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0:01
My buddy, Chris, called last week and asked me to help him tear out some old oak flooring from the den of his antique Colonial home. He wanted to expose the original wide-plank chestnut floor that was beneath the oak.
Sounded like a simple enough job. "No problem," I told Chris, "I'll be over in the morning." But as soon as I walked into the room, I knew we were in for a long, hard day.
The previous homeowners had installed built-in bookcases along the walls, and the cases were sitting on top of the oak flooring. Complicating the issue was the fact that the bookcases extended nearly 3 inches beyond their 4-inch-tall bases.
That created a unique challenge: How to cut out the oak flooring without removing or damaging the bookcases, and without cutting through the chestnut floor below.
And we were severely restricted by the height and depth of the toe-kick space along the base of the bookcases. We couldn't use a circular saw, router or even reciprocating saw; there just wasn't enough space.
After some head scratching, I ran back to my shop and returned with the perfect--and perhaps only--tool for the job: my Rockwell SoniCrafter.
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6:00
Make your double or single outlet a 6-outlet power center with this GE adapter ($6.99; Reg. $12.99). Free shipping!
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15:09
Framers, construction works, and serious DIYers have a new worm drive saw to consider.
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16:59
Some 60 million Americans suffer from asthma and allergies, a source at EPA informs me, and dust mites—gnarly, invisible beasts that feed on flakes of human skin—are among the sneezing public’s biggest enemies. Not surprisingly, all kinds of products promise relief, from sinus-draining medications to mite-resistant flooring. Still, I was startled to hear from the maker of a luxe pillowcase that silk might do the job too. “I call it functional décor,” says Donna Hinds, the brains behind Branche’s $75 Charmeuse Case. A former dressmaker who knows her warps and wefts, Hinds says her heavyweight silk case—available in seven colors—mainly functions as a beauty aid, leaving skin and hair silky smooth, and only incidentally works as a dust-mite deterrent. But I notice a similar suggestion at AllergyBuyersClub.com, which sells silk bedding. The jury’s still out on all claims, science-wise, but after a few nights of sleeping on borrowed silk I’m happy to report that it’s nothing if not comfy.
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6:31
Visit the Discount Den at Van Dyke's Restorers for deep discounts on beautiful latches, hooks, pulls, knobs, and more. This Eastlake T-Handle Latch can be had for just $7.99 (Reg. $14.99).
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0:01
Final Cut Saw Blades are high-quality, carbide-tipped blades that boast a most unusual feature: they have abrasive paper adhered to both sides of the blade. As a result, the blades cut and sand simultaneously, producing extremely smooth cuts. Pretty cool, right?
Well until recently, Final Cut blades were only available for power miter saws and table saws. But now there's a brand-new Final Cut blade made specifically for 7 1/4-inch portable circular saws.
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6:00
Get this Black & Decker 18V Cordless Pivoting Vac—great for quick clean-ups—for just $69.99 (Reg. $134.99). For a limited time, the item will ship for free, too.
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6:47
Add this space-saving Espresso-finish desk ($149.99; Reg. $249.99) to your home office. Features a handy slide-out keyboard tray, lots of cabinet and drawer storage, and more. Available for residential delivery and Office Depot in-store pick up. Offer good thru 02/27/10.
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0:01
Building walls is one way to divide large living spaces or separate two rooms, but here's a more attractive, and much more flexible approach: Install Multi-Pass sliding doors.
L.E. Johnson Products, famous for its pocket-door hardware, now manufactures a line of multi-pass hardware that provides a quick, easy way to create a "wall" of sliding doors.
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6:55
For a limited time, save 15% on beautiful switch plates—like "Spring" (shown; $23.80; Reg. $28) and featured in the March 2010 issue of This Old House magazine—at artifaqt.com
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1:43
Since our microtool deals were so popular, here's another one: This Swiss+Tech Screwz-All 4-in-1 Compact Screwdriver Set ($4.99; reg. $7.99), features standard sized Phillips and flat screwdrivers, and micro-sized Phillips and flat screwdrivers. Free shipping for a limited time.
