In this sixth part in the series on building your deck, you will be installing the structure that will support the joists and flooring of your deck. It is critical that these parts are sturdy and solid. Before you begin framing your deck, you should have the ledger installed a ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to animal proof a house. Steps: 1 Dig 8- to 12-inch-deep trench alongside porch. 2 Cut hardware cloth slightly larger than opening under porch 3 Use 2x4 to bend a 6-inch-wide L-shaped flange into hardware cloth. 4 Cut hole ...more
Martha Stewart famously won't put any foods in her mouth unless they're fresh from her own garden, and most other dedicated cooks and foodies probably feel the same way. Fresh always tastes better, hands down. So if you're lucky enough to have a small garden attached to your h ...more
This prank is about as simple as it gets. All you need is some kind of tray, some flour, string, and a part of your house where there is a pull-chord light switch (most likely the basement). Just remove the light switch chord and dangle your new string in its place, attached t ...more
As kids, we had dreams of becoming a prima ballerina and dancing for the New York Ballet Company (while we loved dancing around our house in our skivies, we think it had more to do with the pretty tulle skirts and beribboned toe shoes). Dreams discarded, we are nevertheless st ...more
Perpetualplum demonstrates how to make a repurposed lamp out of old materials. First, you will need a candlestick and light fixture parts like sockets, extender rods, washers and cords. You can also find materials around your house to use as the lamp base like coasters, ashtra ...more
The old frame of the wreath of a previous year containing only two old ornaments is used. Placed on the frame are plastic bags from the grocery store . The bags were green in color however colored bags may be used for creativity . Fluff and fold the bags and wrap them around t ...more
The hosts, Robin Burke and David Musial, show how to install weather stripping to keep the heat in your home and the cold out. David demonstrates how to remove old, worn weather stripping. He shows the new weather stripping and makes a cut, demonstrating what to do if a new pi ...more
In this video tutorial, learn how to make a cardboard house with leftover cardboard that you may have sitting around from the holidays. You will need cardboard and plastic box rivets. Create several holes along one side of your first piece of cardboard. These holes will be us ...more
In photography, using filters over lenses is a common practice and provides a great way to set the mood or to create an artistic image. The only problem is that they can be quite costly and there currently aren't many available for cell phones specifially. Fortunately, there i ...more
Synopsis: Tell one guy that a girl that one of the other guys knows just had some sketchy demonic encounter/satanic experience at some Wicca gathering she went to last night while she was trying to get answers from the past. Then say she’s incredibly creeped out right now and ...more
Learn how to decorate your graduation cap. Customizing your graduation cap is a way to stand out among the sea of identical, ill-fitting graduation robes. You Will Need * Time * A crafts store * Money * A needle and thread * And artistic flair * Battery-operated lights Step ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to create zones in a hot water system. Steps: 1 Turn off cold-water line to boiler; shut the electricity to boiler. 2 Drain water from boiler, if there’s no floor drain remove water with electric pump. 3 Cut copper pipe coming ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to paint aluminum siding. Steps: 1. Rub siding with cloth to check for powdery paint pigment and mildew. 2. Cover ground and nearby shrubs with drop cloths. 3. Test old siding paint for lead using a lead test kit; if lead is p ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how add stairway headroom. Steps: 1 Carefully pry old stair treads from staircase. 2 Use reciprocating saw to cut out the old stair stringers. 3 Cut new notched stringers from 2x12s using a circular saw; finish cuts with handsaw. ...more
The biggest struggle with flashing DVD drives on Xbox 360s has been the price tag of the probe to extract keys on some drives. The probe and kit is required to extract the DVD key, which is needed to perform a drive repair, flash, or backup of any kind. Who wants to pay big bu ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a stylish Halloween bag tag. You will need: ink blending tool in black soot color, black paint, orange paint, white card stock, stencils, cutters, scissors, and glue. First, place your white card stock underneath the stencil, then cut out ...more
Every one knows what ivy is, but most think of it as the poisonous ivy that gives a horrible itchy rash, but poison ivy isn't the only kind out there. There's beautiful ivy that can make your home more elegant than ever. Growing the prolific ivy plant will convince you that yo ...more
This easy to follow silent and accurate video will guide you quickly and easily through what you'll need, (like a Power Supply, a sound system that has a Subwoofer Pre-output and a High Input adapter, which may already come with your amp.) First learn what colored wires should ...more
Before working on any circuit in your house, make sure you turn the light off at the circuit breaker and then test it at the switch. Use 14-2 wire which has two insulated wires, a white and a black, and a bare copper wire which is used for grounding. First you run a 14-2 wire ...more
