Wooden Deck Finishing Tips

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Bread Maker Repair

The problem with the spindle was the way the arms were fastened. The design came from the factory with a flat spot on the shaft that engaged with a flat spot on the arm ring, with both parts locked together with a little snap ring. This system worked okay, but movement between the parts made the fit sloppy over the years. The snap ring finally rusted and broke right in the middle of a baking session.

Our model of bread maker isn’t made any more, and some time surfing did lead me to a US supplier that sells entire new pans with shafts, even for older machines. I ended up buying one, then realized that a couple of minutes work with my welder would keep the old one going, too. Now we’ve got two pans for our trusty bread maker, but there’s no doubt in my mind which is my favourite.

I can’t count how many times I’ve made good things happen with my wire-feed welder. It’s one of those things that you might buy for a specific job, then find you use it again and again for little things you could never have thought of.

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Some people manage vehicles like tubes of caulking – use them up and throw them away. Not me. I aim for a long haul relationship with my wheels because it’s cheaper and just plain smart. If you’re willing to trade the panache of a new vehicle for cash in your pocket,  then long haul ownership is the way to go. I’m cheap and I’ve crunched the numbers. I know this approach works because I’ve driven the talk for more than 25 years.

My Ford F-150: 25+ Years of Faithful Service Costing Just $80/Month

On average I’ve spent less than $1000 a year repairing and maintaining my 1990 Ford F150 4WD truck in top shape since buying it in mint condition in 1998, including a new paint job a few years ago. This works out to “payments” of about $80 per month. Compare this to financing a new vehicle, and  it’s way, way less. Why is it that people think nothing of dropping $500 to $600 a month on new vehicle payments, yet if they had to pay half that each month for repairs, they’d figure they were driving a lemon? I suspect it’s a way of justifying the high cost of the glitz that a new vehicle brings.  And while glitz pays off for some, do you really need it?

Here are my 5 best truck maintenance tips after 25+ years of faithful service from my Ford F-150.

Truck Maintenance Tip #1 – Prevent Rust with an Oil-Type Spray Annually

This is an absolutely vital no-brainer, but it hardly ever happens in regular truck maintenance. I’m not talking about undercoating, but an oil-type treatment applied underneath and inside all body parts. I favour Krown Rust Control because it’s got a long track record and continues to creep slowly into every nook and cranny. Ford trucks like mine were never known for rust resistance, yet when I had mine repainted there wasn’t a single spec of rust anywhere – and we’ve got plenty of winter and salty roads where I live. If the body goes bad, there’s no way a long haul maintenance strategy makes sense. That’s why annual rust prevention is key.

Truck Maintenance Tip #2 – Extend the Life of Seats by Using Seat Covers

This sounds simple, but it makes all the difference. Seat covers take the wear that would otherwise tear work truck seats to shreds, and they can be removed and washed. In 15 years of owning my current truck, I’m on my fourth set of seat covers. I don’t baby the vehicle, yet the seats always look decent.

Truck Maintenance Tip #3 – Extend the Life of Galvinized Mufflers by Drilling Holes

Corrosion of exhaust systems isn’t an issue when they’re made of stainless steel, but you can extend the working life of galvanized mufflers and pipes by drilling a 1/8” diameter drainage hole or two in the lowest part of the system. Condensed exhaust moisture is highly acidic, and eats steel fast if it’s allowed to pool internally. Before discovering this trick I’d get two or three years from an exhaust system. Two small drainage holes drilled when my current galvanized system was new has kept things quiet and solid 8 years and running.

Truck Maintenance Tip #4 – Replace Parts Before They Break

Reliability is vital in a work pickup truck, and that’s why it makes sense to change key components before they break. Starter motors, batteries, brake lines, motor mounts, belts, hoses and filters are all things that are cheap to replace pro-actively  before they turn into an expensive, schedule-busting break-down. Spend a little now, get a lot later.

Truck Maintenance Tip #5 – Extend Transmission Life by Changing Fluids and Filters Regularly

Transmissions made up to about the mid-1980s would operate happily for hundreds of thousands of miles without the need to change fluid, but things are different now. Changing tranny fluid and filter every 100,000 km is an essential maintenance feature because transmissions are built differently these days. Without fresh fluid, they’ll burn out and hit you with a big and avoidable repair bill.

Want 25+ Years of Reliable Service from Your Work Truck? Adopt My Maintenance Habits.

If everyone adopted my kind of vehicle-management habits, the auto industry would look a lot different than it does. That said, if you’re thinking that maybe you don’t need to spend as much as you do on a work truck, you may just be right.

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Earlier this year I discovered a new product that’s not only surprisingly effective, but also does more than the manufacturer claims. It’s called Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser, and as the name suggests it’s designed to remove kill mold stains on all kinds of surfaces. It’s completely non-toxic, non-corrosive and has no odour, and it works fast enough that you can see it removes staining. The real surprise is that this stuff is also the best way I’ve ever seen to remove grey, weathered staining from old, exterior wood. If you’ve got an old, bare-wood deck you want to brighten, this stuff is amazing. It’s the best deck wash I’ve ever used.

