Family Handyman June 2021

The work rewarded me with decent pay and a lot of frequent flier miles. It also burdened my friends with a grouch who hated his 8 to 5. I didn’t really hate the job, but I disliked it enough to start making fresh decisions about my future. That future involved writing. I wanted to do cool things and write stories about them. And get paid for it. That’s a career, right? The funny thing is, the engineering job I disliked taught me how to engineer a career I would love. Through workdays that I felt were devoid of creativity, I was learning the real creative process. And that built a path to Family Handyman. ENGINEERING = PROBLEM SOLVING Frank, my engineering manager, loved numbers. A walking calculator, he could figure air changes in a…

NEW-HOMEOWNER TIPS Congrats on your new home! Whether you bought a fixer-upper or a move-in gem, you can customize your home with everything from paint to updated floors to a new deck. We have all the advice you need for settling into your new house: Tool Guides Kitchen Ide as Cleaning Advice Backyard Tips Garage Organization Home Security & Safety WAIT TILL YOU SEE… what we’re working on! Actually, you don’t have to wait. Check our Instagram for previews of our grand Getaway build project. From the ground up, we’re building a house, and we’ll share the how and why. Follow along on instagram.com/familyhandyman NEW GAS GRILLS Is it time to upgrade to a new gas grill? Check out these best-rated cookers, from liquid propane to natural gas, value-focused to luxury. We outline them for…

The rookie carpenter on a job site always gets the task of installing joist hangers. It’s tedious job, and any newbie will definitely be better at swinging a hammer after a day of manual hanger installation. Paslode’s F150S Positive Placement Nailer makes quick work of joist hangers and other mechanical connections required with framing. You position the guide tip into the nailing hole of a connector and squeeze the trigger to place the nail. It shoots Smooth Brite and mechanically galvanized 1-1/2-in. nails. At 11-3/4 in. tall and 6.5 lbs., it’s easy to get in between joists and in other tight spaces. It’s available for about $400 from tool retailers. JOSH RISBERG, LEAD CARPENTER A SCREWDRIVER THAT SAVES YOUR WRIST When I don’t need the power and bulk of my cordless drill/driver, I…

When we remodeled our kitchen, we put new door fronts on all the cabinets. To make sure I installed each new cabinet door handle in the right spot, I made a jig from a 4 x 7-in. plywood scrap. I nailed a piece of 1x2 over two edges of the plywood. Then I marked and drilled the screw locations on the jig. This works great for both two-hole and one-hole handles. Because the jig’s lip overhangs both faces, it works for right- or left-hinged doors. DUANE DREIKOSEN HIDE CONCRETE REPAIRS The easiest way to fix a crack in concrete is to caulk it, but these repairs stand out like a neon light even with special concrete repair caulk. However, if you sprinkle ordinary play sand on the wet caulk, the patch will blend…

Using my miter saw, tape measure and pencil, I’ve cut miles of wood for flooring, trim and more. Yes, I can measure accurately—if I do it twice—but I don’t like sharpening the pencil, resetting the tape’s hook on a board, and aligning the saw blade with a feeble pencil mark. With the M1 Caliber, I can measure precisely in less time and without stretching a tape across several feet of material. Made by Reekon Tools, the M1 Caliber enables quick and accurate measurements when you’re working with a miter saw. Using its own clamp, the tool connects securely and easily to your saw’s fence. When you slide the material into cutting position, the M1’s small wheel rotates and the tool instantly converts that rotation to linear distance. The tool’s easy-to-read screen…

Whether you’re building a new deck or replacing old, worn deck boards, you’ll find an overwhelming number of decking options. The two main categories, wood and composites, include dozens of choices. I’ll walk you through them to help you choose the right material for your deck. HOVER YOUR CAMERA HERE See a video of all your decking options, plus great features to look for! Wood Wood decking is beautiful and typically much more economical than composite. However, it loses its warm tone and turns a dull gray after a few years if it’s not meticulously maintained. That increases its lifetime cost. PRESSURE-TREATED The boards are soaked with chemicals and put under pressure so the treatment permeates the entire board. That makes them resistant to rot and insects. Copper, a common element in treatments, gives treated…