Hour 1
Hear Joe’s suggestions for hanging vacation lights, choices for putting in a aspect wall tile backsplash, repairing a rotten door jamb, and extra.
Ideas for Hanging Vacation Lights
Winter’s nearly right here, and because the days are getting shorter, there’s one shiny spot on the horizon — it’s now time to embellish your private home with vacation lights!
When hanging vacation lights on your private home, change up the categories so as to add some selection.
Listed below are a few of Joe’s suggestions for hanging out of doors Christmas lights.
- To spotlight your roof, use conventional C9 or icicle lights. Run C9 string lights alongside the eaves — often hooked up to the gutters — after which up the gable ends to the height of the roof. You may as well place C9 gentle strands vertically down every nook of the home to stipulate your private home for extra brightness and definition. Or, string icicle lights from second-story balconies or perimeter joists of decks, or hold them from rain gutters.
- For wrapping columns, railings or timber, use mini string lights. Mini strings have bulbs intently spaced alongside the strand for extra lights general, so that they’re splendid for spiral-wrapping columns, posts, and porch and deck railings.
- To light up shrubs, bushes and hedges, use internet lights. These lights are straightforward to drape over contoured surfaces.
- Use spotlights to light up sure areas of your private home, like the place wreaths are hanging.
Fast tip: By no means join strings of lights collectively which can be totally different gentle counts. As an example, don’t join a 100-light string to a 50-light string. Should you mismatch the sunshine counts, the string with the fewest bulbs with burn out prematurely.
Learn Joe’s full article on Widespread Mechanics: The Final Information to Hanging Vacation Lights
Does a Aspect Wall Want a Tile Backsplash?
A home-owner is putting in a tile backsplash in his kitchen between the higher cupboards and the again fringe of the countertop, and he desires to know the popular set up on the clean aspect wall.
“Do you retain that clean? Tile it from the underside of the highest cupboard all the way in which down? Or add an edging piece on the underside? My primary two issues are the look and if it doesn’t have a backsplash then it leaves that a part of the wall unprotected,” he says.
Basically, what he’s asking is easy methods to end off that edge that’s not capped off by the cupboards or the countertop backsplash. There are a number of various things you are able to do, and what it actually boils all the way down to is your private choice.
What we’ve accomplished most frequently in a case like this isn’t set up the backsplash on that outer wall — simply butt it as much as the nook, and depart the tile backsplash in between the cupboard and counter. In fact, this doesn’t give that wall any safety.
Nevertheless, we’ve additionally accomplished it the opposite approach, bringing the tile even to below the wall cupboard and matching it to the highest of the countertop. Then, add a metallic strip on the prime and finish of the backsplash to provide it a completed look. Relying on the kind of tile you utilize, you should utilize grout as a substitute. Simply remember to use some painter’s tape to get a clear line.
A middle-of-the-road possibility is to proceed the backsplash however solely to the purpose of the higher cupboard. Don’t prolong it to the entrance fringe of the countertop. This manner, it wraps across the nook however doesn’t stick too far out.
Repairing a Rotting Door Jamb
Whenever you’re coping with broken woodwork, the query that all the time follows is, “Do I restore it or do I exchange it?”
The reply will be discovered within the goal of the broken part. If its operate is only aesthetic — like molding, trim, or siding — then it will possibly typically be patched.
Vehicle physique filler, like Bondo, is a good selection as a result of this two-part compound dries very exhausting, in a short time, so you may fill voids and make repairs very simply.
As soon as it’s dry, sand it similar to wooden to create a clean, completed floor.
Watch: Learn how to Patch Broken or Rotten Wooden
Hour 2
Hear suggestions for hiding digital cords, addressing condensation points on A/C ducts and extra.
Tip for Hiding Digital Cords
A home-owner is in search of recommendation on easy methods to cover ugly digital cords.
“We transformed our household room lately and put in a brand new flat-screen TV and sound system. The TV is mounted to the wall and the remainder of the digital tools is on close by cabinets. The issue is that there are wires in all places. We tried tucking them away and securing them with zip ties, but it surely’s nonetheless an unsightly, tangled mess. Are you aware how I can cover the wires from view?” he asks.
It is a quite common drawback with a number of totally different approaches to unravel it.
The simplest possibility is to make use of a cable raceway. It’s a plastic cowl that attaches to the wall with adhesive. You possibly can paint it to match the wall, and that approach, you received’t see any dangling wires.
Nevertheless, nothing is pretty much as good as routing the strains behind the wall. If the tools will be situated beneath the TV, like on a shelf, you may drop the wires contained in the wall and produce them out by {the electrical} outlet.
Addressing Condensation Points on A/C Ducts
A home-owner is anxious about humidity and condensation issues along with his insulated A/C ducts. They’re wrapped with foil-faced insulation, which he says seems to be in good situation.
He desires to know: “Can I merely wrap the ducts with one other layer of insulated foil-faced duct insulation? Or, can I drape unfaced batts over and across the ducts? Or, wouldn’t it be finest to take away all the prevailing insulation and begin from scratch?”
Oftentimes, A/C ducts are insulated however not sealed. You’re imagined to seal them with a mastic. Brush it on all of the joints and it stops the circulation of air from leaking out, you then insulate it.
Because the insulation is in good situation, we advise eradicating a part of it to verify these joints are sealed.
In the event that they aren’t, take away the insulation and seal the joints, then re-apply the insulation. As all the time, it by no means hurts so as to add extra insulation round them.
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Easy Options
5 Methods to Use a Velocity Sq. — The ingeniously easy velocity sq. is an environment friendly and helpful hand software. Listed below are 5 of its fashionable makes use of:
- Due to its triangular form, a velocity sq. is nice for marking 90-degree sq. crosscuts and 45-degree strains.
- A velocity sq. can be utilized as a protractor. Maintain its pivot level in opposition to the sting of the board after which rotate to mark angles between zero and 90 levels.
- A velocity sq. has quarter-inch notches that can be utilized to shortly scribe strains onto a board. Put your pencil into one of many notches and slide it alongside the board.
- Most velocity squares have a diamond cutout precisely 3½-inch from the sting of the sq., which is strictly the width of a 2×4. Put your pencil within the cutout and slide it alongside the board to attract a line that’s precisely the width of a 2×4.
- Noticed information — maintain the sq. in opposition to the board’s edge and information the noticed proper alongside the sting of the sq. to provide a superbly straight, sq. minimize.
Watch: 5 Methods to Use a Velocity Sq.
Selfmade Trivet — Shield tabletops and counters by making a trivet from a leftover ceramic tile.
Begin by spraying a light-weight coating of cooking oil spray onto a chunk of wax paper.
Then, lay two paint sticks throughout the wax paper. Subsequent, use a hot-melt glue gun to place a half-inch-diameter dab of scorching glue onto every again nook of the tile.
Then, instantly press the tile down onto the wooden sticks. The sticks function spacers to make sure that every glue pad is strictly the identical thickness, and the cooking oil prevents the glue from sticking to the wax paper.
Let the glue harden for a couple of minutes, then peel off the wax paper.
Watch: Learn how to Make a Ceramic Tile Trivet
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