How to OTW: Installing a Door Knob

Posted on by

Do you like playing Tarzan on your door? Maybe you are simply too rough and like barging into rooms instead of entering quietly and gracefully. There are many reasons why you might need to replace your door knob, and why wouldn’t you do it yourself? It doesn’t seem like such a difficult task. So, here are the instructions for all of you DIY fans.

Step By Step:

1.Remove the old door knob. And I mean everything, the knob, the latch, the plate, everything. This shouldn’t even be said. How would you install a new door knob if the old one is still in its place?

2.Slide the latch inside the door. Make sure you have already put the plate on the latch, othervise, you might figure out something’s wrong at the final stage of knob instaling, and then you’d have to do it all over again. Make sure you turn the latch the right way and don’t forget to hammer the latch into the place. The latch should be secured with screws. And this is something you shouldn’t be able to screw up.

3.Now comes the time to affix the door knob. This is where the latching mechanism connects with the knob. First, you have to put the part of the knob with a peg through the latching mechanism. This makes sure the knob actually does its job of holding the doors closed and opening them as needed. Ofcourse, this is not the end, since we have the other half of the knob. The other half should be aligned with the first half, before putting them together. Make sure you do this properly, so the knob would function optimally. Finaly, secure the knob with some screws. You don’t want it falling off and staying in your hand.

4.Secure the knob. We’ve gone through the main stepps of installing a door knob, now let’s go over some details. There are some extra steps you could take during the proces that would make your door knob more secure, durable and comfortable to use. For example, you could fill in the old screw holes if they don’t fit your new door knob. Make new screw holes. Make sure the plate fits and is well secured. 

5.Test. The final part: does it work? This is as simple as opening and closing the door. Does the latch do it’s job? Can the door be closed? Why or why not? Do they jam? If you notice any of these, the problem might be in a way you installed the latch. Do it again, this time properly. There might be some other issues, like loose door knob. If that’s the case, the solution is usually simple: screw the knob a little bit tighter. If that doesn’t work, check if you’ve aligned the knob properlly. 

6.The finishing touch. Touch up the area around the knob. You don’t want it looking ugly, chipped or unpainted. Make sure you get the same shade as the door.

hat’s it for today’s dose of DIY. Hopefully, in the future you won’t have to call a repair man to do a simple job of changing your door knob, when you can do it yourself.

How to OTW: Beginners Guide on How to Paint with Watercolors

Posted on by

Everybody is capable of finding out how to paint using watercolor. Watercolor is a medium of paint that adds life to the painting. It is a fascinating medium of painting art; it’s like dancing with both your partner together with a stranger, but it is difficult to master. Another factor why some artists use watercolor in painting is it is easy to correct any mistakes and learning how and when to correct these mistakes are equally significant. 

If you are a beginner, here are some watercolor painting tips. The first thing that you must do is to purchase the basic watercolor painting materials.

Watercolors

You need to lean and understand more about watercolors. Once you have learned the basics of watercolor painting, then you can use the artist rated watercolors. There are various kinds of colors of watercolors, the transparent, semi-transparent, opaque and neutral.

Brushes

Choosing the right brushes for watercolor painting is essential other sorts of brushes may spoil the watercolor paper thus making your work unsuccessful. In purchasing, brushes make sure that the hairs will not lose. There are various kinds of brushes, flats, round bristles, and filbert brushes. A flat brush is often long bristles, and it has a square end which is used for broad areas. The round bristles brush is pointed and used for adding details. And if you’re trying to find a brush well suited for creating shapes, filbert brushes is the one since it has an almond-shaped end. 

Watercolor Papers

Watercolor papers come from different kinds, the machine-made paper, rough paper, hot-pressed paper, as well as the cold-pressed paper. The difference between it is the texture and the grains. For starter, be sure to buy watercolor papers that happen to be acid-free. Acid-free paper can last for a long period than papers with an excessive amount of acid. As time goes by, papers with a lot of acids will change its color to yellow. And also, it is best to make use of 300gsm thick paper because the thin paper just like the 200gsm could cause a problem especially when you’re an amateur.

Palette

You also need to have pencils, eraser, tissue paper or old towels and water. Just be sure that the materials come in high quality.

The cake and pan, flat plates and covered plastic palette are classified as the three types of palettes. The cake and pan have a built-in fold-out palette. The flat plates are often used for tube watercolors. And if you’re in saving mode, covered plastic palettes are perfect for you because it will not waste a lot of watercolors. 

Strategies to develop your watercolor painting skills

First, set a thin wash, this will serve as the background of your painting. You may use one color or one tone. This will likely create an impression on your painting. Second, it is advisable to apply a lighter wash first and slowly do darker washes. Make certain that the first color is already dry before applying the second color. Next, for starters, limit yourself on using only two or three colors at a time. Add the more intense color for later. Then, create an object to be the center of attraction in your painting but never put it on the center rather set it slightly off-center and then highlight this object.

Finally and most importantly, always trust yourself. Learning how to start to paint with watercolors may be difficult at first but never doubt your capabilities. Everyone has a hidden artistic self so let it out. It is important to have a basis to start with but when you have started painting, allow it to flow on its own and do not get too anxious as to what would be the outcome. Many artists create masterpieces in the most anticipated way.

How to OTW: Replacing a Light Switch

Posted on by

Your light switch doesn’t work, but all the other lights on the same circuit do. It might be time to change the switch. But before you call an electrician you should give this job a go on your own because it’s truly is that easy. In this article I’ll go over what you need to do to get this job done. Before you get started its always important to kill the power to the circuit breaker and label the switch your dealing with so its easy to get the power going again.

Then move to the switch plate and unscrew the two exposed screws. The visually locate the wires so you can see what you’ll be working with. From here you’ll need to remove the switch itself from the wall to give yourself a little more space to work. This requires moving two more screws typically. Next you’ll need a circuit tester to make sure there isn’t any power running to the switch. If there is, its unsafe to work with it and you should double check the breaker. Once you’ve determined there is no power using your circuit tester you’re ready to move onto the next step.

Pull the switch out from the wall a few inches and take note of the two black power cables, both of which need to be removed by yet again unscrewing two philips heads. The third wire youll see is a copper ground and needs to be removed as well. At this point the hard part it over! Next get out your new switch which should look very similar to your initial switch. Follow the steps above in reverse order and you’ll be happy you didn’t call that electrician!