Mark in Mississauga has a semi-circular staircase and he has to replace the floor moldings that will make a semi-circle. How to bend the moldings?Water or steam will allow most wood to bend, and is especially effective with oak.The Pipe SoakerOne simple rig is simply to take a large PVC drain pi...
Joe in Edmonton and Pat in Vancouver both asked if they could change their stippled ceilings to smooth ceilings.This is a real tough job and my standard response is to scrape off the high points and simply put drywall over the stipple rather than trying to do a full wall plaster job. But it can ...
Joe and Joan from St. Thomas Ontario wrote: "Our kitchen has a 2 foot crawl space underneath. We hired a contractor to insulate the floor with pink insulation. He used plastic to hold it up. The kitchen was still not warm enough so we nailed up Styrofoam over the plastic. The following year ...
When the screw driver end of the screw is stripped, and you can't get a hold of the head with a pair of Vise-Grips, then you need to resort to some destructive removal. The goal is to remove the dead screw, without damaging the material around it.Create a SlotYou can often use a hack saw, or a Dr...
When working with plastic laminate, like Arborite and Formica, the material is rather thick, so trimming off the excess requires the use of power tools.Whether using a small specialized laminate trimming tool or an ordinary router, the key is in the bits. The edge trim should be completed first, ...
Some tools appear to be so simple that we don't feel that they need much instruction to begin using them. Actually there are a lot of little details that can make all the difference in the world between getting by with a power tool or enjoying it's use.Sheri Kowall agreed to be my apprentice by ...
A few tips on installing a stainless steel sink into a counter.Check all obstructions above and below the counter before drawing the cut line onto the counter top. If you get too close to the back splash, the sink won't go in. Remember, there is an overhang. Check all obstructions below to m...
Lorin from Toronto, Ontario, asks for help on how to get baseboards off without breaking them.First, cut the paint line between the baseboard and the wall. This will avoid chipping the paint on the wall.Work with two thin wedges and a 1/4 inch backer board. Force one wedge into the crack betwee...
How many times do you have to return to the plumbing department of your hardware store before you finish that sink installation job?It took me 5 trips for this job (in front of the TV cameras), as I slowly discovered things that didn't fit, or didn't reach, or I didn't think of ahead of time.Does...
You have all seen the new generation of pliers that seem to have automatically adjusting jaws. What do they do, and do they really work?If you look at how a pair of regular pliers grab a nut or bolt, you will see that the jaws are not parallel and hence do not grab both sides of the nut evenly. ...
