Archive for the ‘Handyman’ Category
Got a dry lawn?
Sure, you can read plenty of do-it-yourself articles that focus on home improvement and fixing different appliances and fixtures in your house, but what if your lawn is the thing that needs repair? If you've just gone through a dry month and need your lawn to go from brown to green in a hurry, this post is for you. We'll take a look at some tips and techniques for getting your lawn looking, well, alive again.
- First, be sure what the source of the problem is. If you're not sure that it's the dry weather that's making your lawn brown, you'll want to figure out if it's a shortage of water or an abundance of hungry insects that's making your lawn go brown. If your lawn is brown in patches, there's a good chance that it's something other than the dryness - or at least not the dryness totally - that's effecting your lawn. If your entire front and backyard are both brown, you're probably looking at simple dryness. Hint: a good way to test this is to take out a clump of your lawn and look for the roots. If the roots are eaten up, you have bugs to blame. If not, the weather is probably the factor.
- Next, you'll want to make sure you apply the appropriate amount of water to your lawn. Look up your individual grass type or at least climate and try to find out the typical amount of water your grass needs to look green. You don't want to under-water your grass, but you don't want to over-water it either. Note: making sure you water your grass the proper amount doesn't necessarily mean that you'll want to conserve water. It seemly means that you'll want to find the right amount of water for your grass type - it might be high or low.
- Finally, you'll want to make sure you have strong blades of grass with strong roots. This is achieved by mowing your lawn with a high setting, meaning that you'll leave tall blades of grass. Why? The shorter the blades, the less need they have for strong roots to provide them with strength and nutrients. If you have longer blades of grass on a regular basis, the roots will grow strong and give your grass blades a healthy, attractive look. Remember that the more roots there are, the more water they'll need.
Photo Credits: Bill Hails
Originally posted 2009-09-28 03:38:26.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on September 2, 2010 in
Handyman, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
Stuck? We'll help get it unstuck!
There might be nothing quite as frustrating as trying to open a drawer, only to force it out through a good ten seconds of struggle. If you're sick of trying to pry open a sticky drawer, or having it fly out at you once you've pried it loose, it's time to get in there and fix it for the long term. There's a good chance that the drawer in question is a wooden one, so let's figure out how to work with a wooden drawer.
Why don't metal and plastic drawers stick? Easy: they are made of moving parts meant to slide. If they do end up sticking, usually some metal lubricant or a Teflon lubricant for the plastic should be able to get things slide again.
When it comes to your wooden drawer, the task isn't so simple. Some wood drawers are made with sliding mechanisms, and others are simply put into place, assuming they will slide because they're made of wood. The first thing you'll need to do is get in there and try and figure out exactly what's causing the drawer to stick. This might be a problem unique to wood - for example, wood can swell and expand, causing it to be trickier to open up.
Check your drawer for anything that seems out of the ordinary - especially as compared to the other functioning drawers. If everything seems to be in place, you might simply need to use a lubricant. On wood, soap and beeswax will function fine as lubricants, but make sure to apply them generously and to as many areas as you can reach. If you miss one key area, it might leave the drawer still sticky even though you've applied a lubricant.
Other problems like loose nails can be causing the obstruction. If your drawer opens partially but suddenly stops, there's a good chance that something hard like a nail is getting in the way. Other hard obstructions in the sliding mechanism might be the cause, as well. If you can, try to remove the nearby drawers so that you'll have better access to the sticky drawer. This should give you the ability to have a closer look at the inner workings of your drawer, which is where you might be better able to make a diagnosis.
A sticky drawer can be caused by one obstruction, but the problem can also be a little more difficult to ascertain. Try to stick with it until you find the problem, and you should have a much better idea where to go from there.
Photo Credits: kcolwell
Originally posted 2009-08-27 03:46:32.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 31, 2010 in
Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix
Fixing the Garbage Disposal
When you've lived long enough in a kitchen that has a garbage disposal, it's easy to get used to the idea that you can simply let the old grime and muck off of your dishes wash down your sink drain. It's only when the garbage disposal fails to work that we realize how much easier it made our lives around the home. So what do you do when your garbage disposal won't turn on?
