While the weather is still relatively warm and the ground is not yet covered with snow, take advantage of this time to complete some around-the-house projects. These six tasks don’t require a lot of time or money, and you can complete them all in a morning or less.
1 DON’T JUST CLEAN THE GUTTERS—UPGRADE THEM / Most homeowners know they need to clean leaves and other debris out of their gutters in the fall. This ensures that water flows correctly to the downspouts and doesn’t spill over, freeze, and turn your front steps and sidewalk into an ice rink. Overflowing gutters can also result in water running back toward the house, which can leak into the basement.
This time, take the extra step to channel water away from the house by adding extensions to the end of downspouts. They cost about $9 at home centers and fit over the downspouts without fasteners.
2 WHIP YOUR SMALL ENGINES INTO SHAPE / Make sure your snow thrower starts, the tires are inflated, and everything is in working order. If there’s a problem, fix it now—before you have several inches of snow piling up in your driveway. Change the oil if you didn’t change it at the end of last season. Otherwise, check the oil level to make sure it’s good to go. Also perform basic maintenance, such as lubrication. (The owner’s manual will tell you which lubricant to use and where to apply it.)
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Popular Mechanics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Popular Mechanics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Cutting the Cord
THE HANDHELD CIRCULAR SAW IS PERHAPS THE MOST VERSAtile power tool for cutting wood.
BUILDING COLLAPSES IN U.S. HISTORY
THE CASCADING FAILURES BEHIND ONE OF THE WORST
How Three Amateurs Solved the Zodiac Killer's '340' Cipher
The mysterious code stumped the FBI and NSA for 53 years. What does the key, and the resulting solution, tell us about the infamous murderer?
POPULAR MECHANICS TOP AWARDS 2024
For more than 120 years, Popular Mechanics has been a heavy-duty brand. We see no reason to change that now.
How This Particle Could Break Our Understanding of Reality
EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL THEORY OF relativity teaches us that nothing can accelerate past the speed of light. But what if, when you were born, you were already moving faster than light? What would that look like?
The Right Way to Use a Fire Extinguisher
A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IS MORE THAN A of one 5-gallon bucket becomes the size of 64 burning buckets. Just 180 seconds after it begins, a fire can be transformed from a nuisance to a room-size, life-threatening inferno.
How the World's Largest Spherical Structure Was Built
THE SHINY, NEW LAS VEGAS SPHERE IS more than just a 17,600-seat amphitheaterstyle venue hosting a U2 residency. Since its opening in September 2023, it's become the world's largest spherical structure, at 516 feet wide and 366 feet tall.
The Army's Drone-Killing Laser Weapon
THE U.S. ARMY FIELDED ITS FIRST LASERweapon-equipped unit in October. Based at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the unit took possession of four laser-equipped Stryker infantry combat vehicles, each mounting a 50-kilowatt-class laser-weapon system. The combination of Stryker and laser can down both artillery, such as mortars and rockets, and drones in-flight.
Why It's So Hard to Mine the World's Largest Lithium Deposit
A Pass, or Peehee Mu'huh to the local Paiute people has been mined since the 1970s, so the new analysis merely confirms what locals have long known about the area.
WHAT THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL X-RAY LASER WILL DO FOR SCIENCE
DEEP UNDER MENLO PARK, California, there is a threemile-long machine operating in a tunnel that scientists are keeping colder than even some of the deepest reaches of space.