Not every project goes as well as planned. We would be happy to spend a few minutes answering your questions.
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Vinyl flooring is inexpensive and can last for many years. It is the first choice for homeowners on a budget because of its cost and durability. However, it can become damaged if you drop something on it or slide a heavy object on its surface.
This will usually result in a cut or scuff and it will stand out noticeably. If the damage is very small, for example a small flap has lifted, you may be able to get away with some adhesive and seam sealer and hope that it looks okay. If not, you may be looking at cutting a piece of vinyl off of a scrap and placing it in the damaged area.
The key here is to get a good match. In many cases, the installer will have some vinyl left over and will roll it up and put give it to you. Always take the extra for situations like this. Warm up the vinyl with a hair dryer and lay a piece over the damaged area. Match up the pattern, if there is one, and cut through both pieces simultaneously. It’s good to use a square for a guide. Once you have cut all four sides, lift the replacement patch. You will have cut an exact match for the damaged lower piece. Scrape up the damaged piece below and clean any adhesive from the underlayment.
Lay down some new adhesive and let it get tacky according to the manufacturers instructions. Once you lay the new piece of vinyl in place of the damaged piece, roll it down and after it dries use a seam sealer for the edges.
The side gate that allows entry to the backyard was falling out of the block wall. The customer wanted this fixed because he had a dog he didn’t want to escape. Fair enough.
In most cases, this type of job can be fixed with a larger anchor. Typically, a bolt goes through the frame of the gate support and screws into an anchor in the block wall. When the gate gets abused, through either too much weight or maybe the hardware was too small to begin with, the top sags and can drag on the ground.
Dig out the old anchor from the block wall and install a larger anchor. This can also be combined with mortar or epoxy. The anchor will have ridges around the perimeter and if you add some mortar or epoxy to the hole before you push the anchor into the opening, this will give the anchor some extra holding power. I would let that dry and get hard before reinstalling the gate and placing weight upon it. It’s probably a good idea to place a block under the strike side of the gate to support it while you are reinstalling the hardware and then remove the block once everything is tight. This will make it so you don’t have to fight to keep the gate in place while you are installing the hardware.
If you are considering replacing your thermostat, you will have a choice between a digital or manual thermostat. There are a few differences to be aware of although the purpose of each is to regulate the temperature of the space.
A manual thermostat is the basic builder-grade thermostat. It will do a fine job of keeping the temperature at a pre-set level. In order the change the temperature, you must manually rotate the dial to whatever temperature you choose. If you won’t be changing the temperature much, you can get away with this style of thermostat.
A digital thermostat costs only a few dollars more and allows you to program temperature changes. This is an important distinction because it allows you to make changes to the temperature to save energy and money. For example, if during the summer you are away from home for the day, you can program the thermostat to raise the temperature by a few degrees, which keeps the air conditioner from running as often. You can program it to return to your normal level of comfort when you return home from work. You can program these so that every day has the same or different temperature settings. Additionally, digital programmable thermostats have a battery backup, whereas a manual thermostat does not need one.
If you can see daylight around your door, you are allowing outside air into your air conditioned house. Weatherstrip stops this. It forms a barrier around the perimeter of the door and blocks the air from entering. Without weatherstrip, it’s like having a window partially open.
There are several types of weatherstrip. You can use the peel & stick type, but I don’t much care for this as it requires replacement more regularly. There is rigid metal with compressive hollow tubing on it, and there is the kerf style. I like the kerf style the best, but you have to have the correct door for it. If you look in between the door stop and the door jamb, you should see a small groove. This is the kerf, and the kerf weatherstrip simply gets wedged in this groove.
You can remove the old kerf style weatherstrip by simply pulling it out of the groove. It is held in place by friction. Install the new strip by pushing it into the kerf. Don’t use anything that might cut the weatherstrip, like a screwdriver. Try using a wooden paint stir stick to gently push the weatherstrip into the kerf. This style of weatherstrip has a foam leg encased in vinyl that juts out of it and seals against the door as it closes.
If you have a patio made up of individual pavers, eventually one will become loose. You can call a handyman or grab some simple items and fix it yourself. This works equally well for walkways made of pavers.
Pavers are typically placed using either concrete or a bed of sand. Sand will need more maintenance than concrete but it won’t take much time or effort. Most of the repairs deal with sand based pavers and so I will focus on that type here.
You will need to remove the paver that is loose and that can be a challenge because there isn’t much space to work with. Pry up a corner and lift it out. You can bend a coat hanger or try to get a screwdriver in there and lift it out. The trick is to have the finished surface of the paver even with the surrounding surfaces. Grab a handful of sand (washed sand from a home center) and lay it down into the void. Place the paver back in place and gently rock it to even out the sand. Once it is steady and solid, you can add more sand in the grout lines and broom it off. You can also sprinkle some water to settle everything down and then add some more sand.
