Hot Home & Garden Posts
How To: Work on your roof without falling off
In this roofing video Bob Schmidt shows you how to use the foam padding from a sofa cushion to say secure and not fall while doing roof repairs.
News: This High Voltage Furniture Technique Burns Lightning Designs into Wood
Lightning is scary and powerful, yet when harnessed correctly, it can become a beautiful pattern for hand-crafted wooden furniture. Muchd like Zeus in ancient mythology, Canadian Woodworks is harnessing the power and beauty of lightning, but they're doing it for aesthetic purposes.
How To: Install a Timber Floor
G'day Knuckleheads. In this Owner Builder Episode we look at laying the timber floor. You'll see in this video the team showing you how to lay a timber / wooden floor. The timber or wood l used for the floor was a species of timber called Blackbutt. It's a solid 19mm x 130mm board which is very hardy and should stand up to a fair bit of abuse…which it will get at my place :-) Timber floors really give a warmth to your property and are well worth the effort.
How To: Bleed Trapped Air from Baseboard Heater
This video will show you how to bleed trapped air from a baseboard heater. If your baseboard heat is cold with the heat turned on, this might work for you.
How To: Handy One-Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip: Marking the Floor with Crayon
G'day Knuckleheads. Here's my latest one minute stud wall framing tip! Marking on the floor where your wall studs are located is a real handy thing to do. It makes installing your baseboard or skirting board that much easier. Give it a go. You'll be glad you did.
How To: Use Dryer Sheets to Clean Soap Scum Off Shower Doors
How often do you fight with your shower doors? Maybe not literally (although my elbow has smacked the hard glass many times), but when it's time to clean the bathroom, getting a few weeks' worth of soap scum and grime off the shiny, clear surface becomes an insurmountable task. Whether you use a special cleaner and squeegee or a carefully selected wipe, chances are you still battle the streaks and grit left behind. Although it might not make sense to steal cleaning supplies from the laundry r...
How To: Learn How to Unclog a Drain Using a Plumbing Snake
Learn how to unclog a clogged drain by using a snake designed for plumbing. We'll show you how to use this snake to unclog your drain.
How To: Keep Denim Jeans Clean & Smell-Free Without Ever Washing Them at All
Even if you decode the laundry symbols on the tags of your clothes and follow them perfectly, using the washing machine tends to change their shape and fade colors over time. And whether you spent $20 or $200 on them, there's nothing worse than having your favorite pair of jeans ruined.
How To: Change Replace Freezer Light Bulb and Cover Kenmore Refrigerator
This video will show you how to remove the freezer light bulb cover in your Kenmore refrigerator. It's pretty easy to do, but not breaking the plastic light cover can be tricky.
How to Build a Shed, Part 15: Installing Exterior Wood Trim
In this video Henry shows you how to finish all the exterior trim on the shed. This video includes lot of tips to make the finish carpentry in this video easy and accurate.
How to Build a Shed, Part 9: Building & Installing Gable Ladders (Rakes)
Using ladders (Rakes) to build your gable overhangs on the shed is one of the fastest and easiest ways to do this. Henry shows you how to layout, build and install the ladders on our shed.
How To: Grease Lubricate Snowblower Chute Gear Mechanism Toro 824
How to grease the gear on your snowblower chute.
How To: Replace a Refrigerator Hinge Cover
If your refrigerator hinge cover is damaged or discolored, you will probably have to replace it. You can follow the steps in this video to help you do this easy repair.
How To: Laundry Symbols Deciphered! Here's What the Care Labels on Your Clothes Really Say
Frankly, I never cared about the care labels on my clothing. They supposedly held some secret key to keeping clothes clean and bright, but who wants to look at little icons and a bunch of fine print for every single garment they wash?
How To: 5 Simple Ways to Keep Your Bathroom Mirror from Fogging Up
Getting hot and steamy can be awesome, as illustrated in the 1997 smash hit Titanic. But having the bathroom mirrors fog up during a nice hot shower can be very annoying. Getting ready in the morning can already be rushed, and wiping down your mirrors after your shower wastes time. Since most people like to shave or clean up after a shower, the need for a clear mirror is prime.
