July 29, 2008
At least once a year, the sink drain in my bathroom develops a severe case of the slows. There's no mystery why this happens. My wife and two daughters use the sink and and the surrounding area daily for all their grooming needs, and that means the sink drain is constantly swallowing large doses of loose hair (and who knows what else) that never quite make it past the P-trap. As the lone male in the house, I have the fun job of taking apart the drain and unclogging the trap, despite my negligible follicular contributions.
Inevitably, I spend the better part of an hour taking the trap apart, dredging out a gray, unappetizing mat of stinking glop, and putting everything back together and cleaning up.
Help may have arrived. The Permaflow replaces standard P traps with a transparent P that can be cleaned without being removed. The secret is its little internal paddle, which when turned with an external wheel scoops out clogs and debris and sends them down the drain in kitchens and bathrooms. So there's never any need for noxious hair-dissolving chemicals.
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July 29, 2008
Get free standard shipping on all mailable tool and lawn and garden orders of $125 or more at Sears.com. The offer is good through August 2.
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July 29, 2008
They aren't architectural salvage, but for some reason I spot old ironing boards like this one at salvage shops all the time. So, like with all the old house parts that I'm constantly devising new uses for, I challenged myself to come up with a suitable re-use for this aging icon of American domestic life.
My idea: an instant buffet table. Just like a collapsible card table, this ironing board can be easily stowed in the closet and then pulled out and propped up whenever you need an extra serving surface. Use it for doling out cocktails at a party, or mashed sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. Score this stylish wooden model at Island Girl Salvage for $165.
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July 29, 2008
The Dewalt DW368K circular saw weighs 9.5 pounds. It’s a pro-grade tool that’s very popular with builders and homeowners alike. It’s bright yellow and has lots of plastic parts. If you showed it to a carpenter fifty years ago, he probably would have thought it was made by Tonka Toys.
It’s likely he would have used something similar to the Stanley W8-J Safety Saw I recently bought at a tag sale. Aside from the rubber insulation on the power cord, I doubt there is a piece of plastic anywhere in its makeup.
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July 28, 2008
In the three and a half years I've been writing the Save This Old House column, I've never come across anything as jaw-dropping as the Ouerbacker mansion in Louisville, Kentucky. When I wrote about it in November 2007, the the 7,450-square-foot, circa-1860 Richardsonian Romanesque ruin was being offered by the City of Louisville for a $1 to anyone willing to restore it. Good news: The house, which narrowly escaped demolition last month, is finally safe and sound thanks to an preservation-minded architect with some apparently deep pockets.
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July 28, 2008
If you haven't already heard of this summer's Dark Knight movie madness
- the new Batman installment raked in $314.2 million in 10 days - you
probaby have spent the past couple of weeks in a cave of some
sort. By now, it's safe to say that hardcore bat-heads are likely
seeking ways to put their fandom on display. Before you get the bat symbol tattooed across your back, take a look at this stuff.
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July 28, 2008
This industrial service cart, which holds 300 pounds, is $45 at Northern Tool + Equipment.
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July 28, 2008
I bought my Boston Digger at a yard sale in New Hampshire for one dollar. It would make a better story if I could say that an old guy sitting in the shade on an old nail keg said, “Sonny, I dug a half a thousand post holes in this bony soil with that digger and it never let me down.” In fact, I bought it from a yuppie with a Lexus in the driveway, who didn’t know what the thing was for, saying it was in the barn when he got the place. I bought it anyway because I could see the tool’s intent. It digs a deep hole faster than you can say, “Who put that giant rock right where I want to dig this hole?”
There’s an inherent problem with clamshell-type post hole diggers. They have opposing and hinged shovel heads at the end of long handles, and the deeper the hole is that your digging the less well they work because you have to spread the handles so wide to get a scoop of dirt. Imagine try to pick up a single grain of rice at the bottom of a long test tube with a pair of chopsticks, and you’ll get the idea.
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July 26, 2008
Nothing dresses up the inside of your windows like interior shutters. Imagine adjusting the movable louvers on a pair of wooden shutters in your old house to let in the dappled afternoon light or the waft of an early evening breeze. You have to admit that that scene is about a one thousand times move evocative than fiddling with the slinky strings on your vinyl mini blinds.
Shuttercraft, Inc. has a comprehensive website that offers both interior and exterior shutters in a variety of styles and wood species. There’s even installation guidelines and tips on measuring. Fill out a form, and they’ll send you a pricing quote, or if you’re in the area, stop by their bricks and mortar store in Madison, CT, Monday through Friday.
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July 26, 2008
Q: I’d love one of those in-desk power outlets that come standard in cubicles and hotel room workstations for my office area at home. Is there a way to install one that doesn’t require me to be an electrician or master carpenter?
A: Ah, the convenience of not having to bend over and scavenge for a power outlet under your desk. A common solution to this is to simply mount a surge protector to the wall above your desk; however, it’s not nearly as classy as having a single outlet at your fingertips, flush-mounted right in your desk or tabletop. Luckily, there is a way to install an outlet in your workspace that is easy, inexpensive, and the only power tool required is a household electric drill.
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