Best DIY tool for cleaning rain gutters

I am well known for being a bit of a nut about cleaning rain gutters. I am a little obsessive about it; that is not to say that I like cleaning them or that they always get clean. I just think about it a lot, and have on occasion pulled some interesting stunts in order to get them clean. Once, as a young bachelor sharing a house with two girls who happened to be sisters, I was woken by the loud *plink* of drops hitting the bottom of the gutter outside my window. I decided to go out and clean the gutters; yes, at 2 o'clock in the morning. I didn't want to get a bunch of clothes wet, and didn't think having wet clothes on would keep me any warmer while I did it, so I went out naked! This was a two-story house, so I had to do a fair bit of climbing, and had to creep by the girls' windows a couple of times. They told me the next morning that they were a little concerned when they heard the bumping around, but figured it out after they called my name to go investigate and realized I was the one making the noise. They were a little giggly around me after that.

Anyway, I have experimented with a variety of ways to clean the gutters over the years; mainly in terms of tools, not clothing choices. A garden trowel seems like the the logical primary choice, but the edges tend to get hooked under the lip of the gutter, and you can only do one scoopful at a time. I have used larger scooping tools designed for rain gutter cleaning and essentially had the same problem, only with a bigger scoop. The other method I have used is to drag the hose up on the roof and blast the gutters out from above, but that makes an unholy mess on the ground all the way around the house. However, it takes a LONG time to get a scoopful at a time into the garbage can as well, so I usually opt for the quick blast and round-trip cleaning method. By far the most thorough method is to scrape out the gutters and throw it on the ground when it is still DRY and go around with the blower to clean it up, then go around with the hose and wash the remaining detritus down the drainpipe.

I only recently hit upon the perfect tool for this method. I took a 5-gallon paint stir stick (sturdy, free at Home Depot, and exactly the right width to fit in the bottom of the gutter) and gorilla-taped it to an old fiberglas broom handle. Then I stood on the roof and swept out the gutters in the amount of time it takes me to sweep a floor. I can't believe I never thought of it before. Then I cleaned around the house and went back on the roof to wash down the last of the litter. I guess I could just let the rain do it, but if I do it, then I know there aren't going to be any clogs.

Sprinkler repair

I have always handled my own household irrigation installation and repair. I worked in irrigation on a golf course when I was younger, so I know a thing or two about sprinklers. However, I learned trick on Yard Crashers last year and have been itching to put it into practice. I finally had a chance when one of the sprinklers in my front yard started leaking about a month ago.

We noticed that part of the lawn was not only never drying out, but getting soggy enough to make mud when the kids walked through it. I couldn't see drips above ground, so I assumed it was leaking farther underground and soaking the surrounding area. When I went to dig out around the bad sprinkler head, it was extremely mucky and wet. Wish I had gotten to it sooner! Probably gave my tree a nice deep watering, though. :) I cleared the dirt all the way down to the riser and about 1 inch below, and about 9 inches on all sides. Keep the extra dirt on a tarp next to the hole, it makes it a lost easier to get back in when you're done and leaves less of a mess.

Sure enough, the riser was cockeyed and it looked like I had maybe not threaded it on there properly in the first place. It had probably been leaking the several years since it's installation, just not reaching the surface until recently. At this point I got to use my new trick, it's very simple and I am kicking myself for not thinking of it years ago:


If you hook together four right-angle street elbows, you get an articulated arm that allows you to adjust the height and placement of your sprinkler head quickly and easily. Just make sure you tighten the elbows to each other about 4/5ths tight, attach them to the line first, THEN attach the sprinkler head to the articulated riser, and you can adjust it from there. Don't forget to use thread tape, PTFE or Teflon tape. Once you have the head on, remove the top, leaving the housing attached to the line, and flush the system. Put the head back in the housing and you are good to go.

This is a street elbow, If you are wondering. Just hook 4 of 'em up, male to female, and you got yourself an articulated riser. Awesome tip, thanks to Ahmed Hassan of Yard Crashers.

Handy reminder

Somebody recently reminded me of the old "Mechanic's Three Rules:"

1. Always use the right tool for the job.
2. A hammer is the right tool for any job.
3. Anything can be used as a hammer.