A tubular skylight is a fast and inexpensive way to bring natural light into your house. The tubular skylight has three parts a dome, reflective tubing, and a diffuser. First locate the ceiling joists in the area that you would like to install the skylight and mark them with t ...more
Do you have a problem with flies and you're not sure how to get rid of them? In this video, learn how to make a homemade fly trap to get rid of those pesky insects with wings! If you have too many flies buzzing around your house, here's a quick way to make an inexpensive fly t ...more
Did you know that you can make a rocket out of stuff you might already have around the house? In this tutorial, you'll see how to make a candy rocket using PVC pipes, sorbitol (a sugar substitute) and other fairly common household objects. With just a little work, your sugar r ...more
Tim Carter demonstrates why simple pipe scaffolding is an excellent tool to use for outdoor painting projects. There is an alternative for working on ladders if you feel they are unsafe or wobbly. Pipe scaffolding provides a way to work at those heights with stability and a n ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install an instantaneous water heater. Steps: 1 Use template to mark position of vent hole on exterior wall of basement. 2 Bore center pilot hole for vent using a 3/8-inch-diameter masonry bit. 3 Cut vent hole through wall u ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to replace window sash cords. Steps: 1 Unscrew the window stop from each side jamb. 2 Remove the bottom sash. 3 Pry the parting bead free of the window frame. 4 Pull out the top sash. 5 Cut sash cord on both sides of window fr ...more
Watch this video for instructions on making the Yukki Cross Artemis scythe from the anime / manga Vampire Knight. Supply list: 4 foam board pieces (dimensions 32 x 40 x 3/16 in) paper mache hot glue gun wooden pole approx 5 feet tall craft bond spray paint paint brushes acryl ...more
Boston.com's The Big Picture posts 2009's most amazing Guinness World Record holders. My favorite fanatics below. "A base jumper leaps backwards off the Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower, Malaysia, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. A group of base jumpers were attempting to set a Guinness Wo ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to patch drywall. Steps: 1. For tiny holes and popped nails, use 4-inch drywall knife to apply two or three thin coats of joint compound. 2. Allow each application of compound to dry, and then sand, between coats. 3. Repair sm ...more
Minecraft's monsters are so annoyingly tenacious and effective that anyone who plays in survival mode can't help but hate them. That's why we're here to tell you how to kill them! In this tutorial, we'll teach you how to harness a unique property of lava to create blades that ...more
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills. Submit your best shot to our weekly competition for a chance to win an awes ...more
PETA wouldn't consider James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau's ingenious flypaper clock very eco-friendly, but I might beg to differ. The clock doesn't require any electricity or batteries. Instead it captures flies and converts the bodies of the dead insects into energy. Eight dead f ...more
The widely used expression "free as a bird" intimates an enviable existence: delicate, yet mighty wings transporting to destinations no human could so breezily venture. But despite their fanciful, superhero ability, in truth, the avian race leads one of the most difficult exis ...more
I read Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God on the recommendation of a philosophical friend and before I had finished it I was adding Keller’s The Prodigal God to my list of books to read. Keller has a gift for succinct and wise writing. I believe he truly has his finger on whe ...more
Tips If you are taking a relatively uncomplicated flight to post, it may be to your advantage to take your pet along as excess baggage. Ask the travel agent to provide you with a cost comparison of excess baggage versus air freight shipment.(Remember also to save your receipt ...more
Smartphones are crazy awesome. You can do your banking, track your children, find directions, and even pretend to have a mustache. The only thing that these personal supercomputers are missing is physical interaction with the environment. I wanted to be able to call my house ...more
It's once again Monday, which means it's time to highlight some of the most recent community submissions posted to the Math Craft corkboard. Since two of these posts were on polyhedral versions of M.C. Escher's tessellations, I thought we'd take a look at building a simple tes ...more
So what's all the fuss about World of Warcraft? I guess the first question would be 'is there a fuss?' and the simple answer is Yes there is, very much so. World of Warcraft now has over 12 million subscribers, it is by far the most popular MMORPG (massively multiplayer onli ...more
I know it seems a little redundant to post this when I've already posted a video, but it is kind of hard to get more than a vague idea from the video alone. I hope this sheds a little more light on the subject. I'm sure it also seems like I'm beating this idea to death, but th ...more
Welcome to Math Craft World! This community is dedicated to the exploration of mathematically inspired art and architecture through projects, community submissions, and inspirational posts related to the topic at hand. Every week, there will be approximately four posts accordi ...more
Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play with us on our free server. There's no better way to get around, either for recreation or labor, than the minecart. Minecarts can make a laborious job simple and a boring house fun. Minecarts are much ...more
Most often when cleaning, using your wet dry vacuum cleaner, you tend to pull at the hose while towing it around. This invariably leads to the hose being pulled off very often. In this video, Joe demonstrates how you can overcome this problem and thereby make your ‘Wet Dry Vac ...more
Walls don’t last forever, be prepared. Building a house from scratch, a room add on or if it’s just time to turn one room into two you will need to make a sturdy wall frame to ensure the proper construction of your new wall. Reinvent your living space by installing a new wall ...more
If you're the kind of person who misses the bright, sunny days of summer during the colder months, Michail has the perfect addition to your home. He built this "Nuclear Explosion" Chandelier that's as bright as daylight, so you can recreate the feeling of summer, no matter wha ...more
Video: . This is a very simple way to set up a booby trap inside your house for your friends and family, It can get messy so prank at your own risk. You will need the following household items. Shaving Cream 2 Push pins Tape Balloon Basically you fill up the balloon with ...more
Over time, the dryer belt can become hard and brittle when the drum is turning loud noises such as squeaking, squealing or thumping noises can occur. Replacing the belt is an easy task for the do-it-yourselfer. All that’s required is a few simple tools. Here’s a step-by-step g ...more
If you need a cloudy background for a photo or video, you can always turn an old aquarium into a DIY cloud tank. But, if you want something more fun and less creepy, these fluffy cloud props by Serena Thompson might be more what you're looking for. It'd even make a good Hallow ...more
WonderHowTo house favorite, Sam Nouyoun gives the lowdown on "fuming" super glue to develop latent fingerprints on smooth surfaces. What? How? The cyanoacrylate (the chemical in Superglue or Krazy glue) attaches to the water molecules in the steam. When it comes in contact w ...more
It finally happened! In a world of "go big or go home," Magic Leap has finally done something other than tease us with vague promises and rendered video concepts. Although, other than actually showing us what the developer's kit will look like, it seems little more than a slig ...more
Want to secure your home? There are plenty of ways to go about it. You can make your doorbell send you a text if someone rings it while you're not home, or build a motion-triggered security camera. Even better, you can beat potential crooks at their own game by installing a do ...more
Your home has walls for privacy, but Wi-Fi signals passing through them and can be detected up to a mile away with a directional Wi-Fi antenna and a direct line of sight. An amazing amount of information can be learned from this data, including when residents come and go, the ...more
While the Reminders app has been largely ignored by Apple for years, iOS 13 finally makes it a force to be reckoned with. The app has been completely redesigned with easier navigation and more useful features that can compete with other task managers. After giving the new Remi ...more
Our dog has tons of energy and always wants to play. However, play time can be exhausting to the humans of the house. We found out a few months ago that the dog loves to play ‘chase the red dot.' Boredom leads to creativity, so we attached a laser pointer to her head with a ba ...more
I don't like paying for repairs, and I don't like purchasing extended warranties. When one of my gadgets break, I perform emergency surgery and try and fix it myself. It doesn't always go well, but I've managed to resuscitate a few iPhones, an HDTV, an Android tablet, multiple ...more
Watching movies will always be one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I can spend an entire day watching movies and not feel the slightest bit guilty about it. You can learn from movies, so don't ever let anyone tell you that you're wasting time. Now, if I was über rich a ...more
Reading in bed with a book and bedside lamp is so 1990s. As tablets get smaller and content continues to be digitized, reading on an electronic device is pretty standard. If you want to stay nice and bundled up in your bed while reading the latest article from WonderHowTo, th ...more
There are plenty of ways to create time-lapse photos and videos, but most of them are taken over the course of several hours. If you want to do a longer term shoot over several weeks or months, you'll need a battery that can last that long, and you probably don't want to leave ...more
There's no shortage of uses for steel wool, but the majority of them tend to be on the pyromaniacal side, like DIY fireworks. This trick by Mike Mikkelson is no different—it uses a homemade reusable "wool cage" to create a spinning vortex of light, like in the photo below. You ...more
Keys are on the way out. They're clunky, take up precious space, and slow you down when you have tons of identical-looking gold ones on your keyring. Everything we can open with keys can now also be opened with wireless technology in just a click—so why use keys anymore? Sure, ...more
Nothing to do this summer? Then spark things up with a little baking soda and some vinegar and make a tiny, working rocket. Best of all—you probably already have most of the materials and ingredients lying around the house. What You'll Need Test tube Three small cardboard tri ...more