What to Look For When Buying an Anti-Ligature Handle

If you're considering a purchase, you are most likely active in an environment where one or more people run the risk of harming themselves, accidentally or not, and you are thinking about how to reduce that risk. Personally, I have found that Stronghold Direct is a good solution, as it carries a large selection of anti-ligature handles from the world's leading manufacturers. 

 

Anti-Ligature Handle

Considering the purchase of a this sort of  specialty handle usually means that you work with, or somehow are in touch with environments in which the risk of people harming themselves, either on purpose or by accident, exists. This means that making this type of purchase is very serious and important requiring careful thought and the right advice. Creating a safe environment for more vulnerable people, like children for example is not a task that should be taken lightly.

There are reliable manufacturers in UK like Stronghold Directthat specialise in security hardware, and have a large range of high-quality security products, including anti-ligature handles of many types. With an accumulated experience of over 80 years in the business, it is one of the frontrunners in the South and in the Midlands when it comes to high security hardware.

First of all, it's important to identify the environment in which the anti-ligature handles will be placed, or under what circumstances they will be used.

·         What are the handles for?

·         How will they be used?

·         Who interacts with the environment?

·         What risks exist at the moment?

These are all valid questions when looking to buy high-quality anti-ligature handles, and they will all influence your choice of handle.

Second of all and something that already briefly came up in the previous paragraph, is to identify who will be the main interactors with the handles you are planning to purchase and install. There exist countless types of handles and deciding on your choice will be largely influenced by who the principal user will be.

In elderly homes, for example, the handles are often aimed at reducing the pain felt by arthritis patients when operating certain handles. In the children's departments of hospitals, for example, the type of handle you choose will largely be based on how to reduce the risk of children getting harmed by interacting with, or being in proximity to, the handles and other devices.

Finally, what you also want to look out for is the reputation of the manufacturer of the handle, and the certifications of the handle itself. You don't want to take any chances with safety, especially not when more vulnerable segments of the population are part of the equation.

Good security itself can prevent crimes, as it is a visible deterrent that there are no easy pickings available. So stop the problems before they start. Insurance is a necessity but it is always best to have a robust and visible system in place that is not compromised by also having anti-ligature functionality.

You know that a company is easy to trust when they only carry high quality, high security handles that will also meet your safety requirements. While each type and style has a selection from the world's leading manufacturers. 

from Home My Heaven: Home Improvement Blog UK http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/06/what-to-look-for-when-buying-anti.html

Living DIY Challenge: Cascading Stump Planter

How to Save Caulk and Glue Tubes Between Projects

Have you ever been in the middle/close to the end of a project, grabbed a tube of caulk or adhesive that you’ve used in a prior project (maybe just days ago!), only to find out it’s all dried up? It’s happened to me a number of times. In fact, when I started this blog, it happened to me nearly every time (that is, once I learned that caulk, in fact, needs a caulk gun in order to work). Sometimes a long rod (like the ones that are automatically attached to decent caulk guns) works great for getting the dried caulk out of the tube; sometimes, the tube is just too far gone to be saved. Either way, I get frustrated.

Caulk and adhesive aren’t really the most expensive materials on the planet, but after losing half a tube here and a quarter tube there, I got tired of the cumulated cost of constantly replacing them. Not to mention, having to run to the store mid-project, while not at all unusual around this house, was just a recipe for procrastination (and my most common source of project delays… well, procrastination delays the project — lack of coffee delays the post!). So, anything I can do to keep the project train chugging along is a welcome change, which is why I’m glad I picked up this nifty hack (in fact, I’m almost certain I picked it up from going to Haven or whatever, so I’m just going to say thanks to Pretty Handy Girl and Sawdust Girl, who are often my sources for pleasant little tricks like this).

If you know you’re going to use the caulk or glue again soon (say, in less than a week), I’ve found that this is a crazy easy go-to method. And the best part is, it requires literally no other materials than what you’re already working with.

How to Keep Caulk and Adhesive From Drying Out

Step 1

With the caulk gun still in your hand, just let a bit ooze out of the end. It usually happens anyway with caulk, but adhesive (like Liquid Nails) can be a little more stubborn and sticky. I try to let it kind of create a fat little lump on the tip of the tube without touching it (because despite having a blog where I regularly get my hands dirty, sticky hands bug me to no end).* But you just have to make sure that the entire end is oozing out enough so that no air can go down into the tube.

