Hot Home & Garden How-Tos

How To: Give old furniture a modern makeover

Rather than throwing out your old furniture, learn how to give your old dresser a modern makeover by following this video tutorial. To begin, pull off all of the old drawers and other pieces that do not work. You will need to sand down the frame of the dresser and then replace all of the problematic parts. You may also need to rebuild the center supports so that your dresser drawers slide in and out easily. Wipe down the dresser with a cloth and then coat it with a latex primer. The primer is...

How To: Manage garden insects & pests in an eco-friendly way

In this Home and Garden video tutorial you will learn how to manage garden insects and pests in an eco-friendly way. For plant lice or aphids, blast them with a strong blast of water. That will dislodge them and they won’t climb back. You can also put some soap water in a yellow jar, they will get attracted to it, drown and die. Lady bugs are good insects that will eat the aphids. For mosquitoes, put the mosquito larva killing flakes into the water and that will take care of the mosquitoes. F...

How To: Paint a vintage shabby rose on your furniture

Artist Kate Bangs shows us how to improve old furniture with a shabby rose design. Take vanilla and fuchsia colored paint and mix them together as you paint them on the furniture to form the background. Let that background paint dry. With a watery brush paint the rest of the areas, including raised sections. It is shabby painting and so it does not have to be super neat. Load your brush with pink and white paint and make arches in a circle to form petals. Mix green, pink and white on your bru...

How To: Build a snowboard workbench

In this Home & Garden video tutorial you will learn how to build a snowboard workbench. For this project you will need an old snowboard, some wood and the required tools. Pre cut the wood into these lengths: 4 x 31” and 5 x 29. 5”. From the snowboard remove the bindings and stomp pad if possible. Drill 4 holes at both ends with 3/16 drill bit. Flip the board over and draw lines the center piece of wood to help align it later. Now take 3 piece of 29. 5 long wood and make a ‘U’ shape. You can w...

How To: Clean laminate floors

In this video we are shown how to clean laminate floors using HG Laminate products. HG laminate powerful cleaner is used to remove grease, stubborn dirt as well as old layers of HG laminate gloss coating. To use, dilute it with water depending on how severe the staining is. Apply with a slightly damp cloth and work it in briefly. Make sure to mop up well afterwards. Another product, HG laminate wash and shine leaves tiny acrylic balls behind on surfaces that you've cleaned with it. These prot...

How To: Find a leak in the roof of your house

You might notice a brown water stain on a wall in your house and the source of the stain may be a leak in your roof. So, it's good to go up into the attic and look around to see if you can find the source of the leak. When you get up in the attic take a flashlight and look around at the boards that make up the roof. If you see any brown rings that is a sign that you have a roof leak. Water can leak through the roof and run down the rafter and into the wall. The best time to check for a roof l...

How To: Unclog a slow drain without calling a plummer

In this video Erin Bried shows how to unclog a slow drain without calling a plumber. First put 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the drain. The two ingredients react when put in the drain together. After about 15 minutes have gone by take some boiling hot water and pour it down the drain. Once the water has run out of the bowl you can test the drain to see if it is clear by running some tap water into the sink. The water should run out of the sink ju...

How To: Prep for painting

Expert Real Estate Tips and Andy Sjostrom with The Good Handyman demonstrate how to prep for painting. A good handyman will handle your items with care. Be sure to remove light fixtures. Before you begin to tape off an area, take a damp rag and clean the areas that will be taped so the tape will adhere to them. Use latex gloves to keep yourself clean during the painting process. Then, tape off the area needing painting and put down a drop cloth. If you get your paint from a big box store, mak...

How To: Build a retaining wall for your home

To create a retaining wall all you need to do is follow these simple steps. To begin you will need to get many interlocking wall blocks and either sand or concrete. The first step is to plot and measure the retaining wall's size and shape. Use your measurements to figure out the amount of retaining wall blocks that you will need. The second step is to mark off the spots in your yard that you would like the retaining wall to be. Then dig your trenches in these spots to level out the land and t...

How To: Plant garlic cloves with toilet paper rolls

This video demonstrates how to plant garlic cloves with toilet paper rolls. Take some toilet paper rolls and cut them in half. Fill the halves with damp soil. Put one clove of garlic into each little half, leaving the new shoot poking out of the top. You can make potting soil with peat moss, black dirt and vermiculite. When it is time to plant the garlic, you should just put the whole carton into the ground. When you buy garlic for planting, look for the giant variety. When you are saving gar...

How To: Install mosaic tiles in your bathroom vanity

In this Home and Garden video you will see how to install mosaic tiles in your bathroom vanity using mesh pack sheets of 1 inch mosaic tiles and cap edge tiles. Hold a cap tile against the edge of the vanity and draw a line along the edge of the vanity. This will be the first joint line. Lay off the mesh pack mosaic sheets over the vanity top. The edges should be aligned with the line you drew. Mark the line near the joint on the last full sheet near the back splash. Also draw reference lines...

