Because many years from now, when the wall has been painted over a dozen times, the paint will start cracking and someone will turn around and find their child peeling chunks of wall off the wall. Hello fake wood grain wallpaper. The rest of the wall is still intact, and this spot is fairly inconspicuous down by the baseboard, […]
How to patch plaster and hide a water stain
Remember the collection of ugly, embarrassing things I showed you last fall? This small leak above our fireplace was probably the most embarrassing for me. Maybe because you could see it as soon as you walked through our front door. Maybe because it nagged at me everyday. It never gushed water or anything. I’m guessing […]
Working around a problem: Closed up return air vent
Some previous owner of our home closed up this return air vent in our dining room, but didn’t do much to fix it with a long term solution. There’s no longer any ductwork running to this vent. It’s just a hole in the floor that’s been stuffed up with some insulation and a brown piece […]
Installing “spring bronze” weatherstripping
I want to replace the bronze weatherstripping on our front door. I found some instructions and a video on YouTube on how to install it, but I thought maybe a practice round was in order. The front door has a arched top and it was intimidating me a little. I want to make sure I know what […]
More backyard treasures
With all the yardwork we’ve been doing, we’ve been uncovering a lot of treasures (trash?). Our house is 81 years old, so it’s anyone’s guess what might be lurking under the surface of the dirt. In some cases, I couldn’t even get a shovel down more than a few inches without hitting something. It’s been […]