Nail-on Glides are Better than Stick-on

You’re probably thinking it’s a no-brainer, and you’re right. We started with the stick-on glides. They worked well for a while. But over time they lost their stickiness and began coming off. Eventually, the sticky side got pretty dirty as crumbs or hair would adhere to it.

Pick up the nail-on variety. Despite its name, that doesn’t mean there’s a nail on the end. Some manufacturers use a nail while others use a tiny cylinder. Both require you to hammer the felt glide into place.

Felt Gard Pads

I purchased 1″, Felt Gard nail-on glides from Big Orange. They are available in several different diameters. They feature a tiny cylinder affixed to plastic that holds a felt pad in place. I just installed them but already feel like they will be more durable. After all, they withstood my banging them in place with no problem.

Installing Nail-on Felt Glides

This quick guide uses a wooden chair as an example.
Step 1: Setup your chair upside-down on a sturdy surface. Clean up the chair feet as needed.
Step 2: Place the nail-on glide on the bottom of the chair feet.
Step 3: Use a hammer to drive them in place. You may need to give them a strong, solid first hit the get them started.

What do you think? Do you use felt glides?

Not long ago, Rhoda transformed her dining room by adding picture frame molding and repainting the walls. These two simple, inexpensive DIY projects resulted in an amazing transformation.

As promised, we’ll make a $35 donation to Habitat for Humanity in Rhoda’s name. And, she’ll receive a $25 gift card to either Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon. Be sure to let Rhoda know what you think of her fabulous, new dining room.

There’s still plenty of time to enter our Before and After contest, just send your entries to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com!

A Classic Dining Room by Rhoda

Excerpts from Rhoda’s original post

I think we all fell in love with the Something’s Gotta Give dining room, with the dark table, beautifully slipcovered chairs, and that wall of white china against the creamy beadboard. Swoonworthy, if anything could be described as that. Now, I wasn’t trying to copy this room completely, but I did have this in mind for the feel and look I wanted in my dining room if I was going to the trouble to repaint and add all that picture molding. And I’m happy to say, I got just the feel I wanted.

I’m in love with it! I don’t think I’ll miss the red at all now. It’s a neutral creamy vanilla color, with a hint of yellow/gold. If anyone really wants the paint color, since I used leftover paint from Grandma’s house & the color had been tweaked, I’ll tell you that it’s dead-on with Sherwin Williams Antique White, which is the lightest color on the strip I used in most of our house, the Whole Wheat color strip.

The After Pictures

I’m SO glad I did the picture molding. It’s such a nice detail to this room now. Look out…I’ll be adding more of the stuff around here now.

Picture Molding…

If you’re contemplating making a paint change, just do it. That’s the easiest way to get an update and you’ll be glad you did. As much as I loved the red, I know I’m going to enjoy this one a lot longer.

Habitat for Humanity Quick Fact

We’re making a $35 donation to Habitat in Rhoda’s honor… want to join us? You can make your donation at Habitat’s online donation page. Here’s this week’s quick fact about Habitat, from their site:

Habitat ReStores are retail outlets where quality, used and surplus building materials are sold at a fraction of normal prices. Proceeds from ReStores help local affiliates fund the construction of Habitat houses within the community. Many affiliates across the United States and Canada operate successful ReStores—some of which raise enough funds to build an additional 10 or more houses per year.

Materials sold by Habitat ReStores are usually donated from building supply stores, contractors, demolition crews or from individuals who wish to show their support for Habitat. In addition to raising funds, ReStores help the environment by rechanneling good, usable materials into use.

To purchase or donate materials, find a local Habitat ReStore near you.

Enter Your Project!

What to enter your own Before and After? Send your submissions to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com in any format. See our official Before and After page for details!

That’s two great questions.  Here’s the basic rundown on each material and suitable applications:

Plywood

Plywood is made by cutting thin layers of a tree all the way around its circumference.  These boards are then laminated together using a hot press. The first piece of wood is placed so that it rolls “up” while each subsequent layer is layed opposite the one below it.  The result is that the tendency for the boards to warp into their original shape is diminished as each board is pressing against the other layers.

