Home & Building Renovations - From a Masonry Institute Veteran

Easy Home Projects to Add Value

When you buy a new house, first of all, congrats to all of you doing that this year, you want to enjoy it and that means not being a slave to maintenance by always staying a step ahead of it. We have identified some home features that are great investments because they are low maintenance.

We looked at the kind of things that add value and are easy care and the first one, for example, is the front yard patio, which, maybe, a little antithetical to some people to think that is the back yard, but so many of us love our front lawns, but they are huge maintenance time sucks.

Yes. And, of course, not to mention the water suck, which out in places like California right now is a big problem.

Definitely. There are a huge drain water supply at a time to a point when conservation is so important. And so, with the front yard patio, you eliminate or limit the amount you need to water, mow, or fertilize.

Yes, it makes terrific curb appeal too if it’s done right.

Yes, we have some pictures of front yard patios and there are so many ways to do them, they are quite gorgeous. It could be as simple as installing brick or flagstone, which runs, maybe, fifteen to eighteen dollars per square foot and then setting up seeding or doing something more elaborate. And, by the way, it seems to be an emerging trend, so you’d be a trend-setter by using one.

I always wanted to be a trend-setter.

You are. By the way, my next two ideas are along the same lines.

If you can’t part with your lawn, because people do love their lawns, but you do hit the upkeep, you could go alternative. So, you could swap the traditional grass for turf grasses. There are typically lush green and they are formulated so that they grow well in various climates, even colder damper climates.

Examples are buffalo grass and sage and, basically, once they are established, many of them need very little watering or mowing and no fertilizers or pesticides.

Great. Another low effort choice for your yard, of course, are drought resistant plants.

Yes, definitely. That’s something that’s really great for areas like California and Texas and places like that, many places around the country because they put our water issues in perspective. Over the next couple of decades, more than four hundred counties in the US might go through an extreme dry spell and that’s according to the National Resources Defense Council.

What is a great example of a drought resistant plant?

Azaleas are one good example. They are lovely, they are tough, they are hardy and once they are rooted into well-drained soil, they make for easy upkeep, they don’t need a lot of water. Same with the agave plant.

All right. Let’s go inside the house now. What’s another easy care feature?

Well, between the inside and the outside many people have the garage, and a new garage door can make a big impression with very little in the way of inconvenience. Because it’s such a large and prominent surface, it can add a lot to the curb appeal too. That can make a big difference for those who are thinking about renting or selling their home.

The thing that a lot of homeowners don’t really realize though is that a garage door can weigh upwards of 400 pounds and have over 300 moving parts on it. What that means is that it’s not really recommended as a “DIY” project. In general, you’re probably better off getting a professional garage door repair service to help you out.

Great points there… What about in the main house?

A lot of new homeowners like to do a kitchen remodeling project and we believe a quartz counter top is a great investment. It’s a super hard material, it’s no match for stains and scratches, and it’s also antimicrobial, so it’s great for kitchens and bathrooms. It costs about the same as granite, but it’s non-porous and doesn’t need to be resealed, so that’s a reason it made our easy care list.

All right. Let’s do a couple more.

How about a fiber glass entry door? It looks and feels like wood, it stains like wood, it never chips or cracks.

I like all that, that’s our prize indeed.

Yes. It doesn’t expand or contract very much with weather changes, so they can go for years without needing a paint or a stain touch up, they can last for fifteen or twenty years and they also, typically, have a foam core inside, so that’s good for insulation. They fall between steal and wood in price, so the average install cost for this would be about three thousand dollars.

Lastly, if I may, I just want to recommend vinyl shake siding. They look almost as good as real wood, just like the fiber glass doors, but they won’t crack, or rot, or fade, or need a lot of staining and sealing; bugs don’t like them and even better, they are about two dollars to seven dollars per square foot installed, so they are half the price of real wood shakes and again, low maintenance.

