Do You Wear Safety Glasses?

Do you wear safety glasses? Eye protection is a must in any home repair project where chemicals are used or where there is any chance of debris flying or falling in your eye. 
Chemical splashes, flying wood chips from saws, falling rust or dirt all can cause serious damage to your eyes. Always wear safety glasses or safety goggles when doing projects or repairs around the home.
Safety glasses and goggles are available in many styles and many models are designed for comfort as well as protection. No matter what your budget may be, you will find safety glasses or goggles that are affordable.

Protect Your Home From Deadly Radon Gas

EPA estimates that about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the U.S. are radon-related. Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. Radon is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas produced by the decay of naturally occurring uranium in soil and water. Radon is a form of ionizing radiation and a proven carcinogen. Lung cancer is the only known effect on human health from exposure to radon in air. Thus far, there is no evidence that children are at greater risk of lung cancer than are adults.

NATURAL HOUSEHOLD CLEANSERS

More and more people today are concerned about the effects of commercial cleaners on our health as well as on the environment. Many are looking at the natural cleaners our grandparents and great grandparents used. Going green can contribute to going healthy.

Favorite Natural Household Cleansers:

White Vinegar and Baking Soda is great for cleaning and deodorizing drains. Pour a cup of baking soda into the sink drain followed by a cup of white vinegar. The mixture will fizz and bubble for a few minutes. Now flush the drain with a gallon of hot water. Your drain will be clean and fresh.

White Vinegar is an acid with mild germicidal properties. White vinegar can be used to get rid of mold and mildew. It can be used to clean glass and cut grease. The vinegar will have an odor but the odor will dissipate quickly. Put 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a spray bottle and add water to fill the bottle.

Baking Soda is a mild abrasive that doesn’t scratch surfaces the way rougher scouring powders do. Baking soda is also an effective deodorizer. Make a paste with baking soda and water for cleaning. For a more effective cleaner use vinegar instead of water.

Salt cleans copper pots and pans. Use an equal amount of salt and vinegar and then rinse. Salt is also great for cleaning silver. Put a teaspoon of salt in about 3 inches of water and add a sheet of aluminum foil. Add your silverware and boil for a couple of minutes. Remove the silverware, let it cool and wipe with a clean cloth.

Olive oil can make your wood furniture shine. Use a half teaspoon of olive oil in a quarter cup of vinegar or lemon juice.

Rubbing alcohol mixed with water and white vinegar makes a great glass cleaner.  Simply mix 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

Cornstarch can be used to clean and shine windows and mirrors. Simply mix 2 quarts of warm water with ½ cup of cornstarch. Apply the mixture with a sponge and buff dry for a sparkling shine.

Club Soda and Hydrogen Peroxide can be used to shine up a scuffed stainless steel sink. Buff the sink with a cloth dampened with club soda. Wipe the sink dry with another clean dry cloth.

Tea can be used to scour your rusty garden tools. Brew a few pots of strong black tea. When the tea cools pour it into a bucket. Soak your tools for a few hours and wipe them dry with a cloth. Be sure to wear rubber gloves to prevent staining your hands.

Rice is great for cleaning the inside of a vase or bottle. Fill three quarters of the vase or bottle with water and add a tablespoon of uncooked rice. Place your hand over the opening, shake vigorously and rinse.

Oatmeal can make a good hand cleaner. Make a thick paste of oatmeal and water. Scrub your hands with mixture and rinse with water.

White bread is good for removing dust from oil paintings. Gently dab a slice of white bread over the surface to pick up dust and grime.

Ketchup will remove tarnish from brass and copper cookware. Put ketchup onto a cloth and rub pots and pans. The copper color should return in minutes. Rinse with warm water and towel dry.

What is Plumb and Level

Plumb and Level

During my years as a home builder I noticed even experienced carpenters misusing the terms plumb and level. With that being the case, it is no wonder that there is confusion among typical homeowners.

