Not something that happens every day. A commercial bathroom panel completely detached from the wall!
Pretty large hole from the original anchor bracket screws!
No worries, a hole big enough to run a plywood cleat from stud to stud should? be a secure and permanent attachment.
A brand new shiny wall bracket attached with security screws……
And voila! Mission accomplished! Just another day at the office!
Kitchen Faucet week recently here at the International Fixit Headquarters based in Raleigh, NC.
As a purveyor of small batch handcrafted home repairs those of you with long memories may remember at least one previous entanglement with kitchen faucet repairs. (CLICK LINK HERE)
Two different brands, two different experiences. The first adventure was with a premium Delta Kitchen Faucet approximately 10 years old with an unusual problem. The main tube clamp through the countertop had broken into two pieces and left the entire faucet spinning loose and unanchored.
I called the Delta Warranty Phone Line on a SATURDAY and was connected with an extremely knowledgeable help desk Technician. I explained the problem and he immediately set up a case account for me and walked me through the steps required to receive a replacement part.
I would need to send pictures of the installation so they could analyze the situation. So I sent a series of pictures to their email account later that afternoon.
The view from underneath the sink.
The model number tag.
And an overall shot of the faucet spinning loose in the hole. (Note handle at the front)
Monday morning I called to see if the email pictures had arrived in good condition and I was connected to another, DIFFERENT extremely knowledgeable help desk Technician. She immediately found the email pictures and advised me repair parts were unavailable as that model was obsolete but the current model was almost indistinguishable from this older version and that she would set the wheels in motion to deliver a completely new faucet by UPS Package. Monday Afternoon I received an Email with a package tracking number for a brand new ($365.00) Delta Kitchen Faucet sent directly to the homeowners address.
Imagine my amazement when the package arrived on Thursday Afternoon of THAT WEEK to a very surprised and happy Homeowner! Yes, the last time I had such uneventful warranty service was with a Sears Craftsman Wrench (CLICK LINK HERE)
So all is well that ends well. The homeowners have a brand new Delta Faucet at no cost. And I have a picture of the very odd metal failure that was at the heart of their distress.
Yes! Another handcrafted small batch home repair and improvement!
After photograph – existing posts fitted with caps and new contemporary balustrade
Freshening up an existing entry way need not be a major production. Blend existing posts
with new handrails; add decorative caps and bingo! A more up-to-date appearance!
Before photograph- vintage 1980 entry handrail
After photograph- modern replacement balustrade attached to original posts.
For another example of balustrade work from the archives CLICK LINK HERE
A small job, but an important one. This is an interior cottage door jamb which has seen better days.
The new, special order brass latch plate will camouflage most of the more egregious dings and scrapes of yesteryear. With proper hand chisel work all is well.
Of course, a sharp chisel helps to do the work on this vintage door jamb. (CLICK LINK HERE)
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.
Doors. Out with old, in with the new!
Sometimes 20 year old doors are like rotten teeth- extraction and
replacement is the most sensible option. So this door was replaced
in toto.
Out with the old, in with the new!
The big box stores still carry legacy 3 knob faucets!
I still carry an (old school) propane torch, solder and flux!
None of this plastic pipe stuff here!
Yes, yes you can install a Doggie Hatch in an existing steel entry door.
The trick is to overlay an FRP panel to make the final finish cosmetically appealing.
You will need to use a metal cutting blade on your oscillating multitool.
The FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) makes a big difference in the outcome.
Voila! (Or viola, as we like to say!) Ready for the big dog to use!
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.
So reiterate after me:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SIMPLE JOB.
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.
Kattermann's Handyman Blog 