Top Tools for the Cleveland Handyman: LED Flashlight

While nothing may yet surpass the Maglite as the ideal flashlight for the Cleveland handyman. It’s tough, dependable, and just all-around cool looking. Any Cleveland handyman who is tired of changing flashlight batteries or dealing with burned out bulbs may want to keep an LED flashlight on hand.

Whether as a backup or as a primary flashlight, LED flashlights can save the Cleveland handyman time, trouble and money. Powered by old bulbs, traditional flashlights emanate energy-wasting heat. LED flashlights come equipped with bulbs that will last far longer and can waste as little as 10% of the energy of a regular torch. Furthermore, LED lights will not only last far longer than older flashlights, but you won’t have to worry as much about your light conking out in the middle of a job.

About 10 years ago, LEDs and LED flashlights were still pretty pricey. But recent years have seen the costs of production drop to the point where LED flashlights cost about the same as normal flashlights. There are already plenty of LED flashlights to choose from. A keychain LED flashlight will work great as a backup light for any Cleveland handyman or a full-sized LED flashlight can be used as a trusty primary torch.

Easy Cleveland Handyman Service Tips: Discover Your Soil’s pH in Just 10 Minutes

Spring is here, and you may have several projects on your mind that may need Cleveland handyman services. If you’re thinking about reshaping your yard, then now’s the perfect time to start planning. If you’ve never landscaped or gardened before, and you’re thinking of adding new plants, flowers, or shrubs, it’s important that you remember to your check your soil’s acidity before starting a project with Cleveland handyman services.

Different types of plants need varying degrees of soil acidity in order to thrive. Some plants are sensitive to soil pH. For example, rhododendrons and heathers will not be able to grow if lime is present anywhere in the soil, which justifies the importance of knowing your soil’s acidity or alkalinity. It will make it easier to discuss your project when you’re shopping for Cleveland handyman services for landscaping. The acidity or alkalinity is measured in pH. The pH lets you know the amount of lime in the soil. Soils with a pH lower than 7.0 are acidic soils and soils higher than 7.0 are considered alkaline. So how do you know what pH your soil is? There are expensive kits you can buy, but here’s a far cheaper method that you can perform without the help of a kit or Cleveland handyman services. And you can do it in just 10 minutes.

1. Scoop some soil from your yard or garden. Put it in a container and add a half-cup of vinegar. If the soil creates fizz or bubbles, then it’s alkaline.

2. If nothing happens when the vinegar is poured on the soil, it’s probably acidic. To be certain about that, scoop fresh soil into a second container. Add a half cup of water and then a half cup of baking soda. If there’s a fizzing or bubbling reaction, then the soil is acidic.

3 Reasons Why a Cleveland Home Repair Company Saves Time and Money for Paint Stripping

Fixing up a house? If you’re like most serious renovators, you’re probably going to encounter some paint that you want removed. And that should be especially if the paint job looks like its over twenty years old. That’s because lead in paint can be a serious hazard, and all older houses with older paint jobs should be tested.

But whether you’re removing paint for safety reasons or just for aesthetic ones, you want the job done right. In most cases, removing old paint will be a lengthy job, and care is needed so the walls will not be ruined.

Hiring a Cleveland home repair company to remove paint is a good idea. An experienced Cleveland home repair company will be able to save you time and money by getting the paint stripping right the first time.

Reasons Why a Cleveland Home Repair Company is the Best Option for Removing Paint

• An experienced Cleveland home repair company can remove paint and make the walls as smooth as possible.

• In older houses, sometimes cautious removal techniques are needed, since walls can be delicate. A good Cleveland home repair company will know what will and what won’t damage older walls.

• An expert Cleveland home repair company will know what walls will need scraping and what painted walls can simple be painted over, thus saving you time by only removing paint from walls that need it.

Tips from a Remodeling Contractor in Cleveland: Repairing Drywall

Your average remodeling contractor in Cleveland knows that hairline cracks on indoor walls can appear just months after you’re completed a full wall renovation. And an average remodeling contractor in Cleveland knows just how frustrating the sight of those fractures, however tiny, can be. Here’s how an average remodeling contractor in Cleveland prefers to deal with the problem of small hairline cracks.

Broaden the crack a bit by scraping it with the sharp edge of something like a can opener or an old, sturdy knife. Then wipe off all the dust and cover the crack with fiberglass mesh drywall tape. The crack will probably not flow in a straight line; you’ll have to cut the tape to follow it. Make sure the tape pieces don’t overlap. After that, take a drywall knife and slather a thin coat of joint compound over the tape. Leave that on overnight. Then, on the next day, you can lightly sand and apply two thinner coats of joint compound.

Have a hole in the drywall? The average remodeling contractor in Cleveland has seen their share of punctured drywall sections. Here’s how an experienced remodeling contractor in Cleveland would go about fixing it.