Happy hammering!

tree house! phase two

Almost a year has passed since we started the tree house. As of my last post, I had put the floor on half of the structure but didn't have a photo of it yet. In the meantime, I put up rails around the outside edge and put a floor on what I have been referring to as the "back porch" -- the other side of the tree from the one you can see in the previous photo. Next I need to add a rope ladder, and once that's done I will consider it complete until probably next summer.

I decided to put up rails instead of full-blown walls and roof because, duh, it's easier. I'm not going to be able to do that much work on it for a while, so I just want to make it safe enough for the boys to go up by themselves or maybe with a friend or two. The rails I tacked on are not supposed to be permanent, though, so they are not as structurally integral (i.e. safe) as they could be. The boys are aware that they are not to sit on, play on or lean over the rails; they're just there to keep anyone from tripping and falling over the edge. I did want them to look halfway decent, though, so I stole an idea from another dad building a tree house in his back yard. I wove manila rope between the top and bottom rungs in a loose pattern (see photo). Unfortunately I didn't hang on to his link, so I can't credit him. If you're cruising around looking at tree-house-building pages, and you see someone with a similar idea, it was his, not mine.

Rope railings

The floors have been a challenge in a couple of different ways. As I mentioned, I put two layers of 3/8" thick plywood down on the "front", trimmed to the edges of the frame, and screwed it down. I planned on doing the same to the "back" when I got a chance. Well, that chance didn't come for a while, and the tree house went through some rainy weather in the meantime. I had painted the floor with leftover exterior latex, so I wasn't too worried about it, and I was expecting it to warp a little bit (it's plywood, after all), but the two layers warped separately from each other and have been a little more difficult to fix than one piece would have been. So, for the back porch I went with the slightly more difficult but exactly twice as thick 3/4" plywood. The back porch was a bigger challenge to cut because more of the surface had to wrap around the shape of the tree trunk. It took me a while to figure out how to trace the shape that I needed to cut in the plywood without too much trial-and error. I measured as many of the dimensions as I could, then I got a couple of large pieces of foam insulation and did the trial-and-error cutting on that, then traced the shape onto the plywood. I purposely erred on the side of caution so that I didn't cut away too much plywood on the first try. I figured it would be harder to put it back than shave it down when doing the final fitting, eh?

The back porch

Next I need to create a rope ladder. While I was poking around online I happened across this site and realized my rope ladder needs to go from above the deck to the ground in order to be useful. In that case, the only place I have to attach the top of the ladder is on the side of the trunk over the remaining open edge, so my ladder will need to be about 14 feet long. I looked around for one I could buy, but it's kind of expensive to buy custom lengths. Pre-made rope ladders tend to be 6 ft or shorter. I ended up getting a bunch more 3/4" manila rope and some Georgia red oak for rungs. I took a cue from the same site and bought some pet tie-downs to anchor the bottom for ease of climbing. All that remains is assembly; I am planning to just cut the oak planking to 2 ft lengths, sand down the sharp corners, drill 3/4" holes in each end, and settle the rungs on knots in the rope at 1 ft intervals. I'll update this post with my progress and pictures when I get a chance.

*Update*The rope ladder worked out pretty much the way I planned, though I didn't need quite as much ladder as I thought. However, that worked out OK since I didn't buy quite enough rope for a 14 foot ladder anyway! Rule of thumb, for anyone trying to build a rope ladder using 3/4" manila rope: each knot uses roughly 6 inches of rope all by itself. So, on my job, I ended up with 11 rungs, but used almost 17 feet of rope per side to do it. Also give yourself lots of extra rope to tie the top and bottom knots. Photo below:

The Hammer King

uncontested, I think...

YouTube

Smoking Garage Door Motor

Our garage door opener stopped working the other day. When it was lifting it would hesitate and then the unit started smoking! As soon as I unplugged it, the smoke stopped. I noticed that the member that's attached to the garage header was loose and twisted. After I tightened up the lag bolts and tried the opener again, the motor worked but it would hesitate and start to smoke again and then stop when I unplugged the unit. After an easy cover removal, and another exercise of turning on the opener, the white smoke was clearly coming out of this round device that was held by a simple collar. No real fire danger as I would not let it smoke for more than a second or two. So, it was not the motor burning up or any wiring burning..........it was the: Motor Starting Capacitor! The motor starting capacitor is a tubular thing with four wires connected with spade plugs. I ordered one online, got it in three days, plugged it in and it worked! I almost, (frivolous me) bought a new opener, which would have fixed the problem, as well. The capacitor was $18.00. Door opener $200. Apparently, motors that have to start under a heavy load, like a garage door, need these capacitors. My door was operating under an extra heavy load because of the twisted and loose structural member tied to the door header.
Consequently it burned up the capacitor before it would make the motor do it. I'd forgotten what a pain it was to lift my own garage door and the pain was in my back.

