Innholdsfortegnelse for Winter 2021 i Family Handyman

■ LARGE TILE CARRIES AN EXTRA COST I chose Sofia Charcoal porcelain tile for its texture and consistent color, which made the seams almost disappear. I needed to cover about 60 sq. ft., but with large tile there’s a lot of waste. I had to buy 90 sq. ft. at $9.20 per sq. ft., or just over $60 a tile. ■ TILE COSTS VARY A LOT The total materials bill for my project was about $1,200. Tile was by far the biggest cost ($900), but you can find good-looking tile for less than half that price. ■ RENT A TILE SAW For the 31-in. x 31-in. tiles I chose, I had to rent a large-capacity saw ($75 per day). ■ DIVE INTO SOMETHING NEW In removing the hearth, I wasn’t…

If your grill cooks as shabby as it looks, a new model is probably on your wish list. But before you start shopping, consider this: There’s a solution for almost any grill problem, and the fixes are easy. Winter is the perfect time to recondition a grill. I know—I tackled two of mine as the snow flew, and the next spring, they were set to go. All it took was a little elbow grease and DIY ingenuity. Now, these grills will be cooking for many seasons to come. MEET THE EXPERT Jay Cork is an associate editor at Family Handyman. Over the past decade, he’s rescued many grills from the scrap pile. Grilling since 1951 The grill that did the most to popularize backyard grilling was born the same year…

Soft brushes provide a smoother finish Soft brushes have “flagged ends,” which resemble the split ends of hair. This results in a smoother finish with fewer brush marks. Stiff brushes give you crisp lines Stiff brushes are more durable, which is important when you’re painting rough surfaces. The bristles are “tipped” at the ends like a sharp pencil. Pointy bristles also allow for crisp, sharp lines when you cut in around trim. MEET THE EXPERT Connie McKinney is a senior product manager with Purdy Professional Painting Tools. Replacing Single Floorboards When tongue-and-groove floorboards become irreparably damaged, it’s possible to replace a single board or two. A 1953 issue recommended that you “tackle the removal of the defectives with a hammer and sharp chisel.” While that’s still a perfectly fine solution,…

BIGGER BUILDS The average home built in the early 1950s was about 950 sq. ft. By 2017, the average new-home size had almost tripled to 2,700 sq. ft. In recent years, square footage has fallen slightly. SINGLE HOMEOWNERS In the 1950s, the vast majority of homes were owned by married couples. Today, almost 40% of homeowners are single. SINGLE WOMEN BUY HOMES Single buyers made up a tiny fraction of home purchasers in the ‘50s, and most of those were men. Today, a single woman is about twice as likely to buy a home as a single man. PIPES WEREN’T JUST FOR PLUMBING Judging from our old photos, smoking a pipe was an essential part of DIY in the ‘50s, at least for men. DRESSED UP FOR DIY In our…

Toolbox Boom Box This AEPJS1 Jobsite Speaker by Klein Tools has been my constant companion on the job and in the shop. Its magnetic back lets you stick it on any metal surface—I’ve even attached it to the vent hood in my kitchen. This little 4-in. box truly rocks, and the Bluetooth range is better than I expected. As a bonus, I can even take a phone call on it. This speaker is as tough as any of my favorite tools. I’ve dropped it countless times, lost it in piles of demo debris, and had it outside in rain and mud; it just keeps working and sounds great! At $40, this Blue - tooth box is a great bargain. BILL BERGMANN ASSOCIATE EDITOR WRENCH EXTENDER The Tite-Reach wrench is the…

New products are constantly making DIY projects faster, easier and cheaper. Introducing these products is and always has been part of our mission. In fact, many of the most important advances were first publicized in Family Handyman. Here are a few of our favorite DIY breakthroughs. 1 THE TAPE MEASURE The basic idea goes back centuries, and by the mid-1800s, there were tape measures much like the ones we use today. But early tapes were finicky and super expensive (about $300 in today’s dollars). So most DIYers and pros stuck with the old “folding rule.” Finally, as manufacturing became better and cheaper in the 1950s, everyone, including Family Handyman, made the switch to tapes. 2 FAMILY HANDYMAN MAGAZINE In 1951, a publishing brand devoted to DIY was a radical idea.…

