DIY Life

With the high price of gasoline, we're all looking for ways to stay home, rather than loading up the car with the kids and heading off to have some summer fun elsewhere. One solution kills two birds with one stone: building a deck will give you a place to hang out and entertain, and add equity to your home.

Of course it's no secret that DIY deck building takes some careful planning, some tools that you probably already have, and lots of elbow grease. What you might not know is the construction details and tricks that the pros use. Read on and you'll be an expert!

Stop looking for that perfect piece of art: convert that big empty wall into a rock climbing training wall!

OK, you probably wouldn't choose to build this in your living room, but a basement or garage might be the perfect place for a climbing wall.

Building your own rock climbing wall is a great way get exercise and improve your climbing skills, but this project isn't for the faint of heart. First, you'll want to carefully design the wall, taking into consideration your space constraints, your skill level, and your skill goals.

Essortment has a full list of tools and materials, along with detailed construction instructions. This project isn't for amateur builders, but if you have the experience to take it on, you'll have the coolest garage on the block.

My three-year-old loves playhouses. Even if it's really just a cardboard box that he can fit into, it qualifies as the coolest toy in the northern hemisphere.

In fact, we have finally found the right plans to fit our yard, and we plan on building a playhouse for our fanciful child soon. We were actually steering clear of themed playhouses, so that Owen could let his imagination run wild; knowing him, it will be everything from a firehouse to the Hall of Justice.

If you have a little one who adores Disney's many jungle-themed rides and movies, though, this may be just the playhouse for you to try building.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Paslode, has announced a voluntary recall of about 86,000 "Tall Red" Fuel Cells. The fuel cells, used to power cordless framing nailers, can leak fuel, posing a fire hazard.

Manufactured in the United States, and sold from February 2008 through April 2008 by construction supply and home center stores and dealers for between $11 and $14, the "Tall Red" fuel cells are for use in Paslode cordless framing nailers. Please see the CPSC press release for date and manufacture codes.

Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the fuel cells, and to return them to the place of purchase for credit or a full refund. For more information, contact Paslode at (800) 222-6990, visit their website at www.paslode.com (PDF), or email the firm at productsupport@paslode.com.

If there is one circus skill I'd love to master, it's walking on stilts. Being hopelessly clumsy and a bit of a coward, I'm not sure it's in the cards for me, but if you're looking for a fun construction project and a new skill, try out these DIY stilts.

The wooden stilts are adjustable, increasing your height by one to three feet. Here's what you need to construct them:

• Wooden 2×4, 15.5" long
• 4 3/8" wing nuts
• 4 3/8" ID flat washers
• 4 3/8" x 4" carriage bolts
• 2 Wooden poles, 8′x1.5"x1.5"
• Table saw
• Drill

The instructions don't seem too complicated, but considering that you'll trust the final product to support you in the air, you'll want to follow them carefully, paying particular attention to the safety tips. I'm guessing that the moderate danger rating has more to do with the difficulty you'll have learning to walk safely on stilts than it does with the actual safety of the stilts.

Even if you're not looking for a new career as a busker, you'll love showing off your new skills and your homemade stilts.

As promised, this is the third in a five-part series on retaining walls and their construction. We've already talked about natural stone and pressure-treated timber walls, so on to one of my favorites, engineered walls -- oh yeah! Engineered walls are cast concrete blocks that are gravity-stacked and assembled kind of like a puzzle. I like this kind of wall because it is the strongest wall of the types I've enumerated. It is not as architecturally flexible as a stone wall, for example, but it will solve a bunch of grade change problems that the others may not. It should be noted that the majority of engineered wall work is for commercial applications, but small walls certainly have their place in a residential site.

Take a look at the gallery, so you see what some of the options are, and we'll continue.

Playground equipment is expensive! I have some easy to build backyard equipment designs made from a few 4x4 posts; the whole setup can be made for less than $100 and built in an afternoon. These designs are for use with preschool/kindergarten age kids and are stand-alone or complementary to a swing set combo.

To build the whole set you will need eight to ten 4x4 posts. This design includes a lava pit, monkey bar, balance beam, sand box, and a teeter-totter/seesaw; I've built only some of these in reality, the rest in virtual Google Sketchup. I uploaded the design to Google's Sketch 3D Warehouse database under the name "Playground Equipment, diylife.com" You can download the model in the program and rotate it in 3D with displayed dimensions, and even edit my design. If you don't want to do that, just check out the photo gallery.

Sometimes we choose DIY for the love of DIY, but other times it's for the monetary savings. Doing a project yourself, getting exactly what you want, and not paying through the roof makes DIY projects appealing to so many of us. Labor costs account for half (sometimes more) of construction costs. Doing work yourself can be your biggest savings, but only if you really know what you're doing, or have the time to learn. First, go through this quick checklist and figure out if you should do it yourself or not. If you do decide to take it on, this list of money saving tips will help you get the most for your dollar and the best end result.

The article suggests setting priorities and re-evaluating the scale of improvements. They offer tips on choosing which improvement will yield the greatest return, and suggest ways to obtain moderately priced materials instead of higher end expensive ones. They also warn what corners not to cut. Saving money is great, but not at the expense of safety, or quality. There are ways to do it well without re-mortgaging your home. With 10 tips in all, finishing with the DIY option, you'll find great pointers on how to save money on your home improvement projects. Check them out and let me know what you think is missing. How else do you save money with home improvement projects?

