck up and deliver massive amounts of paint--obviating the need for multiple return trips to the paint tray. Don't do this.
5. Forget rolling the corners. Get as close to the inside corners as possible, but avoid touching the opposite surface. You can never properly roll inside corners, and if you try, the results will look horrible. So, do the corners with brush, and you'll be much happier.

Image Copyright/Courtesy Lowe's