home improvement

Sunday, August 23, 2009
Fix

Flip Your Old Deck Boards Before Shelling Out For A New Deck

1:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | If your deck is looking a little weathered and you’re considering replacing the boards, you might want to try this simple trick to see if you can squeeze a few more years of service out of them. More »
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Sunday, August 9, 2009
Fix

Plan And Install A Low-Voltage Lighting System For Your Yard

1:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Installing accent and security lighting in your yard shouldn’t require an electrician and lots of expensive labour. Low-voltage lighting systems make it easy to plan and install yard lights without a professional. More »
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Design

Model Your Home, Plan Improvements In 3D With Google Sketchup

10:00AM Kevin Purdy | My wife and I just moved to an apartment with a great backyard, but neither of us think spatially. Using Google Sketchup, it’s been easier than I’d imagined to plan our Ultimate Patio 4000. More »
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Saturday, April 4, 2009
Fix

DIY, No-Electricity Lighting From 2-Litre Bottles

7:30AM Adam Pash | Got a shed or garage you like to tinker in during the day and want to save a little cash on the cost of lighting it? Polish off your a few two-litres and let’s DIY. More »
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Saturday, March 15, 2008

How to Install a Phone Jack

10:00AM Gina Trapani | AU UPDATE: Undertaking any cabling work in Australia requires a cabling qualification – so please don’t try this at home. See this updated post for further information. When you want to run your landline to the guest room, you don’t have to call the phone company. Installing your own phone jack is a surprisingly simple operation, and home improvement guy Danny Lipford runs down how to go about it, with step-by-step photos. I’m not much of a Bob Vila myself, but I have actually done this, so I can attest that it only involves a bit of super-simple wiring that can save you cash and a lost morning waiting for the phone company technician to show up. DIY: How to Install a Phone Jack [Danny Lipford] More »
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Friday, February 8, 2008

Markee Dry Erase Paint

6:00AM Adam Pash | If you liked the idea of the wall-sized whiteboard calendar but weren’t keen on the price, or maybe you wanted to go even bigger, now you can—Markee dry erase paint turns any surface into a dry erase board. It’s not cheap, at $97 per gallon, but it’s cheaper than the wall calendar, and you should be able to get a lot of coverage out of a whole gallon of paint. It’s kind of like the paint-on chalkboard for the dry erase crowd. Wonder if erasing permanent marker is as simple on a Markee made white board. Markee [via Unclutterer] More »
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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Save Your Thumbs with a DIY Nail Cushion

7:00AM Adam Pash | DIY web site Instructables thinks your thumbs are too precious to sit in the path of your clumsy hammer, detailing how to repurpose an old mouse pad as a nail holder. It’s a pretty simple idea (in essence, the mouse pad just holds the nail for you, though I think I’d double over the mouse pad to ensure a better hold of the nail), but if you aren’t a wiz with the hammer, it might save you a black and blue fingernail or two. Nail Cushion version DIY [Instructables] More »
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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Why You Shouldn’t Send That Angry Email

1:30AM Gina Trapani | CEO Michael Hyatt says he learned his lesson when it comes to sending angry email: Several years ago, I wrote a fourteen-page diatribe to a business associate. I skewered him. I was right. He was wrong. And I had the proof. I laid it out in meticulous detail. I prosecuted my case like a lawyer before the bar. I sent it off with fire in my eyes and a healthy does of self-satisfaction in my heart. That’ll show him, I thought. More »
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