Summertime Projects

Summertime Projects

Hello all Helpful Hank here, today I would like to talk about summer projects. We all have them. Some of us will do them before we go on Vacation some after and for some like me. They happen all summer long.

Kitchen, Kitchen
We own a home built in the late 70’s early 80’s. I face a lot of updating repairs and renovation. Sometimes starting one project can lead to another project. Case in point, when we had our Inn in South Lake Tahoe and I was renovating rooms we discover a leek in one of the bathroom shower. This led to us having to replace not only the floor for that unit but the sub floor as well. (Time to call the professionals.)

In any event, we all have our summer projects. My project currently is refinishing our kitchen cabinets. This is a great way to give your kitchen an easy up date.

Use the dust and grim to your advantage.
There is a lot of sanding involved when refinishing cabinets. One thing that I found in this process is that if I gave my cabinets a good first sanding then when back and wiped each area with a damp sponge before I went back with my second sanding the sawdust worked for me as an abrasive to help take the top clear coat off. There was also less dust in the air from sanding. For my purposes, it made the sanding portion quicker as I did not have to sand down to bear wood. (I am staining the cabinets darker.)

Enhancing your stains color.
I’m sure that the paint store would not make it as a recommendation but I often add a little latex paint to my stain to enhance its color. Since my partner wanted a strong cherry hue to the cabinets, I added some red paint to my red mahogany stain. Just about a half a cup. I mix it up with my brush lightly as I want the it to sit on the bottom of the can. Using the stain this way it is better to brush it on as you can pick up some of that red in your first coat pulling stain from the bottom of the can then with your second coat just lightly dip your brush in the can so your not pulling the red. I tend to put on four coats of stain alternating the red and the dark stain. Working my brush until I have it just the right shade. You can see some of the project pics here. http://twitpic.com/photos/helpfulhank

Summer time can be a good time to get this type of project done as with the heat comes much faster drying time. The one thing I would note is not to run your swamp cooler while trying to dry the stain on the cabinets it puts to much moisture in the air.

Clean the swamp.
We are coming up on the official start of summer and the temps here in the valley are going to go up. Swamp coolers are an effective way to cool down the house here in the desert. Though humidity is a factor in their use, (No go above 50%.) for the most part it isn’t an issue. Here is what the issue is. Making sure that the filters are clean and or replacing filters that have out lived their usefulness. You can pick up new filters at Lowe’s or Home Depot for around 7 bucks a pieces depending on size and type. Cleaning your filters and replacing them when necessary helps your swamp cooler to run a lot more efficiently.
One of the things I like to do ( because we have three dogs) is take a couple of incense sticks placing the stem in the filter and lighting the incense thus drawing the scent into the home. Make sure, once the incense has completely burned to take the stick end out of the filter.

One-year anniversary
As you may or may not know, June 16th is the one-year anniversary of the passage of marriage equality in California. Though the law didn’t stand long, (We intend to have it passed again.) those who were able to get married are still married. It is important that we press forward to over turn the band on same gender marriage.

To that end on Saturday June 13, 2009 nh8wear and Bad Baby Attitudes wear were launched. http://www.printfection.com/nh8wear . nh8wear Bad Baby Attitudes features message shirts and sweatshirts for Adults and children alike. Right now it’s focus is on marriage equality and 10% of the profits will go to the M.E. campaign.(Such as the CVMEC, and others.) I am the graphic artist for the designs on the shirts so I thought I would give it a little plug. Take a look and I’m sure you’ll find a shirt you can’t live without.

Some may wonder why I do not use the term “same sex marriage”. Marriage isn’t really about sex it’s about two people committing to a life together whether they are of different genders or of the same gender. I hear and read comments all the time equality being gay with nothing more then sex. I read just yesterday a comment by Gene Simmons of Kiss, in which he states that gay couples on average tend to have multiple partners inside their main relationships. Although he says he could careless one way or the other, he clearly making a point.

I find his point not only to be inaccurate but hypocritical. He is inferring that our relationships our beings are just about sex. Our relationships are no different then anyone else’s. As a matter of fact we tend to be, overall more committed then straight couples married or unmarried stone for stone. I myself have known a great many same gender couples that have been together more than 35 years. I cant’s say the same for my straight counter parts. We have been denied the right to marry and still our relationships endure committed and faithful.

Statistics show us that median duration of first marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.8 years, Females: 7.9 years and, the median duration of second marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.3 years Females: 6.8 years. Less then half of those who marry make it beyond 15 years. Cleary our heterosexual counter parts do not hold marriage as sacredly as the profess to.


All the time you hear, heterosexual males talk about how many partners they have had with pride. Case in point Wilt Chamberlain. Now if Richard Chamberlain had written a book and bragged about having sex with over 2,000 men he would be called disgusting by a great many people and especially men. On the other hand, Wilt Chamberlain was greeted with an “Atta Boy” and “He is such a Stud.