A loose toilet seat can be very frustrating. Sometimes they are leaning off to the side of the toilet bowl, and it looks like it is hanging on by a thread. There are a couple of reasons for this, but each is an easy fix.
Toilet seats are hinged at the rear and connect to the toilet bowl by some long plastic bolts. These bolts connect to hinges and the hinges have small screws that attach the toilet seat to the hinge. You can check to make sure these small screws are tight and that the seat is secure to the hinge, but that isn’t likely the problem.
Typically, the problem is with the toilet seat bolts. The nut that threads onto these plastic bolts has probably become loose and simply needs tightening. You will need to reach under the rear of the bowl to tighten this nut. I would recommend rubber gloves as this is a dirty area to work around. You can pry the cap off of the cover that conceals the bolt from the top and place a standard screw driver into the groove and then either turn the nut by hand or hold the nut still and turn the bolt with the screwdriver.
There are some toilets seats that secure to the bowl by rotating the mechanisms at the rear of the seat. These are intended to make removing the seat easy, for cleaning, but can quickly cause a seat to become loose. They usually rotate 90-degrees to one side to remove the seat, and when pushed inline will hold the seat secure.
This is surprising to be, but it’s a common question. “Can I replace my 2 handled kitchen faucet (or bath faucet) with a faucet with only one handle. The answer is yes.
The vast majority of faucets are made to fit into a standard sink. The sink probably has three holes in it to connect whichever type of faucet you want. If you currently have a faucet with two handles, the outside holes will allow water supply lines to connect directly to the handles. The center hole will be for if you have a kitchen faucet sprayer with a pull-out spout, as the spout hose will connect there.
If you have a single handled faucet, the deck plate on it will cover the outside two holes. Basically the footprint of both types of faucets are the same and so you can install whichever type you like.
There are some high-end single handle faucets that don’t have a deck plate, and instead mount in a single hole. It would look very odd if you mounted one of these in a three-hole sink without making allowances for something that looks intentional, such as a soap dispenser or maybe a lotion dispenser. Here is some information in a kitchen faucet installation.
There are times when hanging a picture is tough. There just isn't a wall stud where a handyman needs one. For these situations, there are picture hangers you can buy specifically for mounting in drywall and supporting significant weight.
You can buy a nail and hook set that hang in the drywall at an angle. These will easily support 30-50 pounds. You can also buy a 3-nail hardware hanger that supports an even greater amount of weight. Although the nails are somewhat smaller, there are more mounting points for the hangar to grip.
Both of these types of hangers mount in the same manner. Getting the right angle is important. Don't hammer the nail into the drywall first. Instead, place the hanger in it's final resting place and then insert the nail and hammer it in. If you try to hit the nail into the drywall first, you may not get the correct angle on the nail and the hanger might not sit flush against the wall. Any adjustment to the nail is going to damage the hole in the drywall and consequently reduce the holding power of the hanger.
When you hang the picture on the hanger, obviously be gently about it by setting it easily on the hanger.
The cold weather can turn your plumbing into a nightmare. It only takes a few dollars and under an hour to prevent a problem.
You need to wrap any exposed piping to insulate it. You can buy enough pipe insulation for you house for around $15.00. Some of it has two mating sides with peel-and-stick tape to hold it together, and the other type has a slit in it that wraps around the pipe, and you can tape that type up yourself.
Pay attention to the pressure vacuum breaker (anti-siphon valve). When the weather turns freezing, this is one of the first calls we get. Wrap the piping going in and out of it and also wrap the valve itself. You can do this with insulation tape or you can fashion something out of the pipe insulation. You will notice there is an air gap at the top of the valve. Don’t block this area with insulation.
If you have any hose bibs that stick out too far from the wall, wrap the exposed ½ inch pipe leading to it. If you have a crawl space under your house, use heat tape plugged into an outlet to keep the plumbing warm, just don’t overlap the tape upon itself.
If you plan on removing a vanity, here are some handyman tips to make the job a little easier.
After you clean the vanity out of any items, remove any weight, such as drawers or shelves. Then turn the water off to the faucet and disconnect the piping. I would remove the water supply connections at the faucet, with the hope that you may be able to reuse them. Disconnect the drain line and clear it out of the way. Now you can start removing the vanity.
Use a utility knife and cut any caulking around the vanity. Look for this where the backsplash meets the wall and cut through it. Grab a flashlight and look under the sink top for screws holding the vanity to the wall. These will typically be up high in the cabinet right under the counter top. Also look near the cabinet floor for screws to remove. Don’t forget the short wall either as there may be screws around the perimeter of the cabinet.
Lastly, take a look at the flooring. In some cases, if you have ceramic tile for example, the installer may have placed the vanity first and then tiled right up to the toe kick. Keep in mind that you will need to shimmy the vanity up and out of this area. Also, when you install the new vanity, you will have to contend with some flooring issues if the new vanity is not the exact footprint of the old one.
