Fixing Stuck Doors

As your house gradually settles over time, small changes in the alignment of door jambs can cause doors to stick. Other things, such as loose hinges or new thick carpet can make it difficult to open or close a door. Fixing each of the things that causes a door to stick is easy, though, and requires at most a hand plane or circular saw.

When a door sticks in the jamb (the fixed frame around the door) look to see where the door hits the jamb. If it hits on the top of the door on the lock side of the door, shim the top hinge with cardboard to move the lock side of the door down a hair, away from the jamb. Remove the screws from one side of the hinge as in photo 1, cut a piece of thick cardboard (not corrugated) to the size of the mortise for the hinge, and reinstall the screws.

Most of the weight of the door hangs off the top hinge, and occasionally this causes the screws to come loose, causing the door to hit the jamb on the vertical lock edge near the top. If you try to tighten the screws but they just spin in place, the wood around the screws is stripped. Try installing longer screws (2 inches) that will fix into solid wood behind the jamb.

In some cases the longer screws will not hit solid wood, but only plaster or empty space. In this case bore out 3/8 or ½ inch holes on the old stripped screw holes and glue in same sized sections of hardwood dowel as in photo 3. Use regular wood glue, yellow aliphatic resin, and let it dry for an hour or so. Predrill holes for the screws before installing them because the hardwood dowels are too dense to sink screws into without pilot holes.

Fixing Plumbing Fixtures

Plumbing fixtures are often guaranteed for 10 years or more. The major manufactures have 800 numbers for technical support. I've found all three of the following manufacturers will help you diagnose your problem and will send you an amazing array of repair parts free. If you have to pay, you will be sure you're using authentic factory parts, and the price & shipping are reasonable. I've quit buying third party parts for plumbing fixtures. You don't save much money; plus they sometimes don't work right and you don't know why.

Delta and Price Pfister have been both friendly and helpful. Moen was not friendly and not particularly knowledgeable, but they did send free parts. Note: My most recent call to Delta got a less than pleasant or helpful person. I had a Delta shower head that had failed very much too early. I then emailed Delta about the problem and they gave the following ironic reply: "I am sorry to hear that you have experienced problems with a Delta shower head. Unfortunately, Delta Faucet Company does not produce that showerhead." It is clearly and boldly emblazoned with the word Delta and their first sentence above admits it's a Delta product, yet they disavow responsibility for it. All-in-all my experience with Delta products has not been good. My experience with Moen products (not their support) has been much better.

Kitchen Remodeling

The kitchen has never been more important, providing the perfect informal setting for both good food and conversation. Current trends in dining indicate families prefer larger, open kitchens with integrated dining areas. The kitchen has become the one room in the house where members of the family can be found eating, working on homework, talking on the phone or just hanging out with friends. Gone are the formal dining rooms of the past, which were completely separated from the food preparation area. Now homeowners are looking to create a homey, casual place to both prepare and share a meal. This complete project shows you how to open up your existing kitchen, improving form, function, and flow. Read all about it in our Do-It-Yourself feature of week.

Here is the full article:
http://www.doityourself.com/kitchen/k-overview.htm

Home improvement - Gardens

We spend more time in our gardens than ever before and a variety of products and services are available to improve this aspect. Hard paving and a patio are essential if we are to walk out onto a dry and mud free area that can be used for outdoor meals and entertaining from Spring through to Autumn. Then again, at the front of the house, a new drive and hard landscaping can transform the initial welcome offered. The range of goods and services for our gardens is now tremendous, whether this be barbecues, greenhouses, garden sheds, seeding new lawns, or replacing unruly old flower beds with colourful shrubs and plants. It is surprising how a dreary back garden can be transformed with careful landscaping, hard paving and outside lighting.

For Consumers

In a bouncing southern accent, Pam Fry of Mr. Rogers Windows tells the story of selling replacement windows to a North Carolina couple — a farmer and his wife. It was late on a Saturday afternoon, her sixth and last day of a tough week. She had driven way out into the country to meet with the couple and was in no mood for a tough sell. She surmised from a few minutes alone with the woman that the marriage was a traditional one; the husband would do all the talking and deciding. Seated at the table in her professional skirt and blouse and full of confidence, Fry began her usual presentation. The husband, a big man who'd come down from the fields in his overalls, smacked the table and stood up. “You know, Ms. Fry,” he said in a thick drawl, “if you had come in here with your blue jeans and boots I might think you know what you're talking about. But you come in here all frillied up and I'm just not sure you know what you're talking about.”

Fry disarmed him by looking him right in the eye. “I understand exactly what you're saying,” she said to him calmly. “Now I'd like the opportunity to show you what I'm talking about.” She proceeded to wow him with her knowledge. Three hours and 15 minutes later — about an hour longer than normal, she says — she had sold $10,000 worth of windows. “Then he walked me out to the car and gave me a jar of the family barbeque sauce and meat from the pig they'd roasted and had in the freezer.”

When Nicki Joy, a sales trainer and speaker, hears stories like this, she sees it as another example of the ways that women's inherent nature helps them become good salespeople. In the introduction to her book, Selling is a Woman's Game, Joy writes that women are blessed by Mother Nature with “special gifts — the gift of gab, compassion, patience, emotion, endurance, tolerance, versatility, and resourcefulness, just to name a few.” Feminist arguments concerning the use (or abuse) of stereotypical feminine traits aside, Joy points out that “these skills, traits, characteristics, and tendencies are just the stuff that good salespeople are made of.”

Anecdotal evidence — for there are no hard facts — bear her out in the remodeling industry. In this traditionally male business, there are a small group of women who are owners or designers doing sales, or even, like Fry, doing straight sales. But in many cases they're outselling their male counterparts.

About Home Improvement...

What to do...
1. Shop Around
Obtain at least three written estimates. A reputable contractor or professional will never try to pressure you to obtain your business.
Check at least three references on your contractor or professional. Many municipalities license contractors and are a good source of information. Area Better Business Bureaus also have complaint history databases.
Ask your contractor about his/her professional affiliations.

2. Know the Law
Obtain a written contract, including a start date, completion date and brand names of expensive items such as windows. The name and address of the contractor must also be on the contract.
Contractors must obtain all applicable state or local building and construction permits and be able to produce them at your request.
Contracts signed in your home must include a three-day cooling off period during which you may cancel the deal.
Make sure all warranties and guarantees are in writing.

3. Investigate Financing Options
Shop for credit and be sure you understand the annual percentage rate you will have to pay.
Make sure you avoid paying for the entire job up front. One-third in advance, one-third halfway through the job and one-third upon completion is the usual arrangement.

Refinishing a Wood Deck

A new wood deck provides a warm, handsome connection with the outdoors, adding to a home's beauty and setting the stage for a world of outdoor activities. But decks take a lot of abuse, both from use and through continued exposure to weather. After a few years, they become weathered and unfriendly without proper care.

Fortunately, most deck surface problems are cosmetic, not structural because decking is built of durable woods: usually redwood, cedar, or pressure-treated pine. Redwood and cedar heartwoods have a natural resistance to termites and decay; pine is pressure-treated with a pesticide to give it insect and decay-blocking power.

Even so, ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun breaks down surface fibers and lignin, causing graying and surface erosion. Moisture encourages surface mildew and causes stains, particularly in damp or humid climates. And natural extractives in redwood and cedar can discolor the surface.

The road to restoring a deck's great looks is usually simple, regardless of the type of wood used for its construction. First you clean it, then you diagnose and treat any discoloration. And last, you protect the result with a durable finish.