That said, plywood can still retain some warp, especially because some layers have greater warp tendency than others (for instance, layers derived closer to the center of the tree).  These forces are easily overcome by fasteners when the plywood is applied to studs or joists.

When exposed to water, over time plywood can delaminate and warp worse.  So, it is important to avoid an extensive amount of water exposure during construction.  (Some water, however, will not damage the boards).

Oriented Strand Board (OSB)

OSB is built by pressing smallers strands of wood together with glue and wax in a hot press.  OSB looks a lot like a collage of different wood chips.  Unlike it’s plywood counterpart, OSB lacks the forces that tend the wood to warp, and so is easier to get perfect dimensions and avoid warping tendencies.

The one major disadvantage of OSB is its propensity to expand with moisture.  The edges of OSB will dramatically expand (>15%) when wet, and takes much longer to return to normal size.  If the moisture is allowed to remain in the OSB for some time, the boards may never return to their original dimensions.  The effects of water on OSB are much worse than plywood, although in both cases water and moisture should be avoided.

Applications for Plywood vs. OSB

Subflooring

When used as a subfloor, either product will work for many flooring surfaces, especially carpet where there will be no noticeable difference. For hardwoods, plywood is desirable because it holds nails slightly better than OSB.  Also, since the entire floor will be built with the same product, some care should be taken in deciding whether its worth it to risk potential moisture in bathrooms and kitchens that could cause OSB sub- flooring to buckle and rise at the joints.  For ceramic and stone tiles, either can be used as long as the product meets the deflection requirements of the installation.  Most tilers prefer plywood as it deflects slightly less than plywood under the same load and there’s less moisture risk.

Roofing

For roofs, plywood is preferable and required by code in many states.  Since roofing wood will be exposure to moisture, OSB will have a tendency to expand and warp which will both weaken the roof and may pry up the shingles, making any leak problem worse.

Sheathing

For wall sheating, OSB or plywood is acceptable, but again, plywood is preferable unless extreme cost savings is a concern.

Cost Savings for OSB vs. Plywood

The cost savings of OSB over plywood will be less than 2% of the total cost of most homes.  If we were building a new home, we’d choose plywood given only these two choices.  That said, Plywood and OSB aren’t your only options.  Our buddy Todd over at Home Construction Improvement swears by Advantech Sheathing, a next-generation surface that resists moisture much better than either plywood or OSB.  He built his whole house with it!

(Photos: nieve44/laluz, hryck)

This post will answer a very popular question to help you make an informed decision: What’s the difference between an LCD screen and a plasma screen television? We’ll start with a few basics then discuss the differences.

LCD Basics

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. It’s the same technology found in many cell phones and computer monitors. It’s composed of two layers of rod-shaped polymers. When you apply an electrical current, these crystals act as shutters to block / allow light through forming and image. Then, the entire screen will refresh (see refresh rate) and present the next image. LCD’s require an external light source such as a CCFL or LED’s because they do not create their own light. This is a benefit because these screens require less power.  The screens are thin, flat and available in many different sizes.

Plasma Basics

Plasma screens are another type of flat panel display, although they are generally a little thicker (about 6 inches thick). They are created with many tiny cells. Each cell has two panels of glass with an inert gas injected (in plasma form) between. The gas then excites red, green, and blue phosphors to emit light, creating an image. Plasmas require significant power because they still burn phosphors (just like CRT’s), this is especially true for brighter content.

LCD Advantages

These are the advantages the LCD screens have over plasma screens. Determine what you think is most important and select a TV accordingly.

• Requires less power
• Lighter
• No burn-in susceptibility
• Less screen glare, better for bright rooms
• Longer display life
• Generally have higher resolutions than similarly priced plasmas
• Run cooler, don’t create as much heat
• Performs well at higher altitudes

Plasma Advantages

And here’s the advantages of a plasma screen over an LCD.

• Better prices for larger screen sizes compared to LCD
• Wider viewing angle
• Better contrast ratio, define deep blacks better
• Better color accuracy and saturation
• Better motion tracking
• No pixel burn-out susceptibility

What do you think? What type of TV do you have?
Image courtesy of Johannes Freund

While our door is flat from left to right, you can see in the picture at the right that our bottom opening was not flat from front to back.  The tongue from the plywood ends mid-way through the door opening. In order to fix this, we purchased 1/2″ pine slats from the local big box store and used shims to raise the height of the 1/2″ pine board.  But first, we cut out the plywood tongue.

