Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2014 i Family Handyman

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…

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…

Make your gas grill look like new If your gas grill is looking old and gray and the cart is starting to rust, you’re probably thinking it’s time for a new grill. Sure, it would be cool to own one of those shiny new stainless steel models—if you’re willing to spend $500 or more. But if the cart, base and cover of your current grill are still sound, you can whip it into like-new shape in less than a day. You just need special paint, some new accessories and elbow grease. The paint and supplies cost less than $50 at home centers. And you can pick up new handles, knobs, emblems and a new thermometer for about $25 from a local appliance parts store or online (grillparts.com is one source).…

Pro tips for detailing a motorcycle Getting your bike professionally detailed can cost a bundle, from $200 all the way up to $600 for a complete job with the optional protectant package. So it makes sense that you’d want to do it yourself to save the dough. To learn the right way to detail a bike, we consulted Renny Doyle, owner of Attention To Details, a school for professional detailers. Renny walked us through his stepby-step method for detailing a motorcycle. His technique may seem like overkill, especially his recommendation for multiple rinse/dry cycles, but that’s how he achieves perfection. He can detail a bike in less than four hours. But you’d better plan on a full day. And, you probably won’t save any money on the first round because…

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…

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,…

Leveling Whether you’re just hanging a picture or building an entire house, getting things level is part of the project. And often there’s a tip that’ll help you get the job done quicker, easier or more accurately. Here are some of our favorites. 1 Smartphone level This is probably old news to you smartphone veterans out there, but for you newbies, here’s the tip. Your phone can work like a small level. You can download a level app, or your phone may already have a leveling app built into the operating system. You wouldn’t want to build an addition with a phone level, but it can come in handy for little leveling tasks around the house. 2 Level a row of pictures Getting a row of pictures to line up…

FLASH OF BRILLIANCE Recently, I helped my brother install a new motion sensor light in his mother-in-law’s bedroom bathroom. We adjusted the setting so the light would stay on for five minutes when it was activated and then shut off. In her adjacent bedroom, the bed was positioned so she could easily get up to use the bathroom at night. About a week went by before she started complaining that the light stayed on most of the night. I stopped by that evening and observed that the light came on even without any apparent motion in the room. I then shut the pocket doors on the bathroom and discovered it worked properly. Shortly, however, I found the culprit. She had placed a small digital picture frame on her dresser. Every…

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…

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…

Building face frame cabinets A classic way to make cabinets is to build plywood boxes (aka carcasses) and cover the front with a hardwood face frame. Cabinets like this are strong and handsome and relatively easy to build. And we have the experience to prove it. Some editors here at TFH have built dozens of face frame cabinets; a couple of us have built hundreds. We all recently sat down to compile a list of tips that we felt could help experienced cabinetmakers as well as those just starting their first one. While these cabinets provide a sturdy support for door hinges, we won’t cover door building here; that’s a whole story of its own. “TV Ears saved our marriage!” -Darlene and Jack B., CA Doctor Recommended TV Ears has…