Tune Up a Sliding Door

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Exterior Sliders

Remove the door and inspect the track, be sure to have someone help you as the door will be quite heavy. To remove the door, slide the operating panel into the half open position. From inside lift the door up into the top track as far as possible. Tilt the door so the bottom goes outward and the top can be gently lowered. Place the removed door onto a saw horse.

Many exterior sliding doors collect dirt and debris so be sure to clean the tracks with a stiff bristle brush or sponge and some soap and water. Then clean and lubricate the rollers in the bottom of the door.

If the track is bent and rubbing against the door, tap out the bend using a block of wood and hammer. Reinstall your door panel. With the door nearly closed, look for a even space between the door and the jamb. Adjust if necessary.

If you need to adjust one side of the door up or down, locate the adjustment screws at the bottom of the door. Look for trim caps covering the screws, if there are some you will need to pry those out first. Turning the screws clockwise should raise the door; counter-clockwise should lower it, Start by giving each screw a quarter turn to check the action. Adjust the height as needed.

Interior Bypassing Closet Door

Turn on the closet light and close yourself inside the closet to see how the door meets the jamb. If the door meets the jamb but rubs the carpet, or if the door is too high and does not meet with the floor guides, raise or lower both sides equally.

Using a screwdriver turn the adjusting screws, typically located on the back of each roller bracket, until you've aligned the door with the jamb. Some cam-types adjust as you turn the screw. While some other types allow you to adjust after loosening the screw and setting it in place by retightening the screw.

Pocket Doors

The door brackets on the top of the door hook onto hanger bolts suspended from a pair of two or four wheel trolleys that ride in the track. The hanger bolts allow you to make adjustments. To access the hanger bolts, remove the stop and the split head jamb on one side of the door. This will either be quite tricky or easy, depending on how the door fastens together.
 
If you see screws, remove them. If you don't see any screws, carefully pry off the stop and look again for screws that may secure the split jamb to the frame of the pocket door. If the casing is nailed to the jamb, it shouldn't be. Pry the pieces apart enough to cut the nails with a hacksaw blade, or drive each nail through the casing with a nail set and hammer. 

Use an open-ended wrench to turn the hanger bolt and level the door. When you've properly adjusted the door, tighten the locknut, then reinstall the trim and touch up the paint as needed.

Repair & Replace Door Hardware

Whatever you’re reason for replacing hardware whether it be security, accessibility or for a new look, it’s important to use the right tools and the right hardware.

There are three hardware types for interior doors: privacy lock sets, passage latch sets, and dummy sets.

If you’re changing hardware for a bedroom or bathroom, opt for a privacy lockset with a simple push lock. If your door is a larger closet or a main room of the house like a living room or dining room opt for a passage latch set. If your door is a smaller closet or other room where the door does not latch, go for a dummy set.

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1. How To:

1. Before you purchase your new door handle, measure your door. The standard door size is 1 3/8-inch thick, and modern door handles are designed to fit this size. Check your door’s thickness before you select your new hardware.
2. Next, decide what type of door handle you’d like: a knob-type handle or a lever-type handle. Knob-type handles turn with a round knob, while lever-type handles look like a sideways “L.” You push down on the lever to open the door.
   

   
   

   When you purchase your hardware set, make sure your package contains: interior and exterior sides of the handle set, the latch, a strike plate that goes on the jamb of the door, installation screws and key (if you’re using a privacy lockset). These items will be listed on the package.
3. 1. 

      Remove your old door hardware. To do this, look for two screws on the interior side of the handle (near the door). Take out the screws in the door edge and pull off the knob slowly.
      
       Remove the strike plate on the doorjamb. The strike plate is the metal plate affixed to a doorjamb with a hole or holes for the bolt of the door. Your doorjamb is the vertical part of the frame where the door is secured. Insert your latches into the faceplate holes and secure them with two screws.
      
      Now it's time to install the new hardware! Start by installing the faceplate. Make sure the plate fits flush with the door. If it doesn’t, use a hammer to lightly tap the faceplate until it sits flush.
      
      Next, insert the side of the handle set that fits through the middle of the latch. Then fit the exterior half of the doorknob over the interior half (it will fit snugly). and
4. Secure the two halves together with the two screws that came with the knob. Tip: Install the first screw loosely and then insert the second screw. That way, you’ll be sure they line up properly. Once they’re both in, then you can tighten the screws with a screwdriver. Lastly, install the strike plate in the doorjamb with two screws for wood.

