Some Tips & Tricks For Your House

"One must be wise to seek advice."  D. J. Huggett

Hope you find some of these tips useful or even amusing.  You may even have used some yourself.

Make sure to check out the bottom link box to Kitchen Tips & Tricks

Below - my homemade

"Carpet Kicker"  and my

"Drywall Tape Dispenser"

The axle is an old caulking tube, cut to length.  For my "Electrical Box Mould"

just melt a piece of clear plastic over it in an oven or with a heat gun for a perfect box cover, to seal boxes in ceilings under attics, although getting the proper plastic and applying the right amount of heat may be a challenge.

Right - some leftover Central Vac tubing installed in the living room wall.  The Samsung 65" TV will be installed over the top hole and the wires fed down and out the bottom hole to the outlets and receivers, giving a clean "no wires showing" look.  See bottom of My House Finishing page.

Door Knob Pockets

 

Above and right show how I solved the problem of door handles punching holes in walls.  Even with a working doorstop, the opposite handle protruded out so much that I often bumped into it, breaking the doorstop and punching a hole in the wall.  I pondered this problem for days, checking stores for "dipping and finger bowls" or anything a door handle could go into, but nothing was perfect.  While drinking a cup of coffee after cutting ceramic tiles I had an "aha!" moment.  I used a coffee cup.  I cut the handle off (with my tile saw) then cut a hole in the wall, glued the side and base of the cup and pressed it into the hole.  The base attaches to the inside of the adjacent wall making a strong permanent solution.  Right - The door opens flush with the wall as the handle goes into the cup.

"The harder I work, the luckier I get."

Samuel Goldwyn

Save Electricity on Hot Water  →

 

If you have an electric water heater and pay less for "off peak" electricity use, you can reduce your hydro bill by just heating your water during these times, usually at night and weekends, by installing a 240V, 7 day timer (from Home Depot). I've used one for years and find that the hot water heated at night lasts all day during week days and there is no difference on weekends (of course) as the timer is always "on".

← Most contractors just stuff a rag in the toilet flange to keep the sewer gases out while waiting for the toilet to be installed. This child's ball (from Dollarama) works even better, - makes a perfect seal and can't fall into the hole

 

Drywall Tape Dispenser, clamped to a long board with a tape measure and ready to use.  After cutting it to length, I soak the tape in a pail of  water then strain it well between two fingers so that it is just damp.

  I use the All-Purpose drywall compound (mud) then dump it into an old paint pail and add about a cup or so, of water. Some add a squirt or more of Dawn dish soap to make it even smoother.

← Clamp a piece of cardboard around the top to catch the spatter and mix it well with a drill powered paint mixer.  This thinner mix is easier and smoother to apply, sticks better to the drywall and makes finer edges easier that require less sanding.

Right - How to get an exact measurement of an inside wall using two tape measures.  Pick an even number on one tape and then add the number on the other tape that lines up with the even number.  Shown here in the office closet (to get the shelf size).  I used this method in my kitchen to get the exact size, between the two walls, for the granite countertop.

Inexpensive wine coolers don't have cooling fans and they almost touch the floor so they are not designed to be "built in" between cabinets.  I raised mine by machining these stainless steel feet extensions then attaching the original feet to them.  Matches cabinet height better and aids in cooling.  There is also a 3/4 inch space on either side of the cooler and four inches of space behind the cabinets.  Like the fridge, the floor underneath is also open to the basement.

Right:  My 12 volt battery backup system in the basement utility room.  The "wired" batteries' charge is maintained by the 2.5W solar panel, mounted in the basement window (below) and they power five 12V LED fixtures throughout the house.  See bottom of My House Finishing page for switch location.

 

The system is super convenient, especially during a sudden nighttime blackout.

No more searching for flashlights, batteries, candles, etc. or relying solely on your "at hand" smartphone.  The five 12V LED fixtures that I bought from Amazon in 2015 work extremely well, lighting each area with a brightness (lumens) similar to a 25W incandescent bulb.  There are many choices available today from Amazon, search - "12 volt led lights RV".

The 12V LED fixture over the antique clock, above the staircase, is off.  The 120V three bulb fixture uses 3 watt LED chandelier bulbs and shares the same breaker as the 120V wired smoke detector, helping 

(with its battery) to alert you to a tripped breaker.

My old barn/garage ceiling was too low to install the rails and power unit so I shortened the chain, bought a sprocket, custom built the brackets and installed it as shown.  The bottom light bulb was removed and a socket plug adapter installed.  The white extension cord goes to the middle of the garage where a hanging light socket is plugged into it.

The only "doorstop" required is a felt pad on the baseboard.  It works even better than I expected.  I was surprised that I couldn't find any other similar solutions on the Internet,

(in 2014) although there were many sites on how to repair door handle hole damage.

A money saving tip.  When the light bulb in my three year old GE Dryer burned out, I checked on Amazon.ca (left) for an exact replacement. Then I checked the bulb size from some holiday light packs I already had, from the Dollar Store - my photo at right.  The smaller bulbs from the bottom pack had the same base as my dryer bulb and the bulbs at the left. (far left pic is enlarged)  Although the original bulb was 10 watts, the 5 watt bulb (below right) has worked perfectly for over 7 years, it's just not quite as bright - but suits me fine and it cost 25 cents.  There are many more choices (including 7W) at different times from different Dollar Stores and some of them may also replace your Microwave, Old Fridge, Sewing Machine bulbs, etc...

Have you ever lost pressure in any of your spray cans, but there is still liquid left inside. Instead of throwing them out, just press a rubber tipped air nozzle from a compressor (@120psi) firmly into the can's nozzle and press both "buttons" at the same time for a few seconds. Works just like new again.

If you've ever had trouble with plastic bags of groceries sliding all around the floor of your van, (especially with the seats removed) and items rolling out, or in the trunk or your car, etc., then an old inner tube just partially filled with air, works great. I've used the one below for years and throw the old blanket over, with cold items.  When not holding groceries, it doesn't move or bang around, is less conspicuous and takes up less room than boxes and bins, etc..

Below Right:  A 1" schedule 40 pipe is used as a curtain rod (and clothes bar in bedrooms) mounted into two 1 5/16" holes, one in the kitchen cabinet and the other in the closet wall, precluding the need for any curtain rod brackets.

← 12V solar panel in a south facing basement window. I bought it on sale at Canadian Tire in 2008 for $9.95 - regular price, $14.95

There are many more choices on Amazon, Princess Auto and Harbor Freight USA.  They are often called, "Solar Battery Charge Maintainers", 1.5 to 2.5 watts only needed for this type of application.