In this article, we'll address this question in a specific case: what do you do if your garbage disposal won't turn on and won't make any noise?
First, a note of safety: it's crucial that you don't put your hand down the garbage disposal "hopper" - where the food goes. If your garbage disposal suddenly starts up, you'll find yourself wishing you hadn't put your hand down there, so be smart and don't do it at all! That's a basic rule of safety when working with a garbage disposal.
If your garbage disposal fails to turn on and won't make any noise, the first thing to do is to check the power itself. This may seem like an obvious solution, but it's the first place you'll want to look, as lack of power can mean other "fixes" don't do the job.
Next, if the power is fine, you'll want to check the re-set button on the bottom of the disposal (it's usually red and easy to find). Give the disposal a try after this.
If this still fails to get the disposal running, you'll actually want to check the circuit breaker. This is usually a good point to ask a professional or ask your landlord to help you out with your garbage disposal, as it may put you in unfamiliar electrical territory. It's best to leave it to the experts if you're not sure as to how to proceed.
Once someone is able to take a look at your garbage disposal, make sure you ask them about how they fixed it in case you need to know for future reference. If it helps, even make sure to write it down so that you can look back at your notes if your garbage disposal fails in the future. A good professional should be willing to give you advice.
jsgphoto
Originally posted 2009-09-25 03:32:24.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 30, 2010 in
Handyman, How to Fix, Sink, kitchen
Shower Drain
As drains age, they begin leaking. Often, the piles loosen, the putty dries up or the tape begins to lose its effectiveness, causing water to trickle down the drain. If you have a sink drain that leaks, you can mend it by following the steps outlined here. And by attending to it yourself, you’ll be saving by not calling in a plumber!
First, close the tap before starting work. Next, remove all the fittings of the drain by unscrewing them, using a screwdriver. Next, take off the tailpiece. Ask a friend or family member to hold the drain pipe from over the sink while you loosen it with pliers.
If your drain has a plastic retainer, unscrew it before the drain pipe comes loose. Now that you have disassembled everything, clean it thoroughly. Check that you have cleaned the previous plumber’s putty from the fittings of the drain. If something is left over, it will weaken the bond when you put it back altogether and begin to leak once more.
Now, coat the part under the rim of the drain pipe with 0.5” thickness of plumbers’ putty to prevent future leakages. Remove any excess putty from the pipe or you will find it very difficult to clean it once it dries. Now, replace the drain pipe into the drain and screw all the fittings to the pipe below the sink. This simple operation will repair your leaky drain.
However, if you have a leaky shower drain, water may collect around the edges and make its way to the ceiling below it. To repair this, cut a panel in your ceiling downstairs. However, if you live in a rented accommodation, speak to your landlord and have him repair it or get his approval before doing it yourself.
Now, place some cloth on the floor just where you want to get down to work. Wear a pair of goggles. Then, make a cut of about 1.5 feet square into your ceiling that’s just below your shower drain, using a saw. Remove the locking unit using pliers and then the gasket.
Now, in the bathroom, loosen and take off the packing nut from the leaky drain. Remove the drain collar and clean the area around it with a putty knife, and clean the shower drain entirely.
Next, take about an inch of plumber’s putty and coat the base of the drain collar with it. Replace the drain collar using a very firm hand or some of the putty you just applied will come off. This is normal, so don’t panic. Once this is done, screw the locking nut tightly again and then take off any extra putty from around here and replace the packaging nut where it belongs. Use silicone caulk to keep this packing nut firmly in place.
To test if the leak is plugged, open the tap and let a little cold water trickle out. Now, if there is no leakage, you will need to repair the drywall. If a leak persists, call a plumber.
Photo Credits: lavenderstreak
Originally posted 2010-04-20 17:59:08.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 28, 2010 in
Drains, Handyman, How to Fix, Plumber, Shower
Fix Your Fences.
