What home improvement work did you do today?

Both are mild abrasives, but I haven't tried the magic eraser yet.

 

My quick go-to level for doing wife stuff is an old plastic 12" that resides in a bottom cabinet drawer.
The bigger ones hang on the wall.

I decided to look for something magnetic I could slap to the side of the tool chest and purchased this.

$40 PREXISO 2-in-1 Laser Level 12 in Spirit Level with Light, 100Ft Alignment Point & 30Ft Leveling Line, Magnetic Laser Leveler Tool for Construction Picture Hanging Wall Writing Painting Home Renovation

PREXISO 2-in-1 Laser Level 12 in Spirit Level with Light, 100Ft Alignment Point & 30Ft Leveling Line, Magnetic Laser Leveler Tool for Construction Picture Hanging Wall Writing Painting Home Renovation - Amazon.com

It has 2 lasers, a dot and a line, it also will illuminate the spirit levels if needed.
One side is magnetic with a groove on the magnetic end for attaching to metal pipes.

Not bad for $40...........

 

Refinished a 25 year old kitchen table that was in need.
Sanded off the old finish, down to the naked wood.
Instead of stain, I used a roofing torch to darken the wood and bring out the grain.
... and several coats of poly.

 

That looks awesome, nice work.
What brand and finish of poly sealer did you use?

 

Spreading yards of mulch........someone make it stop.

 

Minwax Polycrylic - satin finish

 

That's pretty sweet. Thanks for sharing

 

what a transformation! I wasn't expecting such a dramatic result. Looks great, thanks for sharing!

 

Looks great! Now I wish I'd had a torch when I did a similar job about 6 or 7 years ago. I just went with stain. Then we had a kid who beat it up by banging his spoons against it when he was learning to eat solid food...so I've accepted I won't have a nice dining table for a few more years, not until both my boys are older.

 

We have a few rugs that were a "good idea" but now I absolutely hate. Everytime I watch my girls coloring with marker directly on top of them tho makes me think "well, maybe we should wait a couple of years"

The rugs I hate are those washable rugs that have been being pushed. They sound like a good idea, but two problems. 1) they realistically ain't fitting in your washer machine, at least not for anything larger than a runner and 2) They are so lightweight, they move constantly and my vaccuum (battery powered stick, not even a "real" one) sucks them up even on low. I have to power it down alllll the way so it barely picks up dirt.

Do not buy these things folks! Go to a tag sale and find some nice old rugs from someone whose dead and enjoy them.

 

I bought the roofing torch on Amazon for $50 or so several years ago.
Not for roofing ... but for another woodworking project. I've actually used it quite a bit.
Also works great in the winter for melting those icy patches in the driveway and walkway.
I've also used it for weed control in the yard. Dandelions and such.

 

Made some window "solar screens" from Suntek 90 material.
Lessons learned: while the screen does stop most UV, the material will still radiate heat to the window pane if too close; space between the material and window reduces that problem (well newer more efficient windows would also solve that but not in the budget at the moment). So now I am bumping out the screens with 1" aluminum spacers to allow for air flow between the screen and the window.

Around the times the house was built the average temps in my area hovered in the low to mid 70's in the day and 40-50's at night. Fast forward 35 years or so and the temps get into the 90's-100's in the day, and lucky if they drop under 70 at night.

 

Those torches are great, purchase a Red Dragon branded torch a few years ago. Used it to char wood for outdoor planter boxes. Not only did it look great, the wood held up really well in the hi desert sun.

 

Today I learned. Hardie Siding can "rot". Previous owners had this installed and there was no step flashing done. Hardie Siding needs to be able to dry out after rain. Because the gutter was directly against it with no gap and inadequate flashing it is disentegrating. Water has also gotten behind the siding and rotted part of the soffit framing. Because Hardie siding is blind nailed, it's hard to replace just one piece. I've been watching YouTube videos. Not a lot of good content on it.

Anyone have experience with Hardie Siding repair?

 

Had to replace some fascia that was Hardie board. I just used a small masonry bit drilled holes a little bigger bit to countersink and then just wood screws to attach it a little caulking and paint good to go