Cutting out the Plywood Tongue

Cutting out the plywood tongue was a pretty simple task and we employed our Skil 18V Circular Saw.  Simply set the depth on the circular saw shave off the tongue without going through the board beneath and run the saw the full length of the door frame.  For areas close to the left and right sides were the circular saw wouldn’t fit, we used a simple wood chisel to remove the tongue.  We used a handheld grinder to create a smooth surface.

Shimming the Bottom of the Rough Opening

After the tongue was removed, we used shims and out 1/2″ pine to level the opening.  We ripped the pine down to size using a light duty table saw, and fastened the pine and shims to the floor boards using construction adhesive and finish nails.

When finished, the bottom opening of our rough opening is 100% flat and ready for the patio door to be installed.

Shimming for Left to Right Uneven Openings

If your door has an uneven bottom from left to right, you have two options: if you have the space, you can shim appropriately and add 1/4 plywood over the threshhold.  If you don’t have the room in the rough opening, you can shim underneath the door directly but it can be challenging to get this perfect.

To save some cash on the replacement, we decided to tackle the installation ourselves.  So far, the project’s going great.  This article covers the first few steps in the process: removing the sliding glass door and ensuring the rough in opening is right-sized for the replacement.

Remove the Sliding Glass Door

The first step in our project was to remove the existing glass door.  Every sliding glass door works a little differently, but most share a common removal method: the doors lift up and out of the track, usually towards the outside of the house.  In our case, we had to remove some set screws at the top and bottom of the fixed door.  Once removed, the fixed door lifted out easily.  Once the fixed door was moved, the sliding door easily lifts out behind it.

Remove the Slider Frame

Once the door is removed, the slide frame must be removed.  In our case, the frame was actually secured from the studs in towards the door at the base and top of the frame.  This made it incredibly difficult to remove the frame.  We ended up removing it destructively with a hammer and pry bar.  The key in this step is to try to avoid damaging the rough-in opening and and siding or J-channel around the edge.

Rough-in Size for Sliding Glass Door

Once you’ve got the existing door removed, check the size of the rough-in opening.  Most sliders in townhomes are 72″x80″.  In our case, the existing door was 74″x82″ (a non-standard size).  The recommended rough-in size for our new door was exactly 72″x80″, with a door size of 71.5″x79.5″.  If the rough-in is too small, you’ll need to custom order a door to fit in the space.  If the rough in opening is too large (as was in our case), you can frame in the gap with wood.  We chose pressure-treated wood for added durability, although regular studs would have been fine.

Frame in from the Top and Sides

Add wood to the top and sides of the frame, but not to the bottom (otherwise this would become a tripping hazard).  Ensure that the rough-in opening stays larger than the recommended rough-in size for the new door. Make sure that the wood joins at right angles.

Tip 1: Measure the rough-in opening from one diagonal to the other (top-left to bottom-right, then top-right to bottom-left). If the numbers match, the door is square.

Tip 2: Measure horizontally at the top, middle, and bottom; then measure vertically at the left, middle, and right.  All of the horizontal measurements should be the same, as should the vertical measurements.  If not, you may have a warped wall, ceiling, or floor.  A small error can be corrected when installing the door itself. 

Tip 3: Fix the rough-in before fastening tightly.  Don’t put a lot of fasteners (nails or screws) into the frame until you are confident the frame is perfectly square.

Cause of Driveway Cracks

Water is the most common cause of cracks in your driveway. Water can seep below the driveway surface and expand / contract with changing temperatures. Even moist soil can experience frost heaves resulting in significant damage. Additionally, your driveway is always exposed to the elements. Time will take its toll creating cracks and holes.

When to Fill Cracks

Asphalt driveways also expand and contract with changing temperatures. As the temperature gets colder, the asphalt contracts causing cracks to widen. This is the ideal time to address problem areas. Fill cracks in the early spring or late fall. Cracks filled in the heat of summer may result in gaps allowing water and debris to cause more problems.