How To: Install a Hanging Room Divider - IKEA KVARTAL
Whether you own or rent, it’s not always easy to decorate a studio apartment to keep the bed out of sight. In this episode, you’ll see how to divide a studio apartment with an IKEA KVARTAL system. Panels, curtains and art hanging from the ceiling tracks give the illusion of a wall, creating a separate living room that’s easy to open up anytime. All it takes is a few simple tricks and you’ll see what an easy project this is for decorating a studio apartment or any space that could use a room d...
How To: Build a Simple Outdoor Fire Pit for Less Than 100 Bucks
There's nothing better than sitting around a fire in your own backyard, but store-bought fire pits can get pretty expensive, and unfortunately (but understandably), most states have pretty strict regulations on outdoor fires.
How To: Unlock A Privacy Door Handle
When owning a home one type of lever set you may have in your home is a privacy lever. In a privacy lever set, the main feature is that the door can only be locked from the inside. Sometimes a kid might get locked in or someone may accidentally lock the door behind them. It's really easy to unlock it in an emergency.
How To: Adjust the float cup/ball height in your toilet tank to save water
Trim down your water bill and do the planet a favor by adjusting the water height in your toilet tank. The Fluidmaster's float cup on the fill valve can easily be adjusted to set water height in the cistern, just by fine-tuning the water level adjustment clip. This process is very similar for regular fill valves, too, with float balls instead of float cups. All you need to do is hit the sweet spot—the lowest water height needed to properly flush the toilet.
Shortcut: The Secret to Reviving a Smelly Kitchen Sponge
Penny pincher? A true believer in "waste not want not"? Then listen up—here's a quick tip that will save you some spare change.
Shortcut: Drill Powered Pencil Sharpener
As someone who keeps an electric drill in the same 5 foot proximity of a manual wall pencil sharpener, here's a clear cut case of "Why didn't they think of this sooner?!"... Introducing, the coolest drill bit ever: Wowee, just watch it go. The C.H. Hanson Pro-Sharp Finishing Pencil Carpenter proclaims itself as the "world’s first chuckable drill powered pencil sharpener”. It promises to produce "a fast, consistent pencil point every time” and universally fits any drill or 1/4" quick change sy...
How To: Install a piano hinge on a side door
A piano hinge is also called a continuous hinge, and is a popular hinge to use on side doors and other small doors. This tutorial shows you the proper method of installing a piano hinge on your current project. Besides the door and the hinge, you will also need some basic hardware: a drill and some screws, as well as a chisel to carve out an inset for the hinge to rest. Make sure you always measure carefully before cutting anything!
How To: Pop a Car Lock with a Coat Hanger
You've done it, I've done it, almost everyone who owns a car has done it: they've gone an locked themselves out. Well, this good how-to shows how to get back into your older model car with nothing more than a coat hanger. It will requre some trial and error to get it done, but this video is a good primer.
News: Real or Fake? Impossible Wooden Waterfall
It takes a special kind of mind to look at an M.C. Escher drawing and see a blueprint. And yet, looking at this working 3D model of Escher's Waterfall, one gets the impression that YouTube's mcwolles may have done just that! One thing's clear: like Escher's famous lithograph, the video employs some manner of trickery. But what kind? Good, old-fashioned forced perspective? CGI? Do the shadows provide a clue? Let's hear it in the comments.
How To: Add a door In an exterior brick wall
If you've got a brick house and are looking to install a door in the brick, this how to will get you there. Be prepared, it's a big job and you'll need to be comfortable wielding several power tools. Are you ready to take the challenge?
How To: Install patio doors in a brick wall
If you've got a brick wall and you're thinking of installing a door, you may have thought you were out of luck. Not so! This helpful how-to walks you through the steps so you can see how it's done. First off, know that this is not a simple task, so be prepared to wield a brick cutter, which is a serious tool in itself. After that you'll be framing out the door, shimming it up, and installing the door. Go for it!
How To: Take a BIC lighter apart for recycling
For on-the-go lighting of birthday candles (those surprise birthday parties really get you), homemade explosives (because making stuff explode is fun), and cigarettes, a cheapo BIC lighter is a totally awesome fix. But most BIC lighters run out pretty quickly and get tossed without second thought.
How To: Install a Sliding Glass Cabinet Door
Cabinets that open straight out and shut to close make so much ruckus, especially when you've got someone who's angry in the house. Sliding doors, meanwhile, are super chic, classy, and easily draw open and close without a fuss. Not to mention that most sliding cabinet doors are made of glass, which means you can show off your newest Wedgewood dinnerware set and Rosenthal cups.
