Protect wood and it will last a lifetime

Wood is a wonderful building material and has been used for thousands of years. If protected from excess moisture, it can last a long time. If not, then rot can develop. Fortunately, there are some super products available these days that actually can replace rotting wood. These products might not be good for structural support members, but they can be used for many other wood surfaces, like trim and molding, windows, walls and even siding. If you have rotted wood around your home, read on and see if these products might be just what you've been looking for.

Check your hardware store or home center, most likely in the paint department, for wood epoxy or rot-repair products. A couple of names to look for are Git Rot, Liquid Wood, Wood Epox and West System. Most are two-component products and are fairly easy to use, although they can be costly for large areas.

General directions will have you remove the really damaged areas first. It's going to be a good idea to drill from the damaged areas into good wood in order to give the compound something to "hold" onto.

Then you will follow the package directions to mix or prepare the compound. If you are working in a larger area or an area where you might want more support, see if your product will allow you to add in some clean sawdust. This will make the mixture thicker and better able to stand up in certain circumstances.

Molding the compound into the correct shape can be a challenge, but most are sandable when set. Get creative with different tools to get it close to the correct shape, and then let it set up. You can use sanding tools or even a rotary tool with a sanding attachment to get the shape the way you want it.

The last touch will be to paint it to match the existing wood. We also recommend priming before painting.

Like we said before, this stuff won't rebuild a house, but it will make a rotting house "look" better and last longer. It's a good solution for many DIY'ers.

Plumber's friend to the rescue

Our neighbors had a tile that needed to be pulled up in their kitchen. Apparently, it had come loose from the adhesive and was a little wobbly. Although the grout was clearly cracked, it seemed impossible to pull the tile up in order to re-attach it -- until someone brought in the plumber's friend to help. Not Joe the plumber's assistant, but the toilet plunger, a.k.a. the plumber's friend. We stuck it over the tile and pushed it down to create suction. Then we just pulled the loose tile up. Our neighbor removed the old grout and adhesive, and tells us the tile is back in place now.

Caulk like a pro

Now that fall has fallen, we hope you have caulked around your house, and we hope your handiwork looks good. If you are not very good at getting a smooth bead of caulk, there are some easy ways to get good-looking results: One is to use a plastic putty knife. Use a grinder or file to round off one or both corners. Now you can use it to run down the line of caulk you just applied. The rounded corner should be placed right on the bead of caulk and, when pulled down the line of caulk, it gives you a nice, rounded appearance. You can wipe off the caulk that builds up on it, and even re-use it elsewhere if you like. Your next caulking job will look like it was done by a real pro!

Super hints

• Those handy-dandy trash-pick-up sticks are great. We don't know where you would purchase one for your own use, but they are easy to make. Just install a dowel screw into the end of a broomstick, and you're ready to clean up the yard.

• That cooking spray that keeps your cookies from sticking to the pan also will keep snow from sticking to your snow shovel. It prevents mud and other gunk from sticking, too. Keep some handy in the shop as well.

• If you've got some leftover pipe insulation from protecting your household water pipes from freezing temperatures, you can add it to handles on some of your tools to make them more comfortable to use. Add small sections to lawnmower handles, snow-shovel handles and chisels. It's easy to do and will make your work much easier to "handle."

Q. I have to reset a fence post and would like to pour new concrete. Can I do this now, or do I need to wait until spring?

R.J.

A. You should be OK, as long as the weather isn't freezing. Check the label on the product you want to use. Some will work better than others. Most patching compounds will work better than standard concrete if you can use one of those products.

Q. We are finishing out our basement to make a family room. How can we include a bathroom down there?

G.E.

A. Check with a bathroom-fixture supply house. They actually make a flush-up toilet that is made just for use in a basement. Check your local plumbing code, and make sure you install it correctly. It's not as rare as you might think.

Q. I plan to replace some tiles on my bathroom counter. The tiles I want to use are not edge tiles, and they also will need to be cut. How can I make them smoother and fit better?

R.J.

A. A wet tile saw does a great job. You can use a grinder for a smoother edge. It takes a little practice, but it really will do the job. You can rent these tools to save some money. Just try to plan the job out and get all of your cuts done at once.

Q. My kitchen table is made of plastic laminate. I would like to cover it with wood veneer. Can I do it?

N.G.

A. It would be best to glue the wood veneer to a wood base. As an alternative, you could install a ¼-inch plywood sheet over the laminate, and then install the veneer. If you want to try the veneer right over the laminate, just make sure to sand the gloss off the surface really well. Then use a contact adhesive made for the veneer, and apply pressure from the veneer roller to ensure a good finish to the table. It's worth a shot!

Reader tips

• My brother and I were putting a deck on the back of my house, and neither one of us had a chalk line for the initial markings -- so we made one. We just got a piece of string and rubbed it heavily with a piece of blackboard chalk. Then we stretched it taut, pulled it up and snapped it just like a real chalk line, and it worked. It really didn't take that much time to make, and there was enough chalk on the line to mark all three sides of the deck.

M.D.

• The kids and I make our own fire logs from rolled-up newspapers. We use a log-roller machine, and it's kind of fun. We've been doing it for a long time and the kids are learning the art of recycling. I save the sawdust from my shop in a small bucket, and we add a little of each to the logs as we roll them. So we're recycling that as well. It really seems to make the fire logs burn even better.

H.T.

• I had a "lovely" bathroom vanity in my guest bath. I really wanted to replace it, until I priced a new pedestal sink. Oh well, I found a way to jazz it up anyway. I removed the base cabinet that the sink was sitting on, and I just bought some really nice legs ($20 at my home center) to hold the counter and sink up. The legs are glued to the countertop in all four corners and painted with some leftover trim paint. You don't really notice the pipes under the sink, but the legs and open area give the bathroom a new, more modern look.

R.D.

• Some glues need to be spread in order for them to work right. I always keep small pieces of cardboard and plastic handy for spreaders. They are usually bound for the trash can anyway, and they work just as well as some fancy, high-price spreader. I have been doing woodworking projects for many years and love your column.

P.N.

• My front door has a lot of glass in it. This meant it was quick and easy to paint, but I'm not really into all that masking. My wife suggested I try rubber cement. It was easy. I used the brush applicator to run around the inside of the window glass and then painted. When the paint was dry, I grabbed the edges of the glue and just pulled it away. I had no other cleanup to do.

S.C.

Shop talk

• Black & Decker's new ScumBuster XTreme is the perfect tool for cleaning around the house and shop. It looks sort of like a paint roller, but it has a powerful rechargeable motor with a 25- to 30-minute run time. The unique roller-brush design cleans bathtubs, shower, walls, doors, sinks, floors and many other surfaces. A three-in-one extension handle allows you to reach farther, and the attachments are handy for a variety of cleaning chores. It's fully submersible and has a two-year warranty. Find it wherever Black & Decker tools are sold. To learn more, visit online at www.blackanddecker.com.

• Robots are here, and they are doing some of our chores for us. The iRobotLooj is a super tool for cleaning out your gutters. You place it in the gutter and turn it on. It runs the length, covering 60 feet in 10 minutes, blasting and cleaning as it goes. It's small enough to glide through the channel, under gutter straps and over downspouts. Spinning at 500 rpm, the auger pushes out leaves, acorns, pine cones and everything else. It's easy to clean with a garden hose, and several models are available with different amenities that make it a super tool to have in your workshop. It's easy to use, inexpensive and does the work for you. If you want to see the instructional video or find a dealer near you, go to its Web site, www.irobot.com, and check it out.

© 2007, Cowles Syndicate Inc.