How To: Install foam gaskets under light switch plates

To install foam gaskets under light switch plates and outlet covers you will need a screwdriver. Installing foam gaskets under light switch plates or outlet covers on an outer wall is a great way to stop air leaks in your home. First, use your screwdriver to remove the light switch plate cover. Install the foam gasket by placing it over the light switch. Next, replace the light switch plate. Return the screws to their original positions and tighten the screws with your screwdriver. Follow the...

How To: Care for fresh-cut flowers

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to take care of fresh-cut flowers. First, make sure you selected good quality flowers. Then strip off the leaves. Cut the stems at an angle to be able to fit in the vase. Make sure the water in the vase is clean. You can also make a preservative by mixing fresh water with a bit of soda and bleach. This video is very descriptive and clearly explains all the instructions. This video provides very good information. This video will benefit those viewers w...

How To: Repair a self-closing door

This video is about fixing self-closing doors. Doors close by themselves when they're not hung plumb, and gravity closes the door. The solution is to remove the hinge-pins and to roughen the bottom of the hinge-pins to create friction, keeping the door open. One removes the hinge-pin with a hammer and small screwdriver. Tap the bottom of the hinge-pin against a cinder block or rough, hard surface. If using this "friction-ized" hinge-pin does not solve your problem, try repeating this process ...

How To: Build a simple miter clamp

In this Home and Garden video tutorial you will learn how to build a simple miter clamp. Chuck Miller in this video explains how simple and easy it is. When you glue in two parts together, you need to hold them in place so they join firmly. A simple way of doing this is by a miter clamp. Take a spring clamp, remove the protective seals from the end of the clamp, put some oil and drill a hole through it. Using a wooden block hold the jaws apart and screw in a fine threaded screw on both the ja...

How To: Set up a generator for a home or business

This video details how to set up a generator to provide back-up power for a home or business. Generators are the ideal emergency power solution for a home or business, generators can automatically transfer the power load from the utility power line to the generator when an outage occurs. To make sure the generator is always ready, generators can self run weekly and perform self diagnostics so maintenance issues are minimized or eliminated. When planning to use a portable generator, it should ...

How To: Replace a GFI outlet & how it works

GFI stands for Ground Fault Interrupter and is used in areas that have water. The first thing you should do before replacing anything electrical is shut off the power in the area you are working. When you remove the old outlet, you will notice a series of wires going into the bottom of the outlet and a series of wires coming out of the top. What is happening here is that the power is coming in from the bottom and then going out through the top. The reason for this is if something trips the fa...

How To: Repair damage around wall elements such as outlets

This Home and Garden video tutorial is going to show you how to repair damage around wall elements such as outlets. The video demonstrates how to repair a gap around a socket that was created due to a miscalculation on the part of the mason. The simplest way of repairing this would be to take the cover off, get a patch which is pre cut to the correct dimensions, peel it off, place it correctly over the opening in the wall and press it on. You could paint the area with matching color. Then put...

How To: Make a tumbler bin composter and compost in 14-21 days

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to make a tumbler bin composter and compost in 14 - 21 days. The materials needed for the composter are: 1 plastic drum, 6 nails or strong pins, (3) 1 square inch tubes, 3 hinges and lock, 3 yards of wire, and 1 square foot of zinc. Begin by drilling 3/8" holes all over the composter. Use a lawn mower to grind down the compost and then dump it into the composter. Activate the compost by adding some water. This video will benefit those viewers who want...

How To: Repair a damaged garden hose using a coupling sleeve

This video is a tutorial on how to repair a damaged garden hose using a coupling sleeve. Coupling sleeves are available at home improvement stores. First, you being by identifying the location of the lead in your hose. Hold it in a bucket of hot water for a few minutes to make the hose pliable. Second, use scissors to cut the hose right in half on the location of the hole. Put the sleeve clamps over both ends of the garden hose. The man says that the hardest part now is to insert the tube int...

How To: Seal your outdoor deck

This is the demo showing how to seal your deck. The first thing you should need to do is to wash the deck. Most people prefer to use a pressure washer for that. You should be careful while using a pressure washer. The components needed for this are Armor All E-Z Deck Wash. It’s a good bleach and a good cleaning product. You should be careful while using it because it can stain your clothes. Another product is the Sun Frog Deck Cleaner. This is a product which you should mix with water. Before...

How To: Install the last row

This video shows how to install the last row of laminate flooring. Take one of the last row pieces of laminate that was cut to size, and tilt it into the laminate floor. Lay a pull bar from your wedge kit across the laminate, and wedge it between the wall and the

How To: Install bifold closet doors

This video shows the method to install bifold closet doors. The doors are of two sizes. They include a thirty inch and a twenty four inch door. The video first demonstrates the installation of the thirty inch door. This is then repeated for the other door. The middle line of the upper part is drawn over the opening. The middle line is extrapolated to the sides to put the bottom support. The tracks are installed on the top. The floor bracket is fitted at the bottom. The top glides are installe...

