Remodeling Know How

Its almost pool time

montytx — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:04:40 +0000

Its heating up and already rolling into the 90′s in many parts of the country. That means the heat is back and so is lounging by and in the pool. Pools are ubiquitous in the South and while I have always enjoyed using them, I don’t think I would ever install one on my property. They involve a lot of maintenance, expense, and aggravation. But, some people really like them and enjoy the look. In my opinion, I think a temporary above ground pool that you set up for a few months is a great idea for the kids. They don’t cost very much, usually a few hundred dollars, and they can be set up in a few hours and filled up just as quickly. If you already have an older above ground pool, swimming pool liners are a great way to update these pools as they age, or if you want to change the look or replace a worn liner. The cost is around $100, depending on the size of the pool, and the liner installs quickly so you can get back to what you enjoy, beating the heat while floating in some nice water. A great way to spend a hot day.

Creating a mobile cabinet requires a good base with Casters

montytx — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:00:29 +0000

If you are like me you have a shop crammed with every tool and supply item you could even need. In my case my shop has several duplicates of these tools. I must own a dozen hammers alone and 3 or 4 radial saws.

What you don’t have enough of is space. My shop is about the size of an average garage and when I built it 8 years ago, I thought to myself, “there is no way I can ever out grow all this space and storage.” Guess what? I was wrong. It only took a few years to fill it to the rafters with supplies and tools. I am now constantly moving things around to get to what I need.

That brings me to my point. My shop really needs to be on wheels. I am constantly moving tools, crates, buckets…What I need is a large portable mobile cabinet with stainless steel casters that I can easily roll around as I need to get at what I need, when I need it. As it stands right now, I have to go through a somewhat painful process to get at my pressure washer. It involves moving several other large objects.

But, if I had a large cabinet with storage on both sides floating around the room on casters, my life would get so much easier. I would be able to easily slide it around and move it from one side of the shop to the other so I could easily get at my tools and supplies without a long process. Its a great idea I will have to implement.

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Finding leaks on your roof

montytx — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:03:23 +0000

We recently had a large storm blow through Texas and one of my clients called to complain about leaks coming in around their hot water heater and on the inside of the outside wall. Upon inspection I saw a few problems…

This first image is of the hot water heater vent pipe and its roof jack base. As you can see the base has been cut into several times to accommodate the vent pipe. The problem is after this was done the cuts were not sealed with roofing sealant and the rain collar was not lowered. It was left several inches above the seam. This allowed water from a driving rain to come in unimpeded.

The second roof jack vent is for the washing machine. The shingles were not covering the side of the metal base plate as they should have been. No nails were used at the bottom of the base plate and no sealant was used to seal the roof jack plate to the roof. Because of this there is a 1/4″ gap where water can easily move upwards and into the wall cavity. The harder the rain, the more water you will see in your house.

Both of these are are easily preventable with a tub of good roofing sealant and a few nails. A roof jack is nothing more than a plate with a rubber seal that sits

Common roof jack designed to seal in a plumbing vent pipe.

around vent pipes and other pipes that protrude through the roof and shingles. Installing the correctly is critical to preventing damage around the pipes from water penetration.

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Moving a Light Fixture on the Ceiling with an Attic Overhead

montytx — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:11:59 +0000

We frequently have to move lights in older homes because the owner wants the light over a table or centered in the room. Moving one is not that difficult, but there are a few things that may need to be done ( This is for normal lighting only, not heavy lights or ceiling fans). You will need access to the attic to do this normally. As always, make sure the electrical is off to the light before doing this work.

List of Items you will likely need:

remodeling box(es) I suggest getting a standard blue box and a 1/2″ pancake metal box
Keyhole saw with short blade
14/2 wire to extend the cable if necessary
Yellow wire cap nuts
Junction box and a cap to extend wiring if needed
Screws
12″ of 1×4 or 1×2 ( scrap wood is fine)
small piece of 1/2″ sheetrock
Hot Mud ( dry joint compound:45 is good) sets up quickly for several coats
mud pan and mud knife

The new location has to be decided on and you need to confirm that you can place a round remodeling box in the ceiling without hitting a ceiling joist. I find it easiest to drill an 1/8″ hole in the center of where you want it and stick a piece of stiff wire in the ceiling that is shaped like an “L” so you can move it around to see if there is anything in the way(make sure the insulation isn’t grabbing the wire). If it looks good, I will drill 4 more holes at each side to confirm my research. By drilling holes, if I need to move the hole a little, I can easily patch the holes with some plaster. Once I am certain the hole is ready, I make a hole using a keyhole saw. Make sure and cut the hole carefully. Keep in mind you may have electrical cables in the attic running over the joist. You don’t want to make long deep cuts and you don’t want to do this with a sawsall, unless you have looked in the attic already and have a wood sub ceiling under the sheetrock.