As I say, it is rather hypocritical and inaccurate to make such statements. Perhaps we should put no ignore what these celebrities have to say. The only problem with doing so is that there are a great many that take words like Gene Simmons as being accurate and turn around and use these inaccuracies against us. Once words are spoken, written, spoken, they are out there whether they are true or not. I know I keep harping on this but we as glbt citizens have to be out, aware, engaged and, involved. Not doing so makes us invisible. Silence = Complacency.

As we celebrate the anniversary of the decision to allow same gender couples to marry. We must keep in mind that it was short lived and we still have a battle ahead of us. We cannot let someone fight this battle for us. Each of us has got to get involved. Whether your glbtq or straight If you believe in equality for all you have to get involved. Whether you were one of those 18,000 who were able to get married, or are part the rest of use who felt we had time to plan the perfect wedding or felt when we found the perfect partner we would get married. I suspect a few of my Same gendered married friends have become even more complacent since the ruling to up hold prop 8 and let those who’s marriage took place before the ban stand. They probably feel it is not their battle anymore. They are wrong! It is their battle and they need to get involved. They are making their marriages invisible, dismissible, forgettable by the majority of the population. After all, it is only 18,000. But, 18,00 is a large number and it shows that we are committed to the sanctity of marriage. Think about it, 18,000 same gender couple were married in a five-month period and more would have been married given the time.
Now is not the time to rest on your laurels, GET INVOLVED! This is the only way to protect your marriage from being dissolved.

As we celebrate this year anniversary, we know we still have a lot of work ahead of us. I for one would like to see next election get us our right to marry back but we all have to become visible. Whether we desire marriage or not we have to fight for those who do. That poem that ends “ and when they came for me there was no one to stand up for me” Starts with not standing for others. Enough said. Get Involved.

Helpful Hank Tips and Hints: Always check to see if there are mistake paints and stains at the paint counter. A dented can of stain still works just as well and can be a fraction of the cost same with mistake paint. Take your doors and drawers off and out before sanding


You can contact Helpful Hank with Questions, Comments, Tips and, Deals at askhelpfulhank@gmail.com

Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow

Some simple and inexpensive ways we can spruce up our home

Hi All Helpful Hank Here. Today I would like to share with you some simple things you can do to spruce up some of your living spaces that won’t cost you a fortune.

My husband comes home once a month for seven to ten days , then it’s back to the airport and back to work for him. While he is Home though we try to get as many projects done as possible. There are projects we work on together and others we work on separately. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs we like to haunt the thrift shops and even go dumpster diving behind hi end resale shops (after they are closed for the day they frown on you looking through their dumpsters when they are open.) I thought I would share with you some of the simple fixes that we worked on the week he was home as well as some other easy projects.

I have a love hate relationship with Wall Mart or as many call it Sprawl Mart. I don’t like crowds or rude people and Sprawl Mart seems to have plenty in spades most of the time. Those poor clerks. How they stay so friendly is a wonder. Anywho I digress as I say I have a love Hate relationship with the place as I am sure many do. They do have great prices which is great for the budget and a wide selection. Now I like to head straight to the fabric department and there 1.50 table ( was a 1.00 but with this economy things change) I am fortunate enough just to have a Wall Mart that still has a fabric department.

We decided to spruce up our patio area a bit so we decide on what simply changes we could make to achieve this. And sense we have a lot of Patio furniture ( our patio is very long and has four distinct areas that are covered.) I thought sprucing up the cushions and pillows would be one thing to give it a fresher look. Pillows we use outside can fad and get dingy after a time so this is an easy fix even if you don’t sew. For this project you will need small to medium size pillows, about 2 to 2 ½ yards of fabric(covers four pillows), No Sew or fusible webbing I prefer the fusible webbing as you just iron your seems shut with it easy squeezy) and stick backed Velcro (it can be had for a few dollars at a craft store or fabric store.), and scissors.

I tend to by fabric I like or feel I can use at Wall Marts 1.50 table when I see it. I may not use it for sometime but eventually I will. I went to my fabric trunk (another dumpster dive find. It is an old steamer trunk. In excellent condition even had the hangers and the key to the top drawer. Someone put it curbside years ago and I snagged it.) I started looking through what I had. I wanted to see if I had anything that would go well with the bright Blue and Green cushion we have on our wicker couches. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anything that would work well. Off to Sprawl Mart. I found fabric that was perfect so I bought two yards of bright blue and two yards of bright green. I took four pillows I had on a day bed outside that were looking rather shabby (and not in a chic way either)

I unfolded my fabric and lay it out placing the pillows on the fabric then I cut the fabric to size leaving enough space on all sides of the fabric to close it up. Depending on they fabric you by you may want to embellish it. The fabric I bought was a solid color. I had decided I wanted to use fabric paint on it.