tools -- additional basics

Okay, so we've gone through a couple of projects and it's apparent that there are a few more tools that may not be absolutely necessary, but that sure would be nice. Either that, or they are the advanced version of the tools you have in your portable toolbox. These are the things that catch our eye while we are shopping for something else and make a lot of sense, so they go in the cart. They are not whimsical purchases though; even if you only use them once in a while they're totally worth it.

Heavy Duty Level 24 - 48 inches, aluminum
Carpenter's Square
Chalk Line
Large Crowbar
Drilling Hammer
Cold Chisel for metal
Masonry Chisel for stone
Bolt Cutter saves a lot of hacksawing
Pipe Cutters one for PVC, one for metal
Coping Saw
Block Plane
Surform Shaver (like a plane but uses a serrated face to cut away material)
Hole Saw(see interior door handles)
Masonry Drill Bits
Metal Shears (or tinsnips)
Studfinder
Kneepads (good ones are expensive, but boy you'll be happy)
Telescoping Ladder
Bench Vise (hope you have a workbench to attach it to)
Misc Clamps

tree house! phase one

Yes, we have had a fantasy for a while about a tree house. It just takes a lot of careful consideration, planning, and safety concern, so I have never had time for it. However, this summer I did have quite a bit of time on my hands, and the boys are old enough now to really appreciate what goes into this kind of construction and enjoy it when it’s done, so off to Home Depot I went.

I must say I was also influenced by the fact that my Dad gave me the book The Dangerous Book for Boys as a Father’s Day gift, which of course is really a gift for his grandsons because we can read about and do all the stuff in the book together. Click here to check it out at Amazon; makes a great gift for the boys in your life, grown-up or not.

Anyway, The Dangerous Book for Boys has one method for constructing a tree house; I have researched many many more online and synthesized a plan that works for our tree. Our tree is massive, solid, and will not be hurt in the slightest by any of the bolts we put in it. I am, however, keeping all the damage to the tree spaced at least 12 inches from each other to avoid compartmentalization (described here, along with other possible tree damage). I used a plan that will not require supports in the ground around the tree; the plans I saw online using that strategy seemed... well, to be cheating, really. They’re basically play structures somewhat attached to a tree, and didn’t really strike me as fulfilling the spirit of a classic tree house. My structure is about 12 feet up and solid as a rock. I weigh a bit over 200 pounds, and the boys and I can go up there together with zero fear. Our tree is a good foundation, though; your situation may involve a smaller tree or hanging a platform between more than one tree. There are many, many ideas out there -- I recommend you read between 6 and 10 plans before you settle on a strategy.

So, how did I do it? I thought at first that I would put up four main supports, parallel on two sides, perpendicular to the other two sides (see illustration A; please forgive my hand-drawn diagrams). Turns out our tree is nowhere near circular enough, plus it flares wider right at the height I wanted to put my supports, so it would be difficult to bolt the supports to the tree and keep the top edges level. So, I went a little higher in the tree to the main crotch. It splits into two main trunks and has one other major branch at that level. I rested a 2" x 8" beam across the top of that branch and up against the (vertically) flattest part of the two trunks, right next to the crotch, and put a 1/2" x 7" bolt in the trunk opposite the branch (see illustration B). This was the ideal spot for this support due to the shape of the tree, based on much experimentation with the beam I wanted to use.

I also thought I would then lay floor supports perpendicular to this main support, going through the crotch and on the outside of the two trunks, secured to the main support and bolted to the tree. I miscalculated slightly and had to add a 2" x 4" to the top edge of my original support, but then I got an ideal fit with the natural features of the tree to help with the floor support (see illustration C; the crossbeams are actually level, not like in my lame drawing!).

