One Kings Lane If you live in an old home, especially one built prior to World War II, you may have a thin piece of wood molding that sits a bit below the ceiling. Not as showy as crown molding, this thin strip is known as picture rail and it has a very utilitarian function. So what exactly is picture rail? Traditionally, picture rail is about 2-inches wide and is installed to run horizontally along the wall....
Courtesy of Airbnb.com We pick potatoes, we mash potatoes, and now…we sleep in potatoes? Thanks to this incredibly creative Airbnb host, you can actually stay in a ginormous potato in Boise, Idaho. If you find yourself dreaming of Idaho potatoes, then your dream is finally coming true now that you get to wake up in one! Pro tip: Thinking about becoming an Airbnb host yourself? Here are 14 things you should know before renting property on Airbnb....
Back when radio was still relevant, folks in my region of New York State heard a booming baritone voice kick off a commercial for a local car wash chain with this phrase: “Salt eats cars!” After all, in the Northeast we deal with snow, salt, sludge and sleet — substances can wreak havoc on a vehicle’s paint, wheels and interiors. While it’s a good idea to keep a vehicle as clean as possible all winter long, spring brings the perfect opportunity to restore its shine....
Building a deck is one of the most DIY-friendly residential building projects out there, significantly increasing your home’s usable space. Besides offering a place for sitting and sunning, a deck can support an outdoor kitchen and dining area, a hot tub or portable sauna, or a greenhouse. Although there are plenty of building codes to know and follow when you’re building a deck, there aren’t as many as for a closed structure....
The old adage that you can’t have too much of a good thing also applies to cleaning, according to recent comments made by Vincent Hill, Chief of the Waterborne Disease Prevention Branch. Hill, while speaking on a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-sponsored telephone briefing, said obsessively disinfecting to try and kill the virus may actually be doing more harm than good. The CDC updated its safety guidelines April 5 to say that cleaning once a day is usually sufficient enough to remove Covid-19....
It’s not every day that one of the biggest musical superstars in the world crosses over with the world of DIY. Earlier this week, music sensation Abel Tesfaye, better known by his pseudonym “The Weeknd,” announced he would be printing his latest single on a rather unique vinyl format: a circular saw blade. Through a collaboration with the Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF, the Weeknd’s recent track “Out of Time” will be turned into 25 vinyl records doubling as saw blades....
Viruses and other germs can linger on surfaces long after someone touches them. The length of time germs remain can range from a few hours to several days. (Yikes!) Viruses and germs typically live longer on hard surfaces like plastic and stainless steel than porous surfaces like fabric and paper. That’s because porous materials are better at absorbing and trapping pathogens, making it harder to spread germs through touch. Viruses also live longer in lower temperatures, low humidity and low sunlight....
Even the smallest closet in your home office can be a useful and organized space that helps you work more efficiently. That little closet is a convenient spot to hold office supplies, backup cables and batteries, quick-grab snacks and beverages, reference materials and more. We’ve gathered our favorite expert tips for organizing your home office closet and getting the most out of every square inch. Purge the Clutter The home office closet is a magnet for clutter....
Sandi Chocholousek Sherman Vomacka has quite the unique place. He lives in Gregory, South Dakota, where the winter months can be brutally cold. So, Sherman wanted his place to be energy efficient, green, and sturdy enough to withstand the harsh weather conditions. His solution, build an earth home on his farmland. Interestingly, construction of Sherman’s home began on September 11, 2001, a memorable date in our country’s history. The home structure has four modules: a garage and three living spaces....
serts/Getty Images Whether you’re a clean freak or someone who could use a little motivation, there’s no doubt a helpful hack is much appreciated for getting your home sparkling clean with less effort. Reddit is one of those platforms that’s teaming with helpful information, including incredible cleaning hacks you’ll wish you’d known sooner. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best cleaning hacks to get you started. Before you read the Reddit users’ cleaning hacks, this video reveals some cleaning secrets from the pros....
