How to mount a light fixture

Installing a new light fixture is a great way to instantly change a boring light into a dazzling one.  Even though the bag of parts included with some fixtures may look daunting, the electrical connections are simple enough for even a beginner.


Required Tools for this Project

• 4-in-1 screwdriver
• Needle-nose pliers
• Voltage tester
• Stepladder
• Pliers
• Non-contact voltage tester
• Wire stripper/cutter

Step 1: Shut off power
For some fixtures you can simply shut the power off at the switch, but I recommend always shutting power off at the breaker. If you’re lucky, the breakers on your electrical panel will be labeled. If not it’s a bit of a guessing game, shutting off breakers and then using the voltage detector to make sure the area you’re going to be working in isn’t “hot.”

Step 2: Connect wires A standard box for a light fixture will have three wires, a white (neutral), black (current), and copper (ground.)

Note: If you ever find aluminum wiring your house don't attempt the job and hire a professional with a licence

How to Drywall framing Video

Below is a video of me explaining how to sheetrock a wall.

Redwood Planter Box

In this article I will show you how I made a redwood planter box. This project will be at a intermediate level and it will require some tools.

Material:

Redwood Fences Boards from the store

• Redwood fence boards
• glue, Tightbond III
• Brad nails
• Helmsman Spar Urethane 

Tools:

• Table Saw
• Miter Saw
• Air compressor 
• 18g Nailer
• 16g nailer
• Planer

The video below show how I made the planter box.

How to refinish Teak Furniture

Outdoor teak furniture is a stylish choice your patio or deck. Teak wood is not only pleasing to the eye; it is also strong and requires low maintenance.

This a photo of the finished product after the teak oil is applied

Step 1: Sanding

Sand the teakwood to remove the gray-colored surface grain. Use 100-grit sand paper or a foam sanding, block and sand in the direction of the wood grain. For large areas, you can use a handheld random orbital sander to reduce the labor necessary to remove the faded wood.

Step 2: Remove dust

Remove sanding dust by wiping the teakwood down with a tack cloth. If you're refinishing a small item, move it to a garage or somewhere out of the wind for the next step.

Step 3: Apply Teak Oil

Apply teak oil, clean wood. This products penetrate the surface grain for added protection from the elements. Brush on a thin coat with a natural bristle brush and let it soak in, or buff it with a soft buffing pad as directed on the product’s label. Additional thin coats of oil or sealer can offer more protection and enhance surface luster.

Note: I used Watco Teak oil

PVC pipe glueing

To ensure that the pipe will be fully seated in its fittings, measure the distance between the shoulders on the fittings at each end of the pipe.  Spread cement primer over the outside of the pipe and the inside of the fitting where they'll overlap. The primer softens and cleans the plastic. Assemble everything to make sure the pipe is the correct length. On fittings such as elbows, position is critical, so make a reference mark from the pipe onto the fitting. Apply the cement to the primed areas on the inside of the fitting and to the outside of the pipe.  Slide the pipe into the fitting until it bottoms out against the fitting's shoulder, then give it a ¼-inch turn to spread the glue and speed its cure. If you're attaching a fitting, push it in with the reference marks slightly out of register, and turn the fitting to align the marks. Hold for 30 seconds, then wipe up any excess cement with a dry rag.

Sweating Copper Pipe

Soldering copper water supply lines is not a difficult skill.  Even a rookie can learn to solder leak-proof joints in 15 minutes. The process is simple—if you follow a few basic guidelines. In this story and video I will show you how to solder copper quickly and easily. First cut your copper pipe to the desired length to fit your plumbing project using a pipe cutter. You can buy a pipe cutter and all of the supplies for this project in a hardware store or online.  Next once you have your pipe to your desired length use emory cloth or sandpaper to clean the copper pipe. You do this get rid of any of the tarnish on the copper pipe.  Apply a thin layer of lead-free soldering paste (flux) to the end of the pipe using a flux brush. The paste should cover about 1 inch of pipe. Insert the pipe into the fitting. Make sure the pipe is tight against the bottom of the fitting. Twist the fitting slightly to spread the flux.  Unwind around 8 inches of solder from the real, then proceed to heating the pipe up with a propane torch.  Once the pipe is hot touch the solder to it, there does not need to be direct contact from the torch for the solder to melt. Capillary action will draw the liquid solder into the joint. A properly soldered joint should show a thin bead of solder around the fitting.Wipe away the excess solder with a rag. The pipe will be hot, so be careful while handling it. After the pipe and fitting have cooled, turn on the water and check for leaks. If the joint leaks, take it apart and resolder it.

How to Frame/Built a wall

In this article I will teach you how to build a wooden wall out of 2" by 4".  I will be building a small wall that I can uses as a representation of my work.  The the will in include a window and I will explained how to to build that.

First is to select the wood you are going to use, there is treated and untreated wood, 95% of a home is built with untreated wood and places that touch the ground or the concrete slab are required to have treated wood because the treated wood has a chemical that helps the wood from rotting and falling apart. In treated wood they are literally forcing the chemicals in to the wood under pressure, so when the wood starts to dry it can turn in to weird shapes and can come unusable so it is important to only buy what you are going to us because the wood will become unusable within weeks of  buying it.  This does not happen as bad on wood that is not treated but you still want to use it soon after you buy it. Below is a photo of a piece of warped treated wood.

There are only a few things that you need to have to build a wall from the store.  Primarily it is going to be nails but there are going to be a few thing you are going to have to buy that are tools if you don't have them already. Below is a list of tools that I think are required and some tools the I will mark with an * that is not need but will speed up the process if you are doing a big project

1. A Hammer
2. Carpentry pencil
3. Framing square
4. Tape Measure (+16ft)
5. Circular Saw
6. Chalk line
7. Level
8. Eye Protection
9. Plum bob
10. Handsaw
11. 16d common nails (3.5 inch and 2.5)
12. Work gloves
13. 2"4" by 8 feet
14. Miter Saw*
15. Air compressor*
16. Framing Nailer*

The wall height in many homes is 8 feet; lumber yards sell dimensional lumber cut 92-1/2-inches long. These boards are “studs” and, when nailed to a bottom and a top plate, you will have a wall that is 8 feet high after drywall is hung.  Mark the top and bottom plates where the studs will go. An effective technique for doing this is to layer one over the other exactly where the floor plate will rest. Make the marks on 16-inch centers but, instead of measuring from the edge of the wall.  Separate the two plates and lay the studs in between, just as they will fit in the finished wall. You will assemble it on the floor before lifting the entire unit in one piece. Nail the studs into place from the outside of the plates, using two or three nails at the end of each. Once the wall is framed the on the ground take you tape measure from each opposing (diagonal) corners and take down the measurement, it will be the same number if the is square, if the numbers do not match up then you can move the top or bottom plate until the the numbers a re the same then you can put up bracing and then lift the wall.  Even small walls can be heavy because they are green wood and it still usually has a fair amount of water in them, so get a friend to help you lift the wall. The next step will be to hang the drywall but that will be in a coming blog post.

Note: I Have also made this whole blog post in to a video which can be seen below