EZ Home Fix

Easy home repair maintenance tips and tutorials

The Right Way To Paint Walls

Posted on April 16, 2013 by admin

Preparation takes longer than the actual painting time, but it must be done and done correctly if you want the right way to paint walls. Taking the time to properly prepare the surface will make all the difference in the final results.

Paint covers discolorations, but does not cover surface flaws. Paint covers the small bumps, nicks, dents and cracks, but it will not make the blemishes go away, you must do that. Always buy the best paint, rollers, and brushes. Cheap paint will turn powdery after a couple of years. Cheap paint rollers and paint brushes, mar the surface by leaving fuzz and bristles behind.

Protect all surfaces you are not going to paint. Protect your floors, trim, woodwork, and furnishings. Failing to do so could be a major problem.

Clean the surface you are painting. Wipe down the walls or trim with trisodium phosphate or a phosphate free wall cleaner substitute. Then rinse the wall a sponge and clean water until the water runs clean, let the surface dry. Now you look for every repair or imperfection you can find to fix.

Caulk the cracks. Fill all exterior cracks with paintable caulk, between walls and moldings, run caulk down the corners if they are cracked, then smooth the caulk with a wet finger. This will give you a smooth transition between surfaces.

Glazier’s Putty. Glazer’s compound is a putty that sticks instantly and is used for filling exterior nail holes and dries very quickly.

Time to prime the surface. Applying a primer sealer keeps any underlying stains from eventually bleeding through. Primer forms a molecular bond between the paint and the wall.

Sanding between coats of paint. Sand the wall or really just quickly wipe the wall between each coat of paint with 120 grit sandpaper, then brush off the dust with a towel or old paint brush. A sanded wall when finished feels velvet smooth to the touch, an un-sanded wall feels slightly bumpy.

The actual painting of the walls is the easy part, just make sure you always end in an up and down motion if you can. You now know the correct way how to paint walls. All products can be found at places such as Home Depot, Home Hardware, Lowe’s etc.

Staining Wood Trim In 5 Steps

Posted on April 16, 2013 by admin

First off before you start staining any wood trim or just wood, you should be aware that stain and varnish are not the same. Varnish can be used alone, but stain can’t. Stain is made from dyes that change the color of the wood and varnish is made from resins that protect it.

How to stain wood trim in 5 steps:

You first must sand the wood or wood trim and then clean it with alcohol. Staet sanding with 120 grit sandpaper, follow with 180 grit sandpaper to remove the marks left from the 120 grit sandpaper. Then finish sanding with 220 grit sandpaper, wiping up the dust between sandings with a rag dampened with denatured alcohol.
Now you must repair anything you cannot sand away by filling dents and gouges with sandable putty. When dry sand smooth and wipe with a rag dipped in denatured alcohol.
Next you will apply a wood conditioner to prevent blotchiness or you could by pass this step by using a gel stain as these types of stains do not blotch. If using a conditioner follow the directions on product.
Now it is time to stain. You can brush or wipe on the stain. Just apply the stain to the wood, let it soak in for a bit (not to long) and then wipe it off using T-shirts or lint free rags. If you use a gel stain, apply it with a sponge brush and wipe off the excess very gently using a brush instead of a rag.
Now you can apply the varnish by brushing it on, in short sections at a time. Smooth it quickly and lightly to cover completely then let the varnish dry the recommended amount of time. Now sand the trim with 220 grit sandpaper to level out any small dust bumps, wipe down with a rag dipped in denatured alcohol and apply another coat of varnish, up to three coats for a durable lasting finish.

How To Clean Your Oven Exhaust Hood

Posted on April 4, 2013 by admin

The Oven Exhaust Hood or range hood over your kitchen oven can get extremely dirty over time with caked in dirt and grease which needs to be cleaned out. Here is how go about cleaning and degreasing your kitchen oven exhaust hood, just follow the steps below, it not hard to do.

Clean The Oven Exhaust Hood Items Needed:

Before starting your clean up, gather the recommended items to ready yourself for the job. You will need

Some newspaper
A pair of rubber gloves
A plastic or unbreakable bowl
A sponge
Some liquid degreasing dish soap like Dawn
A roll of paper towels
A scrub brush and clean towel.

