Category: do it yourself

Repair a Frozen Water Pipe

Once you’ve experienced the trauma of frozen water pipes, you take extremely cold weather and your home’s vulnerability more seriously. The low temperature freezes the water inside the pipes. The pipes can then burst, causing extensive damage. Take some precautions to prepare for water pipes freezing and avoid waking up on a cold morning and…


Install a Delivery Vault

You can have your own dropbox and simplify home deliveries with a built-in or stand-alone locking parcel box. You don’t have to stay home for a package delivery, because orders are securely delivered. If you’re a frequent traveler, you know how annoying it is to reschedule missed deliveries. You can have a stand-alone delivery vault…


The Pros and Cons of Bold Colors

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of attending numerous editors’ conferences over the years sponsored by different manufacturers. I’ve toured plants that heat-treat hand tools and factories that make everything from saw blades to small engines, to name a few. Each experience is like Christmas morning to me because I got to see new tools and…


Install Pegboard Molding

The simple design of classic, shaker-style wooden pegboard molding makes it an ideal addition to a mudroom, bathroom, closet or anywhere you hang things. It might be at the back door for a dog’s leash or a front entry for a hat; it’s a solution as well as an enhancement to a room. You can…


Install a Floating Floor

The planks of a floating floor don’t need glue or adhesive like a traditional flooring material because they lock together creating a tight bond between the tongue and edge of the planks. They are laminate planks installed over a dense resilient foam that makes it soft underfoot and prevents the planks from flexing when rolled…


Troubleshooting a Masonry Fireplace

Every winter, I get quite a few emails from readers who suffer from smoky fireplaces. Just a month ago, one of my amateur radio friends reached out to me with the same problem. After asking him some questions and looking at photos he provided, I was able to solve his primary problems. I saw reasons…


Quiet Your Plumbing System

Dear James: The water pipes are loud in our house, especially at night; they make a knocking sound when we shut off a faucet. What causes this loud noise and how can we stop it? — Deborah G. Dear Deborah: The loud noise you are describing is called “water hammer” because of the knocking sound….


Renew a Staircase

The constant traffic up and down wooden stairs in a busy household makes for heavy wear and tear on them which can translate to different forms of abuse like a worn or dull finish, loose spindles or a wobbly baluster. The longer you ignore the warning signs the worse the damage can become so find…


Replace a Kitchen Sink

A stainless steel sink is timeless in the ever changing latest design trends in kitchen decor. Replacing an old, worn sink with chips and scratches with a new lightweight stainless steel sink makes it easy to handle and install. Sinks are designed as an undermount unit that attaches underneath the countertop or as a top…


LED Light Strip

You have a lot of options when it comes to strip lighting, also called tape lights and ribbon lights. You’ll find choices in the color of lights, how to control them by a light switch or remote, and how to use them. LED light strips are ideal for accent lighting under a cabinet shelf, inside…