Home Projects & Repair

We just got new carpet installed and quickly realized we had a problem.  While I do not want to admit it, we bought our carpet from Home Depot and had it installed by them.  They explicitly said in the work contract that they would not trim doors.  Unfortunately for us the new carpet is much more plush than the previous carpet and we had several doors that no longer closed.

Fortunately though, trimming doors is not a difficult task.  For this job you will need the following tools:

• Sawhorse
• Circular Saw
• A straight edge longer than door width
• Masking Tape
• Small Piece of Scrap Wood
• Utility Knife
• A couple of 3″ C-Clamps

Your kitchen serves as more than just a place to prepare meals, as it is a location where you store food and in many cases, a haven where you eat and enjoy your food. Along with any food preparation process always come the issue of cleanliness and sanitation. Because kitchen surfaces like tables and countertops are prone to dirt and bacteria, there is a need to select the best ones to install in your kitchen. Furthermore, you need to consider the durability of your countertop. Not just any type of material will do.

Even more on choosing, countertops also accentuate your kitchen, and they are a design aspect that should not be taken too lightly. You don’t just look at the color of your countertop, but you must also select the most appropriate material that your kitchen countertop will be made of, as well as the costs and how you are to install it. What are your options for kitchen surfaces these days? Which is the best to use if you are after cost or durability? To answer these queries, given below are some examples, along with the description and advantages they offer.

(more…)

There are two things that most people don’t know about their toilet which can actually save you a little bit of trouble.  These two things have to do with the two screws on top of the ballcock.  The ballcock is the long tube that is to the left of the tube in the middle of the tank.

The first screw is usually metal and is located near the rod coming out of the ballcock.  This screw controls how quickly the tank fills up.  A clockwise twist slows down the water and counter clock-wise lets the water in faster.  You may ask, why do I care how fast the tank fills up?  Mainly this is to do with noise.  If the running water noise is too loud, then give the screw a twist and your toilet will be quieter.  Never deal with a loud noisy toilet again!

The second screw is generally a larger plastic screw.  This screw is located right in the center on top of the ballcock.  It controls the water level inside of the tank.  Most people resort to bending the float rod to adjust the water level often leading to inconsistent results or even a broken float rod.  A simple turn of this screw will adjust the float level.

A lot can go wrong with a toilet, and toilets are probably the last thing in your house that you want to deal with.  In this article we will discuss the various different places where your toilet can leak or run and give you some new vocabulary words so that you can solve the problem.

1.  Leaks around the base of the toilet.  

  Leaks around the base of the toilet on the floor are generally due to a bad seal of the wax ring on the closet ring.  The wax ring is a wax ring that seals the toilet to the closet ring.  The closet ring is the part of the piping that coming out of the floor that the toilet sits on.  A leak hear is not pleasant, especially since the leaking water is going to be dirty.

(more…)