If there is a ceiling joist you can consider using a 1/2″ thick pancake box and cut a circular hole in the sheetrock to make it flush with the ceiling when it is inserted. You will then secure the pancake box to the ceiling joist. If there is no joist in the way then you can cut a hole in the sheetrock and use a standard blue remodel box.

Once the hole is cut and ready for the box, you need to move the wiring from the old location to the new box. If you are lucky there is enough wire to make it to the new location with 6″ sticking out after you feed it through the box and place the box in the ceiling to secure it. If you are not you will have to create a junction box in the attic to extend the wire.

A J-box is nothing more than a gang box where the old wire and new wire are located inside and twisted together with electrical caps holding them in the place. The J-box should be nailed or screwed to a ceiling joist or rafter with a cover screwed over it for future access. Once this is done you can then feed the new section of wire to the new location and feed it through the ceiling box. Your light is now ready to be installed on the new box.

Now you will need to remove the old box that was holding the light previously. I have demo’d these out before and used them as my j-box in the attic if they are in good shape. They will usually be secured to a wooden ceiling joist of some sort and will have to pried off . This is usually easier to do from the attic than the space below. Once the box is removed I will lay a 12″ or so section of 1×2 or 1×4 centered across the hole and screw it down from the ceiling with 2 screws on each side. Once it is secured I will cut a piece of sheetrock to fit the hole and then screw it on to the wood. You are now ready to tape and mud the hole.

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How to cut Glass Tile

montytx — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 17:28:43 +0000

Glass tile is all the rage and if you are planning on installing it you need to know a few things before you begin.

Lower tile is with standard blade on cut on the bottom. Upper tile bottom cut is with a glass blade.

First, remember that you are working with glass, and a tile saw. The glass cuts will be sharp and you can cut yourself if you are not careful. You should wear eye protection as small shards occasionally become airborne. A mask may not be a bad idea either.

Second, an ordinary saw blade will cause blow out. You will need to change your blade to a glass saw blade. These blades are thinner, finer and will cost more than an ordinary saw blade. I have a 10″ tile saw and had to order my blade on line through Amazon. I settled on the MK Diamond 155950 glass blade. It creates less blow out than my standard blade. I also placed a small piece of concrete backer board under the tiles to support the back side of the glass as I was cutting to further reduce the blow out on the back side. This wouldn’t matter with a normal tile since any blowout on the back would not be visible, but as we all know, glass is transparent.

Third, make sure you cut slowly. Glass tiles that are thicker, like these 4 1/4″ square tiles, are very dense as a result. They will cut more like granite than ceramic. I had to cut at about half my normal rate to prevent burning and blade binding from the glass. I suggest cutting one tile a few times to get a hang of it and decide how slow to go. I noticed that when there was the appearance of molton red at the cut point during a cut, I needed to slow down. Make sure you also have plenty of water on the blade and in the pan to keep the glass cool.

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Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer with Interna-Lok Automated Head Clamp Review

montytx — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:24:02 +0000

If you are a true wood craftsman then you know you need a planer in your wood shop. Wood rarely is in ready form when you get it and, if you like to work with old wood stock, like me, then you want to be able to clean it up and bring out its true character with a good plane and sand. Makita has delivered with this 12″ planer. It can shave an 1/8″ off your wood with each pass with a powerful 15 amp motor. It can plane 6 3/8″ thick by 12″ wide lumber to what ever dimension you need. I have found it can easily plane through Oak, Ash, Pine, Plywood and Ipe. One of the best features of this planer is the ease with which you can change the throw away blades. Its quick and painless. The unit does such a great job of planing wood you can get away with no sanding for many of your projects.

Makita really put some thought into the overall design of this planer. It has an adjustable depth stop that remembers what thickness you want, a great feature if you need to get several pieces of stock to the same thickness with several passes. The depth setting is easy to set with a quick view indicator.

