Carpentry

Kitchen cabinet hardware not only adds functionality to your cabinets but can add a beautiful design that gives elegance to your kitchen. The knobs, pulls and handles can match your other metals...

Cutting boards are essential in the kitchen. These useful items come as separate tables, as slide outs inside of cabinets, as portable surfaces and in a wide variety of materials. The most...

Remove and reuse existing interior wood trim for a number of reasons. Reusing the wood trim, instead of buying it new, shaves a lot of money off the budget for the entire project. Retaining the...

Nothing puts a kink in a project like a broken screw. In some cases, the piece being worked on is expendable and can be easily replaced with a new piece; however, this is not always the case....

Before you commit to pouring concrete in your slab forms, you need to make sure that the slab is in "square." Being "in square" means that all corners are at 90-degree angles. No matter what shape...

A wood jig helps to control the movement of a power tool. There are a variety of jig shapes, depending on your woodworking requirements, but there a few basic wood jigs that will assist you in...

Most homeowners who are lucky enough to have vinyl siding find that sooner or later something needs to be attached into the siding or trim. Christmas lights are a great example or maybe a hanging...

Once your concrete slab is poured, you are ready to stud the concrete. Studding the concrete is a cool way of saying "attach the sill plate for your walls." Sill plates are the bottom run of wood...

Kitchen drawers are not very complicated structures. They are aggravating, however, when they don't work correctly. This happens for a number of reasons. The metal ledge on which a drawer is often...

A drill press is a stationary drill that is secured by bolts to a workbench, floor or stand. It has five parts, including a base, table, column, spindle and drill head.

The easiest way to finish interior wood trim is to do so before you hang it. Painting or staining small pieces of wood is much easier when they are sitting on a flat surface, like a floor, than...

Restoring interior wood trim is a great way to save money by not having to go out and buy new trim. If you have an older home, some of the wood used from the trim back when the house was built is...

A personal workshop provides an area for you to fix and build anything you think you can. A crucial tool in a workshop is a vise. A mounted bench vise will help you clamp items in position so you...

Many people find woodworking projects to be relaxing and rewarding. From building doll houses and toy animals to wood boxes, all woodworking projects have one thing in common---wood glue. Also...

Cedar shake siding can provide an attractive and durable look for a house. This low-density, lightweight softwood weathers and changes color naturally, and it can remain untreated. But homeowners...

Screws can often be tricky to use. In many materials, a screw seems strong enough to hold, but the bond weakens in time, creating damage to the object and making it useless. Drywall is one of the...

When termites swarm, it means they are leaving a nearby infestation to branch out and start another colony. One of the most disturbing things about swarmer termites is how overwhelming a swarm...

Nothing is worse than a stripped screw or hole. Furniture and anything else breaks down much more quickly with loose screws. Not only does a loose screw provide a weaker piece of furniture, it...

Replacing cabinet hardware is one of the quickest and most cost effective ways to give old cabinets new life. A burst of color or a change in attitude is just around the corner with the plethora...

Whether it's been pulled out by gravity or a great tug or it's become stripped from too much retightening, repairing a screw that's lost its grip in wood is an easy fix. In most cases the repair...

Door molding provides a decorative frame to a door and conceals the join between the door and the wall, according to "Collins Complete DIY Manual" (Reference 1). Moldings have no load bearing...

When performing home renovations, you might give your screws or hinges a once over with a paint brush. Perhaps it is to conceal the screw heads, or maybe you did it accidentally. Once the paint...

A router is a very versatile tool. It can be used for decorating shelf edges, shaping rails and stiles for cabinet doors, cutting dadoes or even jointing wood in a pinch. If you've used one for...

Stair stringers are the backbone of the staircase. Stringers are the part of the staircase that supports the treads and risers. Stair stringers are notched or housed. Notched stringers are...

Oak trim is an excellent way to update a home. It is reasonably inexpensive. Oak is a hardwood that will last a long time and can be stained or painted in numerous colors. Painting oak kind of...