Quick: What’s the largest moving object in the typical home? If you guessed a garage door, go to the head of the class. “It gets heavy use, has a lot of moving parts and can be expensive to replace,” says Randy Swigert of Tri City Garage Doors in Greeley, Colorado. “Depending on your market, a basic 16- x 7-ft. non-insulated door with installation runs about $2,000, and an insulated door the same size is around $2,400....
What are Smart Light Bulbs? Smart light bulbs are wirelessly-controlled bulbs that give you some cool and useful new options for customizing the lighting in your home. You can control them with a smartphone app, smart light switches, or with voice commands via smart home assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. And they’re designed to screw right into your existing lamps and fixtures, just like standard bulbs. On This Page...
Don’t just paint it gray and call it good. Your master bedroom or master suite should reflect your personality and the goals of your space. A cozy retreat? Romance and drama? Breezy and meditative? Color theory being what it is, some colors will just always look better together. But there are some fun, creative and unexpected takes and bedroom colors out there that can infuse your space with what makes you feel most at home....
Unfortunately, not all primers are in the same league. While it may be tempting to cut corners, a superior primer like KILZ® branded primer is key to a uniform, professional-looking paint job. After all, it lays the foundation for what’s to come and has everything to do with the end result. Choosing the right primer for the job When choosing a primer, one size fits all does not apply. It’s important to consider the condition of the surface you’re going to paint....
Heat pumps are some of the most energy efficient heating systems available today. They’re also eco-friendly HVAC options because they don’t burn gas or oil to operation and they use far less electricity than other systems. The main downside is that they can be expensive to install, but with significant rebates and tax incentives available, combined with the cost savings they offer over the years, it’s an increasing popular option for homes to buy a heat pump....
Floor Framing Until recently, floors and roofs were supported by beams, floor joists, and roof rafters made of dimensional lumber, typically 2×6, 2×8, 2×10, or 2×12. In new homes, it’s increasingly common to see engineered wood products such as floor trusses, I-joists, structural composite lumber, or glulams. These modern wood products allow longer spans and wider spacing than the conventional 16-in. on center (OC). On This Page Family Handyman Floor trusses and I-Joists typically have a wide top and bottom chord that makes for optimal nailing and gluing of subfloor and easier drywall installation for ceilings....
The Most Common Causes of Tire Vibration Modern vehicles are designed to drive smoothly, even on not-so-perfect road surfaces. Although some mild vibrations when driving can be normal, significant vibrations indicate something is wrong. On This Page Vehicles have so many spinning and moving parts that all kinds of things can cause vibrations. Those vibrations resonate through the car, causing it to shake. Fortunately, tires or wheels are the most likely cause of vibrations, and those are easily repaired or replaced by your repair shop....
Every handyman knows that a combination square is a vital tool for drawing precise lines in DIY projects. But even the steadiest hand slips sometimes and the combo square falls off track, leaving you with a wonky line and inaccurate measurements. That’s where a good tool hack comes in handy and, luckily, Tiktok creator @sedgetool has the perfect fix. What’s the Hack for Drawing Straight Lines? When you’re pressing a combo square along a piece of wood and pressing a pencil into the combo square, it’s easy for those competing pressures to yield shaky lines....
For many households, the holiday season brings beautiful bowls of mixed nuts, and the fun of cracking open the shells to reveal the delicious treats inside. But what happens when you can’t locate a nutcracker? Don’t panic, just reach into your toolbox! Family Handyman tested using several different hand tools to crack open a variety of nuts. The good news is that all of the tools we used worked, but a couple of them got the job done a bit better....
Since humankind moved from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society, we’ve been using rudimentary hoe-like implements to ease the labor of planting. Over the millennia, this one-size-fits-all garden tool evolved into a set of specialized hoes, each with a specific function. “Like any garden tool, it’s important to get the right one for the right job,” says Katie Dubow, gardening expert and president of Garden Media Group. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose the perfect garden hoe....
