If you buy your own groceries, clean your own house, and occasionally eat cereal in your underwear while paying the electric bill, then congratulations: you’re officially an adult. That means you go to work, spend weekends landscaping or decluttering the house, and you have at least partial control of the remote. It also means you should have mastered these home improvement skills years ago. (Don’t worry. We promise not to tell if you’re still learning).

5 Home Improvement Skills Everyone Should Have

1. How to hang a picture. Arbitrarily tacking nails into the wall (or worse, nailing tacks into the wall) may be how you did it in college, but that won’t fly once you reach adulthood. To properly hang a picture, first measure 57”to 63” up your wall. Why? That’s the height that museums and art curators recommend for best displaying your artwork. Make a mark with a pencil where you want to nail. Make sure you use a picture hanger that can bear the weight of both the picture and the frame. Nail, hang, and voila!
2. How to install a hanging shelf. First step? Locate the studs in your drywall. If you haven’t mastered the “knock and listen” method, pick up a stud finder at Ace of Gray. While you’re here, make sure you also grab the right size anchors, or your drywall will crumble and the contents of your shelf will end up broken on the floor. Carefully follow the instructions included with your shelf.
3. How to stain wood. A nice finish is the cherry on top of any DIY sundae. But if you don’t know what you’re doing with the wood stain, things can get a little messy. Using a paintbrush, apply a thin layer of wood stain, painting with the grain. Wait the amount of time recommended on the can, then wipe it away with an old rag (again, moving with the grain). If you want a darker stain, you can leave the stain on longer or reapply after 4 hours.
4. How to reseal a window. If your caulk is moldy or crumbling, it needs to go. Scrape away old caulk with a screwdriver. Clean the surface and make sure it’s dry before whipping out the caulk gun and applying a new seal.
5. How to replace a shower head. Simply buy a new one, unscrew the old one, and replace the teflon tape from the shower pipe. Screw on your new shower head and you’re ready to go.

Need supplies, ideas, or advice on a project that didn’t make our list? Ace of Gray is here to help. Visit our home improvement store for tips and tricks for your next project.

Staining Cabinets

When it comes to home renovations, our minds default to the big stuff: gleaming kitchens, elegant bedrooms, and sprawling outdoor entertaining spaces. And while we’ll never tell you not to buy that Big Green Egg for the back porch (seriously, have you ever tasted a slow-cooked steak?), there are a few areas of the home in need of a little TLC. Next time you have some funds in your home improvement budget, consider these often overlooked spaces.

Areas for Your Next Home Improvement Project

1. The entryway. It’s the first thing your guests see when they enter the home, but for many homeowners, it’s ordinary to the point of invisibility. If you’re not already used to the bare walls and cluttered shoes by the door, you probably come in through the garage door. Update the entryway for a quick, inexpensive home improvement project that will make a big difference.
2. The driveway. Homeowners worry endlessly about curb appeal, putting in new flowering shrubs and ripping them up mercilessly if they don’t perform. But if the driveway is cracked or caked in grime, no amount of gardening will make it look good. Start out by assessing the integrity of your driveway. Fix any cracks in the concrete. Then pressure wash the concrete to restore it to its crisp, clean color. Once that’s done, you can line it with flowers, shrubs, and garden ornaments to your heart’s content.
3. The laundry room. If you’re like most people, you like to pretend the laundry room doesn’t exist unless you have a load in the wash. Laundry rooms are often dreary, cluttered affairs, making the task of weekly laundry seem like an insurmountable task. But with a little organization, a fresh coat of paint, and even a wall hanging or two, your laundry room can become as soft and welcoming as towels fresh out of the dryer.

Ace of Gray has the tips and tools for all your summer home improvement needs. For help with your next home improvement project, visit our store or shop supplies online.

Pressure Washing

There’s nothing more refreshing than a quick getaway to the natural world, and the Peach State has some beautiful hiking destinations. Here are three great locations for a weekend hike in Georgia.

Constitution Lakes Park

This is a family-friendly trail, rated Easy on a scale of difficulty. The first half-mile of the Doll’s Head Trail is ideal for young families and folks with less experience. The entire trail is 2.25 miles–a great way to spend an hour or two.