A bench drill press, also known as a pedestal drill or pillar drill, is a drill that is secured on a stand or workbench, or affixed to the floor for stability.

Exterior storm shutters are installed on hinges and can be open and closed, depending on impending storm conditions. Also called hurricane shutters, they can protect your home's windows from...

Pocket doors allow you to open and close an entry to a room without compromising space. The pocket door slides into and out of a wall -- or pocket -- that is already in place. The average...

Many times the budget for a home remodeling project just does not allow for purchasing all brand new items. When working with doors, you may decide that the hardware needs to be salvaged and...

The electric wiring in most of today's homes is designed to serve in dry interior environments. While the plastic sheathing around the hot and neutral wires in typical romex wiring does act to...

Protect wood by applying a clear-coat sealant, especially if the wood resides outside, such as decking or outdoor patio furniture. A clear water-repellent sealer will waterproof your wood and...

Most of the time, when you need to keep a door shut, it is as simple as turning a deadbolt, twisting a lock or using a door chain. When a door needs to be held shut, but locking the door is not an...

Storing band saw blades can be awkward due to their shape and size. Rolling or coiling the blade makes it compact--much easier to put away in storage. With practice, rolling the blade takes only a...

Many homeowners often assume that they will need a professional paver to reseal and repair their driveway; however, in many cases, homeowners will be able to repair damage on their own. Many...

Since its introduction in 1913, Clorox Bleach has grown from a popular household laundry aid to being tagged "the miracle bottle" because of its many other uses--from sanitizing Rover's dog bowl...

An exterior door is usually an expensive item and careful thought should be given before you replace it. If you have a door that is showing signs of age, wear and tear, you may want to consider...

Many types of replacement doors are available for your home at your local home improvement center. You may want to purchase an energy-efficient exterior door to lower your utility bills, or...

Dadoes are an ideal way to attach shelves in cabinets or bookcases. They provide strength and stability to the project and help reduce warping when using solid wood for shelving. The most common...

Installing a new laminate counter top can change the look of your kitchen. Most of the job is straightforward and easy to do. However, when you are faced with the task of cutting a large hole in...

If you're new to woodworking, using a table saw with one blade may be intimidating enough. The thought of stacking several blades side by side and flipping the switch could be terrifying. It...

Some kitchens are designed with counters that do not run all the way to the wall. Whether this is part of a purposeful design, allowing for access to a garbage can or other items, or because the...

Nail holes is mouldings around doors and windows can prove unsightly. Repair them quickly and easily using a few supplies readily available at most home improvement stores. The repair itself...

A DeWalt nail gun is a great way to save time on home improvement projects, but only if it is working. Learning how to troubleshoot your DeWalt nail gun can save you the time and effort of...

I remember the first time my father let me open his huge toolbox in the basement. He lifted the top tray out and I was amazed by the array of hammers he had hidden in there. There were small...

Dado sets (or jumps) are groups of circular saw blades that stack together to cut wide slots in wood. This is often done to make joints for shelves, but dado sets are useful for lots of other...

Dado saw blades are used to cut wide slots in wood, typically the slots are such that you can slide another board into it to create a joint. If you are going to use a dado set, a Freud dado set is...

Changing the laminate on your kitchen or bathroom countertops can go a long way toward updating and improving the appearance of these rooms. Laminates come in a wide variety of colors, textures,...

Baseboard moldings run along the bottom of the wall. With hard surfaced floors such as hardwood, tile, linoleum or stone, the baseboard molding will usually be finished with a quarter round...

Navigating your way through the world of power tools can be a difficult task. For the do-it-yourselfer, choosing the saw that fits your specific needs can be confusing and frustrating. A number of...

Builders prefer concrete block for quickly built, solid walls that often require no additional finish. Tedious trowel work required to "point" smooth lines of mortar between stacked blocks can...