Fireplace Surrounds Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Building a new home or remodeling a room with a great old fireplace mantel? And there is a space between the mantle opening and the firebox! What do you use to cover this area? There are several options. Try a natural stone product as a fireplace surround.

In the Tri-state areas, there are marble and stone fabricators that will cut and polish beautiful granite, marble, sandstone, limestone and other natural products. One place is Mees Distributors, Inc. They have over a 120 types of marble and granite in their showroom. They can cut, polish and grind any of the materials to match your specifications. They can even sculpt images or patterns into the stone.

The great thing about marble and granite is they are time tested. They last forever and look beautiful. Check into them on your next fireplace project.

Time Capsules Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Time Capsules Video

Have you found a treasure in your home? Did an earlier owner or the builder leave some treasures behind the walls. There might be a time capsule in your home. Tim has found old beer bottles from breweries that are no longer in existence; old cigarette packages, old newspaper and even money.

If you are remodeling, why not make your own time capsule! Be sure to include newspapers, drink bottles or cans (be sure to rinse them out), drawings from your kids, trinkets, any thing you think would be interested for someone to find years from now. If possible, try to protect your treasures with plastic bags. It is a great family activity deciding what to include in your capsule.

Once the time capsule has been hidden behind the wall, image the fun someone will have when they find out how thing were way back when.

Drywall Joint Compounds Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Drywall Joint Compounds

Having trouble getting smooth drywall joints or corners? The secret is having the proper tools and joint compound.

The first tip is to get the right consistency for your drywall mud. You do not want to use it straight out of the bucket. It is too thick. Add some water and mix the compound until it is the consistency of creamy cake icing.

Next, have sure that your dry wall taping knife has been tooled. What does that mean? A new drywall knife can have very sharp corners. These can easily cut the tape as you apply it. Take a file and gently round off the corners of the taping knife.

Start by putting just a little mud on the knife and applying it in the drywall corner. Put the mud on both sides of the corner joint. Then fold the drywall tape in half and place it in the corner. Then gently run your knife down the tape at an angle to remove the excess mud. Do it once; that should be enough.

Doing it too many times will remove too much mud from under the tape and cause the tape to come off down the road.

Cut Nails Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Attaching wood strips to a concrete wall is not as hard as you might think. Using a special nail, called a cut nail, make the job easier. Drive the cut nail through the lumber and into the masonry joints. The cut nail is an harder steel than regular nails. This resists bending as you drive them into the wall.

If that is not possible, drill a hole with a hammer drill through the lumber and into the concrete. Then insert two to three cut nails into the hole and pound all of them in.

If you don't have any cut nails and you are in a pinch, you are use 2 or 3 regular nails. First, drill the pilot hole with the hammer drill. Then drive in the regular nails at the same time. This will provide a strong connection from the wood to the wall.

In Wall Speakers Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

If you have an older stereo system, you probably have several large speaker cabinets sitting around the room. These old cabinets can be replaced with high quality speakers for your stereo and / or television. These replacement speakers are mounted into the wall. Eliminates the wood cabinets and the speaker wires running around the room.

The new speakers mount into the drywall. Cut a hole in the wall according to the manufacturer's directions to speaker location. The directions will indicate where to mount the speakers for maximum sound reproduction. Usually, the speakers will be mounted about ear level or slight higher.

Run the speaker wire from the speaker to the stereo receiver. Special high impedance speaker wire is required. In addition, some wiring is directional. It has to go a certain direction from the speaker to the receiver.

To install the speakers, cut the hole in the drywall with a drywall saw. Insert the mounting bracket in the wall and attach with the provided clips. Put the speaker into the wall opening after wiring it. Put on the faceplate. And CRANK IT UP!!!

Home Insulation Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

 

Home Insulation

Putting insulation in your home is not too hard of a job. But, there are a few safety precautions that you should follow. If insulation bothers you, wearing a long sleeve shirt, a mask and cotton gloves are a good idea. Eye protection is also a good safety measure.

There are two types of insulation. One type with no facing and the other type with a paper facing. The facing acts as a vapor barrier. Using the unfaced insulation, you can add a clear polythene plastic vapor barrier before drywalling.

