Wood Furniture Tips

Quality Checks

When shopping for wood furniture you'll find varying levels of quality and pricing. Use this checklist to judge what you're getting for your money.

Frames

▪ Veneers and laminates should be securely joined to the base material.
▪ Joints bearing weight should be reinforced with corner blocks.
▪ Back panels should be screwed into the frame.
▪ Long shelves should have center supports.

Drawers

▪ Drawers should fit well, glide easily, and have stops.
▪ Drawer bottoms should be held by grooves, not staples or nails.
▪ Drawer interiors should be smooth and sealed.
▪ Drawer corners should have dovetail joints.

Doors

▪ Cabinet doors should open and close smoothly.
▪ Hinges and other hardware should be strong and secure.

Finishes

▪ All finishes should feel smooth unless they are intentionally distressed or crackled.

Page 101 from The Smart Approach to Small-Space Living

Weeds

Yes, the "garden" is like this blog - showing signs of neglect.

So as my project for this month, I plan to clear out the weeds myself. At least that's the plan.

I currently have a lot of time on my hands since as of July 1, I have become a housewife. This new situation will slightly curtail my house shopping but I'll be able to check up on our suppliers more often. Alecto, for example, needs to be reminded that they forgot to install the dimmer switch.

"Fixed"

More paint has been peeling around the house and this time, it's the door jambs. We've been advised that the reason behind this is because the metal door frames were not primed before they were painted. The primer that should have been used is either colored red or gray so if the paint were to peel, we would not be seeing metal right away.

When we informed Avida of this, they agreed with the findings of our contractor and promised to fix things.

That was a month ago. Last Friday, after numerous follow-ups, Avida finally showed up at the house and below is a picture of their handiwork:

I'm a bit clueless when it comes to the technicalities of house painting, but shouldn't the primer be applied first before painting over it again? Another question we have is, why didn't they do the entire area instead of just a spot here and there?

We are waiting (again) but this time for Avida to "fix" things before our contractors can finish up at the house.