I hung 2" x 4" supports in between the three main floor supports with Simpson Strong-Tie joist hangers and was almost ready to put a floor on top. The supports were all cantilevered in place and held up to my weight pretty well, but to finish it off and for peace of mind I put a 2" x 8" structural support under the deck at a 45 degree angle, held into a notch in the center beam of the floor with another joist hanger and by a bolt into the tree. I also added a couple of hurricane straps in strategic places to hold the structure down to the branches it's resting on. The picture below is a shot of the structure right before I put the floor on. I also added some diagonal supports at both ends between the main beam and the floor supports; the final floor is kind of hexagonal.

It would have been nice to put a solid plank floor on it, but 5/8" plywood is way cheaper! I used two layers and secured it with deck screws at 4-inch intervals to keep it from warping. I just laid rectangular pieces on top of my odd final shape and trimmed it by marking the edge of the beams below with a chalk line and trimming it with a circular saw. Next step is to waterproof it to protect it further. I will also put up some rails for safety while we plan for eventual walls and a roof. That's Phase 2 -- might be next year before we get around to it, but fall and winter are pretty mild here, so I might take it on before too long!

bathroom light fixture

Today I knocked off another project that’s been hanging over my head for a while:replacing the bathroom light fixture in our master bath. We bought a new fixture at IKEA almost two years ago and I hadn’t gotten around to putting it in yet! I put it off because it involved moving the j-box in the ceiling, and going up in the attic is kind of a pain in the ass. However, the wife and kids went to a playdate and then swim lessons today, and I had a good four hours of time to myself. I also wanted to do it in the morning since it gets so hot up there in the afternoon.

First I turned off the power at the circuit breaker. Always a good idea to spend some time labeling the individual switches in your circuit breaker box, if they’re not already. I have an older house, so my box has been rewired a couple of times (prior to my owning it). I went through and made sure I knew which switch turned off which outlets and lights so that I could do electrical repairs without shutting off the power to the whole house. If in doubt, just turn off the main breaker, which should shut off everything. HOWEVER, DO NOT trust that this is always the case. Use a circuit tester before you take apart any existing wiring to make sure the power is off. I shocked the hell out of myself at our old house trying to fix the rangetop. I had the power turned off at the main breaker, got busy disassembling the range, and the next thing I knew I was laying on the kitchen floor. Some nimrod had somehow bypassed the circuit breaker panel to install the electric range! So always, always test the circuit you’re working on before taking it apart.

Next I opened the fixture to check it out and make sure there weren’t any surprises. I laid out all the parts and figured out how they went together. I held up the mounting part against the ceiling where I wanted it, marked a spot roughly in the middle, and drilled a hole up into the attic so I had a reference point.

Then I went in the attic to scout it out. I used to climb from the top of my old wooden six foot ladder (Danger! Not a step! it says, but how else was I going to get up there?) to the shelves in the closet, and hoist myself in from there. I eventually bought a sixteen foot extension ladder to be able to get on the roof more easily, and it works great to get in the attic too. I figured I’d better go up and make sure I could relocate the j-box (short for junction box) to an existing stud so I didn’t have to install a new one. However, if you don’t have stud exactly where you want to hang your new light, it’s not hard to put one between existing joists. When I managed to get to the area over my bathroom, I found that I could add a small piece of two-by-four to an existing stud and the old box would work fine. So, I dragged my toolbox up into the attic and got to work.

It helps to have kneepads to climb around in the attic. I also took up a length of board to lay across the studs where I was going to end up working. I found the j-box and pried it loose from the rafter stud, then pulled out the house wiring. I had to pry a couple of tacks loose along the length of the wire to get it where I wanted it -- I just kept them in pretty good shape and carefully hammered them back in along it’s new path when I was done. I used the j-box as a template and scratched a line in the drywall where I needed a hole, making sure that it was in the right place to attach to the stud. Using a drywall saw, I started a cut in the hole I had drilled from below and made my way around the circle. I made sure the j-box hung through the hole flush with the ceiling (easier to seal from below that way) and put the wires back in. Then I nailed it to my modified stud and I was ready to get back out of the attic.

Tip that I figured out too late: cover the area below where you’ll be working. I had a lot of dust to clean up in the bathroom when I was done, and I hadn’t covered or moved our toothbrushes or anything. I had to run them through the dishwasher, and I had to vacuum way more than I would have if I had just put down a drop cloth before I went into the attic.