In simple terms, level means horizontal and plumb means vertical. When constructing a building, the floor should be perfectly horizontal (level) and the walls should be perfectly vertical (plumb).

Typical Level can be used to check both level and plumb.

DIY Tips and Ideas E-Book

My new DIY Tips and Ideas E-book is now available on Amazon. This book is filled with great tips and ideas for the homeowner handyman and handy woman.
Grab your copy at:

DIY Tips and Ideas E-book

Household Burglary Prevention

Household Burglary Prevention

Summertime often means vacation time! But while you are away, is your house safe and secure from burglary? According to the Insurance Information Institute, there are more than 2.15 million burglaries each year, over 65 percent of which are residential break-ins, with the majority occurring in the peak vacation months of July and August.

So how can you make sure your home is protected while you are off enjoying your summertime plans? Here are a few household burglary prevention tips that can help:

• Because social media are so widely used these days, I HAVE to mention this first! NEVER share your vacation plans online. Of course, we would never post, "Rob me please," online, but we have no problem sharing our "countdown to vacation" with everyone. You might not even realize it while you are excitedly telling people about your up-coming plans, but you are advertising to friends, friends of friends and possibly strangers that your home will be unattended. Instead, enjoy sharing all about your vacation when you get home.
• Back in the day (before we had the ability to check messages remotely), I remember actually doing this, but don't leave vacation messages on phones or emails. Simply state that you are "away from your desk" for your work email and phone, and leave a typical away message for personal phones or emails. Don't leave messages on your door (like for a delivery person) that you are away from home either.
• Use motion sensor lights on the exterior of your home.
• Double check that all outside doors and windows are locked when leaving your home.
• Keep your garage door closed and locked at all times.
• Trim all bushes and trees around your home to prevent hiding places for intruders.
• Install solid, sturdy doors with deadbolts on the exterior of your home, and install quality locks on windows. Thieves are not looking for a challenge. Anything that slows them down,will increase the chances of them giving up.
• Do not keep large amounts of cash, valuables or jewelry lying around the house. Especially within view from the windows.
• Change locks if your keys have been lost or stolen.
• Lock garden shed doors and store lawn mowers, barbecues, bicycles, etc. out of sight.
• Use curtains on garage door windows and basement windows.
• Never hide keys under doormats, flower pots, etc. Burglars know where to look for hidden keys.
• Get to know your neighbors. Watch out for suspicious people or vehicles at each others homes.
• Engrave all valuables with your driver's license number or other personal id number.
• Video record or photograph the contents of your home with serial and identification numbers. This also helps in the event of fire. Your insurance company may recommend you record the value, purchase date, serial number, etc. to identify property.
• Use timers for your interior lights to come on in the evening and shut off during the day. (Simply leaving lots of lights on is not a great idea. It will definitely look strange come midnight, and wastes energy too).
• Arrange for the Post Office to hold your mail, or for someone to pick up mail and newspapers while you are gone.
• Have someone mow your lawn while you are away.
• Leave a car in the driveway.
• Make breaking into your home noisy. Consider installing an alarm system.

Article courtesy of U.S. Inspect.

How to Determine Direction to Tighten or Loosen Screws, Nuts, and Bolts

Simply remember righty tighty, lefty loosey. When you are looking at the head of the screw, nut or bolt, turn to the right to tighten and turn to the left to loosen. Right is tight and left is loose.

 The exceptions to this rule are saw blades, and other things that spin. Screws, bolts or nuts come off spinning things in the same direction as the blade spins or the teeth point.

How to Determine if a Door is a Left Hand or Right Hand Door

A common confusing factor when installing or replacing a door is the swing of the door. When ordering the new door you will need to know if the door is a left hand or a right hand door.

Before I started my own home building business I worked with one of the best home builders in my area. I picked up many tips that helped me in my own business.

One day we were walking through a new house making a list of doors we needed to order. He was calling out the door sizes and the swing of the door, left hand or right hand. I asked him how he determined the swing. He said that he that if he reaches with his right hand to pull the door open the door is a right hand door. If he reaches with his left hand to pull the door open the door is a left hand door.

