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Quick Fixes, Hints and Tips around the home:
Doors are often a problem. Sticking doors (catching around the frame - especially the bottom or step area) is common. Rather than sanding (which will remove the protective paint or varnish layers as well as some wood) it is best to check out the state of the hinge screws first. Unless the hinges are very worn (in which case replace them), then use a well fitting screwdriver (that covers the complete slot-width, to get the most torque to the screw head), and see if any of the screws will tighten up. Even one eighth of a turn can make quite a difference, especially if ALL or most of the screws tighten up a bit. When both sides of the hinge are done, start again from the top once more, since tightening a few, will allow other screws to tighten a bit more.
Quick fix to install a floor mounted cabinet in a tiled bathroom: If you did not want to drill you tiles behind it, and the back is smooth and shiny (stainless steel is particularly good) - use very wide (50mm is best) VELCRO fastening material, the sort on a continuous roll. Cover as much of the back as you can, and also apply the second layer, and remove the backing. Then offer the unit as straight as possible back to the wall area where it should go and push until it makes contact with all the sticky tape. This will need a lot of force to remove, but at least if you want to change things around, you will not have any tiles to replace! It goes without saying, that this method is NOT for wall mounted cabinets - it is for floor standing ones only, that you want to stay put!
Uses for a roofing square: These tools make very good “marking out” squares and straight edges for cutting against, but you can also use one to check that you have bent your 15mm copper pipe to a true square for instance.
Expanding foam: this can be used to fill small long gaps, or quite large ones. It is very handy for filling voids in loft brickwork, that is hard to get to. Be careful as some types will expand up to 50 times the volume. It can also be used to “fill in” behind plasterboard, where you might want to insert resin to aid stronger fixings (the foam once cured, will prevent the resin falling where you don’t want it to). Of course, large items can be hung using 75mm combination wallplugs, that will also anchor into the breeze-block behind the plasterboard. The expanding foam will also help to prevent plasterboard distortion when items like radiator brackets might be over-tightened.
Uses for Duct Tape (Gaffer tape), and double sides tapes: the types made to BS3887 can be used to fit back-plates behind gas fires, but other types can be used to temporarily repair things like tents, cardboard boxes, tool boxes etc. Occasionally I have used it to hold together wooden pieces that needed some rough sawing (but I would not recommend it for accurate work). It can also be used to stick paint brushes to broom staves, for those awkward to reach painting jobs. This wide tape is also available as clear double-sided, and is very handy to stick carpet edges down, or small pieces in awkward places like wardrobes. It could also be used instead of double sided hook and loop tapes, where thickness is a problem.
Uses for an “Air Duster” (compressed air can): ensure you get the non-flammable formula, as this will give you more flexibility in using it. I have used these to clean camera lenses, keyboards, and even awkward to clean chandeliers. These can also be used to clear dust from awkward corners and crevices in furniture, and even in the garage or workshop when drilling blind holes that need clearing (wear eye-protection when doing this of course).
Superglue Hints: if you need a lot of this, the smaller tubes work out expensive, so check if you can get a 50 gram bottle, instead of the 15 or 20 gram. At some sites, the 50 gram bottle only works out at 45p or 50p dearer.
Gardening Hints:
There are often times when you need a large open container to put items in quickly in many gardening or clear-up jobs. Rubble bags are often difficult to keep open and use, but Gorilla Tubs look very handy. These are available from CPC or AMAZON and other tool suppliers.
Garage Quick Fixes, Hints and Tips:
If you need to ensure you pick up all swarf and dropped nails from DIY jobs in the garage, you can either purchase a “magnetic sweeper” device for this purpose (seen on the CPC site), or make your own from an old sweeping brush, and a few old magnets. The purchased one has 75mm diameter wheels, but any reasonable size will do that get you close enough to pick up the majority of iron and steel debris. The purchased one is about £11 from CPC, but still a lot cheaper than replacing a punctured car tyre!
Miscellaneous Quick Fixes:
I mentioned magnets in a previous quick-fix. If you have any old magnetic door catches, don’t throw them away, remove the magnets and glue them to a round plastic base, about the size of your wrist. The flat part of a plastic top from a used de-icer aerosol would be ideal. Cut 2 slots near the outer part opposite each other with a modelling knife or Dremel style drill, and feed some Velcro through it. This can then be quickly attached to your wrist. This is then an ideal magnetic holder for screws, nails and small drills or bits, if you are on steps for instance, leaving both hands free to work until ready for the screws etc. This will NOT work with brass screws of course, only steel items. I see that DURATOOL make an “Armband Wrist Magnet” for this use, for about £2 (at CPC and other suppliers).
SOLVENTS and CLEANERS: I imagine many of you have an old VCR that you have got rid of, due to the almost universal take-up and rental of DVD’s. Now some people may have the head-cleaning solution still around. Do NOT throw it away - most of them contain IPA (No NOT the Beer) but it is Iso-Propyl Alcohol. This is a very good, general purpose solvent and cleaner, that is very kind to most plastics. It cleans and degreases quite well. I used some recently to unstick a sticky control button on one of those picture frame viewers (it was stuck in, making the picture display hang). This sort of thing can happen with any electrical item that has buttons. This will NOT work with membrane key-pads, but for TV controls you can often split the cases apart, and remove the rubber membrane. They often get sticky and greasy inside, stopping some buttons working. I have cleaned these membrane sheets in the past, with a combination of washing-up liquid under the tap, drying off, then cleaning the black conductive pads (and the PCB contact areas as well) with VCR head-cleaning fluid.
ELECTRICS: If you have an intermittent plug or socket, it is very easy to check out a plug-top (if it is the replaceable sort), check the fuse for being in good condition, and not loose in the clips, and that all the wires are correctly positioned in the plug pins, and the screws are tight. However, unless you really know what you are doing, and are a qualified electrician, checking a socket can be dangerous. However, there are many basic socket testers on the market that can tell you if a socket is working OK or not, and you just plug it in like any appliance, and check the lights, as per the instructions. You can even get professional quality ones that can tell you if there are faults in the live, earth or neutral. The basic ones start at about £10 (product IN0220610 from CPC), and a professional quality one for about £15 (Product IN0220810 also from CPC). Don’t forget that intermittent breaks in mains leads can be traced easily and safely by using a non-contact detector, like the N10BY seen on the MAPLIN page. At this time of year any one of those items would be a perfect small gift or stocking filler for your spouse or dad.
SHOWER HOSES: If a shower hose is very light, it is likely to be flimsy, and will not last long. The picture below shows a low-quality hose, and when the spiral cover breaks, the exposed rubber internal hose is very thin, and will rupture in a short time with power-shower pumps. These are very easy to replace, and it is one of the easiest minor plumbing jobs to do. Make sure you replace the sealing washers with the new ones supplied. A good quality wide-bore type is the best to go for, and spend at least £20 if you want it to last!
MORE TO FOLLOW SOON!
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