Topic of the Month: Windows and
Doors
Check for Drafty
Windows
As you gear up for
winter, don't forget to check out the airtightness of your windows and doors. A
quick and easy way is to hold a lighted match to their edges on a blustery day.
If it blows out and the smoke flutters, it's time to get new weather stripping.
And get it fast. Once it gets cold, the temperature makes the weather
stripping's adhesive far less sticky.
Fix a Door that
Scapes the Floor
Does your door scrape a
high spot on the floor? If so, don't be quick to reach for your tools and start
unscrewing hinges to begin planing the door. When a door swings over uneven
terrain and clips the high ground here and there, let the enemy, gravity, do
the dirty work for you. Just tape a sheet of
medium-grit sandpaper to the floor over the high spot. Place it face-up so it
sands the bottom of the door when it scrapes against it and after a while it'll
wear down. Once it clears the bottom, start building it up again by adding thin
pieces of cardboard under the sandpaper until the clearance is just right.
Quick Repairs for
Doorbells
Does your doorbell ring
softly or not at all? This could have an effect on your social life if you
don't check into what could be causing this easily-fixed problem. Take a few
minutes to inspect the bell hardware, follow this advice and pretty soon people
will be knocking down your door!
- Check
Clappers or Plungers. Bells or chimes usually
don't work if their clappers or plungers are dirty. If your doorbell is
dirty, the ring usually sounds muffled or muted. Take off the cover to the
chimes or bells and inspect the points that strike the chime or bell for
dirt. When the gong and clappers on a doorbell unit or the plungers on a
mechanical chime unit get dirty and dusty, dip a cotton swab in alcohol to
clean them. You can also use an old toothbrush and lighter fluid on the
clappers and plungers. These parts look like springs or coils on both the
doorbell unit and the chime unit.
Warning: Do not clean electric chimes because it will ruin them.
Check Rubber Grommets in Chimes. If the
rubber grommets that are attached to the chimes are hard or brittle, it can
result in very muted tones when the chimes are rung. Replacing the grommets can
give a clear ring to your chimes. Rubber grommets can be found at your local
True Value hardware store. You simply attach the grommets to the support holes
of the tone bars
Does your doorbell ring
softly or not at all? This could have an effect on your social life if you
don't check into what could be causing this easily-fixed problem. Take a few
minutes to inspect the bell hardware, follow this advice and pretty soon people
will be knocking down your door!
Check Clappers or Plungers. Bells
or chimes usually don't work if their clappers or plungers are dirty
Window Plants for
Winter
Just because it's winter
doesn't mean you stop planting. Gardeners can keep plenty busy by nurturing
plants on window sills inside the house. But, for best results you need to
match each plant with the right conditions:
- North-facing windows favor low-light plants like philodendron, fig and the wandering Jew.
Just because it's winter
doesn't mean you stop planting. Gardeners can keep plenty busy by nurturing
plants on window sills inside the house. But, for best results you need to
match each plant with the right conditions:
- North-facing windows favor low-light plants like philodendron, fig and the wandering Jew.
- South-facing
windows, which get the most sun, suit plants such as cacti, trailing
begonias, geraniums and ivy.
East and west windows get a moderate amount of light and are
ideal for plants like lilies and African violets.
Storm Door Tune-Up
Do you have a storm door
that keeps slamming shut instead of closing smooth and quiet? If it started
doing acting up just about the time cold weather set in right, there is a
solution.
When you took out your summer screens and put in storm door windows, most likely you didn’t think about the weight difference. Glass weighs a lot more than screen and that extra weight is going to cause your door to slam shut. That is, unless you tune things up a mite.
The hydraulic tube near the top of the door is called a door
closer. On the end is a small screw that you can turn clockwise. Your door will
then close slower and won’t slam shut. Next spring when it’s time for screens
again, turn it counter-clockwise so it closes a mite faster with the lighter
weight.
While the screens are out you might also want to see if they
need fixing.
