Super Handyman: With fall coming on, it’s time to touch up your insulation

There’s nothing quite like a crisp, cool fall evening to lift your spirits. Of course, it also should remind you to check and upgrade your weatherstripping and insulation.

Most autumn improvements are very affordable and can make a big difference in your winter heating and cooling costs as well as your comfort levels. Here are a few things to check into to get you started for the season.

Since doors and windows are the most wasteful areas in your home, let’s start there. Replace worn, damaged or missing weatherstripping around doors. For sliding doors, add weatherstripping to the sides, bottom and the area where the two sliding panels cross. You can use any type to seal up the window, including a temporary rope caulk. Seal up the whole window with a plastic storm window.

Use expanding spray-foam insulation around pipe and utility lines where they enter the walls of your home. There usually are large gaps at these sites. This stuff will fill in the gaps to stop airflow, and it’s waterproof to keep moisture out.

Install foam insulation inserts behind wall switches and electrical outlets to stop airflow in these areas.

Make sure dampers in fireplaces, ventilation ducts and dryer ducts all are closing properly.

Get out your caulking gun and fill in gaps around window frames, door frames and any other place around the outside of your home where air can get in through small cracks. This also will help prevent bugs and smaller critters from getting in.

All of these things are fairly inexpensive and easy to do. They will pay for themselves in one season, in many cases, so get busy and plug up those leaks!

Store hardware down underAre the shelves in your workshop full? Shelf space usually is limited in most shops, and they get filled up quickly. But you can double your shelf space by using the underside of these shelves. Sounds crazy, but it can be done. You#146;ll need an old CD spindle-storage package #8212; you know, the plastic packaging that holds the 50-plus blank CDs that you buy for your computer? You can glue or use screws to attach the base of the spindle pack to the bottom of a shelf. Now you can fill the top part of the case with hardware or other items and screw it onto the spindle base. Your items will be easy to spot, as most cases are somewhat clear, and handy. Plus, you won#146;t have to use any valuable shelf space.Clean, clean glass at homeWhich is worse #8212; scraping the slopped paint off glass windows, or masking them all before painting? It#146;s a tough call. We suggest #147;masking#148; with petroleum jelly. Just dip your finger into the container and smear it around the inside of the glass where it butts up to the window trim. It will resist the paint if you slop over the edges, and it#146;s easy to wipe off when you are finished painting. Super hintsŸ A nail apron or tool belt can hold a lot of tools and hardware. Why not hang it up, fully loaded, on your garage wall or pegboard storage panel? It#146;s a great place to keep your tools, and your belt will be ready to use when you need it.Ÿ Tackle boxes are great storage boxes to use for tools and hardware. I also keep my sewing supplies in one. They have a better variety of different compartments than most toolboxes, and the way they spread out when opened makes them a super choice for all types of storage. They are perfect for crafters, too.Ÿ Outdoor cushions that need to be stored during the winter can take up a lot of room. Put them in extra-large vacuum-seal bags, and they will stay dry and take up a fraction of the space where you store them.Q. There are several tiles that are loose around my kitchen countertop. I need to find a way to stick them back down so they will stay put and hopefully be watertight, too. What do you recommend?A. Take up all the loose tiles and use a grinder or adhesive remover to get all of the old adhesive off the back of the tiles and off the underlayment. Then apply new tile adhesive and let it set up. Re-grout the areas with waterproof grout. Seal the rest of the grout to prevent moisture from getting into it and causing more problems.Q. We have a clog in our main household drain. Unfortunately, we couldn#146;t get the main drain plug off. It#146;s metal and rusted closed. I can#146;t get it to budge. Now what?A. You should have another access point that you can work the clog from, but let#146;s try to get the main drain open first. Put some penetrating oil onto the drain threads and give it time to soak into the joint and start to work. You also can try applying some heat to the joint with a propane torch. Just make sure to be extra careful around the oil, and make sure no gas is present in the area.Q. I want to replace my countertops but don#146;t know what type to use. I#146;ve looked at wood, laminate, recycled glass, granite and even stainless steel. There seems to be a wide range of choices and prices. What is your opinion on the different types?A. Choosing a countertop is a really personal choice. And you do have a lot of them these days. Granite is the most popular choice, and for good reason. It#146;s extremely tough and probably never will go out of style. That makes it our favorite choice for most kitchens. But budget, size and installation are considerations, too. Also consider that some surfaces can#146;t take the heat and abuse that many kitchen countertops are subjected to. You are smart to do your homework. But the decision is up to you.Reader tipsŸ I#146;ve cleaned out my garage, and underneath it all, I found a very large oil stain on the garage floor. I tried to get it up with soap and water. That got some of it, but it wasn#146;t until I tried paint thinner that it started to dissolve. The paint thinner worked wonders, and I have been able to get almost all of it up. The rest is something I will have to live with. I applied a water sealer to the surface to protect it from further stains and spots. It actually looks pretty clean. Hopefully this will last a few years.Ÿ Before we got our delivery of firewood, I got the old wood off the rack and started to clean it. I found a snake skin and some litter, which I assume was from a raccoon or some other critter. I moved the rack out by the fence. I can#146;t stop them from living in or near the wood pile, but I can move their #147;shelter#148; away from my home.Ÿ I used stiff hair gel when I had hair, but those days are gone. I did have some left over, and I used it on a couple of paintbrushes after cleaning them. I guess I left them sitting a little too long, because the bristles were curled on the ends a little bit. I thought that if I could straighten them for a while, they might stay that way. So I coated them with the gel to hold them straight, and I stored them that way. When I got them back out for a recent paint project, I washed off the gel, and the bristles were straight again. It worked!Ÿ I have exposed ceiling joists in my garage, and have put that wasted space to work for me. I had some old wire shelving that was removed from a closet. I installed it directly into the bottom of the joists and now can store a ton of stuff up on them. They are great because I also can see what is stored on them and can just get my ladder out to retrieve what I need.Ÿ I#146;ve seen some really great-looking tile designs for a backsplash behind the stove in some kitchens. I can#146;t imagine how expensive or hard to install that would be for me. But I found a really nice-looking decal that I was able to install, very easily, over the tiles on my kitchen wall behind the stove. It looks just as nice as the ones I#146;ve wanted, but no cutting tile and no big expense. It looks neat!ShoptalkŸ The beauty of composite decks lies in the weather-resistance but many times not in their looks. If your composite deck looks dull or has aged badly and you want to make it look a lot better, Rustoleum has the answer. Its Composite Solid Stain is made just for this material. It#146;s scratch- and scuff-resistant, has UV protection, is very durable and comes with a 10-year satisfaction guarantee. It even comes in a wide variety of colors. Check it out at your paint store or at www.rustoleum.com.Ÿ We have had some record-breaking and extreme weather conditions this year. Many times, this means a loss of power. What do you do when the lights go out? We use Mr. Beams Home Power Outage Lighting System. It#146;s a package deal. You get a plug-in unit, which looks like a night light but is actually a powerful flashlight. Once plugged into any outlet, it will automatically turn on should your power go off. It wirelessly activates other lights on the system, which can be a ceiling light or stair light or several of each. These small LED fixtures will give you the light you need to be safe in a power outage. The #147;flashlight#148; can be removed from the outlet and carried around the house with you if you need it. It also acts as a remote control to turn the lights on the system off and on. Individual lights can be purchased, or buy the whole system in one kit at www.mrbeams.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells#146; website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$