Wood is a great material with a lot of uses around the home and in your landscaping, but it is not without its drawbacks. Old wood especially can be prone to rot, which can lead to difficult repairs if you haven't worked with rotted wood before. If you plan on repairing a rotted wood fence, you'll want to know exactly which tools you'll need and the proper way to approach your repairs. In this article, you'll find some great tips for repairing and replacing rotted parts of your wooden fence.
Most of the time, rotted wood occurs in either wood that is very old or that has been untreated: this usually means that wooden fences that have been up for a long time will be prone to rotting. This might include boundary fences or even small garden fences that are on your land. How do you know when wood is starting to rot? You'll usually see the rotting spots near the wood that is most exposed to moisture and given poor air circulation - such as closer to the ground and soil.
The first step is to identify the problem in your wooden fence - see how far the rotting has taken effect. You might even pull some of your fence out of the ground in order to get a better look - this is often not a bad idea because you'll be replacing much of the fence anyway.
Gather some standard fence-building tools: hammer and nails, measuring tape, a saw, wood planks, and a level. To start repairing the rotten wood, simply remove the sections of wood that have succumbed to rot. You might even find yourself removing more than that rotted wood because it is easier to replace an entire segment of wood rather than pieces of wood. If this is the case, make sure that you remove enough wood to make replacement easier on you.
Once you have an empty spot, you'll want to begin replacing the wood. This might involve using a 2 x 4 on the ground so that you can keep the replaced wood level. The 2 x 4 can act as your reference point for the replaced area of the fence.
Knowing exactly what to replace on your fence is the trick - you'll want to make it easier on yourself without giving yourself too much to actually replace. Try to consider how you can achieve the best-looking repaired fence with the least amount of stress.
Photo Credits: SMN
Originally posted 2009-07-30 08:00:33.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 26, 2010 in
Fence, Handyman, How to Fix
Lopsided chair?
There's nothing quite so frustrating as sitting down and trying to do work, only to realize that your chair seems to be on a swivel. This is usually the case for wooden chairs, which often are broken apart because of poor glue, worn-down legs, and other strange causes. If you want to know how to fix an uneven chair, it's time to bring out some basic tools: glue, sandpaper, and a wood clamp. Let's fix that uneven chair.
First, you'll have to see exactly what it is that needs fixing. Where in the structure of the chair does the problem seem to be coming from? Is the chair so old that the entire frame leans one way, or can you simply wear down the other legs to make it even? The way you fix the chair will depend on your problem, so take a few minutes to really diagnose what's going on. If you need to, push the chair around and see where the swivel is coming from. You should be able to spot it pretty quickly.
Now that you know what your problem is, you'll have to ask yourself how to make it even again. If the structure of the chair itself has the problem, then you might want to see if you can take it apart and put it back together again. This is how many around-the-house items are fixed, so don't worry if you think you'll never see the chair back in its original condition. If you're able to take apart the chair, you should have better insight into why exactly it seems to be on a swivel.
If the problem is with the leg height itself, you can use something to prop the chair up as an unattractive temporary fix. But if you plan on keeping the chair for the long haul, you'll want to get all of the legs even. You can wear down the bottom edges of each chair leg with sandpaper or even steel wool. Be sure to check the chair repeatedly to see how even you're getting it. You can also use a saw to cut the other legs down to size, so make sure you bring the chair outside or in your garage so you can collect and brush away any sawdust.
If your chair repair required the use of glue to re-set the chair's structure, you'll need to keep the chair drying overnight. If you have work to do and need that chair, see if there's a temporary solution you can set up before fixing the chair itself. But be careful - you don't want it falling apart on you!
Photo Credits: WayTru
Originally posted 2009-08-13 03:43:10.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 25, 2010 in
Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix
Noisy dishwasher? No problem, we can fix that!
