~DIY~ Splatts Is At It Again!! ~~ 7 in Home Repairs Done Lickity Split ~DIY~

Watch out “Ask This Old House”

Bob Villa...
Please...
If you try and keep up with me, you might break a hip.

CHIRP.... CHIRP... CHIRP

That annoying chirp from the smoke alarm signifying the battery needs changed. Oh no, it can’t happen during the day, Nope. It had to be in the middle of the night in my daughter’s room. Then when you pull it from the ceiling and remove the battery.... it still chirps!!! So you throw it in the garage out of pure annoyance and frustration. That outta shut that thing up, oh ya I don’t have any 9v batteries in the house either. The next morning I get a battery and reinstall the smoke alarm.

WEE OOHH WEE OOHH

_{That’s my best smoke alarm sound}

All the alarms in the whole house start going off since they are all wires together. WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!? So I unplug it and try again...yep same result. Well I guess this smoke alarm is toast, done, shot, fried, lived it’s life, garbage, trash, in other words... I need a new one. Add that to the To-Do List

Replace Smoke alarm with Combo Alarm - Smoke and carbon Monoxide

Ever had a toilet seat make you dislocate a hip? Or even make your fear for your life? Well I have one and it dang near happens every time I sit on it. I call it the squirmy seat. See what happened is the plastic nut that goes on the bolt for the seat got stripped out. So with only one bolt securing the seat to the John, it turns taking care of your business into riding a Bull in the PBR. YEE-HAW I’m just glad there is a window sill within reach to be able to steady my landing. Add this to the list...

Replace bolts that hold the toilet seat

Now onto the coat rack in the laundry room. Let’s see there are 4 hooks so let’s put 20 coats and sweatshirts on it. The numbers add up right?? 5 coats per hook along with the fact that whoever installed it didn’t even mount it to the wall studs. Oh ya, the stud spacing is 24 inches and the coat rack is only 16 inches. So the best they could do is screw into one stud, then it would be like the towel rack in my spare bathroom. Add that to the list...

Mount Coat rack and make it hold 1,000 pounds of coats

From one rack to another. Let’s head to the Kids/Spare bathroom and check on this towel rack. I just found out about this a couple weeks ago, but I guess it has been like this for a very...and I mean very long time. *What?!?...Really?? How come no body tells me about this? I never use that bathroom, let along use the towel rack. I guess from the stories I have heard floating around the house is... If your lucky, when you hang your towel up, it might stay in its place, or just end up on the floor which is where my kids like to throw their wet towels after a shower. I guess I know why they do put them there, they end up there anyway. Add this to the list...

Find Set Screw For Towel Rack

Oh we ain’t done yet, there are just a few more things that need a little fixin’. Since we are currently helping some family members get back on their feet, my door that leads from my garage to the Camp Trailer outside gets used a bunch. Just because it is gold doesn’t mean it will last a lifetime. Nope, this one just decided to stop working all together.
Turn the door knob... door no open. Turn it the other way...door no open. How about I use 2 hands and really turn this door knob...door no open. How about shaking and jiggling it while turning it....door no open.

I had to take the whole thing apart just to get the dang door open. Add that to the list...

Install New Door Knob

Have you ever went to open a drawer and the whole drawer front just falls off and your left standing there in utter disbelief with a drawer front in your hand?? Ya, neither have I but I am going to do what I can to not let it happen to me. This drawer is right next to the dish washer and I think it might have been “bumped” a time or two while it was open. The front of the drawer is pulling away from the sides and I had better get this back together before it falls off. Add that to the list....

Nail Drawer Front Back Together

I am pretty big on taking pride in your work and doing things right. So when a piece of trim behind our Big Berkey Water filter kept popping off I noticed something. There is a huge gap and no screws holding this half of the corner shaped cabinet to the wall. REALLY?!?! You have got to be kidding me!! We have some heavy glass dishes in there. Could you imagine if that fell off the stinkin’ wall?? I don’t. There are only 3 screws holding it and they are in the corner and not the sides. WOW!! Add that to the list...

Keep Cabinet from Falling off the Wall

I have no idea why I put these little fixes off. “I will take care of it this weekend.” That turns into a couple weeks than a month. No not all of them have been like this for a months...just a few. If you are the first one that can name the 3 items that have been like that for over 2 months I will give you 2 SBD. These items are items that I have known about for months and for some reason never got around to fixing them. Not ones the rest of the family has known about.