*Dear Lord, how many suggestive things can I say in a single paragraph?

Step 2

Once the end is covered, remove it from the caulk gun (or don’t, if you’re me) and just rest it in a spot where it can begin to air dry (both adhesive or caulk will start setting in a matter of minutes, especially when you live in a warm climate like I do).

Step 3

When you’re ready to use it again, just pop off the dried end and continue on. You can see in the shot below that the top part is dry, but the adhesive directly underneath was still fresh!

This method has worked pretty well for me, but I also go through caulk and adhesive outrageously quickly, so I don’t have to wait very long between uses. That also means that even though my method has worked well for me and probably would work well for others who use these products on a routine basis, those of you who don’t live, sweat, and breathe DIY might need a hardier method. And, just like any DIY other project, there’s more than one way to solve this problem!

Other methods for saving caulk and adhesive tubes**:

**that people get into internet arguments about when deciding which method is best

• Stick a nail down the tube (my dad does this, but they rust if you don’t use something like galvanized nails, and then your pretty white caulk has a rust streak in it… no good)
• Use a golf tee (I can’t help but think if the tube has any existing pressure, the tee would easily slip out… so probably also only a short-term solution)
• Cover the end with a wire nut (I’ve never gotten a good seal from this, but some people insist it works)
• Use a resealable latex cap (never tried this, but looks interesting)
• Use a resealable plastic cap (used these, liked them, but they are costly and I have way too many open tubes for that kind of expense)
• Duct tape the end (decent, but would probably still let too much air in over time)
• Jab the end of the tube into an inexpensive toilet wax ring
• Invert the end in a bucket of water (fine I guess for silicone caulks, but not likely a good idea with ones that are easy water cleanup)
• Melt the tip down to seal it shut again (usually with thin plastic, such as cut from a milk jug, but be careful not to burn yourself!)
• A combination of the above methods (or, as I’m sure there will be, other methods mentioned in the comments below)

As you can see above, there are lots of different ideas, and each of them have their own merit. Try whichever sounds worthwhile to you and give it a shot!

The post How to Save Caulk and Glue Tubes Between Projects appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

Website // Subscribe // Advertise // Twitter // Facebook // Google+

from The Ugly Duckling House http://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/save-caulk-glue-tubes-projects/

Next Week: Living DIY Challenge!

Maximizing the Space in Your Small Bedrooms

Having a small room in your house doesn’t mean that you can’t max out its usability, whilst still keeping it comfortable and cozy. There are plenty of small hacks and decorating tips that can fool you and your guests into thinking that you have much more space than you actually do have. If you are trying to think of new ways to make the most of your small space, these tried and methods will give you a good place to start.

Choose floating or hanging lights over lamps

If size isn’t on your side, don’t give up that much needed floor space, or bedside table space with lamps and giant shades. A better solution will be to install floating wall lamps, or free hanging pendant lighting. Pendant lighting has become more popular this year, as it creates a stunning focal point for a room, whilst still being functional – not to mention frees up space for other furniture of storage.

Add built in, overhead storage

If you are trying to maximize the functionality of a small bedroom, built in shelving can be an excellent addition. Providing that it remains shallow enough to avoid eating up the floor space. Not only does it give you extra storage options, but shelving that goes up to the ceiling can make the ceiling appear to be much higher, therefore making the room look more spacious.

Stick to neutral colours

Dark colours should only ever be used in larger rooms as they have the effect of making a room look much smaller than it actually is, which can be disastrous for a box room. Stick to light, neutral coloursas they will make the space seem more open, thus giving the illusion of space. The best colours to use are ivory, taupe, grey, white or beige, although you can experiment with light colours of any kind.

Create a feature wall

Creating a feature wall is both an easy and low-cost way to create a focal point within a room, or to be used as a way to break up too much of the same colour. The rules mentioned above still apply though, try not to use any colours that are too dark. If you live in rented accommodation and are restricted on what you can do to your walls, removable wallpaper offers you a very practical, not to mention stylish solution. Once they have been applied they can be easily removed without leaving any residue behind, or damaging the walls. If you don’t like the idea of having a completely different wall, take advantage of wall stickers and add a quote, unique design, sleek silhouette or your favourite image. The beautiful thing about these walldecals if they are removable so you can easily change things up whenever you want to develop your décor further.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Mirrors have always been well utilized accessory when it comes to creating the illusion of space. If you want to visually double the size of your room, opt for mirrors spanning from wall to wall and ceiling to floor.

from Home My Heaven: Home Improvement Blog UK http://www.homemyheaven.co.uk/2016/06/maximizing-space-in-your-small-bedrooms.html

5-Minute Fix: Unsticking The Sliding Glass Door

You know those home repairs that you meant to do the last time they bothered you, but then you completely ignored it because you feel like you don’t have time, and you’re still dealing with the problem? Yeah, that was basically what was happening with my sliding glass door.

