Garbage Disposal

Have you ever had your garbage disposal get stuck or wont turn anymore? Sometimes its because somebody put something in it they shouldn't have or too much of one thing. If this happens, alot of times you can go to the bottom of your disposal and take the allen wrench that was provided with the disposal or one that fits the hole in the center of the disposal. Take the wrench and try to turn the disposal to break whats in it up and the disposal will turn. If its not locked up, you may need to reset the little red button at the bottom of the disposal. I just replaced a garbage disposal that neither one of these things would work.

deadbolts

I'm creating this blog to let people know the importance of having and using a deadbolt on all your outside doors. I have a friend that had her house broken into and several electronic items were stolen. She had a deadbolt on her doors, but didnt lock the deadbolt on the door on front of the house. The person broke into the house by using a credit card to push back the plunger on a regular locked door knob. There several types of deadbolts, you want one that the locking device will go into the 2x4 frame of the door, just not the jam. You can get deadbolts with a key on one side and a turn knob on the other. Another kind is the keyed on both sides of the lock,one advantage of the type is that you have a window beside the door the intruder cant just break out the glass on the window and reach in and open the door, they would need a key to open it.The only thing about have a deadbolt with a key on both sides, is that you would need a key to lock the door when you are inside and would need fast access to the key in case of fire or such. 30% of house intrusions are from open doors or not locked.25-40% are from pressuring a cheap lock to get the door open. Make sure you use the deadbolt,no matter what type you have.

Repairing a hole in drywall

Some people call it wallboard,sheetrock,drywall. If you have a hole in your wall,you can repair it several ways. Some hardware stores or lumber yards, do carry a patch that may fit your hole,or you can take a utility knife,drywall knife and cut the hole to fit your patch. These patches have about a inch or so of paper that is on the outside of the patch.After you have your hole the size of the patch, you take some drywall compound and place on the edges of the paper and then place the patch over the hole,once even with the existing wall, you then apply a layer of drywall compound over the patch, getting it as smooth as you can. Let it dry and then lightly sand to see if it needs another coat of drywall compound,if not its ready to prime and paint. Other ways of patching a hole if no patch is found, is to cut out sheetrock to halfway into a stud in your wall, on both sides of the hole. You then would cut a piece of sheetrock and nail it to the studs on both sides and then, tape your joints with sheetrock tape,apply coats of drywall compound, maybe couple of coats is needed. Let dry and paint.

Checking and Caulking Windows

Spring is going to be here one of these days. It would be a good time to check your windows and outside doors for gaps in caulk around windows and doors. A good way to check to see if you have air coming in around you windows is to take a candle and hold it around where the inside edge of the window or door,of course it could be coming from old windows, if there is a gap or leak the candle will flicker, just dont catch your curtains on fire and burn your house down. Go on the outside of the house and check and see if the caulking is cracked or has missing caulk. If there is missing or cracked caulk, you will need to take out the old caulking,and replace it with new.They do make a caulk softner that is applied a couple of hours before you dig out the old caulking, I use a putty knife and sometimes even a screwdriver. It is better to use a silicone caulking, it doesnt shrink or dry out as much as a latex. You will need a caulking gun for your caulking in a tube. Cut the end off at a 45 degree angle and run a slow smooth bead around your window.Let dry for 12 hours or so. A person can save money by not letting that cold air in around your windows and doors.

Water Shut Off's

When I go to work on anything to do with plumbing,I always ask tenant if they know where the water shut off is in the house.Water can cause alot of damage especially if you have a multi level house. About the only place for water to go is to follow the lowest place in the house, so if you have a two level house and the leak is in the top floor bathroom, the water will for sure run into the bottom floor.So if you discover a leak, you need to know where the water shut off to house is. I also mention to home owners that it makes it alot easier to work on if toilet stools,sinks etc. have shut offs on them so if the leak is at that one place, you dont need to turn the water off to the entire house, and if say the kitchen faucet needs replaced, you can turn the water off to the faucet. Here is a picture of where I installed shut offs to a kitchen faucet.

Fire Damage

Several months ago I was making some fire starters to use to start fires in my wood stove. I would take egg cartons and fill them up with saw dust then pour hot wax over the saw dust and then let them cool. They make great fire starters. One day I was using a glass pan to melt the wax over the stove, I had done this for years. That day I put the wax on the fire and went into the computer room and was checking my facebook page and other places. I smelled something burning and ran into the kitchen, I had forgotten about the wax, the pan was on fire and I never thought and went over to the sink and turned on the water, it was like putting water on a oil fire, the flames came up the front of me, and burned the hair on my arms,the fire had caught the curtains on fire and my kitchen cabinets on fire, I took a blanket I had near the washing machine and throwed it over the fire and put it out. I had a fire exstinguisher just feet away but didnt think about it. The picture is the damage and the other picture is after repairs. I had to repaint the walls and ceiling. My mom said did you call the fire department and my answer was I thought it wasnt that bad, that is how people get burned up in fires.

You ever see this somewhere in or on your house?

Places you may find wet rot: Wet rot grows on porous surfaces such as timber where there is moisture content of at least 50%. Wet rot can often lead to major structural damage if it is left to grow unchecked as it can weaken timber. Moisture content this high often is a result of defective plumbing, gutters, downpipes or stone pointing. If you spot a defective pipe then it is worth checking out your property to ensure there are no signs of growth. Fortunately, wet rot does not spread through masonry and the growth of wet rot will cease when the moisture is removed. Places you may find dry rot: Although the name dry rot suggests that no moisture is required for it to form dry rot actually requires moisture content of around 20%. A major, and important, difference between dry rot and wet rot is that dry rot will often occur in areas of the property that cannot be seen. This can lead to significant damage before the problem has been identified. These areas are often attics or underfloor areas that have poor ventilation and therefore a higher-than-normal moisture content. If you have condensation on your windows it could be an early warning sign of dry rot. DIFFERENCE IN APPEARENCE

Wet rot identification Look out for black fungus growing on timber. It will feel soft and spongy and likely darker than surrounding timber. If it has dried out it will easily crack and crumble into fine pieces.

Dry rot identification The timber will be brown in colour and will easily crumble in your hand. There could be silky white sheets. There could be a 'fruiting body' growing on the timber.