Get a wallboard saw and cut a square around the hole. Put a small piece of wood inside as a brace to hold it against the back side of the wall. Then, from an extra drywall board use the square you cut out as a template to fashion a new, replacement square. Cover the back with drywall compound and press it into the brace. Then tape the compound and, if necessary. Paint the patch to match the rest of the wall.

Stop Wasting Money on Paint Rollers to Tackle a House Remodeling in Cleveland Project

It’s happened to all of us who have ever been painting with a house remodeling in Cleveland project. At the end of a long day of house remodeling in Cleveland, the last thing we want to do is go through the tedious method of rinsing and cleaning a paint roller. This usually means that the paint dries onto the roller and ultimately ruins it. So here’s a tip that makes cleaning a roller during a house remodeling in Cleveland project easier. Follow this house remodeling in Cleveland tip and you won’t have to head back to the hardware store for a new roller after every coat.

The trick is to store the roller in an empty potato chip tube, like a Pringles can. Here’s what to do: immediately after you finish applying your last coat for the day during a house remodeling in Cleveland project, quickly rinse off all excess paint. Then slide the roller off the frame. If you’re using a normal sized paint roller for your house remodeling in Cleveland project, then you’ll be able to slide the roller into the potato chip tube.

Now here’s where the simple genius of this tip comes in. The paint roller should fit all the way in the can, so you can simply put the plastic lid on top. This should keep the roller from drying out. The plastic cap will be enough to keep your roller good overnight, but if you’re not planning on using it for more than a few days, then give the tube an extra layer of sealant with some duct tape and put it in the refrigerator. The cool refrigerator air and the high humidity in the potato chip tube should be enough to keep the paint from drying out.

3 More Saws for the Cleveland Handyman

Last week, we covered the three most common kinds of saws that should be near the workbench of any Cleveland handyman. This week, we’ll go a little more in depth and cover three saws that aren’t absolutely necessary, but are still very useful for plenty of Cleveland handyman duties.

Keyhole Saw

Keyhole Saw or Compass Saw

These saws have very narrow blades that often end at a point. This slenderness gives keyhole saws and compass saws the ability to easily cut curved holes in wood and other materials. As their name suggests, Keyhole saws are better for a Cleveland handyman who wants to carve small, narrow shapes. With somewhere around 10 to 12 teeth per inch, keyhole saws are some of the narrowest owned by Cleveland handyman. And while they look like keyhoe saws, compass saws are a little larger. They usually feature 8 to 10 teeth per inch. Since the blades are so narrow, a Cleveland handyman will find that keyhole and compass saws easily bend when cutting. It may take a bit of skill and practice before a Cleveland handyman can perfect the operation of such slim saws.

Drywall Saw

Drywall Saw

The drywall saw looks like a beefed-up ripsaw. With a coarser, thicker blade, this saw is ideal for—you guessed it—cutting into drywall. This saw also works wonderfully for wallboards. Just be sure not to mistake a drywall saw and a ripsaw. Picking the wrong saw for a job can often end in bad results for a Cleveland handyman.

 

Hacksaw

Hacksaw

The trusty hacksaw looks like a tougher version of the coping saw. With a tensioned frame and a fine toothed blade, these saws can be used by a Cleveland handyman to cut metal, plastic and glass. Like coping saws, hacksaw blades are replaceable. You can find blades that range from 14 to 32 teeth per inch. Although they’re versatile, the blades are also thin and brittle. A Cleveland handyman may find that a hacksaw will break a lot easier than other, thicker saw blades.

Cleveland Handyman Tips: 5 Uses for a Utility Knife

 

Utility Knife

Every Cleveland handyman should have at least one. The trusty utility is a must whether you’re planning on starting Cleveland handyman improvement projects large or small. The utility knife is so simple in design, though, that it may even surprise the most battle-tested Cleveland handyman improvement veterans. Here are some unique uses for a utility knife that you may not be aware of.

 

1. Cut Drywall—This is one of the most common jobs that a Cleveland handyman would use a utility knife. But there are still many in the Cleveland handyman community who are surprised at just how effective the small, stout blade is at taking out unnecessary wall. When cutting, use a straightedge to guide the blade along the wall and cut somewhere between 1/8” to ¼” into the wall. Then just bend the sheet and it’ll snap right out.
2. Cut Fiberglass insulation—A utility knife’s sharp blade makes it the perfect candidate to take out fiberglass insulation and any barriers. The blade may be too short for a Cleveland handyman to cut all the way through the thick insulation, though. However, if you lay board across the fiberglass batt and kneel on it, you may be able to compress the board enough to slice all the way through.
3. Expose popped nail heads—Does your house have a drywall finish? Then you probably have some popped nails or screws on the walls or ceilings. You can fix this by using a utility knife to expose the nail or screw head. Just gently carve away the joint that surrounds the head. Then you can either pull it out, or use a hammer or screwdriver to yank it out.
4. Slit a Plastic sheeting door—If you are a Cleveland handyman remodeling an area, then you’ll probably want to make life easier for everyone near the remodeled area by putting up plastic sheeting. But you’ll still need a way to get in and out. Use clear polyethylene sheeting to tape up on all the doorways. Then with a utility knife, simply cut a vertical opening through one of the doorways to make an entrance.
5. Scratch out old grout—you can buy special tools that get rid of tough, ingrained grout. But if you’re a Cleveland handyman who only needs to clear a little, then a utility knife can do the trick. Put the pointed tip of the blade between the tiles and scratch lightly at the grout. Be careful not to chip any of the surrounding tiles. This is where you can use an old and dull utility knife blade.

