On this week’s show, we’re sharing some practical tips, plus some information on a new and trendy material for driveways.
Considering a Rubber Driveway
Not many companies install rubber driveways, but that could change in the near future. In the U.S. alone, 280 million tires are disposed of every year, and many people are searching for ways to recycle them.
Rubber driveways are durable, almost maintenance-free and slip-resistant. The average cost of poured-in-place rubber is about $7-15 per square foot, according to HomeAdvisor.com. For comparison, concrete is about $1-2 per square foot and asphalt is $2-5. Because of the recycled materials, rubber driveways lose color more quickly and require more frequent resurfacing. Consult with a contractor to see what options are available.
Skip to [1:05:41] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Radio Show.
How to Test to See if a Fluorescent Bulb is Good
While LED lights are steadily replacing fluorescent bulbs, there are still millions of them out there. In fact, fluorescent bulbs are a fixture in many office buildings, garages and workshops.
But what if you have a ton of bulbs in storage, and you don’t want to waste time installing one after the other just to find out if the bulb is still good?
Well, there is a solution for that!
To see if a fluorescent bulb is still good, you’ll need a multitester (also known as a multimeter or volt/ohmmeter), which measures electrical resistance. You can buy one at the hardware store or home center.
Rotate the tester’s knob over to the ohm setting, take the two probes on the end of the wire and touch them to the two metal prongs on the end of the fluorescent bulb. Two ohms or higher means the bulb is still good.
If you see a black patch on the bulb’s filament or the multimeter registers no ohms, this means the bulb is no longer working.
Skip to [35:41] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Radio Show.
Tip for Painting Doors
Painting a door in your home can be difficult for a novice do-it-yourselfer, so longtime Today’s Homeowner Radio Show listener Mark, from Palatka, Fla., shared this tip:
You’ll need three 3-inch screws. Screw one screw into the top of the door, at the center, about an inch and a half deep.
Then, on the bottom of the door, screw the two other screws near the outside edge, leaving about an inch-and-a-half exposed.
Next, put the door on your sawhorses using the screws to lift it. Then, watch how fast you’ll paint a door without waiting for one side to dry!
Because you can paint one side of the door, grab the two outer screws, then rotate the door to paint the other side.
You can do this with exterior or interior doors.
Try it, and tell us how it goes.
Skip to [26:29] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Radio Show.
Save a Glove, Pinch a Penny
Because rubber gloves are so cheap, it’s easy to replace them. However, if you’re looking to pinch some pennies, here’s a tip to save a pair. Simply buy a tube of adhesive to patch the hole.
Turn the glove inside out, clean the area around the hole with rubbing alcohol, and wait for it to dry. Then spread the adhesive on and beyond the hole by about a half-inch. If that fails, you will need to replace the gloves.
Skip to [14:55] for the full segment on the Today’s Homeowner Radio Show.
Also on this episode:
- Best Base for a Plastic Shed
- Ways to Insulate a Cinderblock Garage
- Installing Laminate Flooring and Baseboards
- Get Granite Countertops without the Sticker Shock
 | This Fast-Drying Paint is Scuff-Resistant and Stain Repelling. Learn more>> |
Other Products and Links Mentioned
Further Reading
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