Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2013 i Family Handyman

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com DECK REMODEL IN A CAN I had a great experience last weekend restoring the cedar bridge in our hosta garden. I took it from faded and cracked back to beautiful in one day, using Rust-Oleum’s new Deck & Concrete Restore ($30 a gallon at Home Depot). You apply this resurfacer with a special roller sleeve, and it feels like you’re rolling on liquid rubber. Because it’s so thick (about the consistency of sour cream), it doesn’t go far—it took an entire gallon to double-coat my 8-ft. bridge. But the result is an attractive, slip-resistant coating that should last for years. Restore is formulated for decks and concrete, but only for foot traffic and only for rougher broom-finished surfaces. If your deck needs a face-lift, consider this product. It costs…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Most of us don’t have space to keep a large worktable set up in the middle of the garage or hobby room. But this cleverly designed cabinet solves that problem. Smooth-rolling locking casters allow you to roll the cabinet out when you need it. And it only takes seconds to flip up the top and swing out the support wings to double the work surface. We built this project from shop-grade plywood purchased at a home center. At $40 a sheet, it wasn’t the least expensive choice, but we liked the smooth surface and almost void-free veneer core. We ordered 3-in. polyurethane-wheeled casters from Amazon, and we used full-extension ball-bearing slides for the drawers. You’ll find a full Materials List on p. 28. Construction-wise, this is closer to a…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com I keep a lot of stuff in plastic storage bins. I had several stacks of them throughout my garage, and it seemed that every time I needed something, it was always in the bin at the bottom. So I decided to build myself a bin storage system to give me easy access to all my bins. These bin towers are simple to build, don’t require expensive tools, and actually add wall space without losing a lot of floor space. I designed the towers to fit 16-to 18-gallon bins with a lid size of about 18 x 24 in. I had so much extra space when I was done that I had to go buy a few more tools! Cut up the plywood I used “BC” sanded pine plywood for…

Whether you’re rearranging furniture in your living room or relocating to a new home across town, moving furniture is a big job. We’ll show you some simple techniques for moving heavy, awkward items without wrecking your back, your house or the furniture. 1 Carry tall items high and low A tall dresser, filing cabinet or shelving unit is awkward to handle. Make it a two-person job. Tip the item backward at an angle and have one person carry the top while the other carries the bottom. This centers the weight and keeps the item from swinging out of control. Transporting the item up or down stairs is easier too, since the carrying angle will roughly match the slope of the stairs. 2 “Hook” chairs around corners A large easy chair…

When it comes to buying automotive tools and shop equipment, there are two kinds of guys: those who buy only the bare minimum, and guys like me, who buy every tool in the catalog. I know I need professional help. But before the men in the white coats arrive, I’d like to make the case for why you need these tools in your shop. No single one costs more than $160. Buy them according to your needs and budget and you’ll wind up with your very own “super-shop.” Zip through metal with an electric cutoff tool Sometimes it’s just not worth the time and effort to save a rusted fastener or clamp. When I run into those situations, I break out my cutoff tool, slice through the rusted part and…

SHINGLE REPAIRS MADE EASIER Replacing damaged shingles is tough on super-hot days—the shingles are soft and tear apart. It’s not much easier on cold days—frozen shingles break in two if you pry them up too far. But the “Goldilocks approach,” waiting for the temperature to be just right, isn’t always an option. The Roof Snake by PacTool International makes shingle repairs easier. Just pry up a little bit on the surrounding shingles to remove the nails that hold down the damaged one. Pull out the old one and slide a new shingle into place. Flip the tool around and insert a roofing nail into the nail slot. Slip the tool under the overlapping shingle, and (here’s the ingenious part) hit the tool with your hammer to get the nail started.…

