Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install a sump pump. Steps: 1 Set sump basin upside down on basement floor; mark its outline on floor. 2 Use demolition hammer to chop through concrete floor. 3 Dig hole deep enough to set basin flush with floor. 4 Wrap the ...more
Home improvement expert Danny Lipford discusses installing commercial grade carpet. Watch this video tutorial to see how to install commercial grade carpet in your home. This small room is perfect for a piece of low pile commercial carpet we picked up for $100. Start by align ...more
Mark Donovan is remodeling a ceramic tile shower, and shows how to install a mortar shower pan. First consider the framing of the shower. Plywood, 2x4's and 2x6's provide a good foundation for the weight of the tile. Then remove the cover from the drain. Use duct tape to cover ...more
I'm starting a laminate tile installation next Thursday. I thought I will show what is involved from start to finish. It's going in a kitchen and two bathrooms. There is ceramic tile in these rooms now and I'm installing the laminate tile right over the ceramic tile. The probl ...more
Vinyl wall base molding is an easy-to-install substitute for wood baseboard molding. In areas that you have installed a vinyl or carpeted floor, vinyl wall base molding is a very decorative and functional option for surrounding the room perimeter. You have several color choice ...more
Mark Donovan of HomeAdditionPlus.com installs bike hangers in the garage ceiling rafters to get the bikes off of the garage floor.
In this tutorial we learn how to install a toilet bowl for your bathroom. First you will apply the ring around the bottom of the toilet and on the floor where the toilet base will go. Apply plumbers wax to make sure this is sealed. Then, flip the toilet over and line up the ho ...more
Just like a garage, basements can become areas where you're saying hello cold air, good-bye money! This is because when cold air fills a basement, the floor above it becomes cold and can actually lower the tempature in that room. To avoid this, you need to install proper insul ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to fix a wobbly toilet. Steps: 1 Turn off water to toilet by closing shut-off valve. 2 Flush toilet and hold down the lever to empty tank. 3 Sop up remaining water from tank and bowl with sponge or turkey baster. 4 Use adjusta ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install kitchen cabinets. Steps: 1 Mark cabinet layout lines onto the wall. 2 Locate wall studs using hammer and finishing nail. 3 Mark stud locations onto back of cabinet. 4 Drill four holes through back of cabinet, which ...more
In this video, we learn how to install a pebble tile wall with Lowe's. First, you will need to measure out your walls to figure out how much of the tile you need. Now, lay down a drop cloth on the floor so you don't get the floor messy. Next, turn the power off and remove the ...more
This video shows how to install the last row of laminate flooring. Take one of the last row pieces of laminate that was cut to size, and tilt it into the laminate floor. Lay a pull bar from your wedge kit across the laminate, and wedge it between the wall and the laminate. Lig ...more
In order to install Warmups Underfloor heating system, you will need the following: a Warmup Thermostat, a Warmup Kit, RCD, a multimeter, a permanent marker, measuring tape, tape, and scissors. Prepare the subfloor in advance. Install insulation. The surface needs to be smoot ...more
This is a simple video guide that shows you how to install electric underfloor heating cables. 1. Measure the area to order right heater for the room. 2. Before start, make sure the surface is smooth, dry and free from dust and grease. 3. Prepare the subfloor. Then install in ...more
Finding room in the kitchen to store the various bins needed for recycling can take up a lot of valuable cabinet space. Here Danny comes up with an innovative solution to the problem by installing chutes made from standard 4” dryer vent pipe that send cans and plastic bottles ...more
Remodeling your kitchen or bathroom can be expensive. It doesn't have to be if you can install the tiles yourself. In this home and garden how-to video we will show you how to set tiles in adjoining rooms. Join tiles in two adjoining rooms for a smooth floor transitions.
