Innholdsfortegnelse for July-August 2013 i Family Handyman

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com KINK-FREE GARDEN HOSE In a story a few months ago, you said the “best” garden hose doesn’t exist. I beg to differ. After trying two “non-kink” and very heavy hoses that invariably did just that, I invested in a 100-ft. Tuff Guard hose (about $95). It doesn’t kink and is much lighter than my other hoses. I love it! Charles Boysen, Subscriber The hose uses a “double helix” construction with an inner polyester fabric twisted around the water tube in the opposite direction of the polypropylene ribs you see on the outside. That makes the hose tough to kink, but also harder to coil by hand. It’s also available in 25-ft. ($35) and 50-ft. ($60) lengths. Find a dealer at tuffguardhose.com. Travis Larson, Senior Editor Got iron in your…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Is your bathroom in need of a quick pick-me-up? Besides painting and replacing your cabinet hardware, what can you do that won’t eat up an entire weekend and your wallet? Plenty! Check out these great, easy to install products. They’ll solve common bathroom problems and instantly transform your bathroom from blah to brilliant. Install a vinyl wood plank floor Installing a floating vinyl wood plank floor is as close to “instant” as flooring gets. Luxury vinyl plank flooring (LVP) works extremely well in moisture-prone areas like bathrooms. Lumber Liquidators’ Tranquility Easy Click vinyl wood plank flooring (Rio Rosewood is pictured) is a floating floor that goes down easily and looks amazingly authentic. It can be installed with or without underlayment. It’s affordable, easy to clean, moisture resistant and durable.…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com WHAT IT TAKES TIME: 2 to 3 weekends COST: $1,200 to $1,500 SKILL LEVEL: Beginner to intermediate TOOLS: Shovels, buckets, wheelbarrow, jackhammer, hammer drill, hand float, hand trowel, hacksaw Do April showers bring a wet basement along with those May flowers? Then it might be time to consider installing a drain system. A wet basement not only prevents you from enjoying additional space in your house but also can turn your basement into a giant petri dish perfect for growing unhealthy molds and fungi. Installing a drain system is filthy, backbreaking work, but it’s not complicated. With a little instruction from our drain tile experts, you can do a first-class job. And DIY pays off big: Pros charge $5,000 to $8,000 for a typical job (120 linear feet of…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Water-Based Finishes If you used water-based wood finishes years ago and gave up in frustration, give them another try. Newer versions have many advantages over solvent-based finishes: They dry much faster, so less dust can settle into the wet coat, and there’s less waiting between coats. Cleanup takes soap and water, not chemicals. They’re low odor, pose no fire hazard and are better for the environment. But water-based finishes aren’t perfect. They raise the grain and are very sensitive to temperature and humidity. They’re nonyellowing, which is good, but they can produce a bland appearance on darker woods. To help you achieve a great finish every time and avoid the pitfalls, here are my top 10 tips for using water-based finishes. MEET THE PRO David Munkittrick has 30 years’…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Why are you a DIYer? I have a 70-acre hardwood tree farm, which gives me a lot of unique opportunities to practice my DIY skills. And learn new ones. What projects are you working on now? I’m building a new dock out at my pond with steel I-beams. Then I’m building a new chicken house. Other projects include waterproofing a 350-ft. fence, repainting my workshop, putting in gravel roads in the woods, repainting the bridge across the stream, refilling the woodshed and building a new firewood conveyor. What’s your proudest achievement? Remodeling my 1930s house, which was originally owned by an old bachelor. We had to replace some of the framing and put in all new insulation, windows, doors, drywall, electrical, plumbing, roofing, etc. WHAT IS A FIELD EDITOR?…

TOOLS & GEAR A REEL DEAL FOR ROOFERS Two guys sharing one compressor is common on a job site. So is tripping over a hose because the guy on the other side of the splice jerks on his hose just as you’re stepping over yours. And if you’re working on a roof, tripping on a hose could result in a career-ending tumble to the ground, or worse. Amflo makes a hose reel that has two ports attached to the reel itself, and two anchor bases, so it can be fastened to a roof. Because it’s a reel, you only have to pull out as much of the 75-ft. hose as you need. It’s not just for roofers, though. It’s a great tool for all carpentry, even on the ground. Buy…

WHAT IT TAKES COST: $3,000 TIME: three or four weekends SKILL LEVEL: intermediate to advanced TOOLS: standard hand tools, a circular saw and a drill. Nice but not necessary: table saw, miter saw, nail gun and jigsaw. BUILD THIS MASTERPIECE DESIGNED BY A PRO editors@thefamilyhandyman.com In the past couple of decades, I’ve built a lot of garages and sheds, and at least a half dozen have appeared in this magazine. In that time I’ve learned how to build sheds quicker and better, and how to make a plain shed look great without spending an arm and a leg. This shed incorporates many of the building methods I’ve learned. It includes special features like custom brackets and homemade windows and doors, which set the shed apart from kits you’ll find at…