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1:59
This No-Contact Handheld Infrared Thermometer (just $29.99; Reg. $45.99) allows you to make easy temperature readings from virtually any surface! Check everything from auto engine, muffler brakes, tires or brakes to heater vents and air conditioners. Features backlit LCD display...
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14:25
So when the economy did it's tailspin, scammers trying to make a quick buck came out of the woodwork. No surprise really that insurance (including home insurance) fraud, in particular, rose with about 70 percent of fraud bureaus reporting significant increases in the number of cases they were seeing. What is surprising is that in this mess, many states are cutting back on their fraud-fighting bureaus due to budget cuts, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. I even read here that Arizona may lose it's unit completely, to become the tenth state with no dedicated anti-fraud division.
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0:01
March has only just begun, and there's still about a foot of snow on my front yard, but I can't help but think about spring and the approaching gardening season. In just a few short weeks--hopefully--I'll be turning over the soil and preparing the planting beds.
And although I wasn't planning to buy any new gardening tools this spring, I quickly changed my mind when I saw the brand-new EcoGardener line of tools from Ames True Temper.
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10:04
Get the Haier 6-bottle Stainless Steel wine cooler for just $49.99 (Reg. $99.99). Features touch-screen control panel, ultra-quiet thermal electric cooling, and a double-pane insulated glass door. Free shipping for a limited time.
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12:21
It’s not that you’d never believe it’s not wood. More like, it looks like wood only better. Think of Nemo Tile Bioessenze as a sly joke about the snob appeal of natural materials and the fabulousness of fakes that one-up them. Made in Italy with the help of digital printing and new pressing methods, this subtly textured, glazed porcelain is durable and dyed all the way through so chips don’t show, says Raymond Moore, director of architectural sales and marketing at Nemo, the New York tile emporium. And the edges are rectified, or utterly flat, so you can use the thinnest lines of grout. Naturally, tile like this comes in planks, not squares, either 3½ by 36 inches or 8 by 48 inches, depending on the grain. (Shown above, Bianco. Below, Rovere.) And At $11.75 to $14.25 a square foot, not too expensive for a bath, galley kitchen, or well-trod foyer. To order, call Nemo, 212-505-0009.
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6:06
$60 is a small price to pay to get your closet organized. Get this easy-install Rubbermaid customizable 3- to 6-foot kit (Was $67.50; Reg. $80). The shelving and hanging spaces are easy to reconfigure for changing storage needs.
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0:01
Ok, I admit it, maybe it's a guy thing, but I love buying stuff for my garage. Whether it's a wall-hung storage rack or hydraulic floor jack, it doesn't much matter.
The garage is my domain and I can outfit it anyway I wish--most of the time. (My wife recently vetoed my Girls Gone Wild wall mural, saying that at my age I should be more interested in Girls With Corrective Footwear.)
In any case, I recently heard about a cool new garage accessory from Stanley called, the Total Garage Center. And regardless of whether or not you're a garage rat like me, you might want to consider getting yourself this versatile, valuable piece of equipment.
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6:29
The 3-in-1 EuroPro Shark Multi-Vacuum ($49.99; Reg. $139.99) features a hand vac, portable canister, and stick vac, all with consistent suction power. Also features the Shark BackSaver, which bends low to reach under chairs and tables and a turbo-powered brush...
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12:30
The company’s pedigree has always been power tools for plumbers, electricians, and HVAC professionals. But now the makers of the Sawzall are branching out with hand tools.
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16:35
DuPont would like to say good riddance to the stone age and hello (again) to good old-fashioned man-made materials like Corian, a DuPont product that dates to the 60s and more recently was crushed by the granite competition. Today Corian has a kind of reverse-snob appeal, or what Mark Woodman, a color and design consultant, calls “pedigree without pretense.” Put another way, you’d have to be in the know to recognize this solid-surface material as not only practical and available in many colors, but also pretty expensive (up to $80 a square foot, installed). And thus its following in certain design-conscious circles. Architect Richard Meier challenged kitchen fashion victims five years ago by saying of white Corian: “Whatever you put on it looks good,” and anyway “marble is too busy.” Two years later came the Corian Walking Table by Pol Quadens (above), and now Corian is being turned into concept pieces.