After I started ordering doors myself I discovered an easier way to determine the swing. The way I determine if the door is a left hand or right hand door: Stand in the door opening with your back to the hinge side of the door jamb. If the door will swing open to your left hand side, the door is a left hand door. If the door swings to your right hand side it is a right hand door. Very simple and easy to remember.

Quick Fix for a Stripped Out Wood Screw Hole

Have you ever stripped out a hole in wood while tightening a wood screw? I have stripped out a few in my efforts at tightening screws while hanging doors or tightening screws in cabinet doors.

This is a trick I have used many times and it has always worked very well.

1.       Remove the screw

2.      Break the head (striking end) off a wood match and discard. Cover the match stick with wood glue and insert the match stick in the screw hole. A wood toothpick or several toothpicks can also be used instead of a match stick.

3.      Lightly tap the match sticks or toothpicks into the hole with a hammer .

4.      Cut the wood stick flush with the surface.

5.      Start your screw as close to the center of the hole as you can. As you tighten the screw it will push the glue covered sticks to the walls of the hole and the glue will dry and form a good tight bond.

 

Items needed for this project:

·         Wood matches or toothpicks

·         Wood glue

·         Screwdriver

·         Hammer

·         Sharp knife

 

How to Apply Stain Like a Pro

This is a good video from Cabot. The video demonstrates the correct way to insure your work turns out like a professional job.

Video Compilation of Household Accidents

This is a video compilation of hilarious household accidents.

Home repair and remodeling can be fun and very satisfying. Most of our projects turn out fine with no major incidents. Sometimes however it seems everything goes wrong.

I have to say the people in these videos were having a bad day. Take a look.

Holiday Home Safety

Holiday Home Safety Preparation video provided by U.S. Inspect.

WALLPAPER REMOVAL TIP

There are many ideas on the best way to remove wallpaper. Most of these tips leave you frustrated and discouraged. The wallpaper tears while the paper backing and glue remain on the wall or you gouge holes and rip the paper face of the sheetrock. Does this sound familiar?

This week a homeowner told me they were attempting to remove the wallpaper border from around the ceiling of her bedroom and the paper would not come off. She said she had used one of the tools that punch small holes in the paper and the sprayed the wallpaper with water and was having no luck. She then tried a heat gun, a tool similar to a hair dryer, but only succeeded in pulling the face off the wallpaper, leaving the paper backing and glue on the wall.

The suggestion I gave her and the one that solver her problem.

Use the heat gun and remove the surface of the wallpaper over a two to four foot section.

Now go back and wet the paper and the glue that was left behind with a mist sprayer or wet cloth.

Let the water soak in for a couple of minutes.

Now go back and peel the paper backing and glue off with a damp cloth or your fingers.

  Now continue on with another two to four foot section.

This is the process we used this week and it worked great. A happy homeowner completed the job and painted the room with no mess left behind.

Proper Grading

Proper grading around your home is very important. Water penetration or wet basements and foundations can often be attributed to improper grading. Water must flow away from your home and never toward your home. Check out this video.

Proper Grading video provided by U.S. Inspect.

Storage Shed Plans

Are you considering building a storage shed? The home handyman will love this. MyShedPlans.com is a great site offering over 12,000 plans from storage sheds to bird houses. You can also go to www.MiniBarnShedPlans.com for more tips and ideas. While you are here grab your FREE PLAN.

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Identifying Termites

Termite Series: Are These Bugs Termites? video provided by U.S. Inspect.

Cracks in Driveways

Cracks in Driveways video provided by U.S. Inspect.

Central Air Conditioner

All air conditioning systems reduce the temperature and adjust the humidity of the air in the home to levels that provide a level of comfort. The most common type of system used in the U.S. is the basic, air-cooled central air conditioning system. Another type of system, found primarily in the hot and arid areas such as the southwestern U.S., is known as an evaporator cooler or “swamp cooler”. Other, less common types include the water-cooled systems, gas chillers and geothermal systems.

