Take a look;

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This model 421 is a 8 hole hook and loop 2 amp sander that may be living on borrowed time, that’s a good thing for me, but the point being, it has done well for me and for the money has served me well.  Evidently this mini marvel is still out there, the only thing different is the dust catcher, which on this model used to be a molded (porous) plastic. However this model, my ole faithful, has been discontinued by Dewalt.

DEWALT DW421 2 Amp 5-Inch Orbital Sander with Dust Canister

Now for the newer big brother

Why have a 2 amp machine when you can have a 3 amp newer machine for pretty much the same price. I picked up my friends 3 amp D26451 and was amazed by what I was missing, I figured same tool, but no, what a difference, more aggressive, more power with the same feel and weight as the older 421. I am now convinced I need the newer one.

Here it is;

reconditioned model

or new model

or reconditioned variable speed model

or new variable speed model

Whether you need 60 grit for fast aggressive grinding, or 150 grit for finishing, these sanders along with the other great Dewalt tools, in my opinion and experience have the best quality for the money. My Dewalt circular saw and reciprocating saw were purchased about the same time (96′-97′) as the DW421 sander and are also still going strong, I depend on them everyday.

As I ponder the state of the economy and think about on how to best prepare for the worse and where to put the few assets that I have, I realize that gold, however much it is being pushed these days, is out of reach for the average person both in terms of cost and practicality of use in the long run. Not that I would not want gold.

All those guys on the TV and radio pushing gold think we all have a bunch of money sitting around, and some of you may have.

Silver makes it easier to acquire precious metals.

You see, I want to to be able to function and survive a seemingly inevitable collapse of the dollar and it’s standing as the world’s monetary standard, which if happens, could really drive up prices of basics items from bread, goods, to energy, and create an economic hardship on those not prepared. With possible worthless dollars, silver will be a very needed item.

Silver, A More Practical Choice

Silver, because of its’ lesser value, may very well be a more tangible practical asset to have both in terms of acquiring it, and in the use of it, if need be. For the average person, acquiring silver can be done in incrementally with smaller portions over a period of time to build a personal hedge in a possible tougher future economic climate.

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Without going the purest route of repair with actual plaster, which involves multiple coats and drying time, we can use drywall to fill any holes or even large areas without removing more plaster than is necessary, as long as the remaining plaster is still stable and secure.

If you have removed all the plaster from a wall, corner to corner, top to bottom, and want to hang drywall, which may be the best option, then you need not read any further, just clean the studs and hang the drywall, but if your are matching portions of walls, then proceed.

The key to matching drywall to plaster is understanding a few simple dimensions of thickness, 3/8 inch lath, (the wood strips), and about a 1/2 inch of plaster, which totals about 7/8 of an inch on the studs, this is the average thickness that I have found to match up pretty close to the existing plaster finish. These are the critical dimensions of thickness that we want to match so we obtain a ‘flush’ finish.

If you have this total too thin, you will be doing a lot of filling with mud, if you get the patch too thick the opposite happens and you end up trying to hide a hump, with more mud.

There may be various thicknesses  in plaster finishes so each situation needs to be measured to get good flush results, but the most common sum comes to about 7/8 inch. Sometimes plaster at the bottom of the wall is thicker than at the top, but with a little drywall and ‘mud magic’ you can recreate the look of the original wall.

The main part is using the right thickness of shim material, (I love Shims) I use 3/8 thick plywood or even some of the old lath strips, if they are in good condition, along with 1/2 inch drywall for the proper build out. The strips will go on the studs, (firring out) and not back horizontally as they originally were.

Here are the steps I do in placing drywall in a plaster wall:

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Typically, there is going to be more floor problems with raised foundation homes as opposed to a poured concrete slab.  This is especially true in older homes as it was the norm for a long time and still is a preferred method in many parts of the country even now.

As with most wood building materials, they are not always perfect, with knots and long ways splits, these imperfections most likely did not show up at the time of construction, or the builder put a not so good joist next to a better one, or just didn’t care.  These imperfections  show up later after the wood has dried out over the years.  I have seen and fixed a lot of them.

If the house was put together well,  it should not be to much of a problem, but invariably you see a sag because of a split in a knot or a long split along the length of  a floor joist, (or roof rafters too).  Many older homes also were made with to much span with not enough posts or piers resulting in long sag where one has to shim the front of a dresser against a wall to make it level!

