Wrap a House

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to work with fiber-cement board. Steps: 1. Wrap plywood house corners with 15-pound builder's felt; secure felt with staples. 2. Hold fiber-cement board against house, flush with the corner; secure the board with galvanized na ...more

Steve with Eikenhout Educational Video Series and Paul Griggs with PGriggs Construction demonstrate how to install new windows during a new construction application. You will need a level, a utility knife, a caulk gun and a hammer to install the windows. First, cut the house w ...more

Believe it or not, you don't need to hire an electrician to add a few electrical outlets in your home. The only thing you really need to worry about is being safe. This Old House walks you through the entire process of adding receptacles, from cutting the hole in the drywall t ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to maintain a steam radiator. Steps: 1 Close the valve at base of radiator. 2 Turn off the room's thermostat. 3 Carefully unscrew the old air vent from side of radiator; if valve is hot, use thick cloth to protect your hand. 4 ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to plant a tree in poor soil. Steps: 1 Select spot for tree away from house and overhead wires. 2 Measure diameter of the plastic tree pot. 3 Dig a hole four times wider than pot and as deep as the pot. 4 Add compost to topsoi ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to correctly prune a fruit tree. Steps: 1. In winter, look for branches that rub against each other. 2. Cut rubbing branches with bypass pruners or pruning saw. 3. Remove thick, vertical branches with pruning saw. 4. Open up c ...more

"Easy gingerbread house" may sound like an oxymoron, but our step-by-step guide turns this daunting holiday project into a cakewalk. You will need: at least 3 days to prepare gingerbread cookie dough plastic wrap poster board or cardboard wax paper rolling pin flour 2 cookie ...more

Eddie shows us how to remove a boat from the water in this video tutorial. First, take down the canvases and wrap them up. Now, put the antennas down and drive the boat to the loading dock. Next you will need a large truck that has a hitch and trailer attached to it, and secur ...more

We can't guarantee that these candy trees will still be there the next day if you happen to have a few candy-obsessed kids running around the house! As short or as long as they last, these candy trees are a gorgeous compliment to your holiday decor. When untouched, these trees ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install an under-sink water filter. Steps: 1 Close the cold-water shut-off valve leading to the kitchen sink. 2 Disconnect the copper cold-water pipe from the supply line that runs up to the faucet. 3 Wrap Teflon tape aroun ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to troubleshoot a leaky shower. Steps: 1. Cover shower drain with rag to prevent dropped screws from falling down the drain. 2. Remove handle from shower valve. 3. Unscrew escutcheon plate from the shower valve. 4. Inspect rea ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to transplant a tree. Steps: 1 Wrap tree with rope to protect the branches during transport to new location. 2 Measure the width of tree trunk; multiply by 10 to determine root ball diameter. 3 Tie tope around trunk to represe ...more

If you’ve always wanted to make a gingerbread house for the holidays but have been intimidated here is your chance. This video will take you though the process and it’s so much easier than you thought possible. You can use more complicated template but if this is your first on ...more

Chances are you will have a poinsettia plant in your house before the end of the holiday season, whether it's due to them being on sale at the local grocery store or you receiving them as a hostess gift. Learn how to turn these festive plants into beautiful, eye-catching arra ...more

You can create some lovely and cute cloth pumpkins to decorate your house for Thanksgiving! All you need is some scrap material in fall or pumpkin colors, and a few rolls of toilet paper. Wrap the fabric around the toilet paper, tuck and secure!

This winter, keep heat in and cold out by sealing your windows with plastic. You will need: blow-dryer plastic wrap double sided tape optional: bubble wrap or dry cleaning bags Note- insulating your windows with plastic is a good way to keep warm without cranking up the heat ...more

This video shows you how to wrap a toga. The materials required are: 1 bro and 1 sheet. With this toga method, you should impress all the guys down at Animal House.

