Expert Advice on Home Improvement

Jig-A-Patch is a sprayable spackling that’s a fast and easy way of repairing drywall holes. Spray it in the hole, allow it to sit for a few minutes, then even the spackling out using the built-in putty knife. After the patch has dried, use the supplied sanding pad to sand the surface smooth. Jig-A-Patch is available at The Home Depot. Watch this video.

Lead based paint was used in many homes built before 1978 and can cause a number of health problems. An inexpensive, do-it-yourself test can be preformed to find out if your house is contaminated. Watch this video to find out how. Watch this video.

One of the best ways to save energy in your home is by caulking any cracks around windows and doors. While caulk alone can be applied to narrow cracks, gaps wider than ¼” should be filled with foam backer rod first. These flexible foam tubes are available at building supply stores in several diameters. Simply push the rod into the gap with a putty knife or painter’s tool until it is just below the surface then caulk over it. Watch this video.

Spray painting is usually confined to the outside of your home, but it can be employed inside if you take the time to cover cabinets and other items you don’t want sprayed with sheets of plastic. Spraying not only saves time but gives trim work a silky smooth finish. Watch this video.

Finishing trim molding, such as door facings and crown molding, is often easier to do before installation. Lay the molding to be finished on sawhorses to prevent drips and runs. Rather than finishing with a standard bristle brush, try using a small foam roller. Once the finish has been applied, go over it with a foam brush to smooth the finish and remove any bubbles. Watch this video.

To finish the legs on a chair or table, turn the piece of furniture over, drill a pilot hole in the bottom of each leg, and insert drywall screws to hold the legs up off the floor. Remove the screws once the finish has dried. Watch this video.

Removing the lid from a used can of paint can be hard to do since the paint in the rim acts to glue the top in place. The solution is to place a plastic grocery bag over the can before replacing the lid. The double layer of plastic allows the lid to separate easily the next time the can is opened. Watch this video.

Taping around moldings is an important step when painting a room, but the end result is often less than desired. Paint tends to seep under the tape, making it hard to remove and leaving an uneven line. Frog Tape from Shurtape Technologies has solved those problems by adding a thin layer of a superabsorbent material that reacts instantly with latex paint to prevent it from seeping underneath. Watch this video.

When painting, it can be time consuming to clean out your paint roller at the end of the day. To eliminate clean up time between coats, store the roller in an empty potato chip tube. Watch this video.

Painting neatly is always a challenge, especially when painting around glass, such as window frames or glass paneled cabinet doors. While you could apply masking tape around the edges of the glass, tape can be hard to position properly and remove. A better solution is to line the edges of the glass with strips of ordinary printer paper. Watch this video.

When using a paint tray to roll walls, cleaning it can be almost as much trouble as the painting itself. To reduce cleanup time, turn a plastic shopping bag inside out, and slip it over the roller tray. Watch this video.

While it’s easy to throw a drop cloth over the toilet bowl when painting a bathroom, covering the toilet tank poses more of a problem. Wrapping the tank with adhesive backed food wrap, such as Glad Press’n Seal, is a great way to protect the tank when painting. Once the paint has dried, simply peel the plastic off for a toilet tank free of paint. Watch this video.

If you’ve ever wondered how long you need to wait before painting after repairing a wall, DAP DryDex Spackling Compound is for you. The spackling goes on pink but turns white to indicate that it’s dry and ready to sand and paint. Watch this video.

To apply an even coat of finish on round or turned items such as a vase or pot, position a lazy susan near the edge of your workbench with the object in the center. With the lazy susan spinning, coat the item using a can of spray paint. Once it has dried, spin it again, and apply a second coat. Watch this video.

Painter’s tape is a great way to protect trim from drips and runs when painting interior walls. To keep the tape handy when you need it, make this simple belt holder from a piece of coat hanger wire. Watch this video.

The PaintMiser from Hyde Tools is a multipurpose tool that helps remove every last drop of paint from the can. It has a paint can opener on one end, straight and curved scraping surfaces that contour to the inside and outside of the can, and specially shaped edges to clean under and around the rim. Watch this video.

When caulking around a tub, start by lining both sides of the joint with masking tape. After applying a bead of caulk, run the rounded edge of an expired plastic gift card along the joint to wipe off any excess caulking. Carefully remove the tape before the caulking hardens. Watch this video.

Homeowners often grow tired of wallpaper patterns and want to change to painted walls. If the wallpaper is glued down well and not made of vinyl, you may be able to paint over it, but it is usually best to remove it. Watch this video.

