Hot Home & Garden How-Tos

How To: Make a medieval-style children's bookcase castle with Lowe's

Make reading more fun for your children with a satisfyingly medieval bookcase that your little prince (or princess) will use day in and day out. This woodworking project from Lowe's is a wooden bookcase with a castle top. It's completely functional, with plenty of storage for books and knick-knacks, as well as a storage drawer at the bottom. Best of all, the book castle can be easily modified to remove the castle top when your child's tastes change. Watch all four videos to see the build inst...

How To: Grow a bonsai tree from a seed

Bonsai is a beautiful art that focuses on manipulating a tree to any shape you desire! If you've wanted to grow your own bonsai from a seedling to the full thing and are wondering where to start, check out this video! In it you will learn what sort of trees that you can plant to make into bonsai, as well as how to grow it from seed to seedling!

How To: Build a beautiful cedar log coffee table using a chainsaw

If you loved the cedar log bench, try out your chainsaw skills on something for the inside of your home— a log coffee table. Using a chainsaw as your primary woodworking tool is dangerously unusual, but the results are well worth the risk! In this two-part video, learn the techniques to chainsawing your way to a beautiful log coffee table made from scraps. It's great for any outdoorsman's living room or den.

How To: Use QPR's All-In-One Melter Applicator for sealing small cracks

This video provides the operating instructions for the RTH08 All-In-One Melter Applicator, which is a hand-agitated, 10-gallon capacity sealant machine designed to effectively and efficiently execute small crack-sealing tasks. You'll learn about the safety procedures when using this Melter Applicator, startup procedure, sealant loading, heat settings and sealant application on pavement, as well as the shutdown procedure.

How To: Make your own organic and all natural toothpaste

Concerned about the unpronounceable chemicals you see on tubes of toothpaste? Clean your tetth and keep your breath fresh without having to introduce unpleasant chemicals to your system! All you need is some baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, essential oils (mints are best) and a few drops of stevia (optional). Combine together, and smile! You have homemade toothpaste!

How To: Remove wrinkles from polyester

One of the great things about polyester is that it doesn't wrinkle as easily as cotton and other natural fibers. It still can though, and you can't iron it, so watch this video to learn how to get the wrinkles out of any polyester item.

How To: Install a chandelier (and most decorative hanging light fixtures)

Gary Clark shows you what it takes to hang a beautiful new chandelier in your home, and believe it or not, the installation is simple! No matter what kind of hanging light fixture you're installing in your ceiling, the process is generally the same, where you first need to cut a hole in the drywall and run some wire to the panel. Then make sure you have a junction box that can support the weight of the fixture.

How To: Get oil out of carpet and clothing

Oil gets on everything and is nearly impossible to get out again. Cooking, motor, it doesn't really matter. If you've got oil on your clothes, your carpet, or some other fabric, watch this video to learn how you can get it out with vinegar and other household products.

How To: Fix a leaky toilet with basic steps

Is there toilet water all over the floor and you have no idea why? It could be a leak toilet, which is pretty common if you have faulty supply lines, or the wax rings have worn out. But don't worry, you don't need to call a plumber to ease your woes, in this video you will learn how to fix your leaky toilet with a few household tools and some extra knowledge!

How To: Build a green wind tunnel insect trap

Killing bugs used to be the domain of fancy chemicals that, it turns out, hurt us as much or more than the bugs. If you have a flying pest problem and need a green way to control it, watch this video to learn how to make a DIY wind tunnel trap for your insect nemeses.

How To: Replace a broken toilet flange

The flange on a toilet is the part that joins the toilet to the ground, and is very important to proper toilet function. If your toilet wobbles, smells bad, or leaks, your flange may be broken. Watch this video to learn how to remove the broken flange and install a new one.

How To: Protect your garden from cold and frost

During the winter and freak weather events in spring and fall your garden can take a beating from frost and excess cold. Watch this video to learn how you can protect your plants and flowers during the cold so they are healthy and ready to grow when the weather improves.

How To: Hang wallpaper with tips from Lowe's

In this tutorial, Lowe's teaches us how to hang wallpaper. Wallpaper can update a room and give it personality. Make sure you prep and measure your wall before you begin to hang. Now, cut out your paper to the appropriate size for your wall, then draw a line on the wall from the corner to a few inches out of the wall. After this, apply a clear adhesive to the wallpaper if it isn't already adhesive. Now, dump them into a water box and fold the water together and let set. After this, apply the ...

How To: Design, plan & install a waterwise landscape with Lowe's

In this tutorial, we learn how to design, plan & install a water-wise landscape w/Lowe's. Traditional landscape can require a lot of time but there are a lot of ways to make it more simple. A water wise landscape is easy to do and will look great. This simply means using your landscape simply to achieve great results. First, you need to plan and design and call utility companies to see what areas to avoid electrical and gas lines. Draw out a plan of your property and then draw how you want yo...

How To: Tile a shower floor and curb in your own bathroom

In this tutorial, we learn how to tile a shower floor and curb in your own bathroom. To start, you will need to apply the foundation of your tile with a smoothing tool from corner to corner of each of the corners. After the mortar is lied, grab your tile and press it down firmly onto the mortar. Use your hands to press down on all the corners of the tile, then place another one next to it and continue until you reach the end of the shower. Use a straight edge to cut tiles where the are too lo...

How To: Prune and trim a tree with Lowe's

In this tutorial, we learn how to prune and trim a tree with Lowe's. Pruning your trees will help them stay healthier and look better. It will help the tree grow new and healthy branches and stay alive for longer. Make sure you gather all the tools you need first so you are prepared for your trees. Now, take some pruning shears and climb to find the dead branches on the tree. Cut along the inner corner of the branches to cut them off from the tree. When finished, clean up the dead branch debr...

How To: Make an occupied bed

In this tutorial, we learn how to make an occupied bed. First, gather the supplies from the linen closet. After you have all the sheets and blankets, put gloves on and walk into the room. Now, cover the patient with a bath blanket. After this, remove the top sheets, then roll the patient to the side of the bed. Next, tuck dirty linens close to the patient and then roll clean linens under the dirty ones. Then, fix the clean sheets up and roll the patient towards you and repeat the same as you ...

How To: Build a fire pit with Lowe's

In this video, Mike Craft from Lowe's teaches us how to build a fire pit. First, check to make sure there are guidelines permitting you to place a fire pit outside of your home. Then, make sure you have a clear area to place the fire pit. Once you have a spot picked out, you will need to make a paver base for your fire pit to lay on top of. After this, lay a circle of blocks around the cover for the fire pit. Layer three sections of blocks, then line with bricks on the inside and place in the...