Kitchen and Bath 2017 1_NEW_Digital_Fall_2017 | Página 80

Kim, Fix My House!
BUFF CITY Scratches, dings and dents
in your wooden furniture can make your
place feel unkept and outdated. Using
furniture paint markers to minimize the
appearance of any damage is an easy and
quick solution. There are a variety of brands
and colors on the market so be sure to pick
up a few samples in order to find the best
color match. Use a light touch and keep the
buffing cloth nearby to make sure that you
don’t go overboard. In case of deep scuffs
that are harder to cover, color or clear wax
sticks are the answer as they fill in any gouges
or small holes resulting in a shinier, smoother
look.
FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND Where would
our tables be without their chairs? After
years of being pushed and pulled from the
dinner table, chairs can often suffer from
loose joints and rungs popping out of their
legs. The simple solution is to re-glue them.
Make sure to remove the old glue first and
then sand the end of the rung to create the
best surface for re-attachment. You can add
clamps to hold the rungs in place while the
glue dries though most wood glues these
days dry faster than you realize. This fix
should last you several more years.
PACKET OF SUGAR An uneven table
is annoying when you are out at a cafe or
restaurant. It’s even more frustrating when
you’re trying to enjoy a meal at home and
a folded napkin tucked under the faulty
leg just won’t do. Luckily, there’s an easy fix
and it doesn’t involve shortening any of the
table legs nor adjusting your floor. Instead,
purchase glides at your local hardware store
and affix them to the problem leg. Glides are
essentially a small pad with a nail in it that
can be attached to the bottom of a table
leg. Though they are designed to keep the
legs from scuffing the floor, they are also
extremely useful to level an uneven table.
HANDLING IT YOURSELF After
continuous and prolonged use, door
handles can loosen and come off in your
hand without warning. The problem is that
the holes holding the screws have become
enlarged over time from constant pulling
and they need to be fixed. The easiest
solution is to buy wood putty, remove the
I want to improve the look of my furniture. What are
some things I can do myself?
handle and fill the holes with the putty. Make
sure that you check on the label that you are
using putty that can be drilled into. Once the
hole is filled and dry, drill fresh holes in the
hardened putty and re-attach the handle.
SEAMLESS INTERVENTION Sometimes
older furniture can start to separate at the
seams where two pieces of wood come
together. A simple solution is to add flat
corner braces to the problem areas. Braces
are inexpensive and readily available at local
hardware stores and home centres. Affix the
brace in an inconspicuous location like the
back of the piece that needs repair. This
addition eliminates the need to drive screws
through a seam in the hopes of pulling the
gap closed and possibly ruining the finish.
THE COMMITMENT If you truly love a
piece of furniture despite the burns on its
surface or severe water damage, then it’s
time to bring out the heavy artillery, roll your
sleeves up and make a weekend of it. There’s
no easy or quick fix but once you decide to
do the job right, you will be thrilled with the
outcome. Start by stripping the finish, then
sand the surface and finally, apply a new
finish. Lots of elbow grease is required but it
is not terribly complicated and it is so worth
the effort. - Text by Kim Bartley