Although you may see deficiencies in old lumber, the two most  common floor problems (and house in general)  are water intrusion and insect infestation,  specifically termites.  Water is your home’s worse enemy, even with insect problems, the insects/ termites still need a moisture source to do their destruction,  so eliminating water problems is priority.  All this translates into the upper living area which is going to affect what is installed.  I really don’t expect most people to go underneath to do these repairs, but I included this so you would have a better picture of what’s going on that may affect the floor above.

Spongy floor, creaking floor, all the comforting sounds of an older home, while many get used to these noises and is part of the character of an old house, they also can be something that needs attention.

A spongy, mushy floor around the toilet is not a good sign, a simple test will determine if the floor under the toilet is bad.  Straddle the toilet facing the tank and rock left and right, the toilet should not move if it is OK. You can also do the same thing by pushing gently on the tank and bowl at the same time left to right, it should not move either.  Lastly look close at the base of the toilet to see if there is discoloration in the flooring surface and around the perimeter of the base.  If it is a tile floor, you may not see anything except telltale signs of seepage at the base perimeter.  A toilet not set correctly can seep slowly for a long time and not give any indication until the floor gets mushy.

At this point, if there is a problem, the toilet needs to be removed and maybe part of the floor around the toilet flange so you can see what is going on.  Most likely the damaged area will have to be cut out with a circular saw to the floor joists and a new piece of plywood or wood boards of proper thickness will have to be put in.  You will also be buying new flooring for the whole bathroom  so it all matches when done.

In changing any floor surface in any part of the house, this is the time to take care of squeaks and creaks, there may be edges of boards or plywood that is not fastened well, this is the time to do that, say when the old carpet comes out and you are going to put in a wood floor of some type.  You may already know where the squeaks are and know where to step late at night to go around it.  With a drill and 2″ drywall or deck screws, turn down the TV or radio,  send the kids outside so the room is quiet, and locate the noisy parts and drive the screws in about 6′” apart along the length of the joist until no more noise.

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We had to put a 2 inch plumbing vent stack in the wall and the hole in the plaster ceiling ended up a bit to big with no wood framing to screw to, no problem with this simple method of drywall / plaster repair. This area is about 2 x 4 inches, but this method will work up to a size of about 8 x 8 inches.  See pics here

Grab bars have become more mainstream in recent years and are not just for disabled or elderly people as once was. The safety benefits will help anybody regardless of age or physical condition.

The first point in our installation is to make sure we have the correct bar. Being that this is a wet environment, most bars are stainless steel, but there are other color choices such as white powder coat paint and brass and even different shapes that don’t quite look like the traditional curve ended stainless.

ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliant bars are available most anywhere and are fairly simple to install when following a few basic steps.

The key point here is that the bars must be fastened securely to wood frame studs or pre-placed blocking in the wall with long enough exterior grade or stainless steel screws. Usually 3 or4 inch if going through tile and it’s backing.

Moen brand bars come with 2 inch SS screws and are long enough for placing directly on drywall, unfortunately, bars more often than not, need to be placed on tile surfaces which takes longer screws and a carbide tipped drill bit. 3/16 inch should be sufficient size, the bit being just larger than the screw diameter.

Here comes the fun part, locating the studs, if your tile does not go all the way to the ceiling, locate the studs above the tile with a stud finder. Once you have the stud found, locate precisely the outer edges of the studs with a small finish nail to confirm the exact edges and mark in pencil, the marks should be 1 1/2 inch apart, (width of common stud). Older houses,  up to 1940′s, may have a little wider studs, which works in your favor.

Using a level, transfer the marks down to the area where you want to place the mounting end of the bar on the tile and mark the holes with the grab bar at the angle you need to be to catch each end on both studs. The Moen type mounts provide a hole pattern that allows the bar to be at any angle and still be able to put the recommended 3 screws in each end.

Now comes the 2nd most fun part, drilling the holes. there are a few different ways to start a hole on slippery tile, one, hold straight, steady, and drill slowly until the bit bites. You can also use masking tape to keep it on target until it etches a little, or use an awl to scratch it by hand first. It doesn’t take much of a starter hole to keep the bit from dancing around, after that, you are in.

At this point do not over drill into the wood, you will feel the difference once it breaks through the tile and it’s backing. Next, use something that will go into the hole, a wire, slender screwdriver, anything and measure the depth of the hole and add 1 1/2 inch to that, and that will be the minimum length of your screws that you need.

You may already have your screws,  just confirm that they will penetrate the wood at least 1 1/2 inch, deeper is surely OK.  Do not shortcut here, this is a safety bar you are installing, take time and get the proper screws. If the wood feels mushy you may want to add 2 inches more.