Cloudland Canyon State Park

The hikes along West Rim Loop Trail are considered Moderate, mostly due to the steep path along Cherokee Falls. (The view is worth it!) Campgrounds are available at this park, including rentals of cottages and yurts.

This is an ideal place to camp out for a weekend–so take inventory of your gear before you arrive. Be sure you’re prepared for rain, mosquitoes, campfire cooking, and more!

Vogel State Park

Note that this is hike is rated Strenuous. If you do not consider yourself an experienced trail runner, consider if this is a safe option for you and your group. Even if you are at the right experience level, high quality hiking gear will be of the utmost importance on these trails. Your shoes will need good grip, as there are miles of ridges and vertical climbs. Make sure your shoes are broken in, yet well-fitting, and paired with the proper socks for outdoor recreation. The views from the Coosa Backcountry Trail are spectacular, so make sure to invest in your own comfort and safety with the proper hiking gear.

Ready to hit those Georgia trails? Make sure you’re prepared with a quick stop at Ace of Gray.

What do you get for the man who already has a Yeti cooler, Big Green Egg, and Cub Cadet mower? Sounds like your father could use a DIY gift this year. No, we don’t mean a handmade card with $50 bucks in it. Change the way your dad does cookouts, lake days, and outdoor living with a DIY cooler stand for Father’s Day.

How to Build a Cooler Cart

1. Measure the cooler. Trust us, you don’t want to finish this project, only to find you miscalculated and made the opening an inch too small. Take careful measurements before beginning any building project. Beware of sloped edges throwing off your measurements.
2. Pick your design. A basic cooler stand has a drain, bottom shelf, lid, and optional wheels. If you know what you’re doing, you can also customize the design based on your dad’s preferences.
3. Visit Ace of Gray for lumber and supplies. You can’t make a good Father’s Day present without quality building materials. Stock up on lumber and other tools you’ll need to build a Yeti cooler cart.
4. Build and finish your cooler stand. Once you’ve gathered your materials, cut everything to size, and fitted the cart together, you can finish the stand with paint or waterproof stain. After you’ve added the drain and additional hardware, add a few custom details such as decor for the front panel or a bottle opener installed on the side.
5. Fill ‘er up and fire up the grill. You’re ready to celebrate Father’s Day!

Found an item missing from your dad’s grilling arsenal? Save Father’s Day with a trip to Ace of Gray. We’re fully stocked on grills and grilling accessories, outdoor living accessories, camping gear, and other gifts for dad this Father’s Day.

Outdoor Living

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of pulling onto your street after a long workday and being greeted by a well manicured lawn. Lawns are a point of pride for many Americans. There are 40 million acres of lawn in the United States, and people spend roughly $30 billion on lawn care each year. But you could be your own lawn’s worst enemy. Are you ruining your grass with these common lawn care mistakes?

6 Ways You’re Ruining Your Lawn

1. Mowing a wet lawn. Not only is grass more sensitive to tearing when wet, mowing wet grass causes clippings to clump, which spreads weeds and disease through the yard.
2. Letting the dog do his business. The combination of paw traffic and sodium from dog urine can kill a lawn in a hurry. “Dog spots” leave circles of brown or yellow grass, and doggie play spots often wind up as bare dirt. Either dedicate a small, out of the way corner of the backyard to your pet’s business or be vigilant about hosing down dog spots after each trip outdoors.
3. Killing good bugs. Nobody wants mosquitos in the yard, but some homeowners are indiscriminate in applying pesticides. Insects like ladybugs, bees, and spiders do more good than harm in the yard.
4. Ignoring mower maintenance. Your mower might not start if you don’t replace the spark plugs each year, but sharpening the blades is just as important. Mowing with dull blades rips grass instead of cutting it, which increases your lawn’s risk for disease.
5. Over fertilizing. Too much of a good thing (or the right thing at the wrong time) does more harm than good. If you use too much fertilizer you’ll burn your lawn, causing it to brown.
6. Watering at the wrong time. Georgia lawns need a lot of love to make it through scorching summers. The best way to guarantee your grass gets the moisture it needs is to water during the early morning hours. By watering before the sun gets hot, you allow the moisture to soak into the soil. By watering at the beginning of the day, you limit the chance for mildew to grow on soggy grass.

Visit Ace of Gray for annual mower maintenance and other supplies for growing a healthy lawn.

Basset Hound