David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord
How long does it take for caulk to dry before painting? It depends on the formulation of the caulk, so the right answer the last time you did a project may not be the same as this time.
Paintable caulk is ready for paint in about 30 minutes. Other types of caulk take considerably longer, from 24 hours to as much as 10 days.
I hate when this happens. I’m at the end of a project, I take the battery out of whatever Ryobi tool I was using, put it on the charger, and get that infernal flashing red light. Why are Ryobi batteries so bad? Here’s what to do when your Ryobi battery won’t charge.
Sometimes your Ryobi battery won’t charge just because it’s too hot. Other times it’s because it’s discharged too far, in which case, you may be able to jumpstart it to bring it back to life.
The only thing worse than painting is unplanned repainting. So it’s good to ask questions first. One good question is this: Can you paint semi gloss over flat paint? Let’s explore.
Masterforce is Menards’ house brand for power tools and hand tools. As a house brand, they are less expensive than the big name brands. But are Masterforce power tools good? And who makes Masterforce power tools for Menardss? I did some digging to find out.
Masterforce power tools are made by Chervon, one of the 10 largest OEMs of power tools in the world. Contrary to rumor, they are not rebadged Maktec tools made by Makita.
Modern tamper resistant outlets are a good safety feature, but they also present a challenge. They can be much harder to plug into. Here’s how to open tamper resistant outlets if you can’t plug into an outlet.
Retailers are pushing electric mowers hard so far this year. When I walked into Home Depot at the beginning of March, I saw more electrics on display than gas-powered mowers. Even Harbor Freight, of all places, has two electric mowers on prominent display. But are electric mowers worth it? Let’s look whether a gas or electric mower makes more sense.
If you’re in the market for a mower anyway, an electric mower makes a ton of sense because it’s cheaper to operate than a gas mower. If you have a working gas mower, the numbers are murkier but electric may still make sense.
I got shocked by a neutral wire on an outlet that was shut off at the panel once. That doesn’t make any sense. It’s a rare condition, but it can happen. It shouldn’t happen, but here’s why a neutral wire can shock you.
The huge power outage in Texas in February 2021 got a lot of people thinking about solar. But a question quickly came up in all the conversations I had with people around the country. Do solar panels work during a power outage? That sounds like an absurd question. But under some circumstances, they don’t.
Solar doesn’t always work during a power outage, and that’s something that naysayers used to try to pin the blame on solar power. On-grid solar panels will shut down to protect electrical workers during an outage, but there are ways for you to compensate for that.
Styrene is a chemical derived from petroleum. We most commonly encounter it as a type of plastic. It’s an inexpensive and versatile type of plastic, so it’s been very popular for many decades.
Styrene’s cost effectiveness and relative strength make it a common material in construction and also in the manufacture of consumer goods. With the right prep work and materials, it is easy to glue and paint and repair as well.
Code requires GFCI outlets in areas where water might be present. It’s a safety issue. But how much do GFCI outlets cost? And why are GFCI outlets so expensive relative to regular outlets?
GFCI outlets cost around $16 because they’re more complex than a standard outlet. But you can save money by taking advantage of a GFCI’s ability to protect all outlets downstream of it.