Additionally, cracks should be patched while they are still small. This will prevent moisture entry and erosion of the sub-base and underlying ground from repeated freeze/thaw cycles.

How to Patch Cracks in an Asphalt Driveway

Clean the area: Begin by cleaning up the area. Sweep away as much dirt and debris as possible. A wire brush is very handy for this step. Remove any grass or weeds including the roots. Use a chisel to remove protruding chunks. Patching compound will adhere better to a smooth, clean surface. Finish up with a shop vac to further remove any dirt. I’ve also read about using compressed air or a garden hose to clean the crack. Whatever your preference, make sure the crack is completely clean and dry before starting the next step.

Fill with Asphalt Filler: Purchase a high quality asphalt filler that incorporates rubberized asphalt emulsion. Many come in caulk-like tubes but it’s also available in a standalone bottle. Take care to completely fill the crack. Use a trowel or putty knife to press the compound into all the nooks and crannies. Many manufacturers recommend that you slightly overfill the crack as the compound can shrink some while drying. Deep and wide cracks may require two applications.

Sealing the Patch: Allow the filler to completely dry. Finish the job by applying an asphalt sealer to create a waterproof barrier. Ideally, you’d seal the entire driveway for a nice uniform appearance. You can just seal the crack and surrounding area but it may result in a noticeably different color.

What do you think? Do you have any asphalt cracks that need fixing?
Image courtesy of Rutger Blom

… Perhaps you can think of the delay as a really long drumroll, because this week’s before and after from Kara @ Made 2 Create is absolutely amazing.  Take a look at her stunning bathroom makeover that turns a traditional mid-80s era bathroom into a black and white modern marvel.

Based on Kara’s submission, we’ll make a $35 donation to Habitat for Humanity in her honor.  And, she’ll receive a $25 gift card to either Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon.  Congrats, Kara!  Thanks for the submission!

There’s still plenty of time to enter our Before and After contest, just send your entries to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com!

Black and White Bathroom Upgrade by Kara

My husband and I gutted everything and came up with a new layout.  I chose a sophisticated color palette of black, white, chrome, and slate blue.   I used brazilian black slate and white subway tiles to create a classy look.  2 shower heads and 2 sinks are sure to keep harmony between my husband and I while the stylish and functional floating shelves add to the spa like feel.   Lastly the glass shower screen allows this somewhat small bathroom to appear much bigger!

The Before Pictures…

The (Amazing!) After Pictures

Details, details. details!  I have to admit my husband is usually the one focused on fine tuning, I am more of a “big picture” kind of girl.  However, there are times when I see the difference the slightest change can make and I remember that truly GREAT design is in the details!

After (the After) Picture

Thanks for One Project Closer

Kara, this is a truly inspiring transformation.  We love the black and white modern touches, and the frosted glass really is the perfect finishing touch!  Very nice indeed…

Habitat for Humanity Quick Fact

We’re making a $35 donation to habitat in Kara’s honor… want to join us?  You can make your donation at Habitat’s online donation page.  Here’s this week’s quick fact about Habitat, from their site:

Women Build is Habitat’s volunteer program for women who want to learn construction skills and make a difference by building homes and communities.

Women Build projects are regularly held by Habitat affiliates across the United States, and by Habitat organizations around the world. Women at these builds have furthered Habitat’s home-building mission by helping to construct more than 1,500 houses.

For more information, see Habitat’s Women Build Home Page…

Enter Your Project!

We’re just getting warmed up in our Before and After challenge… Send your submissions to beforeandafter@oneprojectcloser.com in any format.  See our official Before and After page for details!

Vinegar Solution

The coffee maker came with instructions for running a vinegar solution through the maker. Here are the important details:

• 1 part vinegar to 2 parts cold water.
• Run half the solution through the maker and then stop. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
• Finish the vinegar solution and then rinse with plain water until all the vinegar is gone.

It seems that stopping part way through allows the vinegar to better break down hard water mineral deposits, old oils from previously brewed pots and other impurities. I’ve also read you can substitute another acid, lemon juice, in place of the vinegar.

