When it comes to home improvement, you need information you can trust. Inside each issue of The Family Handyman, you’ll find see-and-solve expert repair techniques, a variety of projects for every room and step-by-step, do-it-yourself photos.
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com About once a year here at the office, we encounter “The Perfect Product.” This year the title winner has to be the SnapRays Guidelight. Even though it’s just a lowly night-light, it’s practically perfect in every way. Here’s why: Everyone needs it: If the sun goes down where you live, you need a few night-lights, right? Anyone can install it: It takes all of 60 seconds. Remove the single screw on the old cover plate, snap in the Guidelight and reinstall the screw. That’s it. It’s inexpensive to operate: The three tiny LEDs come on only when it’s dark, thanks to the light sensor built into the cover. It’s not an ugly plug-in. It looks exactly like an ordinary cover plate. The LEDs at the bottom light up the…
FROM OUR READERS handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com HALF-PENCIL MARKS EXACT COPIES While trying to trace an exact copy of the throat plate for my table saw, I came up with this nifty technique using an ordinary pencil. I just shaved my pencil into a half-pencil by carefully grinding it on my belt sander. The flat edge enables my modified pencil to ride straight up along the edge of the template. It also works great for marking and then shaping inlays for my woodworking projects. Tim Reese Pet hair remover When we were moving my daughter from her apartment, I wore my nonslip rubberdipped gloves that I had gotten at a hardware store. While lifting her upholstered chair, I brushed some dog hair off with my gloves and noticed the hair rolling up into…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com There are tons of new decking products on the market, and building methods continue to evolve and improve. To keep up with the changes, we traveled to builders’ shows and deck expos to meet with tool and product manufacturers and get advice from top-notch deck builders. Here are some of the best tips and products we found. Smart spacing These yellow deck board spacers can be used to space boards either 1/8 in. or 3/16 in. apart. Our experts like large spacers like these because they’re easy to grab and pull out, and less likely to fall down between the boards. They’re also highly visible, which makes them less of a trip hazard. You can find the Johnson DeckMate spacers at some home centers or online for about $5…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Spend a little, get a lot. That’s the idea behind ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture. But RTA furniture isn’t just inexpensive. It’s also super adaptable. Because you assemble it yourself, RTA furniture invites tinkering. In fact, customizing RTA pieces is so common that it has its own name: “hacking.” We used furniture pieces from IKEA. You can also find RTA furniture at discount stores and home centers. MODERN CONSOLE Mimic a mid-century modern classic by turning a simple shelving unit on its side, wrapping it with plywood inside and out, and attaching legs. Our materials cost was about $250. Build it Notice that the end panels of the original assembled Kallax shelving unit protrude beyond the sides. Remove both panels (Step 1) and trim off the protruding edges (Step 2). Then…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com A well-designed, properly installed septic system can last for decades—or fail in just a few years. It’s up to you. Maintaining a healthy septic system isn’t all that expensive, but you could easily spend tens of thousands to dig up and replace a septic system that has totally failed. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Good maintenance starts with understanding how a septic system works and how it can fail. Let’s take a look underground and see what’s supposed to happen in a well-functioning septic system. After that, I’ll show you why things go wrong and give you some pointers for keeping your system in top shape. HOW IT WORKS It’s a cafeteria for bacteria Bacteria are what makes a…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com “I borrowed my buddy’s pressure washer, discovered I couldn’t live without one and bought my own the very next day.” After hearing a hundred stories like that, we decided it was time for a tool test. So we picked eight gas-powered units priced from $320 to $430 and five electric models priced up to $270. You can buy pressure washers for much less, but the service pros tell us those units break down often and usually can’t be repaired. We limited our choices to major brands sold at home centers and online. Two critical ratings Pressure washers carry two ratings that reflect their cleaning power: pressure, measured in pounds per square inch (psi), and water flow rate, which is measured in gallons per minute (gpm). A machine with lower…
