Pro Handyman Blog

A loose toilet seat is a real pain. It makes anyone apprehensive to use it for fear of it sliding off of the bowl. Fortunately it is an easy fix.

A toilet seat attaches through 2 holes at the rear of the bowl. It is held on to the bowl with plastic parts. There are basically two methods of securing a seat to the toilet bowl.

If you look behind the toilet seat, you will see two covers. These covers will either pop up, to expose a screw head, or twist to the side. In the event your style twists to the side, you might notice that one or both have twisted and this is why it may be loose. This style allows for quick removal for cleaning. If that is the case, simply twist the covers back in place and the seat should be steady. If not, check behind and under the bowl to make sure the plastic parts are secure.

The other style is simply held in place with a plastic bolt and nut. By lifting the cover, you will see the plastic screw head. The plastic nut that clamps the seat to the bowl is under the bowl just in front of the tank. It’s probably easiest to grab the nut with a wrench from below and tighten the screw head from above. After you tighten each screw head, snap the caps back down to cover them.

You know the type. In a bathroom a light fixture that has the large round bulbs in a row is called a Hollywood bar light. It usually has anywhere from 3 to 12 bulbs and conjures up images of a Hollywood starlet primping before going on stage. Only nowadays buildings install these fixtures a bathroom staple. Many people don’t like them and want to replace them.

If its time to replace it, you first need to remove it. It doesn’t have any visible fasteners that hold it to the wall. Here is how to remove it from the wall.

Make sure the power is off and unscrew the light bulbs. There are decorative covers that push over the sockets where each bulb was. Grab each cover and, one by one, pull them off of each socket. Make sure to keep a hand on the fixture because when you remove the last cover the fixture will want to fall down…that is all that is holding the fixture to the bracket. Remove the decorative fixture and the bracket will be exposed. These fixtures are commonly installed without a junction box, so you may find one or may not. Remove the wire nuts that connect the fixture wires to the house wiring. The fixture’s mounting bracket will be held to the wall with a couple of screws. Remove these and get started on installing your new light fixture.

If you are going to install wallpaper, use this handyman tip: use a sharp blade. Installing wallpaper can be a messy job, and the last thing you want to do is to do the job again. When you fitting wallpaper to the wall, it can be a time consuming process.

After you have activated the adhesive and booked the drop, place the drop onto the wall into position. You will have to adjust it slightly, but try not to move it around too much. You will need to align any pattern in the paper and butt the paper together. Use a damp sponge or a plastic scraper and smooth out the paper, getting rid of any bubbles.

You will need to trim the paper for length. For this you need a new razor blade. You might be tempted to use a blade that is fairly new but don’t do it. The very last thing you want to happen is for the wallpaper to tear. Use the scraper tool and push the wallpaper against the ceiling or baseboard, whichever you are trimming. Start in the middle of the paper and push the bubbles out ending at the baseboard or ceiling. Gently push the paper to the edge and hold the scraper in place while you run the sharp razor blade along the edge. The scraper will act as a guide as you cut. Don’t lift the blade as you cut. Instead, keep the blade cutting and stop, then move the scraper forward and continue cutting the paper until the paper has been completely cut. The waste strip will easily pull away and you will be left with a perfect edge.

Here is a simple handyman fix if you have an air conditioning register that has fallen down or is separating from the ceiling. Your air conditioning system blows air through your house with plenty of force. This pushes against the vent covers and sometimes works them loose.

The first thing to do is to get a ladder and see if you can just tighten the screws that hold the cover to the ceiling. That may be all there is to the fix. However, the screws may have pulled out to the extent that they may not tighten anymore. If that is the case, remove the screws and the vent cover. It is likely that the force of air has pushed against the threads of the screws and the sheet metal no longer holds the screw threads. In this case, I would use a larger screw whose threads will bite into the sheet metal.

While you have the cover removed, it’s probably a good idea to clean the debris and dirt from it. You might even gently wipe the inside of the vent, but be careful as this area can have sharp edges.

Hold the vent cover back up to the ceiling and insert the new screws until snug. It’s a good idea not to close the vent completely. By allowing air to pass into the room, you will maintain good balance in the system and avoid the force pushing against the vent cover.

Installing an additional door lock can give you a more secure feeling, depending upon which type of lock you install. A door chain lock is not the type of lock I would say gives me a feeling of security. I do, however, think they are good for keeping two-year-olds inside the house instead of opening any door they can find to roam outside. Door chains are popular for many reasons.

There are two pieces of a chain lock. The chain, which mounts on the door frame, and the stationary piece that mounts on the door. The kit will come with all hardware, but the screws that hold the chain to the door jamb are usually too small. If someone impacts the door, the weakest part will give first. This may be the chain or either one of the mounted parts.

Choose the height that works for you and mark a level line. Install the chain piece to the jamb using long screws that will hopefully reach solid lumber behind the molding. This usually takes 2 screws. Line up the stationary piece and mount it level with the chain so that the larger open hole side is furthest away from the chain piece. This usually takes 4 screws.

