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K basically I dont want to spend $150 each time to call repair man for things , if possible i would like to try it myself.

My house have a wooden door that connects to the fence , but the door seem to be lopsided so the lock doesnt match up
and i cant lock the door -_-



Also i noticed tall people are able to reach over and just unlock it.
Will it help if i move the lock down while im at it?

If possible please link me the tool needed or recommended from this site: http://www.rona.ca/content/home
The lock works like this picture (without fancy combination lock ) , so basically the part that is supposed to slide in are lopsided.
What tools do i need to fix this?

Assuming the door is wooden as per the picture? You will need a Phillips head screwdriver, a tape measure and pencil and probably a drill to drill new holes - assuming the wood isn't soft enough to screw straight into.

If I am reading this right, all you will need to do is to take the bracket off on the left (the bit with the keep in) and reposition it so it lines up - should take literally 5 minutes.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, you will probably never stop people from reaching over unless you put it right at the bottom and besides, a lock like that wont offer any security anyway; you can easily bust the lock if you kick the door hard enough. The lock is there to stop the door swinging around that's all.

I am not sure it will take as little as 5 minutes, but you should be able to take care of that in less than an hour for sure.

If you don't have a drill, buy a cheap one. You should be able to find one locally for as little as 20$, but don't expect it to do anything besides drill two holes for you.

What does a drill do other than drill holes? I mean what can expensive ones do that makes them expensive?
And i saw the repairmen using a hand held device that screw in the nail or screw im not too sure without drilling first.

Its night now so im not going to go out ,
but say if the door is only 2 inches thick , how would the screw or nail stay firmly in it?
I imagine thats like trying to pin a broken Warhammer sword's broken blade.

Not break after drilling two holes...

There are different levels of quality associated with different companies. Around these parts, your best choices are going to be Dewalt (probably the best overall), or Makita.

Makita makes awesome drills, but Dewalt tends to have more options, in terms of kits.

Don't get nice tools if you are not going to use them, throw-away tools can last at least a few months. This is true for pretty much any basic tool, cheap shovels can be cost effective, depending on how you use them.

LunaHound wrote:What does a drill do other than drill holes? I mean what can expensive ones do that makes them expensive?
And i saw the repairmen using a hand held device that screw in the nail or screw im not too sure without drilling first.

Its night now so im not going to go out ,
but say if the door is only 2 inches thick , how would the screw or nail stay firmly in it?
I imagine thats like trying to pin a broken Warhammer sword's broken blade.

Some drills are multi purpose - mine also has attachments for screwdriver bits so I can use it as a power screwdriver. As I said before, you may be able to get away with screwing directly into the wood without drilling. The screw has a groove running around it that 'bites' into the wood and that's what holds it in place - trust me, it'll be pretty sturdy once its screwed in place.

Your problem may not be as simple as re-seting the lock,if,as you said,the door is lopsided,you may want to remove the door and re-hang it,insureing that it's level.
Of course then you will probably have to re-set the lock as well.
If you really want to save money on home repairs,check this out.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/586_Simple_Home_Repairs.shtml

Can anyone link me a drill from www.Rona.ca so i wont get the wrong type?

Is it a drill or a screw driver?

A drill is mechanical,and has multi attachements,including screwdriver attachments.
A screwdriver is a hand held manual device.

For drills Dewalt is a great company,but more pricey than I belive you would want.

Check out this site.
http://www.nationalwholesaletools.com/handdrills.aspx

>.< whats the difference between:
handheld:
drill
screwdriver
hammer drill

They look the same?

Before you go out and buy a drill have a quick look at where the top hinge joins the gate post, it could be a case of the screws have come loose and the door has slipped by a few mm's in which case you should be able to just tighten up the screws although it is probably worth replacing them with longer ones so that the same problem doesn't re-occur any time soon.

LunaHound wrote:>.< whats the difference between:
handheld:
drill
screwdriver
hammer drill

They look the same?

Esentialy it's the "attachments & settings",the drilli itself is basicly the same power tool,now most drills have various attachments,for example,my drill has multiple drill bits (for drilling holes),multiple sockets (for removing/installing bolts) & various "screwdriver" bits for setting screws.
The screwdriver bits simply have the same types of "heads" as manual (hand opperated) screwdrivers, Phillips (thats the one that looks like a cross),flat (a straight line),hex (hexagram shaped) etc.
The screwdriver bits just attach into the port at the front of the drill and are then tightened in with a chock key ( a small tool that will be included with any good drill),at that point you just insure the drill is set to sink the screw (the bit is turning clockwise when you pull the trigger) and set your screw.

