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friend of ours is asking for some help concerning their front door frame and rot that has occurred over time due to moisture.As you can see the damage is pretty bad and it penetrates from the outside of the door all the way through to the inside molding. Obviously this door frame and maybe some of the house framing behind it will need to be replaced but they also want to prevent this …
Doors & Windows
How To Make Better Use Of A Bricked In Garage Window
A friend is asking about a garage window on the side of their home that has been partly bricked in by the previous owner. It seems that previously it was fitted with a double hung window but now there is a pattern of brick that has been placed to offer ventilation and some light. Additionally it seems that on the interior the previous owner had ended up covering the window with plywood.
The first consideration …
How To Frame Stud Walls For A Rough Window Opening
If you are building your own home or if you are retrofitting your window openings for new windows it is important that you always follow the manufacture recommendations for door and window openings but in general all rough openings for windows and doors are made two inches wider and two inches taller than the size of the door or window that will fit the opening. Often this size is reduced to 1 inch on …
How To Door Lock And Hinge Maintenance For Squeaky Doors And Sticky Locks
Its that time of year when you are looking for things to do around the house that you might not have time to do when its nice out. One of the things that makes life a little nicer is taking care of your door locks and hinges. When you have a door that squeaks every time you open it or lock latches that stick it can be a bit of an annoyance. With a …
How To Pick The Right Door Latch Or Bolt For Your Doors
If you are shopping for replacement door knobs or if you are repairing your door locking mechanisms you should know that there are four different types of internal latches that you can purchase.
The first one is a Spring Latch and this is the normal type of latch used in your interior doors. They work with closet doors that you do not lock and they also work with bedroom doors that do lock. The difference …
How To Repair A Window Sill On An Antique Home That Has Settling Problems
One of our friends writes and asks about a historic home that they have recently purchased that has some problems around one of their windows. The window has actually been replaced and it is functioning but the sill of the window / bottom window ledge is sagging pretty bad. A few professionals had the chance to look at the problem when he was making the purchase and didn’t believe it was something that was …
How To Pick The Best Window Coverings For Your Home
We are considering updating some of our window coverings in our home and I thought it might be a good time to go over what options are out there and what you might expect to pay. The first thing you need to consider is will you be doing the work yourself or will you be hiring a contractor or purchasing from a blind company and having them install your window coverings.
After looking at all …
How To Match All Your Door Locks To One Key
A Friend asks how can he match all the locks to his exterior doors to one key. He has a situation where he needs to replace the lockset on his back door and wants to do the upgrade now while he is working on the door.
The easiest way to have all of your locks and deadbolts match a single key is when you are purchasing them. Manufactures understand that home owners want a single key …
How To Repair Door Drafts With New Weather Stripping
A friend asks about their front door and wants to know how difficult it would be to replace the weather stripping thats going bad. Unfortunately these things go unnoticed until it starts getting really cold out and then its really not optimal to remove a door to replace the weather stripping.
If the problem is bad enough it really is worth doing even if you are going to end up getting the whole house cold for …
How To Choose The Best Skylight For Your Home
A friend is getting their roof resurfaced with new shingles and they are going to replace their aging skylights at the same time so that they don’t fail in a few years and cause a problem. They are wondering what shape skylight they should get and are hoping that the flat flush mount glass skylights will fit their needs. Their home has a rather flat roof and at parts it is only 12/3 or …