How-to #2: Fixing that busted office chair.

Difficulty: Easy.

Everybody has them well, at least one of them. How many office chairs do you have that are in need of repair? There are two in our garage alone. Granted, those are waaay beyond help, but I'd be willing to bet that there is a squeak or wobble in the chair that you're sitting in right now.


Guess what? You don't have to live this way. Here are a couple easy tips on getting that chair of yours back in shape. Think about it, no more stretching back and wondering if that rickety chair is about to send you ass over teakettle...


So I just fixed my girlfriend's chair a few minutes before this post. It was very easy. The problem was a missing screw, which caused the back to basically hang there ready to fall off.

The solution was simple. All it needed was another screw. Anna went off to the local hardware store with the one good screw to find a match. She was able to find it without any problems, and now the chair is as good as new again.

The chair that I'm sitting on right now is actually a repair job. I bought this "broken" chair from my old roommate for $5. It's a nice chair that was probably about $75-100 brand new. The only problem was the back was pretty much hanging by one screw (I'm starting to think this is a common problem in office chairs).

Again, one trip to the hardware store solved this problem. The screws didn't quite have a big enough head on them, so I MacGyver'ed some washers out of beer bottle tops.

So why not stretch back and spin a few circles? Does that chair of yours need some work?

Refrigerator Update... Yikes Again.

I'm a day late on this post, but here it is.

A couple hours after turning off the fridge, we started cleaning it. I was working on the top freezer portion, when I came across this mysterious panel attached to the bottom. It was attached by two screws on either side. I could tell it was dirty under there, and when pushing down on it I could feel ice give way. I had to see more...



I grabbed my trusty screwdriver and went to work. My heart rate grew as the screws twisted out. I have a bit of a fear of mold; it grosses me out. I cautiously lifted the panel off, and BAM! Mold and other general frozen grossness!

Well, I survived the cleaning with some help from the roomies. Under the panel, I found a vent of sorts that leads into the fridge section. The vent was blocked by solid ice. I think it's safe to say this was the root of the problem. A day later, the whole thing works fine again. The freezer isn't too cold, and the fridge isn't too warm. Problem solved.

Edit: 4-10-08.
If you think this is gross, check back this weekend when I take on my next project...

Refrigerator Defrosting... Yikes.

So this isn't really a project. It's more of a spur of the moment type thing. The freezer part of our refrigerator was waaay too cold, while the fridge part wasn't cold enough. We didn't really know what to do, so we figured we might as well try defrosting the whole thing and starting fresh. This was also a great opportunity to do some cleaning. Needless to say, there were some nasty things in there.

We threw all the freezer items in a large cooler. The rest either went in the trash, or into one of four mini-fridges we have in the house. This picture is from about halfway through the process. You can see that it could use a good cleaning.

I think doing at least one fridge cleaning like this is a pretty good idea. It's too soon to say if it will fix the temperature problem, but at least we'll have a clean fridge. It will certainly make cleaning at the end of the year a lot easier.

Gross item awards:
1. Partially separated mayonnaise.
2. Old packets of deli meat.
3. Five jars of old pickles.

How-to #1: Installing a can crusher.

Difficulty: Easy.

Ok, my first real post. Here's a little background on this project. Last year I lived in what you could call a "party house." Think of the stereotypical college frat, but without the frattiness. We would have parties every weekend with often dozens of people showing up. This created quite the garbage problem for us.

What we would usually do is just bag it all up and throw it away. But this got to be pretty expensive from all the extra garbage cans (garbage pickup billed per can). The garbage from parties in addition to the normal trash that six guys make on a weekly basis really started to add up. We first tried limiting ourselves to cans and no bottles. This cut down on garbage a little bit, but it wasn't the solution we needed.

We eventually started saving our cans to take them to a recycling place that actually paid us for them. Yes, they paid us! Aluminum can actually be worth it to save up and sell to recyclers. I don't remember the exact figures, but I think we had well over a hundred pounds after six months or so, and they definitely gave us about $80 bucks for it. What really made it a lot easier was having a can crusher on the wall. We eventually trained people to take their own cans over to it, crush them, and drop them in a special garbage can for cans only. Here's how to make one:

What you'll need:
1. A store bought can crusher (duh).
2. Tools: A hammer, and a screwdriver (preferably a drill instead).
3. Supplies: One small finish nail (to find a stud), and possibly some 2" sheetrock screws.

Step one: Find your spot for the crusher.
We found it's best to put the crusher at about chest height. Find a spot on a wall where you can put a trash can to collect the cans in. This is where you'll put the crusher. You can try knocking on the wall with your finger to try to find the stud. Use the small nail to check if there is actually a stud there (the small nail will either hit or miss a stud. If it misses, it's just a small hole that no one will notice).

Step two: Install the crusher.
The crusher will likely have more than two holes. Just make sure that two of the screws hit the stud. Also, the screws that come with the crusher might not be long enough. One inch would be the minimum that you want if you're putting it on a sheetrock wall. Just screw it in and you're done.

One more thing, don't crush full cans! The best that could possibly come from this is making a huge mess. Ok, better tip, don't let other people crush full cans!

Welcome to the Collegiate Handyman

College living can be pretty hectic at times. But that's no reason you have to live in a dump. This blog will share with you some great tips and DIY techniques that you can use around your home or apartment.

I'll kick this blog off with my first real post in a day or two. Hopefully you'll find it interesting and keep coming back to learn more.