Baking Soda

The next option is using baking soda to clean a coffee maker. It’s very similar to the vinegar instructions with a few small differences:

• 1 cup lukewarm water to 1/4 cup baking soda.
• Dissolve the backing soda before pouring into the water reservoir.
• Cycle clean water as needed.

Bleach Solution

Does anyone use bleach?

• 1/2 Clorox bleach to a full reservoir of hot water.
• Allow the solution to sit 15 minutes before starting running the solution through.
• Rinse with hot water.

Cleaning the Coffee Carafe

You can also focus on just cleaning the coffee pot (carafe) by itself. This method calls for coarse salt, ice and vinegar.

• Combine 2 tablespoons of salt and several scoops of ice in the coffee pot.
• Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and swirl the contents.
• Keep swirling until all the stains are removed. Rinse as usual.

The ice and salt actually scrape away the coffee stains.

What do you think? Any suggestions to keep my coffee maker clean?
Image courtesy of Refracted Moments

Skil recently released their new line of cordless, 18V Li-Ion-powered tools.  Over the last two weeks, we reviewed their new drill/driver and the latest in their long line of SKILSAW circular saws.  Today we’ll take a look at the last two tools that come standard in their 4-tool kit: the Skil 18V reciprocating saw, and the Skil 18V flashlight.

Where to Buy Skil 18V Cordless Tools

If you’re in the market for a four tool combo kit, the SKIL set makes a compelling case to be your tool set of choice.  The SKIL combo kit costs only $244.00 for all four tools (drill driver, circular saw, reciprocating saw, flashlight), plus two Li-ion batteries, and a carrying case (not shown above). This is about $100 cheaper than most competitors’ offerings.

SKIL products are available at a variety of home improvement stores and sites and are being featured at Lowes.  Here’s the relevant links if you decide to buy online:

Skil 4-Piece Combo Kit

• SkillTools.com - > Skil 18V Li-Ion 4-Tool Combo Kit (official site)
• Lowes.com - > Skil 18V Li-Ion 4-Tool Combo Kit

Skil 18V Cordless Reciprocating Saw Review

Portability is still King

Just like its brethren in the 4-tool kit, the reciprocating saw really shines when you need to use it in a place where electricity is unavailable or would be hard to setup.  Need to quickly take down a 2″ branch on a tree, cut through a thick metal pipe, or cut a hole out of the drywall?  The Skil reciprocating saw makes easy work of all of these jobs. Of course, with convenience comes a price… If you’re going to take down a whole tree, you’ll have to recharge the batteries several times or get out a corded model.

Given the option, we’ve found that Skil’s cordless saw is lighter and easier to maneuver than our corded model, and so it has become our reciprocating saw of choice for all light to mid-duty jobs.

Adjustable Speed and Turbo Mode

Skil’s reciprocating saw features variable speed control, making it useful for cutting virtually every type of material.  Tuning the speed is easy with a lever that sits on the left side of the saw.

Good Grip Feel and Relatively Low Vibration

The saw features a combination rubber and platic grip at both the trigger and the opposite-hand stabilizer position.  The grip makes it easy to control while cutting.  As with every reciprocating saw we’ve tried, vibration is still an issue, but with adjustable speed and good grip, vibration impact is reasonably minimized.  (We noticed that it was much more controlled their our corded model).

Tool Free Blade Change & Two-blade Storage

The saw features a tool-free blade change that make changes very fast (think less than 10 seconds).  What’s nice about Skil’s version of this feature is that once secured, the blade stays put.  Up to two blades can be stored in an insert at the top of the handle.  This seemed like a trivial feature, until we realized how easy it makes transporting the saw… everything can be safely carried in just the tool itself.

The Verdict

We really like Skil’s offering in this competitive class.  They’ve created a great tool for light to medium duty work that’s tops in portability and convenience.

SKIL 18V Pivot-Head Flashlight Review

Rounding out Skil’s 4-tool kit is the 18V flashlight.  While we don’t think anyone buys a kit like this for the light, it is a nice addition if you don’t already have a high power flash light.  The light features a pivoting head that allows it to point straight or at 90 degrees.  It’s bright enough to be used as an everyday flashlight and met all of our standard household needs.

What do you think? Do you own the Skil cordless reciprocating saw?  Leave a comment and let us know about your experience.