In this tutorial, we learn how to straight pipe your small tractor engine. First, insert a one inch screw pipe to your exhaust, then connect pipes into it so it connects to the back of the vehicle. You will need to install several elbow pipes as well as longer straight pipes. ...more
Starting to work at home? With more and more people trying to make a solid living at home, it's important to know the best way to set up a home office – even if you don't have a spare room. Learn how to set-up a solid work environment with tips from this video on how to create ...more
In this series of video clips you’ll learn how to install new flooring in your basement, including tips on how to prepare your existing basement floor for the installation process, the equipment and supplies you’ll need to install your new floor, and the various flooring optio ...more
In this home remodeling how-to video series, learn how to install drywall from home remodeling expert Joseph Hawkins. Joseph will teach you about sheetrock and what you need to know about installing drywall in your home. He will demonstrate drywall installation techniques such ...more
As an added functionality to the S Pen, the Pen Window enables you to create floating application windows on your Samsung Galaxy Note 3—a tool that's extremely useful when it comes to multitasking. However, there's always room for improvement. In today's softModder guide, I' ...more
Granting seamless access to your favorite or most utilized apps with just a tap, the Galaxy S5's "Toolbox" feature is one that plenty of other Android users wish they had. Instead of holding your breath for your manufacturer to implement something similar, or hoping that Samsu ...more
Whether I'm writing up something online, playing games in Chrome, or just browsing the annals of the Internet, I always like to keep a tab open for YouTube so I can listen to interviews, trailers, and music videos at the same time. But a tab can get lost, and it's not easy to ...more
It's not enough for me to just listen to a mindless EDM song that can be retooled as a torturing method for Guantanamo Bay. As an actual fan of music, I yearn for substance and depth. Artists like Morrissey, Kurt Cobain, and John Lennon impacted lives with not only their music ...more
Sometimes, it's very useful to be able to use more than one app on Android phone or tablet. For example, if you want to watch a movie while surfing or if you need calculator, find some contact, write a note, search web or wikipedia for some facts, etc. Fortunately, this is pe ...more
Perhaps one of CyanogenMod's greatest features was its built-in theme engine. It wasn't perfect, but it got the job done and gave users a unique look. Now that CyangenMod is defunct, and the developers behind its successor, LineageOS, have confirmed they won't be continuing th ...more
Midway through 2013, a popular custom ROM called Paranoid Android introduced their multitasking feature "Halo." Bubble-style notifications inspired by Facebook chat heads pop up near the top of the screen, and you simply tap on them to bring up the app in a floating window. I ...more
From a very early age we have an intrinsic obsession with things that float. Why do you think we love balloons and bubbles so much? So, it's no surprise that our smartphones are being invaded by floating features. Facebook popularized the idea of floating on-screen objects wi ...more
Starting with Marshmallow, Android added a built-in theme engine called "Runtime Resource Overlay," or RRO. This theme engine was intended to be used only by smartphone manufacturers, not end-users, so unlike Cyanogen's CM Theme Engine, owners can't use it to change the look a ...more
With floating song lyrics displayed over the screen, apps like musiXmatch and Floating Lyrics are perfect for people who want to go beyond just the tunes and delve into a song's message and meaning. And while these floating windows can be convenient, they're not always necessa ...more
Apple just sent out a new update to their iPhones, and while that normally wouldn't have any impact on Android users, the fact that they included 184 new emojis means that the text messages you receive from friends and family members with iOS devices might come across with bla ...more
So you just bought a fancy new Nexus 6 complete with its gorgeous and gigantic display—now what? Unlike Samsung's TouchWiz, stock Android doesn't sport any cool split-screen features, so how do you really take advantage of all that screen real estate? A useful multitasking to ...more
Everyone loves emojis, but some folks aren't quite happy with the way the little yellow guys look on their particular phone. In order to replace them, however, your device needs to be rooted, and you'll usually need to perform some complicated procedure that ends up making you ...more
One of the Note 3's best features is Multi Window mode, which allows users to display more than one app on the screen at the same time, taking advantage of the large and high-resolution display. When the Galaxy Note 4 was released earlier this year, it improved on the Multi W ...more
Google Play Services has been near the top of every Android user's list of battery-sucking apps for years now. It's a core system app, so you'd expect some battery drain, but for many folks, it runs rampant. This is partly due to the fact that Google has exempted Play Service ...more
Today's smartphones and tablets offer a great way for children to learn through interactive sight, sound, and touch, but they can also provide hours of genuine fun. If you have a spare tablet laying around—or at least a nice, durable case—the only thing you need to get your ch ...more
bObi has four floor detection sensors on her underside that warn her not to drive over ledges and stop her from falling down stairs. For this replacement, you will need a Phillips head screwdriver and a new set of ground sensors for bObi. Video: . This repair may help if bObi ...more
Android has plenty of features that provide multitasking support, which are especially useful on smartphones with larger screens. One such feature that I loved on the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was the popup browser, which brought up a floating window whenever I opened a link insid ...more