You can hear more great ideas like the ones here by tuning in to www.HouseLogic.com/radio

photo credit

The Upside to Residential Solar Panels

The Residential Solar Panels Chronicles

It really is expected that by the end of the following decade, most people will own a complete solar power home. Even somebody who’sn’t all that handy round the house can simply compile a solar panel with the proper instructions and just a couple tools. The value of your residence is set by the neighborhood the home is located.

The Most Popular Residential Solar Panels

You would like your solar power system to provide you with just the correct amount to maintain your bills at zero. Begin now and eventually you’ll have a solar powered house. They manage electric generation systems like that of hydroelectric energy and also power plant equipment.

Physical installation has become the most chancy segment of your installation approach. Installing this model isn’t a troublesome task either. Connect the battery power contributes to 220V inverter.

What You Can Do About Residential Solar Panels Starting in the Next 20 Minutes

The wind is irregular, exactly like sunny days together with gloomy days, and there’s not a thing any person is capable of doing about this! The make and size usually is dependent upon the quantity of space you want to heat. It’s going to be completed by the calendar year 2015.

If someone should happen to say there are some potential health related dangers of solar power because solar power is made as an immediate consequence of nuclear fusion, it would not really be an entirely illogical statement. Even today, coal is easily the most common fuel which is used by thermal power stations. That is why you’ll need strategies to convert the energy.

Residential Solar Panels Help!

Wind energy is actually a renewable type of energy. Some scientists also have developed a nano-paint which is often coated on walls so as to conduct electricity more effectively.

It isn’t enough to make use of just one solar cell to convert sun’s energy in order to electricity. They’re energy saving as sunlight may be the generator of energy.

One of the ac unit kinds used by men and women nowadays is solar ac units. Just bear in mind that efficiency is vital if you’re pursuing solar water heating. Septic tanks are typical in areas where sewer systems don’t exist.

One of the serious dangers of solar energy requires the handling of the equipment along with the materials that are utilized for producing it. There are various companies in Tampa that provide solar merchandise and appliances at inexpensive prices. Industry experts are extremely positive concerning the scope, extent and chances for growth within the renewable energy sources market.

Problem of NonWorking Ice Maker an Easy Refrigerator Repair With Some Professional Help

Like all modern appliances, today’s refrigerators are fantastic – until they’re not. We come to rely on them so much that we find our lifestyles literally crippled when something stops working right. This happened to us recently as we found ourselves needing a refrigerator repair (we called http://austinappliancemasters.com to help us out), once our automatic ice dispenser stopped working just before the Super Bowl when we were expecting a bunch of friends to come over to watch the game.

Fortunately for me, I was able to call in a favor (I literally “called it in” to my college buddy who works for Austin Appliance Masters), and he was able to guide me through getting it working again. I’ll walk you through the process here that he helped me with… and hopefully you won’t have the pressure of the big game if you end up needing to perform this repair yourself!

So now at this point, we’re going to go ahead and pull the assembly back down and where going to install a secondary gasket. Now at this point we’re going to go ahead and install he secondary gasket right over the top of the other gasket and you’re going to line, just make sure that your surface is dry, try to get the seals to line up as good as you can there and when you do get the secondary gasket here, if it comes in the box and the gasket is creased or folded, you don’t want to install it because you will have issues so if you do get this always inspect this gasket here. Sometimes during packaging this gasket gets folded and you get a big crease in it and it’s going to cause issues.

Okay now we’ve got our secondary gasket installed here, go ahead and get it in place and have to let your fascia just hang. Now with the new gasket on, the unit, they fit really tight and that might be hard to get your screws in so what you’re going to want to use is take an awl and go on the front side here, kind of get it in and that will hold the unit in place and then you can go ahead and get your other screw. Start with here and you can go ahead and totally tighten that and at that point, that should hold it in place so you get your other screw in.

Okay we got our water line ran over the top there, you going to go right and press that into your valve, make sure that’s securely pressed in there. Okay, now we’re just going to go ahead and reconnect the harnesses, get your thermostat there and reconnect that to either 2 pin at this point just going to kind of matching harnesses up. Okay just go through and make sure all your harnesses are connected. Now we’re going to go ahead and install our fascia heater cover here, get two tabs at the top, got started, three along the bottom.