When you have a noisy dishwasher, you don't exactly feel like doing the dishes. After all, doing the dishes alone isn't the most entertaining bit of home maintenance in the world. The prospect of adding noise to the equation when you're trying to watch the game on TV or hear your favorite television show makes the idea even less appealing. That's why you'll want to fix your noisy dishwasher as soon as you can - so you can get back to quiet evenings after a rough day at work.
Of course, in order to fix your noisy dishwasher, you'll have to know what's causing the noise in the first place. This is where most of the work in fixing the noise itself will take place. First, try to find your dishwasher's owner manual: if it gives any warnings against improper dish loading that you've been violating, the reason for the noisy dishwasher might simply be human error. Oops. Do the dishes right next time and hopefully the noise will subside.
It's not always human error, however. If the problem wasn't you, you'll have to do some dishwasher inspecting. The first place to look? The pump at the bottom of the dishwasher. Make sure that it's not clogged with debris such as stuck silverware, food, or uneaten seeds. This pump should be perfectly clean.
If that's not the problem, you also might want to make sure that your dishwasher is level. If your dishwasher sits on "feet," you should be able to adjust them manually. Use a level to check that it is not leaning forward/backward or to any one particular side.
If none of these fixes has made the noise go away, there's a possibility that your inlet valve is the source of the issues. The inlet valve is not an easy thing to replace, but you'll probably want it replaced if you want to get rid of the noise. If you're out of answers, call in a repairman who will know what makes your dishwasher become so noisy, and ask about the possibility of replacing the inlet valve. This could be the source of your noise, but it's not an easy challenge to take on yourself.
Make sure that you keep your dishwasher clean, regularly cleaning it out of debris and gunk. Even though the dishwasher seems like a self-cleaning machine, you'll want to check how clean it really is from time to time.
Photo Credits: scampion
Originally posted 2009-08-17 03:00:21.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 23, 2010 in
Handyman, How to Fix, appliances, kitchen
Wicker Chair
One sure way of keeping your wicker furniture in good shape is to clean it from time to time. This will keep moisture from developing. If you have wicker furniture that needs some amount of repair, you can easily repair it yourself. Here’s how you do it…
Usually, people use wicker furniture in their patios. This introduces problems such as harsh and continuous daily sunlight, severe rain and extreme changes in temperature which could jointly affect the wicker. This is why you need to exercise great caution when taking in wicker furniture and clean it regularly to prolong its life.
Despite the best care you take, ultimately all wicker furniture needs repairs. By first examining the damage to your furniture, you can decide how to go about repairing it. If it’s just a basic problem of some loose fiber strands giving you a rough edge, all you need to do is to rub sandpaper over it very lightly. Finish with a coat of varnish or lacquer, if you prefer.
However, if the damage to your furniture extends to cracks caused due to overexposure to dryness, moisten your wicker furniture by rubbing linseed oil on it. Cover the entire area of the chair with this oil and make sure that the oil enters the cracks and weave. Leave it for a day or more to make sure that the wicker fully absorbs the oil. You could add a little more oil to see if it will absorb anymore or not. If it doesn’t but runs off down the legs of the furniture, wipe it away and allow the chair to dry completely.
If your wicker furniture’s weave shifts or is matted with age or by using in the sun, it needs to be wetted before reusing. When wet, wicker retains the shape it dries in. You do this by wetting the part of the furniture that is in need of repairs and adjust the weave on the strand at one time. Then, allow it to dry on its own and get its proper and natural shape. Being resilient, your wicker furniture will return to its original form.
If you want to repair the underside of your wicker chair, weave the new strand in and make sure that you follow the pattern from the original wicker chair. Pull he wicker as tightly as possible as you go along. When you finish, trim the new strand so it fits well and make sure that the ends of the new one abut the old one. Next, apply glue between the ends and clamp the ends with a spring clamp to give it an extra strong hold even as the glue dries.
If you want to replace a strand or part of your furniture, make sure that you already have a sample weave of the final weave as a guide. You can follow this to get the right pattern of weave. However, if one section of your furniture calls for a lot of effort, you might consider it better to hand it over to your local furniture shop.
