Do It Yourself

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  • LisaSDCA
    LisaSDCA Member Posts: 2,230
    edited February 2008

    Hey, Rocktobermom - did you have some Dad-assisted plumbing success this weekend?

    Jaybird - if I had seen 11" of snow in four days I think I would have stayed in bed with a mug of hot cocoa all weekend!

    Here in So. CA, we're supposed to prune our roses back in Jan. to instill a false dormancy. Mine have been blooming like crazy and I couldn't do it until I got some new, more protectve gloves. So finally, I did nine of them on Sat. - a month late. It rained on Sunday. I've got fourteen more to go. That's if I don't prune my climbers. Maybe I should have hired someone last month; some of these bushes have thorns that could take out a buffalo. But no, that do-it-myself streak kicked in. Now I'm thinking I need a nice new pair of pruners. $$$ - can't do that!

    Lisa

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Lisa, Dad comes over NEXT weekend and my tools and supplies and thick mat are all under the laundry room sink so we have no excuse to put it off.  I also have to re-glue the wallpaper since the constant movement between the wall and sink has pulled some of it loose ... I keep my broom in that spot.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Lisa....Maybe you can hire yourself a gardener like the one Gaby Solis had in Desperate Housewives?

    I washed my car yesterday. That's it. Wink

    ~Marin

  • LuAnnH
    LuAnnH Member Posts: 8,847
    edited February 2008

    my 19 year old taught me a neat trick on oil spots on cement outside from your car.  Take your common kitchen powder cleanser (comet or dollar store brand) and sprinkle it on the spot.  The cleanser will absorb the oil over time, between rain and outside weather the cleanser and oil disappear.  I was shocked at that neat little trick.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    That's a good one Luann, you can also put kitty litter on it and it will do the same thing... I used to step on it to help it out a bit!!

  • Traci-----TripNeg
    Traci-----TripNeg Member Posts: 2,298
    edited February 2008

    PS It cracked me up that you thought Marin was going to think this thread was about something else.

    I know.... a little late but, I just remembered. Gimme' a break! LOL!

    Hugs, Traci

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Hey, I STILL occasionally look at it and think...'huh, we already have a MOJO thread, so why another one just for solo sex?' Laughing

    Anyway, you guys, I have a question that is even difficult to formulate, but this bugs me so much and I'm wondering if anyone knows a cheap way to fix it or cover it up. I have a gas fireplace in my living room that has a floor-level, marble hearth. The carpet comes right up to the marble and there are no metal strips or anything covering the transition from carpet to stone. Well, my cats have just loved making every effort to claw up the carpet right at that juncture and in three places! So I have three areas where there are "holes" in the carpet....not bad, but noticeable, for sure. Currently, I cover the area with a throw rug (couldn't find a large, heavy wedge-shaped one, but would love one of those). There is also an area in my foyer where the carpeted hallway ends and the hardwood floored foyer begins and they're starting to claw away at that too. Of course, I don't let them do this when I'm home, but I'm hardly ever at home.

    What would you do in these areas? I've had exes who were gonna do this, that, and whatever, but never did.....Come to think of it, two of them said they'd fix the leg on my dining room table too....it's so broken, I have to prop the whole table against a wall.

    I'm so helpless, but don't want to be! Help a sister out, ya'll!

    ~Marin

  • Traci-----TripNeg
    Traci-----TripNeg Member Posts: 2,298
    edited February 2008

    Hey girl,

    I would go to home depot and create a base around the fire place with some nice wood.

    And...they have breezeway fixes for the foyer.

    And.......fix that table leg your self sister! Turn that bad boy upside down, get yourself some Goop or wood cement and glue that thing together!

    There you go! My job here is done.

    : ) Traci

  • LisaSDCA
    LisaSDCA Member Posts: 2,230
    edited February 2008

    Declaw the cats?

    SurprisedWink

    Lisa

    a true dog person

  • LisaSDCA
    LisaSDCA Member Posts: 2,230
    edited February 2008

    Seriously, Marin.

    I'm not sure if this is what Traci is speaking of above, but would installing some say, deep cherry wood quarter-round around the perimeter of the hearth help? And then again a cherry threshold strip at the boundary where the carpet meets the hardwood?  You'll need to miter-cut at the two corners on the hearth (not doing across the front of the fireplace itself).

