Hot Home & Garden How-Tos
How To: Flush a water heater with This Old House
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to flush your water heater. Steps:
How To: Care for a Serissa Bonsai plant
The Serissa (Serissa foetida syn. Serissa japonica), is a great little plant for Bonsai. It flowers for most of the year with tiny white and sometimes pink flowers. It is extremely easy to propagate through cuttings. Just take a cleanly cut branch and stick it in sphagnum moss and it should grow easily. It takes very well to pruning and can fill out quite nicely when pruned frequently. This particular specimen had a wild and unkempt look to it. Making, raising, and caring for bonsai is easy i...
How To: Remove scratches on an LCD or CD with an egg
Make the magic remover cloth shown in this how-to video which will remove all the scratches on your favorite CDs, your LCD display or just remove some scratches on plastic. You'll need egg whites of and a microfiber cloth. Don't throw away anymore CDs, DVDs, or lose important files. The trick in this video tutorial will rescue scratched CDs so you can still keep using them.
How To: Make a box seat
Downing drinks while perched on the bed, the floor, and the arms of the couch is totally awesome!!! (If you're a college freshman.) Otherwise it sucks. Don't get us wrong; living small doesn't mean you can't party like a rock star, it just requires a little creativity. This project offers dual functionality: wall art on quiet evenings, and extra seating and side tables on nights when friends roll in to bring down the house.
How To: Apply Bellagio faux finish painting techniques
In this series of instructional videos, professional interior designer Frank Messina shares tips and techniques for making an Italian-inspired Bellagio faux finish which have been passed down from generation to generation in his family. Frank walks you through the painting process step-by-step, showing you the tools needed to get started, how to apply a base coat, mixing and applying joint compound, and how to add color. Follow these easy steps and your walls will have a unique and beautiful ...
How To: Make an LED fiber optic rose
Learn how to make an illuminated fiber optic rose out of a few LEDs and some inexpensive fiber optics.
How To: Stop a Toilet from Running
This video will show you how to stop a toilet from constantly running and what to look for. There are many different reasons why a toilet may keep running, we'll take the toilet tank cover off and show you what to look for inside and what might break or go wrong.
How To: Lay Wall Tiles
G'day Knuckleheads. In this Owner Builder Series Episode we're up to doing the wall tiling in the bathrooms. Justin gives out some very handy tips on how to lay wall tiles in the bathroom. Check it out and let me know what you think.
How To: Grout Wall and Floor Tiles
G'day Knuckleheads and welcome to Episode 35! With the wall and floor tiling completed it's time to grout the tiles. In this episode Justin takes us through the tips and tricks of applying the wall and floor grout. Grouting really finishes the job off and is a job that any DIY'er can do by themselves. Check it out and let me know what you think :-)
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: Replace the Sash Lock on a Window
Learn how to replace the sash lock on window. This repair will help fix a drafty window, or may even help to fix or prevent a window from rattling or shaking in the wind.
How To: Fix a Dishwasher That Will Not Run or Fill with Water
This video will show you what to look for if you dishwasher stops turning on or filling with water.
How To: Remove Broken Nails from a Piece of Wood Siding
This video will show you how to remove broken nails without a nail head from a piece of wood, or your wood siding project.
How To: Fix a Wood Pecker Hole in Your House
This video will show you how to fix a wood pecker hole in the side of your house.
How To: Repair an Old Wooden Chair
Unscrew chair and knock apart gently with a rubber mallet. To fix a broken stretch, use quick dry polyurethane glue, using plenty (better to have too much than too little)
How To: Remove Watermarks from Wooden Surfaces
Everyone has those watermarks when you forgot to use a coaster but the solution is easy!! Here is a little step by step guide and a little video that might help - let me know what you think!
How To: Faux Ebonise Wood
If you have some worn scuffed wood and want to give it a little bit of life. These steps might help you to ebonise, taking half the time!!
How To: Make Knotted Coasters
Macrame Tablecloth, Coaster Tutorial - square within square pattern. Table Mats & Table decorations. Home decorating ideas.
How To: Make Colorful Ice Candles
See how to make homemade "ice" candles out of taper candles (or wax flakes). Cut up the taper candles, heat them until melted, then pour into a container lined with ice (chipped ice, not cubes) with the wick dangling in from above. The ice will create an interesting design in the candle.
How To: Frame a Stud Wall
G'day, Knuckleheads, Uncle Knackers here. In this Episode, we look at making, and standing up the stud wall frames. How to build a stud wall frame is pretty straight forward but it is handy to know a few basic principles before you get stuck into it! Check it out!
How To: Install Decking Posts
G'day, Knuckleheads, and welcome to Episode 22 of my Owner Builder Series. In this video we look at cutting and setting up Verandah / Decking Posts. It's really important that you get thuds right as nothing looks worse than badly set up posts. Check it out and let me know what you think!
