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January 5, 2008

With the Holidays behind us...

Maybe you had a little too much ambience during the holiday celebrations and got candle wax somewhere it shouldnât be? Try placing an ice cube (in a plastic bag) over the spilled wax for about a minute or so. The wax should come off fairly easily. Now the stain that's left... that's a different story. I have no tricks for that other than touch up paint or coloring of the surface affected.

January 12, 2008
All exterior doors should have dead-bolt locks installed. For doors that include a glass window, be sure to install the type of deadbolt that is keyed on both sides. A deadbolt that has just a latch on the inside offers little protection in this situation, since the bad guy could easily break the glass, reach through and unlatch the lock from the inside. (But keep a key nearby in the event of a need for an emergency evacuation.)

Door safety chains are not very effective, install peepholes instead. And never open the door for anyone who comes to the door if you can't see him or her clearly through the peephole.

January 19, 2008

Working on a little renovation during these cold, winter months? Here are a few tips to help you along...

You can strip old window and door hardware of paint by dropping them in a pan filled with roughly 4 tablespoons of baking soda per quart of cold water. Set the pan over low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. When cool remove the hardware and scrub off any remaining particles with steel wool.

To remove vinyl-flooring tiles, lay out a clean rag and apply a hot iron to loosen the adhesive. Another option is to forget the rag and iron and just use a blow dryer set on high. The longer you wait, the easier it will be, and in a couple of minutes the tile will come up with no trouble at all.

January 26, 2008
Ever drill a hole in the wrong spot?? Maybe the wrong size? If you need to get it right and it's too close to the screw-up try this: First use a wood dowel to plug the bad hole. Here's how: Sharpen a point on a thin wood dowel using a knife (or a pencil-sharpener). Place a drop of woodworker's glue in the hole and insert the end of the sharpened dowel into the hole. Then, chisel off the end of the dowel - leaving the point behind to fill the hole. Allow the glue to dry before drilling your new, properly placed hole. If you need to mix colored mortar when repairing masonry, wet the area to be patched first. Matching the wet color of the new batch to the wet color of the area to be patched will yield professional results.

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