Okay, now we’re going to go ahead and just reinstall our cover, going to hook up your harness through your LED’s and when you putting it in you just got to kind of move all your wiring in the position. Got three like three hangars out in the back, three slots that you have to get it into and then on the front just going to be pushing it up and snapping everything into place.

Because you did changed some wiring, they give you a new schematic for the ice maker system and I want to just put that underneath your hinge cover just in case anybody does have to service this, they will have the updated wiring information. We’re going to go ahead and put our two quarter inch screws up for the filter housing set. Go ahead and re install our water filter, that’s going to complete the repair.

Replacing a Dishwasher – How to Install Dishwasher Plumbing

All right, so today we’re going to look at dealing with replacing a dishwasher and the plumbing associated with it thanks to the pros at http://denverappliancemasters.com. I disconnected the old dishwasher, I disconnected the hose and the water supply going into the shut off valve and the next thing, we have a flexible conduit, going to a little electrical box, inside the dishwasher itself and all I have to do is unscrew these two wire nuts and then the nut that’s holding the fitting onto the conduit and that will allow us to pull the old dishwasher out of here.

So we have the new dishwasher and I am going to go through the steps to install it. I am going to connect the electric first and on the bottom of the dishwasher, on one side you are going to find the electrical box, we’re going to remove the cover and you are going to have a white and a black wire. The white is your neutral, the black is your hot and in this case, we’ve got flexible metal conduit that I am going to connect.

So I am going to push this through the back of the box and I am going to connect it with a metal nut and then I am going to connect the black wire to the black wire and tighten it down with wire nut. It’s very important that you connect black to black, white to white. And always shut off the electric on any circuit you are working on. In this case I turned off the breaker and I tested the wires before I started. So I’ll tighten this down and then we are going to the next step.

The next step, I am going to connect my water supply and for the water inlet, in dishwashers you are going to have two different fittings that you can use. In some of the newer dishwashers, you are going to have three quarter inch hose fitting connecting to a three eights compression. Three eights compression is going to fit to your supply line.

In this case, we have three eights iron pipe on one side which is going to go into this inlet and we have three eights compression on the other side to fit the supply line. And the supply line is going to be be connected to the valve. In this case, we have a double valve, so I have one of the hot going up to the sink and the other side of the hot is going to the dishwasher. If you are in a condo or somewhere where you didn’t want to take off the valve and change it to a double, this is a great little fitting you can get to a hardware store.

You’ve got three eights compression on one side, a female that’s going to connect to a valve and it’s going to give you two different threaded connections here, so you can go up to the sink and over to the dishwasher. So I’ll connect the supply line now and then we’ll move on to the next step. I put a hole to the bottom of the cabinet and that’s where the supply line is coming from the dishwasher and we’ll push this cabinet back and connect it to the valve.

And then we have the drain holes. I cut a hole up high, it needs to loop thirty-two inches off the ground for it to drain properly. And now this is going to be connected to the pipe going into the P trap. And this has to be above this connection, has to be above the J bend or the P trap, going into the wall. So this is how we’ll connect it, we’ll get a hose clamp and tighten this down and then we are going to connect all the under sink.

Before connecting the supply line on the new dishwasher…

Before you connect a new supply line to either your faucet or a dishwasher, you’d want to bleed it first. So I connected the supply line to the valve and I am just going to let it run for a couple of seconds. And if you had any debris build up, just from working and get caught in here, you don’t want it to get caught in the aerator, in the faucet or especially for the dishwasher, all the small pieces inside the dishwasher.

So it’s always a good idea to grab a bucket, bleed it first and especially if you have galvanized pipe and you shut off the water and you turn the main back on, just that activity shakes loose a lot of rust. So it’s always a good idea to bleed your valve before you are connecting a new supply line. I’ve cut my extension pipe to size and I am going to slip it up, I’ve got a nut in the washer above it and we’ll just snug that down.