3 Saws you Must Have for Cleveland Home Remodeling Jobs

How many saws do you need to successfully tackle most Cleveland home remodeling jobs? That depends on how much of a home handyperson you’re planning on being. There are a range of handsaws that can be utilized for a variety of jobs.

Most Common Saws you Need for Cleveland Home Remodeling Jobs

Ripsaw:
The ripsaw is a coarse-toothed saw for straight cuts in wood that go along with the grain. This is the most-commonly used saw, and it’s probably the saw you think of when someone mentions the word saw. If you’re only going to have a single saw for Cleveland home remodeling jobs, then you’ll want t ripsaw.

Backsaw:
A backsaw looks a lot like a ripsaw, but it has a stiff spine that runs the blade’s length that gives it better cutting precision. These saws are used for Cleveland Home remodeling jobs like cabinetry work and joinery work.

Coping Saw:
The coping saw is that P-shaped saw with a slender steel blade on a rectangular frame. These can be used in Cleveland home remodeling jobs that call for coping, or curved incisions. Blades on most coping saws are replicable.

These are the most common types of saws; if you’re putting together a tool set for Cleveland home remodeling jobs, then you’ll want to be sure to have at least one of each of these. These are the saws that you’ll need to use the most often. Next week, we’ll cover specialty saws that aren’t necessary for most basic tool kits, but may be required if you’re handling certain Cleveland home remodeling jobs.

More Tips for Basement Remodeling in Cleveland

Have you had your basement inspected recently? Spring is right around the corner and it’s never too early to start thinking about basement remodeling in Cleveland projects. Basement leaks can be annoying in the winter, but even more devastating in the spring and summer months. 

How can you be sure that your basement is leaking? How can you be sure that you need to start a basement remodeling in Cleveland project? It’s easy–all you need is some foil. Tape the foil to the basement walls and leave it on overnight. If condensation appears on the foil that was facing the wall, then there’s likely a leak somewhere.

If you have a leak or if an inspection turns up a leak, you’ll want to start a basement remodeling in Cleveland project and fix it quickly. Here are two options for when it comes to sealing those dangerous basement leaks.

Basement Dry: Basement Dry is a more efficient version of the old, trusty sump pump. Think of it as a sump pump on steroids. It’s just the thing if your basement is under attack from moisture or leaks and you’re beginning a basement remodeling in Cleveland job. Basement Dry uses a probe that locates water, sucks it up, and decreases the potentially harmful water pressure. 

SquidGee Dry: The SquidGee Dry system is a series of panels that run along the bottom of basement walls. It’s an ideal tool for basement remodeling in Cleveland for poured and block walls. The intruding water is repelled and drains through holes drilled at the bottom of the blocks that lie at the bottom of the wall. 

Both Basement Dry and SquidGee Dry are great for preventing water damage, especially if you’re beginning a basement remodeling in Cleveland project for a basement that already houses cracks and holes.

Use Cleveland Home Remodelers to Breathe New Life into your Carpet

Did your carpets take a beating over the holiday season? If so, then it may be time to consider a carpet restretching with Neatnics Cleveland home remodelers. A carpet restretching project done by Cleveland home remodelers like Neatnics will give the carpets in your room new life. It’s a cost-effective way of reinvigorating your living room.

Not sure if your carpet is ready for a Cleveland home remodelers project? Here’s how to find out if your carpet is severely stretched: go to the middle of your room and grab a bit of the carpet. Lift it up and let go. If the carpet doesn’t fall back down, in other words, if it just stays up in a kind of lump, then it’s too loose.

This happens to all carpets after time. The backing of the carpet gradually stretches and it loses most of its tension. Loose carpet is not only an eyesore, but also dangerous, as small wrinkles or lumps can make slipping and falling a real possibility.

The good news is many carpets sold today come with a two-year warranty that will cover restretching. Neatnics Cleveland home remodelers can handle any and all carpet restretching jobs, whether your carpet is under warranty or not. We specialize in detaching the carpet from the track strip and restretching it from wall to wall.

Give your living room or family room a refurbished look this year. Get a professional carpet stretching done with Neatnics, your Cleveland home remodelers.