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Family Handyman Need a stepladder for your next project? Don’t take it for granted. The American Ladder Institute says approximately 160,000 ladder-related injuries are reported every year, with about 300 deaths. Take a few moments to think about how you’re using your ladder — preparations that can help keep you safe. Choose the Right Ladder Stepladders are usually made from wood, fiberglass or aluminum. Aluminum ladders are lightweight and easy to carry, but should never be used when working with electricity....

What’s driving the recent uptick in portable refrigerator sales? The skyrocketing interest in camping over the last two years. According to the KOA 2021 North American Camping Report, the number of first-time campers increased 500 percent from 2019 to 2020, and interest in RV ownership has also increased dramatically. This spike is likely pandemic-driven, with airports and crowded spaces becoming less attractive to many travelers. People are also buying portable fridges for tailgating and cosmetics storage....

Tech companies have been trying to standardize connections between computers and their “peripherals” — mice, keyboards, scanners and the like — for decades. But when you’re frantically searching the old box of cords for that one weird shape needed by a specific device, standardization seems more of a stretch than a reality. USB, or Universal Serial Bus, emerged in the late 1990s as the agreed-upon standard for data transfer between devices and their peripherals....

alabn/Shutterstock Have you been thinking about installing a farmhouse sink? The trend has exploded in remodeled homes. It offers a sleek look combined with the rustic farmhouse vibe. Along with the aesthetics, these sinks are much deeper and wider than traditional kitchen sinks, allowing you to wash more, clean more, stack more and save yourself from splashing. But while farmhouse sinks have become wildly popular, there are some major drawbacks to take into consideration before installing one in your home....

You’ve waited ages to finally trade that dusty, old carpeting for your beautiful new laminate flooring. But how do you keep that flooring looking like the day it was installed? Easy: Vacuum often to remove grit that can scratch and mar your floor’s finish. One of your greatest tools in this effort is a vacuum cleaner designed for cleaning bare floors. Here are some of the best vacuum cleaners for laminate floors....

We spend a lot of money on our cars and a lot of time in them. That’s why it’s so important to keep up with car maintenance- hopefully without having to shell out a bunch of cash in the process. The good news is that you don’t have to, because the perfect polish for your car’s dashboard is already in your cupboard. Why Oil Is the Best Dashboard Polish A little oil from the kitchen will make your dashboard look as new as the day you drove it off the lot....

A new coat of paint is an easy and affordable way to update a bathroom. And because most bathrooms aren’t that big, the time commitment and materials needed are minuscule. Over the past few years, I noticed all the big paint manufactures came out with kitchen and bath or bathroom specific paints. The Benjamin Moore Aura Bath & Spa Paint intrigued me the most because of its low luster finish, a traditional no-no in a bathroom setting....

Chaiyagorn Phermphoon/Shutterstock Why is my brake light on? If the brake light illuminates on your dashboard, don’t panic. But, take it seriously, as brakes are probably the most important safety feature on your car. The first thing to check, and by far the most common reason the light comes on, is kind of a “duh” moment: You’ve left the parking brake fully or partially engaged. Pull the brake release and see if that solves the light issue....

Assess the Project The ultimate goal here is to have the top of all of your deck joists level with each other. Get eye level with the joists and take a good look across the top surface of your deck. There’s a good chance some of your joists are crowning or sagging. Grab a string longer than the width of your deck and add weights to both ends of your string (this could be a couple of washers or bolts)....

For more than a century, kids have loved the idea of backyard treehouses. There’s something about a treehouse that recalls a time before smartphones and video games and hoverboards, when kids reveled in playing outside and finding adventure in their backyards. And treehouses aren’t just for kids. Adults are rediscovering the joy of treehouses — just look at the popularity of treehouse hotels across the globe. Treehouses offer plenty of fun for grown-ups, too, as creative spaces to write, paint or relax,...

Putting together inviting interior spaces that are functional and personalized is one of the most enjoyable phases of any home building project. But because there are so many variables, estimating the cost of furnishings and establishing a realistic budget can be tricky. “Furnishing and decorating your home from scratch is like car shopping,” says Eco Method Interiors lead designer Erica Reiner. “There are tons of style choices, types of cars, differences in quality or longevity and prices....

Irina Kulikova/Getty Images Framing lumber hit prices of $750 per thousand board feet last week, dropping down dramatically from the mid-September peak prices of $950 per thousand board feet. While this drop was undoubtedly reassuring, lumber prices remain 120 percent higher than they were this past April. The National Association of Home Builders recently worked with nearly 100 lawmakers on drafting a bipartisan letter to the White House as part of their continued attempts to lower lumber prices back down to normal levels....

Every tool has a battery powered counterpart, or one being introduced on a near daily basis. But there are a few tools for which I thought we’d have to wait for battery technology to catch up though, like job site table saws, pressure washers, and air compressors. I was wrong; these tools are becoming available faster than ever. I know from my background in trim carpentry and cabinetmaking the trials of dragging around an air compressor and nail gun from outlet to outlet nailing up moldings, casings, and trim....

Every household should have a basic toolbox with a few of the most commonly used tools — a hammer, a few screwdrivers, a set of hex keys, some pliers and so on. If I was putting a toolbox together, I’d include two more: a tape measure and a quality utility knife. I’ve used utility knives at nearly every job I’ve ever had. From breaking down boxes as a teenager in a fast food restaurant to scoring and cutting drywall in recent years, a utility knife has proved valuable again and again....

Despite decades of technological innovation in the motor vehicle industry, the fundamental design and features of pull-behind campers haven’t changed much. The two notable exceptions: Popup campers that were compact and easy to transport but lacked the household amenities or weather protection of full-size campers; and slide-out campers that just added a few more feet of living space. Then the French company BeauEr introduced its line of expandable campers. These combined the convenience and portability of a popup camper with comforting amenities, weather protection and living space of a conventional camper....

Gas grills are great, but like everything in life they eventually break down. When this happens, knowing the parts that make up a gas grill, how they work and how to replace them will get you back to grilling as soon as possible. Cheap, off-brand grills don’t usually have a wide range of replacement parts available, but higher quality grills do. The best manufacturers sell replacement parts so you can keep your grill going longer....

When you see fuzzy black-and-rust caterpillars moseying about your yard or workshop, they may be looking for a place to hibernate. Luckily, no matter how cold winter gets, these woolly bear caterpillars freeze but don’t die because they make glycerol, a kind of natural antifreeze. One species, the Arctic woolly worm, can even survive down to -90 F. While most caterpillars become moths in just a few weeks, the Arctic woolly spends 14 years to complete the process....

DIYers love to breathe new life into old materials — things like restoring painted or finished wood furniture, doors or interior trim. All these projects start with surface prep. Traditionally, this process involves sanding off the paint or poly completely, or at the very least scuffing it up so the new material adheres properly. Both options are labor-intensive and messy. Luckily, if you only need to scuff the surface, there is an alternative....

What Is a Window Well Cover? Window wells are reinforced holes in the ground around below-ground or partially below-ground basement windows. Window wells are designed to hold surrounding earth away from the windows so they can let in light and be opened for ventilation. On This Page Window well covers are sheets of material, usually metal or plastic, designed to fit over window wells and prevent people or animals from falling in....

If you’re a homeowner looking to wrap up a kitchen renovation or a home builder trying to finish off a new custom home build, you are probably already well aware of the current shortage of home appliances. Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home appliances have been difficult to find in stock and purchase. And even if you do manage to get your hands on a new appliance, there’s a solid chance that it comes with some pretty significant tech downgrades thanks to ongoing manufacturing constraints....