Well today is the day this stuff gets repaired

With a mental list of parts I need, it is off the Home Depot. Both of the kids wanted to come along so I had to pull back the reigns a little bit and wait for them to bundle up a bit. I sure am glad they came because it was the Home Depot Kids Workshop Day. I totally forgot about this again!! So did my kids so I don’t feel so bad. Well we better go get another one of these projects under our belt before we start gathering parts for the repairs at the house. This week was a clock with a kind of tray that sits in front of it. Sorry I didn’t get photos of the finished project but here is one of them getting started.

First let’s handle this smoke alarm since it is high priority when it comes to safety in the home. I know I know that toilet seat is out of control crazy but I will get to it I promise.

• Remove old Smoke Detector by turning Counter Clockwise (mine was already gone 😜) and pulling down.
• Unplug wiring harness from the back of Smoke Detector
• With a screw driver, loosen the screws of the old mounting plate. Then turn counter clockwise and remove
• Since the harness is different, we need to remove the old one by taking the wire nuts off. BE CAREFUL THESE WIRES ARE ENERGIZED well the black ones are anyway. Separate each color of wire as far as possible. Remove the wire but from the black first, then red, then white.
• Using wire nuts install the new wiring harness. White first, then red, then black.
• Install the new Mounting Plate over the existing screws and turn clockwise and tighten screws.
• Plug harness into New Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detector
• Place on mounting plate and turn clockwise and lock the new Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detector in Place
  

It was kind of funny because when I took the wire nuts off the old harness and all the black (hot) wires separated, the light in my daughters room shut off. Along with the plugs too. Glad I had a light on my drill to help me see a little better. The new Smoke/Carbon Monoxide alarm was $50... I guess they getcha when it comes to safety. :wink :wink

NEXT!!

Now before messing around with the toilet seat I recommend you don’t clean it. Don’t use any gloves and be sure to make some sort of contact between your tastebuds and the seat. This ensures that you really know what you are working with and puts you and the toilet seat on the same page. Creates a bond or connection if you will.

Ok, now that you have done that, go to the doctor and get some Penicillin.

Clean the area your going to work thoroughly. This is the toilet seat we are talking about here. This was suppose to be a simple fix but I got the wrong bolt size and I didn’t look close enough at the attachment on the seat itself. Oh, use my phone and take a photo next time? Duh...I just... assumed they were all the same size, silly me why on earth would they be. You know.

So holding this weird looking washer deleo with some channel locks I drilled it out with a step bit. Why a step bit and not just a regular bit? Umm I’m not sure, it was just the first thing I saw in one of my tool drawers that would work. Plus I didn’t need sort through drill bits finding the right size. Just keep stepping the bit in until you get the right size. God forbid I ccould just buy a spare nut for the one side. Instead I had to get a kit for both sides. So I replaced both sides and had to drill out both washer deleos

AWESOME now I won’t have to worry about breaking my neck when nature calls. I ain’t kidding that thing slips and slides around more than you would believe.

NEXT!!

Now this one I am really proud of. The idea I invisioned when I was in the store worked out perfectly. It got a big 2-thumbs up from Mama Splatts and I bet it could hold about 2,000 lbs worth of coats.

To counter the fact that the coat rack was only 16 inches long and the studs are 24 inches apart, I picked up a fence plank. I know, I know just hang on, you will see. Mama Splatts had a second rack she wanted to install also. see that’s how I got the 2,000 lbs :wink:wink

So what I did was cut the plank down to 4 feet 3/4 inches. This should span 2 full studs allowing enough on the end to catch that last stud.

After marking the studs on the wall I pick the right height and drive in one screw to hold one end in place. Then using a level I can level it up and drive another screw in the opposite end. Then add the screws in the middle and a couple more on the ends and the backing plate for the coat rack is installed. This will ensure that I this coat rack has some solid wood for the screws to go into. Therefore giving them the combined holding capacity of 2,000 lbs of coats and sweatshirts and whatever else gets put on there. Shoot maybe a kid...I don’t know.

