So factory replacement sashes are adrift in a blizzard of bureaucratic paperwork and the damaged sash on the house is literally melting into mush minute by minute in plain sight.
What to do? Board up the window for an interminable interim? Or find a tricky way to stabilize the damaged section? Choice the second was not that difficult. Ordinary stock off-the -shelf moulding ripped down to size and overlayed on solid sash pieces protected and stabilized the damaged part.
The channel formed by the overlay was filled with old timey glazing compound for an attractive and robust repair.
When the replacement sash finally arrives the damaged sash can be removed in one piece and the new sash dropped into place.
A unique and inexpensive solution for a somewhat intractable problem!
Plumbing awaits no virus. Drips and leaks are drips and leaks through fair weather and foul.
Consider the mudroom sink. Hearty, robust, good for washing pets or boots or anything in between.
Almost a throwback to the legendary farm sink where Grandma canned vegetables and strawberry jam.
Mudroom faucets are also usually more functional than decorative. This is the mudroom after all.
A gooseneck spout complete with a garden hose attachment thread is the very epitome of life in
a household mudroom.
So naturally with a drip or leak the guiding principle is simple: Expensive repairs with inadequate
replacement hardware must be avoided wherever possible.
Fortunately, I happen to have an extensive assortment of washers from the Pleistocene onboard my truck.
Yes, there was a time in America when a jar of washers was the only item necessary to fix just about
any faucet in a typical home. Bathtub, lavatory, kitchen, cutoff valves and even the outside hose bib
were all repairable with little more than an adjustable wrench and screwdriver.
Since all this hardware was also from the Pleistocene repairing 2 cutoff valves and the hot and
cold handles on the sink made for a straightforward service call.
I even threw in a chichi new handle set from my legendary salvage hardware box as part of the job.
Your mileage may vary since this type of fixit is increasingly uncommon in the 21st Century,
but this time everything went well with no trauma attached to changing mudroom routines because
of new or awkward modern hardware.
Many times have I reiterated a reiteration I reiterated many times in the past but still am I surprised when I must reiterate my reiteration yet again.
To wit: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SIMPLE JOB
People ask what will be the cost to fix this? Many times I answer: ” I have no idea” and this is why:
THERE REALLY IS NO SUCH THING AS A SIMPLE JOB.
Many jobs are not straightforward out-of-the-box repairs.
The other day I went to tighten a stretched out cable for a suspended bird feeder.
Simple enough.
Loosen the clamps, pull up the slack and tighten the clamps once again.
Unfortunately, the cable had not stretched. The fascia board loosely attached to the house was the culprit and became even looser when I stretched the cable taut.
Yikes!
20 feet above ground on a ladder and a good chunk of the afternoon to detach and reattach everything properly with reinforced hardware so the bird feeder cable would not sag was the actual repair requirement.
And this is not the first time things went awry in a quick hurry.
Gutters and downspouts frequently clog and the market for innovations seems
unlimited in the ongoing war between the need to divert rain water from roof to
ground and the reality said water will carry sufficient debris to clog
any channel designed for such efficient diversion.
The residential downspout market has a number of gizmos designed
to clear any disruption to the smooth passage of water from point A to B. CLICK LINK HERE
Commercial fixtures, on the other hand, attempt to dominate through sheer size.
A 6 inch by 6 inch box downspout connected to a well designed roof scupper will
easily swallow many oversized leaves, tree limbs and detritus without so much
as a hiccup and discharge them to the ground.
Howsomeever, even the largest commercial downspout can run afoul of troublesome
blockage sufficient to need manual cleaning. So I was surprised to learn the
number of after market hatch type gizmos are rare and hard to find.
But no problem. A 6 inch by 6 inch metal box downspout is exactly the same size
as a 6 inch by 6 inch electrical PVC junction box which can be easily
modified into a flat base and removable plate to attach at a convenient
location on the outside metal surface of the downspout.
Here is one version in four easy steps.
1.Buy and modify a 6 inch by 6 inch PVC junction box from a local
hardware store.
2. Make an installation template from scrap plywood and attach to
the ailing downspout.
3. Cut your hole and clean out the clog.
4. Attach your new hatch cover with copious amounts of clear adhesive caulk
and an appropriate number of nuts and bolts.
Today, a nifty way to quickly repair a wide variety of small holes with the use of a
102mm hole saw and a plywood guide. 102 mm is just the right size to easily insert wooden
backer cleats. Remember to be sure to cut replacement drywall blanks the size of the
OUTSIDE diameter of the hole saw for a perfect patch.
The Dog Days of August howl with pain when a beautiful clear fir vintage solid wood door
arrives in the shop seriously crippled by an encounter of the unpleasant kind!
A real good old timey Legacy Entry Door should not suffer such indignity!
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! O how hast this most grievous wound come to pass?
Fortunately Habitat for Humanity provides a perfect replacement salvage panel to transplant
into the damaged heritage door with complete recovery anticipated and followed by many more
decades of useful service in the dwelling of origin for this most hearty and faithful relic
of times past.
Now is a good time to look back at all the Springtime Spruce up 2017 repairs
completed between thundershowers and routine maintenance chores here
in beautiful downtown Raleigh.
You can even compare and contrast Spring Spruce Up 2017 with Spring Spruce Up 2016! (CLICK HERE)
Spring came early in 2017 with flowers in January!
And to keep up the tradition of deck work on hot days,the ONLY and HOTTEST Day
in March (80+ degrees)was reserved for floor board refurbishment:
This spring included a road trip to Chatham County to swap out an old slab stave
core door with a new slab stave core door. $5.00 round trip on the 540 toll road.
A long day but definitely an exciting adventure!
Sometimes steps are not the proper 7/11 inch rise and run. A simple fix is to change the height
with the proper size tread.
Another step/front stoop height adjustment (CLICK HERE)
And not to forget the ever popular undersink Sponge Tray installation with special offset
tools! (CLICK LINK HERE)
Or the ever popular sliding cabinet drawer retrofit:
Of course, Great Grandma was right. Carpets should be beaten clean every spring regardless of
whether they are dirty or not. Good habits and all that.
So here at the International Handyman Headquarters we just dragged that office carpet outside,
drenched the entire surface with soapy carpet cleaner, cranked up the pressure washer and went
to town!
Great Grandma would be so proud!
So there you have the story, the whole story and nothing but the story!
Just a small sample of the mischief and merriment from Spring 2017!
Now I brace for the heat and humidity of the Dog Days Of August! Call me a with work order!
We can laugh together in the steamy Southern Sunshine!
Kattermann's Handyman Blog 