Tips & Techniques

Tips & Techniques is a collection of methods, tools, and jigs that our readers have devised to get things done on their own construction projects. Email photos and descriptions of your tips to us at [email protected]; post them with the #FineHomebuildingTips hashtag on Instagram; or upload them to FineHomebuilding.com/reader-tips for a chance to have them featured in an issue of Fine Homebuilding Magazine. Plus, we pay for any tips we publish.

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Downspouts With Class

A copper plug and cap creates a minimalist standoff and avoids eyesore brackets.
Get a Handle on Your Buckets

PVC pipe and a piece of duct tape makes a better hand-hold for 5-gal. buckets of sand or rocks.
Makeshift Hex-Head Driver

A three-jaw chuck drives hex-head concrete screws in a pinch.
Clever Tools Cover

Aluminum diamond plate makes a partial truck-bed cover to protect tools and other items.
Panel Placer

An unexpected garden tool make it easier to lower subflooring.
Undercabinet Lighting Jig

A homemade T-square with a drilling guide centers a long drill bit in a cabinet bottom for running a puck-light wire.
Feed-Bag Debris Sack

An animal feed bag becomes a durable garbage collector on the job site.
Hole-Saw Plug Popper

Pop the wood plug out of the bit without resorting to a screwdriver.
Not-So-Sticky Fingers

Protect your fingers from sealant using this common household item.
Quickly Clean Paint Rollers

This PVC pipe-and-hose assembly forces water through the nap to thoroughly clean a paint-covered roller.