These chain locks can be easily defeated using only a rubber band from outside the door. Manufacturers have made sets that prevent this, so depending on your use for this chain lock, you can go cheap or more costly.

If you have a patio door that sometimes locks and sometimes doesn’t, you are not alone. Fortunately, getting the door to cooperate takes a small amount of effort.

The patio door slides against the jamb and the door handle has a mechanism that latches into the jamb. The jamb holds the receiving end of the latch which can be adjusted up or down.

The adjustments usually become necessary as the door becomes more difficult to move. You can adjust the wheels on the bottom of the door to raise or lower them. However, this will make it so that the latch doesn’t line up with the receiving mechanism as it had. So an adjustment is necessary.

You will need a screwdriver to loosen the screws that hold the mechanism in place. Adjust the mechanism until the door will easily lock. You may need to make very small adjustments until the lock engages just right. After you have tested it a few times, go ahead and fully tighten the screws to lock the mechanism into place.

If you’ve got some time, you might consider cleaning the track that the patio door rolls upon. You can start by vacuuming the debris out of it and then using a cleaner to remove any dirt buildup.

Many people are moving these days, whether by choice or by force. Many of those people choose to take fixtures with them, some of those being ceiling fans.

If you are going to remove a ceiling fan, do so safely. It is probably best to remove the blades first and then the body of the fan, but many people just remove the body of the fan with the blades still attached. This certainly saves time, but it forces you to wrestle with the fan to remove it. Plus, you have to be careful not to damage any of the blades.

Make sure the power is off and remove the ceiling cover. It will slide down and allow you to access the wiring. The wires should be connected with wire nuts. Unscrew the wire nuts and separate the connected wires. Place a wire nut back onto each wire coming out of the ceiling and screw it on to each wire. The ceiling fan will fit into a bracket that is secured to the junction box in the ceiling. Lift and remove the fan from the bracket and then you can unscrew the bracket from the ceiling.

All you will see now is a hole at your ceiling with some wires sticking out. Gently push the wires into the junction box without kinking or damaging them. Then you can place a ceiling cover over the hole.

I frequently get calls about a shower heads that are leaking. Many people automatically assume that the shower head needs to be replaced. It depends on when the leak is occurring.

If the shower head is leaking when the water to the shower is turned on, the problem is likely with the shower head itself, or where the shower head screws on to the shower arm. You may end up replacing the shower head, or at the bare minimum, removing the shower head and re-taping the threads on the arm.

If the shower head is leaking when the water is turned off, the problem is not with the shower head, but rather the shower valve. The valve is not stopping the flow of water as it should. If the shower valve is a single handle that controls both the hot and cold water, you need to replace the cartridge in that valve. If the shower valve has separate hot and cold handles, then the stem and seat of whichever side is leaking need to be replaced. You can feel the water to determine whether it is the hot or cold side. For these parts, it is generally better to bring the parts with you to get replacements. There are many different styles that look alike but may have subtle differences.

If you see signs of water damage at a wall, here is a test you can perform. You can’t see through a wall of course and so when you see bulging drywall on the opposite side of the wall, you have to make some assumptions. The damage could be from the shower valve leaking, or it may be from a maintenance issue, such as caulking or grout.

You can start to narrow the field with this test. Check first to see that the water meter is not moving, meaning that there is no water passing the meter. Then go to the shower and remove the showerhead and cap the shower arm with a ½ inch cap. Now turn the water on to the shower valve. No water will flow out of the shower because the cap is preventing it. However, now the shower riser and arm is pressurized. You can remove the escutcheon plate to see if any water is leaking or dripping (it’s a good idea to do this before you turn the water on and again after…it gives you an idea as to where the leak is). If water is leaking, then you have a leak somewhere between the valve and the shower arm. If there is no leak visible, then go back out to the water meter and see if it is moving.

If the water meter is not moving, it will confirm that the shower valve is not leaking. If the meter is moving, make absolutely sure that nobody just flushed a toilet, or that the icemaker is refilling, etc. If nobody is using any water and the meter is moving, you may have a leak where you can’t see it, which would warrant further investigation such as opening the wall.

If you are having a problem getting water to the toilet, it is a matter of troubleshooting the problem with the simplest items first and moving backwards.

First make sure that other fixtures are receiving water. If they are, then make sure that the angle stop is opened (turn it counter-clockwise). Remove the lid to the toilet and toggle the fill valve or ballcock (whichever style you have).

I would start with removing the water supply line to the fill valve. Turn the angle stop off (rotate handle clockwise) and disconnect the supply line from the fill valve. Point it in a bucket and slowly turn on the angle stop. If you get water flowing from the supply line, you need to replace the toilet fill valve. If you don’t get water from the supply line, you probably have a problem with the angle stop. It is usually the case that the angle stop has failed and it needs to be replaced. The other possibility is that there is some type of blockage in the pipe before the angle valve, which in not very common.

At this point you will need to turn off the water to the house to replace the angle valve. If you want to be sure, you can connect a piece of tubing with a hose clamp to the end of the pipe and run it into a bucket. Then turn the water back on and see if you get water flowing into the bucket.