Outside corners on walls take a lot of abuse and can become dented and damaged over time. To repair, use a hacksaw to cut through the damaged section of the metal corner bead, then score along the edge of the bead about 1¼” back from the corner. After prying the bead off the wall, cut a new piece of corner to fit, and nail it in place. Apply several coats of joint compound to the repair, allowing adequate drying time between each coat. Sand the joint compound smooth, and prime the repaired section before painting the wall. Watch this video.

Refinishing furniture is a great do-it-yourself project, through it can be messy. Find out how you can give new life to a worn out piece of furniture. Watch this video.

Alex Fast Dry Acrylic Latex Caulk from DAP dries to touch in just 15 minutes and can be painted in as little as 40 minutes with either latex or oil based paints. It carries a 35-year warrenty and is suitable for interior or exterior use. The mold and mildew resistant caulking can be cleaned up with soap and water and is available at The Home Depot stores. Watch this video.

Painting the outside of your house needs to be done regularly to provide protection for the siding and trim. A good paint job requires a lot of prep work, which is as important as the painting itself. Watch this video.

Since wood decks receive constant abuse from the elements, they require periodic cleaning and refinishing to protect them and keep them looking their best. Watch this video.

Patching a hole in drywall is a common home repair, but sanding the joint compound smooth before painting can create a lot of dust. Instead of sanding the patch, consider using a drywall sponge. While it takes a bit longer than sanding, a drywall sponge greatly reduces the amount of dust in the air. Watch this video.

It can be frustrating to run out of caulking when you’re almost through with the job. What you may not realize is that there’s usually a little more caulking left in the tube that the plunger on the caulking gun can’t quite push out. Watch this video.

Nowhere is the charm of an older home more apparent than in the rich look of heart pine floors. Cut from the dense heartwood near the center of virgin longleaf pine trees, heart pine is prized for its fine grain, durability, and lasting beauty. Watch this video.

After the walls have been rolled and the paint has dried, it’s time to tackle the trim. Using an angled trim brush and straight edge guide, work your way carefully around the room. Avoid drips and try to keep a straight line where the trim meets the wall. Watch this video.

Trim around the windows, doors, baseboard, and ceiling before rolling the walls. A high quality roller cover makes the work go faster and can result in a big difference in the finished job. While lambskin covers cost twice as much as those made from synthetic fibers, they hold more paint and are worth the extra cost. Choose a roller cover with ½” to ¾” nap, since they hold more paint than smooth covers. Watch this video.

Painting is one of the most popular do-it-yourself projects for homeowners. While we all want to see how the color we picked will look on the walls, it’s important to remember that the key to a good paint job starts long before you open the first can of paint. If the room isn’t prepared properly, the results may be less than you had hoped for and could lead to problems that are hard to repair. Watch this video.

A lot of people are considering painting 70’s paneling in their own house. Danny gets some tips from a professional on just how to paint that paneling and its trim. Watch this video.

Removing wallpaper is always tedious work, but knowing how to do it properly can save time and elbow grease. No matter how easy it is to remove, your wall is likely to have some dings that will need to be patched up, not to mention the mess of torn wallpaper that will have to be swept off the floor. Watch this video.

Even though the EPA banned the use of lead-based paints in 1978, there are still potential hazards of lead poisoning around your home that you should be aware of. Any older home has the possibility of containing lead paint. Watch this video.

Boxing, or mixing, paint ensures a consistent, well blended wall color. First, take a clean 5-gallon bucket and stretch a piece of fiberglass screen (or any a paint screen) over the top. Secure the screen to the bucket with duct tape. Pour two or three gallons of the paint through the screen and into the bucket. Stir well, insert a roller screen and roll right from the bucket. Watch this video.

This plumbing trick is an oldie but goodie and works well when you need to caulk around the top of a tub. Scrape out the old caulk and fill the tub with water to weigh it down. If there is any flexibility in the wooden framing beneath, the tub will be at its lowest point. Create a guide for the new caulking by applying masking tape both to the wall and the top of the tub. Fill the gap around the tub with silicone caulking, let it dry overnight and drain the water. Watch this video.

If you’re not cleaning your paint roller after every use the paint will cake up on the roller frame. To maintain a clean roller frame attach painter’s tape to the roller frame. After you finish painting, peel the tape off and discard. Loose lint will often come off in paint when using a new roller sleeve. To prevent this, mist the sleeve with water before the first use and then roll off the excess water before painting. Watch this video.