The insulation comes precut from the factory for standard stud spacing. So if your stud spacing is 16" on center, the space in between is 14-1/2". The insulation comes an half inch wider for a friction fit into that space. When cutting the insulation for length, be sure to cut it that same half inch longer to ensure an overall friction fit.

Insulation can be cut in two ways. First, use an insulation cutting knife. If you do not have access to that knife, you can use a standard razor knife. However, you will need a board to compress the insulation while cutting it with the razor knife. Once compressed, one or two passes with the razor knife should do it.

If there is an obstruction, such as an electrical wire, that will be behind the insulation, be sure to cut the insulation part way on the back side to fit around that cable. If you don't, you will end up with a gap in your insulation barrier.

Once cut, press the insulation in place, keep it fluffed up. Your vapor barrier will cover it and your drywall will keep it in place.

Subfloor Repair Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

You are in the middle of a remodeling project and you have a hole in the floor. The floor does not have access from below, so all the repairs have to be from above. Here are some simple tips to help with that repair.

First thing to do is square up the opening. Use a framing square to mark lines to create a nice square or rectangular opening. Next, cut a piece of flooring to match the opening. Be sure the patch material is the same thickness as the subfloor. If the wood patch is about an 1/8" smaller than the opening, that is okay.

If there is a floor joist available, attach a 1x3 to the joist and flush with the top of the floor joist. After that is attached, take a 2x4 about 6" longer on each end then the opening. Drill two holes in the center of the 2x4. These will be used to hold the board up with your fingers, like a bowling ball. While holding it in place, drive 2" long screws down through the subflooring and into this piece of wood. This 2x4 will hold the patch in place and prevent it from falling down.

Finish the patch by taking the board you cut to fit the opening and screw it into place. The floor is now ready for you to continue with your project.

Cutting Ceramic Tile Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Does your indoor project include a new tile kitchen countertop, a back splash or a powder room floor? Cutting the ceramic tile will be a major part of the project. It is easy if you use the right tools.

The first thing you need is a tile cutter. These are simple to use and make cutting tile easy. They have a carbide wheel that cuts the tile. Place the tile into the cutter at the proper cut location, roll the carbide wheel over the tile to score it. Then apply a little pressure on the handle and the tile snaps perfectly right down the scored line.

You can also use a hack saw with a special carbide tipped blade. These blades and the hack saw allow you to cut "L" shapes in the tile. Use the hack saw to cut one leg of the cut and finish the cut with the tile cutter.

Special hole saws are available for cutting that perfectly round hole in the ceramic tile. You can rent these tools or get them at specialty tile stores. With these proper tools, your ceramic tile project will turn out great.

Preventing Wood Splitting Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Have you gotten a crack in a piece of lumber when driving a nail into it? What causes the split? Most people think it is because the nail is not sharp enough. Actually, the nail is too sharp. That causes the split. The sharp point acts as a wedge and splits the lumber as it is driven.

To prevent this from happening, you need to dull the points of the nails. Make the nail tip blunt, that way the nail will crush the wood fibers out of the way. The wood will not split.

A good example of this is flooring nails. These nails have a very blunt tip. This keeps them from splitting off the tongue as you drive them into the flooring.

Sometimes when nailing very close to the edge of the lumber, blunting a nail may not work. Use a drill to drill a small pilot hole into the pieces of lumber. The pilot hole should be smaller in diameter than the diameter of the nail.

How to you blunt a nail? Place the head of the nail on a solid surface and use your hammer to tap the tip until it has been blunted. Many specialty nails, like nail gun nails, come pre-blunted from the manufacturer.

Splitting wood can be avoided if you use blunt nails or a pivot hole in the lumber. Do that and you will have split-free lumber.

Builders Level Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Your project calls for a level line around the entire room. This line would be needed for crown molding or a suspended ceiling. How do you do this? Using a 4 foot level and drawing a line around the room is time consuming and can lead to errors.

A better method is to rent a builder's transit or builder's level. This tool sets up on a tripod and uses bubble levels to get the instrument level in the room. Sighting through the level, mark the wall at the required height. A helper will be required to make the marks. Once the marks are created around the room, use a chalk line to create your line.

These builder's levels are easy to use and can be rented at most tool rental stores.