Shortcut: Fix a Stripped Screw with a Toothpick
Don't you love those simple little tricks that just make life easier? Like quick solution for a pesky stripped screw? Apartment Therapy says,
How To: De-Ice Your Gutters (The Secrets of Ice Dam Removal)
I feel sorry for all of you homeowners stuck in snow right now. The snowy, blizzard conditions effecting most of the country is causing some serious headaches across our nation. And it's not just the cold weather I'm talking about. I'm talking about ice dams— something that more suitably should have been called ice damns, because they pretty much damn your roof to hell.
How To: Replace the charcoal filter for your Krups coffeemaker
It's time to replace the water filter on your Krups coffeemaker - something you should do approximately every two to three months for best results. This quick video shows you how to easily replace the charcoal filter on your Krups coffee machine.
How To: Fold an eco-friendly shopping bag into a tiny pouch
Shopping bags are an ecological nightmare, so many modern shoppers use eco-friendly reusable shopping bags. If you have a stash of eco-friendly bags and want to store them more easily, watch this video to learn a novel way to fold these bags that turns them into a tiny pouch, which you could even still use to hold things if you wanted.
How To: Adjust the miter and bevel angle on a miter saw
In this DIY guide from the folks at eReplacementParts, we learn how to adjust the miter and bevel angle on a miter saw using an adjustable square. For step-by-step instructions, and to learn how to adjust the miter angle and a bevel angle on a miter saw yourself, take a look.
How To: Prep your walls for wallpaper
In this tutorial, we are shown how to prep your walls for wallpaper, which is very easy! Preparing your walls only takes a few minutes and makes applying the wallpaper easier and look a lot better. You will need: rags, soapy water, wallpaper stripping knife, and sandpaper to do this. First, you need to apply the soapy water to the current wallpaper and then take it off with the stripping knife. Once it's all removed, you need to repair any holes in the wall. Next, sand down the surface of the...
How To: Make wooden salad tongs with woodworking tools
Looking for your next woodworking project? Why not a pair of wood salad tongs? They're easy! So easy, in fact, that this DIY guide can present a complete overview of the process in about minutes. For all of the details, and to get started making your own one-of-a-kind salad tongs, take a look.
How To: Repair your lawn mower's pull starter with silicone spray
You're trying to mow your lawn, but the engine on your pull-string push mower isn't turning over— why won't it power up? Well, if your lawn mower was stored outdoors for a large amount of time, chances are that the recoil has built up some corrosion or is simply sticking. This video will show you a very simple repair, where you only need to remove 2 or 3 screws to gain access to the mechanism, then grease with silicone spray.
How To: Use a nail set & punch for woodworking
Bob Schmidt teaches us how to use a nail set & punch for woodworking. A nail set is a traditional kit that you can find anywhere. The nail set punch does not require a hammer to use and is very easy to figure out. Place this on a nail and then pull the spring back. Keep the pressure towards the nail head and it will drive the nail right into the hole that you need it to go in. This is great if you have a nail that needs to go into the wall but the hammer will not fit where you need it to. Any...
How To: Cut plastic push-fit pipe
In this video, we learn how to cut plastic push-fit pipe. Make sure you never use a hack saw to cut the push-fit pipe because it can damage the O-ring in the connector. What you need is a pair of dedicated plastic pipe cutters. Once you have this, put your pipe in the middle of the cutters and then push down on the handles. After this, your will cut the pipe and it will com out nice and clean. From here you will be able to fit a connector into the pipe and continue to use it rather than ruini...
How To: Build a beautiful cedar log bench using a chainsaw
For the normal woodworker at home, the table saw, router and lathe are the prime tools used for making fine furniture, but when you hit the outdoors, the backwoodsman's tool of trade is the chainsaw. Mastering furniture-making with a chainsaw is the key to being a great woodworker, and in this three-part video, you'll learn the techniques to chainsawing your way to a beautiful log bench.
How To: Use a cordless drill and taper tap to cut a threaded hole in steel
Trapping a hole is the process by which you give them threads so that they can accommodate a screw, and doing it to a lot of holes quickly can be a major pain. Fortunately, you can actually do it with a cordless power drill much more quickly and easily than manually. This video will show you how to do it.