Articles in: From the Forums

From the Forums: How to Lay Pavers Over Existing Concrete

Posted by: Craig Allen on February 22nd, 2013 | 2 Comments

A beautiful backyard patio made of pavers, illustrating how to lay pavers on concrete

Using concrete pavers, or paving stones, is a cost-effective way to build a patio for your back yard. Pavers also have a little more visual appeal than your standard concrete patio, so a lot of homeowners decide they’ll use pavers to upgrade their old patio. And this leads them to a common question heard in the aisles of Home Depot stores across the country: “Can I lay pavers on top of an existing concrete patio?”

That’s the question posed in the virtual Home Depot aisles of our online Community Forums by canyongirl.

The answer is yes, you certainly can lay paving stones over an existing concrete patio. Home Depot associate HDwetPaint explained the basics on how to lay pavers over concrete.

DIY Project, From the Forums, Garden Center, Landscaping, Landscaping Ideas, Outdoor Living, Patio, patio pavers, Pavers

From the Forums: Patio Ideas on a Budget

Posted by: Craig Allen on February 15th, 2013 | One Comment

Hampton Bay Andrews 3-Piece Patio Bistro Set

“I have a big, ugly patio. I need a few tips on how to remodel my patio without spending a lot of money.” Home Depot Community Forums reader diablita cut straight to the chase with that post on the Forums. You might feel the same way about your patio. And even if your patio isn’t quite as big and ugly, every so often it certainly is nice to spruce up your patio or deck. It’s even nicer if you can remodel your patio inexpensively.

Forum associate Rick Lavasseur, who posts under the handle RicksPicks online, had several patio ideas for homeowners on a budget.

“One of the many things that can be done without spending any money is to just clean the patio area of any unwanted debris, overgrown plants, weeds and any other trash that might have been left in the back yard,” Rick writes. “Just doing that alone will help improve the look of your patio area immensely.”

That’s pretty basic. But Rick has more advice:

From the Forums, Outdoor Living, Outdoors, Patio, Patio Furniture, patio ideas, Porch

From the Forums: How to Choose a Bathroom Faucet

Posted by: Craig Allen on February 8th, 2013 | Make A Comment

A display of the common types of faucets to help understand how to choose a bathroom faucet

“I need to replace the sink faucet in the bathroom. When I measure it, it looks like 6 inches, but stock all says 4 inches. How do I measure so I know I have the right replacement faucet?”

That was the question that took MizViki to The Home Depot’s Community Forums for an answer. It turns out that knowing how to choose a bathroom faucet is a tricky issue for a lot of people looking to upgrade their bathrooms.

Home Depot associate Christine Sharry (SheCanDoIt22) was there with a clear explanation of the different types of faucets, their measurements and how to know which kind you need for your bathroom remodel.

Bath, Bathroom, Bathroom and Faucets, From the Forums, Plumbing

From the Forums: Valentine’s Gift Ideas for the DIYer

Posted by: Craig Allen on February 1st, 2013 | Make A Comment

The Home Depot associates who answer your how-to questions on our online Forums are the mushiest romantics you’ll ever see in a tool belt. We asked them to come up with Valentine’s gift ideas and projects to help anyone in need of some Valentine’s Day inspiration.

From the Forums, gift ideas, Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

From the Forums: Overhead Garage Storage

Posted by: Craig Allen on January 25th, 2013 | Make A Comment

When it comes to decluttering the home, the garage often becomes the last ditch place for all the stuff we don’t want to throw out, but have no other place to store. And, let’s face it, it’s also usually the last space in the home that gets the attention it needs for some effective storage and organization solutions. The good news is, garages offer a lot of options for storage that other parts of the house don’t. Overhead garage storage might be the best of these solutions.

That was the topic of a short article by The Home Depot’s Eileen Claar posted on our online How-To Community Forums. She’s a long-time Home Depot associate who posts under the handle DesigningWoman. She really knows her stuff when it comes to organization and storage ideas. Overhead garage storage frees up so much space on the floor of your garage that it’s almost like increasing the square footage of the area. It’s a very cost effective storage solution, too. It almost seems like every garage should have overhead storage.

