Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2016 i Family Handyman

handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com SPRING SLEDDING A plastic snow sled is useful in the off-season, too. I use mine to haul yard debris, bags of concrete and plants. The sled slides over grass, sand and gravel with ease. We’ve even used it to haul camping gear from our car to our campsite ... works great! Dean Toth Vinegar gets the gunk I like to keep my lawn equipment really clean. For items like my string trimmer, I simply scrub off all the muck with an old dish brush and white vinegar. It takes about 15 minutes for my string trimmer to go from drab to fab! Richard Johnson Garden hose roundup I store my garden hoses coiled up inside a round garbage can all winter. My lawn sprinklers fit well in the center.…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Put on your thinking cap and take this month’s quiz to see just how smart you are when it comes to DIY. Here’s how it works: ■ There are easy, intermediate and really tough questions all mixed together. ■ There may be more than one correct answer! ■ The answers are on pp. 90–91.Get your DIY rating on p. 90. Good luck! 1. What is this task called? A. Bull floating B. Flattening C. Troweling D. Screeding 2. True or False? Used motor oil works well as a substitute for bar chain oil in your chain saw. 3. What is this part of a window called? A. Frame B. Muntin C. Parting stop D. Sash 4. Why do some window manufacturers fill the space between two or three layers…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com NO MORE POLE DANCING As a professional cleaner, I haul around a lot of long-handled tools: mops, vacuum wands, squeegee extensions, etc. When I was driving between jobs, all those poles would dance around and get tangled up, making it nearly impossible to pull out my other tools. My solution was to build a simple rack out of scrap 2x4s and plywood. It took me less than an hour to throw together and cost nothing. Now I just need a good system to keep my mop bucket from doing the tango back there. Curtis Peterson Run cords along the building My first boss was always shouting at us, “Kick the cords against the building.” It was a good habit to get into. Cords next to the building won’t get…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Imagine a relaxing afternoon out on your deck or patio. The weather’s perfect, the cooler’s stocked and you’ve got steaks sizzling on the grill. Everybody’s happy—until the sun goes down and an old 100-watt flood light turns itself on, blasting its blinding, bright light into the eyes of all your guests. It doesn’t have to be that way, you know. There are lots of great outdoor lighting options available. And because most are low voltage, any DIYer can install them. A little planning and the right advice are all you need, so here are some tips for lighting your path back to backyard bliss. NO ELECTRICAL EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Since most outdoor lighting is low voltage, it’s safe and easy enough for any DIYer to install. In fact, the only…

1. (A) After the concrete is placed in the forms, the next step is to smooth the surface while forcing the aggregate slightly below the surface with a bull float. That leaves a thin layer of cement on the surface for final smoothing with a hand float and then a trowel. 2. False. First of all, used motor oil contains grit and acid, which can damage your chain saw bar, chain and drive sprocket. Second, used motor oil has a much thinner viscosity so it tends to get slung off rather than stay put and lubricate. 3. (D) The sash is the vinyl, aluminum or wood frame that contains the glass. 4. (C) Argon conducts about 67 percent less heat than ordinary air so it makes a window more energy…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com WHAT IT TAKES TIME: 2 weekends COST: $150 SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate TOOLS: Table saw, router and bits, jigsaw, clamps, dowel jig You’ve probably seen benches similar to this one in parks, porches or movies. That’s because this classic style fits into any setting, rustic or elegant. If you’ve ever considered building one of your own, you might have been discouraged by the complexity of the project— all those parts, all that joinery… But scan the next few pages and you’ll see how I simplified the building process. Dowels make the joinery easy but strong, and router templates guarantee that the curved parts will be perfectly uniform. MEET THE EXPERT Dave Munkittrick is a professional woodworker and former editor at American Woodworker magazine. Tools and materials You’ll need a dowel jig…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com We don’t mean to scare you … well, actually we do. Recently, we sat down with a longtime home inspector, and he told us some tales and shared some photos that were downright frightening. Much of the damage he’s encountered could have been prevented if the homeowners had just heeded the silent signs that their house was in trouble. MEET THE EXPERT Reuben Saltzman has been a home inspector since 1997 and is co-owner and president of Structure Tech, a home inspection company in St. Louis Park, MN. SIGN: BULGE IN WASHING MACHINE HOSE What it means: The hose is ready to burst A bulging washing machine hose is an emergency. It may burst next year, next week or right now. But it will fail and it won’t just…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com When a small engine won’t start, the usual suspects are bad gasoline, a corroded or plugged carburetor, or a bad ignition coil. You can fix any of these problems yourself easily, cheaply and quickly. You’ll not only save lots of money but also skip the hassle of hauling your lawn mower, snow blower, pres sure washer or whatever to a service center and home again. Typical professional repairs start at about $100. But if you do the work yourself and order the replacement parts online, you can usually save enough to justify replacing parts even if you’re not sure they’re bad. (Psep.biz is one source of discount small-engine parts.) We’ll cover a few basic tests, explain how to order parts and show you how to replace a carburetor, an…

greatgoofs@thefamilyhandyman.com ALL SHOOK UP My wife asked me to touch up some paint in our kitchen, so I went down to the basement to grab a paintbrush. During that time, my helpful wife pried open the lid on the paint can and left it sitting loosely on top. When I returned from the basement, I picked up the can and shook it vigorously, sending paint flying all over the place. My wife wasn’t pleased, but it sure worked faster than using a paintbrush! Dave Farrand Look out below! I was afraid of falling off my roof while painting a dormer, so I went to the back of the house, tied a rope around a large pine tree, tied the other end around my waist and climbed to the roof. Just…