After getting the backing plate secured through the drywall into the 2x4 studs with 2 screws per stud it’s time to get the coat rack in place. I have two of these racks so I need to measure and space them apart evenly. An even amount of space on each side along with between the two racks. Centered it on the backing plate and once you get one mounted use your level to mount the other by placing it on top of the existing rack. Then push the new rack up to it and screw it into place. I did this prior to hanging the backing plate but it can be done on the wall too.
Having one of the old screws stripped out I had to go to the trusty coffee can of screws and see if I could find a screw that would work. Once again this proves the point why I keep that old can of screw around. She always comes through in a clutch situation.

I am just goin to pat myself on the back for that one :pat:pat Ok that is enough of that! I don’t have time to gloat I have more stuff to fix.

NEXT!!

Now onto the the magical falling towel rack. You just never know when it is going to cut loose and drop your towel to the ground. Another reason why it is magical is because I had no clue it was even broke. This should be a simple fix. There is a small set screw on the bottom side where the rack contacts the wall. The likelyhood of finding one of those....um ya?!?! I removed the existing one and got the thread size. Then with that, I found something that will work perfectly.

Now there should be any reason to see wet towels on the floor...well besides the fact thay they are kids and kids do what kids do because...they are kids. Ok enough Kiddin around I have a few more things to fix on my list

NEXT!!

Alright we are getting close to the end, don’t slam the door on me yet... Well it doesn’t have a door knob so I can walk right in anyway, so go right ahead

It’s time to swap out that old golden, broken door knob for a nice new nickel colored one that actually does what I is suppose to. You know, when you turn the knob I slides the latching mechanism over and allows the door to open. I was able to use my drill for the screws that hold the latch but the angle of the screws thay hold the two halves of the door knob together I had to use a screw driver. Make sure you pay just a tiny bit of attention so that you have the door knob in the correct way. Key hole on the outside is how I want this one. Unless I want to use it as a place to lock my kids when they are in trouble. Lock’em Up Mama Splatts, these kids be acting up. Hahaha kidding just kidding. I would never do that. We throw the kids in the crawl space when they act up.

Imagine that a door that opens and closes and latches and locks. What a deal and only $10 for that repair. Now I am thinking I should have grabbed another to replace another golden door know that is starting to be a pain to open. It’s getting a little sticky.

NEXT!!

So now onto this drawer that is slowly falling apart. Just by applying pressure I can make the joint right again so it isn’t in too bad of shape...yet. This is easy peasy lemon squeezy...dang that was corny. Just grab the air stapler get my little compressor out and staple this drawer back to get her. This is kind of a little preventative maintenance, it only takes a little time but saves you from a bigger problem in the future.

My little compressor is noisy and a piece of junk but it does the job when I need it to. One day I will get a big compressor... one day. I have to make it quick because it was about 18 F outside and I had the hose pulled through the sliding glass door. I drug the hose and gun in, nailed it back together, then back outside it goes.

NEXT!!

Ok onto the last one...the cabinet with 3 screws holding it in place. Again I found a little somethin’ somethin’ in the garage to use as a sort of shim to place between the wall and the cabinet. Then I will drive a long screw from inside the cabinet through the shim and angle it into the stud. This should give it just a little more support than it had. Then a couple dabs of Gorilla Glue and the molding is back in place and all is well.

I had to glue it because the gap was so big and I couldn’t get the right angle on my air stapler to get the staples to hit the cabinet. The people who installed it tried but didn’t failed. I do feel a lot better better about adding those extra screws in there. Sometimes it amazes me what people get away with and cover up. Like a Foreman once told me,
We have time to do it right, but we don’t have time to do it again.

And...Time!

I’m not sure how long these items took me to fix but it couldn’t have been more than a couple hours. I am really anxious for this cold weather to pass and for spring time to get here. I have a lot of fun projects planned for the yard but with a foot of snow on the ground and only 9 F this morning...ya, I am not too inclined to get into it.

This concludes 7 DIY repairs done by yours truly. I think I spent about $75 at Home Depot for the parts and it took less than 2 hours to complete. Sometimes it just takes a little motivation to get the DIY juices flowing. Speaking of motivation, does anyone have some for sale because I am not really feeling too motivated at work today. :wink:wink I do on the other hand feel really good about getting these repairs done. Plus the fact that I got a big thumbs up from Mama Splatts about the coat rack... that’s what makes it all worth it to me. Oh ya, also now I can use the restroom without having to be scared for my life and no more wet towels on the floor...hopefully.

Until Next Time...

Steem On
and

Do-It-Yourself
and
Save Some Money