From the Forums, Garage, Garage Storage, Storage, Storage and Organization

From the Forums: 3 Cleaning and Maintenance Tasks You Shouldn’t Neglect

Posted by: Craig Allen on January 18th, 2013 | 2 Comments

Artist's rendering of yucky stuff growing on a dirty refrigerator coil

What’s growing on the refrigerator coil?

Owning a home means keeping up with regular cleaning and maintenance chores around the house. This keeps your appliances and heating and cooling systems running smoothly, which saves money and helps prevent breakdowns. Home Depot associate Chris Long, who posts on our How-To Community Forums under the handle Newf, has suggested a few of the most neglected household cleaning and maintenance tasks.

His short list is based on his many years of experience helping customers in the aisles of Home Depot stores. He says these maintenance tasks are actually quite easy, but will help avoid expensive repairs.

From the Forums, Home Cleaning, Home Maintenance

From the Forums: How to Organize a Shed

Posted by: Craig Allen on January 11th, 2013 | 4 Comments

A storage shed that is very tidy and organized

Our Home Depot associates’ shed– organized and tidy

Home Depot associates face the same challenges keeping a storage shed or garage organized and tidy that you do at home. The associates who help run our online How-To Community Forums have a storage shed where they keep some of the tools and supplies they use to create various how-to projects you see here on the Apron blog, Home Depot Style Guide and the Forums. It had finally reached a point where organizing the shed was the project they needed to focus on most.

Chris Haygood, who posts under the handle ChrisFixit, and Kevin Dunn, who posts under the handle PaintPro, bravely volunteered to tackle the challenge.

And luckily for us, they documented the shed clean-up project, and shared with us what they learned about how to organize a shed.

From the Forums, Organization, Storage, Storage and Organization, Storage Shed

From the Forums: Shared Bedroom Storage Solution

Posted by: Craig Allen on January 4th, 2013 | 4 Comments

Martha Stewart Living 9-Cube Organizer

It’s hard to image a space that depends more on good storage solutions than a small bedroom shared by two siblings. Storage was indeed the centerpiece of the advice Home Depot associate Eileen Claar had for a couple whose two young sons had to share a room for a time after moving to a new city.

Eileen, who posts under the handle DesigningWoman, wrote about how to help siblings share a room on our online How-To Community Forums.

She explains that to complicate matters a little, the older brother was in elementary school, and the younger boy was a toddler still in diapers — two ages with two very different sets of needs. But Eileen came up with a plan that would give the older child a little independence, but kept the shared bedroom toddler-friendly.

From the Forums, Storage, Storage Solutions

From the Forums: How to Create an Antique Finish on Kitchen Cabinets

Posted by: Craig Allen on December 14th, 2012 | Make A Comment

A kitchen cabinet door antique finish demonstration

Giving your cabinets a makeover is a sure fire way to renew and refresh the look of your kitchen. The Home Depot associates who answer questions on our online How-To Community Forums have recommended the Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations Kit as a surprisingly easy and cost-effective way to make your cabinets look new again. We’ve even seen some before and after photos a reader posted on the Forums showing off her spectacular kitchen re-do using the Cabinet Transformations Kit.

Recently, a regular contributor to the Forums who posts under the handle ordjen described how he departs from the official instructions on the box to create his own antique cabinet finish.

From the Forums, Kitchen, Paint, refinishing kitchen cabinets, Video

From the Forums: Advice on Wood Carving Tools

Posted by: Craig Allen on December 7th, 2012 | Make A Comment

Woodblock print The Exchange by Home Depot associate Joe Caylor

One of the keys to starting a new hobby is getting set up with the right tools. You don’t necessarily need a comprehensive array of every tool or gadget you could ever need. Having a good starter kit of the basics will usually be enough.

Reader Inellalexander seemed to be thinking of starting a woodworking hobby when he asked for some advice on wood carving tools on our online How-To Community.

Forums associate Travis Poore, who posts under the handle LawnRanger, had an unexpected suggestion on a tool a wood carver might use:

From the Forums, gift ideas, Tools, wood carving tools, Woodworking Hand Tools

Enter Your Zip Code: