How to Finish Drywall: 18 Steps to Smooth Joints

There are few home improvement tasks greeted with more dread than finishing drywall. If you're like most people, you hope that you've already done your last finishing job. Unfortunately, if you enjoy working on your home, you are bound to be confronted by this task again. Before You Begin The selection of tools we show here are not the only ones that work. Your selection of compound is just as important as your selection of tools. You also have a choice when it comes to joint tape, between paper tape and self-sticking fiberglass mesh tape. One last tip: If you buy your taping compound in 5-gal. pails, which is what we did, be sure to buy an opening tool. What You'll Need Tools: 5-, 8- and 10-in. flexible drywall-taping knives, joint compound pan, bucket-opening tool, electric drill, mixing paddle, respirator Materials: Premixed all-purpose joint compound, paper joint tape, 180- or 220-grit sandpaper, drywall screws, corner bead Getting Started Butt and Tapered Joints Corner Joints

garagestoragetluweyen *Garage Storage Solution*By: Tluweyen2 February 2010 If you are like my family, we are constantly short on space in our house. Rather than buy a huge McMansion, we bought what we could afford and ended up with a ranch house with about 2000 square feet. While this is big compared to previous generations, it seems ours has more “stuff”. After searching around at various stores, including WalMart and Target, I found exactly what I was looking for at Lowes. These totes are just under 30 inches long with allows me to place two rows in the trailer and hang them in rows of two on the ceiling. For what I did here are the materials needed. 12 of the above totes $11.67 each (Lowes)4 – 1x4x10 boards $2.91 each (Lowes)4 – 2x4x10 $3.69 each (84 Lumber)16 – 3/8x8 lag screws $1.89 each (84 Lumber)16 – 3/8 washers $1.04 per bag needed 4 bags (Lowes)40 – 4” deck screws $8.99 for one box (Lowes)Total cost $209.95 Lowes did not have 1x4x10 but they had 1x4x8. These boards are pretty secure into the joists.

How To Decorate On A Small Budget How to Build a Pergola - DIY Building a Pergola Here's a structure that won't provide shelter from wind or rain, and is only marginally better when it comes to the midday sun. So, why build it? Because in the absence of walls and a roof, it defines an outdoor space without constraining it. It's a unique architectural blend that places you both inside and out at the same time. The structure is called a pergola, and it's just the thing to bring backyard landscaping to life. Our pergola fits on an 8-ft. square, but it's easy to modify it to suit your site. Model designed in Alibre Design Xpress. Download a larger animated PDF of this project with a printable step-by-step guide (Requires Adobe Reader). Installing the Posts The posts are composed of pressure-treated 4 x 4 cores that are sheathed with 1 x cedar. Lay out the post positions and mark the screw locations [1]. We used 1/4-in. Hold each post plumb and drive nails through the anchors into the wood [3]. Then secure each end with four 3-in. Then, make the curved end cuts [7].