Throw in the fact that you no longer have to mess with the headlock, and there is little to no snipe and you have a great planer. At 68 lbs this planer is heavy, but can be moved to the job with a little elbow grease. At 83 db the sound it produces is tolerable, and lowest in its class, but I still recommend these ear protection muffs ,which I have and like.

All and all this is a great planer and well worth the money.

The biggest advantages of the Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer

Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer with Interna-Lok Automated Head Clamp

Interna-Lok automated head clamp eliminates snipe
Consistent planing
Low vibration, smooth
compact, lightweight—easy to transport

Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer with Interna-Lok Automated Head Clamp specs:

Compact and lightweight for easy transporting to the job site
Fastest and easiest blade change system on the market; uses disposable double edge blades
Quietest (83dB) planer in its class
4-post design and diagonal cross supports for stability
One-year manufacturer’s warranty

What is the warranty on the Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer ?

1 Year limited Warranty

Whats in the box?

Planer
Blade set
magnetic holders
wrenches
tool box

Other Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer reviews:

I received my new Makita 2012B Portable Planer for Christmas. I had researched all the available models and felt that the Makita had the edge on paper. Putting it to the reality check test, a friend and I ran over 100 board feet of quartersawn white oak through the planer, then finished up by using the system to shave down a walnut inlay in ash. I was really impressed by the performance! No snipe, very smooth surfaces, quiet operation, and ease of use were at the top of my list of favorable impressions.

I spent a lot of time looking at portable planers. They all had something I liked and didn’t. The Makita 2012NB had everything I was looking for. Lower the cutting head down until the depth pin moves, set the dial indicator to zero, then lower the cutting head to the depth you want. Easy, fast, accurate and quiet.

Where can I buy the Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer?

Amazon offers this planer at a great price below $520 and as always you can get free shipping, no tax and enjoy their easy return policy. If you are a member of Amazon Prime you get free 2 day shipping plus free video downloads.

Where can I read other reviews about the Makita 2012NB 12-Inch Planer?

Amazon has a number of reviews on the product right here at the bottom of the page.

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How To Cut Hex Tile Sheets

montytx — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:35:42 +0000

We typically work on older homes and one of the things that we frequently install are hex tiles. Hex tile sheets make installing the hex a lot easier, but hex can be complicated and needs to be laid out prior to the install and cut to fit. You need to pay special attention to where each sheet joins to make sure the tiles are not touching each other, or too far apart. Once the layout is done, then you can come back in and mud.

Cutting Hex Tile

Cutting the short side of hex tile is simple, it’s the long side that is tricky, make sure your guide is accurate and lined up. See images below.

Hextiles

After placing the guide where I need to make the cut, and pushing the tile against the guide, I fold the hex tile back side over to get it out of the way. I then cut the front half.

Hextile is firmly placed against the guide and ready to cut.

When I am ready to cut the back half, I place the back side of the tile against the guide, confirm that the alignment is straight with the blade and the previous cut, then I fold the front half backwards and outwards a little to make the cut.

You may also need to cut slowly and push down on each tile as you cut them so they don't end up pushed downwards during the cut.

Unlike a standard saw you can get a lot closer to a tile saw blade. I will sometimes work directly with it, just watch the blade edge, that is where the action is.

The laid hextile floor in a custom shower

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How not to build a Shower Pan

montytx — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:10:59 +0000

Recently, I came on a job where the shower was mid way through complete and had numerous problems with how it was being done. First, they had used green sheetrock for the walls, which any pro knows is a big no no. Its not a matter of if water gets behind the tile but when and how much. But, the bigger problem was the shower pan. The drain was unlevel above the tile and

A common floor drain used as a shower drain. Water would have run down the open slits within days of use

I noticed it was too big to be a shower drain. When I inspected it closer I realized it was nothing more than a standard floor drain you might put in the laundry room or a commercial kitchen. That meant there was no way to seal the shower pan liner to the drain, thus creating a nightmare of leaks as water slowly started working its way down to the pan. Eventually this leads to termites under the shower, rotten wood, foundation shifting and even rusted gas lines if they are too close. I had to demo out the

entire mess and the above images shows what was there. A 3″ pipe had been used without a pea trap and a hole had been cut in the PVC liner to install the pipe. This was a disaster waiting to happen. The corners of the liner had also been cut to rather than folded and no glue was used anywhere.

