Do It Yourself (DIY)
Do it yourself tips, projects and fails.
Do it yourself is often born out of necessity. Finding a trustworthy person to do certain tasks at a reasonable price is often difficult.
In some cases, finances dictate that you need to take on a major project by yourself. One example is patching and sealing an deteriorating asphalt driveway. To have it resurfaced by a contractor would cost upwards of 15 thousand dollars which exceeded the available funds. The alternative was to patch and seal it to stabilize it for now.
Filled and unfilled driveway cracks
Other projects are small such as adding a spinner handle on a water shut off valve to speed things up. This is something that requires a bit of ingenuity to conceive and execute.
There are also things you do out of expediency such as using a pipe wrench to straighten bent metal.
The importance of do it yourself during an emergency
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused widespread shutdowns. Homeowners and renters may find themselves with sudden maintenance issues. Can you handle it?
Continue readingUsing a remote meat thermometer to measure HVAC duct temperature.
I needed to get an accurate reading of the air temperature in my ducts when the furnace was running and during the cool down process.
Continue readingAdding insulation to existing forced hot air ducts.
Adding insulation to existing uninsulated forced hot air ducts can significantly reduce your heating costs and extend the life of your HVAC system.
Continue readingThe importance of insulating furnace ducts.
If you have an older home with forced hot air heat and uninsulated ducting, you may be wasting a lot of money on heating
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Monitor a wood stove in another room with a remote thermometer
My wood stove is in the basement and my office is in the breezeway. I found an easy way to keep tabs of the state of the fire.
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Deadly garage door springs
Garage door extension springs can be deadly if they do not have a safety cable. They are under extreme tension.
Continue readingA hack for hanging a garage door opener
Hanging the opener of a garage door can be a little tricky, especially if you are doing the job alone. Here is a quick hack.
Continue readingDriveway Sealing in cooler weather.
Ideally, you should be working in the warmer months. However, if you find yourself in a position where you need to work in cooler temperatures, here are some tricks you can try
Continue readingSealing a worn asphalt driveway – Part 5 – Sealing
The final step in the process is to apply sealer to the driveway. This will help stabilize a badly deteriorated driveway.
Continue readingSealing a worn asphalt driveway – Part 4 – Crack and Pothole Filling
Cracks and Potholes in the driveway need to be filled. This part of the project requires a variety of materials and techniques.
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