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Learning how to cut and install butcher block isn’t difficult. We’ll walk you through the basic process for creating custom butcher block countertops. You can also use our how-to to install a butcher block island. For this project, you’ll need a few materials, a few hours, and basic carpentry skills. Editor’s Tip: Before getting started, remove any existing countertops. If they’re in good condition, consider reinstalling them in another area of your home (like a garage or basement workstation) or donating them to a resale store....

Flexible Nonmetallic Conduit Have a salesperson help you assemble all the parts you need: conduit, couplings, elbows, sweeps, and PVC boxes. Connect to a metal box using a terminal adapter. Flexible plastic tubing is a convenient way to channel wiring. Blue corrugated EMT tubing is used for indoor installations; moisture-impermeable tubing is used outdoors. Both come in long coils. Check to see whether your local codes allow these products. How to Install PVC Conduit Step 1: Cut Box Install PVC boxes, then measure and mark the conduit for a cut....

Where to Buy Stock Tank Pools Stock tank pools can be found at agriculture supply retailers like Tractor Supply Company, Fleet Farm, and Wilco. Look for one that’s at least two feet deep, and large enough for more than one person. Small, oval-shaped pools can work for a single adult or a couple of young kids, but 6- to 8-foot round stock tanks are ideal for groups of two or more....

How to Make Salsa The most popular types of salsas are pico de gallo, salsa fresca, and salsa cruda. These are chunky, uncooked sauces with a fresh tomato base. They are quick and easy to make and are at their best when tomatoes are in season. To make homemade salsa, combine the ingredients below in a bowl and serve, or cover and chill for up to three days. Essential Salsa Ingredients Peppers: When it comes to choosing the best peppers for salsa, it all depends on your preferred spice level....

How to Paint Striped Curtains Add pattern to your living spaces with our step-by-step tutorial for painting striped curtains. What You’ll Need Drop clothSolid lined curtain panelTape measurePencilThick painters tapeSpray bottle with waterPaintbrushChalk-finish paint Step 1: Prep Curtains Start with a solid, lined curtain panel. If needed, iron out any wrinkles before painting curtains. Lay the panel over a drop cloth on a flat surface. Step 2: Measure Stripes Measure your desired stripe widths and mark with a pencil....

Finish Most of today’s popular kitchen flooring finishes are suitable for kitchens. Clear water-base finishes are often best because they retain the wood’s color and can be easily touched up or re-coated. The strongest water-base finish is a factory-applied, acrylic-impregnated finish that permeates the wood instead of just coating the surface. Acrylic-impregnated floors are more expensive, but are a more durable kitchen flooring option and require less upkeep. Oil-base finishes often fade to an amber color over time, making future touch-ups difficult—a disadvantage in a high-traffic room such as the kitchen....

Puddling Another style for drapes is extra-long panels with inches of fabric “puddling” on the floor, creating a ball-gown effect. This can be an elegant look for fabrics with the right weight and weave, such as synthetics and silks. Stiff fabrics, such as cotton and linen, or any kind of lined panels, won’t flow gracefully onto the floor. If you like the puddling effect, buy these drapes from a store or online at the 96-inch length but mount the rod between 84 and 90 inches high to give you extra fabric to play with at the floor level....

Whether it’s a summer-blooming variety with large, showy blooms, or a fall-blooming type of clematis with hundreds of smaller flowers, these vines make a stunning statement. The most common clematis are the open-face blooms that reach as large as 7 inches across. Blooms also come in small, bell-shaped blossoms with outer petals that dangle like little lanterns. Some blooms have a pleasant fragrance. The swirling masses of fluffy seeds add textural interest, too....

Step 1: How to Clean a Pineapple No need for a special pineapple cleaner. Tap water and a produce brush will do the trick. Simply hold the fruit under the faucet while thoroughly scrubbing the skin. What’s the point since you’re just going to peel it? When you plunge a knife into the fruit, anything on the skin will be transferred to the flesh. Step 2: How to Cut a Pineapple Use a knife to cut off the green crown and stem end of the pineapple....

