Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Family Handyman

Joining the Airbnb revolution could help you generate revenue from a spare room, or from an apartment or house you don’t use much. “It’s been a great experience and very worthwhile,” says Sandra Shillington, a California-based Airbnb host since 2013 and the author of the hosting guidebook, Airbnb Toolbox. But is hosting right for you? Pro: The money (of course!) While earnings vary based on size and type of space, city and neighborhood, and frequency of rentals, hosting can yield more than you might receive from even a full-time renter, Shillington says. But keep in mind: Paying guests expect their experience “to be relatively problem-free,” she says. You need to be organized, efficient and available. When the washing machine you promised breaks down, “you have to make sure someone’s there…

If you’re negligent about replacing your furnace filter regularly or you’re not using the correct one, listen up. You’re not just compromising your indoor air quality. You’re also spending more money than necessary on utility bills and repairs, and you may even have to replace your furnace. BE WARY OF WASHABLE FILTERS Washable, reusable filters require far more effort than simply swapping a dirty disposable filter for a new one. Plus, it’s difficult to get washable filters completely clean. Most washable filters offer MERV ratings only in the 1 to 4 range, so they don’t provide good filtration either. Since they cost $80 to $100, you’ll have to decide if the benefit is worth the price, trouble and substandard filtration. If you choose this route, shop around to find washable…

Big value in a big saw! Harbor Freight’s Hercules 12-in. miter saw has many features in common with expensive pro-grade saws: an LED light to show the cutting line, the ability to bevel both directions, and of course, the sliding feature for wide cuts. Its bevel adjustment works smoothly and has the standard positive angle stops other saws have. The angle adjustments go from 60 degrees on the right side of the blade to 50 degrees on the left. Dust collection is hopeless, even with a vacuum, but that’s true of all miter saws. If you want a contractor-grade miter saw without the contractor-grade price, you’ll be perfectly happy with this lower-cost alternative. It’s available for $350 at Harbor Freight stores and harborfreight.com. ROTATING HEDGE TRIMMER If you’re still using a corded…

CARVE OUT A SOIL DIVOT WITH A SPADE Carve out a round plug to outline the posthole. That’ll get you started in exactly the right spot. Throw the dirt onto a tarp to protect your lawn. LOOSEN EARTH WITH A TILE SHOVEL Unless you have very soft soil, you’ll work way too hard digging with just a clamshell digger. Loosen the soil and carve away at the sides with a tile spade. It’ll easily slice through small roots. USE A RECIP SAW ON LARGE ROOTS Don’t kill yourself chiseling out roots. Just use a recip saw with a long, coarse blade and poke it right into the soil and cut off the roots.…

Much DIY work produces dust and/or fumes. It’s essential to protect your lungs from both; there’s no amount of dust or vapor that’s good for your lungs. And the harm is cumulative. The more work you do without protection, the more damage you’re doing. So if you’re producing dust or using finishes or solvents, use the proper mask. Certified Filter Ratings A mask’s certification denotes its filtering efficiency and what it’s capable of filtering. There are three letter ratings—N, R and P—pertaining to a mask’s effectiveness at removing airborne oils or vapors found in solvents and finishes. N = Not resistant to oils R = Somewhat resistant to oils P = Strongly resistant to oils The number following the letter indicates the percentage of particles that the mask is capable…

Is your lawn so pale, patchy and weedy that it demands an intervention? If it’s at least 50 percent healthy grass, you can save that grass and fill in the rest of the lawn by planting new seed. Or you can replace your entire lawn with sod instead. Reseeding is far easier and less costly than laying sod, but you’ll wait a long time for results. If you don’t mind paying more, sod will give you beautiful grass in a fraction of the time. Here’s how to prepare your yard for grass seed or sod. RESEEDING VS. SOD Reseeding is far cheaper and far less labor intensive than laying sod. But reseeding takes a month of diligent watering once or twice a day. The germinating seed can easily dry out…

GET A LEG UP! Newer pickups often feature built-in steps so you can easily access your pickup bed. Some steps are built into the bumper; others are part of the tailgate like the one on the Ford F-150 shown above. The steps are handy for pros and DIYers alike, especially if you have an elevated 4WD pickup. If you have an older truck, there’s no need to cry in your beer—you’ll find many aftermarket truck steps to choose from. Some bolt onto the bumper and fold up or slide out of the way under the bed; others slip into the receiver hitch and telescope or swing out when needed. You’ll find styles to help you access both the rear and the side of the bed. Just search online for “truck…

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Fertilizing Dense Plants To get fertilizer to the base of bushes and other dense plants, use a length of 2-in. PVC. Slide one end down to the plant base and pour the fertilizer into the pipe. Cut the top of the pipe at 45 degrees to give yourself a larger opening for pouring in the fertilizer. GORDON R. WATSON WASTE-FREE PAINTING I have several rental properties that are always in need of repainting. Instead of throwing out leftover paint, I put it to use. I gather all my partial cans of interior latex—any color or sheen—and dump them into a 5-gallon bucket. Next, I mix the paint with a power-driven paint mixer to get a uniform color. It usually turns out off-white with an eggshell sheen. If the color is…

Smart lights let you control a bulb remotely via an app on your phone, through a smart speaker or even by talking to them. You can program when the lights go on and off, change a bulb’s color as well as find your own creative uses (more on this later). Here are a few things to consider when choosing which smart lights are right for you. You can add a smart light to any light fixture or lamp. It really is as easy as changing a lightbulb: Unscrew the old one; screw in the new. Hub vs. Hubless Some smart lights require a hub, which is a device that plugs into your router. A hub like the one shown connects other lightbulbs, allowing you to interact with them from your…

This project was inspired by an outdoor gas fireplace I saw online. The look was exactly what I wanted, but the construction wasn’t—I didn’t want a 500-lb. concrete cube that couldn’t be moved. And I didn’t want an underground gas line to fuel the fire. So instead I engineered this version. It looks just like the one online, but it can be easily moved by two people and it doesn’t need a remote gas supply. Best of all, it’s an easy weekend project, suitable for a beginning builder. There’s a secret inside It looks like a solid concrete cube, but this hollow box holds a standard propane tank and regulator—the same components that fuel a typical gas grill. Just remove the burner and lift out the tank when it needs…

FIX A LEAKY TOILET If your toilet is leaking around the base, there’s a problem with the toilet-to-flange connection. It may be as simple as a wax ring that needs replacement. It’s important to stop leaks as soon as possible; even minor ones can cause substantial damage over time. Here are the most common problems you’ll find under the toilet and how to address them. FLANGE FIX-IT OPTIONS ■ TWO-PART REPAIR RING Steel flanges that surround plastic flanges can rust away. The easiest solution is to install a two-part (or hinged) ring ($15) that locks under the plastic rim. Badly corroded steel rings can be pried and peeled away. If you have to get aggressive, cut it away with an angle grinder or oscillating tool fitted with a metal-cutting blade.…