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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.

How to superscript in Excel

Dave Farquhar Office June 25, 2018November 19, 2018

Sometimes you may need to superscript text in Excel, such as to display an exponent. But the superscript option is good at hiding. Here’s how to superscript in Excel.

As with many complex programs, there’s more than one way to superscript in Excel. That doesn’t help you much when you can’t find it, of course. This tricks works in Excel for Office 365, Excel 2016, Excel 2013, Excel 2010, and Excel 2007. In other words, every version of Excel with the ribbon.

Would you rent to someone with bad credit?

Dave Farquhar Landlording June 22, 2018July 4, 2018

A fellow landlord called me up the other day to ask about a prospective tenant. It led to a few different questions. The one that prompted the longest-winded answer from me was this: Would you rent to someone with bad credit?

Maybe. I’m not the type who lets credit be the deciding factor, necessarily. But if there are other red flags, bad credit certainly doesn’t help. I’ve given advice to would-be renters with bad credit, after all.

How to calculate monthly income from biweekly paycheck

Dave Farquhar Saving money June 21, 2018June 5, 2018

If you get paid every two weeks, calculating your monthly income can be tricky. You can fake it by just adding the two paychecks together, but you short yourself a couple of paychecks by doing that. That difference can be the difference between qualifying or not qualifying for a loan or a lease. So here’s how to calculate monthly income from biweekly paycheck.

Getting the math right on this is important. Adding two paychecks together is fine for a quick estimate, but it’s very easy to under-state your monthly income by 28 percent by making two simple mistakes. As you can imagine, that 28 percent can be more than enough to keep you from getting the loan or the lease you want. To do the math right, make sure you have your pay stub or pay statement handy, not just your bank statement.

How to become a network engineer

Dave Farquhar Careers June 20, 2018November 19, 2018

I’ve been an IT professional for more than 20 years now. I was a network engineer only briefly, but I’ve worked virtually all of my career with network engineers. You can have a long career as a network engineer, make good money, and possibly even enjoy it. Even if you don’t, it’s not hard to step from the role of network engineer into security. So here’s how to become a network engineer.

Windows 95 vs 98

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, Windows June 19, 2018June 28, 2025

Windows 95 vs 98 didn’t seem like a very big deal to me in 1998-1999. With nearly 20 years of hindsight, I still don’t really think it’s a big deal. Here are the differences between Windows 95 and Windows 98.

How much should your mortgage be?

Dave Farquhar Saving money June 18, 2018February 5, 2022

How much should your mortgage be? One school of thought says it should be as much as possible. I belong to the other school of thought. There is a proven formula for housing costs. I recommend following the formula.

The formula helps you keep your housing costs in line with your salary and with a typical lifestyle balance. The key to financial decisions is keeping a balance while living within your means.

Where to sell computer parts

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 15, 2018July 3, 2018

Where to sell computer parts can be a difficult question. I remember a time when cities like St. Louis had tons of used computer stores more than happy to sell your parts on consignment. Those days are over. But there is still a market for used computer parts, and the Internet provides a couple of venues to pick up the slack.

Whether you just want to raise money for your next purchase or try your hand as a professional reseller, you have some options.

How much is my computer worth? How to find out

Dave Farquhar Hardware June 14, 2018March 13, 2021

How much is my computer worth? That’s a really common question after you buy a new computer. Or when you find your old computer in the basement. Here’s how to find out what your computer is worth.

If your computer is more than a few years old, there’s a reasonable chance someone will be interested in it as a collectible. And if your computer isn’t old enough to be vintage but it’s new enough to be usable, there’s a market for usable secondhand computers too. A blog post I wrote on finding vintage computers gets steady traffic, so I know there are plenty of people looking for old computers. Here’s how to find out if they want yours.

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.