Crown molding is not installed flat against the ceiling or the wall. Crown molding is installed at an angle. Unlike base board or door or window casing which are held flat in the miter saw, crown molding is held upside down. The shoulder and the foot must be flat against the saw's fence and the saw table.
Crown molding cutting is a piece of cake if the workpiece is held properly in the power saw. Try it, it will work for you.
Cutting crown molding is easy if you hold the molding in the miter saw the proper way. Regular door molding or baseboards are easy to cut because they go flat in the power saw. They fit flat against the wall.
Crown molding does not go flat against the wall or ceiling. It installs at an angle to both. Likewise, it has to be held that way in the miter box saw. The wall and ceiling meet at a 90 degree angle. The same way the saw table and saw fence meet. But for the cuts to be correct, the crown molding has to be upside down. Thus, the table represents the ceiling and the fence is the wall.
The crown molding installs with a gap behind it and this is the same gap that has to be created in the saw. Watch the Cutting Crown Molding Video for tips on cutting those inside and outside crown molding corners.
Almost all home improvement jobs will involve measuring. You have to measure to cut plywood, rough lumber, carpets, etc. For years, the tape measure was the standard for measuring up to 30 feet. Beyond that, you needed a tape rule. Some times on these long measurements, you need a helper to hold one end of the tape.
But with a new sonic measure, also called a digital tape measure, you can do these measurements by yourself. Just aim from one point to the next and it will give you a digital read out of the distance. It can also figure an area measurement which lets you know how many square feet of tile or hardwood flooring you will need. The volume of a room can be figured. This handy tool does all the math for you.
This device sends out an ultrasonic sound wave and measures the reflection back to itself. The tool has a small laser light to aid you in aiming the tool. The measurement is done with the sound waves. The measurement is from the bottom of the sonic tape measure. This is helpful so you can just place it against the wall and measure to the other side of the room.
If you are a tool freak, this sonic tape measure has to be in your toolbox.
You know my central vacuum cleaner is awonderful tool and it sucks a tremendous amount of air from the inside of myhouse and puts it outdoors. But whathappens how do I get that air backinside the house?
You may not have acentral vacuum in your home but I'll betyou there's a good chance you've got aclothes dryer, you might have a bathroomexhaust fan, how about a kitchen exhaustfan?
What about a gas water heater a gasfurnace maybe even a fireplace. All ofthose things when they operate theyconsume air out of your home and ifyou've got a home that's a modern onethat's built maybe within the lastfifteen years, they're very tight.
You canactually create a situation called backdrafting.
This is a handy item thatprovides the makeup air you need inyour home. It looks a lot like anoversized dryer vent. It has an intakearea that's on the outside of your home, but on the inside of the home, it has two pipes. One of these supplies air directlyinto the cold air return of your furnaceand the other one provides combustionair for your appliances.
Theseinexpensive makeup air units are vitalfor your home especially if it's a newer one that's built very tight the backdrafting that I talked about. It canhappen when you operate one of thosefans and you might actually pull carbonmonoxide back into your home downthrough a chimney. Don't let it happen toyou get one of these things as soon aspossible.
I'm Tim from AsktheBuilder.com. If you want to discover morehome-improvement tips, go to AsktheBuilder.com.
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Using the wrong tools or cleaner will make your job harder. Using newspaper is not a good alternative. The water in the cleaner will dissolve the newsprint ink and leave that residue on the window. All you need to professional results is the right cleaner solution, lambs wool cleaner (or scrubber) and a squeegee. The squeegee is used to remove the excess moisture from the window. The window will be clean before the squeegee is used.
Mix the cleaner solution and dip the lambs wool cleaner into the solution. Wipe off the excess solution and start cleaning the window. Go over the window up and down and back and forth. All the dirt will be trapped in the lambs wool. Then use the squeegee to remove the excess moisture off the glass. Wipe the squeegee blade after each pass on the window.
These tools are available at your local paint store. There is also a two in one tool with the scrubber and squeegee on one head. This has a spot to attach it to a long pole for cleaning those second story windows.
Wallpaper, even ones that are pre-pasted, expand when you apply the activator. You need to make sure that the wallpaper expands on the table and not on the wall. Instead of using just plain water to activate your wallpaper, try a pre-pasted wallcovering activator. Mix this powder with water, wait about 30 minutes and you will have a paste that is thicker than water. Brush this on the back of the wallpaper to start the relaxing process. This is the expanding of the paper. Once the glue is on the wallpaper, fold the paper over so the glue does not evaporate too quickly. Don't push the wallpaper together too hard. You don't want a hard crease.
This relaxation period will be about 5 minutes. Then the wall covering will be ready to hang.
Full pieces of drywall weigh a lot. How can the small drywall screws hold all that weight to the ceiling or walls? On the nail shank, there are little grooves. These nails are called ring shank nails. These make the nail act like a screw and hold tight in the wood. The grooves act as barbs to hold the drywall. The underside of the screw is flared so when you drive it into the drywall, it will not tear the paper coating.
Drywall screws have a bugle head. This conical shape provide a lot of surface area for the screw to hold the drywall in position. Don't drive the screws in too far or you will tear the paper. If that happens, the screws lose their holding power.
There is a special drywall hammer for driving in the nails. The head of a regular hammer has square edges. This can tear the paper. Not good! The drywall hammer has a larger diameter head with rounded edges and cross-hatching on the face. This provides an indent on the drywall around the nail so that the drywall mud holds better.
It pays to have the right tools and fasteners when hanging drywall.
When taking your standard metal toolboxes to the jobsite, try one of the new tool backpacks. A tool backpack is great for carrying tools up a ladder or when you have to carry other objects at the same time. These backpacks have lots of pockets to organize your tools. You can store screwdrivers, razor knives, pencils, drywall hole cutters, tape measures, etc. in individual pockets.
Inside the larger section of the backpack, you can store your wrenches, pliers, hammers in place with elastic bands. The center area can handle that cordless drill.
On the outside, there are special pockets to hold your cell phone, a water bottle or any other smaller items.
These backpacks are a great way to carry your tools and keep your hands free.
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