Handyman Tips and Suggestions
You may be painting sometime soon, and that hardware guy cannot wait to sell you everything you need or do not need. You know those little wooden sticks that attach to a paint roller to give you a little extra length? I forgot to buy one once. I thought what do I have which would work in its place? Than a saw that I had one of those one dollar broom specials. I unscrewed the stick of the broom, from the broom section, and had a four foot extension just from the broom stick. Yes I was stunned that the threaded cheap broom stick threaded snug and tight into the paint roller. Instead of two feet of a wood stick extension, I now had a four foot extension and for a second I felt like Leonardo Da’Vinci. With that broom stick extension I even could paint the ceiling with it without a step-stool , with the exception of the ceilings corners.
For you landscapers, before you dig you should call your utilities, because if you do not you may not strike gold or oil, but you may inadvertently blow up your own house by hitting a gas line. You may end up with a pond if you rip open a water line, and you will definitely not be the envy of your neighbors if you hit an underground main or a cable line and you and them miss a great game and perhaps your whole neighborhood may find it fun when they find you, and at the least sue you.
Say you have things checked out, you want to make a row. A hard leaf rake is a little over a foot or so. That is your measuring stick. You make a row as wide as the rake. You ever hear of a damper? They are expensive and heavy and they help level the ground. So does a brick, which you can hold with one hand to pound the pavement. It may take a little longer, but try to use the same size brick for your damper, and you will see exactly where to place yours for a path when you are done.
I do recommend a ladder and a good one. Now to avoid hitting your wife in the head when she is standing behind you helping, make sure before you lift that ladder that there are no power lines lower than your ladder because power lines will kill you. So look both ways when hand carrying a ladder but look up too.. When I forgot my ladder, I had to improvise, and this is not advice at all, but I did use a skid once, angled it against the brick wall and was ultimately able to get to the gutters. The spaces between the skids allowed my toes to use the skid boards as a ladder. Again one was available but not recommended in lieu of a real ladder.
If you work alone, and you have alienated everyone like me make sure you have your tools out that you will need. Last year I had the sense to have a hook rope and bucket to tar and rock the shed roof. Buckets can be gotten free for the asking at deli’s and or grocery stores. Sometimes the were used for icing, and even smell good and make you hungry, but they are strong and sturdy. I was able from the roof to the bucket to hook up tar, and rock prefilled instead of up and down the ladder.
It is important to prepare for your job, before not during your project. Prepare for spills. Why use rags when your brothers good shirts work fine? Really rags are not hard to find.
If you buy paint at your store for the most part they will give you a free stirring stick and an opener for the can. Sometimes you have to ask. Be smart ask for a few of each because you will loose them. By the way two paint sticks attached at the center are said to make a fairly good boomerang. Have fun out there.