    Of course, there is the option of removing the carpet altogether and just having hardwood. That's got my vote! But I know you are not looking to make any big investments right now.

    Lisa

  • Traci-----TripNeg
    Traci-----TripNeg Member Posts: 2,298
    edited February 2008

    Lisa.....that was funny! (declaw the cats!!) LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

  • BethNY
    BethNY Member Posts: 2,710
    edited March 2008
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    OK, I've recovered from the declawing suggestion (Lisa!), so thank you, you guys, for the ideas. I know that I should really try to do it alone, but since my new guy really wants to help, I may consult him at least. But, oddly, I'd never considered the idea of wood strips, so that could work nicely. Of course, I don't know how to cut them or nail them down (or whatever you do to get them adhered)...is there something you're not telling me?

    ~Marin

  • Bugs
    Bugs Member Posts: 1,719
    edited February 2008

    I want to tile the walls above my tub surround.  Is it as hard as it looks?  I bought a book on tiling this weekend.  It STILL looks confusing.

    Bugs

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Bugs, you can attend the Saturday seminar at Home Depot.  Just ask the information desk and they can tell you when the next one is.  It's not that hard, the cutting is but you can rent a wet saw.  Using the hand one is a PAIN, the tiles crack.  You can draw on the tile where you need them all cut and take them down to Home Depot and they can do that for you if you don't want to rent one.  I think it was 50¢ a cut when I did it.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Marin, with the quarter round, you might want help when you go to lay it down. You can buy the quarter round (decide what size you want) and STAIN it before you lay it down.  You will need a miter saw kit (very cheap and easy to use if you are handy) so that way when the sides come together ( in the L shape) they have to be mitered. You know, cut at opposite angles so they fit.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself for putting my bike rack together correctly and installing it into my receiver! I thought it would be way easier than it was but I had my "can do" attitude with me today.  I needed to use two of my wrenches at the same time to get it all together ... one wrench to hold one end still and the other wrench to turn the nut onto the bolt!!!  But next time it will be sooooo easy to hook it up and go!

    Then my dd and I packed a picnic lunch and went to a huge park for the afternoon!  Came home and unloaded got the rack out of the receiver without a problem!

  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited February 2008

    I am on my own 5 days out of 7 because of dh's job (long haul trucker) so I end up doing a lot of repairs on my own. Last weekend, we were at my Mom-in-laws and she was complaining that one of her storm windows had broken and was rattling. She is recently widowed (her dh did all repairs around the house) and I told her that I could fix it. She wanted my dh to get the ladder to for me to climb on outside to fix them. I told her no, just let me open the window from the inside and check the storm window. The top storm window had come out of the track. I just pulled the screen out, the bottom storm out and the top storm out and replaced all within 5 minutes. She was amazed that I knew how to fix the rattling problem.

    Sheila

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited February 2008

    Woo hoo Sheila!  How do you pull out the screen from the inside?

  • lvtwoqlt
    lvtwoqlt Member Posts: 6,162
    edited February 2008

    I will try to explain it. The type of storm window system she has is a three track system, a track for the screen, a track for the bottom storm window and a track for the top storm window. There are small slide latches (usually grey) on the bottom of each frame that when pushed toward the middle releases the latch on the outer edge of the frame. After the latch has been released the bottom edge of the frame, the frame can be pulled inward and slide the top down the track and taking it out at an angle remove from the window track. You repeat the process for each frame. that is how you remove the screen/and storm window. I have taken mine out for cleaning the inside and outside of the storm windows. to replace you just reverse the process, putting the top window in first, then the bottom window, and the screen.

    This may not work for all storm window systems, it is what my mom has in her house, the church has (Spring cleaning time I do the some of the storm windows), and my house.

    Sheila

  • Jaybird627
    Jaybird627 Member Posts: 2,144
    edited March 2008

    I just had to post that my dad put in my new toilet - while I was out of town!  :) I had the blue stuff in the tank to help identify the leak(s) and now there's blue stuff on my walls and my throw rug is spotted blue (perhaps never to come clean) but my bathroom needs remodeling anyway so maybe I'll just let Avery do her 'artwork' in there on the already ruined walls! ;)

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2008

    J --  I use Goof Off or Goo Gone on almost everything.  My daughter get terrible scuff marks on her shoes and I just use both of them with a rag to get them off. 