Now I am going to take my trap, I’ve got a nut and a washer above it and we’ll just line it up to make sure everything is placed properly and in this case, we’ve got the dishwasher drain so this is what we are going to connect to it. I’ll cut this to the proper size and then we’ll put a hose clamp here.

If you didn’t have a drain washer, you would use just an extension pipe in it’s place and now I’ll go back, I’ll tighten all of the nuts, plastic going to the plastic thread, here I’ve got metal going up to metal and this stub out, that the main drain is going into is metal so I am using a metal nut here. And those are the steps to change the under sink drain pipe for a kitchen sink.

I’ve got the dishwasher in place and I leveled it and connected it with two brackets to the bottom of the counter. And this is what it looks like, it’s a direct connect to the under sink supply here. And there are two ways you would connect the drain hose, it would either be a direct connect, like this or you would connect it to a garbage disposal.

So just to recap, if you are taking out your old dishwasher, you want to turn off the electric first, you want to turn off the supply to the old dishwasher and disconnect the hose. You pull it out, double check your electric and then you would disconnect your electric and your water supply and the drain hose. And that’s all there is to it, to replace a dishwasher.

Here’s a bit more help, if you need it, courtesy of YouTube…

How to Clean Soap Scum Off Shower Doors

Today I’m going to share with you two things that drive me insane in the shower. One of them is soap scum, and the second thing is constantly having to clean it. And if you think this is bad enough at home with at most a few showers to deal with, imagine dealing with dozens of properties with serveral showers each… now you understand why it can be such an issue for me!

So what I’m going to do is clean this off using a formula that I found online from the good folks that manage rental properties in Tucson (http://extendedstay-tucson.com)… it uses stuff you can pretty much find anywhere, and that is using baking soda and vinegar.

So baking soda and vinegar, when you put them together, they create a chemical reaction and the acidity of that will cut through the soap scum. But you have to make a paste, so I made a paste like this, and what you’re going to do after you make that paste is wipe it all over your glass and leave it sit there for 10-15 minutes and then you are going to wipe it back off.

And then, the next part that I am going to use, which you don’t commonly see in the shower, but you see it more for automotive purposes is Rain-X. So Rain-X is a product that you put on your windshield and it causes water to beat up and just drip off the surface. So I am going to show you how to use both of these items to prevent soap scum and maybe make your life a lot easier.

Okay, so the first step that I am going to take is applying the baking soda and vinegar concoction together and putting it onto the actual glass on the shower door. So I made my concoction a little bit – how do I describe this? – it’s, as you can see, it’s got liquidity to it. It’s somewhat of a liquid, but it’s mostly a paste. And I wanted it to be pasty because I am going to use a sponge to wipe it onto this glass.

So that’s what I am going to do now. And then, once I get it on the glass, I’m going to leave it sit for probably 10 or 15 minutes, so that the baking soda and vinegar will cut through the soap scum itself. So let’s go ahead and do that so you have a good idea of what you’ll be working with. So you can see here, I am just putting the actual baking soda- vinegar solution on here.

And I guess the other cool thing about this is the fact that it’s natural, it doesn’t contain any kind of harsh chemicals. Honestly, I was going to use Kaboom, but it said not to use it on frosted glass, so that’s why I am using the vinegar and baking soda. So we’ll put this on here, we’ll let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes, and we’ll come back and take a look and see what it looks like.

Okay, so we let the baking soda and vinegar solution sit on the shower glass for 10-15 minutes, and honestly, it’s looking pretty good. The next thing that you can do is use common window cleaning supplies, like a window sponge like this, and clean off the glass. Honestly, it creates a little bit of a mess using the paste, but it’s not anything that you can’t clean up and wash down the drain.

Certainly, it’s safe. And I totally think that this is looking so much better. So use a sponge like this. And then, the next thing that you want to do, once you get it all clean, is use a squeegee, like so, to squeegee off all the excess baking soda and vinegar solution. So do that and then I’ll show you the next step for how we can actually make this not accumulate soap scum.