Photo Credits: René Ehrhardt
Originally posted 2010-04-21 03:03:20.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 22, 2010 in
Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix
Teflon tape is very handy.
When most people think about helpful tape, they think about duct tape. Sure, duct tape is a great tool and should be considered a must-have in your tool shed or garage, but what about teflon tape?
Teflon tape can be very handy around the house - but you want to make sure that you know how to use it before you start trying to fix your plumbing problems with it. In this article, you'll find some tips and suggestions for using teflon tape in the most efficient and practical way possible. Doing so is simple: use it when it will help and keep it up on the shelf in the garage when you don't need it.
When is it a good idea to use teflon tape? It applies best to the "threaded" ends of pipes in order to make sure that the pipe is fully watertight. Consider it an extra layer that is designed to keep all of the moisture where it belongs - inside the pipe. For this reason, teflon works best when you're sealing off the ends the threaded ends of pipes. For more information on better using teflon tape, see this article at AcmeHowTo.com. Follow their instructions for properly applying teflon tape.
You'll also find some detailed instructions at Howsed.com's teflon tape suggestions. Note that Howsed's article also deals with pipe dope and channel locks, which are other ways of doing similar things to plumbing that teflon tape does.
When applying the teflon tape, you'll want to make sure to apply it clockwise, as Howsed.com describes, and also make sure that it is properly applied to the pipe - you don't want to apply it in the wrong direction or the wrong place.
Be thorough when you're working with teflon tape - and make sure that you're equipped to diagnose what problem needs teflon tape to begin with. When you're working on your plumbing yourself, you should have a basic knowledge of how all of these things work in order to make sure that you apply it properly - if you're unsure, be sure to ask a professional for some help. If you ever call in a plumber and want to eventually work on do-it-yourself projects, be sure to ask them specific questions - even if you bother them a little, you'll end up with some (hopefully) helpful tips you can use in the future.
Photo Credits: Aeturnum
Originally posted 2009-11-10 03:08:20.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 21, 2010 in
Bathroom, Handyman, How to Fix, toilet
We can help fix that beloved wicker chair.
Wicker furniture can be great for use around the home or even outdoors - there's nothing that really lends that "at home" feeling than a wicker chair. After all, you don't exactly see a lot of wicker chairs around the office. If your wicker chair is broken, however, you don't want to lose what might be one in a set. That's why it will be important to understand how to fix a wicker chair when the need arises.
First, be aware of what can cause wicker chair damage in the first place. Having your wicker chairs outside is fine, but remember that rain and wind damage might not always be very generous to the chair. Some amount of humidity is actually good for wicker, helping prevent the wicker from drying out. But if there's a storm, you might want to take your wicker indoors. Don't be too concerned about leaving wicker furniture out when there's a high-pressure system moving through.
As with many things, the first stage to understanding wicker chair maintenance isn't repair, it's prevention. It will be good to occasionally dust your wicker chair, and even wiping it down with a damp cloth from time to time can help. Just make sure not to sit in your wicker chair when it's wet, such as after a rain: the moisture and the weight can cause the wicker to dry out in a new mold. Needless to say, that's not exactly what you want.
Being able to repair your wicker chair will probably depend on the amount (and type) of damage that's been done to it. For example, if it is too moist because of a rain and someone sat on it, leaving it looking warped, you might actually want to see if you can re-moisten the wicker and re-set it, allowing it to dry in a condition close to its original setting. The problems that can come as a result of wet wicker give you an extra reason to avoid letting it sit out in the rain, so try to keep your wicker furniture set where water can't get to it. Remember: moderate amounts of humidity should be fine, but spraying water on your wicker isn't a good idea.
If your wicker chair is still warped after your attempts in fixing it, you might simply have to replace it. If you have a lot of wicker furniture in your set, you can either live with the loss or try to find the manufacturer and see if you can order its replacement.
Photo Credits: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library
Originally posted 2009-08-28 03:50:11.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 20, 2010 in
Chair, Furniture, Handyman, How to Fix
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