Paint Finishes Basics

If you plan to paint your home, these are the basics as far as the certain types of finshes are concerned. Before you get involved with finish paint, you will use primer.

Primer is a base coat for the finish coat. Primer seals the wall you are painting and provides a nice surface for your finish coat paint. Primer helps bring out the texture in the new paint. Primer can also be used as a stainblocker. If you paint over grease or water stains with finish paint, the stains will bleed through. This is when you need a stainblocking paint, such as Kilz, Kilz2 Latex, Kilz Odorless, Zinsser etc. I usually put oil based primer on heavy stains so that I won't have to prime it many times. Oil-based paint is very strong odored and does not clean with water, it cleans with paint thinner. I usually use throw away brushes when it comes to oil-based paint.

As far as finish paint goes, there are four primary types of finishes that I use.

Flat Finish- This is the most common type of finish. The finish looks "flat." There is basically now reflective properties in the finish; it is a basic finish. Flat finishes are commonly used in bedrooms, ceilings, basements, closets and anywhere where your walls won't sustain heavy damage from kids or anyone scratching it. You have to prime well when you use a flat finish, because all of your walls' faults will show.
Eggshell/Satin Finish- This finish is self-explanatory. It resembles that of an eggshell. An eggshell finish is the next step up from flat. It is pretty much the same look as flat, but more durable. Eggshell will hold up better in areas with heavy foot traffic. Areas most ideal for eggshell include hallways, stairways and children's rooms.
Semi-Gloss Finish- Semi-Gloss finish is a durable paint. It provides a reflective property and is smooth to the touch. When light shines on semi-glass it provides a glare effect. You usually use semi-gloss paint in kitchens, bathrooms, trim, baseboards and doors. Kitchens and bathrooms have a lot of condensation and grease build-up. The gloss finish allows the condensation and grease to slide, rather than stick, which makes for easier cleanup. Semi-Gloss finish is pretty much a must in bathrooms because of the high level of condensation build-up from showers.
High-Gloss Finish- High-Gloss is a better semi-gloss. It is what it says. It has a high gloss. The finish is very durable and very easy to maintain. You usually use high gloss in areas you want to show off, in kitchens, bathrooms, front doors, doors etc. High-gloss is a very good quality of paint.

The quality and cost of the paint increase accordingly as you go from flat to high gloss.

Drywall Patch

A common problem in your home may be a hole in your wall. This is a simple fix. You will need mesh tape, spackle, 1-2 putty knifes or spackle blades, sanding block or sponge, primer and matching paint. Clear any debris that might be pertruding out from your hole. Flatten out the edges of the whole by pressing lightly over the hole with your putty knife. Next, cut mesh tape to cover the hole and extend past the hole 2-3 inches all the way around. Apply the mesh tape until the hole is covered (You want the mesh tape to overlap halfway onto the last piece of tape you applied). The application of the mesh tape is crucial because this is what keeps the spackle together when it is applied. The mesh tape gives the spackle strength.

The next step is to apply the spackle. Press the spackle over the hole with your blade. You want enough to make sure you cant see the mesh anymore, and less enough so that you don't have a lump in your wall. A small lump is fine because you can sand it down. Cover all mesh tape. Let this first coat set up for a day until it cures. The next day apply a light second coat (Enough to clean things up and make it smooth). You want a smooth transition between the hole and wall, so spread the spackle out a little bit. Let this second coat set up for a day.

Your next step is to sand. You want the spackle to look like your wall, flat and with no lumps or grooves. Lightly sand over the hole, you do not want to sand down to the mesh, as this will require more spackle to fix. You test you sanding by brushing your hand over the wall to feel if it is smooth. If it is smooth and the wall looks appealing, you are ready for primer.

First brush over the area so that it is clear of spackle dust. All you need is water based cheap primer. You can even use the matching paint for a prime coat. Lightly brush over the spackle spot with the primer. You don't want a blob of paint over the spot because it will be noticeable. Let the primer dry for a few hours. Now you are ready for finish paint. Do the same application method as the primer, lightly feather the paint on. You want it to look like you were never there. Let the paint dry and you are done.

Replacing a Receptacle

Like changing a light switch, changing a receptacle is something you should be able to do without calling an electrician and dealing with the hassle. The first thing you do is to turn the power off for that particular receptacle located in your electrical panel box. Next remove the cover plate (1 screw). To be safe, check to make sure the power is off by plugging something in. Remove the receptacle from the box by unscrewing the two mounting screws that mount the receptacle to the box. Carefully pull the receptacle out of the box without tearing the insulation of the wires. Now examine the wiring on the receptacle, because it might be feeding connections to other receptacles or power sources. If so, this is not a problem. There should be three kinds of wire coming into the receptacle, a black (hot), a white (neutral) and a green or bare copper (ground) wire. One side of the receptacle should have brass screws and the other side should have silver screws. The black wire connects to the brass (B-B) and the white connects to the silver. The should also be a green ground screw that connect the bare copper ground wire.

