DIY Problem Solvers and Household Tips

Tip 1: Featherweight tile backer

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Foam-core backer boards

These hard, water-resistant foam core boards are easy to cut and lightweight.

Dean Sorem, our tile guru, had this to say about one lightweight tile backer: “Custom Building Products’ EasyBoard is a dream. An average shower requires two to three hundred pounds of cement board, and six to eight trips from the truck to the shower—on the second floor, if you’re lucky! My eighty-year-old grandmother could carry 120 square feet of half-inch EasyBoard in one trip, assuming I held the doors for her. Installation is even easier. One steady pass with a sharp utility knife and the board is cut clean through. Fasten it with the same screws used for other backers. Another advantage: no cement dust.”

These new super-light backer boards have a hard foam core and water-resistant coating and can be used anywhere you would use other tile backer boards. Custom Building Products’ EasyBoard and Schluter’s Kerdi-Board are two common brands. EasyBoard costs about $16 for a 3 x 5-ft. piece. You probably won’t find foam-core backer board at home centers. Instead, search online for a local source or visit a professional tile shop.

Tip 2: Instant electrical connections

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Push-in electrical connector

Push-in connectors are easy to use and make solid electrical connections.

Traditional twist-on wire connectors can be a bother to install. The wire ends have to be held in perfect alignment while you twist on the connector. And then you have to fit all those wires and connectors neatly into the box.

Try push-in connectors instead. They’re simple to use and almost foolproof. Just strip the wires to the length recommended on the package and press each wire end into a separate hole in the connector. And since they’re smaller, they take up less room in the electrical box. They’re also the perfect solution for extending wires that are too short.

A few downsides: You’ll need to keep a greater variety of connectors on hand, since it wouldn’t be economical to use a connector designed for six wires to connect a single pair. Also, push-in connectors cost a little more than the twist-on type. You’ll find push-in connectors (about $25 for 200) at home centers and online.

Tip 3: Sticky sand for pavers

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Polymeric paver sand

A polymer mixed with the sand binds it together and helps it stay put between pavers.

Tired of replacing the sand between the pavers on your walk or patio? Sick of pulling weeds from between the stones? Here’s a solution. Vacuum or blow out the old sand and replace it with polymeric sand. It’s just sand mixed with a glue-like polymer. When wetted, the polymer binds the sand, holding it in place and creating a weed-resistant barrier. It’s a little fussy to install because you have to be careful to clean it off the face of the pavers or stones before wetting it, but it’s worth the extra effort. Polymeric sand is available at landscape suppliers and some home centers for about $12 for a 50-lb. bag.

Tip 4: Flat-proof wheelbarrow tire

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Flat-free tire

Flat-free tires are filled with foam so that they can’t collapse if punctured.

Is the tire flat every time you go to use your wheelbarrow? Do you use your wheelbarrow on construction sites where nails can be a problem? If so, then you need a “flat-free” wheelbarrow tire. Flat-free tires are filled with foam or made of urethane so they never need air and won’t go flat if you run over a nail. And they’re not just for wheelbarrows. You can also buy flat-free tires to fit lawn mowers and lawn tractors, handcarts and golf carts. Expect to spend about $30 for a wheelbarrow tire. Find flat-free tires at home centers and online.

Tip 5: Paint-job insurance

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Better primers

Apply these primers over old paint to reduce or prevent future peeling.

Let’s face it. Sometimes it’s too much work to remove old exterior paint down to bare wood. Zinsser’s Peel Stop and XIM’s Peel Bond ($22 and $32 a gallon, respectively) are two clear, binding primers that are formulated to seal the edges of paint and prevent peeling. It’s a good solution for painting over an area that you’ve scraped, but that has patches of sound paint you don’t want to peel later.

Tip 6: Faster toggle bolt

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Convenient wall anchor

These bolts are strong, yet easy to install and remove.

Old-fashioned “butterfly”-type toggle bolts are a pain to install. Toggler brand Snaptoggles is a vast improvement. Just drill a hole and slip the metal toggle in. Then slide the retainer along the plastic strips until it’s snug to the wall and snap off the strips. With the metal toggle mounted on the wall, it’s easy to attach whatever you want by simply screwing in the included bolt. And you can remove the bolt without losing the toggle in the wall. Look for Snaptoggles (about $1 each) near drywall anchors in home centers and hardware stores.

Tip 7: Waterproof wood glue, with no mixing

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Waterproof glue

Apply waterproof glue, straight from the squeeze bottle.

