Better just cut your losses and cover it up. As This Old House technical editor Mark Powers demonstrates on the following pages, with a little weekend carpentry and about thirty bucks’ worth of MDF and molding, you could customize a cabinet to hide the radiator and reclaim some wasted space. Add a fresh coat of paint and a gleaming metal screen, and the venerable radiator, a living legend, will once again look as hot as it feels....
Steps: Choose a clear waterproofing finish to protect wood without adding color or hiding the wood grain. To tint the decking, use a semi-transparent stain, which adds a little color, but still allows some of the wood grain to show through. Semi-transparent finishes also provide a modicum of protection from ultraviolet light. For ultimate protection from ultraviolet light, apply a solid-body stain. It has a very high pigment content for excellent color saturation and wear-resistance, but it does conceal the wood grain....
In most cases, these bath accouterments will be mounted using wall anchors, so getting through the tile is only part of the job. You also need to drill through the substrate behind it in a way that doesn’t cause damage which would prevent the wall anchor from working. Steps for Drilling Through Tile Step 1: Figure out what kind of tile you have In general, there are three kinds of tile:...
Steps for Building an Art Supply Organizer You can build it using scrap wood and is easy enough for kids to get involved in, too. 1. Size the Pieces Using a miter saw and the cut list provided, cut the 1x6 board and 1x4 boards to length. Mark the center point along the top edge of each 1x6 end. From the center point, clip the top corners of each board at a 45-degree miter to create the “point” of each pencil....
Where to Start: TOH mason Mark McCullough: This kind of repair is fairly straightforward, but I would recommend that you rent a shrouded grinder to cut into the old mortar and a tool triggered vacuum that works with the grinder to collect the dust it generates. The work will go faster, and you’ll be better protected against breathing in the silica in the mortar. Plug the grinder into the vacuum, and attach the vacuum hose to the grinder’s dust port....
Approaches to repairing chipped concrete steps vary—it all depends on how big and badly damaged the area is. A small chip (less than ½ inch deep) can be fixed simply with a few tools, but larger missing chunks of concrete require a bit more know-how. No matter how big or small your repair job is, though, we’ve detailed the steps to guide you below. What You Need to Know About Fixing Concrete Steps...
Of course, you could call an HVAC technician for an emergency house call but considering that others invariably have the same problem, you may not get help for quite some time. To avoid this uncomfortable scenario, it’s a good idea to perform some annual furnace maintenance in advance of winter. Here’s how. Start By Making Sure You Have a Clean Filter Plenty of dust can collect on the furnace’s filter during use, and one of the easiest ways to ensure your system’s optimal performance is to replace the filter....
Installing a channel drain Tools: If you have a lot of driveway to remove, consider renting a walk behind concrete saw.
Tile: 3/4-inch straight-profile mosaic in Clay by Ann Sacks, from $35 per square foot Grout: TruColor premixed grout in Alabaster by Bostik, about $76 per 9-pound bucket How-to Install a Glass Mosaic Tile Backsplash Project Timeline Friday: Prep the wall, apply the thinset, and install the tile. Saturday: Wait for the thinset to cure for a full 48 hours. Do not touch or clean the tiles during this time. Sunday: Clean the tile, grout the joints, and caulk the perimeter....
Installing carpet tiles is easy, and since it’s a DIY-friendly job, it’s also affordable. Each tile is individually replaceable, making them ideal for houses with children and pets, where spills and accidents are likely to occur. What is Carpet Tile? Carpet tiles aren’t necessarily new, but their growth in popularity has many folks wondering what they are. Traditionally used in commercial environments because they’re easy to replace, carpet tiles are small pieces of carpet, usually between 18 and 24 inches square....
Hydronic radiant is typically a job for a pro, but there is a way you can DIY part of it. The key is to use a specially engineered foam panel from Schluter Systems called Bekotec. You lay the panels directly on the floor, press-fit PEX tubing into them, and add a thin layer of specially mixed concrete—five parts sand to one part portland cement. The panels provide a modest thermal break (R3), so you don’t have to install an extra layer of insulation....
How To Shingle a Shed Roof Keep in mind that you’ll have to repeat these steps for both sides of gabled roofs. Resources Tom replaced the roof shingles with GAF Royal Sovereign Charcoal Algae Resistant 3-Tab Roofing Shingles. He also added GAF FeltBuster 1000 sq. ft. Synthetic Roofing Underlayment Roll. GAF manufactures both of these products. Find roofing supplies at The Home Depot. Shopping list Plywood for damaged sheathing Drip edge Roofing underlayment Staples Nails Roofing shingles Scaffold planks Pencil Safety glasses...
Steps for Insulating Window Weight Pockets Materials Utility knife How to Insulate HVAC Ductwork
Read This Before You Insulate Your Attic It comes in a variety of different R-values depending on where you are in the country and how much insulation you need, and it can come either faced or unfaced. Tom recommends getting unfaced insulation, but if it’s only available faced, you can peel the label off and use it. Tom also discusses using cellulose insulation or using rigid foam insulation over floorboards to allow for storage and added insulation in an attic....
Steps for Painting a Radiator Materials Paint sprayer How to Build a Radiator Cover
