for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 444 results for the keyword ‘Techniques’

  • Grommets

    Grommets are like rivets with a hole through the middle. We have them in almost all our shoes and on all of our camping equipment to safely run strings and ropes through cloth and leather. You can buy an incredible variety of sizes and colours of grommets, and even a wide range of hole punches ...
  • Cuting Holes Through Ceramic Tiles

    Cutting a hole through the middle of a ceramic tile for plumbing pipes is not an easy task, but it can be done neatly and without cracking the tile.Probably the best way is to drill a 3/8 inch hole with a masonry bit and then enlarge it with a carbide tipped saw blade in either a jig saw or a cop...
  • Refinishing a wood door

    Bill in Sydney, Nova Scotia would like to know how to maintain the aesthetics of his carved wood door but he needs to re-stain it.The large flat areas, those that have taken on most of the weather problem, can be sanded down. The rest should be carefully stripped so as to not bother the carvings...
  • Router tear-out tips

    To avoid tear-out, or splinters in the finished cut, there are a few tips for router work.Don't work your way around the edge of a board. Always cut the end grain first and use a piece of scrap held tight to the good board to hold in the splinter that wants to fly off the end of the cut. If you...
  • Gluing in tight places

    One way to get glue into tight places is to use glue injectors. You can actually buy injectors that are made for glue, or sometimes make ones out of anything from cooking tools to medical supplies.To make glue flow easier while maintaining its strength, don't dilute it but warm it up in a pot of...
  • The Pyramid Laser Plumb Line

    Laser levels have become common place, but now there is a new one. This little pyramid projects a vertical laser line on the wall and automatically levels itself even if the floor is slightly out of level. This is great if you want to line up window or door frames, hang wallpaper or set tiles. ...
  • Discovering hidden tools in that Make-up Kit.

    You may think it is just a make-up kit but if you look closely you will discover:nifty sandpaper boards great paint and stain sponges splinter removers lock tite for nuts (it is called finger nail polish) a quality lacquer thinner (it is called polish remover) mirrors and the list goes on.If it i...
  • Removing rusted nuts and bolts

    Getting a rusted nut off is often very difficult. Of course an air powered impact wrench such as you commonly find in a garage will help a lot. But for the rest of us?..Penetrating oils exist that do a pretty good job of dissolving rust and releasing these things. Flood it on and vibrate it...
  • Tile Grout removing knife

    There is a special knife made to remove grout from between tiles. It has carbide dust on the cutting edge. It does a nice clean job, although it does require quite a bit of elbow grease.For a power version for grout removal follow this link for the FEIN MultiMaster tool. Or for a DIY version y...
  • Cutting corners on Crown Molding

    Brad from Surry, B.C. has strange angles to his walls, and he wants to put crown molding around the top. How to cut the angles?Don't even try with your compound angle power miter box. Build a simple jig. A piece of plywood for the base, which represents the ceiling. (The molding is always ...