Some cost saving do it yourself fix methods
By John Potter
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| Don’t let leaky valves intimidate you |
Sometimes the fact that a valve under the sink is leaking is obvious, but if you have a drip and you have replaced the feed line to the faucet the valve is likely the source. This is what just happened to me.
Fixing leaks and squeaks by replacing valve parts
By John Potter
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| Valve stems during testing to see if they leak….they don’t |
If you have water dripping from one of the valves in your shower or tub, or the handles make a distracting noise when you turn the water on or off, one of the many washers, seats or rings in your valve may be worn out. It’s a little bit of work to replace the parts, but not rocket science. As far as any lack of self confidence goes…I figure if things get out of hand during the process I will call the plumber, have him use my parts and be no worse off. I have replaced several of these now though and never had to call a plumber yet.
Installing baseboards, chair rails and crown molding
By John Potter
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I’m going to go in order of simplicity starting with baseboard installation, but first let’s go over the things that apply to all of these different types of molding. Of course the first step is to measure the perimeter of the room to determine the amount of material you will need. When you purchase the material be sure to get some extra. There are always the mistakes you make, but you also want to avoid having anymore pieces (pieced end to end) of molding running down a wall than necessary, but this can happen if all you have left is the scraps from previous cuts. Buying an extra stock length or two should be enough for most cases.
Preparing for a tile floor installation
By John Potter
I’m frequently asked how to layout tile for installation by friends who know I do my own home improvement. It’s not really that difficult. You just have to decide which two spots, from opposite angles are most important to you, and then make a cross in the middle of the room that aligns with what you want.
The making of a 360 degree mural
By John Potter
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In 2006 I was in kind of a home improvement kick.
One idea I had was to do something with this hallway/vestibule/wasted space in my house. There was no way any furniture was ever going into this space, so I figured this meant a blank canvas no one can block. The only thing was that the space was small and had five doorways leading out of it. This pretty much determined that any design would have to be very specific to the space. It meant that there would need to be a lot of insinuation that made your mind fill in the blanks. Basically there was little space to put paint on, but the space was small, so that little bit of paint needed to make your brain think about big spaces. Of course I could have made it claustrophobic on purpose, but I wanted something with mass appeal and not just something very personal or artsy.
Step by step process of the creation of a mural
By John Potter
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| Finished sketch |
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| Ensuring proper measurements for the space |
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| Final product |
See a gallery of the creation of this mural Step By Step
When I bought my home there was a huge blank wall right at the end of my swimming pool on my patio. It made you feel kind of like you were swimming into a wall, or you were in some kind of compound. This was the perfect place for a mural.
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