DIY Network

When it comes to a new roof, it is sometimes easy to forget the stuff that keeps the rain and snow out is also one of the biggest, most visible claddings on your house. And the one that takes the biggest beating from Mother Nature.

There are lots of things to think about — especially if you have an old house.

While we rarely consider a roof to be a DIY job, managing the process is still an important part of getting a roof you’re happy with. Here’s a video showing some of the tools and techniques we used to get a great roof on an old house and stay within budget.

Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife.

This is me jumping up on my soapbox again: Here it comes—my fury (fury is probably a strong word) at demolition done wrong. Whether it’s a roof or interior trim, a house comes apart best in the reverse order it was assembled. To wit:

I’ve seen many a carpenter and DIYer removing baseboard by trying to take the base and shoe molding off all at once.

Nope.

Not only is the base nailed to the wall, but the shoe is nailed—most likely—to the base and to the floor. And it is caulked to the wall: Triple-stuck.

The solution is easy. When undertaking a trim removal project—and upgrading trim is an primo room upgrade—the idea is to take laps of the room, removing as you go. Start with the caulk. Pierce the bead by cutting it with a utility knife. Next, pound the teeth of your pry bar in behind the shoe and pry against the base. Next, strip the base. Unless you know where the studs are, use a 1-by block or cedar shingle to spread the point-load of the bar over a wider surface and minimize or eliminate drywall or plaster repair.

 Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife and are HGTVPro’s home and how-to aces.

Full disclosure: I’m actually embarrassed to say how long it took me to figure this one out.

I mean, talk about duh! Here’s the story.

There is one tool virtually every carpenter and DIYer has, and it’s a pencil. Nothing earth shattering there, right?

Of course, we use said pencil to write on our work: layout — 16 centers for framing, 5-inch centers for deck pickets, marking studs behind drywall to nail up chair rail and so on.

Every now and again (or more often than that depending on the kinds of day you’re having) a mistake gets made. You put the X on the wrong side of the line, read a 6 as a 9 and put a mark that doesn’t signify anything, or your stud finder is — as most are — wildly undependable.

Anyway, the result is you’ve somewhere between 1 and 58,000 pencil lines that you need to get rid of. The eraser on at typical school-boy (or #2 type) pencil is a nub in about 2 minutes, rendering that useless. But leaving pencil lines is both confusing and ugly (who wants pencils lines all over the deck where the pickets aren’t supposed to be?). They’ve got to go — I’ve even seen guys take a sander to the wood to get rid of them.

The good news is that the solution is much easier, a lot less work, and something I found in my daughter’s pencil box: One of those big ole parallelogram-shaped gummy erasers.

It doesn’t get the line all the way off in some cases (neither does a sander by the way) but I’ve found it gets enough to do the job.

Simple, easy, and it reminds me of my kids. It also reminds me that, embarrassing though it may be, you never stop learning.

  Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife and are HGTVPro’s home and how-to aces.

Here’s an easy way to display holiday cards — using supplies you already have.

You just need wrapping paper, ribbon, tape and cardboard.

 - Cut a piece of cardboard to size and shape you like. I just used a simple square to mimic a box.

- Wrap one side of the cardboard with wrapping paper.

- Cut pieces of ribbon diagonally across the shape and tape on the backside.

- Use a different ribbon and or other trimmings to decorate.

- Hang on the wall with Command strips.

- Slip the backside of holiday cards in the ribbon as they arrive.

 Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife.

Question: Here come the holidays and at my house that means lots of overnight family and guests, meals — and lots dishwasher loads and showers.

Last year, I tried timing the dishwasher runs when I knew no one was showering or about to shower. But then one day I opened the dishwasher in mid cycle and the steam that poured out was much more than anything that comes out of my faucet.  So it got me to thinking. Does the dishwasher heat its own water? So can I run it when people are showering without running out of hot water?

Answer: It sounds like fun at your house. I checked with MyFixitUpLife friend master plumber Ed Del Grande on this one and here’s what he says:

1–Yes, your dishwasher does heat its own water, but

2–It heats up hot water to make it hotter. Don’t believe me? Look under your sink and you’ll see that the dishwasher is more than likely connected to the hot-water supply line.

3–Since both processes consume heated water, Ed recommends — if you don’t already have them — install  water-saving showerheads that meet Water Sense specifications. (Water Sense is kind of like Energy Star for water consuming devices.)

4–Mark recommends insulating your water heater with an insulation blanket.

5–Together they won’t give you unlimited hot water but they WILL make the most of the water you have — and they’ll pay back every day.

 Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife.

Health and fitness is an important part of life, and as much as we like to stay fit, trust me — despite the fact that I actually practice crossing my fingers for this, my Nike endorsement deal doesn’t seem to be working out — we have time issues like everybody else.

Two kids and travel and work and just being a grown-up (oh how I resent you sometimes, grown-up-ness…yes, I am shaking my fist at the universe right now….@#$%^&*) getting to the gym, on the ergometer, on a bike or even walking around the block can be more challenging than a week of P90X.

So for those many days when we can’t do anything officially fitness-esque — and I can muster the energy — I have installed a pull-up bar in the house.

