Hour 1
Rotten Wood Fix
Carl from Arizona has a small area of wood rot on the outside of his home. He has seen several videos describing fixes from using auto body filler to replacing the wood. He wants to know what repair makes the most sense for him. The most important thing to know when repairing rotten wood is whether the damaged component serves a structural purpose or is simply decorative. If it supports weight of any kind, it should be replaced. If not, it can be repaired with auto body filler, often called Bondo*.
Leaf Raking Tips
This time of year, the leaf raking chores pick up. If you don’t really enjoy raking leaves, these tips will simplify and speed up the process.
- Instead of scooping up a hand-full of leaves at a time, try raking them onto a tarp so you can move one massive pile of leaves all at once.
- To bag your leaves, use a smaller piece of tarp to make a leaf funnel. Tape a couple of 3-foot dowels to each end so you can scoop up the leaves and funnel them into the bag.
- If you don’t have a helper to hold that bag, put it in a garbage can and use an old bicycle inner tube like a giant rubber band to secure the bag around the top of the can.
- To make removing the bag from the can easier, drill several half-inch holes in the sides and bottom of the can to prevent creating a vacuum as the bag fills up.
Hour 2
Sinking Step Solution
Kim from Michigan has a set of steps that are pulling away from the foundation wall on the house. The soil under the steps is sand and the gap at the top is about 3 inches and she wants to know if she can fill it to keep ice and snow from getting into the gap making it worse.
With a gap as big as 3 inches, the better solution for this problem is to either jack up the front of the steps to eliminate the gap altogether. If that doesn’t work, you may have to find a contractor who can completely remove the existing steps and replace them with a new set.
Dryer Vent Booster
A listener wants to know if there is a solution to his poorly functioning clothes dryer vent. The long run of the dryer vent leads to longer drying times, and he’s heard about a product that boosts the exhaust. He wants know what it is and if it works. The product he’s looking for is an in-line booster fan*. This device is mounted in line with the dryer duct and it adds a 240 CFM boost to the exhaust to move it out of a long vent duct faster and more efficiently.
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Simple Solutions
Beehive Pry Bar—There are many home-improvement projects, such as removing wood trim from walls, that require a thin, yet strong prybar. The best prybar for these jobs is called a hive tool, and it’s available online from beekeeping supply companies. Made from stainless steel, the hive tool is super-thin with just the right amount flex and backbone. It typically costs about $6, so it’s a bargain, too!
Sanding Strip Tip—To easily sand balusters and other round objects, cover the back of a sheet of sandpaper with duct tape. Then, cut the sandpaper into 1½-inch-wide strips. You can wrap an abrasive strip around the baluster, grip each end of the strip and pull back and forth to buff-sand the surface smooth.
