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The second the sun goes away, out comes the umbrellas and the raincoats and the Wellies. And with them a lot of messy wetness that can warp hardwood floors and stain your best rugs. Short of forcing your family to disrobe on the front stoop, your best bet is to create a stopping area just inside the door where everyone can leave the weather behind.
Don’t ignore loose caulk!
In a nutshell, caulk is used in a tub or shower enclosure to keep water from creeping up, under or around the tiles at joints between tile and the tub or shower pan, or on joints where walls meet. Leaky caulk is not to be ignored! I have often seen tiled bathrooms where the two or three bottom rows of tiles were loosened by water which crept up under the tiles from the bottom! The repair can be time-consuming and expensive. And you might not be able to use the enclosure again for a week or more while things “dry out”!
Stair treads can take a beating in any home. You can refinish your hardwood stair treads or use stair tread rugs to cover the steps. Add character to your home by using a combination of rug stair treads and wood stair treads.
DEAR TIM: The stair treads in my home are in sad shape. One stair tread is cracked and others are scratched from years of abuse. I know I can hide the problem with carpet stair treads, but that’s not really my style. What’s it take to refinish oak stair treads? If that’s too hard, would you recommend stair carpet treads as an acceptable solution? As you can tell, I’m floundering not knowing really what to do. Please point out any pitfalls if possible. Mary Beth M., Cincinnati, OH
Electrical problems come fully equipped with more than their fair share of stress — and with good reason. We all know what electricity on the loose is capable of, so utmost caution should be used whenever approaching a repair situation that involves electrical current. But that doesn’t mean that every electrical crisis needs to be left to the pros—especially at the hefty hourly rate a licensed electrician charges. Many small electrical problems can be easily handled by the homeowner equipped with a modest number of specialized tools and a modicum of sense.
The toughest part of replacing a kitchen faucet is removing the old one. Unexpected problems always pop up—corroded pipes, difficult-to-reach nuts and poor access to fittings. Otherwise, installing a new kitchen faucet isn’t tough at all. Actually, the directions that come with your new faucet are probably all you’ll need to do that part of the job. Barring unforeseen problems, you could be washing up under the faucet in an hour or so. In this article walk you through a basic replacement process and tell you how to get through those tough parts.
Does your home contain contaminated Chinese Drywall? This testing advice from the New York Times can help a homeowner determine if he or she is one of the thousands in over 30 states with the poisonous plasterboard.
Some ways to tell if you have Chinese Drywall in your home:
– Sulfuric smell. (Also a sign that you have descended into the less-favorable Afterworld. It’s best to inspect for fire, brimstone and the tortured souls of the eternally damned to eliminate this possibility)
If you have an unfinished basement, a garage or a storage shed, you can store much more in it if you have shelves. Built-in shelves are great, but if you’re renting or want the flexibility to rearrange the shelving units, you might want to make some free-standing shelves. Here’s a simple method for building some inexpensive storage shelves — and you can build them without power tools.
Professional furniture restorers and hobbyists alike all have one thing in common — the desire to pluck a piece of furniture off the side of the road and restore it to its former glory. And what’s not to like? Not only are you saving something from a landfill, but you’re breathing life into something that’s long been forgotten. All the former owner knows is that the legs of the table are busted, the surface is marred by water rings and it doesn’t sit evenly on the floor. What’s more, it’s taking up valuable space where that new Ikea dining table should go. But what many might see as a space-consuming relic from days gone by, furniture restorers see as a possibility.
Times change. When Dad was a young dude, toolboxes were heavy on handsaws and block planes. But in this age of reliable, inexpensive power tools and modular building materials, it’s time to rethink the traditional toolbox. So here are our picks. You can rent or borrow specialized tools that you’ll use only once, but the tools below are must-haves for the modern household.
How would you like to be able to control one or more light fixtures from three or more switch locations? It is done with a 4-way switch. This video will show you how to install a four way switch in your home.
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