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Why Every DIYer Needs a Thickness Planer

TOOLS | POWER TOOLS

Thickness Planer

The thickness planer is not the most versatile tool in your arsenal. In fact, it really only does one thing: it planes things to a consistent thickness, as its name suggests. It’s definitely not a tool you wanna buy before a compound miter saw, or even a table saw. But once you’ve learned what it can do, or get one into your garage and basement, you’ll wonder, “How did I ever do without this?”

Read any fine woodworking handbook or magazine, and it’ll extol the virtues of the thickness planer as a way to thicken wood stock so that it possesses an even height throughout its length. They’ll note that it does not flatten stock nor remove the natural warping or twisting along its length—that’s the job of the jointer. This means two things: that the consistent thickness allows you to have perfectly matched, airtight joints across a project, and that you can save money by buying less expensive rough-cut lumber and planing off the surface at home (instead of paying the lumber mill to do that work for you).

And that’s all well and good for woodworkers building custom furniture or doing fine detail work, but what does it mean for the average weekend warrior interested in learning to do things themselves? Why, plenty, of course.

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Swimming Pools: Pump Woes

WATER FEATURES | MAINTENANCE
Pool Remodeling

Cipriano Landscape Design

Living in the northeast and being a “pool-free” homeowner, I rarely think about the luxury enjoyed by countless homeowners who are pool-endowed, particularly in the South and West. But a recent trip to Arizona made me realize that even the swimming pool—a seemingly earth-friendly body of H2O in oval-, square-, rectangular-, and kidney bean-shaped designs—is still an energy user and, in some instances, abuser.

According to an article in The Arizona Republic, the state legislature recently passed new energy-efficient standards for residential swimming pool pumps and portable electric spas. (California and many other states have passed similar regulations.) While it doesn’t affect pumps currently in use, it does prohibit the installation of single-speed pumps in new pool construction, requiring instead dual-, multiple- and variable-speed pumps with motors 1 horsepower or better. And for very good reason.

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DIYers Best/Worst Remodeling Discoveries

REMODELING

That’s what I asked my Twitter followers a couple of weeks ago. It’s natural to expect that your renovation’s happiest surprise will arrive upon the project’s completion; at the moment when your lingering doubts disappear and your tired optimism suddenly transforms into a feeling of proud delight.  However, it’s during the process itself, not after it’s over, that many homeowners discover the biggest renovation surprises of all.

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Today’s Toile: Artisans Retool a Classic Fabric

WALLPAPER
Pierre Frey's "Les Travaux de la Manufacture" Toile

Pierre Frey's "Les Travaux de la Manufacture" Toile

Though the word “toiles” conjures up visions of fabric dotted with romantic scenes of maidens, cherubs, pagodas, and military or fabled heroes, the actual translation is simply “cloth.” Toiles du Jouy originally referred to linen or cotton cloth manufactured in the French town of Jouy-en-Josas beginning in the 1760s. Located close to Versailles, the Oberkampf factory manufactured toiles for the royals. Deemed Manufacture Royale by Louis XVI and Legion of Honor by Napoleon, Oberkampf toiles were extremely popular.

In The Decoration of Houses (1897), 19th-century tastemaker and co-author Edith Wharton notes the 18th-century French transition from heavy dust-collecting silk brocades to washable, simpler toiles. She describes the pattern: “Absorbing the spirit of Chinese designs, the French designer blent mandarins and pagodas with Italian grottoes… and French landscapes.” She continues, “The little scenes were either connected by some decorative arabesque, or so designed that by their outline they formed a recurring pattern.” Toiles were often printed in one color on a neutral ground, but not exclusively.

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  • Painting >
  • Pantone: The 20th Century in Color

Pantone: The 20th Century in Color

COLOR

While I’d always been interested in history, it wasn’t until I got to college that I fell in love with it. A special course on the 20th century actually led me to make the subject my second major.

That course was taught by one of the top professors at the university I attended. What made him different was that he didn’t focus on dates, names, or places. Those were all essential to learn, but even more important, the professor told us, was to see the big picture. To trace how different things came together to push movements and people forward. To understand where we’re at today, you’ve got to understand the ways in which we’ve evolved.

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Viva La Outdoor Fireplace

Outdoor Fireplace

Photo: Debbie Sklar

It’s January and, while some of the country is buried in snow, people in more moderate climates are still enjoying the great outdoors (like we are in Southern California). The warm and sunny days still turn into chilly nights, however, making amenities like an outdoor fireplace both desirable and popular.

In fact, a good majority of homes here have some form of outdoor fireplace, from fire pits and Chimineas—Mexican-inspired, freestanding fireplaces made in clay, ceramic, and metal—to more extravagant masonry installations.

