It is not uncommon to see a major crack appear in some places in the wall or ceiling of older homes. This is due to the settling or drying effects of the house over time. Gypsum plaster is brittle and would rather break than bend. We first check that there is no detectable movement in the panel by pressing on it by hand. If some is found then more screws are added to attach it to its frame backing be that studs or joist. While repairing, a tape, made of either paper or a fiber mesh, is laid on the crack and under the fresh filler. This adds strength to that part of the wall. Should the flexing come again, as in a strong wind storm, it will help to distribute the loading across the adjacent panels.

Picture hanging can be a challenge in some locations. If the walls are concrete, as in many apartment buildings, we need a masonry type bit and a hardy electric drill to make the hole in which to place the anchour. For our regular wallboard, most any anchour is fine for light pictures, but for heavy ones, we need the steel expandable type that grips both inside and outside the panel. Similarly, this applies to putting up curtain hangers and shelving. The wall attachments will stay in place if care is taken during the original installation.

Outside lumber, used for decks, steps and flower bed borders, will develop a patina that is a light green colour. This of course is just mold - nature at work. It can also be quite slippery when wet. A simple two step process will generally correct this for a year at least. First a wetting with a chlorine product in water, and let it set for a few minutes. Then a drenching using a pressure washer at a high enough pressure to remove the film but not enough to cut into the wood. On close inspection, the surface will have a slight hairy look to it, but it will be clean.

Smoke alarms need attention on a regular basis. The tops will come off in a standard way either opening as a door or with a counterclockwise twist to allow access to the battery.

Fancy ones now can be connected to each other either through house wiring or by wireless. They have the ability to signal all alarms if one goes off. So if in the middle of the night the basement alarm sounds, and you are two floors up with your bedroom door closed then the alarm on your floor will sound as well.

All alarms will, at regular intervals, give off a chirp type of sound when their battery needs changing. The fancy ones may have a preset lifetime as well which will force their changing after ten years.

Kitchen knives lose their edge over time with use and by rubbing against one another in their drawer container. I have a sharpening unit that is of the hardened steel scraping type. The knife is drawn through the unit in a firm manner four to five times, and a new edge is restored. This will only work for knives that have been ground to a 15^° angle at the knife's edge. For knives that don't have it, I can put that angle on with filing stones, but it takes twenty minutes or so.

Some like the beeping sound that our microwaves make and others do not. The sound can be stopped. As with many common machines made today like lawn mowers or automobiles, many of the parts for microwaves are standardized and made by the same supply company. This makes them easily recognizable. Here, we take off the outside cover to give access to the fasteners for the control panel. We then loosen the control panel so that it is manipulable in our hand. The beeper part has an exterior accessible conductor that goes from the unit to the circuit board. Severing this eliminates the beep. Afterwards, the machine will be quiet and that might take some time getting used to. The single beep it gives each time a cooking instruction button is pressed is also eliminated. In general, I don't work on household appliances; this modification is an exception.