Don’t wreck a good pair of scissors trying to cut metal; you need a good pair of tin snips.
Photo: mig-welding.co.uk
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Listen to BOB VILA ON TIN SNIPS, or read the text below:
It’s a ‘staple’ in every tool and craft kit, it can save you lots of time banging tacks or nails, and it can get into some tight spots your hammer can’t: I give you the humble staple gun.
Photo: toolking.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON STAPLE GUNS, or read the text below:
The tool we think of as pliers only evolved from “tongs” fairly recently, but it’s hard to imagine life without a variety of them in the old toolbox.
Photo: toolking.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON PLIERS, or read the text below:
We hitched along with the Renovation Road Trip, watched pumpkins catapult into the sky, and fawned over an innovative crop of designer smoke detectors (good thing, October is Fire Safety Month). Yes, it’s been a week packed with favorite posts. We’ve rounded up the five not to miss.
1. Renovation Road Trip: A New Backsplash at Turtle House
Photo: Meryl Rose Philips
Meryl and Chris of Picardy Project arrive at the next stop on their Renovation Road Trip, where they help fellow do-it-yourselfers install a new faux stone backsplash.
2. 6 Pumpkin Festivals Not to Miss
Photo: punkinchunkin.com
Some autumn celebrations—this “Punkin Chunkin” pumpkin catapulting contest, for example—take Halloween festivities to the next level.
3. Get Hooked: 10 Favorite Wall Storage Ideas
Photo: etsy.com
For simple but effective storage, you can’t go wrong with the wall hook. Take a look at top design styles, including some new takes on this utilitarian standby.
4. Smoke Detectors for the Design Set
Photo: neo-utility.com
Why shouldn’t this safety product also be stylish? The long arm of design reaches new territory with the advent of designer smoke alarms.
5. 10 Design Mistakes Not to Make in Your Kitchen
No matter the differences in our lifestyles, so many of our activities take place in the kitchen. Bob Vila Nation contributor Freshome wants to make sure you make the best with what you’ve got!
For more top content this week, consider:
5 Plants to Divide in Fall
How To: Make a Scarecrow
Renovation Road Trip: Installing Shelves with Russet St. Reno
Photo: Meryl Rose Philips
On the penultimate stop of our Renovation Road Trip we met up with Sara and Shaun, the fun and funny couple behind Russet Street Reno. They have such a great house, especially the kitchen, where they had one upgrade in mind, which they feared could result in disaster. So they enlisted our help to install a pair of oak shelves beside their refrigerator.
The challenge was to install the oak brackets so that each would be spaced evenly from the adjacent wall. At the same time, the shelves would need sufficient strength to be useful as storage. The added challenge? Going through drywall to install the top shelf, then through tile to put up the bottom.
If you’re working on a remodeling project that calls for removing old woodwork, here are some tricks from the pros to keep it intact so you can reuse it.
Photo: shaggybevo.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON REMOVING OLD WOODWORK, or read the text below:
The third stop in our Renovation Road Trip brought us to Michigan, where we met the wonderful Kit from DIYdiva. Since she DIYs solo most days, Kit had lined up a few different projects for us that would have been tough, if not impossible, for anyone to handle on her own. In the end, however, it was a project requiring know-how, not manpower, that we were able to help out most with.
Two 1/2″ copper supply lines needed to be capped after removing the Jacuzzi tub from her bath.
Photo: Meryl Rose Philips
Photo: Meryl Rose Philips
Photo: Meryl Rose Philips
The existing gate valves were leaking a drop of water every few seconds. Sometimes this happens during the soldering process if the washer deforms. Other times the washer simply degrades with age. This wasn’t an emergency, but it wasn’t good either.
While you might consider laying tile yourself for moneysaving reasons, remember that the substrate, or what the tile is installed on top of, is just as important as the tile itself. A flexing floor or a wall that’s not true to plane can lead to broken tiles and failed grout.
Photo: ehow.com
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Listen to BOB VILA ON LAYING TILE, or read the text below:
Today is the start of the last and FINAL WEEK in our month-long Bob Vila Gladiator®/GarageWorks “Better Garage” Give-Away.
ENTER TODAY and every day this week to be eligible to win a Gladiator® Jumbo GearBox, valued at $494.99 (MSRP).
(Entry period for WEEK 4 is from 12:00 a.m. EST Thursday, October 25, 2012 until midnight EST Thursday, November 1, 2012. See Official Rules below.)
Photo: gladiatorgarageworks.com
Standing 6 feet tall and 24 inches deep, the Gladiator® Jumbo GearBox offers ample space no matter your organizational needs. With three full-width shelves and heavy-duty, steel-welded construction, the Jumbo Gearbox meets any storage challenge with ease. Adjustable leveler legs allow the cabinet to rest securely on uneven floors, while the included Wall Bracket Kit gives you the option to wall-mount the unit and free up floor space below. To top it off, locking tread doors ensure a maximum level of security for your gear.
Make sure to ENTER Bob Vila’s Gladiator®/GarageWorks “Better Garage” Give-Away every day to boost your odds of winning—and remember, this is your last week to enter!
To learn more about the complete line of products from Gladiator®/GarageWorks, click here.
The “Bob Vila’s Gladiator®/GarageWorks ‘Better Garage’ Give-Away” sweepstakes is open only to permanent legal U.S. residents of the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia; residents of Alaska and Hawaii are not eligible. Void in all other geographic locations. No purchase necessary. Contest Period runs from 12:00 a.m. (EST) Monday, October 1, 2012 through midnight (ET) Monday, November 1, 2012. One entry per household per day on BobVila.com. Alternative means of entry for Drawing is available by faxing your name and address to 508-437-8486 during the applicable Entry Period. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. See Official Rules.
Overgrown insect or smoke detector? Surprisingly, both.
The long arm of design reaches new territory with the advent of designer smoke alarms. Why shouldn’t this safety product also be stylish (as long as code is met)? Forward thinking designers in Finland and the Netherlands have applied their talents in the art of beautifying the functional.
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