More outlets, too! editors@thefamilyhandyman.com If your garage doesn’t have enough outlets and you’re sick of squinting to see what you’re working on, then we’ve got the solution. Using PVC conduit and metal surface-mount electrical boxes, we’ll show you how to connect additional outlets to an existing garage outlet and how to add bright, energy-efficient fluorescent lights to an existing ceiling box without cutting into your walls or fishing wires. Our upgrades cost about $600. Most of that went toward the eight fluorescent light fixtures. In our garage, we extended conduit from an outlet to add outlets and a hanging fixture over our workbench area. We also removed a ceiling light fixture and extended wiring from it to install eight new fluorescent fixtures. Remember, though, your existing wiring may not be…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Shelves and cabinets are great places to store kid stuff, but when you’re in a hurry (and kids always are), it’s nice to just throw and go. That’s why I built these bins. They’re great for sports gear but handle all kinds of miscellaneous garage clutter. I wanted something with a little character, so I loosely based the design on a row of old bins at my grandmother’s country store. It was worth the little bit of extra effort to build something that brings back good memories yet serves a practical purpose in the present. These bins have worked so well that my wife requested a set for her gardening supplies. WHAT IT TAKES: COST: $150 TIME: One day to build, plus painting SKILL: Beginner to intermediate TOOLS: Table…

Featured Field Editor Jeff Patterson Wexford, PA Why are you a DIYer? I became a DIYer to save money by doing home improvements myself. But the reward of a finished project is what keeps me going. Current projects I had to rip out the old 1950s kitchen and install a new one by myself. All the plaster was replaced with drywall, the hardwood floors were refinished, and this was my first glass tile backsplash. How did you get started in DIY? I learned a lot by working on our rental houses. Installing kitchen cabinets, tiling showers, refinishing hardwood—the list goes on. It’s so neat to take a home that’s an eyesore and turn it into a clean, safe and stylish place for someone to live in. Advice for fellow DIYers…

FROM OUR READERS greatgoofs@thefamilyhandyman.com My wife and I bought our first high-efficiency washer and dryer set. The instructions said to carefully level the washer, front to back, left to right, and diagonally. After half an hour of adjusting it to perfection, we ran it through a cycle. The thing bucked like an angry bronco! I had to fling my body on top of it and yell for my wife to shut it off. I rechecked the level and five minutes later, satisfied, we tried it again. Same result—I took another rodeo ride. Two more tries with the same results and I was about to kick the thing. I called a buddy who also had a high-efficiency machine. He said his moved a little but didn’t jump around like I described.…

FROM OUR READERS handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com FISH FOR LEAVES IN YOUR POND If you have trees growing over your pond, falling leaves and seed pods will make a mess of your crystal clear water. Just use a fish landing net to catch that debris (leave your koi where they are!). The water drains right through the loosely woven netting, and the leaves are ready to dump. Ray Serverian Easy-on-the-hands bucket handles I had some old buckets with broken plastic handles. Whenever I carried heavy bucket loads, the wire cut into my hands. So I retrofitted the buckets with new handles made from an old garden hose. I cut short lengths of hose, slit each one with a utility knife and slid them over the handles. If you can remove one side of…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com My brother Curtis is a building maintenance guy, so he knows a thing or two about tools and how to store them. I recently visited his workshop and was instantly drawn to the pegboard cabinet he’d built. He told me that pegboard is his favorite way to store tools. He loves the easy access, and an empty peg always lets him know that a tool has gone AWOL. What he doesn’t like about pegboard is that it takes up wall space, which is scarce in any shop. So he built a pegboard cabinet that delivers the best of both worlds. His design provides almost 48 sq. ft. of pegboard while taking up only 16 sq. ft. of wall space. He always was the smart one in the family. Build…

Have you flushed your water heater lately? This boring but important chore should be done at least once a year to remove sediment that accumulates on the bottom of the tank. That’s especially true if you live in a hard-water area. The task is easy to blow off because it’s out of sight—but skipping it is costing you a lot. Sediment buildup reduces the heating efficiency of your water heater. All about sediment One sign of excessive sediment buildup is a popping or rumbling sound coming from your water heater. That’s the sound of steam bubbles percolating up through the muck. On a gas water heater, the sediment creates hot spots that can damage the tank and cause premature failure. On an electric water heater, sediment buildup can cause the…

Laminate is a budget-friendly alternative to granite, quartz and other solid-surface countertops. And building custom countertops in place is a great way to deal with unique shapes and sizes. There are hundreds of colors to choose from, and you can order 5 x 12-ft. sheets of laminate at most home centers. With a sheet that size, you can avoid cutting difficult miters, and usually eliminate long, crumb-catching seams. If you’ve never tackled custom countertops, don’t be intimidated—let our expert walk you through the process. You’ll need a couple of specialty tools, including a compound router with an offset base, a laminate slitter and a laminate file, but the several hundred dollars you’ll save by installing your countertops yourself will be more than enough to pay for these tools. And just…