When it comes to home improvement, you need information you can trust. Inside each issue of The Family Handyman, you’ll find see-and-solve expert repair techniques, a variety of projects for every room and step-by-step, do-it-yourself photos.
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com DIY WORK WEAR We’re keen on Keens It turns out that half the staff here at TFH own and love a pair of Keen footwear. The Keen Company started out making airy, comfortable sandals with a rubber protective toe. The distinctive (some would say goofy looking) Newport sandal was born, and it became an instant success. Keen now makes a wide range of shoes and boots, including durable work shoes perfect for folks on their feet all day like medical staff and service industry workers. A steel toe is also an option for people in warehouse and industrial settings. Keens are not the cheapest, nor perhaps the prettiest, shoes, but they sure are comfy. Go to keenfootwear.com to find a retailer near you. Studios are always cluttered with light…
handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com NO KINKS, NO DAMAGE Several years ago, I noticed my neighbor pressure-washing her driveway. The hose was “dancing” all over the concrete from the pulses generated by the pump, and as a result, it was almost worn through in several spots. To preserve the hose on my pressure washer, I went to the auto supply store and bought some inexpensive black split-wire loom. It slips over the high-pressure hose quite nicely, and it protects the hose from wear. Plus, it prevents kinking, the most common cause of hose damage. William R. Law Mustard bottle for glue I no longer put up with the messy “overdesigned” carpenter’s glue dispensers. Instead, I use old mustard bottles; they don’t clog and they easily reseal between uses. Richard Painter Smoother caulk I used…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Easy for anyone to build—and fun to customize! Lots of kitchens have a little wall space that would be perfect for a storage or display shelf. Plenty of bathrooms do too. When I was a cabinetmaker, I built shelves like this for customers, and I liked them so much that I built a fleet of them for my own home. However, those shelves were made with an arsenal of high-powered woodworking tools. This time, I wanted to design a shelf that anyone with basic tools could build. This shelf is a great project for a beginning woodworker, and since it’s so easy to adapt to different uses, a more advanced DIYer can have a lot of fun customizing it. Tools and wood You’ll need a jigsaw, a drill and…
Go ahead—play with this project! It’s easy to make your shelf as long as you want it to be. Just put more brackets underneath it, maybe one every 2 ft. or so. You could also scale it up by using 1x8 lumber, or even wider stock, as long as you also scale up the brackets. Some of my other favorite variations are shown below. However, I have one strong recommendation: If you’re doing anything more than changing the size or color, first make a prototype out of inexpensive pine. Your plates, pot lids, cooking tools or whatever will be different from ours, so make sure they fit. POTHOOKS AND LIDS This shelf has hooks screwed underneath to hold frying pans. We gave the hooks a dark finish by heating them…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com A spar finish is almost exactly like the interior polyurethane finishes we’re all familiar with. It forms a shiny coating that protects the wood while accentuating the color and grain. The application is the same as with interior polyurethane too. The big difference between spar and interior poly is that spar stands up to exterior conditions. It’s more elastic, so it’s less likely to crack as wood shrinks and swells from moisture changes. It also protects wood from UV sunlight damage. Originally developed for boats, spar finishes are now used mostly for outdoor furniture and entry doors. You’ll find spar finishes at home centers in gloss, semigloss and satin. A quart costs less than $20. Most formulas are oil based and labeled “spar urethane.” Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane is…
editors@thefamilyhandyman.com You can transform any room with a stunning stone accent wall like this. Modern materials and methods allow you to create the look of a traditional stone wall with a fraction of the work. An intermediate DIYer could easily master the techniques. In this story, we’ll show you how to install stone veneer on any interior wall of your house. In just a weekend, you can have a dramatic new accent wall. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS To provide a strong base for the stone, you attach cement board to the wall framing with screws. Then you use thin-set adhesive to bond the stone panels securely to the cement board for a worry-free installation. You can leave the existing drywall or tear it out first. Ledgestone panels like the ones…