Preparation Instructions for Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser

The product comes as two powders that you mix with warm water. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then slosh it on your outdoor wood. Without any scrubbing at all, the surface gets bright and new looking. It’s really rather fun to watch. Simply rinse it off when you’re done.

Washing with Concrobium Makes Wood Grain More Vibrant

Unlike every other deck wash or bleach product I’ve used, Mold Stain Eraser leaves the original wood grain patterns vibrant and visible, instead of bleaching the whole surface to blandness. I’m amazed, and after a couple of decades testing products and tools, that doesn’t happen very often.

As frequently is the case with brand new products, store clerks in the big box stores probably have never heard about the product.

Where to Buy Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser

The full name of the product is Concrobium Mold Stain Eraser and it’s available at Home Depot in the Building Materials/Lumber department. If you have trouble finding the product on the shelf, ask at the Pro Desk. The product number is 735416.

If you don’t have a Home Depot nearby, Mold Stain Eraser is also carried by Home Hardware. They may need to order the product for you if it’s not already on shelves. The product number is 4520-004.

Nobody likes to scrub and sand old wood, and I hope this advice gets you up off your knees and onto a deck chair with a cool drink your hand.

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During the summer of 2006 I had the good fortune to stumble on an obscure book about the life of a man named Villum Kann Rasmussen.

He was a Danish entrepreneur born in 1909, the inventor of the roof window, and the founder of VELUX, the world’s largest company of its kind.

Somehow, contrary to everything that I imagined was possible, Mr. Rasmussen launched his new roof window product  right in the middle of the Second World War. I’m not sure how such a thing was possible in war-ravaged Europe in 1941, but it happened. Something of the innovation and resilience of the company must still exist today, because the roof window and skylight products that keep coming out of VELUX are the most impressive examples of energy efficiency I’ve seen.

“Roof window” is the name Mr. Rasmussen coined for an openable skylight, and besides the fact that I love skylights for what they do for the atmosphere of a room, Mr. Rasmussen managed to do something else that was remarkable.

Highly Anticipated Velux Skylight Product: Solar Powered Roof Window

I’ve been gearing up to create skylight stories and videos for the coming season, based on skylight installations I actually perform and document.

One thing I’m particularly interested in are the new solar powered roof windows.The claim to fame here is not to save the little bit of electricity needed to open and close the windows mechanically, but the freedom from having to run wires to power these automated roof windows in the usual way. You just plunk them in and away you go. Programmable remote controls, automatic blinds and energy efficient glass are all things I’ll be telling you about this coming year.

2 Key Benefits of Skylights: Becoming “Cool” and Energy Efficient

One final thing: Though few people realize it, pivoting roof windows and openable skylight windows can save a huge amount of energy normally used by your air conditioner.

By creating a passage for hot air to rise up and out of your home, the whole house becomes noticeably cooler and more energy efficient. That’s what happened at my house several years ago when I installed four Velux GUU Pivoting Roof Windows in the attic, and I’ve seen this welcome effect in other houses, too.

Hot weather is coming, so it’s worth thinking about.

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Except for the 10% to 15% of European young people who go on to university, full-time classroom education stops at 16. After that, most students move on to a 21st century apprenticeship system that makes complete sense. Whether you’ve decided to be a butcher or a banker, the majority of your time is spent learning skills in actual workplaces, with experienced workers guiding you. Not absolutely sure what you want to work at? While many young Canadians spend $80,000 and four years of their lives coming to the conclusion that they really don’t like psychology or political science of philosophy after all, their European counterparts have been earning money while  learning a career that they’ve sampled ahead of time ever since they were 16 years old. Canadian students typically emerge from university with tens of thousands of dollars of debt, while the astonishingly qualified young people coming out of the European apprenticeship programs have a full time paycheck and enough money to easily buy a car and get themselves set up to live independently.

Roland seems smart enough to be a physicist, doctor or lawyer and he has recently completed building a 16-sided, timber frame home using beams as large as 8” x 20” and 40 feet long. A tile setter sharing dinner with us installed ceramics in that house and has never seen such precision in his whole working career.  Why are so few Canadian-trained young people capable of such work?   And more to the point, is there any way Canada can break free of the vested interests and social inertia that keeps things the way they are?

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Whether you plan to install drywall yourself or hire a professional, you’ll be better off with the right stuff on your side.

CGC: Reducing Drywall Compound Dust When Sanding

Enduring the dust generated by sanding drywall compound is probably the most annoying part of any renovation, and the biggest part of the problem is the way drywall dust floats around so much. CGC’s dust control drywall compound is unique because it simply falls straight to the floor, with almost no airborne dust wafting around. The difference is remarkable. You’ll certainly appreciate it if you do the work yourself, but a cleaner house is worth it even if you hire a contractor. Ask about having dust control compound used on your job and you’ll spend a whole lot less time vacuuming white dust out of your cutlery drawer.