Installing a smart light switch is as simple as installing a regular switch, aside from connecting your light switch to your Wi-Fi. Smart light switches are considerably more expensive than standard switches ($40 vs. $3 at home centers), but they can do much more too. In this article, we’re replacing existing standard switches with Leviton Decora Smart switches, but the tips apply to any brand. WHAT CAN A SMART SWITCH DO FOR YOU? With a smart switch, you can program lights to turn on and off to suit your schedule. You can also operate your lights via voice command through a home assistant or by using an app on your phone. And yes, you can also operate them manually. ADD A NEUTRAL Unlike with a standard switch, you’ll need to…

In this age of power tools, it’s easy to ignore old-fashioned hand tools. But you shouldn’t. Even if your shop is full of high-end power tools, sometimes a hand tool will get the job done faster, better and neater. One of our favorite woodworkers, Ralph Truesdell, owns nearly every hand tool there is, and he agreed to tell us about some of his favorites. MEET THE EXPERT Ralph Truesdell is the resident hand tool expert at his local Woodcraft store, where he teaches woodworking classes. He’s also a 7th degree Tae Kwon Do master, one of only a handful of people in the world to ever accomplish this. Ralph’s tool chest After years of accumulating hand tools, Ralph has quite a collection. Here are some of his favorites.…

BRAD HOLDEN After getting a C- in 8th-grade wood shop, Brad dedicated 30 years of his life to woodworking, trying to make up for it. MIKE BERNER Mike gave up his job as a shop teacher to come to FH. His favorite part about that? “Wood doesn’t give you attitude.” JAY CORK Jay is a highly skilled woodworker and craftsman. And for the record, he’s way taller than the rest of these clowns. BILL BERGMANN “Bungalow Bill” has worked on many old homes with big problems, so he’s thrilled to be moving into a newer house. JOSH RISBERG Don’t argue with Josh—you won’t win. You’ll only waste your time; he’s just gonna build it his way anyway.…

I’ve got a large family, and when we all gather, it’s become tradition to haul a card table up from the basement and evict the coffee table to make more space for dining. Our next big get-together will be different; instead of shifting furniture around, I’ll just flip up the coffee table legs and round up the kids! WHAT IT TAKES TIME A few days COST $200–$400 SKILL LEVEL Intermediate TOOLS Miter saw, table saw, drill, tape measure, random orbital sander, flush-cut saw, jigsaw, 23-gauge pin nailer family handyman flashback 1956 A VINTAGE PROJECT THAT STILL HAS LEGS TODAY The inspiration for this project came from an article Family Handyman published way back in 1956. I thought the idea of a 2-in-1 table was brilliant, even for today. I used…

A SCRAPER BEATS SANDPAPER To get wood smoother than sandpaper can, Ralph uses a cabinet scraper. Also known as card scrapers, these simple pieces of steel cut micro-thin shavings of wood. They’re great for repairing scratches, final shaping or prepping a surface for finishing. Scraping can be hard work, but the reward comes when you apply the finish; the grain shows much more clearly and vibrantly than it does with sanded wood. PERFECT MITERS FOR SMALL STUFF Ralph uses this small Zona miter box to repair trim details on antiques, cut bracing for acoustic guitars and even install base shoe. Making cuts like these on a powered miter saw not only can be dangerous but also risks destroying delicate, and maybe irreplaceable, pieces of trim. MARK WITH PRECISION A marking…

GOT A DIY QUESTION? Finding answers is easy at familyhandyman.com. Just use the search box at the top of the page to get expert step-by-step help with your projects. GOT A HANDY HINT OR TIP FOR US? To share your information with us, submit a copy of your original contribution, including photos and/or sketches, by email to: submissions@familyhandyman.com Or mail to: Family Handyman,2915 Commers Drive, Suite 700,Eagan, MN 55121 Please include your name, mailing address and email address if you have one, and indicate to which department you are submitting. We reserve the right to publish your submission in any appropriate department, or elsewhere. Contributions will not be acknowledged or returned. RIGHTS By submitting material to us, you grant Home Service Publications, Inc., its parent company subsidiaries, affiliates, partners and…