After that, hanging the light was fairly easy; the one we bought had a separate wiring harness with a connector plug attached to the mounting plate so I didn’t have to hang the whole fixture from the wires before screwing it into the j-box. If your fixture does not come with this luxury, you might need someone else to hold up the fixture while you attach the wiring. The wiring is color-coded; white to white, black to black. Green or bare aluminum are ground wires; they should be attached to a ground screw or the ground wire in your existing wiring. Use wire nuts and make sure the bare ends of the wires are the same length to make them easier to connect to each other. Make sure your wire nuts are the right size to screw the threaded part down to the plastic sheathing on each wire and cover up the bare wire. Twist the wires nuts hard enough to make the wires wrap around each other a bit and are firmly secured.

Then line up the screws on your fixture to the holes on the j-box and you should be pretty close to done. Fixtures vary widely, and some need extra attention even after they are attached to the wiring. In my case I had to do a bit of leveling since the fixture is a four-lamp bar hung from two adjustable wires. That was it. Then... cleanup.

interior door handles

Today I finished a job I started... hm... two years ago? We bought all new interior door handles to replace the existing (circa 1971) handles, and I installed about 10 of them, but somehow left three undone. I put the last three on a shelf and never got around to getting them in until today. It’s one of those fairly simple projects that you put off because it’s so simple, and it ends up never getting done. Well, today was the day.

When I say fairly simple, I should distinguish between interior and exterior handles and between installing and replacing. Interior handles are easier because they don’t have to keep out burglars, and replacing is easier than installing because the holes already exist.

Removing the existing door handles requires a Phillips screwdriver with a fairly long shaft. Screws on most interior door handles are close enough to the knob to prevent the screwdriver blades from engaging the screw straight on. A longer shaft helps engage the screw just enough to be able to loosen it, without having to use a stubby or offset screwdriver (time consuming). I have a 4“ Phillips bit for my drill that works like a charm. This is where your variable speed drill comes in handy; you can very gently reverse the screw out until you’re sure you won’t strip it, but you get the benefit of speed once you get it going. The bolt comes out of the edge of the door pretty easily; no explanation required, right? OK.

Your replacement handle should come with corresponding parts for everything you just removed. In my case, one of the handles I was replacing was on one side of a double door that had the strike plate but not a bolt. That meant that the previous handles were not integrated, meaning there was no hole all the way through the door for the two parts of the set to meet in the middle, they were just screwed on the face of the door on either side. I had to bore a new hole for my new handles, just like you would if you were installing a handle on a new door. You need a kind of drill bit called a hole saw to cut holes the size you need for handle installation; usually a door handle needs a 2 5/8 inch circle but handle sets vary, so I have a bunch of various sizes of hole saw in case I need ‘em.

For most installations you use the template provided in your handle set to determine the backset for the hole; it needs to be an exact distance from the edge of the door to meet up with the inner workings of the bolt. In this case I just had to make a hole for the handle in the same spot as the previous handles. I started on one side with the hole saw and went about halfway through. Then I changed to a regular drill bit, and made a hole all the way through the door using the guide hole created by the hole saw. Then I changed back to the hole saw and started from the other side following the guide hole; this way you don’t get a bunch of splintering when you break through with the hole saw. Then it’s just a matter of putting the two halves of your handle set together in the new hole and screwing them tight.

Replacing a bolt and a strike plate can be slightly trickier if the existing holes are not exactly the same as the ones you need for your new set. This may require a small amount of chiseling away at the edge of the existing hole to make it large enough for the new hardware. (PUT THE NEW BOLT IN FIRST. The placement of the strike plate is determined by where the bolt hits the door frame). If you have a wood chisel, great; but if you don’t, a utility knife and standard screwdriver will do in a pinch. The faceplate for the bolt and the edge of the strike plate require a shallow outline around the deeper hole for the bolt. This edge can be widened by slicing around the new plate with your utility knife to the depth of your plate (not much more than 5 or 7 millimeters, usually) and chiseling out the border with a small (smaller means a sharper blade) standard screwdriver. Be careful and go slow with the utility knife; it can get away from you if you are trying too hard. Make several shallow cuts instead of one deep one.

If you have to carve out some of the bolt hole you really do need a chisel. This happens with newer strike plates sometimes; you need it to rest closer to the edge of the door for the bolt to engage. Be careful that you don’t dig out so much of the frame that the structure is weakened; if the bolt won’t engage without just a little modification of the existing strike plate hole there’s something wrong with the door and the bolt installation. However, you do also need try to get enough space between the old screw holes and the new ones that you don’t weaken or blow out your new holes. Drill a pilot hole first, it keeps your new screws from cracking the wood.