LunaHound wrote:>.< whats the difference between:
handheld:
drill
screwdriver
hammer drill

They look the same?

There isn't much of a difference until you get to the higher priced drills. Most drills are all three in one. A standard drill will go through for wood and metal, hammer drills are for stone rather than just spinning they also move in and out very slightly. The screw driver option just slows down how fast the drill turns so that the "bit" (screw driver attachment) doesent fly off the screw because it is going so fast.

Hmm then...

If i want to attach something onto piece of wood (lock),
or attach a wood onto another piece of wood ( incase the lock are on different lvls ) ,
would i use drill or screw driver?

LunaHound wrote:Hmm then...

If i want to attach something onto piece of wood (lock),
or attach a wood onto another piece of wood ( incase the lock are on different lvls ) ,
would i use drill or screw driver?

Personaly I would mark out where the lock is to go and use a drill with a drill bit thiner than the screws being used to attach the lock to drill a "pilot hole" only drill a little way into the wood, this will make it much easier to screw in the screws. Then either use the screw driver setting on the drill, or a good old fashioned manual screw driver to attach the lock with the screws.

Although if you have reasonably strong arms you realy don't need to use the drill, just apply some force towards the top of the screw (efectively pushing in the direction the screw is going in) whilst turning the screw

I never do these before , so if possible as few steps as possible.

The repairmen just use the machine and screw the wood together , and the locks into place.

Is it best to work on wood gate when it has been dry and sunny?

It sounds like you need Red Green and some Duct tape.

Seriously, imagine it all as a modelling project and it will all come together.

There is a leaking through the basement's ceiling.

Its been raining none stop for a month outside , so it might be the rain , but there isnt really anywhere
on the basement to leak through since there is still a floor above it? Which is the kitchen.

Is there a good way to check if the leaks are from the rain or the kitchen?

LunaHound wrote:There is a leaking through the basement's ceiling.

Its been raining none stop for a month outside , so it might be the rain , but there isnt really anywhere
on the basement to leak through since there is still a floor above it? Which is the kitchen.

Is there a good way to check if the leaks are from the rain or the kitchen?

It still might be from outside.

Water will travel along pipes or beams between the floor/ceiling and then drip down several metres away.

Open the ceiling or floorboard up and take a look.

Where is it leaking from?
if it is from the area under the sink open the cupboard under the sink and feel around to see if it is wet and look to see if you see any drips coming from the shut offs or the p trap that is the you shaped drain under the sink it is common for leaks there. If it is leaking there you need to tighten the fittings the metal ones you will need channel locks to tighten the nut looking thing if it is plastic you need to tighten it with your hands.

http://www.channellock.com/ This is what channel locks look like
you might also need new rubber washers if they are warn out
Pictures of the area would help to diagnose the problem as well

LunaHound wrote:
There is a leaking through the basement's ceiling.

Its been raining none stop for a month outside , so it might be the rain , but there isnt really anywhere
on the basement to leak through since there is still a floor above it? Which is the kitchen.

Is there a good way to check if the leaks are from the rain or the kitchen?

First up is it your house, if you are renting this really should be an issue for you landlord/insurance to resolve.

Secondly an apology as this is rather long winded.

As you will realise you need to trace the problem first, a leak in the ceiling could literally come from any point above the leak [and any lateral point above as well].

As sonofruss says check the piping under the sink plus any exposed pipe work you can get to. A visual inspection first and if no signs of wet [water obviously but also moulds or mosses] can be found then run your hand along the pipe work the under side, be careful though as welded pipe connections can have "flash" which can be sharp and heating pipes can be hot [naturally!]. Hopefully you will find the leak easily hidden away in a cupboard.

However if you find no leaks inside the next step should be a quick check the outside of your house and if it is easily accessable the loft space, starting nearest to the leak for any obvious signs of water ingress. Again mould and moss are good indicators of wet areas as is flaking paintwork, missing joint sealant or holes [duh, duh, dar!]. You should pay special attention to joints between structures and materials i.e. windows/brickwork. Also check to see if there is anything piled against the building. Most buildings rely on gravity to waterproof the walls i.e. water runs down the wall and away. If you have earth/rubbish holding water above the damp course you could get moisture penetration here.

It is probably worth considering at this point whether you or your house mates have carried out any work or changes [no matter how small] to the building at or before the time you noticed the problem. A new washing machine plumbed in incorrectly or even a picture nailed to the wall could cause a leak if you were unlucky.

