Home Shows

I am addicted to those television shows where they redo a home. I was an addict long before Home and Garden Television. Remember when "This Old House" and the "Woodwright's Shop" were the only shows that gave us the vicarious experience of seeing things built and remodeled, giving us a false sense of our ability to replicate it in the process? Then along came "The New Yankee Workshop." While I appreciate the incredible work that can be done with antique hand tools, I'm a "Normite" and believe in power tools. I'd love to have everything made by hand with antique tools, but that's not feasible for me. I do good to get anything done with power tools, much less without them.

The new crop of pretty boys - Carter, Ty and the lot - will never replace Norm and Bob in my heart. Not that I mind my carpenters being pretty - it's an added bonus- but I'm much more interested in what they can accomplish.

Remember Bob Vila? What is Bob doing these days? I always liked how he popped in where the guys were working on whatever project, would give his brief explanation, and then move on to the next set of guys working. Now that I own a  home, and understand the difficulty in getting people to work on my house - much less on my timetable, I'm all the more astonished at the number of people we see swarming all over these places on "This Old House."

Now, of course, we have at least two networks devoted to nothing but home improvement, and another network to show us how to cook food in those new kitchens. I can't seem to get enough of any of them. Besides, where else can you pick up pearls of wisdom like these?

* If you have a door that isn't closing properly, the problem is most likely on the side with the hinges, not the other side. However, a quick fix that works a huge amount of the time is to take a candle and rub wax on the door and see if that fixes the sticking problem. I did this on a door four years ago and it has solved the problem.

* If you're using latex caulk, smooth it out with a wet finger - just like they always suggest. However, if you're using silicone caulk, dip your finger into liquid soap to smooth it out. Water will make a gummy mess.

Of course, if Chico would just drop by to do a little wiring for me, and Carter and crew could stop by for a few days and those plumbers that Bob and Norm were always talking to could make themselves available, things would be whipped into shape in no time.