But, again, make sure you get this mixture off, dry it with a towel, make sure it’s totally dry and then you can move on to the next step with the Rain-X. All right, everybody. This is the last step in this process of cleaning your soap scum and allowing your new glass surface, your newly cleaned surface, to not accumulate those particles, those minerals and soap residue that creates a faded look.

So you can see here that the vinegar and baking soda solution worked awesome. Hopefully you can see that. If you can’t, take my word for it, it’s good to use that kind of paste on a glass door like this. And then, the second step, like I said before, is to use Rain-X two in one. Again, this is two in one glass cleaner plus rain repellent.

So what this is going to do is when you spray this on here, you’re going to spray it directly onto the glass, and then wipe it off with either a paper towel or a microfiber cloth like this. So let’s go ahead and do that. When you do apply the Rain-X, it’s going to make water beat off this and run down. And when the water does that, hopefully the soap scum will do that too.

So let me show you. It’s fairly simple to do. You shake it up real good, take the top off, and again, you just spray this onto the actual glass. So in this case, I am going to use some microfiber cloth and just wipe this all over the glass surface. It’s going to help clean the surface and it’s also going to apply the Rain-X beating technology to your shower door glass.

So that’s my biggest tip for preventing soap scum on your shower door, and I really think that this extra step can help you eliminate the soap scum cleaning responsibilities that you have on a weekly or biweekly basis. So thanks a lot for joining me, I really appreciate it, and I hope you have a great day!

How To Clean a Stinky Sink Drain

Today I've got a great tip for you on how to clean stinky sink drains that comes from a real pro… my buddy at Las Vegas Appliance Masters (www.lasvegasappliancemasters.com) who deals with a lot of stinky situations. So stay tuned, I think by the end of this article, you are going to get rid of that nasty smell that permeates up through your drain and before you know it, you are going to enjoy your bathroom a lot better, so let's get to it.

The first thing you should do is check that your P trap has water in it or that you have a Ptrap. The water will prevent sewer gas from coming up into your bathroom. Remove the P trap by loosening the two knots that hold it in place. Then, take a look and see if there is water down in it. There should be. There is also bio-film in my P trap and that needs to be removed.

You'll have to unscrew the pivot rod. So, turn the nut counterclockwise to remove the pivot rod from the drain. Yikes! That's in bad shape too, so we'll have to clean that. The pivot rod, by removing it, allows you to remove the pop-up stopper which collects a whole bunch of grime and muck because we wash our faces, brush our teeth, shave, etc.

So, what I like to do is clean the pop-up stopper off with a toothbrush and take a paper towel, fold it and push it down the drain. Use and appliance brush like this one here that help push it down even further. What you are going to do is scrape the sides of your drain and remove any additional bio-film that is on it. As you can see here, there's plenty of bio-film on this drain.

So, remove the goose neck from the wall and you can see, it's pretty nasty. And take a spoon and scrape out any sediment that's in the wall drain. Then use the same paper towel method that you used on the drain that cleaned out the P trap and the goose neck and you could see, it's pretty effective by doing that. Already it looks a lot better.

Heat a pot of water on the stove. We're going to use this later. Then fill up either a kitchen sink or a laundry tub full of water and place all of your parts into the water, so the P trap, the goose neck, the pivot rod and the pop-up stopper. The next thing that we are going to do is add about one quarter cup of Clorox bleach to the water and this is going to disinfect all of the parts.

So, let that sit for about ten minutes and then you can pull your parts out. Now, Obviously, I cleaned them off with a paper towel beforehand, but they look pretty awesome at this point. Another step that I did, that you don't have to do, is I sprayed down all the parts with Wet and Forget Indoor mold and mildew remover. This is optional.

I had the Wet and Forget sitting around, I figured why don't I just give it a shot. So I sprayed it down on all the parts and I even sprayed it into the two inch pipe that's in the bathroom. All right! It's time to put everything back together again. Place the goose neck into the wall drain, tighten down the nut, secure the P trap to the drain coming from the sink and the goose neck.