You old-timers out there may remember having to hunt down and mix resorcinol powder when your project called for waterproof glue. Now you can just reach for the glue bottle (about $4 for 8 oz.) to get a waterproof glue-up. It’s probably wise to stick with epoxy for boat building, but for everything else these waterproof glues are all you need. Elmer’s Wood Glue Max and Titebond’s Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue are two brands.

Tip 8: Ever-straight wall studs

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Engineered studs

Studs made from jointed and laminated wood are perfectly straight, but expensive.

In most areas of a house, a little wave or bump in the wall caused by a crooked stud won’t matter a bit. But in kitchens and bathrooms where you’ll be installing cabinetry or tile on the walls, a wavy wall can raise havoc. That’s where engineered studs are worth the premium price. Because they’re made of laminated lumber or finger-jointed lumber, they’re perfectly straight and more stable than standard studs. Plus, they’re available in long lengths for extra-tall walls. They don’t come cheap, though. An 8-ft. laminated strand lumber (LSL) stud from LP Building Products costs about $8. Ask for engineered studs at your local lumberyard or home centers. You may have to special-order them.

Tip 9: Adjustable depth electrical box

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Adjustable electrical box

You can move these boxes in or out to get the correct depth after installing the wall covering.

An electrical box that can be adjusted until it’s flush with the wall is a perfect solution when you’re thinking about adding tile or paneling but aren’t sure how thick the finished wall will be. There are a few different versions of adjustable boxes. Turning a screw in the Carlon box shown here moves the box in and out and allows you to fine-tune the box position after you’ve completed the wall covering. Adjustable-depth boxes cost a little more than regular boxes ($2 to $2.50 each) but are worth every penny in areas where you think you’ll add tile, paneling or cabinetry and don’t want to guess at the depth.

Tip 10: Faster fastening with better screws

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Premium screws

Premium screws often feature self-drilling tips, stronger metal, corrosion resistance and are easier to drive.

Premium construction screws have a few big advantages over the drywall screws we’ve all been using for years.

For starters, most have improved head designs: tight-fitting hex, Torx or Spider head driver bits. This eliminates the annoying tendency of Phillips head screws to strip out or slip off the bit. Premium construction screws are also less brittle than drywall screws, so they won’t break off as easily, and they’re coated to resist corrosion. Special self-drilling thread designs coupled with a thin shank means you rarely need to drill a pilot hole. Large structural screws can replace lag screws, and the smaller ones are better than drywall screws for woodworking and framing projects.

There are several brands. You’ll find GRK screws online and at contractor-oriented lumberyards. Spax and FastenMaster screws are readily available at home centers and hardware stores. Like any premium products, they cost more. Expect to pay about 5¢ each for 1-1/2-in. GRK screws.

Tip 11: Arrow-straight drywall joints

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Stiff drywall corners

Stiff corners make crisp, precise drywall taping much easier for the homeowner.

This extra-stiff, extra-wide drywall corner system is expensive, but there are a few situations where the additional money is well spent. First, if you’re a novice drywall taper, it absolutely ensures straight inside corners. The stiff material goes on straight, no matter how unskilled you are with a taping knife. For the experienced taper, this stuff makes it easier to handle situations like oddball corner angles or drywall over sloppy framing.

An added benefit is that you only need to apply an additional thin coat or two of joint compound over the outermost edge to finish the job. The remainder of the tape is paint-ready and doesn’t require more mud. This feature also makes it handy for all inside and outside corners. These products are available at drywall suppliers and online. A 100-ft. roll of No-Coat Ultraflex 450 costs about $60. Strait-Flex’s Wide-Flex 400 is a similar product (about $43).

Tip 12: Waterproof tile is now brush-on simple

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Brush-on waterproofing

Brush a coat of this liquid over your substrate and you'll have a waterproof membrane ready for ceramic tile.

A top-notch tiling job in wet areas like showers and around tubs requires a waterproof membrane under the tile. RedGard is a liquid waterproofing that you apply with a brush, trowel or roller. When dry, it forms a flexible membrane that’s perfect to tile over.

Here’s what our tile consultant, Dean Sorem, has to say: “RedGard saved my sanity! This handy waterproofing has made the installation of a watertight tile job as simple as a brush stroke. Once the tile substrate is securely installed and seams are taped, all you need to do is apply a coat of the pudding-like liquid to the surface, let it dry, and it’s waterproofed. This makes waterproofing shower curbs, benches, tub decks and steam showers a breeze.”

You’ll find RedGard and other brands of brush-on waterproofing at home centers, tile stores and online. A 1-gallon bucket costs about $40.