How They Work

The common, air-cooled central air conditioner removes heat from the air in the home and moves the heat to the air on the exterior of the home. Air conditioners accomplish this by taking advantage of the basic physical law that heat moves to areas that are cooler. Heat from the interior of the home is transferred to a refrigerant that carries the heat to the exterior of the home. Currently the most effective refrigerant is freon. The warm air in the home is blown over an evaporator coil that contains cold (approximately 20 degrees F) freon liquid. The freon absorbs heat from the air in the house, which cools the air. The warmer (approximately 50 degrees F) freon, which has boiled and turned into a gas, is then moved to the exterior of the home where it disperses the heat.

The question is, "How is the heat dispersed when it is hot outside?" A gas or liquid, when compressed, will have a higher temperature. A compressor is used to compress the freon gas, increasing its temperature by approximately 100 degrees F and causing the freon to become much hotter than the air outside. The air outside (approximately 85 degrees F) can then be blown over the condensing coil that contains the hot freon (approximately 150 degrees F) . The air absorbs the heat from the compressed freon, in effect cooling it. The cooled, but still compressed freon (approximately 100 degrees F), is then returned to the house. To lower the temperature of the freon liquid even more, the freon is expanded or decompressed (to approximately 20 degrees F). The freon is then once again ready to absorb the heat from the air in the home.

Article published with permission from: U.S. Inspect

Temporary Fix for Leaking Water Pipes

When you find a leaking copper water pipe and can’t get a plumber for a couple of days, the following is a temporary fix that will get you back in service.

The first thing you need to do is turn off the water supply to the leaking pipe. The shut off may be at the fixture. If there is no shut off valve at the fixture you may need to shut off the main water supply.

Next, determine where the pipe is leaking. If the leak is a pinhole or small split in the copper pipe itself, the following should provide a quick temporary solution and allow the fixture to be used until a permanent fix can be completed.

Take a piece of rubber from an old inner tube or anything similar and wrap it around the pipe over the hole. Now use a C clamp and two small blocks of wood to clamp the rubber wrap tightly in place over the hole.

Another option is to wrap the rubber around the pipe over the hole and clamp the rubber in place with hose clamps.

The third option is to cut a piece from an old garden hose. Cut the hose about three inches longer than the hole or split. Split the hose length wise and place it over the pipe covering the hole. Clamp in place with hose clamps.

Now you are ready to turn the water supply back on and use the fixture until a permanent fix can be made.

How to Stain Your Concrete Porch or Patio

Concrete stain is a great way to create an attractive outdoor space. This is a do-it-yourself project but caution must be used when working with muriatic acid. Time to complete should be two to four days to allowing for drying time.

Purchase a concrete stain at your local paint store, hardware store, Lowes or Home Depot. Concrete stain is usually offered in pre-mixed and custom colors. Concrete cleaners, phosphoric or muriatic acid can also be purchased at these same stores.

First clean the surface to be stained with a non-residue cleaner and a stiff-bristled brush. For stubborn oil and grease stains, a pressure washer and a degreaser may be needed.

Next soak shrubs and grass around the porch or patio with

water to create a protective barrier.

Before handling the muriatic acid, put on boots, gloves and safety goggles with a respirator. Mix one part acid into four parts water in a plastic sprinkling can if you are using muriatic acid or follow directions provided if you are using a phosphoric cleanser.

Wet the concrete surface once again and soak any surrounding grass or shrubs. Then sprinkle the acid solution onto the concrete. Allow the acid solution to sit for 30 minutes to neutralize the concrete's alkalinity. After 30 minutes, remove the acid with a broom and plenty of water.

Rinse the patio thoroughly with water and allow it to dry at least 48 hours.

Apply the concrete stain using a sprayer or roller on an extension pole. Wait 24 hours before applying a second coat, if needed.

WARNING
Muriatic acid is very dangerous. You must wear protective clothing and a respirator.