Drywall Delivery Service: Compound, Tape and Insulation Included

The biggest hassle of installing drywall yourself is getting the sheets into your house, and this is where drywall delivery is helpful. Ask about drywall delivery programs where you live and you might be surprised at how easily it happens. The best programs promise next-day delivery with orders placed before 2pm, with sheets delivered anywhere you need them in the house. There’s usually a minimum order size for free delivery, but this figure typically includes joint compound, tape, insulation, corner beads and other drywall products. Drywall delivery programs are supported by hundreds of big box stores across Canada, so you shouldn’t have to schlep drywall yourself.

Roxul Stone Wool Batts: Efficient Insulation for Drywall Installations

If you’re drywalling, chances are good that you’re putting insulation in walls, too. And if this means insulation batts, you’ll appreciate knowing that some types of insulation are definitely more pleasant to install and more effective than others.

Roxul stone wool batts are the easiest to cut, least dusty and most resilient I’ve worked with. They also don’t make you itch and their high density fibre structure is the reason why. Although you can cut Roxul with a utility knife, don’t bother. A serrated bread knife is the tool of choice for trimming this stuff. You can easily cut measurements down to 1/4” increments, for a gap-free fit within wall frames.

Mold Proof Drywall Product Made From Fiberglass

Combine moisture and organic matter and mold is the result. That’s why special drywall is made for potentially damp locations. Green drywall is one common, mold-resistant type, but it’s not entirely mold proof. To achieve that valuable outcome, you should look at fiberglass drywall. Also called glass-mat drywall, it’s king when it comes to resisting mold growth completely. These products do cost more than paper-based drywall, but the size of most moisture-prone areas are small enough that the benefits win out.

Fibatape Mold X-10 Better Than Paper Drywall Tape

There’s no point in putting up mold-proof drywall if the tape you use for joints goes moldy when it gets damp. Regular paper drywall tape is just as much a food source for microbes as the paper on conventional drywall, and that’s why it makes sense to tape with something different in high-moisture areas. Fibatape Mold X-10 is one tape I know of that resisted mold growth completely over a four week period sealed in a test chamber with 95% relative humidity at a temperature of more than 30ºC. It simply works.

The building business tends to be cautious about adopting new technology because contractors don’t want to be burned. Even still, it’s a mistake to ignore advances in building systems just because they’re new. If faster, reliable, cleaner and more durable methods for drywalling are available, might as well use them.

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Simple mitre saws are built around a circular saw blade and motor that pivots up and down to make cuts. Lumber sits on a table that pivots one way or the other to allow angled cuts. Like all mitre saws, simple models are described by blade diameter, typically 10″ or 12″. Blade size matters since it relates directly to how wide a piece of wood you can cut. A 10″ diameter blade can cut a 2×6 at 90°, and a 12” blade can handle a 2×8. Crosscutting capacity gets smaller as the angle of a cut increases. A simple mitre saw make sense if you’re tooling up on a budget, or if you need a light saw that’s easy to carry. Simple mitre saws can only cut angles in one plane. More on this later.

Compound mitre saws are like simple mitre saws in that they let you pivot them downwards to complete a cut. But in addition to this, the entire blade and motor assembly tilts vertically. This allows the ability to make angled cuts in two directions, with just a single chopping action. This dual angle business is what the word “compound” means. You won’t use it all the time, but it’s nice to have for everything from big outdoor projects to interior trim jobs. Crosscutting capacity of a compound mitre saw is the same as a simple saw with the same blade diameter.

Choose a compound model if you’re okay with slightly more weight and a higher price tag, and want the ability to cut more complex angles.

Sliding compound mitre saws combine the features of the simple and compound saws with something different. The entire blade and motor assembly sits on rails or an articulated arm, so they can slide back and forth during a cut. This greatly increases the width of wood that can be cut for a given blade diameter. Most sliding compound mitre saws can crosscut material at least 12” wide, and that’s as wide as lumber gets. This makes the sliding compound mitre saw the most versatile of all models.

Regardless of the type of mitre saw you choose, don’t assume that it’s adjusted accurately right out of the box. Just because the marks on the saw say you’re cutting at 45º, 90º, or any other angle, doesn’t mean it’s actually so. Test your saw before trusting it.

Start by positioning the support table to make a simple 90º cut across a 1×4 or 1×6. Flip one of the halves of wood over, then bring the cut ends together with the edges of both pieces tight to the fence. Is there any gap? If any opening is there, it represents twice the error of the saw. Although different saws are adjusted differently (check your manual)—once you fine-tune the 90º angle properly, all other angles will be correct. Is your saw a compound model? If it is, repeat the cutting and flipping process to determine if vertical cuts are accurate, too.

One more thing. If your saw is adjusted accurately, and you find that window or door trim still doesn’t come together tightly at the corners, the error is probably in your building. Few corners are perfectly square, so expect to do a little adjustments as you work. If only buildings could be adjusted as easily as mitre saws.

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It’s always surprising to me how often people present things as fact even though they bear no connection to reality.  Zinc strips are certainly permitted on roofs in Canada, and every building supply outlet where I live sells zinc for the purpose of roof moss prevention. I always install them on every new shingle roof I put on. The strips go up along the eaves, peeking out an inch or two from under the cap shingles. Rainwater dissolves just enough zinc to prevent rooftop moss and the shortened shingle life it brings.

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