Preparing The Oven Hood For Cleaning:

Start by making sure all of the burner knobs are turned off on the oven. If you have a gas oven make sure all the pilot lights are off. Now place your newspapers across the oven top to catch any drips of grease and grime while you’re cleaning the exhaust hood. You also need to turn off the light and fan switches on the exhaust hood and remove the light bulb from the exhaust hood.

Cleaning The Oven Exhaust Hood Filter Screen:

Undo the latches that are holding the filter screen in place, so you can now easily remove the filter screen and expose the fan blades. Now fill the kitchen sink up with about 5 inches of scolding hot water along with some liquid dish soap. Place the hood filter screen into the soapy water and allow it to soak for a while, as you finish cleaning the rest of the exhaust hood.

Cleaning And Degreasing The Exhaust Hood Surface:

Now pour some warm water along with some liquid dish soap into your bowl and soak your sponge with the liquid then sqeeze out he excess and wipe the entire hood surface. Always being careful not to wipe any electrical switches or wiring. If the grease build up is very heavy you can just pour some dish soap right onto your sponge and continue wiping until all grime is gone. Make sure to rinse out the sponge often.

You now can do the same for the underside of the Exhaust Hood. Wipe it down good, you may even have to let the soap sit for a few minutes on the surface to loosen up the grime. Now wipe the whole hood down again, this time using only warm water and wipe the water away with your clean towel.

Now go back to your filter that is soaking in the sink and using the scrub brush, gently scrub off all the grease and grime. Rinse with clean water and dry. Now you can re-install the hood filter and your exhaust hood light bulb.

Now you can remove the newspaper from your oven and wipe up any left over mess. There you go you are now finished cleaning your Oven Exhaust Hood and good to go!

Easy Home Furnace Maintenance Tips

Posted on March 28, 2013 by admin

If you give your home furnace a little a attention it really will lengthen the life of your furnace saving you the cost of a new one. Here are some very easy to do tips on furnace maintenance that you can do yourself. Remember some of this maintenance for your home furnace is rather easy to do, just take your time and you will do a good job.

Furnace Inspection:

First off , you really should schedule a yearly inspection of your furnace just to make sure all is OK and good to go until the next yearly inspection is due.

Furnace Filters:

This is a very important regular maintenance tip you should do on time. By regularly changing the filter or filters on your furnace, you can increase the life of your furnace significantly and at the same time keep lower dust levels in your home, which is better for your own health. Professional HVAC heating, venting and air conditioning service technicians do recommend changing your furnace filters monthly, but there are very good filters than can go up to 3 months before changing is needed. Usually these filters cost a little more, the choice of which type of filter to use is up to you.

If your home furnace can use a washable type filter, you’ll save yourself some money by using them. You can also save some money by buying your standard filters in bulk.

Some conditions that might necessitate changing your filters a little more often include, any time you have a high volume of foot traffic or when doors will be opened often, also pet dander can build up fast, which can clog furnace filters a little faster than usual.

Vacuum and Wipe Down Your Furnace:

Another good tip to lengthen the life of your home furnace is to clean it. Using a shop vacuum that is in good working order, vacuum out the bottom inside the furnace where the motor is located and all over and around the outside of your furnace. Be careful not to push against any wires etc that may break.

Replace Furnace Insulation If Needed:

If your home furnace has insulation around or inside the door area, check it for brittleness or missing pieces. The fan inside your furnace could pull in the loose insulation, clogging up the furnace and burning out the motor.

Inspect Your furnace Wiring For Damage:

Take a look at the wiring that connects your outside cooling and heating fan to see if the wires are getting frayed or coming loose. Clean away all of the debris from around the fan and if possible, wash the whole unit with mild detergent (damp rag). Pull any leaves, garbage, debris out of the fan grill, this will allow the fan to run with maximum efficiency, which can save you money.

Clean Your Vents Inside and Out:

Yes, you need to clean out your floor vents once in a while. Also look outside and check your duct work to make sure that it is all OK. If anything is clogging up or obstructing the air flow, the unit will have to run much harder to stay cool or warm, which definitely will shorten the life of your furnace and again cost you money.

There you go, nice easy home furnace maintenance tips you can do yourself and save money! Maintenance work on your own furnace is not always hard to do as you can see, this is all very easy to do yourself. Just a note, if you called in some furnace company to do the simple furnace maintenance, the cost can range from high to very high.

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