Home Projects & Repair

Materials needed:

• 1″ x 2″ for support.
• 1″ x 10″ for the shelving.
• Wood Glue
• Small Nails
• Stain

Tools Required:

• Hammer
• Saw
• Measuring Tape

Our half bathroom is under the stairs and it has a random nook in it. The previous owners had placed simple wire shelves in there. While it was very functional it just didn’t look good.

We decided that we wanted to add in some wood shelves with a nice dark stain.

The first step was to rip out the old wire frame shelves and their wall anchors. This left holes in the wall which needed to be filled with spackle, sanded, and then painted.

We then pre-stained all of the wood used in the project. This allowed us to not worry about getting stain all over the walls.

We then installed the 1″ by 2″ wood on the walls in order to support the shelves. Be careful to make sure that it is level!

We also glued and tacked a 1″ by 2″ onto the front of our 1″ x 10″ shelf to give it a nice front edge and also hid the supports from view.

Lastly we simply placed the shelves on their supports and we were finished! We plan on gluing them down, but at this point it doesn’t seem like there is much of a point.

Installing a Garbage Disposer

There are two reasons why someone would need to know how to install a garbage disposer. The first is that they currently don’t have one. The other reason is that the one they have needs to be replaced. Whichever one of these reasons you happen to be motivated by, I have a very good piece of advice for you. Now listen carefully because it will save you time and money. Ready? Here it is: Let go of the idea that you need a garbage disposer because you don’t need one. Try this instead: Use an actual garbage can to discard your solid pieces of food. It’s easy. Simply place a real garbage can near the sink and before you wash off your plate with water, scrape off the contents into the garbage. Now pause and ask yourself: How hard was that? How much time did it take to put a garbage can near the sink? How much money is a garbage can compared to a garbage disposer? See, I told you I could save you time and money. However, if you really have a burning desire to install a garbage disposer then I will tell you and hopefully by the end of this process you will have acquired the wisdom that a garbage can truly is the most cost effective method to dispose of wasted food and garbage.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you have a mailbox that is mounted on a wood or metal post and it is leaning then you are in the right place. If you have a brick mailbox then the following won’t apply to you.

A mailbox is the first thing people see when looking for you house. If you are trying to sell your house then your mailbox may be the buyer’s first impression and if it is leaning it may speak poorly of the condition of your house as well.

Mailboxes end up leaning from a variety of causes, but are all due to poor or incorrect installation. If your mailbox is exposed to a lot of wind and other severe weather then it will need to be installed in a sturdier way than if it is installed in a mild climate with little wind.

The best way to fix your mailbox is to take it out of the ground and start over. There is no real trick to removing a mailbox other than taking to time to dig it out. Once removed you can see what type of installation was used. If the post was simply pushed into the ground then it is fairly easy to see why it ended up leaning. Even a small child could push over a mailbox without a foundation.

Once you have the mailbox and post removed then we will focus on prepping the hole. Your hole needs to be at least a foot and a half deep and up to a foot in diameter. Keep in mind that your mailbox needs to be the right height for the postman or else he/she can opt to not deliver your mail. Generally mailboxes need to be between 41-45″ from the ground. With your hole dug down to the appropriate height add a few inches of gravel to the hole. This will help improve drainage and will help to prevent rust or rot from occurring. Now place your post in the hole and add a few inches of dirt and a time making sure to level the post and stomp the dirt down in place after every few inches. Once the hole is filled back in you will have a vertical mailbox that should stand up to a decent amount of wind and weather.

If your mailbox is leaning and it already has a concrete base, this implies that the base was not large enough. In this case, or if you want to be absolutely sure that your mailbox will not lean in the future, you will still need to remove the mailbox, widen the hole place the mailbox post back in the hole and add concrete around the base of the post. You will want to double the size of the base in order to assure that it won’t lean any more. Even though it is hard work, it is better to do it right the first time than have to fix it later.

With your mailbox standing straight up it will no longer be an eyesoar.