If you want to enhance the safety of your home to prevent break-ins, the process can be as simple as upgrading the screws that attach the home’s latch and deadbolt strike plates.

To make sure your home is safe, remove the screws that hold those plates in place. If they’re short, replace them with 2" or even 3" screws that will penetrate through the door frame and into the studs. That way, even if someone hits the door hard enough to break the door frame, the screws will hold and help prevent entry.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

The location where you need to mount a grab bar almost never aligns with wall studs. An easy way to get around that problem is to mount the bar to a solid-wood back plate. The back plate allows you to drive in screws anywhere along its length, so you can make sure it’s attached to wall studs when you mount it.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

You’ll usually find two grades of bolts in hardware stores: grade 5 and grade 8. Simply put, a grade 8 bolt is stronger than a grade 5 bolt. Grade 5 bolts are adequate for most home construction uses, such as attaching a deck ledger board or deck posts. Grade 8 bolts are the correct choice for high-stress applications, such as attaching items to a car or trailer.

You can tell the difference between the two grades easily (Photo, below). Grade 8 bolts often have a gold tone, while grade 5 bolts are silver. You can also look at the head of the bolt. A grade 5 bolt has three ridges on the head, while a grade 8 bolt has six.

A grade 8 bolt (left) is rated to tolerate much higher shear, stretch, and tightening loads than the grade 5 bolt (right). That makes it the right choice for high-stress applications.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench

The next time your pen runs dry, don’t throw it out. Instead, glue the casing to the side of a WD-40 can to corral that pesky straw and keep it from running off on you.

Have a nice weekend,

Wyatt Myers
Online Editor, Workbench