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Outdoor GFCI Outlet Installation
Outdoor GFCI outlet installation doesnโt have to be hard. In fact, itโs super easy with the right tools and tips. Plus, GFCI outlets are required by code in wet areas and outdoors. So letโs dive in! Outdoor GFCI Outlet Supplies…
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Hose Bib Installation Tips for Beginners
These hose bib installation tips are invaluable, especially if youโre a beginner. The goal is to replace your old outdoor faucet and do it quickly without leaks. Also, there are tons of great tips that apply to other plumbing projects.…
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Concrete Repair Tips for Beginners
Do you need concrete repair tips for steps or porches? Todayโs tutorial is great for beginners who want a one-day fix. Plus, Iโll share all the tools and materials that make this project much easier. Letโs dive in! Concrete Repair…
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How to Install a New Door Lock
Learning how to install a new door lock is important. Especially if you value your home. Hereโs the deal though, keys get lost. Whether itโs your kid, husband or tenantsโฆkeys ALWAYS get lost. I recently fell in love with Kwiksetโs…
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Staining Pressure Treated Wood
Staining wood can be a PAIN! The only thing thatโs worse is stripping it in 2-3 years!!! MORE PAIN. I have a 10 year old retaining wall thatโs made from pressure treated wood. Itโs in great shape and Iโd like…
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Get Rid of Spiders for 12 Months
My wife is deathly afraid of spiders. Unfortunately we get little visitors every spring. Last Aprilย I wasย sitting in the living roomย and suddenly heardย my wife scream. After running upstairs I found her pointing to a huge black spider on the ceiling.…
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Installing Outdoor Landscape Lighting
Halloween is today!! Itโs my favorite time of year. Orange leaves. Charlie Brown specials. We get a lot of visitors from October thru December. And our home has a lot of steps leading to the front door and Iโd hate…
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DIY Gel Fire Pits
Need a conversation starter? This tutorial will give you one. Iโm alwaysย up for building cool stuff to make our patio more inviting. Since Iโm also a penny pincher I like to figure out how to DIY these things and get…
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Garden Hose Repair
Garden hoses donโt last forever. Mine sprungย a leak while I was trying to power wash our house. Instead of throwing away the hose I decided to fix it. The repair parts cost less than $9. Maybe youโre in the same…
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Build a BIG Outdoor Storage Bench
I hate soggy seat cushions. Lately weโve been getting biblical rainfalls in Pittsburgh. Yes, weโre fortunate but weโve also had flooding. So I decided to do something about it, not the flooding (Iโm not Al Roker). This past weekend I…
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How to Build a Rustic Cooler
If you want toย learn how to build a rustic cooler from pallets then Iโve got a great project. And the coolest part is that I did it using only one type of saw. There are great tutorials on the web…
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How to Clean Efflorescence Off Stone Walls
Do your stone walls have efflorescence? Mine doย and itโs really REALLY bad. Efflorescence leaves a white residue on stoneย and itโs just salt deposits from the soil or stone itself. Let me tell you, it can be a big headache to…
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How to Edge a Flower Bed
Are you tired of your flower beds looking like a disaster? I feel the same way. For some reason it just bothers the heck out of me to not have a well edged flower or mulch bed. So I did…
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Cement Step Repair
This weekโs tutorial is all about showing you a quick way to fix cement steps in less than one day. Hereโs the deal, you donโt need any cement experience to do this. If you mess up it wonโt be the…
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The BEST Door Sweep for Exterior Doors
Raise your hand if you want low utility bills? If your arm shot up then read on. Youโve probably seen traditional door sweeps or even installed one. They consist of a rubber gasket attached to a metal strip. These sweeps…
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Install Weather Stripping Around Outside Doors
Sometimes older homes feel like theyโre made of swiss cheese. One way to stop ants, drafts, and high utility bills is to add weather stripping to outside doors. Iโve done this to several of our rentals and itโs way easy.…
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How to Remove Oil Stains from Concrete
