Wow, who knew pickles could do such things. I recently had new doors installed. then my handiman disappeared off the face of the earth. Now, the doors seem to have gotten bigger, and it's difficult to close them without slamming them. Should I sand the side to make it fit better? Would sanding work. I don't know how to plane, so I'm hoping sanding would do the trick.
Chris, I assume they are exterior doors. It sounds like they were not stained and sealed, or painted well enough to not absorb moisture and therefore expand. Or, maybe the house has settled somewhat to put the door frames out of square. You first have to determine why they are sticking or hard to close. If you do sand them enough to fit, then you will have to seal where you sanded, in order to not add to the expansion problem later. Guys, am I close on this, or all wet? Phranque, you're the pro, right?
You are right on the money, this applies to wood doors. Be sure and paint both the top and bottom of the door, painters are notorius for leaving these unfinished.
Texas Joe you are right on the money.....I hate planing doors, since once they are smaller, they are smaller forever. Chris, you mention that the doors are hard to shut..I am assuming that these are double doors or french doors...and it could be swelling from the rain... Doors usually come with a primer coat, but if they are not painted, it is common to have them swell a bit. Try to find where they are binding, and light sanding might ease the problem. If they still give you a tough time, email me a picture, and I can try to figure out what is causing the sticking or binding...
Joan, as far as I can see, none of the other "guys" have taken you up on your suggestion that someone take responsibility for corralling all these helpful maintenance hints and putting them into some form that could be linked from your home page -- so I guess I'd be willing to take a swing at it and try to maintain it on an ongoing basis. I'm fairly handy at maintenance, though certainly not in the league with phranque or other pros, but I do have a good bit of experience with editing/organizing the written word, so I'll see what I can do with it (between potty runs, you understand). May take me a few days to get started, as we're sort of busy at the moment with getting acquainted with the seeming flood of hospice nurses, doctors, social workers, chaplains, etc. that my recent trip to our pcp's office unleashed.
Bringing to the top after my all night water party! DH went to the bathroom about 2 a.m.; called out that water was on the floor! The water pipe going into the bottom of the tank was leaking like crazy! Tried to cut the water off - it cut off some- but wouldn't cut off completely. Our main water cut-off is under the house - and I wasn't about to the do that 2 a.m.! So - out with the towels, sheets, whatever I could find to sop up the mess; got a bucket to put under the leak,etc., what a mess. Was up and down the rest of the night changing the towels and all that. Couldn't call my handy-man at 2 a.m.!Then discovered it had come through the floor into the ceiling below into the other bathroom! Part of the ceiling had fallen in - water in that bathroom! Finally called the plumber at 6 a.m.; and he was here at 8 a.m. Had it all fixed by 9 a.m. - but what a mess I still am cleaning up - and doing laundry all day!
Somewhere on this thread or a similar one, I said I checked all my water turn-offs once a month. And I had checked this one the first of the month - but....things happen.... Even the plumber couldn't get it to turn off and had to turn the water off to the whole house!
Anyway, now for the ceiling replacement and hopefully some sleep tonight!
Vickie, what a mess. And you really didn't deserve it, having been so conscientious about checking. Now if it happened to me . . . Good luck with the repairs (and the good night's rest)
So sorry about the water mess. I hate it when that happens! I put some RootX down one toilet to get rid of roots, but poured it in too slowly, the water started backing up because of the roots, and the stuff expanded and overflowed all over the floor. What a mess. At least I don't have a two story home to worry about what you had happen. The joys of home ownership, right?
vickie i posted that same thing happened to me too few yrs ago. thru the ceiling and onto a bed below. mess! and handyman needed for repainting and sheetrock. ugh! divvi
I cannot believe your water shut off is beneath your house. What was that Plumber thinking?????? Maybe he was thinking it would be job security for him..since you'd never go there. ewwww..snakes, spiders, cobwebs, nope... I think water cut offs should be in an obvious place, just like electricity panel boxes.
Nancy B, you have to understand this house is 100 years old - new plumbing was done also a long time ago; the main water cutoff is at the sidewalk out front and that could also be cut off - if I wanted to do it - which I don't and won't! I can also call the city and they will come right out and cut it off - which I forgot when all of this happened. I figure we've lived here 16 years - and first time something like this has happened - so ...
My house is 90+ years old, and the main cutoff is out at the street, but my plumbers did put one in, in the basement.
Our electricity in the kitchen and dining room (where the computer connections are) has been updated, and we have an updated switch box, not fuses as when we first moved in - but in the rest of the house we still have the ac and dc wiring on either side of the struts.. the electricians say it's the safest kind and not to worry at all about it! Not clear whether or not that is because they don't want to think about redoing the whole house or not; New England workmen are pretty much in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mode.
