Family Handyman April 2014

BE A STONEMASON—NO SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED! If you love the look of stone but don’t have the bucks to hire it installed by a pro or the skill (or courage) to install it yourself, check out Boral’s Versetta Stone panelized stone veneer. Believe it or not, there’s no mortar involved. The key is a tongue-and-groove interlocking system with a concealed flange that anchors each 8-in. x 36-in. panel to the wall with screws or nails. The panels are made of lightweight aggregate materials but look like real stone. Use the panels anywhere inside or out. They can be attached to masonry, studs or 1/2-in. sheathing. Outside use also requires moisture barrier and a few more steps to deal with moisture. Cutting is simple with a circular saw and a diamond…

A trim for flux brushes I use flux brushes for all sorts of tasks, from glue spreading to touch-up painting. I find that the bristles are too long, making them too soft to push glue or paint. They work a lot better if you cut off about 1/4 in. of the bristles. If you trim the bristles at an angle, you can also make a nice cut-in brush for small parts. Dan Doshan JAR CLEANING WITH BBs I’ve gone to auctions for years and have collected lots of antique jars and bottles. Often they’ve been stained inside, and they used to be really tough to get clean. Not anymore! I just put a little soapy water in the bottle and add a few tablespoons of BBs. After a bit of…

This was the ultimate bad patio: severely cracked and cratered, some areas raised by frost, others sunken after 50 years of settling. Originally, it was tiled, then the tile was chiseled off and the pockmarked surface got a coat of paint. A slab with this much damage can’t be fixed. But it can be covered up—and this article will show you how. The results look just like a deck, but getting them is much easier and less expensive than building a deck from scratch. In most cases, this project is also less expensive than a new patio installed by a contractor. Local contractors estimated costs of $7 to $10 per sq. ft. to remove this patio and pour a new slab. You could probably replace your patio yourself for less…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com I was a cabinetmaker when I started working for The Family Handyman. That was almost 30 years ago, so I’ve seen a lot of shop tips come and go. Some of them I’ve used once or twice and then forgotten. Others I’ve used so often that they’ve become essential parts of the way I work in the shop. Here are a few of my favorites. MEET THE PRO Ken Collier is Editor in Chief of The Family Handyman and a longtime woodworker. Quick table legs If you need to build a quick table, here’s a great way to make the legs. I’ve used this design to make tables for our cabin, and utility tables for the shop and yard. Each leg is made from a 1x6, ripped to make…

5 ways to get power where you need it Wiring a new outdoor outlet isn’t complicated. But getting wire to the right spot—without tearing into walls—can be a huge challenge. In this article, we’ll help you choose the best strategies for locating and powering your new outlet. We won’t go into depth about how to mount the outlet box or connect the wiring. For this information, go to familyhandyman.com and search for “outlet.” There you’ll find instructions for adding an outdoor outlet to your wall or a post in your yard as well as detailed wiring diagrams. We’ll show you some of the different wiring techniques you can use to provide power to your new outlet and tell you the pros and cons of each. As with any electrical project,…

There’s no question that roofing your own house is a big undertaking, but if you have a strong back, a couple of buddies who “owe” you and a week of vacation time, you could save yourself thousands of dollars. The cost of pro installation varies a great deal, but in most regions you can expect to save about $150 per 100 sq. ft. of roof—that’s about $3,600 for a typical house! A DIY project like this won’t be nearly as intimidating once you know the basics, and it doesn’t require a lot of expensive tools. And if you do it right, you won’t have to worry about it for another 25 years. If you need a new roof but are planning to hire it out, read on anyway to learn…