Every time I’d let Charlie out into the yard, the door would stick. Every day. I could easily blame the previous owner for letting it rust, but over the years it became gummed up with dirt, sludge, dog hair, and even the occasional spider web. And rather than scrub it out, I made the assumption that the door was simply always going to be a pain or would require replacement — and I wanted to put that expensive thought in the back of my mind for as long as possible. So, I did what any reasonable homeowner who doesn’t want to deal with the problem rightthisminute would do: I yanked harder on the door to get it to open, let Charlie out, then yanked really hard on the door again when it came time to let her back in. Usually, this would result in one of two things: either the door would cooperate and slide smoother on the next pull (yay! but rare), or the door would stick a little bit more (or come off the track), and would be even more difficult to deal with the next time around. This went on for way too long. Because I’m apparently a glutton for this sort of crap.

I know that I should have dealt with it sooner. In fact, I should have been doing this “repair” all along as regular maintenance (so, I guess, learn from my mistake?). But, this is also one of those things that simply can’t be ignored forever — the door will just keep sticking until it won’t budge. Had I known it would have taken me all of five minutes (if that), I probably would have done this ages ago!

As it just so happens, the makers behind WD-40 reached out to me recently and asked if we could work together on a couple of projects as a sponsor, and I knew right away that I could use their products (I mean, is there a DIYer out there who hasn’t used WD-40 at least once?). In the box they sent, they included this:

Dissolves gum and sludge? Prevents rust? Waterproof? Yes, please.

How to Fix a Sliding Glass Door

What you need:

• inexpensive scrub brush (I picked mine up from IKEA for a dollar or two)
• shop vac (I have a compact one that’s great for small pickups like this)
• 3-in-ONE pneumatic tool oil

Normally, this oil is used for lubricating tools (like a pneumatic nail gun), but just like it says on the label, it’s meant for resisting rust and preventing corrosion and gumming up, which are the same properties that make it a win for this project (FYI, they also have a “multi-purpose” oil too, but this still did the trick!).

First, all you need to do is simply give the sliding door track a good scrubbing. Be sure to brush down both sides of the track as well as help scrub out the dirt that exists in the middle (move the door along the track to expose the front, scrub, move the door back to the closed position, scrub, and so on).

Do this as many times as needed to get the dirt loose along the whole track.

As you scrub, use a shop vac to vacuum up the loose dirt (or in my case, spider webs, pine straw, dog hair, and dirt). This will help you see if you really got it all… or if you just think you did.

The door should already be functioning far better by this point, but if you really want it to last, you’ll need a little lubricant.

Finally, add the 3-in-1 oil along the track. Move the door back and forth like you did in step 1 to help the door glide over the oiled areas; this will actually help to move around the lubricant into the harder-to-reach middle area where the door is constantly sliding and experiencing the friction that makes it stick.

This little fix took all of five minutes, but it made a night and day difference to my everyday routine to let Charlie in and out of the house (which she wants to do all the time). If only combating her nonstop shedding (or tracking in more dirt) were this easy!

Don’t forget, since this project takes so little time, you can also take a few minutes to oil up all of your tools while you’re at it. This is another thing I do too infrequently, but since I plan to use my pneumatic nail gun all summer long with upcoming projects, I know that I need to make more of an effort for proper tool care. Oiling your tools (and chainsaw blades, too) help to extend the overall life of the tool, so it’s never a bad idea to keep a bottle like this on hand. Plus, a little goes a long way, so as long as you don’t misplace it in your messy garage (ahem), you can use the same bottle for hundreds of projects.

Not bad for a quick fix, eh?

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by 3-in-ONE Oil, but all opinions are 100% my own!

The post 5-Minute Fix: Unsticking The Sliding Glass Door appeared first on The Ugly Duckling House.

Website // Subscribe // Advertise // Twitter // Facebook // Google+

from The Ugly Duckling House http://www.uglyducklinghouse.com/fix-sliding-glass-door-five-minutes/

Landscaping Around the A/C Unit (almost done!)