Hour 1
On this episode of the Today’s Homeowner Radio Show, Hour 1, we talk about easy fixes for spalling concrete, and what to do about an interior door that’s just not plumb.
Resurfacing a Concrete Staircase
Walter, in Illinois, has some concrete steps that are worse for wear — they’ve accumulated moisture and damage, and a simple patch he applied a couple of years ago has failed.
“I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I might do a more effective job of handling the repair,” he says.
First, remove loose concrete chunks with a small putty knife and clean the surface.
Then apply a layer of Quikrete Re-Cap Concrete Resurfacer as directed. You can smooth out the horizontal and vertical areas of those stairs and make them look perfect.
Just before the Re-Cap dries, drag a broom from left to right to create a broom finish that prevents a slippery surface!
Your concrete repair may require other products. Here’s a guide to finding the right tool for the job: Concrete Repair Made Easy: DIY Fixes With Quikrete
Solution for a Not-Plumb Interior Door
Phyllis in Montreal has a laundry room door that is not level. “I’ve tried everything short of getting a new door and threshold,” she says. “How can I fix this myself?”
First, she means the door is not plumb, or perfectly vertical. The easiest fix for this is to tighten the hinge screws. These screws go into the door and into the jamb, the side frame of the door. If those become loose, the door sags a little in the opposite direction and starts binding.
If you find any of these hinge screws are stripped, pull them out and put in longer, 3-inch screws because they’re typically only an inch long to begin with, which is too short.
If the door itself was just set out of plumb, meaning the jamb is out of plumb and nothing is perfectly square and level, I wouldn’t bother trying to plumb it up. I would just plane the door down — cut the door to fit.
Best of all, you can do this without a contractor!
Hour 2
During Hour 2, we help a homeowner determine the best air conditioner system for his situation, and share how to give a cracked wooden door a facelift.
Choosing the Right Heat Pump for Your Home
A homeowner who left us a voicemail asks, “What is the most dependable heat pump? I have a mobile home that came with a great heat pump. I keep it serviced and it’s been working great for 11 years; I’ve never had a problem with it.”
Start with Consumer Reports’ unbiased reviews — just remember, generally, that you get what you pay for. We often say let price be an indicator of quality, and that certainly applies to a piece of equipment that will cost a few thousand dollars.
American Standard’s variable-speed heat pump is highly recommended because it’s efficient and incredibly quiet. For a mobile home, you may need a mini-split system, which would work great.
Go ahead and check Consumer Reports. Once you’ve settled on a heat pump that meets your needs and budget, start saving the money now so you’ll be ready to buy the replacement later.
Reviving a Wood Door with Hairline Cracks
A homeowner in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says, “I have a beautiful wood door that faces north. It’s been very dry out here in three years and there are some cracks in the door. I wanted to know if I could fill them.”
If you’re going to paint this door, you could certainly fill the cracks with wood putty, sand down the door and then prime and put two coats of paint on it. That would completely hide any hairline cracks and protect the door from the elements.
If you’re not going to paint the door, you can fill the cracks with wood putty, sand the door as usual, and then apply Lust from TotalBoat.
This varnish is designed for the outdoors; in fact, it’s used in a lot of marine applications as the name suggests. But it works just as well on exterior residential doors, and you can apply four coats in four hours.
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Simple Solutions
Bottle Gnat Trap — Here’s how to make a trap for catching gnats and other flying insects. Take a two-liter soda bottle and use a utility knife to cut off the top 1/3 of the bottle. Pour about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar into the bottom half of the bottle, and then add two or three squirts of liquid dish soap. Take the top of the bottle, invert it and set it into the bottle. The bugs will be attracted by the vinegar, fly down through the inverted neck of the bottle and get stuck by the soap. And if any bugs try to fly, they won’t be able to find the small opening to escape. Watch the Simple Solution here.
Fan-Drying Wet Sneakers — When sneakers and running shoes get wet, tossing them into a clothes dryer makes a huge racket and the intense heat can ruin the shoes by melting adhesives, damaging leather parts, and rupturing air-cushion pockets. Here’s a better, quieter way to dry wet shoes: Bend a small S-shaped hook from a wire clothes hanger and hang the shoes from the grille of a window fan. Set the fan on low or medium speed and let the shoes air dry for about an hour. And be sure to remove the inner sole for faster drying.