Problem-solving products for your home SHOWERED WITH MUSIC Lots of companies make wireless Bluetooth speakers that work with your smartphone or MP3 player. But can you take one of those speakers into the shower? Uh, no. Even if you could, where would you set it? That’s why Kohler dreamed up the Moxie showerhead. The Bluetooth speaker module sits right in the center of the showerhead. Just crank up the volume and the hot water and listen to tunes, the news or podcasts. The built-in lithium battery runs the module for about a week (or less if you take really long showers!) and pops out to recharge on your counter. Find the Moxie at home centers and online stores for about $150. editors@thefamilyhandyman.com KEEP YARD AND GARDENS LUSH AND USE LESS…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Dealers know that spiffing up the interior of a used car is the best way to command a higher price. Whether you’re planning to sell your vehicle or just want to freshen up your daily driver, we’ll show you how to slap the shabby off your vehicle’s interior. It’s neither hard nor expensive, and you’ll be amazed at just how new your car’s interior will look. You can recondition the plastic/vinyl on your doors, dash, seats and console areas for about $75. Or, spend about $150 and do it all, including the carpet, velour and upholstery. You can recolor just about everything in the interior. If you vacuum and shampoo your vehicle ahead of time, you can complete the whole rejuvenation process in a single weekend (allowing for drying…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com When you go to add or replace plumbing lines in a house that’s more than 10 years old, chances are you won’t find new pipes that are the same kind as the old ones. That’s no big deal—hardware stores and home centers carry hundreds of different kinds of transitional fittings to help you make the connections. What is a big deal is that those hundreds of different kinds of fittings don’t all install the same way. Some fittings need to be soldered; others take just a wrench or pliers. Several require specific crimping tools, and there are newer styles that simply push together. We asked a master plumber how he deals with the ones he encounters the most, but don’t run all over town trying to find the exact…

FROM OUR READERS handyhints@thefamilyhandyman.com OUTDOOR SANDING STATION I do a lot of sanding, and to keep the fine dust out of my garage, I came up with this idea for an outdoor sanding station. I built a sturdy plywood shelf and attached threaded hooks to the back edge, which clip into eyebolts screwed into the garage wall studs. The front of the shelf is suspended by chains (or cord) attached to eyebolts at the front corners and then snapped into eyebolts placed up high on my garage wall. I position it so the shelf is at a comfortable height for my back. My temporary sanding station goes up and down quickly, and it keeps the dust outside. No-spill grocery bags It’s a pain to crawl deep into the trunk to…

A decade ago, there were only a few cordless lawn mowers to choose from. But today, with the emphasis on environmentally friendly living and the introduction of new battery technology, there are dozens. They range from 14 in. to 19 in. in cutting width and cost anywhere from $240 to more than $600. In this article, we’ll compare seven cordless mowers from leading manufacturers. We’ll help you decide whether a cordless mower is right for you. Then we’ll compare battery types and mower features to help you pick the right machine. editors@thefamilyhandyman.com Can I replace my gas mower with a cordless version? The main benefits to owning a cordless mower are convenience and quieter operation. You don’t have to worry about storing gas, changing oil or tuning up the mower.…

editors@thefamilyhandyman.com When a tree limb falls on your property, you can bet it’s going to damage something. And if that “something” happens to be a chain link fence, consider yourself lucky, because fixing a chain link fence is an easy DIY repair. The pros would charge about $150 plus materials for the repair shown here. But you can do it yourself for about $60, including tool rental. We asked our friends at Premier Fence in St. Paul, MN, to evaluate the damage on this fence and walk us through the repair. Here’s how to proceed. Get a new section of top rail and some wire ties from a home center or fence supplier. The top rail should have one open end and one crimped end. Grab a hacksaw, file and…

2013 RAM TRUCK WE RUN THE RAM 1500 PICKUP THROUGH ITS PACES Our demo 2013 Ram truck arrived in the dead of winter, and despite the bone-chilling negative 20-degree Minnesota temps, we still managed to load up the truck and play with the exterior features. We’ll talk about those later. But since we spent as much time as possible inside the cab with the heat cranked all the way up, we also got to play with the new electronics. They’re amazing! Tie-downs I’m always hauling construction materials in my truck, and I’m always frustrated by the scarcity of tie-down points. The tie-down system on the 2013 Ram, on the other hand, is a dream come true. I just loosened the tie-downs and moved them to where I wanted to mount…

FROM OUR READERS greatgoofs@thefamilyhandyman.com The physics of plumbing I was replacing our shower fixture, and I couldn’t budge the large brass nut that was holding the two-way mixing valve in place. Using my expert knowledge of physics, I came up with the perfect solution. I packed the valve in ice to make it shrink in diameter. Then I used my blowtorch on the nut so its diameter would expand, thus freeing it. I was feeling really clever until I noticed the smoke filling the shower. It turns out two studs were on fire and the flames were moving up inside the wall! Have you ever tried to extinguish a blazing fire through a 6-in. access hole? I didn’t worry about the physics at that point—I just ran for the fire…