Just in time for fall… here’s the PVC water gun I designed and built: It’s powered by air pressure, which is created by the water pressure in the garden hose. It cost about $10-12 to build. Full instructions are available on the project page. The good news is, this time of year, some of the […]
Category Archives: Projects
Charging station
While it’s not the most involved or most clever thing I’ve ever built, I made a cabinet in my garage for holding my power tool battery chargers. It’s really helping to declutter my workbench. Take a look at the project page.
Camper bunk night light
We like to take our kids camping in our popup, but one problem I hadn’t solved yet was the lack of a night light. Evan likes to have one, and it’s nice to be able to see a little bit when sharing a “room” with kids. What I did was modify an existing light in […]
Peg Perego tractor
Dusty had the good fortune to find a Peg Perego Power Pull ride-on tractor on Craigslist recently. The price was right, but unsurprisingly, it needed a little work. We found a new battery for a good price, but there were also some cracks in the chassis. Both the front end and rear ends have succumbed […]
Playhouse interior completed
This week I finished the interior of the playhouse. I added a loft, ladder, bench and toy box. The upstairs is a big hit with the kids, and there’s plenty of room inside for playing and storing toys. Take a look at the Playhouse project page or the new photos.
Backyard playhouse
Since it’s much cheaper to write about a previous project than to undertake a new one, I finally got around to posting details about the playhouse I built last summer. Take a look at the Playhouse page.
Free heat
With the current weather, energy prices and economic climate, I’ve been looking for some ways to save on heating costs this winter. Everyone has written about saving money by lowering your thermostat, putting on a sweater, etc. but we’ve already done that, so I wanted to take a different approach. We have lots of items […]
Dear homebuilder
Dear Homebuilder- When installing an exterior door, don’t worry about using shims between the door frame and the rough opening for proper support. Three drywall screws on the hinge side only should be more than enough to attach the door into the opening. If not, the load-bearing ability of the exterior trim will suffice. When […]
Windows Mobile phone setup part 5 – GooSync
Previously, I posted about using ScheduleWorld for synchronizing my calendar to my Windows Mobile phone. Due to some problems I experienced, I withdrew my recommendation, but I’ve got something that’s working pretty well for me now. I’m using the free version of GooSync, and in my testing it’s been very reliable. The free version is […]
Windows Mobile phone setup part 4 – contacts
In part 1, I described how I got email syncing to my new smartphone. In part 2, I addressed tasks, and in part 3, I struggled through syncing with my Google Calendar. Finally, in this installment, I finish up with synchronizing my contacts. I keep my contacts in Gmail, and they don’t change very often. […]