How To: Turn an old door into a small computer desk

This step by step tutorial will show you how an old door can be turned into a beautiful desk. Danny Lipford explains how an old door can be used to make a headboard, room divider or even as art. He then gives you basic instructions on revamping your door to become a desk. He starts off by removing all the elements that make a door a door, like hinges and door knobs. By filling in the holes left from the missing hardware with bondo you are left with a smooth surface ready to be cut and shaped ...

How To: Inspect your roof

There are a number of things that users must check on their roof to insure safety and prevent any leaking. For example, users should check that the roof vent is fastened and ensure that there are washers or caulk under the nails. On the chimney, make sure the flashing is fastened tightly and downwards. Users should also inspect the condition of the chimney. Remove any tree branches and clean the roof. This video will benefit those viewers who want to learn how to secure their roof from proble...

How To: Design a flower vase centerpiece for your table

The Flowergod demonstrates how to design a flower vase centerpiece for your table. First, find a shallow vase. Add green foliage like ferns to the outer portion of the vase. Next, lay about six or seven evenly-spaced white flower stalks on top of the fern bed. Then, add big, bright orange flowers to the centerpiece. Weave pale orange flowers like small tiger lilies in between the fern and flower layers. Place vibrant yellow roses in even formation throughout the centerpiece. Add thin stems of...

How To: Use different lampshades to create different looks

In this video from FusionGuy09 we learn how to use different lampshades to create different looks in your home. This video is from the store Naomi's Lampshades and Lamps. When buying a shade you want to bring your lamp to the store. Bea Searles shows us a bunch of different lampshades on different lamps and how they look and the different type of looks they will give to a room. Also in many cases you can just change the shape of the harp in the lamp to fit other kinds of lampshades. She shows...

How To: Design a dozen roses for a vase

This video is a tutorial on how to arrange a dozen yellow roses for a vase. The speed of the video is increased four times faster than the normal rate of speed. The man arranging the flowers does not explain the step-by-step process of his arrangement. The viewer sees the man first arranging green leaves in the vase. Second, he dips the yellow roses into a liquid solution in a separate container before putting them into the vase. The tallest yellow rose is the center rose in the arrangement, ...

How To: Select the right thread count

This link shows a talk with Chase Voelker from fusion who gave detailed information about how to select the right sheet for our bed. He describes about the selection of sheets based on the thread count, tensile strength and fabric hand etc. He had described about these concepts and had illustrated some approved brands of bed sheets. Suphima supreme luxury, Beech etc. are the example of branded sheets. Depending on how we like to sleep we can select sheets of different thread count (400 to 500...

How To: Use downspout extenders to protect your foundation

Ron Hazelton explains how to protect your foundation or basement wall from being affected by water that is discharged from your downspout. He explains how downspout extenders can be used to carry the water away from the foundation. Ron will show you three variations of downspouts that you can use. You'll learn how to install each kind of downspout so you can decide which is right for you. If you follow the advice given in this video, you're sure to further protect a very important part of you...

How To: Design an asian bamboo arrangement for your home

In this video, the Flowergod demonstrates how to make an Asian inspired arrangement with bamboo and colorful flowers. He starts with a low pot filled with craft foam and adds some very large leaves to the bottom. He then puts a sparse branchy twig in the middle along with several tall bamboo canes. He adds purple flowers and more greenery at different levels, and a large red flower at the base. The video is speeded up so you can see every step in the process. This is a unique and beautiful ar...

How To: Fix a leaky toilet

FusionGuy09 tells us how to fix a leaky toilet. You should be able to hear the leaking toilet. First thing you want to do is turn the water off. You can do this by reaching behind toilet and turning a lever. Next, flush the toilet to remove the water from the tank. Remove the flapper and check for wear with your finger (don't worry about the water back here, it's sanitary). Look out for cracks or pieces coming off. Also check the valve seat for spots without a seal. If you find parts that are...

How To: Design a fall flower arrangment in a watering can

The FlowerGod video is an instructional clip in 6X speed exhibiting how beautifully you can design a fall flower arrangement in a water can. The instructor shows a step by step flower arrangement method which will assist you gain expertise in fall flower arrangement. He demonstrates that how a normal looking bouquet can be converted into an excellent piece of decorative flower pot. What you need is just to know small techniques of arranging the flowers, petals, and its stems in a very attract...

How To: Water your lawn the green way

This video is a tutorial on how to water your lawn in an environmentally friendly way. He begins by stating that watering your lawn in the middle of the day is the wrong time. The sun is at its highest and the lawn is already scorched. The water you are spraying around does not get absorbed into the soil, it evaporates. The best time to water your lawn is at night because you create a fungus over the soil that protects it from be sun. You can put a water timer on your hose to prevent over-wat...