Hour 1
Skylight Cover-Up
Leslie recently had her roof replaced and, in the process, removed an old skylight. The roofers simply decked over the hole but the roof there is now sagging a bit. She wants to know how best to reinforce it.
Reducing that sag before the roof is weighed down with winter snow is important, but fortunately not difficult. The key is to add structural support between the rafters beneath the plywood decking. Adding one or two 2 X 4 positioned on edge should do the job. Cut the 2 X 4s to fit tightly between the rafters and secure them with long screws on either side.
A More Formal Front Step
Linda wants to dress up her pre-cast concrete front steps to give her home a more finished appearance. Friends have recommended veneering over them with flagstone but she’s afraid that may pop loose. She wants a better solution.
A low cost, simple solution for this situation is to cover the concrete with a coating that mimics the look of stone. SpreadRock from Daich Coatings is a great example. This product is made with real stone that can be applied with a roller, so it is very DIY friendly!
Another option is having a contractor apply one inch granite or bluestone slabs over the existing steps. These stone slabs are more resilient than flagstone and provide a more consistent surface for walking.
Hour 2
Solving that Sewer Smell
Manny recently noticed a sewer smell in his bathroom when the water is running in the sink. He wants to know what he can do to correct it.
Since the smell is only coming from one sink, it isn’t likely sewer gas. Instead, it may be mold and mildew in the P trap and overflow vent which is causing the smell. The solution is to pour chlorine bleach down the overflow vent and the drain itself. After the bleach works for a while, flush both areas with warm water to wash away the mold and mildew.
Curb Appeal Changes
When it comes to improving a home’s curb appeal one of the biggest components you see on the front of many homes is the garage door, so any improvement there makes a big difference. Garage door replacements continuously rank among the highest return on investment for common household renovations according to Remodeling magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report by Remodeling magazine.
Adding a new garage door can enrich the character of the home by using its vast and visible square footage to enhance the architectural style of the house. Choosing the right door is important so Wayne Dalton makes that process easier by offering a wide variety of doors and accessories in styles that work with any kind of architecture.
To help you choose between them they have created an app, The Wayne Dalton Garage Door Design Center, which allows you to see what a specific door, in a specific color will look like on your house. You can add windows or hardware so your garage door can do more than open up the garage, it can open up your home’s potential.
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Simple Solutions
Clean BBQ Grill with Foil and Vinegar—To clean the cooking grates on a barbecue grill, pour white vinegar into a clean spray bottle and spray the cooking surface then allow the vinegar to remain on the surface for a few minutes. Next, tear off a good-size piece of aluminum foil, crumble it up into a ball, and scrub the cooking surface with the aluminum foil. The acid in the vinegar cuts through grease and grime and the foil acts as an abrasive to remove stuck-on bits of food.
How to Attract Earthworms to Your Garden—Worms burrowing in your garden increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil. They also break down organic matter, like leaves and grass into nutrients that the plants can use and they leave behind castings that act as a rich fertilizer. To attract earthworms to your gardens, take a large, stale loaf of bread and bury it about 4 inches deep in the garden bed. Within just a few days, worms will start eating and digesting the bread. And within two weeks or so the bread will be completely gone, and you’ll find hundreds of worms in the soil.