If you still can't find the problem then a more indepth method may be in order. Does the leak drip continually or is it only when certain appliances/services are running? I appreciate you said that it has been raining continually for a while but leaks from weather tend to be more obvious to spot on the external envelope of the building i.e. missing roof tiles, holes in walls, broken guttering. If the leak is not continual then keep an eye on it for when it starts and when it does check to see what was happening at the time. Was the heating on? Was a particular tap running? Was someone having a shower or a bath? Was a particular appliance running? If it was then look around this area for any signs of moisture here. Naturally it follows that if it leaks during or after rain then there lies your problem.

This happened to me a year ago, I traced a leak in my hallway not to any pipes but the shower wall in my en-suite. The grout on the tiles had been rotted away by mildew [that black mould you get in bath/shower rooms] and over time un-noticed by me [a building surveyor who should have known better!] gotten into the plaster board wall and then down the house and out through the ceiling where it met the stairs. It was hard to spot the problem as it didn't leak when I showered only when the Mrs did, the problem proved to be when she washed her hair sending water down the wall and not the drain!

Hopefully after all of the above you will have found your problem. The final thing to do and the easyest is to simply poke your finger though the hole [ooer missus!]. I assume that you have a plaster board ceiling and if you have had a continual leak for a month then the board will be sodden. Be careful though, dont stand under the leak, clear the area and have buckets and towels ready in case it is pooling above the cailing. Try to remove as little as possible but cut away just enough to see though and see where the problem is coming from, don't worry too much about the hole as you should replace any plasterboard that has been soaked. The other alternative is to look from above and lift the floor boards above if you can.

The advice above is based upon my knowledge of British construction and the methods a materials used in Canada could well be differant so be careful and do not do anything that you are uncomfortable with. I my opinion $150 is well spent on a professional rather than risking you own skin, and you can sit back a paint minis while someone else does the hard work!

The leak part is beyond what i can do , ok i poked the ceiling like you said , and the whole window blind holder fell down T-T
basically im guessing this has been going on WAY longer than i realize and the wood that was holding the blinds up are rotten i guess.

Question about power drill. I bought one today and it comes with battery and charger.
On the instruction booklet says charge time should be 1 hour? But its been 1 hour ,
i take it off the charger and tried it , and its as if i never charged it ( move abit and ran out of power )

The charger has 2 lights , green and red . They are both on.
And the instruction booklet doesnt say what color = what lol...

And it keep making this really fast tick / clicking sound while it charges?

When you first purchase a product that requires charging, leave it charging for like 6-7 hours.

And as for the blind holder, I don't think it has anything to do with the wood being rotten.
My place has the same issue, it's just the fact that wood expands/retracts depending on the temperature...which leads to an improper original fitting of the item in question. Best bet in that case is to see if there's any kind of slotting on the blind holder item that is supposed to fit into the window frame.

Hmm , its too much of a coincidence that it decides to fall when its leaking though...

The drill's instruction booklet doesnt show anything , it just say whats safe / not safe to do so....

Ok , near the handle there is a switch , it says 1 and a 2 , what is that?

And in the tip of the drill where im supposed to attach the head , it has number labeled 1 to 19 , with a symbol that
looks like a spiral battery , what are those??

I'd have to see what the drill actually looks like, etc to be able to tell you.

And the ticking noise may be a bad sign...

Kanluwen wrote:I'd have to see what the drill actually looks like, etc to be able to tell you.

And the ticking noise may be a bad sign...

Bad sign to?

Well, depending on the battery it could be overheating. Or potentially getting ready to explode.

Either/or.

Kanluwen wrote:Well, depending on the battery it could be overheating. Or potentially getting ready to explode.

Either/or.

Either or... means its 100% bad , ok i'll take it off when im not near it.

Well here is what it looks like ( the 1 and 2 i switched it half way so you can see )
and the other hmm

Well, the 1 and 2 thing looks like it's the on/off switch. Or possibly controls the direction.

In fact, I'll say it's the direction. 1 being backwards, 2 being forwards. That would explain a grinding noise if you're trying it in the middle.

The twist part on the front looks like it controls the speed. Set it at the candystripe poll at the very front(OFF) before inserting the battery.

Kanluwen wrote:Well, the 1 and 2 thing looks like it's the on/off switch. Or possibly controls the direction.

In fact, I'll say it's the direction. 1 being backwards, 2 being forwards. That would explain a grinding noise if you're trying it in the middle.

The twist part on the front looks like it controls the speed. Set it at the candystripe poll at the very front(OFF) before inserting the battery.

I didnt press anything when its at middle , i pushed it to middle for the photo so you can see both numbers.
But the on and off or safety lock seem to be next to the trigger though , so it might not be.

The noise is from the battery charger