Gourdchipper, it might be good to include tips re washing machine mfgrs recommend changing the hoses every 5 years or so to avoid problems -- at least inspect them periodically.
I have some grouting to do, around the bottom of the shower. I tried it with one of those tubes. I looks pretty messy. Do you have a trick for the corners? As I said before, "why didn't I pay attention?".
Got my downstairs bathroom ceiling fixed today. Fixed it myself (with a little help from DH) LOL. It's a drop-in ceiling, so went to Lowe's, bought the tiles, and got the ladder. DH was standing beneath me to hand me the tiles - and voila.....got them in! Never know we had water yesterday! DH said he could do it - and I reminded him the doctor said "no ladders". So he didn't argue - but he kept telling me how to do it - that was okay!
Because I grew up on a ranch and the men and boys were always doing ranching and outside things, and because I was the oldest daughter, and because I had the desire, I was my mom's handyman. I continued in this role when my husband worked out of town. So, I am really lucky for this because there isn't much that I don't know how to do. I am also lucky because my husband "allowed" me to be a non-traditional female and wife from the beginning even though he took a lot of ribbing from his male family members.
I think that we are all so lucky to have the ability to "pick up the slack" at home.
this probably doesn't fit exactly in this discussion.
Briegull, I have one of those blue plastic thingies, and used it when I put silicone grout around the tub area. It works really well if you don't have too much grout squirting out of the tube. I was quite proud of my job when I finished. Also had ants coming in from beneath the granite overhang on a kitchen bar. There was a missing place on the grout..so I fixed their little stingers...I squirted it full of grout and smoothed it out. NO MORE ANTS. Aren't we proud when we master these "man" tasks.
That being said..I will NOT open the water cutoff meter lid in the yard. FROGS are always in there. yukkkkkkkkkkkkk!
Awwww... I love frogs. Although I do remember having one in biology class that jumped up up and away when I was getting ready to pin it down and dissect it! That WAS unnerving!
What is best way to sharpen the blade edge of a hoe?
Acreage mowing is generally done by hired help, but fenced backyard has nice grass for when the dogs go outside and I usually mow that myself. That was task this evening and when moving the gutter downspout splash thingies I found a small snake. Sorry but I loathe snakes. Took many whacks to put me out of the misery he was causing. I want the hoe sharp for the next one.
Please..don't mention the Mexican saber thingy...the entire site will go down (inside joke).. I've seen people sharpen hoes and shovels with the long files.... PHRANQUE WILL KNOW THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION. Wonder where PHRANQUE IS.
Easiest way is to use a bench grinder if you have one, or an electric grinder. If not, use a file, but that will take longer. And be careful killing snakes with a hoe..some can strike up to 4 ft away, and you might become the target. Best to let them be..
Weejun - we found a 4 foot snake coiled up on our front porch recently. Luckily for us (and the snake) there are "snake experts and lovers" in our community who will come within 10 minutes of a phone call to rescue the snake and take him/her away. Turns out it was a non venomous water snake. The extreme drought had dried up the creek behind our house and the snake was looking for water. Before your know it, he was removed and relocated to Berry Pond. I realize this is off the subject. Snakes do help keep the rodent population in check.
As far as I am concerned ALL snakes will kill you. If not from their venom...then by causing a heart attack in ME. I am so scared of snakes, I cannot watch them on TV. I close my eyes. I remember taking a magazine out of my mailbox one time years ago and the picture on the front of the magazine was the most realistic life sized snake I ever saw. I threw the magazine all the way across the street.
I was going to suggest using a file, but then I thought hoes are not supposed to be sharp like a knife. Too easy to slice yourself if not careful. They are just sharp enough to chop weeds, etc. and make trenches in dirt, which is going to dull them again after they move gravel and rocks. Or chop snakes.
I took a hoe (actually an edger) to our local lawnmower repair place and they sharpened it for me on a grindstone for $3. The man who said it told me to be careful I didn't take off my toes with it.
The foyer closet door has been "rubbing" on the tile and we can't close the door. Hb once put a shim in the hinge, but that doesn't work anymore. (I'd forgotten in my years away how midwest weather changes affect doors, windows, drawers, etc.,) Anyway, he proudly showed me today he'd fixed it: he put the paddle part of a ping pong paddle under it! I said, "Well it works now, but we'll have to do something else because someone will trip over that sticking out." He looked puzzled. Of course, one can neither open nor shut the door w/the said paddle under it.