Family Handyman October/November 2019

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I recently tackled a complete gut and remodel of a 90-year-old kitchen. I replaced corroded metal pipes with plastic; cracked plaster with drywall; linoleum floors (three layers!) with snap-together vinyl. Through it all, I felt like an archeologist, digging through the strata of past remodeling, figuring out how each material was installed, what worked well and what didn’t. Here's what I concluded: 1 Materials get better and better. All the new things I installed are vastly superior to the old—easier to install, more durable and easier to live with. Some of our favorite examples are covered in this issue: epoxy countertop resurfacing (p. 58), peel-and-stick tile for backsplashes (p. 30), beautiful snap-together flooring (p. 71) and— my personal favorite—LED lighting that’s amazingly easy to install (p. 64). 2 Good ideas remain good,…

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BANG-FOR-YOUR-BUCK WELDER FOR BEGINNERS The Easy Weld 140 MP from Forney Industries is an all-in-one entry-level welder for those who want to get started but don’t want to buy a machine they’ll quickly outgrow. Right out of the box, the Easy Weld will have you learning how to weld steel up to 1/4 in. thick. I was able to easily set up the machine using its quick-start guide, and within a few minutes I was welding my first bead. It can hook up to shielding gas for real MIG welding, and you can buy a TIG torch when you’re ready to advance your skills. Some other welders cost about the same but have limited amperage, which then limits the thickness of material you can weld. Others only do flux-core welding. The Easy…

SHARE YOUR HANDY HINT WITH US! submissions@familyhandyman.com Fewer Fingerprints The next time you clean your stainless-steel kitchen appliances, follow up with a coat of car wax. It not only makes wiping off grime after cooking easier but also inhibits fingerprints. Simply apply a light coat of wax, let it dry and buff with a soft cloth. Apply wax only to the area around the controls, not the cooking surface. CAROL LLOYD Safety Support A miter saw makes quick work of accurately cutting aluminum angle. But given the often wide gaps between the fences and in the throat plate, using the saw this way is also dangerous. If the blade grabs, it can pull the aluminum angle into those gaps, destroying the piece and possibly causing injury. To make the cut safely, glue up two boards as…

Share your fixes, heads-ups or DIY advice with us! submissions@familyhandyman.com By tapping into a virtual assistant such as Google Home, a smart faucet turns on and off, fills containers by exact measurement, programs “experiences” and changes water temperature, all by voice command. Smart faucets aren’t cheap, ranging from $500 to $800. At first glance, it seemed like a novelty, but I was intrigued. So I picked up a Kohler Konnect Sensate ($518 on Amazon), a smart faucet that connects to my Google Home, to test it out in my own kitchen. Same install—but with wires Smart faucets install like standard faucets; you connect supply lines to the faucet. After that, as you might expect, there are multiple wires to connect a solenoid valve and other sensors. It looked daunting, but all was easy and…