Whichever coffee stain removal method you choose, it’s important that you don’t place the garment in the dryer until the stain is completely gone. Machine-drying the item while a coffee mark is still visible can set the stain and make it nearly impossible to remove. As with most fabric stains, it’s also best to act quickly when treating coffee stains on clothing. If the spill just happened, immediately remove the garment and flush the fabric with cold water through the back of the fabric....

Getting Started Tub and shower faucets work much like sink faucets, but they are oriented horizontally rather than vertically and their parts are usually larger. A two-handle stem shower faucet has a stem with a washer that presses against a seat to seal off water. A three-handle unit adds a stemlike diverter to direct water up to the shower or down to the tub spout. Getting the parts Often leaks can be fixed simply by replacing the washers....

Garden Pests That Eat Hostas Before you declare war on slugs, confirm they’re the ones making holes in your hosta leaves. Besides hail, cutworms could also be the culprits; their signature is chewing the soft parts of the leaves and avoiding the veins. Slugs will munch anywhere on the leaves, right through the veins. Deer and rabbits will eat hostas, too, but they don’t leave holes behind. Instead, you’ll likely see bare stems with maybe a ragged piece of leaf left behind....

How to Substitute Chocolate for Cocoa Powder Your best bet when using chocolate instead of cocoa powder is going to be unsweetened chocolate ($4, Target) since all other chocolates will have sugar and hence take more adjusting to work in your recipe. In general, a 1-ounce piece of unsweetened chocolate can replace 3 Tbsp. cocoa. Though because your chocolate piece will have oil in it, you might want to try leaving out some of the oil; take out 1 Tbsp....

So what exactly are the benefits of swapping your linens for the season? The first and most obvious reason to change bedding when the weather starts to cool down is for warmth. A heavier duvet or comforter or even a heavier cover can keep you perfectly warm and toasty all season long. Throw blankets, coverlets, and quilts also provide beneficial layering that allows for more customized temperature control. And when it comes to aesthetics, the arrival of cold weather is also an excuse to redecorate....

Before you begin, make any needed repairs to the window and its frame. Once complete, the first step to weather-seal windows is to caulk, especially on the exterior. Also, check that the glazing putty on the outside is free of gaps and seals tightly against the window. Where glazing is failing, scrape it out and apply new glazing. On the inside, see that the joint between the glass and the sash is sealed with paint....

Sandwich Wrap Papers Once your sandwich is made, you’ll need to determine what to use to wrap your sandwich. Wax paper sandwich wraps are a classic tool (parchment paper works, too), but as sustainability becomes ever more important, reusable sandwich wraps are becoming easier to find. Beeswax sandwich wraps are one reusable option to buy, or you can make your own. They work great here as they are naturally tacky so they seal tightly around your sandwich....

How to Make Ice Cream Soda Floats Sweet soda floats are a welcome treat on the hottest summer days. Be creative and experiment with a variety of ice cream float combinations! No matter what soda or ice cream you choose, follow these steps to make refreshing floats for your family, your friends, and yourself: How to Serve Ice Cream Floats There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy an ice cream soda, but we do have a few tips for sprucing up your treat....

Amongst being an avid television host and renowned chef, Pépin has over 20 cookbooks that focus on technique and his passion for French cuisine. He is also the former owner of La Potagerie. Pépin has expanded his love for culinary arts into teaching and spending time around his foundation, the Jacques Pépin Foundation, which supports free culinary and life skills training through various community organizations.

Caring for Japanese Aralia Japanese aralia grows well in part or full shade. Avoid planting it in areas that receive afternoon sun as its leaves will scorch in prolonged direct sun. Plant it in rich, moist soil that is well-drained. Plants growing in containers will thrive in high quality, humus-rich potting mix. Water plants deeply and regularly during the first growing season to encourage plants to establish a robust root system....