HomeAdditionPlus.com Monthly Newsletter

Home Improvement News for the DIY Homeowner

March 2010            Edition: 0051

HomeAdditionPlus.com March, 2010 Newsletter

Completed Ceramic Tile Shower Project

Spring is finally in the air here in New Hampshire. We’ve had temperatures in the 50’s this past week and the ice is thawing off the lakes.  I also had the fortunate pleasure of spending a week down in St. Thomas Virgin Islands this past month to help rejuvenate my body and mind. All I can say is that the weather was glorious and the days relaxing. Prior to my vacation, and shortly after my return, I spent the better part of my days and evenings working on various home improvement projects, answering HomeAdditionPlus visitor questions and writing more content.

Floor Joists Construction and Bracing

In recent days I wrote a couple of articles on floor joists and bracing. Inadequate floor joists or heavy loads on them can lead to bouncy floors or sagging floors. By installing solid blocking, cross bracing, and in some cases sistering floor joists you can dramatically reduce the effects of shaky and sagging floors. See my articles titled “Floor Joist Bracing” and “Sistering Floor Joists” to learn more.

Debugging Electrical Wiring of Light Switch

I also wrote up a response article to a visitor’s question on how to figure out the electrical wiring of an existing light switch. Debugging a set of electrical Romex cables coming into an electrical box can be confusing, but with a little deductive reasoning and a good multimeter you can usually figure out where they are going to or coming from.  See “Figuring out Electrical Wiring of a Light Switch” to learn how.

Nailing Baseboard Trim

I had another site visitor ask me on why he couldn’t simply nail baseboard trim along the base of the trim, and forgo finding walls studs and nailing the top of the trim. As he indicated there is always a bottom wall plate along the entire length of the floor. See my article on “Nailing Baseboard Trim” to learn why his idea is not such a great one.

Drywall Screws

Though this subject sounds rather mundane, drywall screws come in a couple of different types and a number of sizes.  One drywall screw type and size does not fit all, so read my article on “When to use Fine and Coarse Threaded Drywall Screws”.

Installing a Pocket Door into an Existing Doorway

Another visitor asked how to go about installing a pocket door into an existing doorway. Suffice it to say that it is not so simple. If you want to learn more about the steps involved see my article on “Installing and Retrofitting a Pocket Door”

Floors

I also wrote a couple of new articles on floors. The first article titled “Patching Hardwood Floors” details the steps in repairing damaged areas of a hardwood floor. The second article titled “How to Repair a Plywood Subfloor” explains what causes subfloors to become damaged and how to go about repairing them.

Installing a Garage Door Opener

Finally, our old garage door opener recently failed. So after installing a new one, I decided to write up a detailed article on the steps involved in installing a garage door opener. They are actually quite easy to install, so the next time you need a garage door opener consider doing it yourself. You can save hundreds of dollars installing it on your own. See my article “Installing a Garage Door Opener” to learn more.

As always, if you have any specific home improvement questions or would like to see specific new home improvement related content send your questions to me at mark@homeadditionplus.com.

Again, good luck with your DIY home improvement projects and enjoy the early Spring!

Mark J. Donovan

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