Can't paint yet due to the weather? Do the prep now

Are you looking forward to spring yet? We are. It's a great time to take care of things like painting your house. But you can't really get started just yet, because in most parts of the country, it's too cold to paint right now. But you can start on the prep work now and be ready to put on a fresh coat of paint as soon as it turns nice again.

Power-wash the house first. This will help to remove any loose paint and dirt from the surface.

Once your work surface is clean, you can do an overall evaluation of your exterior. Get a piece of paper and jot down a to-do list. Take measurements - overall and of specific areas that need trim replacement, caulking or things like that.

Start with any woodwork that needs to be tackled. Cut out damaged areas and install new trim, shingles or whatever wood needs to be replaced. Cover nail holes with putty to seal them properly.

If you have any scraping to do, before beginning, take a sample of your house paint to a paint dealer to see if it contains lead. Even though lead-based paints were outlawed 30 years ago, it could be a problem in older homes. Check out cpsc.gov for the Consumer Product Safety Commission's guidelines on dealing with lead-based paints.

The next step is to get the old paint off. All peeling, cracking, bubbling and loose paint needs to be removed. You can use a hand scraper, assorted attachments to your drill or even power paint removers. Sand the whole surface so the new paint will "stick" better.

Prime any exposed wood. You might even prime the whole thing if you are changing colors or if your paint is very old. A new coat of primer will go a long way toward keeping the new paint surface intact and looking good longer.

Now you are ready for the "fun" part - the actual painting. You can take it from here. You'll be glad you spent the time to get the house ready for paint, and your home will have added value for your efforts. Talk about "sweat equity!"

Repurposed wine bottle

We created a great bell for the garden. It's made from a wine bottle and some scraps from the shop. First we cut the bottom off the bottle with a glass cutter. If you do this, make sure to wear gloves and safety goggles. It's also a good idea to smooth the freshly cut edge with a grinder or fine sandpaper. You will need a long string or a cord that will hang down into the bottle to hold a large nut or some other heavy object that will "ring your bell." The string can be run though the bottle top if it's a screw-on, or the cork if it's not. Then the string can be attached to a hook or a tree.

Easy bulletin board

Foam insulation panels are great for adding insulation to walls in your home, attic, basement and garage. They are easy to install because they are lightweight to handle and easy to cut to fit just about anywhere. But what can you do with the leftovers? You can use a small panel as a bulletin board. You can leave it like it is, or cover it with paint or cloth. Then use pins to hang notes on it. Keep one in your workshop, laundry room, kitchen or home office. They really come in handy!

Super hints

• Petroleum jelly is a great lubricant for sliding windows and doors, door hinges, garage door tracks and lots of other areas, and it's much less expensive than the specialized products that you can buy for the same purpose.

• We always keep some suet in the backyard for the birds, and this winter, we made some ourselves. We used a cardboard milk carton for the form and poured a mixture of lard, birdseed and granola into it. Then we inserted a loop of nylon rope into this and set it in the freezer to harden. After it was hard, we removed the cardboard carton and hung it from the tree just outside the back door. The birds love it!

• Keep a can of WD-40 handy to clean paint, caulk and other compounds from your hands after a hard day's work. The WD-40 dissolves all of these materials and more. Follow with a little soap and water to finish up.

Q. We have a popcorn ceiling that needs to be removed before we paint it again. What's the best way to get this stuff down without making too much of a mess?

A. You can put plastic dropcloths on the floor and over the doors from that room to the rest of your house. Spray a small amount of water mist on the ceiling, and use a wide-blade drywall knife to scrape the texturing off. You will need to dust the ceiling really well after all the popcorn has been removed before applying more texture and/or paint.

Q. Our mudroom/sunroom/back porch is where we pile all of our boots and other winter gear. The concrete surface is always dusty, and this gets tracked into the house. Is there any way to prevent this, other than covering the floor with mats?

A. Try cleaning the whole floor with trisodium phosphate to remove any grease. Then seal it with a concrete floor sealer. Two coats would give you the best results. This should eliminate the dust coming from the concrete surface.

Q. We had a pipe burst in the laundry room, and now we have flaky drywall. What do we need to do to fix the problem?

A. The damaged drywall needs to be removed. Just cut out all of the damaged area and any damaged insulation, and clean the wood studs with bleach and water to kill any mold that might have started to grow. Then replace the insulation and drywall. The drywall will need to be secured to your wall studs with drywall screws, so make sure you trim the old material and new to join together at the studs. Apply a little wall texture and some new paint, and you will be back in business.

Reader tips

• Our kitchen chairs are pretty old but mostly still in good shape. One had a loose joint where the back attaches to the seat, and the whole chair was starting to get more wobbly. I tried using a small dropper that I had received from my vet a while back to put some glue straight into the joints. The dropper worked pretty well, and I've had no more movement in the chair. Hopefully this will do the job.

• I was trying to clean my kitchen exhaust fan's filter after a little mishap I created. It smelled really bad and had dark stains all over the face of it. I was able to get some of the mess cleaned off, but there was more that was caked on, and I just couldn't get it cleaned off. I tried an experiment and put it in the dishwasher, and let the dishwasher do the work for me. The filters aren't perfect, but the dishwasher did get most of the grease off it, and the burned smell was gone. That was enough for me. I will be more careful next time!

• I was making a big mess in the kitchen while painting. The paint was dripping down the side of the can and, even though I had a dropcloth down, was getting all over everything. I even got some on my shoes and tracked it into the house. I finally grabbed an empty aluminum pie pan and put it under the can to catch the drips.

• I've used a credit card to scrape ice from my windshield. It worked great, but the credit card wasn't usable afterward. I now save all of the credit-card offers that I get in the mail for this purpose. I use only the thicker ones, and have collected enough to put a couple in each car in case we need to use one.

• I put the kids to work during the holidays, and they had a blast. I put some water in the bathtub and then some shredded newspaper. The kids rolled the wet newspaper into balls, and then we put them aside to dry. The kids were busy for hours, and it was a relief to give them something fun to do. We were stuck indoors for three days with the bad weather! These balls are great for starting fires in our wood-burning fireplace. I keep a can of them next to the firewood, and use them when I need to start a new fire.

Shoptalk

• Flings are a super-innovative idea in trash cans. They are pop-up trash cans that are decorative and can be put anywhere you need for parties, picnics and other messy get-togethers. Flings are almost flat when you buy them but easily pop up to create a good-size (13-gallon) trash can for you and your guests to fill. When the party's over, you just pull up the sides, close the bag and carry it to the can or curb. They are strong enough to be reused if you are careful with them, and they make recycling much easier. To find out more about Flings or to find a local dealer, visit flingsbins.com.

• Now when you paint your walls, you can protect them with Scotchgard at the same time, with Sensations Paint from Ace Hardware stores. Sensations is a premium acrylic latex paint that contains Scotchgard protector to provide superior stain resistance and easy stain removal. It's even effective on grease and oily stains. It comes in a variety of colors, and is available in flat and satin sheens. Other advantages include one-coat coverage, mildew resistance and true, flat, low-luster finish. Take a look on acehardware.com for more information and to find a local dealer.

• Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or visit the Carrells' Web site at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2010, Cowles Syndicate Inc.