Addressing a group of trend watchers this week at Corian’s Manhattan showroom, where he was surrounded by fanciful items like a digitally etched Corian wall panel and polka-dot Corian light fixtures, Woodman suggested that this smooth substance also fulfills today’s need for pleasant textures. (Shoppers like to pet sample materials, he noted, even when it's flooring.) And this year Corian comes in what he called on-trend colors like blue, copper, and olive, plus a new white.
For most homeowners, of course, designer cred will be less important than having a seamless, easy-care work surface that may scratch but won’t chip or immortalize wine stains. Still not sure? Check out other non-granite options at this TOH gallery.
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6:38
Enter coupon code BHKD25 at checkout to get 25% off of the highest-priced item in your cart, including brylanehome.com's entire stock of home products and accessories. Note: Code works on purchases of a single item, too. Good 'til March 15th.
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0:01
Here's proof, once again, that some people have way too much time on their hands: Someone has just invented glow-in-the-dark toilet paper.
Now you may be thinking, Why it world would anyone need such a thing? Can't they simply flip on the bathroom light or just feel for the roll?
Well, let me just say that you're overthinking this just a tad. It's glow-in-the-dark toilet paper! Not universal health care, although they both might meet the same fate.
Anyway, I found the whole idea of glowing toilet paper absolutely hilarious. It's called the, Glow-in-the-Dark Loo Roll, and it's sold by an on-line retailer in England. (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.)
Potty on, Wayne!
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6:00
Get this durable and functional Brooks Cocktail Ottoman ($169.99), which features handy top and bottom solid surfaces for entertaining and/or storage. Flat rate $2.95 shipping on all orders.
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6:04
For a limited time, get this lime/white 4-pc. appliance bundle for just $85 (Reg. $94). Includes cordless jug kettle ($23), 2-slice toaster ($22), 2-speed blender ($25), and 10-cup coffee maker ($24) with bonus accessories.
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10:22
Get this glass-top rolling desk with a 4-tier multipurpose shelving unit for just $149.00. Features safety-tempered frosted glass, steel frame, and a handy keyboard tray. It's a beautiful set, but make sure you've got the glass cleaner at the ready!
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0:01
The other day I was flipping through the Rockler Woodworking catalog--one of my favorite sources for tools and hardware--and came across a new, and most-interesting product: Bench Cookies.
A bench cookie is a hockey-puck-shaped plastic disk that has high-friction rubber adhered to its top and bottom surfaces. You get four cookies for $12 (about the same as Mrs. Field's white chocolate macadamias).
When placed on a workbench, the sure-grip cookies allow you to sand or rout a board without using clamps. I know what you're thinking. I didn't believe it myself, until I conducted my own cookie test.
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6:00
This innovative alternative to a standard P-trap features a self-cleaning design and integrated wiper that removes blockage. The PermaFLOW ($19.95; Reg. $39.95) eliminates the need for chemical drain cleaners, plungers, and expensive pipe repairs. Easy-install and allows for easy retrieval...
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10:47
If you're about to start any projects that are going to require lumber, like say a framing walls or a building a pull-down attic staircase, you might want to hold off a bit. A perfect storm of bad weather, new export agreements with Canada, demand and depleted inventories have conspired to drive up the prices 26 percent from just the start of this year. So framing lumber that averaged $251 per 1,000 boards in January is now going for around $317, or near what it was way back in July 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders. But the good news, according to NAHB Senior Economist Bernard Markstein, is that the prices should come down within a few weeks as the inventories get built up again and (hopefully) Mother Nature gives it a rest with the cold and damp weather.
When that happens and you do decide to start your next DIY project, be sure to check out this story for tips on picking out the best wood boards.
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13:55
Thisoldhouse.com is in the process of updating an outdated Plant Hardiness Zone Map. The Arbor Day Foundation's excellent website, arborday.org, is helping us along. Imagine our surprise when we realized that we had unlocked a veritable treasure trove of information...
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