Monday, August 3, 2009

How to Paint Your Bathroom Vanity

One of the most common questions we get asked is how do I repaint my bath vanity? A bath vanity gets a lot of use over the years and is also the focal point of the bathroom. By remodeling or repainting your bathroom vanity you can bring life to that old bathroom, re-painting a bath vanity is relatively straightforward and will only require a few days of work and makes a great weekend project.

First we need to prep the bathroom cabinet to do this you will need a screwdriver sandpaper and a mild detergent. Using your screwdriver, remove the hinges and pull out all the drawers from your current cabinet. Next take your sandpaper and lightly sand all finishes of the bath vanity cabinet. Make sure to sand both sides of the bathroom vanity doors. Once you're done sanding the doors, lightly wash down the entire bathroom vanity with a mild detergent. Removing all of the little particles in debris created by sanding the bathroom vanity also use your vacuum to clean up any sanded particles so that the particles do not get into our paint.

Use a high-quality primer to prime the outside surfaces of the bathroom cabinet consult your local hardware store for the proper primer for your particular project. Let the primer dry all the way before attempting to paint your bathroom vanity. Tape off all edges around your bathroom vanity as to not get paint on your walls or floors.

It's time to paint your cabinet first stir up the paint thoroughly before opening. Next use a brush or roller to evenly apply light coats of paint to all surfaces of the bathroom vanity cabinet. It is better to apply multiple light coats of paint than hurry the project with one coat of paint. Let dry for several hours or overnight, and then reapply your second and or third coat of paint.

Now we've painted the vanity re-caulk all of the bathroom cabinets seams that touch the floor or any of the adjacent walls, reattach all doors and hinges, and reinsert any fittings removed during this process. Now is a good time to adjust the doors if they were not hanging properly making slight adjustments in creating new screw locations to hang your doors evenly.

Another way to spruce up your old bathroom is to add new knobs to the door cabinets and drawers. Also replacing the faucet with a new and more modern style can also help update your old bathroom cabinet.

Hopefully this guide has helped you repaint your vanity and has livened up your current bathroom. Have fun with the project, and take your time.



Autor: Ben Fisk

Ben Fisk from Colorado has helped remodel bathroom vanities and paint many people bathroom vanity cabinets.


Added: August 3, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Dry Framing Water Damage in Your Attic? Do it Yourself Ideas

Dry framing water damage isn't that hard to spot, however, you can't be afraid of the attic. There are plenty of people who are afraid to enter this insect infested, rodent crawling place of ultimate darkness. You can always hire a professional contractor if you're afraid, hopefully they won't be.

Now for the important question, how can you spot water damage in your attic and what will you be looking for? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, first were going to need me few things.

You are going to need a bright light or a high-powered flashlight and you will need to be careful if you plan on walking around the attic. I would like to warn you, if you don't know what you should be standing on, you might not want to go any further than your attic access hole and that would be only if you were standing on a secure ladder.

Always think safety when entering an attic. The easiest water spots and damage to spot would be, any areas that would be currently wet. These damp areas can usually be spotted easily, because most people know what wet things look like. If you do find wet drywall, plaster, framing or installation in your attic, I would advise, that you contact a professional to fix this water damage as soon as possible.

If you let this damage go, it could cost you more money in the long run. Water damage can also invite that horrible thing that no one wants to talk about in your home, toxic mold.

The wet spots are usually easy to notice, however, how can you spot water damage, when the water isn't leaking through the roof. This could become a little more difficult, but you will be looking for discolored lumber. This lumber will usually have darker or lighter stains, depending on the lumber used.

Redwood, for example will usually have darker spot on the lumber if it was wet at one time and then dried out. Douglas fir and pine could have light or dark stains, but either way, the water damage will stain the wood, eventually.

Dry framing water damage isn't usually hard to spot, any water damage that has dried out in your attic will usually produce a different color than the surrounding areas. In other words, look for any staining on the insulation, drywall or wood framing.

It's usually not hard to find, the biggest problem will be finding a water leak. Sometimes these home repairs can be nightmares.



Autor: Greg Vandenberge Greg Vandenberge
Level: Platinum
Greg Vanden Berge has works in the construction industry for over 30 years, got his general contractor's license when he was 25 years old and ... ...

Attic Water Stains

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He has just finished a Home Buyers Guide to take some of the frustration out of home shopping.

Click Here if your looking for some more information about attic home inspections or home building ideas.


Added: August 2, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Saturday, August 1, 2009

How to Determine the Type of Paint on Your Building

It is important to distinguish the type of paint that is currently on your building before you put on another coat of paint. If you use the wrong type of paint, you could find it peeling a week or so later. This could be a very expensive proposition since good paint can cost upwards of $40 per gallon.

Oil and Water Based

You may remember from your high school chemistry class, that oil and water do not mix. All paints and stains are either oil or water based and when they are combined, the results can be disastrous.

More specifically, water based paints cannot stick to the oil based product, thus it runs or peels. Since water paints sit on the top of the surface, the oil based products are not able to penetrate the wood and never set.

The Transparency Test

Most oil based paints are designed to sink into the wood. Stains and varnishes can easily be detected by examining the surface of the building. If you can see the wood grain and the stain simply colors and enhances the wood, it is an oil based product being used.

However, more and more non transparent stains are being used. These stains still sink into the wood, but they give the appearance of paint by covering all aspects of the surface. For this reason, the transparency test can be trusted to determine transparent oil based products, but should not be the only method for determining solid or semi-transparent paints.

The Goof Off Test

Since some oil based paints exhibit the same characteristics of water based paints, the Goof Off test should be used before any painting is done.

Goof Off and similar products remove all types of things, such as grease, markers and latex (water based) paints. Buy a bottle of goof off at your local hardware store. There are other brands available, just make sure it says that it removes latex paint.

Douse a rag with a little bit of goof off and find an inconspicuous place on your wall to test. Start scrubbing the wall with the wet part of the rag (wear gloves). If the paint starts coming off, it is a water based paint. If the paint is already peeling, make sure that you see evidence that the goof off is actually breaking down the paint. The paint will bubble or look as if it's melting or wet.

Converting Oil to Latex

You may want to use latex because it is much easier to work with. Many older houses have oil based paint since that was primarily used in the past. If your building is covered with a solid oil based paint, you will have to use a primer first. The primer will bond with the wall and provide a surface for the latex paint to stick to. When you go to your paint store, make sure you tell them you are covering oil based with a latex paint and they will make sure you get the right primer.



Autor: Jason Capshaw

American Airless has information on painting and paint equipment. You may want to check out these paint sprayers as well.


Added: August 1, 2009
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/