If you’re like me, you live in a constant state of disappointment that more of our world has not been automated. I mean, c’mon! It’s 2012, where the hell are my robots? Oh sure, I carry around more computing power in my smart phone than all the building-sized super-computers of the 70′s, but I still haven’t seen Asimo fetch my lunch or clean my house. All he does is creepily walk around and occasionally fall down stairs. A few months ago, my bleak outlook on automation was brightened by our discovery of the RoboReel, marketed as “the world’s first durable, portable, automatic extension-cord-manager for professional and home workshops.” RoboReel sent us a ceiling and portable model to test out here at HomeFixated, and they have also generously offered to provide a RoboReel of the winner’s choosing to one lucky HomeFixated reader in our August Free Stuff Givewaway! [click to continue…]
Garage
Like most Southern Californians, we use our garage for just about everything EXCEPT storing a car. It’s a luxury not all parts of the country have, but it affords Californians with some square footage that might normally be a basement in other parts of the country. In our case the garage is a HomeFixated proving ground, workshop and all-around man-cave (you do need to ignore the washer and dryer, which completely mess with the man-cave feng shui). Our garage has a flat and dark-colored roof, and in the summer it turns into an oven that will literally broil you if dare set foot inside it mid-day. When we recently needed to reroof the garage, I decided to capitalize on the opportunity and install some rigid foam board insulation as well. [click to continue…]
We recently reviewed a sizable Kobalt mechanics tool kit destined to activate the salivary glands of many gearheads. However, not everyone needs 200+ pieces of chrome goodness. If you need socket set access around the home, shop or on the job and don’t want to tote hundreds of standard and metric sizes with you, you might want to take a peak at the new line of Xtreme Access sockets and ratchets from our friends over at Kobalt. [click to continue…]
If you’re like most of the US population of homeowners, your garage door is a simple steel door with little to no insulation. This style of garage door has one redeeming value; it is cheap. One selling point you won’t hear mentioned is that thin metal doors are great at insulating. In fact, this type of garage door turns into a massive radiator in the summer and a massive heat loser in the winter. Living in San Diego, where winters don’t truly exist, my concern was more with the giant radiator-effect our door has. It doesn’t help that our door is brown and subject to direct sun exposure in the afternoon. Last month, while prowling the countless exhibits of the 2012 National Hardware Show, a booth showing off a radiant barrier garage door insulation kit caught my attention. [click to continue…]
Milwaukee Tool’s growing M12 line of cordless products continues to bring more and more trades and versatility into the fold with each new model. Last year, Milwaukee added two M12 Cordless Ratchet kits to the mix (1/4″ and 3/8″). They sent us their 3/8″ model and we’ve been checking it out in and around the shop. I recently purchased a vintage golf cart (I don’t even golf, don’t ask), and, much like our older home, there are plenty of fix it up projects required on it. Unlike our house, most of the tasks require work with a socket wrench. [click to continue…]
