Installing An "Old Work" Box
The odd shape that I use is not necessary. It is possible to make the hole slightly larger (imagine taking the uppermost and lowermost horizontal lines and extending them until they met the vertical sides), but the hole I use is the smallest ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Part 2: Sanding
Well that gave me an idea. Since there were lots of small spots that needed sanding with the hand-held random orbital sander, I positioned the floor sander where the wood needed a lot of sanding and just let go. I got down on my knees and used ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Shower Enclosure
In spite of my efforts to provide a stud for attaching the side track, I somehow managed to miscalculate. Drywall anchors are adequate according to the manufacturer... I just prefer to build things extra-sturdy if possible. My suspicion is that ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Icemaker Water Line
My objective was to avoid removing the foil/cardboard material that covered the joist bays to form the return air duct. But I was unable to fish the tubing through within five minutes, so I removed the duct covering, which was held in place with ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Installing Fiber Cement Siding
We could have just used a 4 inch exposure and bought the narrower (and cheaper) 5¼" siding, but then the walls with new siding would not match the walls with old siding. We are not replacing all of the siding, just certain walls. We have ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Offset Toilet Flange
The previous owner had installed a cheap conventional plastic toilet flange and had hacked out a huge notch in the side of the 2x8 floor joist to accommodate the plumbing. Our room improvements included adding a layer of 3/4" foam insulation, ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Pre-Assembling Fence Sections
To build a dog kennel, we initially bought materials for 64 feet of fence. I've manually laid out many sections of fence before, but the thought of marking and squaring each picket (there were 96 of them) made me cringe. I could have made a ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Disposal
Mildew Smell: In that same apartment, the disposer had a nasty mildew smell. I tried the usual remedy... baking soda... but that did nothing. I filled the unit with ice cubes and ground them up, but still no improvement. I looked inside with a ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Hiding The Big Void With Simple Skirting
I made a mark on the rim joist to indicate the end point of the board I planned to use. Then I dug a small hole, about 6 inches deep, and fastened the down-rigger to the rim joist. When I back-filled the hole I used a block of wood and a hammer ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
Two Quick-Connectors
An air compressor is an essential part of HammerZone's workshop. But... I was getting tired of switching air tools all the time, or having to drag the air hose outdoors to blow the dust off something. A tee fitting is added to the standard air ... [... more]
Hammer Zone |
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]
Hammer Zone |
Drain Plumbing
The connections between parts have precise mating surfaces. I believe this is the culprit behind many leaks. If pipes are not aligned properly, because someone tried to force a straight pipe into a slight bend, there is a serious risk that a leak ... [... more]
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