Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. If you are installing a new smoke detector, I would look at the 10 year smoke detector. It has a battery that is designed to last the life of the alarm.
Regular smoke detectors need to have the battery replaced every year and the whole unit needs to be replaced every 10 years.
Some 10 year smoke alarms have sealed batteries that cannot be removed. They are an excellent choice for landlords. They also have units that have locking mounting brackets to keep them in place.
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. You can easily convert a table lamp into a touch control with a touch control dimmer switch.
You need to have a metal socket and a metal body on the lamp for it to work. You also need to use a regular incandescent light bulb for it to function.
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. I show two types of lamp timers for security. I like the basic manual timer that allows you to set specific times for the lamp to turn on and off. It is inexpensive and easy to program.
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips.
The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you change your smoke alarm battery once a year. Many fire departments suggest that you change your batteries twice a year.
For an easy way to stay safe, I like using a 10 year smoke alarm battery. It is designed specifically for smoke alarms.
It is excellent for hard to reach smoke alarms and for family or friend that may be forgetful. For a few dollars more than a regular battery, you have the security of 10 years of protection.
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A 4 way switch is used when you have three or more locations that operate a light or group of lights. The lever does not have an ON or OFF label. A 4 way switch is always wired between a pair of 3 way switches. When you have more than 3 switches, you will always have a pair of 3 way switches and all the other switches will be 4 way switches. The 4 way switches will always be wired between the pair of 3 way switches.
A 4 way switch has 4 screw terminals and a green grounding screw. The 4 screw terminals will be grouped in pairs. They may be marked Line 1 and Line 2, or Input and Output, or you may have two screw terminals colored dark and two screws colored light.
To replace a 4 way switch, you will first turn off the power to the circuit that you are working on. After unscrewing the cover plate and the switch, pull out the old switch and mark one group of wires with masking tape. You want to identify the pair of wires going to Line1 or Input or the dark colored screws. These 2 wires will be coming from one cable that is grouped together. In the box, you will have 2 cables connecting to the 4 way switch. You may or may not have a grounding wire.
The pair of wires from one cable should be identified before you remove the old switch. If you removed the old switch and did not mark the wires, you need to find the 2 cables. Each cable will have 2 wires or 2 wires and a ground, grouped together coming into the box. These 2 wires must be connected to one of the paired groups of screw terminals.
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. If you don't have a miter saw, a coping saw does a great job of creating a nice corner joint in molding.
The thin steel scrolling blade on a coping saw allows you to make intricate shapes in wood. It is designed to cut on the pull stroke, which helps keep the blade straight and easy to control.
By tracing the outline of the molding onto the adjacent piece, you can quickly create a clean looking coped corner.
Visit http://www.askthehardwareguy.com for more tips. For a very easy to use snowblower, I like the Toro 1800 Power Curve. This snowblower is an electric unit. It runs and performs like a gas snow thrower without the maintenance.
The Toro Power Curve 1800 is 18" wide and will cut into snow 10" deep. Depending on how wet the snow is, it can throw snow up to 30 feet. It will move 700 pounds of snow a minute.
It has an adjustable chute to put the snow where you want it and a scraper that clears snow right down to the pavement.
The handle has a large switch for instant on and off with either hand. It has a key you can use to make it child safe.
The snowblower is very light and easy to store. If you are looking for a low maintenance snowblower for the average sized home, this will do a great job. Your only limitation is the length of your extension cord. I've had mine for about 10 years.
