handycrowd

Does your home have rotten wood? Does the paint feel soft and spongy? Do you suspect the weather is getting into your wood and causing problems? Does the house/cabin smell ‘funny’ when you open the door? Then you might have some rot somewhere… This window frame and wall was badly damaged because the glazing bars were installed incorrectly decades ago. This allowed water to seep into the window…

Sorry it's been quiet here lately. Here's a quick tip to ease back in slowly...

Quick tip today and to say a belated Happy New Year! Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet here lately, it’s been all work, work, work, plus it seems parenting a pair of teenagers requires a lot of work also lol! Now, I’ve been adding a magnetic bit holder to my drivers for years, ever since they started to move away from Pozidriv (most common in the UK) screws towards Torx (the T series: sizes T10,…

Measuring diagonals the easy way when alone

I probably don’t need to tell you that measuring diagonals is an excellent, fool proof way of checking something for absolute squareness. There is even an app for it these days… (just search for ‘construction calculator’), just put in the two side lengths and it will calculate the diagonal length for you, but ya still gotta’ physically measure it and that’s where the fun starts… I don’t know if…

Every little thing means something…

And the challenge is twofold. One: not ignoring it, thinking oh, it’s nothing, and two: finding out what is actually wrong. Oh; maybe I should say triple fold, because sometimes, unconnected things are connected in ways you hadn’t thought about… Let me tell you a story of a tiny observation (that I had largely ignored) that could have had serious consequences. My old runabout car passed its…

Cutting down IKEA units

Although there are many different sized cabinets these days, sometimes you need a size which just isn’t available. Being able to modify a cabinet gives you more options.

Bear in mind though that it’s often not just the cabinet you’ll need to modify, but the doors also. Arguably the doors are much more problematical.

This weekI needed a cabinet 2.25cm tall, a figure in the middle between…

Nine ways: Getting nails out, even when buried

Sometimes you need to remove the nails holding a piece of wood rather than just pulling the whole thing off in one violent go. Getting nails out first allows you to carefully remove a whole piece of wood, without damaging any surrounding planks.

A buried nail, not the easiest to get out.

It’s best to just show you with an example, I think. This morning I had to remove the bottom few rows of…

Water and electricity don’t mix…

We all know water and electricity don’t mix, but many of us forget this includes some of the small things we use daily. House alarm key fobs for example.

As my son found outthis week to his cost (well, my cost obviously!). The story starts a while back when he came home from school soaked to the skin (I warned him about the weather forecast, but he is 14 so knew ‘better’…). Everything he had…

Underpinning Walls in Old Houses

Now if you’re reading this because you have a settlement problem then stop, take a deep breath and try to relax. I know cracks, settlement and underpinning walls can induce bowel clenching fear into the strongest heart. But fear not; it’s often quite a simple repair. Note, I said simple, not easy! It is almost certainly going to be hard work and it’s fiddly to do in confined spaces. But it isdoab…

Top 10 DIY Tools for Home Improvement #tools #DIY #top10 #learnDIY

This list of DIY tools originally started because someone asked me the other day what tools I used the most. Not my favorite, or the best, or the most expensive, but what tools I used every day.

This got me thinking about what I actually carry on me at work. At least half of the tools on this list are in my pockets all the time.

Hmm, I thought, this would make a great ‘top 10’ list of…

How to use masking tape #cuttingin #maskingtape #paintbrush #painting

I’ll be honest with you, for many years I didn’t use masking tape.  Being young and full of myself, I thought, (dare I say it), that it was strictly for amateurs! Oh the ignorance of youth. Then I discovered blue masking tape, and now I know better.

And I know betterbecause masking tape got better. Or rather I found a better one, i.e. blue masking tape. Blue masking tape is massively superior to…

Tools on the ground? Never! #tools

Quick tip

I’m working on an apartment conversion these days and as I finished using my (expensive)  [amazon_textlink asin=’B007ML6NJM’ text=’Bosch plunge saw’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’polishingpean-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’b4e70d29-c1c1-11e8-ad44-9d580064238d’] to cut some shelving, I went to put it down and realised I hadn’t put anything down on the ground to put it on. I neverput my…

How to remove drywall #drywall #drywallscrews #plasterboard #removedrywall #sheetrock #wallboard

Easy method: find and remove drywall screws..

Yes, yes, yes; I know you can remove drywall by punching a hole in it and pulling it to pieces with a hammer, but what if you need to be a bit more careful?

This week I’m working in an occupied homeand I need to remove part of a wall and then fill in an existing doorway. I obviously don’t want to make a lot of unnecessary dust right? Plus I’ve got a…

Metric screw dimensions explained #gauge #imperial #metric #screws #sizes

Metric wood screw sizes and why it beats imperial

The old imperial method of measuring screws by gauge makes little sense to some of us today, (like most imperial measurements) and the logic of their origins is known only to Wikipedia(he says smiling!). So, now we are getting to grips with the common sense of metric wood screw measurements. (Arguments against on a postcard to the usual address…

How to fix stripped wood screw threads #loosescrews #scews #stripped

Sometimes you just run out of timesyou can re-tighten a wood screw. Or sometimes you want to move a screw just a tiny bit, and other times a screw is just in the wrong place and you want to start over. Fortunately the solution to fix all of the above is simple and quick. Essentially you’re going to fill in the existing screw hole with new wood and start over. (Incidentally, if your particular…

How to look after your home… properly!

I know it’s been quiet here these past few weeks and that’s because I’ve been putting together a small eBook about home maintenance (there is a free copy for you if you share the link below!). I’d sure appreciate it if you could spread the word and share it to anyone who needs help looking after their place… 

Just paste this link into whatever flavour of social media you like… https://handycrowd.…

How to Properly Use a Hammer #howto #nailing #nails #practice

I want to go back to basics for a while with some posts about building some core skills. Starting with the hammer (because it’s fun!) and because it’s pretty easy to practice…. go grab a block of wood (or nail a few bits together….) and some nails and lets go…

The statement “anyone can hammer in a nail”is a falsehood soon discovered by those who try it for the first time. That said, I think most…

How to Develop Practical Knowledge #RELEARN

Behind the scenes and deep in the sub-conscious, your mind is a swirl of inputs as it views the physical world around you. Going about your business, your brain is aware of thousands of things; from the horizon in the far distance to the airplane high above your head, and yes, even that little bird in the bush.

It’s like datapouring into a supercomputer, and like a supercomputer, there is an…