Q. I’m tiling a countertop backsplash, but once the tile is in place the electrical outlets will be too far recessed to replace the switchplates.
Q: I have a plywood subfloor with a few high/low spots. I’ve read that laminate flooring can only be installed over flat subfloors. Is there
Q: What is the best way to do a complete lawn installation for a residential property? A: Well, many pro builders use a tractor
Q: There are paint splatters on the concrete areas around my house. How can I remove them? The concrete is old and whatever seal it
Q: I have an old house with a concrete porch with major cracks. Should I try to fill the cracks, tear it down and replace
Q: I need to seal around a bathtub. I have a couple of unused caulk tubes I bought for window a few months ago. Will
Q: I just built an 8-by-10-foot shed and sheathed it with 1/2-inch CD. I’m going to side it with vinyl. Do I need to put
Q: I moved into a house with old aluminum siding. Can I paint it? A: As with any painting project, begin by prepping the surface.
Q: Help! I have loose siding panels (vinyl) from hurricane damage. How can I repair this? A: Vinyl siding panels interlock at their top and
Q: I have some ugly oil stains on the driveway from the car. Can you give me some tips on how to remove them? A:
Q: Our rear deck is a little too bouncy. Is there any way to stabilize this without a complete rebuild? A: A “bouncy” deck is
Q: Several years ago I had vinyl siding installed on my house and under the eaves. No eave vents were installed and I’d like to
Q: My wife wants an in-ground water fountain in the front yard, and I have no experience installing one. Is this even a DIY project
Q: We recently installed a new roof, with new fiberglass insulation and two new wind turbines. Would I save money during the winter if I
Q: Is there a way to fix a loose metal handrail without replacing the whole thing? A: A wobbly metal rail is a common problem
Q: Two doors in my house have lousy hinges. The screws have stripped out of the casing and now the doors swing crooked. I have
Q: I tiled the kids’ bathroom and mixed my grout in the tub. The tub itself is made of fiberglass. I now have small dark
Q: I have a heat pump question. How much water should be coming out of my A/C unit? It is an 8-year-old system, and it
Q: One of the burners on my oven range died. Should I replace it, or can it be fixed? A: If the burner is scorched
Q: I need to cut a piece of cement board into a 30-inch circle. What’s the best way to cut this material? A: You
Q: Can you tell me how to re-glue a seam in a vinyl floor? I’d hate to call a handyman if it’s something simple that I
Q: I have an old house that has lath and plaster walls. When taking off some wallpaper, a lot of plaster came off. Can I
Q: I’d like to install a glass block window in a bathroom. Is this a DIY project? A: Glass blocks can be used in
Q: The finish is worn on our bathtub and instead of ripping up the bathroom and replacing it, I was wondering if there are products
Q: I want new flooring in the dining room and I’m trying to decide between carpet and wood. I’m on a concrete slab and it’s
Q: I’m about to pour a new sidewalk. How long should I let the new concrete cure before walking on it? A: Generally speaking, concrete
Q: I have a crack in the drywall of the living room ceiling. When it gets cold, the crack widens. When it’s warm, the crack
Q: Our shower won’t spray water the way it used to. Can I repair this or do I have to replace the head? A: For
Q: I’m considering replacing my old water heater with a tankless version. Are these things all they’re cracked up to be? A: Tankless water heaters
Q: I’m having a terrible time trying to remove melted candle wax from the carpet. Any advice? A: First, carefully scrape any loose wax
Q: Is there a quick fix for a squeaky door hinge? A: Here’s one method that sometimes works: petroleum jelly. Start by loosening the
Q: I’m about to wallpaper a bedroom but dread the mess of soaking the pre-pasted paper. Is there any way around this? A: The soaking
Q: Our upstairs hardwood floor squeaks in a few places. I can’t access the joists because of the finished ceiling of the first floor. Can
Q: Help! When I had my back turned, my three-year-old grandson found a loose loop of carpet and gave it a yank. Now I have
Q: I’d like to add an arched entryway between the living room and kitchen. Can you tell me how to bend drywall for the arch?
Q: My neighbor has a faux finish in her family room that she calls “stippling.” It gives the walls a nice textured look. Her walls
Q: I always hear about the importance of insulating the attic, but rarely hear much talk about insulation between the floor joists of crawlspaces? Is
Q: I had a mahogany deck installed last year and the boards were put too close together, resulting in puddling when it rains or snows.
Q: Hi, I’m 12 years old and I need to get a stripped screw out of my electric guitar. The needle-nose pliers won’t grip it
Q: A few months ago, I hired a contractor to install laminate tongue-and-groove flooring over concrete. It was installed with glue. Now I hear pops
Q: I would like to cover a block wall of my home to look like an old adobe. Do I need to cover the brick
Q: Help! My three-year-old son flushed a bar of soap down the toilet. I’ve tried using a plunger plus a lot of Drano, and it
Q: I recently finished adding a deck to my house. I’ve noticed part of my handrail is warping. I used treated wood, 2-by-4 and spindles
Q: Is it possible to paint vinyl siding? Or do I have to replace the siding if I want a new color? A: Fortunately, several
Q: We just had our fireplace cleaned and the cracks sealed, but still sometimes have a backdraft problem where the smoke doesn’t go up. There’s
Q: I can do a decent job at taping and mudding the flat seams of drywall, but still have a little trouble at the inside
Q: My home has about 6 inches of fiberglass insulation in the attic, and I’m planning to add more. Should I use faced insulation? A:
Q: When hanging drywall, do you place the bottom of the sheets on the subfloor or are they raised up to allow for expansion? A:
Q: For a countertop, what are the advantages/disadvantages of 2-centimeter granite versus 3-centimeter granite? The 2-centimeter is cheaper, but I know you usually get what
Q: Is textured paint easier to use than creating texture with joint compound? A: Using pre-textured paint can be easier because it saves you the
Q: A thunderstorm blew a few shingles off my roof. The roof is about 12 years old. I would like to replace the missing shingles
Q: I was interested in becoming a residential contractor, and I thought Extreme How-To may have some information on pointing me in the right direction.
Q: When you’re laying sheathing on the roof, which way does it need to go, vertical or horizontal? We have it going horizontal and have
Q: When I turn on my air conditioner I smell a very bad odor, like sulfur or rotten eggs. The smell only lasts about 10
Q: I’m interested in buying a framing nail gun and wondered what the pros and cons were for Clipped-Head vs. Round-Head. I’ll be framing a
IN A FIX, the new home-improvement show on the TLC Network, follows a team of remodelers who rescue homeowners from botched renovation projects.
Changing a vehicle’s engine oil and filter is sure to save motorists time and money from trips to the service station.
Q: Can you lay new tiles (saltillo) on top of old ceramic tiles? A: Yes, but only if the existing tile surface is in
Q: Do you foresee any problems with using ceramic tiles to re-surface the interior of a bathtub? A: If the tub is fiberglass or acrylic,
Extreme How-To recently published an article featuring Tando Composites Beach House Shake Atlantica being installed at the Dartmouth, Massachusetts Fire Station. Beach House Shake was a part of the exterior renovations that were done as part of an overall expansion and updates. You can read the article here. Beach House Shake, the authentic composite shingle, […]
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