Last summer, my parents decided to jump on the outdoor fireplace bandwagon and had one built. It was my mother who actually designed the “Montana-Dunes” stucco fireplace (pictured above), complete with handpicked “wild horse” stone bricks that she purchased by the pallet from a nearby supplier. It has a tall chimney, stone mantle, and to support logs for burning, it features a grouping of desert-colored fire rocks instead of a standard grate. A large metal Gecko graces the front.

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  • Major Systems >
  • Tankless Hot Water Heaters: Should I or Shouldn’t I?

Tankless Hot Water Heaters: Should I or Shouldn’t I?

PLUMBING | WATER HEATERS
Rinnai Tankless Water Heater

Rinnai Tankless Hot Water Heater

Whether you are building a new home or retrofiiting an older one (like me), take time to evaluate the hot water system.  After all, estimates report that as much as 30% of a home’s energy budget is consumed by heating water.

My new “old house” came complete with an old, rusted gas, tank hot water heater in the attic that was dying…well, dead.  The question was not “should it be replaced?” but rather “should it be replaced with a similar model or a new tankless system?”

A traditional water heater continuously heats water in the tank regardless of whether it is being used.  By comparison, the newer tankless designs heat water only when there is demand for it.  Less stored water to heat…less cost.  And, let’s not forget, more compact and wall-mounted designs.

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On Master Craftsmen

PEOPLE & PLACES

Bob Ryley

Throughout the years, I’ve been lucky enough to meet scores of talented, experienced contractors and craftsmen—proud workers committed to excellence. A couple stand out for me: Norm Abram from “This Old House” and Bob Ryley, the builder I worked with on “Home Again”. I think individuals who excel in their trade— plumbing, roofing, masonry, whatever—usually have a few traits in common. Why have I been thinking about this stuff? The following question reached me through Just Ask Bob: “You’ve worked with some great contractors. What qualities do excellent tradesmen share?” View my response below…

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  • Painting >
  • Eve Ashcraft’s “The Right Color”

Eve Ashcraft’s “The Right Color”

PAINT | COLOR

Eve Ashcraft The Right ColorIf you’re anything like me, standing in front of a sea of paint colors at the local home center can be an angst-ridden experience.  Sure, I can spot colors that I like, and even whittle them down to the few that work best with the furnishings and materials in the room.  But when it comes to settling on the right hue, shade and intensity— and how it will read in natural and artificial light (… and, in what type of artificial light: LED, CFL, or incandescent?)—I can actually start to feel beads of sweat forming on my brow.

That’s why color experts like Eve Ashcraft are held in such high regard and why her new book, The Right Color—Finding the Perfect Palette for Every Room in your Home (Artisan Books; Copyright 2011; Hardcover $29.95), is a welcome addition to the paint/color library.  Having worked with Martha Stewart on two of her paint collections and countless corporate and personal clients (one even asking her advice on the right shade for his porcelain veneers), Ashcraft is considered one of the foremost authorities on color today.  And lest you think the book is too academic or high-brow for the average consumer, think again.

In The Right Color Ashcraft provides an inspiration-packed, consumer-friendly approach to working with color; from the basics of color theory to insights on how best to use color to define space, enhance light, and accentuate ceilings, trim, furnishings and art.  She dispels color myths in “Breaking the Color Rules” and offers coordinated palettes for every room of the house, from entry rooms to powder rooms, including examples of her own personal case studies.  In addition to helping readers choose the right colors for individual rooms, she also shares her expertise on creating colors that flow from room to room.  In short, everything you need to know to think like the pro herself.

For an excerpt from the book, check out this slide show featuring Eve Ashcraft’s 6 Inspirations for Choosing a Color Palette.  And be sure to look for Ashcraft’s new collection of paints—Eve Ashcraft Color: The Essential Palette—manufactured by Fine Paints of Europe.

Wood Paneling: Before and After

WALLS | TRIM & MOLDING

Paneled Library New York City BrownstoneHere’s a before-and-after worth noting. The wood wall paneling inside an 1890s NYC brownstone was severely damaged nearly a century after its installation—by a guy with a sandblaster. What to do?

The apartment’s interior features a beautiful Jacobean ceiling, parquet oak floors, and floor-to-ceiling paneling of quarter-sawn oak. The paneled walls had probably been painted and left that way, until someone realized there was beautiful wood under the paint and chose to use a sandblaster. Sadly, that someone didn’t realize how much damage would result from using such a drastic method of paint removal. All the wood paneling now has a severely distressed grain which, even when stained and varnished, resembles fir plywood.

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