Indy Total Construction

Standard features of all houses, however plain. Although each performs a specific job, they also provide ornamentation and a chance to vary decoration.

As the years pass, they’re bound to come in for a few knocks – and will most likely be covered in several layers of paint, which not only get chipped but also eventually clog up their profiles. Skirting boards, in particular, are also prone to rot if walls or floors are damp. However, since wood trim is in no way part of the house’s structure, repairs and even replacement should create no major problems.

Slight dents and cracks can often be repaired with cellulose filler – or perhaps glass fibre repair paste for larger or more accident-prone areas. In most cases you’ll have difficulty blending in the filler by hand with an ordinary filling knife. Instead, you can use a template cut to the profile of the molding from plastic sheet (a large plastic ice-cream container is ideal), or hardboard or cardboard; run it along to smooth the surface after applying the filler.

If the damage is more serious, you may be able to saw and/or chisel out the bad part to leave clean edges, and glue and pin in a small piece or pieces of prepared molding, or else plain timber shaped to fit.

If patching and filling won’t work, you need a completely new piece. This, however, can be a snag if your existing molding is one of the scores of obsolete types, because you won’t be able to match it off the shelf.

You may occasionally be able to buy something suitable – on site where an old house is being demolished or renovated, or perhaps from a demolition contractor who stocks secondhand timber. Otherwise, many joinery firms will cut a molding specially if you take in a sample of the pattern; but that’s likely to prove very expensive.

Your next option is to substitute a readily available pattern of molding throughout the room. But that’s a pity – not to say a lot of trouble – if most of it is sound. A third possibility, probably the most attractive if you only need a small piece, is to make it yourself. You can mold the shape with a power router, or perhaps a plough plane, combination plane or scratch stock.

A scratch stock consists of a piece of steel (for example part of a hacksaw blade) ground and/or filed to the profile you want. It is then clamped with screws between two pieces of hardwood in an improvised stock, and scraped along the timber till the desired shape emerges.

Externally curved moldings, such as plain chamfered skirting and architrave, can of course usually be formed with an ordinary bench plane and glasspaper. Lastly, it’s sometimes possible to make the molding up in sections from smaller ones, glued together and filled where necessary.

Door problems are often caused by the door and frame. But hardware can also be the cause of doors sticking. Hardware refers to the metal parts on a door:

• Hinges

• Faceplates and latches

• Strike plates

In time, hinges loosen up and let the door sag so it no longer fits the frame. This happens when the screws pull loose. The cure is to remove the loose screw or screws. Fill the hole with wood putty or with a wooden matchstick or soft wood plug covered with white glue. Without drilling a hole, replace the screw in the plugged hole.

It is much easier to rehang a hinge than to rebuild a door frame. Often a cardboard shim behind one of the hinges will shift the door enough to prevent binding. Sometimes removing one hinge and chiseling the mortise a little deeper will correct both top and side clearances.

By plugging a loose screw hole with wood putty or soft wood like a matchstick, you can reset the screw. Sometimes you will need a longer screw as well.

Cut a piece of cardboard to place behind the side of the hinge that looks strongest. If two or more shims are needed, place them behind both sides of the hinge. If a door is sticking at the top, shim the top edge. If it is binding at the bottom, shim the bottom hinge.

To work on the hinges, remove the bottom pivot pin first. If you remove the top pin first, the weight of the door may tear the bottom hinge loose.

Squeaking doors are really squeaking hinges. Oil is really only a temporary solution. To stop the squeak, remove the hinge pivot pin. Sandpaper off any rust. Then coat the pin with paraffin, graphite lubricant, or silicon spray and replace it. Never use oil; it collects dust and becomes sticky.

Latches and faceplates also cause problems. If the screws holding them to the door are loose, the door won’t close properly. Reset the screws after plugging the original holes with wooden matchsticks or soft wood just as you did the hinge screws.

Strike plates on the door frame can also be a problem. When a door frame sags, the latch in the door may travel across the strike plate without meeting the hole in the strike plate. Remove the strike plate and place it in a vise. With a file enlarge the hole enough to accommodate the latch. If there is a bolt hole, enlarge it also. Before you replace the strike plate, chisel out the wood behind the enlarged hole.

Strike plates should not be moved. It is better to enlarge the hole so the latch will meet.