That's about it -- if you have any questions, let me know! There’s a bit more to installing new hardware on a new door; you need to use the templates that come with the set to drill the required holes, and you’ll need a couple of different sized hole saws, and you’ll have to chisel out the faceplate areas. It’s also critical to drill pilot holes for your new installation before putting the screws in. Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward and what I have just described pretty much covers it. Most locksets come with comprehensive directions if you’re unsure. The only other thing I would add is that even though I am a huge fan of cordless drills, you need a pretty powerful and tough one to drill a lot of door handle holes. A corded drill works quite a bit better, faster and more reliably.

tools -- the basic set

Of course, the tools.

A handy husband tends to have just enough tools to do a wide range of basic jobs. I have collected more tools over time when I needed something specific to do rare or one-time jobs (who really needs a screen spline tool more than once in their life?); I have also happened upon tools while shopping that just... spoke to me, somehow. I did not realize how badly I needed a drilling hammer until I saw it hanging on the rack at Home Depot. “Boy,” I thought; “I would use that a LOT.” Instant sale. And very useful, as it turns out. The more home projects you do, the more you find yourself gravitating toward tools that would have helped if you’d had it during a previous project, and you buy new tools knowing you’ll need them again someday. What you’re really doing is expanding your capability for new projects as you acquire experience and the right tools for the job.

I have compiled a basic list of tools that I find myself using on almost every project. Keep this set in a portable configuration, either a tool belt or a relatively small toolbox, no matter how big your collection is otherwise. You will find yourself running out to the garage over and over again if you don’t just take your portable set with you from the start. Some of these things are “duh” items; bear with me for all the beginners out there.

Basic handy tools
Hammer
Screwdrivers:
One large and one small standard
One #2 and one #1 Phillips
One each “stubby” -- very short screwdrivers to get into tight spaces
Offset screwdrivers (kind of a sideways screwdriver -- see pic)
Pliers
Needlenose Pliers
Channel Lock Pliers
ViseGrip Pliers
Diagonal Cutter aka Wire Cutters aka "dykes"
Tape Measure 25 feet is enough
Stud Finder
Utility Knife
Hacksaw for the portable tool kit, find a mini-hack
Utility Saw the bigger collection should have a wide range of saws
Small Prybar
Small Flashlight I personally LOVE Mag lights, but the darn things don’t have one-handed operation (on the AA-size ones, anyway). I use a Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp mostly
Rubber Mallet semi-optional but handy
Small (Torpedo) Level
Crescent Wrench
Monkey Wrench also optional due to size and weight, but have one in the bigger collection for sure

Finally, you NEED a couple of things that are indispensable but don’t count as part of the portable kit:

1) You must get a fairly powerful variable-speed portable drill with a comprehensive set of drill bits and driver bits. I advise a 12 volt model with a keyless chuck as well as interchangeable batteries and a separate charging setup so you can BUY TWO BATTERIES. This is critical to your success and happiness as a home handyman. As I mentioned previously, I don’t invest in super-heavy duty power tools, but a minor investment to get these features in a portable drill will be totally worth it.

2) A fairly decent ratchet and socket wrench set will serve you well. It’s something that can expand over time and will be more useful as you add components.

That’s about it for the basic tool set. I’ll get into the larger collection in a future post.

to do list

New gate for the other side

Install new bathroom light fixture

Build cabinets for garage (from a kit; I’m not a carpenter)

Run Ethernet cables under the house
I know, in this day and age of wireless, what’s the point? The point is: I have cables, spade bits bit for my drill, and the intestinal fortitude to go under the house. Besides, the TiVo is too slow via wireless and the kid’s computer is old and needs wires or it’s not happy. OK?

Get rid of old closet doors and hang... something. We put IKEA curtains in our bedroom closet instead of new doors because the old ones are a custom size that you can’t just buy at Home Depot. The curtains are cool because they hang on a wire instead of a rod and hide better behind the existing fascia.