Correct shower drain with pea gravel around it to help keep seep holes open for water

Once the sheetrock was off, the cement bed was demo’d up and the wooden subfloor removed I had to crawl under the house to cut the 3″ line out and install an adapter to reduce to a 2″ line so I could install a pea trap and the correct drain. Once the pipe was run, I reinstalled the floor, installed the base plate for the drain, laid down the SHOWER PAN LINER KIT 5X6" target="_blank">PVC liner and cut a hole in it to hold the drain which I then set up and glued. The the drain head then screws down into the base and the pan is ready for mud.

Correct Hospital bed corners for a leak proof shower pan

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Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router Review

montytx — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:31:52 +0000

Power is paramount when routing wood. Any pro can tell you that when working with a router the single biggest problem with any router is not having enough horse power. Porter Cable’s 7518 addresses this with a massive 3 1/4 horsepower motor. This router is a true workhorse and is one of the highest rated routers on the market. It is built to last and has the features you would expect from a champion router. The unit has a soft start 15 amp motor, which gives you time to set up and make the perfect route.The motor has 5 speed settings from 10K to 21K with a knob setting on top so its easy to adjust. The router itself sits on a fixed based so this is not the unit if you want to be able to swap to a plunge base, but the base is ideal for setting up on a table and will easily rip through any stock you throw at it without the motor slowing down.

The unit requires two wrenches to change to different bits or collets, which is old school and makes changing the bits a little difficult, but not a deal breaker. The auto release collet eliminates bits which can and do get stuck in other routers. This router ships with a 1/2″ collet, but 1/4″ and 3/8″ are available.

Working with the Router

With this much power in a router you may be intimidated to use this unit freestyle. But it’s design makes it a breeze. It can easily power through the toughest woods, but we recommend a few passes to get the best finish. The units wide base, 14.5 lbs and solid metal handles make it easy to control and easy to work with. The power and weight work together to reduce your effort. The top depth adjustment collar is easy to adjust and ensures highly accurate settings for your bits.

I highly recommend this router if you are serious about routing or plan on getting serious. It is a must have as a table router.

Why buy the Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router

Heavy duty bearings and housing designed to last
Massive motor routes through every thing
Easily mounts to table for perfect work

Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router specs:

15 Amp motor provides the power and durability necessary for the toughest applications
versatile, electronic five-speed motor with 10,000, 13,000, 16,000, 19,000, and 21,000 rpm settings accommodates various router bit cutting diameters and applications
Soft-start feature reduces torque at start-up and motor maintains constant speed under load
Auto-release collet system allows for easy bit removal after use
Precision machined aluminum motor housing and base; Dust-sealed switch and sealed ball bearing construction enhance tool durability

What is the warranty on the Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router?

5 Year limited Warranty

Whats in the box?

Router
2 wrenches to change bits
1/2-inch collet

Other Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router reviews:
“I was very surprised to see the 7518 getting anything but 5-star reviews. I have had mine for five years and had nothing but marvelous experiences with it. It has more power than you’re ever going to need, has a soft start that’s a very nice feature, variable speeds which come in handy at times, and it’s pretty much bullet-proof. What’s not to like?”

” …if you want the toughest, most powerful router you can get, than this ones for you. This router was designed to be used in a router table with big bits. I have owned this router for 9 years. I make raised panel doors for a living.”

Where can I buy the Porter Cable 7518 3 1/4 hp Router?

Amazon offers this router at a great price below $315 and as always you can get free shipping, no tax and enjoy their easy return policy. If you are a member of Amazon Prime you get free 2 day shipping plus free video downloads.

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Amazon has a number of reviews on the product right here at the bottom of the page.

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Paypal accepted at Home Depot

montytx — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 03:32:40 +0000

Imagine my surprise today as I was checking out at Home Depot and saw the paypal icon pop up on the screen as a payment option. Seems pretty cool to me as someone who receives money every month via paypal and would love to be able to easily use it somewhere without having to lug the paypal credit card around or transfer it to my bank account. I have to wonder how practical it is and just how many people will use it. Unfortunately, for me, I put all my materials on my business Amex card so unless it is a personal item the chances are slim I would ever use it. Yet, the idea of it being available is intriguing.

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