DIY Tips 101

[DarkSkies]

For the handyman, contractor, landlord, or aspiring real estate owner.

Eventually if you own property you'e gojng to be faced with choices - do I do it myself, or hire a contractor? I say do what your skill set allows you to do, hire a contractor for the rest (but if you screw it up, and make double work for the contractor, expect him to charge you double, that's only fair)

Anyone whos got some tips, let's hear them.

[DarkSkies]

Radiators - hot water

Bleed regularly, at the beginning of the season, air in the lines will decrease your effficiency.

To that end:

Do be careful with the bleed screw, use the correct screwdriver. I have to replace a couple ends because of a lady who used the wrong size screwdriver every time, and now the screw heads are worn. A little patience goes a long way.

This is for people with rentals, or moving into a house that hans't been cleaned in a long time. I recently started working on apartments that weren't maintained for many years. the radiators had so much dirt in them you couldn't see through the fins. I took the covers off. These are old style hot water radiator "cabinets" we're talking about here, but the same could apply for the newer baseboards.

I took one of those pancake protable compressors. I think max psi is around 100. I have a spray head that shoots a concentrated stream of air. I set that up on the line and blew the crap and dirt out of all the fins, and put the covers back on.

I have no idea how much the efficienvy changed as a %, but there was a noticable difference in the heat in the apt.

[DarkSkies]

Caulking for efficency-

Do you want to save the most money on your heating $$ going down the toilet? Insulate well, and replace old doors and windows. It's easy for me to do doors and windows, but some people don't have the dough for the labor.

So if you can't afford that, caulk is your friend. Take some painter's caulk, and caulk all the molding gaps around your door and window molding, and on top of and underneathe the windowsills. Caulk all baseboard moldings where there is a significant gap. If you don't know how to use caulk, learn by practice. Nothing screams "hack" to me more than a sloppy caulk job that looks like a peanut butter sammich.

I like a cup of hot water and a wet rag to smooth the caulk, some guys use spit and their finger, some guys are so good they run their finger once, and it's perfect.

However you do it, get it done, dollars are pouring out of the gaps in your building envelope. Even if you're on a low budget, it's in your power to save yourself some $$.

[DarkSkies]

Compact fluorescent CF bulbs -

The new CF bulbs are way diffewrent than the older ones, the light is a lot whiter. It take a few seconds to brighten up, but be patient. You can save up to $30 month on an average house. Those little savings add up, more if you're the landlord paying for the common area lighting that tenants always forget to turn off. (and if you have that problem, get a light timer, sometimes you have to take control and treat tenants like kids, cause some don't care.)

[DarkSkies]

The first tile floor I did in an apartment I followed everything by the book, took 4 hours to rip up tjhe old linoleum, because I was worried about the "flex" and followed the exact instructions I was told. Waaaaay too much time and effort.

Now, if the linoleum, vinyl squares, etc can't be ripped up easily I concnetrate on eliminating all the flex in the floor befor ethe start of the job. I obsessively walk back and forth on the floor, jump up and down, mark all squeaks, figure out where the joists are, and set out to eliminate that flex. Sometimes 10 screws will do the job in well placed spots, sometimes you need 40. The key is if the subfloor has been subjected to floods over the years, nd if it has lost any of its strength.

If so, then you need to shore up key areas, or rip up the floor in spots and sister 2x4s to the joists. PITA, but a necessary step if its bad enough.

In most cases this isn't needed, so I eliminate the squeaks, and lay hardibacker right over the immovable top surface, as long as it's level and solid.

Set up with the hardi screws where indicated on the templates, make sure no screw heads are sticking up, lay my underlayment patch on the seams. You can do this in the morning and be cutting and fitting your tile in the afternoon. It may not be what the books say, but I've never had a cracked tile on an install, or had one crack in the years afterward.

We're talking about middle class houses and rentals here, anything high end you would rip up the floor if needed.

Git er done, progress not perfection.

[DarkSkies]

Radiators - steam - vent at least once a year, or when you do work on or open the system.

Had a meeting tonight, and the guy said his office was cold, he had a ceramic heater in the front. 9 radiators on the first floor, and he's cold. I explained about venting and some other stuff. He said he would get around to it. I knew he never woulld, so a half hour later I had all the cold radiators vented until they were piping hot. He couldn't believe the difference, and we unplugged the ceramic heater.

Be careful when doing this, it's not something you can take the pressure vent off and go do something else. Ya gotta listen to when the steam is coming, plug it up when the whole radiator is hot. Take too much time, the rediator not leveled right, and you'll be faced with scalding hot water under pressure coming out. Do it right, and your heating will be more efficient, and save some $$ along the way.