I like to mark all the holes where they go first to be sure they all line up but only drill 1 hole in one end and put a temporary hold screw in that first hole and then drill the other holes, this way I know all holes will line up. This is where you need to be accurate.

Once the holes are drilled and hopefully you found wood, then take a bathtub caulk or silicone, most any water resistant caulk will do, and put some in each hole to prevent water seepage into the wall, position the grab bar and install the screws.

Be sure all the screws are tight but DO NOT over tighten, as this could crack the tile. Slide the cover plates on and snap into place and clean up your mess and you are done.

The problem with old plaster is, once it gets to cracked it can begin to crumble with the slightest disturbance in attempts to repair it. Both methods can have satisfactory results, but the one involving drywall will be easier for most people.

The traditional plaster repair involves removing any loose plaster and one can leave it in most any shape, as long as the lath is still in place, which will not matter when applying the coats. This is a 3 step process involving a scratch coat, an intermediate coat and the finish coat for the final blend in addition to the repairs of the wood lath before this process, if necessary.

On the other hand, a drywall repair will have to have the loose plaster cut out in whatever square size needed with straight edges to the framing to accommodate the new piece of drywall.

My focus here is on using the drywall method to make repairs of loose or missing plaster. If you are just needing to fix cracks in plaster, my steps on Drywall Crack Repair will work the same way on plaster as it does with drywall.

With any taping repair with a glossy surface, painted drywall or plaster, wash the area with Dirtex or TSP first and then prime with a good paint primer before applying mud for better adhesion, especially in a kitchen where there may be more chances of grease buildup around the stove area. This would apply to re-painting too.

The average thickness of plaster without the lath backing is about 3/8  inch, so this the right thickness of drywall to get. Some plasters are quite soft and some are very hard, most is the hard kind, so cutting a fairly straight line can be a challenge. If it is the soft plaster, you can use a utility knife, even though you still go through a few blades.

There are two methods that will work on hard plaster, one being, to use a 2 inch sharp cold chisel and a hammer and the other is cut it with a 4 inch power grinder fitted with a diamond blade. Now you probably do not have the grinder but it can be bought for around $65.00, and while it is very dusty, it is a lot easier. The hammer and chisel method may loosen more plaster that you are trying to save.

Locate the framing, studs or joists, and draw your lines in a square or rectangle shape for as large as area as needed to replace the bad plaster. Most old framing is almost 2 inches wide so there is much wood to “catch” so that the screws will secure the drywall properly, you want to screw into the framing to hold the new piece tight.

Be sure to draw the area out so that it is square, that is 90 degree angles. Once the perimeter is cut, you can knock out the inner area with a hammer, clean the edges and place the new drywall piece in by screwing it to the studs.

At this point the 3/8 inch drywall will be pretty flush with the rest of the surface and now can be taped smooth with no major difference between the new and old surface. The closer you can get to matching this up, the easier it will be to make the patch blend in and less mud finishing when coating.

There are two more methods to consider if the plaster is to far gone and would require a lot of work, and that would be to remove all plaster and lath and install new 1/2 inch drywall directly to the studs, or sheet over the entire surface with 3/8 inch drywall for a totally new surface that will be trouble free in the future.

Removing the plaster entirely will be almost necessary if you plan to re-frame or move a window, or door, or are needing to repair any weak or cracked ceiling joists, might as well take it all out and make the walls and ceiling look good when finished.

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If the repair is just a crack, it may be because the wall or ceiling has a little movement which is more common on raised foundation floors, especially in older homes. If this is the situation you may need to shore up underneath.  Drywall does not usually crack if the foundation and framing are sound, but may separate at a joint because of  a poor tape joint.

Older buildings and homes up into the 40′s may very well be plaster and not drywall. You can determine whether it is plaster or drywall by taking a hard object like a screwdriver and pushing it into the wall in a inconspicuous location, drywall will be a bit soft and will easily leave a dent, where as plaster will be very hard to indent. The good thing about plaster is, it can be fixed pretty much the same way as drywall. I will address plaster on another page.

Basic supplies and tools are, all-purpose joint compound, drywall paper tape, 6, 8, and 10 inch drywall finishing knives (trowels), and mud pan. If you don’t want to buy all 3, omit the 8 inch one. You can fix most small problems with just these.

