Home Repair Tutor

Having a beautiful lawn starts with knowing how to cut it. Today’s show discusses

-how high to cut your grass

-sharpening mower blades

-the best time of day to cut your grass

-and the ever controversial world of grass clippings…should you remove them or leave em?

Cutting your grass too low will weaken it and make it susceptible to burning out, disease, and foot traffic. Mow frequently so that no more than 1/3 of the grass blade is removed when it’s mowed.

Put your blades on a sharpening schedule. Sharpening it on a holiday schedule makes it easy to remember to do.

Avoid mowing your grass during the hottest portion of the day, e.g. 1-3 pm. Mow it closer to to the evening.

Leave grass clippings on the lawn because they act as a natural fertilizer. The only time to remove clippings is when there are clumps.

Hopefully these tips help you get your lawn back into shape and avoid those nasty looks from neighbors!!

Forget the neighbors, do this for yourself, haha.

Do you have a DIY question? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Today is Tool Tip Tuesday.

Kreg makes great woodworking tools and supplies that anyone can use.

Some of my DIY friends over on Facebook introduced me to Kreg’s Rip Cut tool.

Do you need to rip down sheet goods, e.g. 4 foot by 8 foot pieces of plywood, yet don’t own a table saw?

Table saws can be very expensive and you need a place to store them.

The Rip Cut solves this issue.

It attaches to your circular saw and acts as a guide to rip down the sheet good in a matter of seconds.

Amazon is pricing this jigsaw at $29 and it gets on average 4 out of 5 stars.

Check it out on Amazon or Kreg’s website

https://www.kregtool.com/

You can check out the tool deals I mention by visiting Home Repair Tutor and clicking on the Amazon link in the right side bar

http://www.homerepairtutor.com/

Do you have a tool tip?

Let me know.

Leave a voicemail by calling 800-965-0023 or

visit http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder or

Signup to my email newsletter and respond back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Dale want’s to know how to demo his fiberglass shower surround and install new a new tiled shower instead. Today’s show explains how to do that and gives you some great tips on how to get started with the tiling process.

Most shower or bathtub fiberglass surrounds are attached to studs with roofing nails. You’ll have to remove some drywall or plaster to reveal these nails, remove them and then pull the surround from the wall.

It’s a good idea to shut the water off to the shower or tub before demoing. Do this at the water main in your home.

If your plastic tub or shower surround is a one piece you can use a reciprocating saw to cut it into 1/3s. I recommend starting in a corner because most likely pipes or wires are not there. It’s a good idea to know where electrical wires are located and pipes so that you don’t cut through them.

You an use a SharkBite push on fitting to cap any copper or plastic pipes if you have to cut them to remove the old shower valve. They can be pushed onto the pipes. No soldering is required. Pretty sweet.

Cement board is the cheapest surround option. Attach it to the studs using alkali resistant screws. Waterproof the cement board with RedGard or Hydro Ban or Schluter Kerdi. RedGard and Hydro Ban are very DIY friendly and can be applied using a roller or paint brush. Once the waterproofing is dry you can apply tiles to the cement board. I like large format tiles (12 x 24 inches or bigger) because less grout is involved. These are some great tips for getting started with a shower or bathtub remodel.

Today’s Quick Tip is about placing electrical boxes in bathrooms and kitchens. My buddy Bill, who’s a licensed electrician, explained that it’s a good idea to leave extra wire leading to electrical boxes. This way, if the box needs to be adjusted up, because of tall cabinets, you don’t need to tear out the drywall to reset the electrical wiring.

Do you have a DIY question or suggested show topic? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Greasy kitchen cabinets are disgusting and hard to clean.

What is a good solution for this problem, besides water and vinegar.

Sometimes I get my best ideas walking through the automotive department in stores.

This is where I found Super Clean. It’s remarkable at removing grease.

Check out my tutorial http://www.homerepairtutor.com/how-to-clean-a-greasy-kitchen-hood/

It’s easy to use but I do recommend testing it on a small area before using it on the entire surface.

Denise also had a question about cleaning her wood floors. Recently I’ve had good luck with Bona products https://www.bona.com/en-US/

But again, I recommend testing any cleaning product.

Today’s Quick Tip is about SPAX screws.

I’m constructing a bathroom mockup in my garage and had to build out stud walls.

Since I wanted a modular design I decided to use SPAX screws instead of nails.

They don’t require pre-drilling, are easy to drive into wood, and countersink perfectly.

Check them out here http://www.spax.us/

Do you have a DIY question? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Today is Throwback Thursday where we feature a DIYer and their project.

Katie Cleveland is a friend of mine who has her own website at http://addicted2diy.com/

She’s an avid DIYer, mother of two boys, wife, paramedic, bull rider, and dirt track stock cars.

Yah, she’s awesome.

