Preventing Pet Odors in Your Carpets and Furniture Nothing holds a doggy smell like fabric. The best way to keep your carpets and furniture from holding onto Fido’s funk is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Here are our top prevention tips: Never let your wet dog on the carpet or furniture. You know they love to rub down after a bath, but don’t allow them in a carpeted room or on the couch until they’re completely dry....
How Do Smart Thermostats Work? Smart thermostats are hardwired just as traditional thermostats are, but you’ll also need a Wi-Fi connection to make them work remotely. If your Wi-Fi goes out, you can still manually operate a smart thermostat just as you would a regular one. How to Use Smart Thermostats Check with the manufacturer to make sure your desired smart thermostat is compatible with your heating and cooling setup, especially if you own an older home....
What’s Your Dream Bar Like? When you get past the daydreaming phase of basement bar construction, start making your dreams a reality by making a plan. Begin by formulating your bar element wish list. Do you want a place to just refill beers? Or would you like it to be an entertainment center in its own right, with a mounted TV (or TVs!) and dedicated sound system? What are your favorite beverages?...
Follow along as This Old House contributor Christopher Beidel, owner of Pernt, a handmade-furniture company in Brooklyn, New York, leads you through the simple steps it takes to green up your garden. How to Build a Rain Barrel: The Overview Timeline SATURDAY: Assemble the box (Steps 2-13). SUNDAY: Install the bin, attach the diverter, and make the connections (Steps 14-18). Cut List 1x6 pressure-treated vertical slats: sixteen @ 40 inches 1x6 pressure-treated lid slats: four @ 23⅞ inches (cut to fit) 1x6 pressure-treated floorboards: four @ 20⅞ inches (cut to fit) 5/4x4 pressure-treated interior battens: four @ 23⅞ inches 5/4x4 pressure-treated interior battens: four at 20⅜ inches 5/4x4 pressure-treated lid battens: two @ 18⅜inches 1x4 pressure-treated decorative battens: two @ 23 inches (cut to fit) 1x4 pressure-treated decorative battens: two @ 24⅜ inches (cut to fit) 1x3 pressure-treated decorative battens: four @ 23 inches (cut to fit) 1x3 pressure-treated decorative battens: four @ 24⅜ inches (cut to fit) 4x4 pressure-treated legs: four @ 10 inches or customized to your terrain DIY Rain Barrel Construction and Installation Kit with Downspout Diverter: one; Rain Brothers Black 35-gallon square trash can: one ¾-by-3-inch brass nipple: one 5¾-inch black door pull: one...
I love the streamlined look of a classic tripod lamp, but lighting can get pricey fast. Vintage models often have the kind of industrial wood tripod that supported optical equipment, such as a surveyor’s transit. Their tapered, adjustable-height legs terminate in a small platform, and usually have brass fittings that lend a certain mechanical elegance. This lamp has a simplified design that’s straightforward and inexpensive to build, but will look equally great illuminating your living space....
NOTE: Cedar boards can be ordered at most home centers and are stocked at most lumberyards. Overview of How to Build a Fold-Down Murphy Bar Murphy bar cut list 1x4 cedar back slats: six @ 36 inches 1x4 cedar door slats: four @ 29 inches (cut to fit) 1x8 cedar box vertical pieces: three @ 22 inches 1x8 cedar shelf: one @ 16 ⅞ inches 1x8 cedar box bottom: one @ 36 inches 1x8 cedar gable ends: two @ 36 inches 1x10 cedar roof pieces: two @ 22 inches 1x10 cedar box top: one @ 36 inches 5/4 x 4 cedar door-frame rails: two @ 36 inches 5/4 x 4 cedar door-frame stiles: two @ 15¼ inches ¾-by-¾-inch cedar shelf cleats: two @ 7¼ inches (ripped from 1x8 scraps)...
Filling her garage with saws and clamps would have been easy, but because it has to pull double duty, storing tools and her car during winter, the layout required some problem solving. That’s where Tom Silva stepped in. All About Building a Workshop How to Build a Garage Workshop The solution focused on mobility. “Stefani has a long, narrow space, so we made the big tools easy to move around, letting her squeeze her car in,” explains Tom....
How to Cut Down a Tree Tools
Steps to Diagnose and Repair a Humid Air Conditioner Resources Richard installed the Healthy Climate Solutions MERV 16 air filter, manufactured by Lennox. 9 Air Conditioner Maintenance and Care Tips Expert assistance with this project was provided by 4 Seasons Air Conditioning & Heating and by Air Conditioning Contractors of Central Florida.
Steps for Removing Grease Stains Step 1: Sop up any wet areas Apply cornmeal or sawdust (this is especially important immediately after a spill) Leave it on the stain for three hours and sweep up. Then, use one of these methods to remove the stain: Step 2: Sprinkle dry dishwasher detergent on wet concrete Let it stand a few minutes and then pour boiling water on the area. Scrub and rinse....
So here’s how to get candle wax off any surface for good, without scratching up your furniture or staining your walls in the process. Wood When removing wax from wood, first harden the wax with an ice cube, then carefully scrape it off with an expired credit card or a plastic ruler. Rub away residue with cream furniture wax. Vinyl Flooring Soak the spot with hot water, and wipe away the wax with a dry cloth....
Start With the Fireplace The chimney is where the smoke exits your house from the fire burning in your fireplace. But the fireplace is where all the action starts. Before you gather the firewood and get ready to hunker down, take a moment to review how to make your fireplace clean, debris free, and ready for winter. Plenty of soot and ash may have accumulated from previous fires, and it’s a good idea to sweep the ashes from the fireplace, leaving about an inch to insulate embers....
—Tabby McCarthy, Olanthe, Kansas Roger Cook replies: A wet walkway is not only a slipping hazard, it contributes to damaging frost heaves that can break apart pavement. If you can’t relocate the downspout, route the water under your walk and out to a dry well buried in your lawn. What Is a Dry Well? Roger Cook replies: This perforated, open-bottom plastic barrel, which sits in a hole and is surrounded by stones, captures water coming off your roof, and lets it slowly disperse into the ground....
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How Does a Mini Split Work? It’s simple physics—heat will always transfer to cold. Using something called an inverter, the mini split is capable of capturing heat through a cold line of refrigerant and moving it to the desired location. In the summer, the heat is extracted from the air in the house and dumped outside, making it cold. In the winter, heat is scavenged from the outside and pushed back into the house....
Upper crown molding: Classical Craftsman Collection Crown, WOCM005. Fascia board: Classical Colonial Collection Crown WOCM002. Both from WindsorONE. Lower crown molding: AB405 3⅛-inch crown; Ring’s End How to Install Three-Piece Crown Molding Overview Project timeline Friday: Mark the room’s framing, and install the cleats. Saturday: Assemble and install the half beams and backing blocks. Sunday: Lay out the cuts, and cut and install the upper and lower crown moldings....
Plant What They Don’t Like Squirrels and chipmunks avoid daffodils—which are poisonous—as well as alliums, scilla, hyacinth, grape hyacinth (muscari), fritillaria, camassia, chionodoxa, snowdrop (galanthus), and summer snowflake (leucojum). Tulips, unfortunately, are a delicacy for them. Still, if they become hungry enough, they’ll eat everything in sight. Install a Barrier Line the bottom of your planting bed with wire hardware cloth or woven shade cloth, which is easier to work with....
