For a DIYer, directing additional light where you want it, when you want it, makes projects much easier to complete. Keep a flashlight close at hand in your workshop, and it will be ready to use as an emergency light source or to help illuminate your workbench. No matter how you look at it, a quality workshop flashlight is a terrific investment. There are no shortage of flashlight options on the market....
If you wonder whether your “all-season” tires perform just as well in snow as the best snow tires, we have the answer. They don’t, and it’s really not even close. Most snow tires, or “winter tires” as they are sometimes known, outperform all-season tires in snow, rain and even on ice. Here is a look at the benefits of snow tires, the technology that makes them work, and some of the pros and cons of putting them on your vehicle....
Each year we use millions of pounds of wrapping paper, most of which ends up in the landfill. North Americans consume more than one-third of the world’s festive paper. Worldwide, it’s a $17 billion industry that’s expected to grow nearly 50 percent by 2025. There are ways to reduce all that waste. According to a report from Stanford University, if every American family wrapped just three presents in re-used material, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields....
The Home Depot Foundation and the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) are teaming up to provide young women interested in the skilled trades with the training and education they need to pursue those careers. A pilot program to be launched this fall will feature construction workshops for Cadette, Senior and Ambassador level Girl Scouts in grades 8 through 12. Female industry professionals will lead Girl Scout troops in Atlanta, Denver and Houston in these workshops, while sharing career guidance based on their experiences working in a male-dominated industry....
For many Americans, the garage has become an extension of the home, morphing into a living area, home gym and even workspace. Given how multifaceted they’ve come to be, it’s really no wonder they’re a mess — especially since 53% of U.S. adults surveyed use their garage or workspaces in their home for DIY projects. Of those surveyed, millennials are the most frequent garage DIYers at 62%, followed by Gen X at 56% and Gen Z at 54%....
Cleaning laminate floors is quick and easy. There are just three steps to follow for spotless floors: Sweep of vacuum dust and dirt from your dry floors. Use a cleaner formulated for laminate floors to clean and disinfect. You can use a mop or hand-wipe with a cleaning cloth. Dry your floors to prevent water damage and slippery floors. Here’s a more detailed account of how to clean laminate floors. ...
Cora Mueller/Shutterstock What You Need To Know About Container Gardening Container gardening continues to be a popular trend. Homeowners like that containers are easy to plant and maintain. They also like that the containers themselves can be moved to inject color and interest wherever needed. (Here are some plants that are perfect for container gardening). Check out these seven tips for a thriving small-space garden from the National Garden Bureau....
A huge nuisance pest that holes up in soft, warm and tiny spaces, the common adult bed bug (Cimex lectularius) is almost microscopic, about the size of an apple seed. It is distinguished by its brownish-yellow-to-rusty-red color, flat oval body and a beak-like mouth for piercing and sucking. Newly-hatched nymphs are a translucent light brown. Feeding on the blood of animals and humans, a bed bug’s bite isn’t painful nor does it carry diseases....
Unkas Photo/Shutterstock When buying a home, you have so many things to consider: neighborhood, number of bedrooms, the age of the home and more. In fact, the list is so long you may have never considered the direction your home faces as important. That’s right, as important as kitchen size and floor coverings, home orientation plays a key role in several important ways. Sunlight Matters In the northern hemisphere, the sun stays in the southern sky....
According to the 2015 documentary MOLDY, half of all U.S. homes have active mold growth, and 28 percent of us are genetically susceptible to mold-related health issues. That’s why you should have a zero-tolerance policy on mold inside your home. The first step toward keeping mold at bay is to inspect the most common household mold hot spots, which vary by climate. Regardless, you need to kill existing mold and eliminate excess moisture — ultimately, the cause of most mold problems....