Katie has a phenomenal wine storage cabinet tutorial

http://addicted2diy.com/2015/04/28/diy-wine-storage-cabinet/

This piece of furniture would sell easily for $400 at Pottery Barn.

You can see how Katie build it step-by-step.

I’d love to make this and do a video tutorial.

Remember, if you have a DIY question you can always ask me by

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Do you know how elongate the life span of a hot water tank?

Check on the anode rod.

What the heck is an anode rod?

It’s inside your hot water tank and is sacrificed instead of the tank itself.

Once the anode is shot that’s when the water starts to eat the tank.

Rheem recommends inspecting the anode once a year and has specific instructions on how to know when it needs to be replaced.

Here are the resources I mention

http://www.wh2only.com/assets/pdf/Rheem_Training_Manual.pdf

http://www.rheem.com/docs/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=aedbbc95-9a6b-4780-aa23-b0ed9abe41cd

Many thanks to Steve who forwarded these links.

Today’s Quick Tip is about saving money on Amazon when buying power tools.

Stuart over on Toolguyd.com shared the latest tool savings deal that’s available

http://toolguyd.com/bosch-cordless-amazon-discount-052015/

Any day you can save money on power tools is a good day.

Do you have a DIY question? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Today is Tool Tip Tuesday.

Black and Decker came out with a new jigsaw with Curve Control.

They sent me a saw to check out and I did a review back on Home Repair Tutor

http://www.homerepairtutor.com/black-and-decker-jigsaw-review/

Here’s what I like about the jigsaw,

-it has heft yet isn’t too heavy (only 4.7lbs)

-the shoe is adjustable so you can make bevel cuts

-wood dust can be removed via an exhaust port

-there’s Curve Control which means the jigsaw has 4 different settings for different kinds of cuts

-it comes with a 2 year warranty and 30 day money-back guarantee.

Amazon is pricing this jigsaw at $43, which I think is a steal.

Do you have a tool tip?

Let me know.

Leave a voicemail by calling 800-965-0023 or

visit http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder or

Signup to my email newsletter and respond back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Replacing pedestal sink faucets can be tricky.

What tool should you use? How do you get started?

The tool I recommend for any sink or faucet installation is the Ridgid Faucet and Sink Installer. I have a great tutorial on this tool back on Home Repair Tutor

http://www.homerepairtutor.com/the-ridgid-faucet-and-sink-installer-tool/

It allows you to remove faucets, supply lines, and more.

For $21 you can expedite faucet or sink installations. It’s so worth the money!!!

Today’s Quick Tip is about how to properly build a stud wall.

If you’re framing stud walls find the crown of the wood stud and have the crowns face the same direction. Having all the crowns facing upward will make the stud wall nice and flat and help with the drywall installation.

Do you have a DIY question? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Don’t get me wrong, I love DIYing but I also like staying alive.

Bradley left a message asking if he should hire an electrician or try doing the electrical work himself.

He’s remodeling a kitchen, knocking down some walls, and some other stuff.

One of the issues is the electrical will have to run underground in conduit.

Listen to the show to see what I recommend for Bradley.

Today’s Quick Tip is about what to do with cement board and bathtub lips.

If you’re wanting to install tile in a tub surround you’ll likely be using cement board.

Should the boards rest on top of the tub lip or go down over the lip and rest 1/4” above the tub deck?

Here’s my opinion: rest the cement boards on top of the tub lip, fill in the gap between the cement board and the tub deck with thin-set mortar, and then add Schluter’s Kerdi Band over the gap to waterproof it.

The reason is simple, if the cement board is shimmed out so that it can rest just off the tub deck you’ll be left with an awkward transition between the cement board and neighboring drywall.

Again, this is just my opinion based on conversations that Steve and I have had about this particular part of bathroom remodeling. Steven is my buddy who remodels custom bathrooms.

Do you have a DIY question? Submit it by…

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it

Today is Throwback Thursday where we feature a DIY project someone else has done.

My buddy Jamison over on Rogue Engineer has tons of great DIY furniture ideas you can build yourself.

He’s an aerospace engineer by day and on his weekends does cool projects, between being a dad and husband.

Whew, he’s one busy guy.

Jamison’s X brace side table with concrete top is way cool

http://rogueengineer.com/diy-x-brace-side-table-concrete-top-plans/

If you have some basic tools and don’t mind buying the materials you can build this bad boy for about $30.

It’s worth checking out if you want to spruce up your patio or deck.

Remember, if you have a DIY question you can always ask me by

Calling me at 800-965-0023

Visiting http://www.homerepairtutor.com/podcast/ and use the SpeakPipe recorder

Or signing up to my email newsletter and responding back to me

Does your bathroom need help?

Check out Bathroom Repair Tutor

http://bathroomrepairtutor.com/

Our memberships are limited to 100 people on a monthly basis. You get access to the video tutorial library and our great private Facebook group where you can post questions and get answers.

This is a passion project meant to help people with their bathroom problems, hope you like it