Ratchet down on these nuts and make sure all the fittings are flush, then place a clevis arm on the pivot rod and tighten down the nut that holds the pivot rod in the drain. You want to make sure that's tight, not super tight, just tight enough the water won't penetrate through. Run your water.

We are going to do this to make sure that all the fittings are bone-dry and they are, in my case. But if they are not in yours, just make sure those nuts are tight. Pour the water down the drain in two-cup increments. This is going to disinfect your drain even further and move any of the sediment down the main waste sack. And, the last step is to place the clean pop-up stopper down into the drain and you are done. There you have it.

That's how you fix a stinky sink drain. And, you know, I think that, if you follow the tips that I showed you here, you won't have that nasty smell anymore. And, if you have a question, by all means, just let me know or, if you've got your own tips, please add them to the comment section because I am always looking to learn and I know that everybody who reads these articles would like to learn from you too.

Interior Painting and Other Home Improvement Ideas For the DIY-er

Looking to spruce up your home but not ready (or able) to do a full remodel? No problem! Giving the interior of your home – or even just one or two rooms – can make a world of difference and make you feel like you've done a lot more to your home than just a coat of paint. And if you're thinking of selling, this is one great way to spend a bit of time and or money to really make the house show well.

Boards which are stained are more appealing than those which are painted if you're replacing your baseboards. The natural and warm appearance of the wood will fit in any dwelling, along with it having a classic look. Stained backboards also serve the benefit of defending against spots and marks, which can increase its longevity. You may possess the option to choose from many, many colors of spot that'll match decor of any colour.

Among the most effective home improvements you can do when selling your house is to replace the worn out and old carpets. This give a great impression on prospective buyers and may make the property look nice. Buyers immediately get turned off if they believe that they are going to must replace the stained and tattered carpets in every room.

A staple tool is your drill, if you're going to do any home improvements. You require it to start screws and to drive them in place. Make sure you have a drill that's cordless and battery controlled with a minimum of 9 volts. You also need to have drill bits of varied sizes and screw fasteners.

Smoke detectors are necessary for security in your house. Many houses just set them in particular spaces. You can raise the security in your home, by installing additional detectors in areas like cellars, kitchens and bathrooms. These areas can sometimes be overlooked, though prone to fires as much or more compared to the remainder of the home.

Before you embark on a home improvement project, think about the impact on your own home's resale value. For example, converting your garage into a living room may make sense for your immediate needs, but a lot of home buyers are turned off by this type of addition. Conditions can change, even if you don't plan on selling instantaneously, and you may have to spend additional money getting your house back to the way it was.

Make sure to consult local officials on what permits you require, when you start to plan a home improvement project. In the event that you don't do all the work that's done to this may have to be torn down and the job began all over again because of regulation violations.

It's very important to always keep your financial plan in mind as you start your home improvement project. It's crucial to plan the job out ahead of time and get prices on the materials you need to make your vision a reality. It's additionally significant to consider how long you will be taken by the job.

Strategies For Doing Your Own Home Improvements

Try These Great Strategies For Your Home Improvement Project

Regardless of which type of home improvement project you’ve got in your mind, the aforementioned article will help you. Get creative and create a style that you may take pride in. If you’re going to be doing a home improvement project, use the tips that you have read today to achieve your goals.

If you can not manage a professional designer, do your own homework. Review online magazines, books and resources to get ideas. You never know where you will find an image that may determine the future of your renovations. Literature can also supply you with the info you must get your project done.

Add a second toilet to your home, in case you do not yet have one. The most important reason behind this is so your family doesn’t have to fight over one bathroom. Another reason behind adding another toilet is for resale value. Having two bathrooms makes a house more attractive for prospective buyers. You can read more about remodeling small bathrooms here.

Replace your air conditioning filter from time to time. A filter that is clogged up can actually use a lot more energy. You may also be using way more electricity than essential. Shift the filter frequently to save cash and time.

Give a fast update to your kitchen by wiping down the cabinets and either adding or altering the cabinet hardware. Handles or giving your kitchen cabinets a fresh set of knobs can definitely improve the appearance of your kitchen without costing lots of money. You can alter the character of your kitchen quickly and simply with all these styles of knobs and handles available.