    I even used WD-40 on my hands to get spray paint off the other day. I was spray painting a plastic chair (kid size chair, on sale but red, spray paint it black and yippee!) .... got it all over my fingers and didn't have any turpentine or nail polish remover.  WD-40 worked but I think Goof-Off would have worked, too.

    Make sure you use a white rag and blot, blot, blot.  Do not rub and scrub. Must use white so dye from another rag doesn't end up on your rug.

  • BethNY
    BethNY Member Posts: 2,710
    edited March 2008

    http://autos.aol.com/article/auto-repair/_a/eight-great-auto-questions/20070322224109990001

    I read this article this morning.  It's the top questions about cars,how to steer out of a hydroplane, etc... it's fairly quick to read, and worth it.

  • Jaybird627
    Jaybird627 Member Posts: 2,144
    edited March 2008
    Well, I managed to put the toilet lock on by myself today..... Surprised
  • dreamwriter
    dreamwriter Member Posts: 3,255
    edited March 2008

    I can do my lymphedema wrap by myself with only my left hand... and I am right handed.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2008

    Janis, I have the cutest pic of my daughter with her hands in the toilet!!!!!!!  It was too late, hands were in, thankfully, the water was clean and I grabbed my camera!

    Now, the hard part is keeping it closed and locked.

  • Jaybird627
    Jaybird627 Member Posts: 2,144
    edited March 2008

    Well, they do make toilet lids lock for a reason, right? I'm on well and septic so there is no way I can afford Little Miss Avery to flush anything other that what is supposed to be flushed! My new toilet has a plastic (thus lightweight) lid whereas the old one had a wooden (thus heavy) lid so the toilet lock needed to be put on. And as I was doing that she, of course, just had to stick her hands in the bowl...

    I'm glad she likes water (most kids do I'm sure) so bath time is never a problem but now when she finds something to use she'll scoop water out of the dog's bowl and drink it. I never knew having a toddler could be so much fun! YellLaughing

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited March 2008

    Janis, my little brother did that and tried to eat kibble, too!

  • Jaybird627
    Jaybird627 Member Posts: 2,144
    edited April 2008

    Um, today I switched Avery's car seat from rear-facing to forward-facing. It was a bit complicated as the seat is high-end and I had to switch the latches around..... Laughing  Then I decided to attach the tether.....

    Not really a big deal but I did do-it-myself and this thread needed some action so I decided to post..... Tongue out

    Oh, any advice on planting some small (3'?) lilacs? The hole is supposed to be half again as wide as the pot/ball? I suppose I could look it up in a landscaping book.....

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2008

    Jaybird...I think that there may be 2 or 3 lilac buhes in all of NC, so I've no clue about planting them. Lilac is my very favorite scent though and for years, I wore a lilac essential oil by The Body Shop until it was discontinued 2 years ago. I've been seeking a replacement ever since. Anyways, I digress!

    Sooooooo....I want to thank you hardy, self-sufficient girls and credit y'all with my attempt...and success....in "repairing" my dining room table. Over a year ago, one of the legs' wooden braces split and, since then, the leg has been too wobbly to allow full use of the table without my smushing it up to the wall and using the remaining 3 sides. It was downright depressing, but as with many issues I wish to avoid and pretend will magically fix themselves, I just said a good old Scarlett O'Hara "fiddledy-dee" and closed my eyes to the thing. But, I'll admit, I did remember it with each new boyfriend in the hopes that he would ride over on his white horse and do his man-magic and fix it. Well, each guy blustered on about how easily he could and would repair it but, alas, none lifted a finger to do so. Okay, exit the men and I'm left with this effin' table. So today I decided that I was going to come on here and ask you clever babes how to do it myself. But first, I decided, I needed to take an actual look at the leg connection to see how I could describe it. As I'm under the table squinting away, I begin to see the problem and considered a possible solution. It seemed logical, so I removed the split piece of wood and realigned to be caught by the original bolt that first holds the brace and then the actual leg. Then I screwed and bolted them both back in place and HOLY CRAP...the leg stood straight and tight!!!! I moved the table back to its rightful place under the chandelier, put a nice, bright red tablecloth, some pretty placemats and an antique pewter pitcher on top and voila, it looks like a dining room again. I got so psyched that I rearranged all of the furniture in the living room too! Yesssssssssss! I'm loving this self-sufficiency gig!

    ~Marin

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