Family Handyman What Does “Ripping a Board” Mean? Ripping a board is the term used to describe cutting a board lengthwise or parallel to the grain. (Cutting perpendicular to the grain is referred to as cross cutting.) If you need a 1-3/4-inch-wide board, you might “rip” a 1×6 lengthwise to the needed dimension. Ripping can be accomplished using a table saw, circular saw or even a handsaw. Learn how to safely rip boards on a table saw....
A swamp cooler, aka evaporative cooler, reduces air temperatures by up to 40 degrees via water evaporation instead of refrigerant. Cheaper and better for the environment than traditional air conditioners, they’re a popular way to cool homes all over the Western U.S. and dry climates around the world. But can you make your own? This TikTok hack says yes. ♬ original sound – tayallday1992 It’s 108 degrees in Dallas as I write this....
When finishing drywall, most DIYers stick with the ready-to-use stuff sold in buckets and shy away from the powdered stuff sold in bags. That’s often a smart choice. “Setting” compound is a hassle: You have to mix it with water, it’s harder to clean up, and you don’t get one of those nifty buckets. Still, setting compound is sometimes worth the trouble. When to use it Setting compound is perfect for deep gaps before you tape the joints....
Courtesy of Festool It might be hard to think of a table as “innovative,” but that describes the Festool STM 1800 Mobile Sawing Table perfectly. The table’s game-changing potential lies mainly in its design, which allows the table to be tipped into a stable position that makes loading and unloading large sheets of wood much easier. “We designed the STM 1800 for users at the jobsite, production shop or small workshop who want a sawing table that is highly mobile and also user-friendly enough for one-person operation,” says Rick Busch, vice president of marketing for Festool....
Versatile hydrangea is a colorful flowering plant that can thrive in most USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, except in the coldest and hottest parts of the country. Its showy flowers bloom in round clusters that can fill up a plant and make for an impressive hedge or garden cluster. But unpruned, hydrangea can quickly turn into a mess. We spoke with garden designer Amy Fedele, whose website, Pretty Purple Door, helps home gardeners design beautiful, year-round landscapes....
The laundry room in my house is on a standard wooden floor above the crawl space, not on concrete. So here’s the problem. The only floor drain you can buy is for flush mounting to the floor. And when the water softener and furnace condensate drain lines flow into the drain, there will invariably be water running onto, and ruining, the finished floor. It’ll also seep under the drain and eventually rot out the subfloor underneath the finished floor....
Sharpening Lay a bastard file on a workbench and file the scraper’s long thin edges flat, smooth and at 90 degrees to the sides of the tool. Polish the two sides and the narrow edge on a sharpening stone. This removes the burr created by filing and leaves a sharp 90-degree angle along the scraper’s edge. Use a burnisher ($10)—or the shaft of a chisel, carving gouge or screwdriver—to create the cutting edge....
REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock Radiant floor heating may make your home feel more luxurious and help keep your toes warm during the cold months, but is it worth the cost? There are two types of radiant floor heating—water-based systems and electric systems. Both provide consistent warmth throughout the room so there will be no cold spots. Water-based systems have pipes with hot water running through them and in electric systems, electric resistance cables generate heat....
Your garage door is likely one of the biggest hassles in your life. There have probably been plenty of times when you’ve had to turn around and go home to be sure you closed it. There have also probably been times when someone needed access to your garage, but you weren’t home to open it up. Smart garage door openers alleviate those problems and even solve some you may not have known you had....
via amazon.com Dewalt 3 Beam Self-Leveling Laser This laser has been a game changer for me. From laying out tile, and building straight walls, to allowing my wife to hang pictures up perfectly straight in our home. I definitely have justified buying this self-leveling laser over and over again. It shines two plumb beams at a 90-degree angle that cross at a perfectly plumb intersection below and above the tool and also has a level horizontal beam....
