How to ... » Do It Yourself (DIY)

How to Build a Cheap Desk

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:03:50 +0000

If you need to build a cheap desk for a student, you can do so for much less money than even the cheapest pre-made desks out there. And you can do it without lifting a hammer.

All you need are two 2-drawer file cabinets, and an unfinished door. You can buy the door at a local hardware store. Usually they come without the doorknob hole pre-drilled...but if the hole is there, use that as a place for power cords to go through.

Space the two file cabinets apart and lay the door on top. That's it!

You can paint the door, or stain it, if you want it to match your decor. It gives you the right height, a ton of surface space, and 4 drawers for storage.

If you want it to look a little classier, use a wood file cabinet instead of a metal one.

Linda - http://how.best-free-information.com - The "How" Blog

How to Get Blackout Curtains Really Dark

admin — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:56:40 +0000

There's one problem with many room darkening curtains...sometimes the light comes in above the curtain, where the hooks hang the curtain on the rod.

There's a cheap but effective way to resolve that, but it requires that your curtains have a valance. A valance is that "second" curtain that is really short that covers the top of the curtain and the curtain rod.

You can secure a piece of cardboard, cut to fit between the wall and the valance. Place the cardboard strip so that it is oriented horizontally, and fits all the way from the wall to the back of the valance. You can literally secure it with something as simple as masking tape.

The strip should be invisible to everyone unless they are standing directly under the curtain looking up. The nice thing about this is that it is hidden from everyone, so even in a very stylish home (where you would never dream of using 'cardboard' in your decor), it works unseen. And it is extremely effective, which is nice in rooms like a media room where any glare from the window may interfere with viewing the television.

Linda - http://how.best-free-information.com - The "How" Blog

How to Cut a Stair Stringer

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:31:04 +0000

I took some time off from my 'day job' to rebuild my deck. It needed to be torn apart and have new decking and handrails installed. And the steps that were on the deck when we bought the house were scary. They were steeper than we wanted, especially for our pre-schooler. The steps needed to be rebuilt.

I have never cut a stair stringer before, but I get the basic concept...use a carpenter's square to make a series of ascending L-cuts for the stair tread and the rise. (Horizontal distance is called 'run', vertical is called 'rise'.)

But trying to decide how many steps, and how big to cut them (what angle, etc.) was difficult.

Fortunately I found an on-line calculator for figuring out how to cut a stair stringer. You can find it HERE.

Using that calculator, you can try all kinds of variations on number of steps, rise, etc., and it will calculate where to make the cuts, and even show you an example of the stringer, including the treads. It provides every measurement you can want.

It certainly made my first experience successful. My steps are now on the deck, and they look great, and they are much more comfortable. (8 steps instead of 6)

I hope the calculator helps you if you need to cut a stair stringer!

Linda - http://how.best-free-information.com - The "How" Blog