Budget DIY 2009

54

Venetian plaster wa[[s

7t

Quick

58

Space-saving wa[[ niche

72

Repair a drippy shower

61

Mud-busting boot scraper

73

Quiet a noisy fan

62

Regrout a shower

74

Garage ceit'ing storage

66

Get a weed-free yard

Pocket hote jig Versatite vise Palm-sized screwdriver packs a punch Back pocket square

Dual-use wire stripper Single-squeeze cautk gun

Best rolter cleaner ever Stripped screw remover

Multiuse tool that reatty works Three tools

in

tool

Big-grip spring ctamps

80

Make over a room

82

Panel a wa[[

87

Transform a room with painted rectangles

9 ways to save etectricity

103

Save $150 with

Cut

10-use paint

one

98

t42

fix for dirty dryer vents

with trim

in one weekend

104

90

Super-si mpte box shelves

93

Steppingstone path

94

Paint your kitchen cabinets

97

Under-bed ro[[-out

Cover leaky windows

CFLs

in one day

106

Textured walts

110

Cast a concrete fountain

115

Ti[e your backsplash

728

Summer sanctuary

133

Insta[[ kitchen cabinet crown molding Install open basket units

your home insurance bi[[

118

Bathroom cabinet

122

Custom closet organizer

134 Elegant and easy bookcase 138 Attractive barbecue cart 747 Wallpaper one watl

6 10 77

10 simple cabinet repairs Super-simpte DVD hotder Scum-proof your shower doors Replace a broken dryer vent cap

12

Speed-ctean for cheap

13

Fix seams in watlpaper Clean chandetiers quickty Better traction on concrete

74

Stabitize a wobbl"y bookcase

75

Repair smatt holes in walts Quick fix for a wobbly table leg

76

Patch watls with aluminum

77

Balance a ceiting fan Reclaim crusty paint

18

Cautk cracked concrete

t9

Ftoor-friendty feet for furniture Repair otd extensjon cords

SPECIAL SECTION:

1O-minute plumbing fixes

20

Unclog a tub drain without chemica[s

27 22

Replace a [eaky water valve Fast

fix for a slow-filting

washer

23 24

Qujet ctanking pipes Fix a slow-running faucet Keep your washing machine

fresh A trick for splicing drainpipe

in plastic

Replace worn-out drawer slides Ifyou find that

slides are bent, rollers are broken or rollers

won't

turn even after lubricating, replacement is the best solution. To keep the project simple, buy new slides that are identical (or almost identical) to the old ones. That way, replacement is an easy matter of unscrewing the old and screwing on the new. Remove a drawer track and a cabinet track and take them shopping with you. Whether you have pairs of side-mounted slides (as shown here) or single, center-mount slides, there's a good chance you'll find very similar slides at a home center for $5 to $15 per drawer.

If you can't find them, check with a cabinet materiais supplier (in the yellow pages under "Cabinets, Equipment and Supplies").

Lubricate sticking drawers A few minutes of cleaning and lubricating can make drawer slides glide almost like new. Start by removing the drawers so you can inspect the

pulling them all the way out, then either lifting or lowering the front of the drawer until the wheels come out of the track. Wipe the tracks clean and coat them with a light spray lubrislides. You can remove most drawers by

cant. Also lubricate the rollers and make sure they spin easily.

lrff:labroken Don't put up with corner

a

g

bro

joint on a drawer

Fix it before the whole drawer comes apart. Remove the drawer

and then remove the drawer front

from the drawer box if possible. Most

fronts are fastened by a couple of screws

inside the box. Wood glue will make a strong repair if there's wood-towood contact at the joint. If

joint

is

coated, use epoxy instead

of

the wood at the wood glue.

PROJECTS UNDER $1

O

't$

Remove naits,

-*. staples or screws from the loose joint and scrape away old glue with a utitity knife.

!\" Predritl 1/16-in. holes for nails, apply wood glue to the joint s-, and naiI it together with 1-1/2-in. finish nails.

Glue

Fill stripped screw holes

loose knobs Any handle or knob that

When cabinet doors, catches or drawer slides aren,t working right, first make sure the screws are tight. If a screw turns but

comes loose once is likely

to come loose Put

a

again. permanent stop

doesn't tighten, the screw hole is stripped. Here's a quick remedy:

Remove the screw and hard-

to this problem

ware. Dip toothpicks in glue, jam as many as you can into the

with a tiny drop of

thread adhesive

hole and break them off. Either

like Loctite (about

flat or round toothpicks will

$4 at home cen-

work. If you don't have tooth-

Don'tworry; if you want to replace your hardters).

picks handy, shave splinters off

ware sometime in the future, the knobs will still come off with

don't have to wait for the glue to dry or drill new screw holes; just go ahead and reinstall the hardware by driving screws right into the toothpicks.

a screwdriver.

Clean a yucky cutting board

Touch up nicks and scratches

il*irilHif:i":;:#'"$

wipe off the excess with a rag. But beware: Scratches can absorb lots of stain and turn darker than the surrounding finish. So start

with a marker that's lighter than your cabinet finish and then switch to a darker shade if

a

wood scrap with a utility knife. Immediately wipe away glue drips with a damp cloth. You

If you love the convenience of your pullout wooden cutting board but don't use it itk stained and grungy, try this chef-approved, two-step process. Simply scour the board with a lemon and a pile of kosher salt, then apply mineral oil. The because

coarse kosher salt is an excellent abrasive, and the citric acid kills bacteria. when the stains are gone, rinse the board with water and let it dry. Then appry mineral oil to the board. Mineral oil helps prevent the wood from absorbing stains.

needed. For deeper scratches, use a filler pencil, which fills and colors the scratch. If the cabinet finish is dingy overall and has lots of scratches, consider a wipe-on product like Old English Scratch Coat (96 at home centers). These products can darken the finish slightly, so you have to apply them to all your cabinets.

C L

nppty mineral oit to the board and wipe off the excess. After a few hours, apply a second coat.

Buyer's guide the cabinet hardware and products mentioned here are available at home centers and hardware stores. For a targer setection of hinges, catches and drawer stides, check out Woodworker's Hardware at wwhirdware.com,

AIL

[800) 383-01 30.

1O

SII/PLE CABINET

REPAIRS

Super-simple

DVD

holder his clever shelf holds DVDs, CDs or even small books. You can make yours with as many shelves as you like simply by changing the length of the trunk. To get started, cut the trunk and shelves to length. Bevel one end of each shelf by tilting your miter saw or table saw blade to 5 degrees. Mark the notches in the shelves and trunk (Photos I and 2). Measuring from the top ofthe trunk, center the notches at 8-112, 11.-112, 17-114,20-114,26-114and.29 in. Cut the notches

{ I

Set your bevel gauge at 5 degrees using the miter gauge and fence of your table saw.

using a 5-degree guide block and a pull saw (available at home centers for $17.50). Assemble the shelf (Photo 3). Screw metal straps to the back of the trunk, leaving one screw hole exposed so you can screw the DVD holder to the wall. 1-5l8" SCREW TRUNK 314" x5-112" x34"

I

{ Ef