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For a free estimate call 704-399-1102  or  email homedoc@carolina.rr.com

Serving these counties in NC: North Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln

Since 1986 Carl Votik has been providing professional remodeling and home repairs for his customers. He can help make changes to bathrooms, kitchens, and general remodeling. He specializes in ceramic tile installation, carpentry, sheetrock installation/repairs to help you turn your home into a “dream home”. This NARI Certified Remodeler brings old-fashioned quality to your job and your latest project.

Take the center hinge pin out. Place it on a hard surface like the garage floor or the driveway. With a hammer, gently tap the center of the pin to put a slight bend in the pin. Be careful to avoid tapping so hard that the pin bends too much. Once you have achieved a slight deflection in the pin put it back into the hinge. You will need the hammer to drive it into place because of the bend.

The deflection in the pin causes just enough friction to keep the door from swinging on its own.

Still, lots of people want to know how to tell if they have oil or latex base paint on the wall. A simple way to tell is to take denatured alcohol and apply it to a small inconspicuous spot. If the paint dissolves it is latex. If it is unaffected by the alcohol it is an oil base product. That’s easy enough.

Here are a couple other things to remember:

· When you want a nice hard finish that will resist dents and dings an oil base product or enamel is best.

· If you are painting outside or somewhere that will be subject to significant temperature variation use a latex base product. These products are much more “flexible” once they cure and they handle the expansion and contraction associated with temperature change much better than an oil product which cures to a hard rigid finish.

· If you are painting over an oil base product or a latex product that has a gloss sheen you should sand the surface prior to applying primer. This will “knock” the gloss off and improve the adhesion of the paint.

· If you are going over an oil product that is on the outside of a home with a latex product we recommend priming. In addition you should make sure that any area where the oil paint has cracked or peeled is repaired by sanding and priming.

· Remember to sand the edges of spots that have peeled and fill them back in with an exterior spackle so the rough edges do not “telegraph” through the new coat of paint.

Rest assured that nothing has died in the plumbing. What has happened is evaporation. All plumbing fixtures are designed with a trap that holds water. The purpose of this trap, in addition to catching the occasional earring or ring, is to create a seal between the living space and the foul sewer gas that is in the sewer lines. If a fixture goes a long time without being used the water evaporates allowing the sewer gas into the room. You will find that just running the water and allowing the trap to fill up again will solve the problem.

Sometimes this phenomenon occurs in a fixture that is frequently used. In this situation you may want to check for a venting problem in the plumbing. Sometimes improper or blocked venting will cause a vacuum effect that draws the water out of the trap allowing the sewer gas in.

Here is a quick diagnostic step you can take. Turn the faucet on and then press the lever to turn the spray on. If the water stream through the faucet does not shut off or decrease significantly and if the pressure at the spray head is low the problem is probably not the spray head. It is likely the diverter. The diverter is a small device that is located at the base of the faucet and accessible from under the sink. It can also be located at the base of the faucet and can be accessed by taking the base of the faucet off.

The problem with the diverter is usually very simple. It is often a matter of some debris from the water line lodging in the diverter. A paper clip or large safety pin will do the trick to eliminate the debris and the spray should be good to go.

This is not an unsolvable problem. You can purchase a “spacer” that can be attached to the existing floor flange so the surface of the flange is level to the surface of the floor. These spacers can be stacked if needed.

Neither David nor I have actually tried this method but if you are a regular listener to the show you know we apply some basic rules of commons sense, a little physics, a little chemistry and a little experience to the situations we encounter before offering an opinion. When we did that with the fabric softener as wallpaper remover concept it passed the test. First, Fabric softener is more viscous than many wallpaper removers so it clings to the wall better and thus can be more effective. Second, it has less water in it than most wallpaper removers and steam so as it works it does not cause the face veneer of the wallpaper to separate from the backing, which is what causes the remnants of wallpaper to stick to the wall. Finally fabric softeners act like a surfactant. That’s fifty cent word but if you look it up at Dictionary.com it will tell you that a surfactant is: “A substance that, when dissolved in water, lowers the surface tension of the water and increases the solubility of organic compounds. Surfactants are used in inks to increase the effects of capillary action; detergents are surfactants that help remove organic compounds from a substance by making them dissolve more readily in the water in which the substance is washed.”1 If you think about fabric softener from this perspective it is a natural solution (No pun intended) for wallpaper removal. So when you’re faced with the need to “Take it all off” we say “Go for it”… the fabric softener that is.

Now, for those of you who have the white spot on your floor, do not fret. In a previous tip of the week we told you how to take water spots off of furniture. The same process will work here.

In the past when it came to painting your home’s interior walls you had to make a choice between using a flat paint and a semi-gloss or “higher sheen” finish. You were forced to this crossroads because you wanted a finish that would resist dirt better and be more durable if scrubbed. In choosing the higher sheen you got dirt resistance and scrub-ability but you settled for a less pleasing visual effect. While the semi-gloss paints take more abuse they also show every small defect in the wall’s surface. Flat paint on the other hand is typically more pleasing in most rooms of the home and it hides small inconsistencies in the surface of the wall.

Good news. Glidden® has a great new product, Glidden Evermore™ Super Washable Flat Paint. (Before we go on you should know that Glidden has not paid us to make these observations). Glidden® uses special polymers that repel stains. As a result the stain does not penetrate the surface of the paint making them easier to scrub away without affecting the color or sheen of the paint.

You can get more information about Evermore™ Super Washable Flat Paint at www.Glidden.com.