What you will need to do first is to wash your fabric. I wash mine in the sink with detergent and hot water (this is mostly for shrinkage and putting it in the washer can sometimes make the fabric fray.) then I run it through the dryer or, in this case, since the weather has been so warm, I hung it out to dry. Once I have painted the design I want on my pillows and they are dry, (leave enough boarder to fold sides of fabric under) I fold one side over running a length of fusible webbing underneath it (the fabric should be folded inward so the edge of the fabric is on the inside of the pillow.). and the run the Iron over it thus bonding the fabric together. I do this on all four sides. This creates a seamed edge all the way around. Then on opposite ends (top and bottom of pillow cover) I place the Velcro. (This will allow me to take the new pillow cover off for washing) Then I fold the fabric in half again running a piece of the fusible webbing now between the folded fabric sides and Iron. Give the fusible webbing a chance to cool and run your Iron on high no steam. Once you have done this slip, your pillow inside through the end that has the Velcro closure and you have a new pillow. Keep your lines as straight and as even as possible when using the fusible webbing as it will show if you don’t. I made four pillow covers in no time and just put existing pillows in them.

While my husband was home, he went over to one of our local thrift shops and found a medium size chandelier that just needed some TLC. As he put it to me, I only paid ten dollars for it I couldn’t pass it up.

We decided to hang it above the board table on the patio.
The tools we used for this project were wire strippers, spray paint (both primer and topcoat of color) and wire nuts.

I used a combination of black primer spray paint hammered bronze spray paint and, green spray paint. I gave it a couple of primer coats let it dry. I gave it a third coat of black primer and while it was still wet, gave it a coat of hammered bronze. After that had dried, I took the green spray paint and applied it lightly to different spots to create a patina. I then went over it lightly again, with the hammered bronze while it was still a bit tacky, softening the edges of the green so that it blended better.

Once the lamp was dry it was time to fix the cord, it wasn’t long enough for the chain we had. I took an old extension cord cut the female end off and using wire stripers, I stripped the plastic coating away from both sets of wires. I did the same on the light fixture end. I twisted the wires from each side of the cut extension cord to the wires from the light fixture. I capped the wires with wire nuts then used black electrical tape wrapping it around each of the wire nuts to seal them off, using more electrical tape I taped the wire nuts together. I wove the cord through the chain and since we were replacing an existing hanging lamp, we hung it in the same spot.
In warm weather the spray paint dries fast. You can have this project done in about an hour to two hours depending on drying time.

The third project we worked on, were new curtain rods. We had priced them and they were expensive for new ones. The ones we had were bowing and sagging from the weight of the curtains we had on them. To replace them with sturdier rod was going to cost a lot. We found a cheaper alternative. What we bought was 1 inch metal conduit pipe ( the come in 8 to 10 foot lengths) it was only $6.49 per ten foot pipe as opposed to a curtain rod at $23.00 to $43.00 We got some primer spray paint and a top color coat. We chose hammered bronze. (You will need a surface long enough and big enough to spray paint them.) Wash your poles with soapy warm water removing all labels. Let dry then give it two coats of your primer letting thoroughly dry between coats. Then to coats of your top color coat. (I like using a satin sheen for the op coat) Once it is all dry, you just replace your existing rods with the new ones.
If you want to add, fancy end caps to your curtain rod just get the end caps you want. Get a wooden dowel that fits snug in your conduit ends. Cut off about two inches of dowel for each end screw your end caps in to dowel and put your end in the conduit so that only the decorative end caps show. (You may need to pre drill the end of the dowel but not much because you just want to start the hole this way the end cap stay firmly in place. You can also put a little wood glue down the pre-drilled hole. This will secure the end cap to the dowel even better and you’ll be less likely to have it come undone.

Small home improvement projects don’t have to be daunting. They can unleash your creative side and if you have kids there are small home improvement projects (Pillow covers) that the can participate in and feel as if they made a difference in make the place you call home just a bit brighter and better.

Well that’s all for today Have a super Easter Weekend. Keep an eye out for my next blog spot column and you can send any hints tips or deals you have and I’ll be happy to post them.

Happy Easter,

Hank



Helpful Hanks Handy Hints: Using a Stencil to create your designs on your pillow covers easy an easy way to create fabulous designs, you can use a stencil brush or even cut up an old dish sponge (wash it first then dry it for about a minute or so in your microwave and it is good to go) Remember not to get to much paint on your sponge or brush, you’ll want it rather dry, this way you end up with a more uniform design. You can also use this same technique on old lampshades as well. You can also incorporate ribbons and beads on lampshades by tacking them down with a glue. (Remember the tip of a glue gun is very hot so don’t touch it with your hands.)

Helpful Hank is written by Russell E. Bertlow © 2009 All rights reserved. No portion of this blog may be reprinted in part or whole without the express written permission from Russell E. Bertlow.