Speed vs. safety

Are you like me? Are you already planning how you're going to squeeze in some home projects this weekend? After all, Sunday is pretty much out, it being Easter and all. Even if you're not religious, chances are you celebrate in some way (family gathering, dinner, one of your twice-a-year pilgrimages to church, etc.).

It's invigorating to cross a project (or better yet, projects) off my to-do list. So I know if I do get some work in on Saturday, I know I'd normally be tempted to rush, trying to get as much done in as little time as possible. In those cases, safety (or at least a heightened sense of it) tends to either take a vacation or at the very least slide to the bottom of my priorities list.

But after watching the below compilation of DIY disasters from, I'm having second thoughts. Seems there's a reason the old saying is "Measure twice, cut once" and not "Speed trumps accuracy (and safety)."

Enjoy. (Just pardon the laugh track.)

I (heart) how-to sites

Our bathroom sink has been running slowly for days. I've been meaning to dump some Liquid Plumr (or equivalent) down there, but keep forgetting to buy some. So we've lived with it (and the consequences, none of which are good).

Brought some home last night and did the old pour-and-pray thing this morning. Half a bottle did little, so I wondered if there was something solid blocking the drain. What I found was a thick lining of black sludge that had gathered on the bottom part of the stopper. I tried scraping it out (fighting dry heaves the whole time), but it did little. I needed to be able to get at it easier.

I've tried to pulling the stopper out before, so I know it's held in there by something. So how do you take it out?

You know those iPhone commercials that say, "There's an app for that." Luckily, when it comes to home improvement or repair, "there's a website for that" - no matter how gross or arcane your job is.

Within minutes, thanks to the well-written instructions at The Natural Handyman, I found and removed the pivot nut (which I'd never heard of), pulled the stopper out and (mostly) cleaned off. I was also able to pour the rest of the Liquid Plumr down the open drain. The stopper's going to need a good soak in bleach.

Unfortunately, there's still a slow leak, indicating a more substantial clog. Next stop: removing and cleaning the trap. Luckily, The Natural Handyman has an article for that too.

Will work for tools

Like a lot of home improvement newbies, I have gigantic gaps in my tool collection. For example, I own two saws: a chop saw and a jigsaw. The former was, for two years, the only saw I owned, having been bought to cut baseboards in late 2007. The latter was a Christmas gift that I've used once with so-so results.

It seems like every project I tackle requires that I either a) buy a new tool, b) borrow the necessary tool or c) make due with the tools I have. Reminiscent of advice given to students prepping for the SAT, C is more often than not the answer I choose.

So I'm left to wonder: if I can do this well with the bare bones, what could I accomplish with the right tools? And what are the basics I should have in my arsenal?

Of MSN's 15 tools every homeowner should own, I own exactly seven. A more exhaustive list is Popular Mechanics Top 50 Important Tools (With Tips!). After seeing only four familiar faces in the first ten, I gave up counting.

Until I'm independently wealthy, I'll just have to approach my tools like I would any collection: build slowly, keeping the end in sight.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock people ...

"Time is the only capital that any human being has, and the thing that he can least afford to waste or lose." - Thomas Edison

Like everyone I know, that about sums up my life these days. The only "home project" I've tackled recently has been dinner. Once a severe handicap, through practice and repetition, my cooking skills are improving.

It's kind of DIY if you scrounge in the refrigerator and assemble something that tastes good, right?

Another "problem"

In addition to this weekend's pleasant weather surprise, there's something else that's conspiring to derail my home improvement projects: my work load.

As with the weather, I'm not complaining about having work to do. My services are in demand. They like me! They really, really like me! And it sure beats the alternative.

These kinds of "obstacles" make me thankful for everything I have.

My new motto: The home improvement will get done. Eventually.

Weather "woes"

The temperature approached 70 degrees here in coastal Maine on Saturday (which coincidentally was the first day of spring). That kind of weather is unheard of in mid-March, which made it a real gift. Being the appreciative sort of folks we are, my wife, daughter and I took off that morning for a day of adventure on the streets of Portland.

(Aside #1: I don't know how or why we've never walked the East End Trail before, but after Saturday, it's going to be a staple. Aside #2: if you have kids, you must take them to the new playground at Deering Oaks.)

So I didn't get to anything on my to-do list. But based on the amazing weekend I had with my girls, that's a very good thing.

Quick and easy (yeah, right)

The faucet is in. According to everything I read, swapping out a faucet is one of the easiest DIY projects you can take on. I'm sure that's true ... if you read the instructions and make sure you have everything you need.

First snag: I didn't have a basin wrench. "Who needs one of those?" I asked myself. Me, apparently. There were these little nuts (see left) up behind the basin (what else) that connected the old faucet to the sink. So it was off to Home Depot at 9 last night. Got home at 10 and removed those nuts with no problem.

That's when I realized that when you replace a single-control faucet with a dual-control one, you need hoses to connect the faucet controls to the water supply. Home Depot was closed by then, so secured the faucet in place, then gave up and went to bed.