What is a 16d Nail? A 16d nail is one that’s 3-1/2-inches long. But what the heck does the “d” stand for? After all, it’s used to describe the length of finish, box, common and other nails. One explanation is that the “d” hearkens back to the era when Romans ruled England and the monetary unit was the denarius (which had the same value as an English penny.) Legend has it that one hundred 3-1/2-inch nails cost 16 pennies back then....
What is Chair Rail? Chair rails are horizontal moldings applied to walls designed to protect them from “irrationally exuberant” chairs on the move. Not surprisingly, they’re usually installed about 30 inches from the floor—the approximate height of most chair backs. Aesthetics also play a role; proportionally a wall looks best with the chair rail positioned about one-third of the way up from the floor. Chair rails also serve to cleanly define space so you can apply different wall treatments—wallpaper, paint, wainscoting—to the upper and lower sections of a wall....
messi50mm/Shutterstock When you’re contemplating installing a new front door, don’t skimp on the hinges you choose. Because an entry door can be quite heavy (as can a gate), you’ll likely need heavy-duty hinges to hang it. So what are your options? Read on! What Is a Heavy-Duty Hinge? Heavy-duty hinges are designed to provide support and stability for heavy doors (or gates or furniture lids) that have frequent use. You can find heavy-duty versions of some of the more popular hinge styles....
Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes, from tiny mites to mighty elk. They can fly, burrow, crawl, climb and jump their way into your garden. How do you keep them all out? First, keep in mind that most insects and other wildlife in your garden are not pests. A healthy garden should be full of bugs and other critters. “A lot of times, when we see an animal or an insect, it is not a problem,” says Thomas Ward III, a training specialist and biologist at Critter Control....
What Is a Vole? Voles are rodents that closely resemble mice or hamsters. “They are often called field mice because of their tendency to choose fields in which to live,” says Dr. Nancy Troyano, board certified entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control. Although voles look like mice, they can be distinguished by their hair-covered tails, rounder heads, smaller ears and more stout bodies. On This Page Voles are small garden pests. According to Troyano, they grow between three to nine inches long....
Birds & Blooms Forget buying expensive, decorative sugar-water feeders. Now you can make your own homemade hummingbird feeder for just a few bucks using a recycled bottle and copper accents, one that is a decorative addition to any backyard. You’ll be amazed at how fun and easy it is to make this one-of-a-kind craft idea. You’ll be attracting hummingbirds to this feeder before you know it! Materials 5 feet of 4-gauge untreated copper wire 3 to 5 feet of 12-gauge untreated copper wire Beads or other decorations D ring or carabiner Screw eye File Needle-nose pliers Wire cutter Hummingbird feeding tube – Find these at bird supply stores and online....
The foyer closet is the workhorse of closets, often storing a variety of items that don’t have a home anywhere else in the house. Its multi-purpose nature makes it difficult to organize, especially if yours is on the small side. Ready to turn the jumbled mess into something that supports your busy life? Try these smart solutions from expert organizers to help you clean out and organize a small entryway closet....
Buying a house is rarely as simple as getting the keys and settling in. Even if you didn’t buy a fixer upper, you’ll most likely want to give your new place some level of customization, from painting the walls to refinishing the floors (and you’ll probably want to change the locks, too.) Another thing to be ready for is the ongoing maintenance like yard work, repairing a broken toilet or even just keeping your new place clean....
Dmitri Ma/Shutterstock It’s official: You closed on your new house and have keys in hand. While there’s a lot to do—packing, cleaning, moving and unpacking—there’s one more thing to add to your to-do list. Don’t forget to change the locks. These are the 25 things you need to do when you move into a new house. You want to feel safe in your new home and neighborhood, so switching out the locks and deadbolts should be a top priority....
If you have a lawn, chances are you have some sort of lawn problem — possibly several. Some may be naturally occurring; others you may have accidentally had a hand in. Identifying the problem and understanding its source is the first course of action that sets you on a path to a greener, healthier lawn. Over-Watering Signs: Yellowing or discoloration of the grass, or the presence of mushrooms. On This Page...
