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Vinyl floor tiles separating

Dave Farquhar DIY November 20, 2018March 13, 2021

A common problem with peel and stick vinyl tiles is separating. If you experience vinyl floor tiles separating, here’s how to keep it from happening again. And you may be able to fix it. If you can still get tiles to match, you even have several options for fixing it, depending on what you’re comfortable with.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He has written professionally about computers since 1991, so he was writing about retro computers when they were still new. He has been working in IT professionally since 1994 and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He holds Security+ and CISSP certifications. Today he blogs five times a week, mostly about retro computers and retro gaming covering the time period from 1975 to 2000.

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Dead electrical outlet

Dave Farquhar DIY September 18, 2018March 13, 2021

Sometimes a dead electrical outlet means you need to call an electrician–but not always. Here’s how to troubleshoot a dead electrical outlet and solve the problem yourself, ranging from easiest to hardest, so you can decide when to stop and hire an electrician.

Dave Farquhar

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Small leak in a basement wall: a DIY fix

Dave Farquhar DIY August 29, 2018April 3, 2023

A small leak in a basement wall can scare people off. It looks like it should be an expensive repair and a precursor to all sorts of other problems. But there’s a DIY repair for a small basement leak that is easy, inexpensive, and effective.

If the basement wall has severe cracks, you probably need to bring in a professional. Assuming the wall hasn’t moved, you’re looking at a couple hundred dollars to have a professional fix it. If the walls are moving, that’s a bigger issue and definitely needs professional help. But you can fix small leaks yourself cheaply and easily, especially if it’s a chip, not a crack.

Dave Farquhar

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Peeling or alligatoring paint problems: How to fix them

Dave Farquhar DIY June 26, 2018September 10, 2023

If you buy an old house, chances are you will run into alligatoring paint, cracking or peeling paint, or a combination of those three problems. It’s tempting to just slap another coat of paint on top of the bad paint, and if you do, it will look better for a while. But it only takes a couple of years, or even a few months, for alligatoring paint problems to start coming back. In this blog post, I’ll talk about how to fix peeling or alligatoring paint.

I’ve had people tell me I needed to strip all the paint off one exterior wall of my house. I’ve had others tell me I needed to replace the siding entirely. Fortunately, there’s a better way. There’s plenty of advice out there on dealing with failing paint, but the problem is, nobody seems to mention where to buy the stuff you need.

Dave Farquhar

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What is satin finish?

Dave Farquhar DIY, Landlording June 13, 2018June 1, 2022

What is satin finish? Satin can be a very versatile finish for renovating a home, whether you’re talking paint, polyurethane, or hardwood floors. It has some disadvantages but also has notable advantages in most cases. Let’s take a look at what satin finish has to offer.

And sometimes when people talk about satin finish, they’re talking about the screens on mobile devices or computer monitors. I’ll cover that too.

Dave Farquhar

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Best furnace air filter

Dave Farquhar DIY May 24, 2018April 20, 2022

The best furnace air filter to use depends almost entirely on who you ask. You’ll get a very different answer if you ask an HVAC technician than if you ask your doctor. The reason is simple. They both see the purpose of the furnace air filter differently.

Of course, there’s a trade-off for each.

Dave Farquhar

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How to remove latex paint from plastic

Dave Farquhar DIY May 22, 2018November 27, 2018

It’s not hard to remove latex paint from plastic when you need to, even if the paint already dried. Here’s how to remove latex paint from plastic.

Dave Farquhar

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How to remove crayon from plastic

Dave Farquhar DIY March 12, 2018November 19, 2020

If you have kids, it’s inevitable. At some point you’ll need to know how to remove crayon from plastic. And while there are any number of ways to do it, I haven’t found anyone else mentioning the easiest way to clean up stray crayon marks. So I’ll share my secret.

Dave Farquhar

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What self-etching primer is

Dave Farquhar DIY March 8, 2018June 3, 2023

Whether you’re talking cars, computer modification, or restoring old toys, the subject of self-etching primer is bound to come up. You’ve probably seen it in the paint aisles with other spray paints and noticed it costs a little more than regular primer. But what is self-etching primer, and when should you use it? And where’s the best place to buy it?

Dave Farquhar

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Bootleg ground: What it is and why it’s dangerous

Dave Farquhar DIY March 6, 2018May 17, 2023

In the course of fixing up houses, I’ve seen a lot of wiring mistakes. Common mistakes like reverse polarity or a missing ground will cause the house to not pass inspection, but a bootleg ground is a bigger problem. It’s dangerous, and many building inspectors won’t catch it.

Here’s what a bootleg ground is, why it’s dangerous and you shouldn’t do it, and what you should do instead.

Dave Farquhar

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