Innholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2025 i Family Handyman

My 10-year-old son Jacob has recently become interested in building stuff. He went through my Family Handyman magazines and decided to make the elevated food and water dish for his dog Buster. He did the measurements, made the cuts, assembled it and decorated it all with minimal help from me. He was proud of himself—and I was proud of him too! —Jessica Lipscomb, Columbus, MI Calling All Homeowners! Master the basics of home maintenance with the handy tips and expert advice in this must-have book: 850 Things Every Homeowner Should Know. Get your copy today for only $10 (and free shipping). Order online at FamilyHandyman.com/SP22. Got Goofs? Check out this hilarious reader blunder, then send us your own! After purchasing my first home, I treated myself to a real tool…

In a former life, Jenni Yolo worked at a fashion magazine. Now, she fashions dream homes. It’s a family affair: Her husband, David, guts old buildings, and Jenni hones the design vision—from creating color palettes to coming up with ways to make corners cozier. “I’m a hidden nook person; I don’t like to ignore any space, no matter how small,” she says. Now on their third home rehab, charting their journey on TV and via their blog, ispydiy.com, they have tips to share. From the Inside Out The Yolos dubbed their 1875 home the “Bayview Barnhouse,” a nod to the Milwaukee neighborhood it’s tucked into. The renovation took nine months; it was a duplex when they bought it. Guarding the original integrity of the house was important. The couple kept…

1 DADO, CROSSCUT AND SAND Using a table saw, cut a ⅛-in.-wide, ¼-in.-deep dado ¼ in. from the edge of the 1×3. Using a miter saw, crosscut the 1×3 into two 9-in.pieces and two 11-in. pieces. Sand each piece and break the edges with 150-grit sandpaper. 2 CUT MITERS AND RIP BOARDS Arrange the boards in a rectangle, with the dado along the top of each inward-facing side. Mark and cut 45-degree miters on the ends of each board. Mark a line ¾ in. below the dado on each board and rip the boards using a table saw. 3 STAIN AND FINISH Stain the boards, wiping off the excess with a rag (be sure to wear gloves). Once the stain dries, lightly sand any raised grain with 220-grit sandpaper. Apply…

The latest from our TV channel Eager to find a new home to blend their family of five, one Nashville couple bought a house on a hill with an amazing view. But the view inside was hard to bear. So it was up to house flippers Kortney and Dave Wilson, co-hosts of Making It Home, to meet their expectations. The most dramatic transformation happened in the living room, where a few key updates helped turn it from zero to warm-and-comfy hero. See this project come to life in an episode of Making It Home on At Home with Family Handyman, and get more inspiration by streaming the channel free at FamilyHandyman.com/tv.…

Don’t Forget Daylight Consider windows in your lighting design. Here, a funky chandelier accents a statement bay window without blocking the view—or the sun’s natural light. Kitchen Glow-Up • Mix and Match Combine recessed, surface-mounted and targeted task lighting to make your kitchen bright, cheery and safe. • Amp up the Ambience Cove lighting adds a soft and elegant ambience. It can often be installed with easy-to-DIY LED strip lights. • Give It Some Space Hang pendant lights about 30 in. above your kitchen island, and about 30 in. apart. Any closer and you risk crowding. Think Outside the Box Channel your inner artiste with bold lighting choices that catch the eye and soften hard edges.…

Smart Locks KEEP YOUR EXISTING KEYS August Wi-Fi Smart Lock $200 • This minimalistic lock works with your door’s existing deadbolt and connects to your home Wi-Fi network without a separate hub. Use your smartphone’s fingerprint or facial recognition features as an added security verification with the base model, or splurge for the version with a touch keypad. COMPACT KEYPAD Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro Series Smart Lock $180 • This quick-to-install lock has a compact 3-in. keypad that won’t overwhelm smaller doors with clunky hardware. Better yet, it offers a ton of functionality for its size: A smartphone-enabled auto-unlock feature eliminates fumbling at the door, and the device automatically locks behind you for peace of mind. BUILT-IN ALARM Schlage Encode Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt $300 • The Schlage Encode combines modern security…

Prevent Split Boards To keep a screw from splitting a board as you drill near its end, snip off the sharp point at the end of the screw. A sharp point can drive wood fibers outward, causing separation, but a blunted edge will crunch the fibers downward instead. —Elliott Callahan Enlarge Project Plans with Pegboard Scale plans are often drawn on a grid for easy enlargement, but redrawing the grid at a larger scale can be a tedious, time-consuming job. To quickly re-create a 1-in. grid, I lay 1⁄8-in.-thick pegboard over my workpiece and center a dot in each hole with a pencil. —Dean St. Clair Use a Straw to Caulk Tight Spaces I was trying to caulk the joint between a countertop and the backsplash and couldn’t access the…

Now Trending • Gear Up • Mini Makeovers The latest we’ve heard, seen, tested and tried Metals aren’t just finishing touches—they can be the flourishes that really bring a room together. While chrome is still big, brass is back in style. Believed to have been created around 5000 B.C. when metallurgists accidentally mixed copper and zinc ores together, it’s now associated with modernity. Use it to bring warmth and a luxe feel to everything from kitchen sink fixtures to cabinet handles.…

Map It Out Start by drawing a floor plan of the room you’re lighting. Include the dimensions, window locations, permanent structures like kitchen islands and cabinets, and major furniture. Use arrows to indicate which way people will face while doing activities like watching TV, cooking or eating. Add a compass to show the direction your windows face, and a legend with symbols for different light types. A Lesson in Lighting Before placing lights on your plan, you’ll need to understand a few modern lighting metrics. When incandescent bulbs were the norm, wattage was a reliable indicator of brightness, because incandescent bulbs are actually more like little heaters, losing 90% of their energy to heat and only emitting 10% as light. But for the now-ubiquitous LED bulbs, which are far more…

Best Pro Tips • Fix-It Focus • Handy Hints Advice from experts, tips from readers Winter is the perfect time to finish a basement—for homeowners and contractors alike. “We hope to get those jobs in the winter, so we’re not outside,” says Lori Reese, a master carpenter, building scientist and owner of Wonderwoman Construction in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When Reese recently bought a house that needed more living space, she faced the same dilemma as many of her clients: “Do I go up, go out or build out the basement?” Since drainage was good, and basement buildouts are cheaper than above-grade additions, she chose the basement. If you are also dreaming of extra indoor space, Reese’s expert advice can guide you. From deciding what to DIY to knowing when to call…

Sign up for our newsletter! Get our best tips and hints sent to your inbox. Sign up at familyhandyman.com/newsletter. Got a DIY question? Finding the answers is easy at familyhandyman.com. Click on the three bars at the top left of the page and then search your topic for expert step-by-step help with your projects. Got a handy hint or tip for us? To share your original idea with us, submit a copy of your contribution, including photos and/or sketches online at: familyhandyman.com/submissions Or mail to: Family Handyman, 1610 N. 2nd St., Suite 102, Milwaukee, WI 53212 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…