Do you feel like stains are complex mysteries? Painfully obvious nuisances that draw our attention over and over again. Well, thatโs how Iโve felt for the last 7 years. You see, we had a huge oil stain on our concrete…
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Refinish Your Exterior Door Hardware
Repainting hinges & door knobs can be a creative way to save some money and customize the look of your doors. And even though itโs way easier to just buy new stuff at the store I wanted to experiment and…
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Paint an Exterior Door
How do you prep & paint an exterior door so that itโll look good for years to come? This question seems to be a popular one since exterior doors shape the first impression of our houses. Unfortunately, my door looked…
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Rotten Wood Repair
Have you ever encountered rotten wood and had that sinking feeling at the bottom of your stomach? Queasiness and the sound of the register cha chinging ensued after I inspected the bottom of our wood porch columns. They stood the…
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Make Porch Column Bases from Pressure Treated Lumber
I decided to give it a shot and build our own porch column bases out of pressure-treated lumber. Itโs amazing how cheap you can construct stuff with a little know-how and some tools. Plus, the big upside is affordability. Wood…
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Inspect Your Front Porch Columns
Do you have a front porch on your house? Have you ever inspected the columns or supports that hold up the porch roof? If the answer is no then this post might persuade you to do so!! The first rental…
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Stone Patio Care
Every spring or summer we all go through the same thing: cleaning the patio because it looks embarrassingly hideous, like something from a zombie movie. In fact, it looks like the zombies would enjoy having lunch on it and reflect…
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Concrete Expansion Joints
Concrete expansion joints are important for your sidewalk or driveway. Keeping your joints watertight will prevent moisture from seeping under concrete pads and causing them to heave or sink. This post shares how to accomplish this task. The purpose of…
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How to Season Replacement Cast Iron Grill Grates
Replacement cast iron grill grates are not cheap. So how do you prevent them from rusting and turning into a pile of scrap metal? This was a question I had after realizing our 10-year-old gas grill needed new replacement cast…
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Frost-Free Sillcocks
A frozen outdoor water faucet or hose bib could be your worst nightmare. Frozen pipes are like blood clots. Very dangerous. And when they rupture your house and your wallet will suffer enormously. I donโt regularly check my outside faucets…
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Outdoor GFCI Electrical Outlet Installation
If you use outdoor electrical outlets for holiday lights or other things that need a plug (karaoke machine anyone) then a GFCI outlet is a must. House electrical wiring needs GFCIs in kitchens, bathrooms, and anywhere outside. Ground-fault circuit interrupters…
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How to Install Custom Window Screens in Old Window Frames
How do you install custom window screens that you make from screen repair kits? I showed you how to make the window screens in a prior post. And this skill comes in handy when your screens are blown away or…
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Build Custom Window Screens
You donโt need to call the local handyman to get custom window screens built. In keeping with the theme of Home Repair Tutor this project is well worth your time and only takes 15 minutes, even if youโre not particularly…
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Repairing Cracks in Concrete
This time of year I start to notice all the flaws in my driveway, steps, and walkways. While doing a routine fall preventive maintenance check at one of our rental houses I noticed a sizable gap on the walkway between…
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Sliding Screen Doors
How frustrating is it when your sliding screen door just wonโt budge? This drives me nutty and we donโt even use our screen door that much. My wife hates how cobwebs and bugs seem to like congregating between the sliding…
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Sliding Glass Door Hardware
Our sliding glass door hardwareย looked TERRIBLE. The door itself is in good shape but the sunlight & rain over the years definitely aged the hardware pretty badly. So I decided to be doctor for an afternoon and perform a facelift…
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How to Adjust a Sliding Glass Door
Does your sliding glass door open slowly? Mine was tough to move and our young daughters could barely budge it. I decided enough was enough and I had to figure out this problem. So today Iโm going to share 5…