Consider adding more rooms to your house or transforming it into a loft in the event the ceiling is rather low, should you’ve got an attic you do not use. This will surely increase the value of your home besides giving you more space. Be sure to use proper isolation to prevent your new rooms from damp or getting too cold.

You need to put in a dormer window to make the area more usable if there’s plenty of room in the loft. This adds appeal to your house, along with possibly doubling your square footage. This gives you a lot more living space for an extremely small investment and raises your property value.

Fixing a Bathroom Faucet – Easy Job

Today today I am going to show you how to replace a stem unit and seats and springs in a Delta bathroom faucet like this one. So, let's get to it. It's pretty simple. All you want to do is unscrew the faucet handle, set that to the side. This allows you to gain access to the little set screw here that holds this handle in place. Using an Allen wrench to turn the screw to the left, set that to the side, use a pair of channel locks to unscrew this lock knot here that holds the stem unit in place.

The stem unit will come right out. Notice the orientation when you do that, because you want to install it right back in place the way that it was, either with a new unit or if you are only replacing the seat and the spring, you still want to replace this in the same exact position. There are little plastic tabs on the side here that go into grooves on the brass fitting. So we'll set that to the side. I will show you the seat and the spring that are down in there. So the seat is the little rubber piece here and the spring is this spring.

And they go together in a specific way. There is a wide portion to this spring, believe it not. It might be hard to see here, but that wide portion needs to go down into the faucet. So if you have a new seat and spring, I advise you to put them together before you stick them down into the faucet. So you put them together, grab them with your needle nose pliers, drop them down into the hole that sits in here, press down on it firmly, make sure that the seat is down in there. Position your stem unit the way that it was before you took it out.

Put the lock nut back on, hand tighten it, maybe give it an eight of a turn with the channel lock, put your handle back on, tighten it down with the Allen wrench, screw your portion of the handle in place and voila, you are done! So that's it, that's how you replace or fix a bathroom faucet by Delta. Hope this was helpful. So have a great day, take care!

Clothes Dryer Repair – The Most Common Problem

One thing I think you should be aware of when taking apart your dryer to fix it is that the edges can be really sharp. All right. So here is the back and there’s probably about three screws there, three there, maybe like nine screws overall. Take the back cover off the dryer and there is the back. Right here there is this white clip, there’s two blue cords that connect to that and this is called the thermal fuse.

According to the guys at the Tucson appliance repair shop (http://appliancerepairtucsonaz.org), more then likely what happened is where the lint comes out, that probably clogged somewhere in the line and caused it to heat up and that’s the safety protection right here, this fuse, that will keep the dryer from overheating and it’s a safety precaution. I am checking in the back right here to see if there is a problem with the cord. I don’t see any in here that looks like it’s burnt.

It looks like it’s getting the power correctly, here is the four prong plug, it looks pretty good. All right. This is the old one right here, this is the new one and we are going to run a continuity test on it. In order to do that, here is the sound you want to hear, so you know that electricity is going through. Here we go.

We’ll test these two ends. The old one, nothing. Here is the new one, touch that end. All right. So we know we have electricity going through there. This one is burnt out, so we know that’s the problem. As long as I have the back opened and I have the thermal fuse replace, I think I might take this off here, there are just few screws to remove this section right here.

The reason that thermal fuse broke is probably because there is build up lint. So I am taking these last couple of screws out right here and I pull this back a little bit already and you can see a large build up, looks like some saw dust and part of an ink pen, it won’t be a bad idea to just clean that up and I am going through and clean the hose going out to the outside of my house, that’s probably where the majority of the build up is.

If we look outside, that’s supposed to be some of the high-tech dryer vent and I think the way this works, it’s supposed to be a more efficient design, but I think this traps all the lint inside, so I bet if I reach in there, I’ll probably get a brush and I’ll stick it in there and try and clean up and get all the lint. You can see in there, there’s plenty of lint, so time to do a thought clean and I think I am going to change the outside to a more standard dryer vent.