It's a fact of life-- Winter happens. And with it comes freezing weather. But that doesn't mean that your DIY projects stop. And if your current project involves caulking, on some days the freezing weather may render your tubes of caulk unusable as they "ice up", especially if you have to drive to the work site in the wee hours. But Brian Carter came up with a great solution and shared it at www.taunton.com.

Brian decided to use a metal can with no lid and store it under the hood of his truck. He put it close to the engine but not in contact with it. The tubes go in the can for incubation and by the time he gets to the work site, the warmed-up caulk is free-flowing. Left under the hood the cooling engine it stays workable for hours.

Yoo hoo, DIY'ers! Over here! Wanna feel some real pain? Check out the HGTV 2008 Dream Home. I'm talking about envy and a sliding feeling in your stomach also known as Renovation Depression. Well...that part I made up. But Renovation Depression could be a real condition. So many people pouring their hard-earned dollars and all their free time into endless home repairs and upgrades. Then along comes stuff like this to burst your achievement bubble, when you realize you'll never have anything half as impressive. Sigh.

You know, I don't necessarily want a house as pricey or perfect as this Florida palace. But when you dream of having a house that you love, where everything is arranged how you want it, where all the walls are finally painted exactly the right shades... Well, I don't know about you, but to me it can be painful seeing such housing perfection. Outdoor shower? Fishing closet? Yeesh. Even the family dog has its own cabana.

Visit HGTV to see photos of the interior and exterior of the Dream Home. Visit HGTV sister site, HGTVpro to view photos of the house's construction.

Squares are useful in planning your work, checking angles, and making sure that your cutting is accurate. There are 7 different kinds of squares, each with their own use. Knowing when to use each one will make your jobs much easier and prevent mistakes.

1. Combination square
2. Drywall square
3. Framing square
4. Try square
5. Sliding T-Bevel square
6. Folding square
7. Measuring square

Do It Yourself has this great article describing all 7 types of squares, their characteristics and uses. Next time you are planning a project use this handy reference to know which square you need to pick up.

There are some important safety tips to keep in mind when working with squares. When using a square as a saw guide, clamp the square so that you are controlling the saw with both hands. This won't just save your hands, but it will also encourage accuracy. When using framing squares, you'll want to wear gloves. The sliding T-bevel can be dangerous with its blade. Always close it back into the handle when you're not using it. Keeping these safety tips in mind and choosing the right square and using it properly will go a long way towards your project success.

LED technology is everywhere. It's cheap and easy to use for any project, and particularly fun for Halloween creations. If you're looking for a frightening costume accessory try the LED eyes. If you're thinking of something a bit less haunted, but still in the Halloween spirit, this LED hat is just the right fit.

This project is not a simple one, and you could probably find something similar (though not quite as cool) at the store, but if you have a good understanding of microcontrollers and a lot of time to spare before Halloween, give this a try. Here are the construction notes to help you build the LED creation.

If the project is a bit too complicated for you, start now and make a St. Patrick's day hat, or an accessory for next Halloween.

Recently, a lot of media attention has been given to various ways to increase storage space in a house. Wendy A. Jordan's book Making Room posits many possible examples, though most of them seem to come down to "knock out some drywall between beams and build shelving there" or "make the area under your stairs into a cabinet/closet/office/etc." This definitely won't work at my house, where the area under the stairs is the upper half of the stairwell that leads to the basement! No, we have to line the walls with shelving and hope for the best.

One of the coolest "increased storage" areas I've seen is in the family home of one of my friends, where there are two secret rooms. One isn't so much secret as "easy to miss" (it's a tiny room accessed from inside the garage), but the other is behind a bookcase. To get to it, you have to unload and move the entire bookcase, and he's always claimed it's "not that cool," but still: secret rooooooooom!

Now you, too, can have a secret room, by following this tutorial at WikiHow for a Hidden Door Bookshelf. You'll have a wall of useful shelving, and one of the units will hide a door! You're probably only going to keep all your valuables in your new hidden room, but it's so completely awesome that it's worth building anyway. (And that's a good thing: because you have to build a steel frame, it's a relatively complex project, definitely not for novices.)

Bonus: unlike my friend's hidden-room-bookshelf, it's built on a pivot, so you won't have to take everything off of it to get into the room itself.

[via Shelterrific.]

Perhaps this note is a bit early but I thought I'd remind you while there's still time to take advantage of the current residential solar and fuel cell tax credits. The current program is quite generous but it is slated for expiration on December 31, 2008. By taking advantage of the program now, homeowners can still reap significant tax benefits and if your capital expenditures for alternative energy installations exceed the program limits, you can carry the balance forward into the succeeding tax year.

The DSIRE website provides an accurate and understandable summary of the program and its parameters, as well as providing links to the legislation upon which the program is built. The site does also make clear that alternative energy installations which were initiated with assistance of other government programs are not eligible for additional tax breaks (no double dipping please).

It is expected that the next presidential administration shall surely extend the current program or shall probably create something even better, so please don't be too concerned that you'll miss out on these tax advantages. The most important things to remember at this time are to document your expenditures, consult with a professional tax adviser and remember that eligible projects can recover 30% of their cost of construction up to a total of $2,000.