They’re awesome to just hang on and stretch out, do some knee- or leg-lifts and of course, do pull-ups and chin-ups? (Note: there is a difference: pull-ups are with your palms facing away from you; chin-ups, a bit easier because your palms are facing toward you.)

But having a bar across a door in the main part of the house is a little too college-dorm for us – plus, it’s not far enough off the ground. So I resorted to my own devices and made a pull-up bar, affixing it to the basement’s exposed joists. It is simple, solid, and cheap.

All you need is two 1-inch pipe flanges, a 3/4-inch pipe and two drywall screws. Hold the flange opening just below the joist and sink a screw through the “boss” (the screw hole) into the joist. Repeat for the other one and slide the pipe through.

I have a 24 inch pipe, but if you’re Clubber Lang (Rocky’s rival) or otherwise a pull-up mad-man (watch this guy do “muscle-ups“…yes, this is real), get a 36-inch pipe so you can work lats and more back with a wider grip or do behind-your-head pull-ups.

Legal Disclaimer: I have had this set-up in my basement for years, but if you manage to hurt yourself, bump your head or otherwise get mangled, please don’t blame me. Be careful for wires, make sure you sink the screws, and take care of yourself.

Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife.

Before you head outside to string up your holiday lights, here’s a quick-tip for staying safe on a ladder (phrased in the form of a question):

How do you know you have your ladder set up at the correct angle?

If you set it up too steep, the ladder is too close to the house and it makes it harder to stand and work upon once you get to the top. Set it too shallow and you risk the feet kicking out from underneath you while you work.

Ladder manufacturers say you have the angle just right when the ladder is positioned against the building such that when your toes touch the rungs, you can reach out with your hands and touch the rails in front of you with your fingertips.

Check your ladder labels for more information.

 Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife and are home and how-to aces.

So what do you get when you combine fine art, family photos and a high-tech space heater?

Prestyl USA’s state of the art wall heaters.

They look cool but they are far from it. The Prestyl panels use a highly efficient and maintenance-free “thin-film” infrared technology that does not heat the air; instead energy is reflected by some surfaces and absorbed by others, thus creating balanced warmth. Typical energy savings over traditional heating methods range from 15 to 50%.  It can be used in residential or commercial spaces as primary or supplemental heat.

The Prestyl USA thin-film panels come in white or black or can be customized to any custom color or design with many standard prints and graphics to choose from. You can even use a family photo. The Prestyl panels can be wall or ceiling mounted, require no plumbing or air-ducts and plug into a regular outlet. Installation is as easy as hanging a picture. It’s portable, transferable to new locations and operational in minutes. Prices range from $350 to $700.

Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife.

From the Pegboard: I bought a home that was flipped, and unfortunately a lot of the work was done by the previous homeowner. Of course we had the house inspected, but now realize that really doesn’t mean a lot. After watching Mike Holmes, you realize how slack some inspectors can be. I realize this isn’t relevant to garden hoses, but was wondering how to adjust the water temperature to showers if the faucets did not come equipped with the safety adjustment screws or valves that most new faucets come with standard? Do I have to go to the water heater under the house? Thanks in advance for any assistance you might be able to give.

Mark’s Reply: This is a great story and a common problem. This is why I hop up on my soapbox about pulling permits and doing work the right way. Holmes isn’t just right, he is super-right — listen to him talk the talk here.

You are also right about adjusting the water temp at the source. There should be a temperature dial on the front/bottom of the hot-water heater. While I’m not sure why your water heater is in a crawl space and/or under the house — this is your best course of action. You may also consider adding an insulation blanket to the unit to make it run even more efficiently.

Adjusting the unit will also save you money in the long haul because, heating water to a scalding temperature is just a waste of resources. What’s more, if you have kids in the house, it is critical to get that temp lowered to prevent scalding in the bathtub.

Great question. Keep them coming and good luck.

Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife and are HGTVPro’s home and how-to aces.

So I’m a DIY guy. And while cutting tight miters, dialing in a tile project, running awesome roof shingles or building outdoor projects is my bag, I like the maintenance aspect too. Cutting grass, planting flowers, and…wait…NOT raking leaves.

I’ve hated it since I was a kid. And even more when I landscaped for a living. And while I’ve never tried it—because it’s new—Leaf Loader looks like it makes sense.

With its unique funnel design, Leaf Loader slips easily into any bag, can or bin. Its four-foot diameter “wide-mouth” can catch raked leaves from up to ten feet away, eliminating the time-consuming steps of raking into piles and picking them up.  

As you know, if you read Pegboard, I’m not much for gadgets. Tools that work, yes. Gadgets: no.

However, Leaf Loader creator Mark Noonan kind of hooked me with this: “I’ve raked leaves my entire life and always felt that there had to be a better way to streamline the process. Raking into piles, then raking piles onto tarps, or picking up piles, small scoops at a time—the whole process is inefficient.”

Another thing that also got my attention: design detail. Leaf Loader has a flexible but rigid-edged frame that keeps it firmly sealed to any surface—so you’re not raking under it. Leaf Loader folds and stores flat, taking up about the same space as a hula hoop and with a simple twist, which is what Leaf Loader seems to be—a new twist on an old job.

Mark & Theresa Clement host MyFixItUpLife and are HGTVPro’s home and how-to aces.