Category: DIY

Posted in DIY, Home improvement

The real never-ending story: home upkeep

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We recently stayed in an Airbnb condo just outside of Dallas, Texas. It weighed in at just under one thousand square feet, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a well-equipped kitchen, and a really comfortable living room. It was part of a four-plex that this owner had remodeled with nice wood-inspired flooring, new appliances, and a nice deck out back.

As one who does a lot of my own home upkeep, I immediately noticed that all the rocker-style light switches worked, but were incorrectly installed. Some pushed in too far. A few were upside down. Others were crooked. A couple were beginning to crack.

On top of that, a number of the wall outlets were upside down, too. This is easy to spot because the ground is at the top rather than the bottom of each plug outlet. Not a big deal until we moved a nightlight/scented wax plug-in. Upside down, it left a little puddle of wax. Not cool.

Every time I walked in and switched on a light, I thought, “If I had my tools, I could fix this.” I would never start working on someone’s house unless I had broken something. But it would be tempting.

In the master bedroom, the ceiling fan was blowing upwards rather than down. This is great in the winter when you want to circulate hot air down in the room. But not so much once the weather turns warm and you want to feel some breeze. No problem. I stood up on the bed and searched around for the switch that changes the fan direction. No switch.

I saw the remote control on the wall and thought, “Oh, there must be a way to change the direction with that.” I jumped down and fiddled with that for a while. No luck. I looked up the remote online. There was supposed to be a little button on the back to change the fan direction. Nope. Maybe it’s under this little sticker. Nice try. But no button. I gave up on that project.

I always notice these little things. I figure, if you’re going to spend the time and money to remodel a place, you might as well do it or get it done right. The new floors and baseboards were all nicely replaced. The walls were professionally textured and painted. The appliances, fixtures, furniture, and decor was all nicely put together. Why not finish the job?

I’m going to quit now because there is always something in my own home that needs to be cleaned, touched up, straightened, or replaced. Home upkeep is the real never ending story.

Posted in DIY

An easy AC fix (this time)

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Does it feel hot in here?”

Three days into our five day stay at an Airbnb in Rowlett, Texas, the air just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t that hot outside. Highs in the seventies. And I could hear the air conditioner running. But I could tell something wasn’t right.

Last night was uncomfortable. I kicked off the covers several times. A quick glance at the thermostat confirmed my suspicions. The temperature was set for 72, but the room was at 76.

What should I do? I could call the host. It’s their place, their problem. But I wasn’t that uncomfortable. Maybe there’s a simpler solution.

I went out back to see if the compressor was running. It wasn’t. I know enough to know that’s a problem. Next stop: the circuit breaker panel. I walked out into the garage, but found no breaker box. What about the closet where the hot water heater was? Nothing. A storage closet. Nope. Hallway closet? Bingo.

I opened the door to find labels on all the breakers. How nice. And sure enough, the compressor breaker was tripped. When I reset it, I heard the compressor kick on. Yes!

I listened closely over the next two days, and was thankful that everything worked as it should. I let the host know so she could have it checked out.

I love troubleshooting and fixing problems like this in the places where we stay. I’ve fixed gates, windows, and toilets in the past. I want to be the kind of guest you want to have in your short-term rental.

Posted in DIY

Rehabbing my grill and saving a bunch of money

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A long time ago, I decided I would not spend much money on a grill that was just going to rust out and end up on the curb in a couple of years. So I bought a relatively inexpensive one along with a decent cover from Covermates. Four years later, I’m still using my four-burner Nexgrill from Home Depot. It’s lasted longer than any other I’ve owned.

But nothing lasts forever. The innards were rusty and barely hanging together. Do I spend money on parts? Or on a new grill?

When I checked to see if I could get parts, I found a whole replacement pack for forty bucks. It included 4 burners, 4 heat plates and 4 ignitors. Sweet. Thanks to Amazon, it arrived a few days later.

Once I removed the rusted out pieces, I wiped out years of grease from the inside. I was amazed at how much had accumulated in there. All the replacement parts then fit perfectly. It looked and worked a whole lot better.

The ignitors presented a puzzle. The new connecting wires would plug right in if I could figure out how to get the old wires out. I watched a few unhelpful YouTube videos and decided to go for it. I grabbed one with pliers and yanked on it. Once it was out, I could see exactly how to plug the new one in. Piece of cake.

Anytime I can rehab and old grill and save a few hundred dollars is a good day. I grill meat just about every day, so it’s always a good investment.

Posted in DIY

Those wood stickers aren’t going to fool anyone

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I had no problem assembling a small writing desk for what used to be our front bedroom. In fact, I challenged myself to put it together without looking at the instructions. I’ve built enough pieces from IKEA and Wayfair to know what to expect when I open the box.

As expected I found a packet of screws, cams, and wooden dowels inside the box. Fifteen minutes later, I was finished except for one last step. The manufacturer included several sheets of stickers that someone thought looked like wood to cover up the metal screws visible on the back of the desk.

The stickers didn’t match the color of the desk. The grain didn’t match the laminate covering the desk surfaces. I stuck them on anyway. Maybe from a distance they wouldn’t look too bad.

From a distance my wife said, “That’s ugly.” Those stickers won’t fool anyone. And they weren’t that sticky, either, already starting to peel away.

Forget that. On to plan B. I’ll paint them black to match the black trim around the top and legs of the desk. I brushed some black acrylic craft paint over the bare metal. Perfect.

I wonder who came up with the idea of fake wood stickers? There are plenty for sale online. How many people use them? How many people actually like them? I’ll bet the workers in China chuckle as they pack these in the boxes destined for American homes.

Posted in DIY

Little Gray Box

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The other day, I noticed that my “Little Gray Box” water heater timer sounded different than usual. Actually, it hardly makes any noise at all, so the rhythmic throbbing sound coming through the wall informed me it was replacement time. I had installed this one at least fifteen years ago, so I got some good life out of it.

I foolishly headed right out to Home Depot to get a new one. I say foolishly because I forgot to look closely at the one on the wall, so I knew for sure what I needed to buy. When I arrived at Home Depot, I asked a friendly man standing at the main entrance in an orange apron, “Where are the water heater timers?” He sent me towards the water heater aisle, but that’s not where the timers are. I got on my phone to see what was in stock, and the app sent me towards the electrical aisle. It took a few minutes, but I finally found them on the bottom shelf. The thing is, there were about six different ones to choose from. They all looked pretty much the same, but were designed for assorted voltages and current, and I wasn’t 100% sure what I needed. Sigh. I went back home, took a look at what was on the wall, ordered the exact same one on Amazon and had it in hand the next day.

I was pretty happy when I opened the box. It was exactly the same one. So I didn’t even have to take the old box off the wall. Just swap out the guts. Yes, I turned off the circuit breakers. I also poked around with my current tester just to be sure. Even though I’ve done it before, I feel nervous working around wires delivering 220 volts. I double checked everything, then took a picture so I would know how to reconnect the wires. I said a little prayer, checked for current again, unhooked the old timer, connected the new one, said another prayer, and flipped the breaker back on. Worked like a charm!

I suppose I would be a little more confident if I were an electrician and worked with stuff like this every day. Or I could be really confident and just hire an electrician!