Give your sleeping space some love by freeing wedged dresser drawers, creating a new closet layout, and hanging a pretty printed wallpaper.
Unstick Drawers
If possible, remove the contents of the sticking drawer and slide it out. Check that no item is caught behind the drawer. If the drawer is too stuck to remove, take out the drawer above or below to reach behind the stuck drawer and push. If that fails, carefully slide a putty knife between the bottom of the stuck drawer and the dresser frame to pry it out, taking care not to damage the wood. Drawers may have metal or plastic slides or wooden runners. If your drawer has a slide, check to see if the track is misaligned or bent. Realign the track and, if possible, bend it back into place. If the track is too damaged, un screw it and get a replacement piece from the hardware store. For sticky tracks or wooden runners: Rest the drawer upside down on a towel, then rub soap or paraffin on both slides or on the runner edges so that the drawer will glide easily. The slides and runners alternatively may be coated with silicone spray.
Rearrange a Problem Closet
Sometimes located in the eaves or in cave-like corners, often with limited space, bedroom closets in old houses are a challenge to arrange. Here are a few layout ideas to make old closets more functional.
NARROW CLOSET
If it’s narrow but deep with room along the sides, run two tiers of rods front to back. High ceiling? Install a shelf above the main rod. No room for side rods? Consider shelving or drawers in the center or to one side, and run rods from that unit to the walls. Use hooks or hanging baskets on the inside of the door.
SLOPED CLOSET
Denne historien er fra November/December 2016-utgaven av Old House Journal.
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Denne historien er fra November/December 2016-utgaven av Old House Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Navigating the Lumberyard - Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard.
Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard. Almost everyone fixing an old house will end up at a lumberyard-whether it's a local supplier or the organized aisles of a big-box home-improvement store.
a farmhouse renewed
Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.
AN OVERVIEW OF METAL ROOFING
METAL ROOFS ARE RESURGENT, FOR GOOD REASONS.
ENDURING BEAUTY IN WALLS of STONE
Now back in the family who had been here since 1830, the old farmhouse is again ready for generations to come. Additions dating to 1840 and the 1950s were preserved.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS COME TO LIFE
Owners and their designer celebrate the unique features of a 1912 Arts & Crafts Tudor.
For a Wet Basement Wall
If there's problem common to old houses, it's a wet basement. I'm not talking about occasional flooding, but rather a basement that apparently seeps or leaks after even a rain shower or during snowmelt. Several approaches are available; sustainable solutions will get to the root of the problem.
Patching a Plaster Wall
Fix a hole in the wall with a few common tools and some drywall supplies. Practice your technique!
Roofing & Siding
Make note of these historical and unusual materials for the building envelope.
The Riddle of the water
When water incursion happens, the roof isn't necessarily the culprit. Maybe snaking a drain line, or clearing debris from a clogged gutter, temporarily will stem a leak. But a recurring problem usually means other forces are at work. It takes persistence-and a team with the right skills and patience—to identify the source and apply a solution.
Light-filled Craftsman Redo
For a dark kitchen in a 1914 Illinois house, the trick was anchoring white expanses with woodsy warmth.
