Fortunately, fixing holes in drywall doesn’t require a lot of time or experience. Wall-repair kits, available at home centers and hardware stores, make it even easier. How you should proceed with your repair depends on the size of the hole you have to fix. How to Fill a Small Hole Fix tiny nail and screw holes: Tiny nail and screw holes are the easiest to fix. Use a putty knife to fill them with spackling or wall joint compound....
Shown here as they look in late August, the undulating beds are packed with combinations that work even in tiny yards. To get her glistening show of golds, reds, and oranges accented by whites and purples, Kay grows a well-planned mix of perennials and annuals—especially marigolds, whose seeds she saves and replants year after year, costing her nothing. Keep reading to see how you can do the same. Shown: Marigolds, asters, zinnias, and greenish-white dusty miller put on a robust late-summer show....
How To Get Rid of Skunk Smell on a Pet One of the most common reasons someone might be dealing with skunk smell is an encounter between the family dog or cat and a startled skunk. If your pet has just gotten sprayed, make sure their eyes aren’t affected (if they seem uncomfortable and their eyes look irritated, seek a vet’s attention). Also, make sure the pet touches as few indoor surfaces as possible....
Health care workers around the country are facing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) including N95 masks, safety goggles, face shields, and nitrile gloves—items that are common among construction sites as well as home workshops. If you have spare, unused masks, respirator cartridges, nitrile gloves, safety goggles or face shields, please donate them. Unless you live in a major city, figuring out how and where to donate unused PPE can be tricky....
Check Water Pressure in the Whole House Before we get to the shower, how’s the water pressure in the rest of the house? To find out, buy a water-pressure gauge—they cost about nine bucks at home centers—and screw it to a hose bib, like the one on an outdoor faucet. The gauge should read between 40 and 60 psi when you open the bib’s valve. If the pressure is in that range, then something is restricting the flow to your shower....
Shown: Nashville wall niche, about $191; invitinghome.com Overview Project timeline: Day 1: Choose your spot, trace the template, and cut open the wall. Day 2: Install the blocking and glue the niche in place. Day 3: Caulk the perimeter and paint the niche. Step 1: Trace the Niche The niche has a lip around the perimeter that will rest against the wall bordering the cutout, while the convex back will nest inside the hole....
Steps: Step 1: Assess the surface condition Begin by assessing the existing finish on the item. Check for light rust spots, chipping paint, and dirt. Step 2: Remove or mask the glass If there are parts of the item that won’t be painted, like our glass tabletops, remove or mask them with painter’s tape. Step 3: Prep the surface Chip away any loose paint and feather the edges smooth with a sanding sponge....
Learning how to paint a brick fireplace isn’t hard, but it does require certain tools and materials. How to Whitewash Brick with Paint Tools for Painting a Brick Fireplace Wire brushes Wet-dry vacuum Sponge Respirator Rubber gloves Safety glasses 3 or 5-gallon bucket 2-inch paintbrush (angled and stiff is best for this application) Paint roller Two ¾-inch nap roller covers Paint tray Paint tray liner Ladder (for taller fireplaces) Materials for Painting a Brick Fireplace Trisodium phosphate cleaner Painter’s tape Drop cloths Brick primer and sealer Acrylic latex paint...
Popular Types of Wood Paneling Mauro has brought samples of two different types of paneling that are common in old houses: Wainscoting: Decorative, square paneling with stiles, rails, and an inset panel. It is common in dining rooms or other more formal areas. Beadboard: Vertical paneling that adds texture to a wall, and includes lots of detail and narrow panels. Ways to Apply Paint to Wood Paneling Paint sprayer Mauro always recommends a paint sprayer because it’s the best way to do a professional paint job....
TIP 1: Save furniture from paint splatter and spills by covering everything. TIP 2: Choose a quality drop cloth. A plastic sheet is slippery underfoot. Cloth or canvas without a liner will let paint seep through. The best choice is a material cloth with a liner on one side; the cloth is a less slippery surface, and the liner will keep paint from getting to the floor. TIP 3: Remove or tape around the decorative escutcheon on a light or doorknob, and cover the piece with a rag or a bag to protect it from paint splatter....
TIP 1: Remove lint from a new roller cover with painter’s tape or a vacuum, and roll it into the paint tray until it’s half coated. Roll the cover up onto the grooves, then back into the paint. Do this a couple of times until the entire cover is saturated but not overloaded; that way, it won’t spatter or cause drips. TIP 2: Roll the wall in a W or N pattern to coat the surface in wide sections....
How Do You Fix a Slow Draining Bathroom Sink? Start by identifying where the stoppage is. Then, identify the cause of your clogged bathroom sink, whether it’s hair or any kind of residue build up. Then use one of the following solutions to help you fix it. How to Check Why the Bathroom Sink Won’t Drain First, check the pop-up assembly to make sure it’s rising up enough at the drain line of the sink....
Doug Wikle and his friend Tyson Berndt were two superfans who joined us on this awesome day. Doug is a software engineer who lives in New York with his wife and two sons. When he’s not watching them play baseball he likes to work on projects around the house. Tyson, a geologist, traveled all the way from Kansas City and worked for 12 years in the residential remodeling industry prior to becoming a geologist....
Katie: Hi! Thank you for having me. Jenn: So I thought that we would start out and have you tell us a little bit about your blog and about how you got started. Katie: I got started about four and a half years ago. I started because we didn’t have any furniture in our house. We were a single income family. We had not enough money to buy anything. So I kind of pitched to my husband, “Hey, let’s build it....
Mauro served as an on-camera painter during the This Old House Auburndale project in 2010, but his experience with the team goes back further. He was first hired by the daughter of show creator Russ Morash to paint her kitchen. When Russ saw Mauro’s work, he invited Mauro to his own house and asked him to paint some small sections of siding. Not knowing who Russ was or that he was effectively auditioning for the show, Mauro nonetheless performed well and impressed Russ who invited him to paint some of Norm Abram’s finished projects on The New Yankee Workshop....
A Bostonian family wants to escape the city for a New England Cape in Concord, MA, a town with its own Revolutionary battlefield. We’ll start the season by helping this young couple make better use of space and improve the views from their 140-year-old home. Then, we head to Saratoga Springs, NY, where a husband and wife aim to restore a home that has been with the family for six generations....
Desert-style getaway The handy homeowners: Molly Madfis, who blogs at Almost Makes Perfect, and her husband, Gideon Boomer Project overview: Molly and Gideon wanted to give their LA backyard spaces a look inspired by the hip hotels of Palm Springs, using a palette of serene desert hues. First they replaced a falling-down fence along the back of the property, and much later “refaced” another one, covering it with redwood boards they then painted....