If there is only one set of wires connected to your receptacle then your receptacle is not feeding anything. Simply unscrew the old receptacle from the wires and reconnect your new receptacle by connecting the black wire to the brass, the white wire to the silver and the bare copper wire to the green. You may need to add curvature to the end of the wire so that the wire wraps around the screw properly. Do this with the end of needle-nose pliers. Connect these wires to the bottom set of screws only. The top set is for feeding connections.

If your receptacle has a feed wire (another black and white wire) then you do the same thing as mentioned above but connect the feed wire to the top set of screws. Remember black to brass, white to silver. Be careful not to mix up the feed wire with the hot coming into the box. This will make your receptacle not function. A good tip is to bend the feed wire towards the top of the box and bend the hot wire towards the bottom of the box.

If there are any wire nuts connecting wires, you shouldn't have to mess with them. If you do accidentally tamper with them, keep the colors together, black with black, white with white and grounds with grounds. Tightly reconnect the wire nuts. The wirenut is on correctly if you yank on the wire nut and it stays on. Wrap electriacl tape over the wire nuts.

If you don't have a ground wire then you need to either make one, or get involved in running new wire to the breaker box(much more involved). You can make a simple ground by taking a short piece of copper wire (found at your local hardware store) and running it from the green screw, and screwing the other end into the box with a drywall screw or zip screw.

Next wrap the receptacle two times with electrical tape to ensure no metal makes contact with the connection screws. Remount the receptacle to the box. Put the cover plate back on. Turn the power back on and test.

Garbage Disposal Clog

A common plumbing issue around the home is the garbage disposal clogging. Most people panic and call a plumber and spend uneccessary amounts of money on somehing that can be solved in five miuntes.

If your garbage disposal clogs and stops grinding do not panic. Remember that metal "S-shaped" wrench you threw in your junk drawer because you didn't know what it was? That's the tool you will need to solve this common problem. If you don't have it, Home Depot, Lowe's or any plumbing supply house will have them for a cheap cost.

Before you begin anything, turn the power breaker off for the garbage disposal in your electrical panel box. Underneath the garbage disposal you will find a hex-head flywheel. Place the wrench on the flywheel and spin the wrench back and forth until the object jammed in your disposer is freed. Next retrieve the object that was jammed in your disposer with a flashlight and a pair of needle-nosed pliers. (Don't turn the water on and let it wash down the drain. Then you'll need to snake it out of your plumbing later).

Turn the power breaker back on and test your disposer. If nothing happens, you may need to press the red reset button located on the bottom of the disposer. Simply press the button and everything should be back to normal.

Single pole Switches

A single pole switch is the most basic type of switch which completes or breaks the circuit. A single pole switch can operate a light or series of receptacles.

Replacing a single pole switch is simple. First be sure to turn the circuit breaker off that powers your particular switch. This should be indicated on your panel box, but in most cases the breakers are mislabeled and then it becomes an issue of trial and error. Simply turn breakers off until your switch loses power (Or just turn the main power breaker off for the house).

The next step is to remove your old switch. Remove the cover plate by unscrewing the two small screws with a regular screwdriver. Then unscrew the switch itself from the box at the top and bottom of the switch (2 screws). Gently pull the switch out of the box towards you without tearing the wires. The only wires that should be connected to the switch are the black wires (hot). A white wire may be wrapped with electrical tape to indicate that it's hot (black). The other white wire (neutral) should bypass the switch and continue to your light or receptacle. Simply unscrew the two brass screws on the switch to remove the wires from the old switch.

Now take your new switch and wrap the black wires around the brass screws (B-B, Black-Brass). If the wire is not curved nicely, use needle-nosed pliers to make a round curvature of the wire, so that the wire wraps the screw nicely. Reconnect the ground wire (green or bare copper) to the green screw on the switch.

To provent a fire hazard and wire shorting, wrap your newly connected switch with electrical tape two times. This prevents the metal screws on the switch from making contact with any other metal inside the box, which causes a short, and a potential fire hazard.

Before placing the switch back into the box, make sure your switch is facing "Up" as indicated on the switch itself. Then screw the switch into the box. The switch allows you to align your switch so that it is not crooked. Tighten the screws and put the cover plate back on and you are done. Turn the power back on and test your brand new switch.