DSP Manager, Dolby Atmos, ViPER4Android — how are you supposed to pick just one from the wide variety of Android equalizers? Depending on your OEM, your phone may have come with a stock equalizer, but they're usually not enough. Combine them with a third-party equalizer, and t ...more
Several major web services—most notably Facebook—have horrendous Android apps that occupy way too much space and drain battery life at an alarming rate. Such issues have led to a new trend where third-party developers create minimalist "lite" apps that are essentially the mobi ...more
When I first started with HoloLens development last April, one of the first things I created was a window. The purpose of that window was to be attached to a wall and give the illusion of being in a different space—an effect that is often referred to as a "magic window" effect ...more
We've previously covered an app called YouTube Floating Popup Player which let you watch YouTube videos anywhere on your Android device, but it has since been removed from the Google Play Store due to infringement of certain policies. We've also shown you Viral HD YouTube Pop ...more
Paranoid Android has always been one of the most popular custom ROMs because of the inventive features its developers add to Android. Two of the biggest draws in particular have to be the "Halo" notification bubble, and the "Pie" navigation buttons, which can both fundamentall ...more
Android Nougat is a godsend for tablet users, as it's packing some serious multitasking improvements. It goes well beyond the new split-screen mode, too, because as it turns out, there's a hidden setting that turns your apps into completely resizable windows within a desktop-l ...more
The new Google phones, which are rumored to ditch the Nexus moniker for Pixel, will most likely come with an Android feature that 7.0 Nougat doesn't currently have—a new set of navigation keys. Don't Miss: Get Android Nougat Features on Your Marshmallow Device The new phone ...more
If you've ever taken apart an electronic device that uses physical buttons, you already know why these types of input methods are destined to fail. The rubberized contacts used in physical press-and-release buttons like those of a gamepad or keyboard are incredibly frail and c ...more
Android's Quick Settings menu is quite handy—just swipe down with two fingers from the top of your screen and you're ready to toggle several different system settings on or off. It got even better with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, since you can even use the hidden System UI Tuner ...more
Notifications are an integral part of our day-to-day smartphone usage. They allow us to easily see and act upon all of the latest information that comes our way. Well, most of the time, that is. When using a full-screen app or game, Android's notification bar is hidden, and a ...more
Running multiple applications at the same time is one of the Samsung Galaxy S3's and S4's biggest advantages over Apple devices, and it's a fact that Samsung certainly harps on constantly in their well-targeted commercials. Plus, there's the whole widgets thing. There are zer ...more
The new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 models will be shipping with Android 5.0 Lollipop preinstalled, and the Nexus 4, 5, 7, and 10 will be getting the new OS update from Google very soon. But where does that leave the rest of us? All non-Nexus devices running versions of KitKat will h ...more
The iPhone has a handy feature called AssistiveTouch that lets you quickly adjust volume, lock your screen, rotate your display, and even navigate through the phone's interface using a virtual home button. In a way, it's a lot like the on-screen navigation bar that you'll find ...more
Most music streaming services will either use the stock Android equalizer or their own built-in equalizer. A couple of apps, such as Spotify, bring both to the table. Spotify has a built-in equalizer which kicks into play when a system or third-party equalizer isn't detected. ...more
Windows 10 makes it a cinch to change the lock screen background: simply go to Setting -> Personalization -> Lock screen, then change the background to whatever you'd like. But, trying to change the login screen background—the screen where you enter your password—was a long, c ...more
Alright, I'll admit it, iOS can be quite nice. Android loyalist that I may be, I'm not so stubborn that I can't recognize a good thing when I see it. Apple's iOS has a lot of strengths, and our Nexus 4s, god bless 'em, are growing a little long in the tooth. But the Android p ...more
The Xposed Framework has an official repository for downloading modules which can be easily accessed by searching the Download section in your Xposed Installer app. But not every module is available on the Xposed repo — in fact, many unique and interesting modules are only hos ...more
The Air Command window on Samsung Galaxy Note devices makes it easy to access all of the features that the S Pen has to offer, such as Action Memo, which turns your handwritten notes into actionable links, and Pen Window, where you can draw a square on the screen to open a cer ...more
Google Play Music is one of the best streaming services out there. It allows users to upload as many as 20,000 of their own songs for free, then stream them all to any device without ever paying a dime. If you upgrade to their All Access subscription, you get these features in ...more
When Android 4.4 was released, the massive changelog led to some awesome new features getting lost in the virtually endless list of new tweaks. One such change was the ability to set a default text messaging app, which streamlined the existing process of installing a third-par ...more
The Pixel 5 is a great value proposition in this era of $1,500 phones. With its reasonable price tag, fully open-sourced software, and unlockable bootloader, it's also an ideal phone for rooting. The process of rooting the Pixel 5 is a tried and true method: Unlock the bootlo ...more
Without an available browser, it is challenging to enjoy media on your Nvidia Shield outside of the apps on the Play Store. It is because of this limitation that file transferring is vital, as only then can you enjoy your movies and music. Initially, we set out to showcase al ...more