Your Local Queen Creek Handyman Gives You Tips On Cabinet Refinishing

Local Queen Creek Handyman Gives You Three Tips On Refinishing Your Cabinets

Hi there readers.

Use My Guy your local Queen Creek Handyman here with three tips for re-staining your cabinets.  This is an in-expensive, reasonably fast way to give your kitchen a whole new look.  The first thing to remember when re-finishing your cabinets is that to achieve a finished professional look, you must sand down the cabinets to the original wood finish.  The reason being that if you do not sand down the cabinets properly then you will have a rough finish that has runs and patchy spots that you will likely have to go over again.  To save yourself time and achieve a professional beautiful finish follow these steps.

1)      Remove all the hardware and label it properly.  A good idea is to put the hardware from each cabinet into separate zip lock baggies.  Label these baggies in correlation to each cabinet.  i.e. left top cupboard or right bottom cupboard.  Labeling the hardware will make it much easier to re-assemble the cupboards.  It is important to remove all the handles and hinges as you do not want to stain or get paint on your stylish knobs.  Additionally if you get paint on the hinges then you can expect doors that do not close smoothly, you may also run into the problem of paint peeling from the hinges and dirtying your cupboards interior.

2)      Sand down the cupboards with an electric sander.  Start with a rough grit, remember the lower the grit the rougher the sand paper.  Wipe the boards down often with a damp cloth.  Doing this will ensure that your sandpaper lasts longer and doesn’t collect the original paint or finish in the grit.  Once you have finished with the rough grit go over it again with a very fine grit.  A 220 grit should do.  This will help you to achieve a smooth even finish.

3)      Once you are ready to apply your stain you will need some materials.  I recommend using heavy duty dish-washing gloves when doing this to avoid getting stain on your hands and arms.  If you are applying stain than use an old dishrag to apply, if you are painting than there are a variety of ways to apply the new look.  You may want to use a brush or a sponge or even crumpled up newspaper.  There is such a variety of textures and styles that you will want to do some serious research on them.  Finding a finish that you truly love is important as this could turn into a several hour job and you will not want to do it again any time soon.

    Whether you choose to glaze, paint or stain your cupboards it will be a worthwhile investment that will give a breath of fresh air to your kitchen that will last many years or until you are ready to change it again.  Luckily by that time there will be many new styles and finishes to choose from.
    If refinishing the cabinets is not an option and you need to have new ones installed then call Use My Guy Services. We are a local family owned and operated handyman company.  We have amazing reviews from many different sources such as Yelp, Facebook, Google + and Angie's List.  We pride ourselves in doing the best work possible.  From hanging cupboards andstaining doors to installing kitchen knobs, sinks and faucets we are your go to company for all your home project needs.  Check us out online at usemyguyservices.com or give us a call at (602)316-9187.  One of our customer service representatives will be glad to assist you.
Thanks for reading
Use My Guy Services Your Local Queen Creek Handyman.
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San Tan Valley Handyman Shows You How To Turn YOur Yard Into A Water Saving Paradise Part 7

San Tan Valley Handyman Here With Tips on Turning Your Backyard Into A Water Saving Paradise.

  Hi readers!  Use My Guy your local San Tan Valley handyman here with my last article on xeriscaping.  For those of you who missed out on my other articles, xeriscaping is a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques(such as the use of drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation).  We have finally had some rain these last couple of days but we are still at record lows for rainfall and couple that with record highs for heat a deadly combination occurs for plants that are not accustomed to arid, drought prone climates.  For those of you with yards that are not xeriscaped chances are that your water bills have skyrocketed these last few months and if they have not chances are you have lost many of your plants and a lot of grass.

    This week I will finish off the series by grouping plants that bloom in the fall and winter.  If you are planning on re-landscaping your yard then I highly recommend that you go over this article and check out the articles from the last two weeks.  They will give you a good idea of plants that are available in this area that you may not have heard of before.  They will also help you to plan out your yard so that you will have blooms year round.  I know it sounds impossible to have in Arizona but there is such a huge variety of plants native to the Sonoran desert region that you will have no shortage of options to choose from to brighten your yard year round.

Although there are no plants that I found that begin to bloom in the fall there are many varieties that begin blooming in the spring or summer and if taken care of properly will bloom well into fall.  For more info on those plants check out my last two posts.  

Winter:

 Vines: 

Lilac Vine

Lilac Vine.  This is a lovely twining vine that has a fast rate of growth and can grow up to fifteen feet in height and ten feet in width.  This is an evergreen vine that has dark green leaves and clusters of purple flowers.  This vine loves full sun but can get by with partial and has a hardiness to as low as twenty degrees.  It is a good idea to cover this one if a frost is coming if you want to preserve the flowers.

Shrubs:

Barberry

Barberry.  This shrub grows rather slowly and doesn’t get particularly big coming in at about five feet tall by five feet wide in its mature form.  In the winter you will see clusters of small yellow flowers that are replaced by red berries in the spring.  This shrub is quite hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as fifteen degrees.  This shrub needs to be watered about twice a month in the summer.

Chuparosa

Chuparosa.  This is a reasonably fast growing shrub that doesn’t grow to be much bigger than four by four feet in maturity.  This shrub is not particularly hardy and can sustain damage in temperatures below twenty-five degrees.  This is a beautiful shrub that has orange to red tubular flowers that will attract hummingbirds if it blooms during a very reasonable winter as we often have in Arizona.  Water twice a month during the summer to keep this shrub in an evergreen state.

Ground covers:

Blue Euphorbia

Blue Euphorbia.  This ground cover is quite hardy and is able to withstand temperatures as low as fifteen degrees.  With bright yellow flowers this mounding plant is sure to brighten up the grey winter days that sometimes come to Arizona in the middle of winter.  Water this plant once a week in the summer to keep it happy and green.

Trailing Gazania

Trailing Gazania.  This is a very small groundcover that only grows to one and a half feet by one and a half feet in maturity so you will have to plant quite a few of these if you want to have a large patch of them which I can guarantee you will when you see the orange and yellow flowers this bad boy shows off during the mid-winter months.  When first planted it is important to water daily but after it has become established it will only need to be watered twice a month during the summer months.  This plant is very hardy and can withstand temperatures as low as fifteen degrees. 

    My watering tip for this week is mounding.  It is essential to build a small wall around your trees and shrubs.  The reason for this being is that it will help to focus the water on the area it was intended to go.  If you do not have a level yard that does not drain properly you can risk losing much of the water that was intended for your plants to parts of the yard that either does not have plants or has plants that do not need to be watered as often or at that time.  Follow this tip and the others that I have offered over the last few articles and you will save plenty of water and money and Arizona will thank you as will your wallet.

When looking for a landscaper we understand how hard it can be to find someone you trust that’s why we here at Use My Guy Services are your local San Tan Valley handyman dedicated to excellent ratings on the Better BusinessBureau where we have an A+ rating.  We are also on Angie’s List where we have an A rating as well in addition to winning the Super Service Award for 2015.  You can also check us out on Yelp and Facebook where we have dozens of 5 star reviews.  So look no further because we are your trusted source for all your handyman needs from plumbing and electrical to shelf hanging and irrigation maintenance, installation and repair.  Call us at (602)316-9187 to speak with a member of our friendly and helpful staff or check us out online for a complete list of services offered and for more information about our family and how you can be a part of it.

Thanks for reading.

Use My Guy Services you local San Tan Valley handyman.