Fix It Archives - Page 11 of 15

Before and After, Build It, chair glides, circular saw, Contributor, Fix It, painting, painting chair, thrifting, Tutorial

How to Cut Bar Stools Down to Counter Height Stools

Yes you can make those wood bar stools fit your counter. Here’s an easy DIY fix to make bar stools into counter stools (and a quick makeover too!).

Bar stools typically sit at 30″ high, this is fine and dandy if you have a proper bar where the countertop is elevated higher than the working countertop space. Kitchen designs are trending now away from the proper bar towards one even countertop surface. No worries, you can still use those bar stools for your counter by easily cutting off the bottom 4″ to reduce the stools to a counter height of 26″:

(The white stools above are counter height and in the picture for comparison purposes.)

In addition to fixing the height of your stools give them a fresh look with a quick paint job and a new design: Read more

May 15, 2013/20 Comments/by Jaime Costiglio

drywall repair, Fix It, Home & Auto Maintenance, Plumbing

Water Leaks, Polybutylene Pipes, and Mold – What to Do

Photo courtesy of Grotuk via Creative Commons

Today’s regularly scheduled post has been interrupted by a leak in our laundry room.

I hope my misfortune is your gain. These are the things I’ve learned about burst pipes, polybutylene pipes and mold. If you are a homeowner, soon-to-be a homeowner or even if you rent, this post is for you! Read more

October 10, 2012/76 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Fix It, hole filling, Home & Auto Maintenance, moulding, repair, scribing profile, Tutorial

Baseboard Trim – How to Remove and How to Install

I’m back to work on the bonus room makeover, and I couldn’t be happier with the results of the project.

I had to prep the back wall for a little something special. And it required removing the baseboards. I saved them to re-install afterwards. Read more

October 3, 2012/18 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

copper lamp, DIY, DIY tools, Do It Yourself, Electrical, Fix It, light fixture, Tool Tutorial Friday Video, Tool Tutorials, Tutorial

How to Solder Metals Together – Tool Tutorial Friday

Wheee, it’s another episode of Tool Tutorial Friday! Do y’all miss TTF? I do too, but this handy gal only has so many tools in her toolbox. I added a new one a few weeks ago, a soldering iron. Let’s learn How to Solder Metals Together!

When I was in college, I took a stained glass elective (one of the benefits of going to art school.) I really enjoyed the course, but once the semester was over I didn’t pick up a soldering iron again. That was 20 years ago. Just this month, someone in our neighborhood posted online that they were selling a soldering iron. I immediately jumped on the chance. But, this time I didn’t have stained glass in mind, I had these DIY farmhouse lights on the brain!

As promised, here is the tutorial on how to solder. Read more

September 28, 2012/13 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

Door, Door Hardware, Fix It, repair

How to Replace Garage Door Rollers

How to Replace Garage Door Rollers

Let’s give a big round of applause and a thank you to Jeff from Home Repair Tutor for his tutorial on Changing Your Garage Door Extension Springs.

Today I’ll help you learn how to replace your garage door rollers! After that, with a little maintenance, your garage doors should continue to operate smoothly for a while.

Materials:

New Garage Door Rollers
Clamp
Pliers
Large flat head screwdriver
Prybar
A Helper

How to Replace Garage Door Rollers Instructions:

Start by opening your garage door completely.

Place a clamp on to the track about 2/3 of the way up the door opening.

Release the garage door from the power opener by pulling on the attached release rope.

For added safety, unplug the garage door opener from the outlet.

Near the top of the track use pliers to bend the track slightly open.

Line up the first roller with the opening. Use the flathead screwdriver and wedge it between the roller and the track. Pry the roller out of the track.

Remove the old roller.

Slide a new roller in and insert the roller back into the track.

Roll the door down to the next roller and repeat the same process for removing and replacing the rollers.

When you have replaced the bottom 4 rollers, you’ll realize that you won’t be able to replace the top one because it won’t line up with the opening in the track. Bend the track back into alignment and then roll the door all the way open.

Bend a section of track in the middle of the overhead section.

Be sure to have your helper spot the door or it could slip from the track and bonk you on the head. (Home Repair Tutor shows how to use a 2×4 clamped to the track to support the door if you don’t have a helper available. He also has a different method for replacing the rollers, so be sure to watch his video.)

(Oh yes, this did happen to me! I got knocked hard enough to have me down for the count, but I got right back up and kept right on swinging.)

Pry the last roller out and replace it. Use your pliers to bend the track back into shape.

Remove the clamp from the track. Plug the door opener back in. Re-attach the door to the garage door opener by pressing the button that controls the operation of your door (usually on the wall of your garage.) The door should automatically re-attach to the opener.

Close the door and watch for any misalignment of the track.

If you need to adjust the tracks, loosen the bolts on the side of the track and re-align the track. I used a prybar to give a little leverage to move the track small increments.

Tighten all the bolts. While you are at it, make sure all screws and bolts on the garage and the tracks are tightened because the vibration of the door can usually shake things loose over time.

And that’s it folks!

For more maintenance tips on keeping your garage in tip top shape, check out Home Repair Tutor’s post on garage door maintenance.

August 3, 2012/19 Comments/by Brittany Bailey