I want to tell you about 4 “quick fixes” that you can do in your home, even if you have never done one thing around the house.  Have you ever had a door that just wouldn’t stay open?  You open it and you turn around and its half way closed again.  Take one pen out of the door hinge.  Get two pliers and grab the pen between them and rough up the pen with the pliers. (Kind of a scissors action)  Then put the pen back in the hinge and like magic the door will stay where you put it, either open or closed.  What about screws in hinges (cabinets or doors) and they don’t hold anymore?  It makes the hinge not fit and so the cabinet drops or the door drags.  Take the screw out and put a toothpick in the hole, now put the screw back in- it will be tight.  Do you have light bulbs that just don’t last very long so you keep changing them out?  Regular light bulbs 120 volt won’t last as long as a 130 because the filament is larger and will last much longer and the 130 (most of the time) is cheaper.  Do you have a squeaky rocking chair or wooden rungs that are loose and get worse?  There is a product called “Wonder lok-em” or “Chair-lok” (they are both the same product) and it comes with a tiny dropper.  You don’t have to take the chair apart, just drop a few drops in the wood on the chair where the rungs fit into.  In a few minutes it will be tight as new.  It sure beats taking the chair apart and re-gluing all the parts of the chair.  We did a stair rail one time that one of the kids knocked loose, it worked great.  Now see you can do these projects- it’s the start of a new year!  A new you- the guy that can fix anything!  Next thing you know you will be looking at that old ceiling fan and saying”I’m gonna put up a new fan!”  Or “I think I will paint that room” and if you get stuck- I am a click away. 

Now to the mail bag….

Question:  I need to know if I can paint laminated furniture.  I have a desk in my home office and it is laminated and I want tot paint it to update the office.  Any help that you offer will be greatly appreciated.  I also have a wooden lead glass entry door and the stain is fading.  You mention in your article to use Sun Wax.  Where can I but this product and do I need to do anything else to the door?

Answer:  In order to paint laminate all you need is a product by Coronado paint co called Grip and Seal.  It’s a primer.  It dries in 20 minutes and has little or no odor.  Use 2 coats.  Then you can paint with a product call Tough Walls (also by Coronado).  I have seen this done and it holds up really well.  Change out the hardware too, old hardware can really date a piece.  About the door- use Howard Restore A Finish first to restain the door, and then finish up with SunWax on the outside to provide a UV protected finish.  Would love to see pics when you’re done!

Question:  Johnnie I have white marks at the of my wood table from bumping the vacuum cleaner into it.  How can I remove them?  Also I would like help on renewing shower stall tile- it’s about 15 years old.

Answer:  As like the above question- use the Howards Restore A Finish.  Renewing the bathroom floor- I’m wondering if it’s just dull looking because of lime build up.  Try using Delete Germ to clean the tile.  Make sure you use gloves, because it’s a mild acid.  Rinse well – the tile if it is in good shape will look great again.  Now if the tile is chipped or cracked.  There is no miracle cure for that.  But I can tell you this- any remodeling that you do on your bath- you get about 95% back.  So replace the tile if need to. 

Question:  Johnnie with all the rain we have had lately- the house smells musty.  What can you suggest?  I don’t want to clean out the ducts.

Answer:   Put an Air Sponge (available on our website) behind the filter in the return air.  Turn on the blower on your system and let it take the nice clean smell throughout the house.  If you don’t have a central unit- put a few Air Sponges out in the house and within 2 hours the house will smell so much better. 

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KTSA (5500 AM) from 9-11 or call 828-8907. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.