Batten Down the Hatches 
Repairing a Storm Door 



Does it take the force of 1,000 winds to close your storm door? If your door doesn't close or takes a firm tug to close, chances are it's grating against the frame and your nerves. When the metal frame on the hinge side of the door comes loose, or the moulding loosens, the door begins to sag and scrape against the opposite side of the frame.

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Before you go running for your tools asses and determine where the issue is. Partly open the door and push the door up and down, keeping an eye on the hinge side of the frame. 

Re-Nail the Door Moulding

If the moulding moves, secure it with extra nails. Start by adding a couple of nails near the top of the wood trim. Then add nails further down if necessary. Sink the nailheads slightly with a nail set, cover the heads with acrylic caulk and touch up the moulding with paint. Position the door by wedging a shim between the door and the frame. Pre-drill and drive 10d galvanized finish nails to firmly fasten the moulding.

Add Additional Screws

If your wood trim is good it's more than likely your metal framing loosening. To fix the metal frame add a few No. 8 x 1-in. pan head screws. Stick a shim between the door and the frame, tighten the existing screws and drill new screw holes through the frame. Press lightly as you drill the metal; you don’t want to drill into the wood molding with the 3/16-in. bit. Then drill a 3/32-in. pilot hole into the wood and add screws. Usually two or three screws added near the top of the frame will work. For a neater look, spray-paint the screw heads first.

Summer Energy Audit



Save money while you keep your cool by taking stock on your summer energy usage. Between 50%-70% energy usage in homes goes toward heating and cooling.
 

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If you have in home air conditioning, not only are you lucky, you should be sure to replace your furnace filter every 4 to 8 weeks. This will keep your air conditioner/furnace running more efficiently. A dirty filter will increase the cost of running your system.

Block sunlight and keep the heat out by drawing your curtain during the warmest parts of the day. If you're not sure when that is, draw your curtains once daytime temperatures surpass a comfortable level. At work all day? Keep your curtains drawn to keep your house cooler while you're out.


Run your ceiling fans counter-clockwise. The counter-clockwise direction draws cool air upward, which increases air circulation and your fans efficiency during summer months. If you have an air conditioner, this can reduce the strain and save you money on your energy bill.


Clean your air conditioning unit. The more your AC works, the more leaves, grass and dirt get sucked into the unit. Condensing coils filled with dirt and debris shut off, leaving you with a hot house full of cranky people. 


Make sure all your ducts are properly sealed. Leaky ductwork attributes to 25 percent of cooling costs. If you have central AC and you notice that the temperature between rooms fluctuates drastically, then you have some leaks. Call a pro to have your ducts tightly seal. Professionals don't recommend sealing your air ducts with duct tape as it does not seal properly and can loosen over time.

Keep Cool Without the AC

Why not kick the AC for a day and make some homemade ice cream to enjoy out in the sunshine. Why not start with this recipe, no ice cream maker needed!

BrightNest: Helping you keep your home in shape

You keep track of your finances, calendar and friends and family digitally but how about your home? BrightNest.com is a recent startup that is gaining attention for the way it allows you to keep track of everything about your home.

Tips & Tricks

BrightNest gives you the information you need for all those home tasks you keep meaning to get started and maybe even some you haven’t even thought of. You can explore their library of money-saving tips, cleaning and organization tricks and suggested home tasks. You can then add these tasks to a list for your own reference or even assign them to other people in your home – the ultimate honey-do list!

Organize

Everything from important phone numbers to appliances, you can store all of your essential home details and documents for future reference and easy access. On top of this, BrightNest will keep track of your project history and even find owner’s manuals for your appliances. Is your fridge making weird noises that you just can’t figure out and you can’t find the manual? Simply add your appliances with their serial numbers and BrightNest will find the manual for you!

Reminders

Now you might be thinking it’s all well and good that they give you ideas but maybe your biggest issue is that you're not quite sure what needs to be done when. They’ve got that covered too! BrightNest will add relevant reminders to your To-Do’s that you can then add to your own lists. Don’t worry if you get a project that you don’t even know how to start, every project comes with all the information you need to get it done quickly and properly. BrightNest makes keeping your home maintained and organized that much easier.