Bosch Custom Case System Bosch’s 40-piece drill bit holder is great for a number of reasons, but let’s start with the case. The Custom Case What’s great about Bosch’s Custom Case is that the bits stay in place rather than getting jumbled around like they do in other cases. There’s a locking tab to make sure the drill bit tray doesn’t move and that means you’re not fumbling around looking for the right bit....
A bedroom isn’t just a place you go to get some shut-eye. It can also be a sanctuary to read a book, listen to music or just find a little peace and quiet from the day’s stresses. The way we light our bedrooms can aid us as we wake and promote better nighttime sleep, as well as improve our overall health and well-being. “Light is our major cue for sleep and wakefulness,” says Dr....
The cause of “spalling” or “scaling” concrete is simple. Concrete is porous and soaks up a lot of water. When that water freezes, it expands and breaks up the concrete surface. Prevention is pretty simple too: Apply a sealer to reduce water penetration. There are many types of sealers. For most sidewalks and driveways, the best choice is an acrylic sealer. Acrylics work by forming a clear coating on concrete. The coating is easy to apply with a roller or sprayer and will last two to five years, depending on weather and traffic....
Family Handyman It doesn’t take long for the hinge screws on a toilet seat to rust, and then you have rust dust all over the toilet rim every time the seat slams. To prevent this, all you need to do is dab a little clear nail polish onto the screw heads. If the toilet screws are already rusted, fill the holes with caulk. (Don’t worry—you’ll never have to get at the toilet screws, because you’ll be replacing the whole seat and lid assembly someday....
There’s been an uptick in homeowners asking about finishing basements and installing egress windows the past few years, says Aaron Enfinger, chief operations officer for design, build and remodeling firm The Cleary Company. “If it’s a walkout or daylight basement, it doesn’t feel like a basement. It feels like a normal living space,” Enfinger says. Are you ready to change your dark basement into a daylight-filled living space? Enfinger and Jason Hensler, senior territory manager for Marvin Windows and Doors, discussed some of the things you should know about daylight basements before starting your project....
: via apple.com With smart home technology becoming more commonplace in today’s digital age, picking the right smart home system may seem like a daunting task. Whether you’re a raving fan of Apple or you just happen to own one of their devices, HomeKit (the Apple home automation system) may be the best choice for your future smart home command center. Learn the history of smart home tech. What Is HomeKit?...
Hanging up Christmas lights is an annual tradition meant to bring brightness and joy during some of the coldest and darkest months of the year. The degree to which everyone invests in their Christmas light setup varies from house to house. Some houses go with just a few simple strands of lights, while others set up complicated systems that create fully-realized holiday light shows complete with a matching soundtrack. Thanks to modern technology and the popularization of “smart tech,” there are now multiple simple methods to automate Christmas lights....
istock/Terryfic3D How a Hummingbird Makes a Nest The female smooths and shapes the inside of the nest using her body. Lichens, mosses, plant down and fibers make up the nest and camouflage its exterior. Her nest is big enough for two eggs, and incubation lasts 12 to 19 days. Most nests are built in the fork of a tree or shrub, 10 to 40 feet above the ground. She collects and weaves stretchy spider silk through the nest to hold it together, bind it to the supporting branch, and stretch as the chicks grow....
Mums are probably the one fall flower that everyone recognizes. Their arrival in the garden center is also a sure sign we’re on the downward slope of the growing season. Are Mums Perennials? Yes, most mums are perennial flowers. Those mums that look like well-manicured mounds of foliage and flowers at garden centers are perennial flowers, generally best in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. These plants are usually referred to as hardy mums or garden mums....
You can’t be a serious lawn owner without hearing the pitch about fertilizing your lawn with beer. Google it. You’ll find many recipes involving a hose-end sprayer and a 12-pack of cheap beer. I’ve been working with professional turf managers a long time, and I base my lawn care recommendations on facts and sound agronomic principles. Using beer as lawn food is not one of them. But that’s not to say there isn’t some small benefit to dumping beer on your lawn....
