On a Roll.
Trim-Tex’s drywall shim material comes as a continuous
roll instead of in 4-foot strips. It’s made from
flexible, waterproof vinyl — perforated, to allow
adhesive to flow through. The 150-foot-long 1/16-inch-thick
Drywall Shim on a Roll is scored every 18 inches to make it
easier to tear off to size. A roll costs about $8.
Trim-Tex, 800/874-2333,
trim-tex.com.
Space and Brace. Instead of spacing your roof
trusses with a tape measure and then bracing them with a
temporary 2-by across the top, do both steps at once with
MiTek’s Stabilizer. The 20-gauge steel bar has built-in
gang nails that you set into the wood after you pull the truss
tight against its end; unlike wooden bracing, the bar is thin
enough to leave in place and sheathe right over. The product is
sized to sit snugly over a truss member and ride up with it
— so you don’t have to wrestle with a box of the
bars as you crawl the trusses. The bars cost $2 apiece.
MiTek, 800/325-8075,
mii.com.

Versatile Primer. Anvil Paints introduced
water-based 1750 Grip-Tite Bonding Primer primarily to improve
the bond of its garage-floor epoxy top coat, but the coating
can prime lots of other materials as well: interior or exterior
concrete, and porous brick, block, masonry, and stucco
surfaces, both painted or unpainted. It comes in one- and
five-gallon cans for $25 and $110 respectively.
Anvil, 800/822-6776,
anvilpaints.com.
Cornered.
Pull-out drawers inside kitchen and bathroom cabinets are a
nice touch, but the scratches their front edges can leave on
cabinet doors aren’t. Tenn-Tex’s B375 Drawer
Corners are designed to eliminate this problem. Two smooth
plastic glides — available in natural, white, and beige
— plus mounting screws cost 64 cents when purchased in
quantities of 100. Tenn-Tex Plastics, 800/
836-6839,
tenntex.com.
New Slider. Replacing an old sliding patio
door is a quick facelift remodel with usability and energy
efficiency benefits — and the cost of an Energy
Star–rated door from Simonton’s Reflections 5300
line will count toward your client’s federal energy tax
credit. The vinyl replacement doors come in white, tan, and
driftwood in four common sizes. A 6'0" x 6'8" unit costs $642.
Simonton, 800/746-6686,
simonton.com.
Insulated Door. Clopay’s Gallery
Collection doors contain high–R-value polyurethane foam
sandwiched between steel layers. In addition to insulating, the
rigid foam muffles noise and makes the door stiffer and more
dent-resistant, says the manufacturer. The doors come in two
thicknesses, four colors, and dozens of sizes and can qualify
for an energy tax credit. A 2-inch-thick, 7-foot-by- 16-foot
assembly with windows starts at $1,225.
Clopay, 800/225-6729,
clopaydoor.com.
Prime Time.
Low-VOC is the buzzword in paints these days. Kilz brand has
gone one better with its new low-odor, water-based Clean Start,
which the company says is the only zero-VOC primer that’s
also a stain blocker. It can be used for interior or exterior
jobs and costs about $23 per gallon.
Masterchem, 800/325-3552,
newfromkilz.com.