There's Something Creep-Y About Most Rocking Chairs
Dear Mr. HandyPerson: We have a beautiful antique oak rocker that for many years has been relegated to dark corners of back bedrooms. Recently, we dusted it off and placed it in the living room, only to rediscover why it had been mostly ignored these past years. It creeps.
Specifically, it creeps several inches to the right, although I do not actively "rock" when sitting in the chair. Is there something that can be done to the chair to stop or slow the creeping? (It's on a carpeted floor.) - Margaret, Mountlake Terrace
Dear Margaret: So let Mr. HandyPerson get this straight: The chair moves by itself while you're sitting there motionless?! Sounds as if you need an exorcist more than a handyman.
Seriously, nearly all the rocking chairs Mr. HP has ever seen creep a little. Theoretically, it is possible to build one that is so accurately balanced that it will remain in exactly the same place through hours of rocking, but he hasn't seen one yet.
If yours is old and handmade, the measurements might have been a tiny bit off, or over time a bit of warping or shrinking brought it to this state. Also, even a perfectly dimensioned rocker would likely move around a bit on carpeting.
Mr. HP's recommendation would be to do nothing, learn to live with it, and think of it as a chair with a definite personality and a mind of its own. You might find yourself becoming even more attached to it because of its quirks, and you can tell house guests it is the "haunted" chair, with its own history.
Dear Mr. HandyPerson: A friend "did-it-himself" with an innovation in his garage. He had seen an article in a magazine about placing a wooden or concrete "bumper" on the garage floor so that when he drove in, his front tires would hit the bumper in the place he wanted the car to be parked.
He, however, got a "great" idea of his own. He decided to hang a tennis ball on a string from one of the rafters so that when he drove in and the ball touched the windshield, he would be parked.
He drove the car into the exact spot he wanted to stop and attached the tennis ball to the string. He got his hammer and a nail to attach the string, climbed the ladder to tack it in just the right place, reached for his hammer and dropped it through the windshield.
The idea was great, but it lost something in the execution. - Bob, Marysville, Calif.
Dear Bob: Thanks for sharing. While quite sympathetic to other people's boo-boos, Mr. HP is nonetheless encouraged that he is not the only person who needs to make resolutions about things not to do anymore.
Dear Readers: Mr. HandyPerson has had a fabric shower curtain in his combination tub/shower for years.
Now there is a nifty new device called the Shower Gutter. It is a narrow plastic strip that attaches to the shower wall at the edge of the tub with a self-adhesive strip. You can easily tuck a fabric or plastic shower curtain into the Shower Gutter to keep it from flapping in the breeze and letting water splash down the end of the tub onto the wall and floor, a common source of water damage that can be serious.
The Shower Gutter can be ordered for $12.95 plus $2.50 shipping and handling (Washington-state residents add 8.2-percent sales tax) from JCO & Co., 14021 162nd Place N.E., Arlington, WA 98223. For a brochure, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to JCO & Co.
Mr. HandyPerson wants to hear your home-repair questions, funny experiences and useful tips to share with other readers. He tries to respond personally when a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included. Write to: Mr. HandyPerson, c/o Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main Street, Kansas City, Mo., 64111.