Paint master bedroom

Remodel master bath

Finish planting new landscaping

Redo previously mentioned irrigation to accommodate new planting (I miscalculated on the original plan; all part of doin’ it yourself)

Repair the barbecue

completed projects

Here’s a list of some of the things I have done myself over the last four years of owning this house:

Installed garage door opener

Painted entire exterior

Installed dishwasher

Installed rangetop

Installed oven

Installed Pergo in entryway

Painted and hung front door

Texturized walls, even ON TOP OF old wallpaper (it can be done)

Installed motorized SunSetter awning

Put in new vanity, sink and faucets

Installed whole-house fan

Built new side gate

Installed garbage disposal

Installed irrigation in new landscaping

Built small retaining wall and moved 8.5 cubic yards of dirt behind it with a shovel and a wheelbarrow

Assembled large wooden playset in backyard for the kids

Built a ton of do-it-yourself furniture (does that count?)

Lots of shelving

Installed light fixtures in dining room and kid's bathroom

Hung bi-fold doors on pantry

Changed out all door handles and locksets

Many curtain rods

Repainted and refinished much furniture (you have not lived until you’ve tried pickling stain)

the definition

Some people are “handy”, right? You ask them if they can fix or build something, and they probably can, or at least figure it out. Actually, the key to being handy is not necessarily knowing how to do a particular thing, but knowing enough to be confident that whatever might happen, you can get the job done one way or another. Folks who are “handy” tend to collect tools over the course of their lives, generally only buying them as it becomes evident that they need a specific item for a particular project. A large number of us inherited tools from our dads (the VPs of Handy Husband Operations) though not nearly enough to be able to do what we really want, so often we have an intense interest in buying tools anyway.

We tend to be Craftsman Tools fans, since they tend to be decent tools, are reasonably priced and you can’t beat the warranty. I also have a lot of Stanley, Ryobi, and Irwin stuff since that's what they sell at Home Depot. I also have one DeWalt item, a compund miter saw that I love dearly. Everybody needs a Dremel tool and lots of bits (not necessarily attachments). Keep in mind: I am not a professional! I admire awesome power tools from heavy duty manufacturers but can't afford them and don't need them.

Turns out the internet is a remarkably handy tool itself -- seems like anyone who has ever successfully completed a project has written about it and made it available online. Lucky for us, the “handy”.

I only write this from the point of view of a handy husband because that is where I have discovered my particular niche. My wife was not overly impressed with my ability to fix or build things until she realized that some of her friend’s husbands cannot fix or build anything and they have to pay for a professional to do just about everything. Of course, there are benefits to paying for work to be done; mainly that it spares you the time and effort. In my case, I weigh every challenge against what I am confident doing, how much time I have, and how much I am going to hate paying someone to do it for me. Being handy is also a function of being a cheapskate, to a certain extent; I can’t stand watching a professional come into my house, spend 10 minutes with 2 tools, and walk away with 159 of my dollars. However, it is important to know your limits. Everybody knows a blowhard who claims to be handy and leaves the family with no working electricity or makes it impossible to use the front door. I myself have almost left the family stranded the day before a vacation trip because I stripped the drain valve of the radiator on the Family Truckster and then it wouldn’t hold fluid. On a Sunday, no auto mechanics open. Thank goodness for Prestone Super Radiator Sealer and Bar’s Leaks Heavy Duty Stop Leak. My radiator probably holds half the fluid that it used to, but it sure as hell doesn’t leak!

Being a handy husband is a lot like having a straight job. Of course, a handy husband has a slightly different responsibility than the average handy... um, person. We answer to the Boss, who provides us with our project list and must review all other projects for approval. Projects are prioritized based on benefit to the family. And, as everybody knows, if the Boss ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. So, a project benefits the family if it keeps the Boss happy. The Boss will also consider the input of the HH in order to keep the peace; as anyone who has ever supervised other people with unique talents knows, the help will go on strike if not shown the proper respect. So, the Boss and the HH become partners in most endeavors, negotiating time and cost as well as impact to the harmony of the household during the course of the project. The HH must lay out the basic plan for the Boss, but not to the extent that the Boss becomes impatient with the lengthy explanations. This can be a negotiation tool for the experienced HH: throw a bunch af jargon and detailed explanations at her and she will rubber-stamp your proposal just to get you to shut up and go away.

My goal: discuss my experience as a Handy Husband, evaluate tools and products that a Handy Husband might use, and explain where I got the info I needed to complete my projects. I did a lot of work on the house over the last 2 years, so I have enough topics to keep me busy on this blog for a while. I’ll post as often as I get a chance; let me know what you think if you get a chance:
handyhusbandblog@gmail.com