Nutmegger

It's not his garden!😉

Pulaski

It's been pretty nice here for the past few days. I have cleared the last of the leaves from the pear trees, leaving too few leaves scattered around to worry about. ..... Soooo today I went outside and ..... did a bit of mowing, in December! The grass around the front was looking a bit untidy, especially because of the tufts of wild onions, so a few minutes with the mower have made the frontage look much nicer.

Inside, I started painting the garage floor. Our "outdoor" cat, who sleeps in the garage, has become incontinent (I suspect, voluntarily ), and we are hoping that a fresh coating of paint will eliminate the smell and make the floor easier to clean. We also have the perhaps vain hope that eliminating the smell will discourage her from using the floor as a latrine - cats apparently "go" where they smell urine, so an "accident" becomes self perpetuating. Here's hoping anyway.

Nutmegger

The best product I've used for getting rid of the evidence of pet accidents (or contrariness!) rejoices in the name of Anti Icky Poo. You can get it on Amazon. Might be worth a try.

Pulaski

Sounds interesting, we'll have to give it a try if the comprehensive cleaning and floor painting doesn't solve the problem.

username.exe

I have these metal gates on the front doors. They're both painted white and have been neglected and rusted a bit.

I'm thinking about painting them black, and I guess spray paint would be the way to go.
Do I need to do anything with the rust? Sand it first (very tricky, next to impossible) or wire brush perhaps?

Leslie

There is a specific spray paint for outdoor gates, wrought iron, etc ... no specific brand, just talk to somebody that sells patio furniture or somebody helpful in the paint dept/store.

Wash, sand, scrub, the best that you can and then paint. If rust is an issue, buy an extra can of paint for touch-ups - you'll want the paint to match.

username.exe

Super - thank you! I'll check in with the paint guy at Home Depot.

scrubbedexpat099

I would bead blast down to the metal and start from bare metal.

Leslie

That requires more work than most normal humans are willing to do.

username.exe

I don't think I have the tools, time or energy to do that.

If I have to touch it up in a year or two I'd be happy with that.

username.exe

So I went to attach my tv wall mount to the wall this evening.

Googled a couple of installation videos, just need to find the studs, easy-peasy right? Wrong.

Turns out I don't have 16inch studs like everyone else. The cowboy who put this internal wall up has them spaced at 19,24, and everything in between.

So I have a 16inch mount that I want to get centered in the middle of the wall or it's going to bug me for the rest of my life. How do I do this? Mount the bracket to a piece of wood and then mount that to the wall?

scrubbedexpat099

Open up the wall and put in a header

username.exe

It's not regular dry wall, unfortunately.

It's some sort of timber material (kind of a wood facade) and I don't even see a seam. It looks like the kind of stuff you usually see on the exterior.

Pulaski

If anything, that actually makes it easier, assuming you are going to permanently cover the hole with a TV. .... Set a circular saw to ¼" depth then cut out a piece of the paneling 6" inside the area to be covered by the TV on left, right, and bottom, 1" inside at the top, and then attach 2"x6" headers when the lag screws for the TV bracket will go. You could also run a spur to an electrical socket behind the TV if there is a socket below where the TV is to run the spur from. Replace the piece of paneling you cut out, and seal the join with brown caulk (sealer).

Alternatively, cut a piece of ¾" plywood, aka "subfloor" (probably sold as 23/32"), to the same size as I mentioned above for cutting a hole in the paneling (6"/1" inside the perimeter of the TV), then screw that securely to as many studs as you can find (look for nails in the paneling to find studs). I recommend 3" framing screws, three in each stud, about 1" from the top and bottom, and one in the middle. Hopefully you can span three studs, and if not I would either make the plywood piece a bit wider, and/or adjust slightly where you hang the TV. Then screw the TV bracket to the plywood.

Pulaski

Remove any loose rust or paint on the rusty spots with a wire brush (a small one, not much bigger than a toothbrush would probably be best) then paint the rusted areas with a rust treatment, working it in well used an old/cheap brush - Lowes/HD probably sells some, but a car repair store certainly will.

Rinse off the rust treatment per the directions and leave to dry, then use a metal primer (which is available in white, though using a grey primer will ensure that firstly you get the whole gate covered with primer, and then afterwards you get good coverage with a white top coat). You'll probably want a smooth finish, as opposed to "hammered", and you probably have a choice in white spray paints of satin or high-gloss finish.