Dishwasher
One seemingly easy option is to fabricate an extension cord from 12-2G cable or 12 gauge flexible cord. Installing a male plug on one end is simple... but there's a drawback to that approach. A plug in the wall does not make as secure a ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Fill In One Window, Put In Another
Jamb extensions can be made from any solid wood, or even plywood with an edge-banding of veneer. For many windows I make extensions from 1x4 clear pine. The ¼" thick wood I used here made installing the casing rather tricky because I could ... [... more]
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Bookshelf
This was the first custom cabinet I have built for money. It cost the client a small fortune, yet I didn't earn much. Building cabinets is just plain time consuming, but with enough shop space I suppose you could use some basic mass-production ... [... more]
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Bare Studs
The second variation is to make a shelf unit completely free-standing. I built a free-standing shelf unit similar to this but made the shelves removable so the unit could be taken apart for moving. It wasn't as sturdy as I would have liked, until ... [... more]
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Building A Soil Sifter
Deck screws would work too, but I would recommend pre-drilling the holes to prevent splitting this narrow strip of wood. In fact, using screws would be smarter, in case the hardware cloth gets ripped and needs to be replaced someday. But I wasn't ... [... more]
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Privacy Screen
To make six privacy screens, I used three 4'x8' lattice panels, intending to cut each panel in half lengthwise. Wanting to make the panels as high as possible, I cut the lattice to 23 inches wide by about 93½ inches long. Without doing much ... [... more]
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Replacing The Kitchen Sink Drain
When dry fitting PVC pipe and fittings, the pipe won't slide into the fitting's hub all the way. But when PVC cement is applied the liquid acts like a lubricant and then the pipe can easily slide all the way in. This fact means that the entire ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Vinyl J-Block
In the old days, whenever vinyl siding was installed around any type of obstruction (such as a light fixture, a dryer vent, or an electrical outlet) a "frame" of J-channel was placed around the object to conceal the cut edges of the siding. But ... [... more]
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Laying Tile
This article explains the procedure of installing floor tile in a simple room, in this case a closet. In our old house remodeling project we earlier laid marble tiles on the floor in two bathrooms. The smaller of those baths had a 3'x3' closet. ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
New Shingles
The main drawback of pneumatic roofing nailers is their inconsistency in nail depth. Sometimes the heads stick up a little and sometimes the heads tear into the shingle. Another frequent problem is that nails sometimes enter the roof at an angle, ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Extending A Deck
If a deck project required a permit and inspection of the footing depth, this would be the time to call the building department to have the inspector come out. This can be a real nuisance for people who work regular jobs during the week and work ... [... more]
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Leaning Garage
My friends asked me about repairing their garage a year before we worked on it, so I had plenty of time to ponder the technical problems. I knew that a stud wall assembly could be "racked" or squeezed on diagonally opposite corners to force the ... [... more]
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