Home Tool Kit

archidesign — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 05:29:33 +0000

Let’s say it’s a certain time of year and 1 or 2 of your interior doors has started to stick or won’t open or close properly. Or, perhaps it’s a small drip under the sink. Maybe a board is loose on the fence. Whatever home repair problem may occur, having a small home tool kit can solve many of those home repair problems quickly and easily.
The first you’ll need is a small to medium sized tool box. Nothing fancy, a durable plastic tool box from the home or hardware store will do. Keep all your tools in this one box and you’ll always have everything you need when you need it.
Here’s what you’ll need to start. A claw hammer. A 12 foot tape measure. A multi- tip screwdriver. A small cordless drill and small drill set, 5 or more bits. An 8″ level. An adjustable Crescent style wrench. A channel lock style wrench. A vise grip style wrench. An 8-12 inch saw with interchangeable wood and metal blades. Duct tape and a small can of WD40. Sometimes you may need to buy a tool not in your set but it will be worth it.
Put all these tools in the kit, take a quick trip to YouTube to see how to fix the problem then enjoy the feeling of solving the issue yourself without having to hire someone to do the job for you.

Crown molding

archidesign — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:41:25 +0000

It was a late Fall evening. I walked into the room where the last light of day filtered through
the westward facing windows. As I looked around, there was something different. The room has a distinct feeling of something that I can’t quite place; like sitting behind the wheel of a car you could never afford or achieving a goal that would always be out of reach. A glance to the right…the new cabinets were beautiful and the counter tops were something we’ve always wanted but there was something else.
I looked upward and there it was. The unmistakable and impressive appearance of the
crown molding.
If you want to add a noticeable element to ANY room try the crown molding. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to change a pleasant room into something unforgettable.

Pocket door repair

archidesign — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:39:23 +0000

We have had quite a few requests to repair pocket doors lately so I thought I would offer a solution to one of the most common problems. Some doors were never hung correctly in the first place. Most of the older doors have cheap 1 track hardware and poor wheel systems. The most common problem we see is the older door that is difficult to move or won’t pull out of the pocket at all. I will describe a brief outline for the best remedy for this problem and hopefully in the future I can post a more detailed breakdown. This solution involves replacing the lousy single track and roller hardware with a double track and quad roller hardware. There are cheaper fixes but you will continue to have problems unless you do a full replacement.
First, remove the pocket door altogether. Second, cut a hole in the wallboard (cut a nice square piece and save it) in the pocket door side of the wall (where the door slips in) about 2 feet by 18 inches near the top of the door. This hole will allow you to remove the steel track inside the door. Get your replacement track and hardware from Johnson Hardware. Use this link.
Replace the track and roller hardware. Reinstall the door and adjust the rollers so the door fits evenly against the jamb. Reinstall the drywall wallboard you cut out and patch and paint.
If you’re kind of handy and have a few tools, you can do this. If not, hire a reputable contractor or handyman to do the job for you. Remember, replacing the rollers on an older door will only jump off the track again when someone opens the door to hard. And if someone wants you to replace the entire door and frame find someone else to just replace the track. The door will glide like a brand new door and you will never have to think about it again. Good luck.

Lights flickering

archidesign — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:14:22 +0000

Lights flickering in your house? There are generally two types of light flickering scenarios. First, if the lights are all flickering in one room, there may be a short in the circuit or the breaker is no good. Call an electrician.
The second flickering scenario involves every light in the house and possibly the TV flickering on and off. Don’t call an electrician. CALL YOUR POWER COMPANY IMMEDIATELY! Most likely the main neutral wire is loose and needs to be tightened up. It’s their responsibility and they will fix it for free in most cases.