Dear Home Work: I have a cabin that the homeowner finished him­self The trim work is plain and the installation is not very well done. What can I do to jazz up the inside?

Take a good look at your present interior. If your cabin is an older, rustic-type home with much exposed wood, upgrading your doors and moldings can preserve and enhance that original look and charm. For newer homes, you can create that charm. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Interior Doors

If your inside doors are hollow, slab doors (flat), solid core raised panel doors are the most common upgrade. The doors are available in almost any wood, but you'll find fir and pine are popular and reasonably priced, and solid oak doors in the higher price range

It's usually recommended that the entire jam, door and moldings be replaced at the same time for the most successful project. By adding a bit larger molding to your new door, wall damage can usually be kept to a minimum, and you may avoid repainting or re-wallpapering the areas around the door.

Interior Windows

If you have aluminum windows, inset in drywall, you can add wood sills, sides and top, offset by new moldings, to create a custom looking window design. For older windows, new moldings alone may give you that new look.

Interior Moldings

Base moldings, case moldings (win­dow and door), crown moldings, chair rail... they can be mixed and matched in numerous styles and woods. If your home is newer, and you have a standard small rounded molding, you'll be amazed at the difference and warmth crown mold­ing and detailed base molding can add. If you plan on painting your molding, save dollars by purchasing "finger-joint" molding, rather than "clear" wood moldings required for staining.

Creating a wall

Want to really enhance a room or wall with paneling and moldings? A veneered wall of squares and rectan­gles, laid out with boards or ply­wood strips can be beautifully mold­ed with raised moldings and create a look right out of a library or court­room.

Closet Doors

Mirrored wardrobe bedroom doors can make a small cabin bedroom much brighter and larger looking. If you are replacing a similar size, you may be able to simply re-hang a standard size door. If you are

increasing the size, your contractor can usually re-frame your existing closet to accept the new door. Handrail and Banister systems Many older cabins have simple lum­ber for their stair systems, and they may not meet todays safety codes. In some cases, small children can fall through the existing spaces. New balusters and handrails can not only produce a new look, they can create a much safer environment.

The possibilities are simply endless when it comes to upgrading interiors with trim. Layout and installation are key elements to successful trim application. If you are an accom­plished do-it-yourselfer, with the right tools for the job, it's a relative­ly easy project, but time consuming. If you're not, call a contractor quali­fied in finish and trim, for the job. You'll find a number of excellent choices during winter months in Big Bear, since much of the exterior work is slower due to weather con­ditions.

Dear Homework:

Our log home here in the Big Bear Valley has a metal roof. During a recent snow melt, the snow slid and broke off one of the vent pipes. How do we go about getting it fixed?

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·Metal roofs are a natural for the Big Bear Valley, but we are still in our infancy when it comes to utilizing the product in residential situations. You'll see the product atop Big Bear schools, the Sugarloaf firestation, but still rarely on Big Bear homes. The advantages of metal roofing are great, and according to Bob Holcomb, Roofing Sales Coordinator for VicWest Steel, one of North America's largest metal roofing manufacturers, "the popularity of metal roofing is growing each year."

"Metal roofs are environmentally safe and sound, and supported by the EPA," he adds. Virtually mainte­nance free, they can be applied to any roof configuration, and come in a wide variety of colors."

Since residential applications are so popular in similar snow climate areas like Bend, Oregon and Aspen, Colorado to name two, experts pre­dict Big Bear will also see an increase in metal roofing. Holcomb goes so far as to say it may very well become "the roof of choice for Big Bear," in the not so distant future.

Your problem, (losing your vent pipe), is one of the disadvantages we've discovered. An experienced roofing contractor can climb on the roof for repairs, as long as they posi­tion their weight on the areas secured by screws - the ribs, and strongest areas of the roof.

To avoid future problems, there are several options. BIG BEAR SHEET METAL suggests creating a "snow plow", a V-Shaped heavy gauge metal, that is placed above the vent pipe, to help guide snow and water around piping. Depending on the position of your vent pipe, this may solve future problems.

VicWest Steel manufactures a special vinyl guard, with a rubber flanged bottom, that is positioned around vent and stove pipes, caulked and screwed directly to the roof, designed to hold pipes in place and water and snow out.

Check with your specific metal roof manufacturer, and they will probably have a similar system to coordinate with your brand of metal roof.