You may want to replace the toilet in your bathroom for a number of reasons. Perhaps you have a cracked toilet, an antiquated model or one that uses a significant amount of water. There are a number of new models which will match the decor of your home and reduce the amount of ...more

In this tutorial, we learn how to make a small, easy, functional telescope. First, glue a lens in place with glue underneath a piece of cardboard with a circle cut in it. Then, cut this into a circle and tape it to a paper towel holder. Then, you can wrap this in some paper ma ...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

Showing how to make of a cucumber out of polymer clay. The instructor begins with the color of clay she is going to be using, greens and translucent. She makes six inner 'seeds', then she shapes them around a core piece. Around the middle, she wraps 2 layers of translucent cla ...more

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

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to put a deck over a concrete step. Steps: 1. Cut PVC trim boards to wrap around stoop using circular saw. 2. Counterbore holes in PVC trim with ½-inch-diameter spade bit. 3. Apply foam adhesive to back of trim. 4. Run bead of ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to repair a kitchen sink sprayer. Steps: 1. Turn off hot- and cold-water at the shut-off valves under sink. 2. Loosen cap behind faucet’s spout with pliers; protect chrome cap with a rag. 3. Remove cap and stuff the rag into t ...more

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to change your water heater anode rod. Steps: 1 Turn off water and fuel supply (gas or electricity) to water heater. 2 Partially drain the water heater. 3 Locate the anode rod on the water heater; if necessary, unscrew and lif ...more

Steps: 1. Turn off water and power to water heater. 2. Use garden hose to drain water from heater's tank. 3. Cut copper pipe just above the corroded connection using a tubing cutter. 4. Use two pipe wrenches to loosen the old union. 5. Remove the old union from the steel pipe ...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

Churrascaria? What's that? It's a meat-lover's dream… if you're in Brazil. But you don't have to travel abroad to enjoy the meaty goodness of this awesome grilling party! A churrascaria is an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak house that features an amazing array of spit-roasted ...more

There's no need to pay for a pricey electrician for a light switch problem— you can try to fix it yourself. This video from This Old House explains how three-way switches work and shows tips for finding and replacing faulty three-way switches in your home. First, you need to u ...more

Do you need to lock the door but don't have the keys? This may happen if you are sharing your keys with someone else, staying at a friend's house, or for a variety of other reasons. Check out this video for a sneaky way to secure that door tight without even sticking a key in ...more

Dosa is an awesome Indian cuisine to try right in your own kitchen. It's basically a pancake made of rice and lentils, and is perfect for breakfast, but just as good for dinner. Masala dosa is even better, with potatoes, onions, and spices. See how to make masala dose. A dosa ...more

Learn to move a heavy appliance without injuring yourself: When you move a heavy appliance at your home, you really have to be careful. Not only can you hurt yourself, you hurt the appliance and even the floor. •Hand truck is the thing used to move the heavy appliances. But ...more

Tracy Hepler and Jaclyn Mullen of YDT TV demonstrate how to gift-wrap your presents in an environmentally conscious way. You will need: newspapers, scissors, tape, and lace or ribbon. Use a daily newspaper page instead of wrapping paper. A lot of paper is usually wasted around ...more

Have a bunch of old magazines sitting around the house you'd like to recycle? Use old magazines to make a cool basket that suits your more eco-friendly side. Learn how to make a coiled basket out of magazines with help from this how-to video. What you will need: • Old magazi ...more

Make beautiful presents using materials around the house with simple gift wrapping techniques. Learn how to wrap presents with aluminum foil, wax paper, cheesecloth, and more in this free arts and crafts video series. Part 1 of 14 - How to Make inexpensive gift wrapping materi ...more

Why buy an ant farm? It’s simple and fun to make one from a few items you have lying around the house. WARNING: Do not put fire ants in an ant farm! Step 1 Cut the mouths and necks off both bottles. Wrap the outside of the smaller bottle in black construction paper, and secu ...more

Nothing brings joy around the house around Christmas time like home made crafts. In this video, Katrina and Sloan show their viewers how to make candy cane reindeer Christmas ornaments using simple materials such as glue, pipe cleaners, small pompoms, googley eyes, and a candy ...more

During the darkness of the winter months some bright and spirited holiday decorations can really add holiday cheer to a home. This Christmas, try making this festive tree and light table piece because you can never have too many decorations. Step 1: Clean and dry baby food ja ...more

The best way to keep rats out is by making it difficult and unappealing for them to come inside. Keep your house clean and free of anything that a rat might want to eat. Rats can fit through very small opening so go on the defensive and keep rats where they belong. Simply put ...more