To strip paint from door hardware without the time consuming use of paint thinner, heat 1 cup of white vinegar and 1 cup of water in a pot on the stove and then pour it into an old cake pan. Let it set about 5 minutes. It’s a good idea to use pliers to take the hardware out of the pan because it may still be a little warm. Using a soft bristled brass brush, so as not to scratch the surface of the hardware, dip it in the water/vinegar solution and then scrub the hardware. This is a great alternative to purchasing new hardware. Watch this video.

One way to maximize the storage space you have in your basement or garage is to look overhead. In this case we were looking for storage space to accommodate different sized clamps. Watch this video.

For a quick and easy way to paint clay pots give them a spin! Before you begin, you’ll need to cut a wooden disk with a hole saw. Place a carriage bolt in a drill (one with a speed adjustment knob works best) and attach the wooden disk on top of the bolt. Watch this video.

If you have a sizable paint job around your home you may consider buying your paint in a 5-gallon bucket. There are definitely advantages of doing this: you won’t have so many individual cans to carry around and it’s more economical. The problem is that it is harder to mix the paint when it’s in a large container. Many homeowners will attempt to use a mechanical mixer but end up with more paint on their clothes and on the floor than anywhere else. Watch this video.

Disposing of unwanted paint can be difficult because paint is considered a hazardous waste in its liquid form (it can leech into ground water if dumped in a landfill in this form.) Here’s a tip for drying out paint to simplify disposal. Watch this video.

If you just finished your caulking job and there’s product still left in the tube, there’s a quick way to cap off the cartridge. A long nail or screw makes a nifty stopper for the open tube. Watch this video.

Here are two ways to put that scrap window screen or hardware cloth to work for you the next time you get ready to paint. Bend a piece of hardware cloth (1/4″ or 1/2″ will work) into a “U” shape that fits into the bottom of a coffee can. Watch this video.

Refinishing old furniture can be very rewarding, but it can also be quite a mess. Here are a few tips to simplify the task. To remove chemical stripper and finish without gouging the wood use a plastic putty knife with rounded edges or an old plastic kitchen spatula. Watch this video.

Cleaning brushes is one of the most dreaded aspects of painting, but you can simplify the process. Here are a couple of ideas. Drill holes through the handles of the brushes and support them over the cleaning container with a straight piece of coat hanger wire. Watch this video.

Applying stain to woodworking projects can be a messy job but this solution should help. Pour the stain into a plant spray bottle (about a dollar at most home centers) after it has been thoroughly stirred. Now you can apply the stain with a squeeze of the spray bottle trigger and simply rub it in with a rag. Watch this video.

Painting around windows has to be one of the most frustrating chores known to man. How do you paint the wood without painting the glass? The answer is, you don’t. You simply find an efficient way to clean the glass off afterward. Watch this video.

Very often painting or refinishing furniture takes huge amounts of time because you have to wait for one side of a piece to dry before you can turn it to work on another. Watch this video.

Painting is one of those chores that many homeowners take on themselves, but the mess of clean up can really tempt one to consider hiring it out. Here are a couple of tips to simplify the use and clean up of paint rollers for your next project. Watch this video.

Painting the upper reaches of a stairwell can be a difficult chore. It’s usually fairly high and there’s no good place to set the ladder. Try this. Set an extension ladder on one of the lower steps and lean the top against the wall opposite the top of the stairs. Set a small stepladder (six-foot size) on the landing at the top of the stairs. Watch this video.

Painting six panel doors with a brush is a chore, but it can be made easier by removing them from their hinges and laying them horizontally. This can be time consuming though if you have to wait for one side to dry before flipping the door over to paint the other side. Watch this video.

Spray paint is a great solution for lots of small projects around the house, but lots of folks find it difficult to use the cans more than once because the tips clog with paint. Watch this video.

Extension ladders are a must for painting on higher areas of the home. But where do you put the paint? Create your own hanging device from a wooden dowel purchased at the home center. Choose the largest dowel that will fit inside the hollow rungs of the ladder (usually 5/8″ to 1″). Watch this video.

Sanding walls or ceilings can be a tiring job without a pole sander. But if this isn’t a job you perform often, the expense of buying the tool may be hard to justify. Here’s an idea to create a substitute using an ordinary sponge mop. Watch this video.

Nail pops in drywall are a fairly common repair for homeowners. They are especially common on stairwells and walls beneath stairs. But don’t worry; it’s an easy fix. Begin by digging out the old nail or screw with a knife or pair of pliers. Watch this video.

If you’ve ever painted dormers or half gables on the outside of a house you know that resting a paint can while working on a rooftop can really be tricky. Our solution: create a triangular platform with an angle opposite the roof (a bevel gauge and level will show you what the level needs to be). Watch this video.