How To: Install House Wrap
G'day, Knuckleheads, and welcome to Episode 20 of my Owner Builder Series! In this Episode, we look at installing the Wall Wrap which goes on before the cladding is installed. It's a vapour membrane that protects the frame and internal linings from moisture damage.
How To: Handy One-Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip: Use Oxide Powder for Chalkline
G'day Knuckleheads. Welcome to Video 1 in my new Handy One Minute Tip Video Series! This Episode we look at the chalkline and what l use to fill mine up with. Check it out and let me know what you think.
How To: Handy One-Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip: Cutting Out Doorways
G'day Knuckleheads. Here's a Handy One Minute Stud Wal Framing Tip! Building stud walls is a fairly straight forward job. This tip will make it a little bit easier.
How To: Handy One-Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip: Quickly Squaring Up a Frame
G'day Knuckleheads. Todays one minute stud wall framing tip looks at a really easy way of squaring up your stud wall prior to installing a brace. Check it out and let me know what you think. :-)
How To: Handy One-Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip: Blocking Out the Walls
Welcome to another Handy One Minute Stud Wall Framing Tip! How to frame a stud wall is a reasonably straight forward job to do but knowing a few extra framing tips is always a Bonus! Blocking out your walls to provide somewhere to screw a fixture to is one of those handy tips. You no longer need to look for a stud as you have a solid block to attach to!
How To: Use Olive Oil for Things Other Than Cooking
Everyone knows how fantastic olive oil is as a salad dressing. But did you know that this healthy and superbly tasting oil pressed from full-grown olives can be used in so many other ways than flavouring those greens? I will tell you 20 other uses and benefits that can be done with olive oil.
The Duvet Burrito: How to Put a Duvet Cover on Your Comforter the Easy Way
Making the bed is a challenging task, but trying to put a duvet cover over top your comforter is a challenge on a whole different level.
How To: 5 Purdy Paint Tools Every DIY Painter Will Love
Brought to you by Purdy Paints The art of painting requires excellent tools. And with so many options on the market, it can be hard to find a brand that works for you and your DIY project. That's where Purdy comes in.
How To: Make Your Own Chalk Paint
If you're a big fan of home improvement, then you've you've probably painted a wall or item in your day. Not only can it get expensive, it's also time consuming, and very often just plain boring. Waiting for paint to dry so that you can add another coat is, well…like waiting for paint to dry.
How To: 5 Apartment Improvements You Can Do in an Hour
Presented by Apartments.com When looking for a new apartment, it's hard not to notice the improvements (on large and small scale) needed prior to moving in. While your landlord may be taking care of new carpeting, cleaning the central air vents, and fresh paint on the walls, there may be some additional improvements on your list that you can take care of on your own. Here are five quick improvements you can check off your list before the big move.
How To: Add Essential Oil to Toilet Paper to Eliminate Bathroom Odors
With fragrance-filled sprays, scented candles, diffuser sticks, and other air-freshening products, the scent lasts just a few minutes and doesn't always mask what you were hoping to cover up. When it comes to the bathroom, scented toilet paper might sound like a terrible (and silly) idea, but it's best at eliminating stinky smells over a long period of time.
How To: Fold Your Fitted Sheets Nice and Neat
Folding fitted sheets seems nearly impossible, but with a neat trick it's just as easy as folding a blanket.
How To: Make a Garden Trug
This is a simple design built from reclaimed wood and purchased ¼” wood slats. It cost very little and only took a couple of hours to complete the build. The goal was light weight, shallow and wide for collecting leafy vegetables, easy to handle and somewhat attractive.
How To: Remove Drain Stopper to Better Unclog a Bathtub
Sit back grad some popcorn and learn how to remove the drain stopper, or plunger from your bathtub, so that you can replace it, or remove a hair clog.
How To: Adjust Skid Plate Shoe Height on a Snow Blower
Learn how to set or adjust the skid plate or show height on your snow blower so that the scraper is off of the ground.
How To: Install a Battery Float Charger Maintainer on Your ATV
How To Install a Battery Float Charger Maintainer On Your ATV
How To: Apply Silicon Caulk to a Bathtub or Shower Surround
This tutorial will demonstrate how to apply silicon caulking to a bathtub or shower surround, so that it's waterproof, and will not leak.
How To: Make a Wooden iPhone Amplifier from Pallet Wood
This pallet wood project is a really cool pallet project as you can make it from just one pallet board, it's super easy to make, and it's virtually free. The extra sound that comes out is quite surprising. Having said that, don't expect it to sound like a fully fledged designated speaker or you'll be disappointed.