The hinge pin holds the two parts of the hinge together and lets the door swing. To remove the pin, tap it with a hammer and screwdriver. Always remove the bottom pin first.

Appliance wire is a good conductor, but it pulls apart easily. The wires inside most electrical cords are in strands. They are not solid like permanent wiring in the walls. The insulation around the wires is strong and helps hold the strands together. The wire usually breaks before the insulation does and you will not be able to see where it is broken. When the wire breaks, the lamp may go out entirely. If you move the cord or hold it a certain way, the lamp may go on again.

To check a lamp cord, plug it in and use a circuit tester to test the ends of the wire closest to the lamp. If the tester lights, the circuit is complete and there is nothing wrong with the cord. Most likely, the lamp socket is defective. If the circuit tester does not light up, flex the cord and see if this makes the circuit tester flicker. Be very careful while the cord is plugged in.

If the cord is bad, remove it. A replacement cord has a molded plug at one end and bare wires at the other. Be sure to replace the cord with one exactly the same. Heating devices especially require a special type of cord. Attach the new cord exactly as the old cord was attached.

If the cord is good, but the lamp still doesn’t light, the problem is usually the lamp socket, which contains the switch. The lamp socket has four basic parts:

• Cap

• Socket

• Cardboard liner

• Outer shell

When you buy a new socket, be sure to get the same kind. Although they may look alike, sockets come in different sizes and types.

Before working on the lamp socket, unplug the lamp and remove the bulb. On the outer shell there is a spot marked PRESS. By pressing and wiggling it, you can remove the outer shell and the cardboard liner. Unless the cap is damaged it probably does not need to be replaced. In the cap, the wires are tied in an underwriters knot. Examine the wires. If the insulation is brittle, cut back the wires or replace them. Tie an underwriters knot. Then attach the ends of the wires to the new socket just as they were on the old socket. Set the socket back in the cap. Replace the cardboard liner. Plug in the lamp and test it.

So they will be flexible, most lamp d appliance cords are made of hair-like strands metal in an insulated shell.

A wire may break or burn through _nder the insulation. Broken wire can cause sparking that will burn the insulation.

When appliances don’t work properly, the plug is often the problem. Prongs may be broken or bent. Wires may be burnt where they attach to the prongs. The plug itself may be split or cracked.

There are two basic types of plugs:

• Clamp-on plugs

• Wired plugs

Clamp-on plugs are easiest to replace. They have no screws and require no stripping. Cut damaged plug, and separate the wires for about 1/4 inch. Open the clamp or lever on the new plug and simply insert the wire ends into the plug. Close the clamp or lever, and the plug is ready for use. Clamp-on plugs should be used only for light-duty use, such as lamp cords.

To repair a wired plug take out the cardboard or plastic cover and loosen the screws. Pull the wires farther through the plug and cut off the bad ends. Separate the two wires for about 1-1/2 inches and strip 1/2 inch of insulation off the ends. Twist the copper strands so they will not separate easily. To relieve the stress on the plug and on the copper wire, tie an “underwriters knot”.

Pull the knot back into the plug cap and wrap the bare wire ends around the screws in the direction the screw tightens. Tighten the screws and replace the cover.

If your plug has three prongs repair it the same as a two-prong plug. Make an underwriters knot with the black and white wires. Attach the third green wire to the green screw. Attach the white wire to the silver screw and black wire to the brass screw. Be sure none of the bare wires are touching each other. Replace the protective cover.

Some plugs are completely cased in rubber. If one of these plugs goes bad, unplug the appliance and cut off the bad plug.

Broken electrical plugs are often because of appliance failure. Plugs are frequently stepped on or kicked accidentally. Common damage includes bent and broken or burnt wires, and damaged plug casings.

With a two prong plug, separate the wires for about an inch and a half and strip off the insulation for about 1/2 inch. Scrape the wire until it shines and twist the copper ends so they hold together.

Tie an underwriters knot in this way. This knot puts the pull on the insulation instead of the wire. If this knot is not used, the wire may come loose in a short time, especially if the plug is removed by pulling on the cord.

After the knot is pulled into the plug cap, the stripped wire is wound around the screws in the direction that the screw will be turned to tighten. This pulls the wire in under the screw. If the wire is looped in the opposite direction it will be pushed away as the screw is tightened.