ilspeth's Profile

Your post cracked me up. LOL!

My dishwasher is decorative only. A dish gets dirtied, a dish gets washed and put back.

This is a great article at Fine Woodworking about food-safe wood finishes.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/how-to/article/food-safe-finishes.aspx

I've always had what my husband calls three green thumbs. I take in sad little plants whose owners swear are dying, and then I bring them back to life. My ex bought me an arrowleaf plant many years ago, and I eventually had to leave it with the house when we moved because it grew so large.

Watering is one of the biggest problems. All plants don't need the same amount of water, and waiting too long to water turns the soil practically into concrete. Trying to water a plant with soil that's hard doesn't do anything for the plant because the water just runs across the top of the soil, down the sides and out the bottom of the pot. If the soil in your houseplant containers is hard, poke several holes in it with a skewer or a pencil. This will let water reach the roots.

If you can't grow anything, try an arrowleaf plant. They take a lot of abuse and respond well to life-support measures such as drastic root "haircuts" if the pot is rootbound and setting them in the shower for a real dousing when the soil is too dry.

I'm not a huge fan of stainless, either. It's like the granite countertops issue. What was once considered a delicious upgrade is now pretty mainstream. When things go mainstream, quality goes down the tubes. If I could have whatever I wanted, it would be an old 50s fridge in a sort of cream or buttercream color and an AGA range in the same color.

1. Houses don't have studs "to hold up drywall." Studs are part of the framework of the house. You hang drywall on them because it is convenient.

2. Houses with plaster walls have studs in the walls. Again, studs are part of the structure. Lath is nailed to the studs, and plaster is applied over the lath. Houses with plaster and lath are usually older, earlier than mid-1950s, and the studs are usually much denser and larger than studs used in houses today. Stud spacing in older houses might be 16 on center, but 24 on center is more common.

3. Stud finders are great for locating studs in the wall. Cheap ones struggle to find studs in walls with plaster because the combination of plaster and lath is so much denser than gypsum board (drywall). There are other ways to find the studs. Tap the wall with a rubber mallet or a hammer. Hollows in the wall produce a softer sound, but when you strike the wall where a stud is located, it sounds harder and sharper. You can also use a hammer. If you simply can't find the studs with a stud finder or by tapping with a hammer or mallet, you'll have to drill or drive a few nails. Drilling is better, since it is less likely to crack plaster. If your walls are drywall, driving nails is fine, but use a finishing nail that makes a smaller hole that's easier to patch. Drill through the plaster in a row across the wall until you meet a significantly denser area that is harder to drill. Then measure over 16 inches and drill again. If you find nothing, measure over 24 inches from where you found the stud and drill again. After you have found two studs, you know the spacing and can find the rest by measuring.

4. Walls are not cement. Cement is a component of concrete. Drilling into concrete walls, whether they are poured concrete or concrete block requires a hammer-action power drill and a masonry drill bit. A hammer drill operates by rotating in quick pulses instead of spinning constantly like a common power drill. A masonry bit is harder and won't break as easily while drilling into concrete. If you don't want to spend money on a tool like this, since a good one costs about $350, you can rent one at some hardware stores.

5. Drilling into a brick wall requires a hammer drill and a masonry bit. Like one poster mentioned above, don't drill into the mortar joint just because that is easier to do. The mortar will crumble, and you'll damage the integrity of the wall. To hang something on a brick wall, pre drill the holes and use plastic anchors with screws that are made to fit the anchors. Drill holes that are the same diameter as the screws, not the plastic anchors. Squeeze some silicone into the holes (which seals them to reduce heat transfer) and tap the anchors into the holes with a hammer. Then drive the screws into the anchors. **however. Many brick walls are not actually made of full bricks. Many, especially in newer construction houses and apartments, are only a brick facade or veneer. Brick veneer is not much thicker than ceramic tile. Walls with brick veneer have studs. Finding them is a nightmare.

6. Hanging things on drywall isn't difficult at all, and you don't always need a stud to do it. If you can find a stud, perfect. If not, use toggle bolts or Molly bolts. Toggle bolts are bolts with spring-loaded "wings" that open on the back wide of the wall. This distributes the weight of the item being hung and reduces the chance of the bolts pulling through the drywall. Molly bolts have a metal sleeve that surrounds the bolt. The bolt and sleeve are pushed through a hole that you have drilled in the drywall. When you tighten the bolt, the sleeve flares out on the back side of the wall.

7. You can glue drywall over brick instead of framing up facade over the brick. Apply construction adhesive on the back side of the drywall in zigzags, then press the drywall against the brick. Don't rest the bottom edge of the drywall on the floor. You need a gap between the bottom edge and the floor. If the wall has baseboards, take them off before gluing up the drywall.

Re: Bether's comment. You must mean vinyl, and not linoleum. Linoleum and vinyl and entirely different things. Linoleum is made from cork and linseed oil, and the color is solid throughout the material. Vinyl can, and often does peel. Linoleum cannot peel. And vinyl has actually been around since the early 1930s. Linoleum is older than that.

Yep. I was wrong. It's American Psycho. GREAT room!

PHW, the image at your line reminds me of Clockwork Orange.

@dream_nerd:
After my eyes STOPPED BURNING FROM THE ALL CAPS AND ?!?! festival in your post, I decided to drop a simple reminder that some of us have large dogs that can, and do, drink from the toilet sometimes because they can lift up the lid with their noses. Most of us don't think it's worth the PITA of using child proof locks on the toilet seats to keep them out. Plus, my oldest dog prefers to sleep on the tile in the lower bathroom. I'm not going to lock her out. She's old. She's earned the coolest spot in the house. Dogs drinking from toilets is not earth-shattering news. It isn't even news. It's actually pretty common, even if it grosses the humans in the house out. The porcelain bowl means the water is colder that the water in their bowls.

Dogs are not people. Sometimes they do nasty things, and sometimes they get into mischief. As for dogs and sugar (and chocolate! Gasp!), I wish I had a nickel for every Oreo and piece of Halloween candy that the furry thieves in this house have gobbled up. Considering that all my dogs have lived to ripe old ages without health problems, and that they all came from different lines, I don't think there is anything spectacularly different about their body chemistries. Sugar isn't good for dogs. It isn't good for people, either. Life goes on.