Off to the Depot again this morning, returning triumphantly with flexible water supply hoses and plumbing joint compound. I attached one end of the hose to the bottom of the faucet. That's when I hit snag #2: They were too short. By about six inches.

Back to HD(trip #3 if you're counting). I returned the 12-inch hoses, picked up some 20-inchers and headed home. Ten minutes later, we had running water. Success!

Lessons learned:
1. Read the directions (see below - notice the handy drawings of both a basin wrench and flexibe water supply line)
2. Make sure you have the right tools and supplies - BEFORE removing the old faucet.
3. Measure, measure, measure
4. Expect at least one flesh wound. Or battle scar, if you prefer. (See below. I have a matching one on my right hand)

5. Save the Guinness until AFTER you're done.

About that faucet ...

I'm really doing double-time to get a lot of work done today. Why? It's that faucet. I just can't wait to swap out the old one. And if I don't have any leftover work tonight (for a change), then I get to do it.

Stay tuned ...

(Before & after pics to come)

Finding a balance

The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy. Between work and life in general, there hasn't been much time for any home projects. Sadly, it looks like work is going to keep me away from DIY until at least Saturday.

I'm itching to get back to my list, especially since the FedEx guy just delivered our new faucet. Installing it should be an adventure, since plumbing is not a strength of mine. Not yet, at least.

For now, it's going to have to sit on my desk, still in the box. Don't think it won't be taunting me every time I walk by.

Bring on the weekend!

Weekends are too short

Good intentions be damned, there's never enough time to get my projects done. Friday I put the last two windowsills in, and I planned to seal around the edges and fill in the larger gaps on the right and left of those two (I measured twice and cut once, but sometimes there's no accounting for bad math).

However, the weather turned springlike on the coast of Maine this weekend. The three of us (wife, daughter and me) have been sick for a couple weeks, so it was a perfect time to get out and do something. Trouble is, that meant I didn't do anything indoors - including windowsills.

To complicate matters, we live on the second floor and don't have a yard to speak of. All my power tools, lumber and other supplies are stowed in our storage room in the basement - which has no outlets. One thing I did this weekend was buy a DC converter to change my light socket into an outlet. That should help. We'll see.

So there my windowsills sit. The edges of the first four have been filled, but need to be sanded and painted. Those last two are in, but that's it. There's always next weekend, right?

My question for you is this: how to you manage your time to ensure that your projects get done?

Mother Necessity, where would we be?

We've all heard that necessity is the mother of invention. But did you know that home ownership is the granddaddy of necessity? Unless you build a home (and are very active in the design phase), no one buys their dream home. That's a given. So with that in mind, home improvement, repair and maintenance become a necessity. You with me?

When you buy an open-concept loft (especially when it's your first home), those necessities pile up. The gray concrete floors, flat white walls, cheap gray rubber baseboards, nonexistent window sills/trim and more were enough to (almost) drive us mad.

Happily, I've completed all of those projects (except the windowsills, which are in progress). With the notable exception of the floors, I did them all myself. (Aside: we paid someone to acid stain the floors a brown tortoise-shell and seal it with a hard wax. I may think I'm handy, but even I know amateurs shouldn't - for the most part - mess around with hazardous chemicals.)

And that's not all. In coming posts, I'll talk about some of my DIY triumphs, and the inevitable challenges I had to overcome. After all, almost everything I've learned has been through trial-and-error.

Stay tuned.

In the beginning ...

Before I get started, here's a little about me: With a BA in journalism and an MA in English, I am by trade a desk jockey. But from a young age, I've always been a little bit handy, mostly by osmosis. Like most baby boomers, my dad is a tinkerer - the kind of guy who can fix (or at least gerry-rig) anything. Between my younger brother and me, he chose me to be his "apprentice." Not coincidentally, he's often said he's impressed by my ability to anticipate a solution and be ready with a suggestion - or at least the right tool. I've really learned a lot about home improvement, car maintenance and basic DIY skills - more than I could possibly have learned from any class.

After getting married, my wife and I rented for five-plus years, during which time I didn't get much occasion (beyond the odd picture-hanging) to flex my DIY muscles. Luckily, they didn't atrophy because in February 2005, I started needing them again - in a big way.

Home ownership itself often requires that one develop a working knowledge of carpentry, electrical work and more. However, we bought an open-concept loft in an old shoe factory with visions of making it "our own." Among the many projects I've completed (some with help, others by winging it) are: tiling our backsplash, ripping out and replacing the cheap rubber baseboard throughout and building walls. Along the way, my tool stash has grown, although I still find that I'm improvising a lot (i.e. using the wrong kind of saw for what I'm doing), but all in all, it's been a great learning experience.

Like most people, the one thing I wish I had more of is time. Five years later, I still have a lengthy project list, and between working from home (and, up until Valentine's Day, working weekends as well) and taking care of our almost two-year-old daughter (did I mention I'm also a stay-at-home dad?), the list continues to grow with few projects getting finished.

Now that my weekends are free, I'm hoping to start ticking off those projects and truly putting our stamp on this place. I'll be documenting my progress, as well as posting interesting articles, blogs, etc. about DIY and home improvement.

Wish me luck!