H4

Al & Kelly Carrell

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Crown moulding and other trim can give any room a classy look. And painting can jazz it up even more.

But masking around all that trim can be extremely time-consuming, and can drive you batty. One way to cut down your time is to very gently pry the trim away from the wall just a tad.

Now you can easily paint right up to the trim without slopping any of the paint on it.

It will take less time to pry the trim away from the wall than it will to mask the whole room, top and bottom. Check it out!

Dear Carrells: I built a great doghouse a couple of years ago. I think it is very solid.

It has a concrete floor that is easy to clean. I also added a door. It's a heavy-duty rubber truck mudflap. It hangs over the doorway and keeps out the cold air and rain.

Our dog can get in and out easily, and seems to appreciate it.

I considered using a truck floor mat at first, but it was just too flimsy. I also have added a rubber floor mat, which adds another layer of insulation.

-- J.R.

A super hint: If you wax your own car, use those waxy rags to wipe down your tools. The coating will keep them from rusting when stored in a garage or shed. It's well worth the few minutes it will take to do.

Dear Al: We have a lot of mineral deposits in our water here, so I thought it might be a problem with my toilet.

I wanted to find a way to leave the cleaning solution in the tank longer so it might help loosen and dissolve deposits within the tank. I shut the water off, then flushed the toilet.

I poured a whole gallon of vinegar into the tank and added some water to fill it the rest of the way up to the fill line.

I let it sit in the tank all day long while I was at work. When I came home, I turned the water back on and flushed the toilet to clear out the vinegar. It worked.

-- K.D.

Q: I was lucky enough to find a great butcher-block kitchen table at a flea market. I would like to know the best way to clean and restore it for everyday use.

Can you advise me?

-- A.N.

A: Sand the top to remove any scratches or stains.

Apply liquid laundry bleach to sanitize it.

Then apply butcher-block oil to the surface. Rub it into the grain of the wood, and wipe off any excess. Repeat this whenever it starts looking dirty again.

Dear Kelly: I had an old chain belt that I had tried to sell in a garage sale.

Nobody wanted it, so I just left it in the garage. I found that it makes a super place to store all of my sockets.

I strung them all on it, both standard and metric, and hung it next to the workbench.

Now it's easy to get the ones that I need and put them back when I'm finished working. The belt is long enough to hold them all!

-- R.S.

Shoptalk: Cutting drywall isn't very hard, but you do have to cut through both sides of the paper for the best results.

But now you can do it in one pass, with the new Goldblatt Blade Runner. Its special design allows you to cut through both sides of the paper at once, so you get your cuts done in half the time.

It's easy to control, versatile and even cuts curves with precision.

It creates less dust so you might get the cleanup done quicker, too.

For more information on the tool and to find out where you can get one for yourself, visit the company's website, www.goldblattbladerunner.com.

* Got a question or a handy tip? Visit www.thesuperhandyman.com. Those of general interest will be used in future columns.