The object is to embed the tape into the mud, (joint compound), by taking the 6 inch knife and skimming a thin coat of mud over the joint or crack, then lay a length of drywall tape over the area and position it so it covers the whole crack. Next, take the same knife and scrape over the top of the tape forcing it onto the surface and remove as much mud as possible from underneath the tape and let dry.

Just apply enough pressure to remove the mud but not enough to tear the tape. All purpose mud has a small amount glue in it to cause it to bond to the surface and the excess mud gets returned to the pan or bucket and is usable again.

The second coat is applied using the next larger trowel in which you want to be sure and cover the tape completely but with the least amount of mud, and your patch is going to be feathering out wider each time to get the finished result as “flat” as possible.  Try to use a broad smoothing action and be sure to feather all edges, avoid puttying or dabbing at it.

Adding water to the mud to make it “lose-er” is the key to smoothing and feathering. When dry, repeat with third coat and sand smooth being careful not to expose the tape. Sanding lightly between coats will help the mud to not get too thick.

If you have texture as it is very common, this will be the tricky part. The small spray cans with the 3 different size straws is the simplest to use, you just have to test it on another surface before applying it to your repair.

Thankfully, most drywall repairs are behind doors or low on walls, and most of the time with other items or furniture in the room, it really isn’t noticed as much if you got anywhere close to matching, don’t expect it to be perfect. If the repair is in a more obvious main room area, you may be better off having an experienced person do it.

Just a couple of tips in conclusion. Most mud out of the container is too stiff, add water and mix thoroughly. If the humidity is real low, wet the tape first and let drip a few minutes so it goes on damp. (I actually do this all the time, less chance of bubbles in the tape and it adheres better). I didn’t mention it earlier, but you can and should use “topping” (another type of mud) for for the coats after the first coat, although do not tape with it as it has no glue in it, but it is finer and easier to feather and sand. Prime with PVA primer and you are ready to paint.

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There are three areas to focus on in the bathroom:

Shower/ bathtub

Supply valves

Toilet

Most average home tub configuration has the tub with either a tile or fiberglass type surround that meets the  top edge of the tub.  It is this joint that is the vulnerable spot in the tub/ shower area.  Discoloration and some peeling at this point indicates the seal is breaking down, especially if it has been awhile say 5 years.  This joint needs to be scraped out dried thoroughly to get good adhesion for the new caulk.

My personal preference if color and matching isn’t to much an issue is Acrylic Latex Caulk with Silicone, not pure silicone. Pure silicone is a mess to put in and even though it says 50 year on the tube, it doesn’t mean it is going to stick for 50 years. Plus the next time you have to do this, it is a whole lot easier to remove. I have resealed tubs for customers and it is a huge time consuming pain to remove the old pure silicone that never worked in the first place. The Acrylic Latex is water base for ease of applying but dries flexible over night. It can be made to look good with a wet finger and a damp clean white rag.

Shower doors need to be caulked to all the way up and down with same caulk with special attention to the lower corners. Sometimes I find doors out of adjustment which also allows water to exit the shower while in use. The best time to see if the doors are leaking is to observe the outside the shower while someone is in actually showering because water bounces off and splashes differently when some one is in there as opposed to just running the water with no one in there.

The other overlooked items in the bath are the supply valves under the sink/s and the valve that supplies the toilet. Take a flashlight if need be and feel underneath the valve and try to feel any water. Now turn that valve closed and open again and see again if any water is present. Try to do this once a year, it helps keep the valve workable when it is really needed to shut the sink or toilet off.

If you cannot turn the valve at all, it is time to replace it. while you are looking, check the supply lines. If you are putting a new toilet in, or a new floor, or a new faucet, this is the time to update these valves and supply lines, it will save problems later that can show up at that inopportune time.

I spent a little more time on toilets and floor repair in Home Repair Floors on one of the other pages, but the same applies to observing water. The main thing is to see if there is any discoloration around the base of the toilet.  The base of the toilet should be caulked and is code in many places, but if you do, be sure to leave a little  1 inch gap in the back as an indicator in case the seal begins to leak at some point. I would rather want to know if it is leaking than not, especially on a wood raised foundation floor.  Just use the same caulk that we used in the shower.

Tub drains and lines should have an access panel in the wall opposite behind the shower valve, but not always, if this is the case,  you may be able to get underneath the house or floor so you can inspect it there.

In all this inspection process, you will be looking for discoloration, mold, warped or rotted wood, stains. Sometimes, the leak isn’t wet when you see it but when you see these indicators you may have a very slow leak needing some attention soon.

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