Handyman ...er... woman adventures.
I have great intentions. I do try very hard, but I am absolutely NOT gifted in doing things that involve drills, screwdrivers, screws and especially those funny-looking plugs they call wall anchors....You get the picture. A simple little thing like hanging a towel rack becomes a nightmare. First off, I bought two towel racks at Home Depot probably three years ago. It took this long to get the equipment I needed all lined up and ready to go and I laid it out on my dresser. I walked past that grouping every day thinking I should do something about it... probably for the last month. Finally, today, as I strip and ready myself to enter the shower, I decided it was time. Of course, I was under a time constraint because it was after 11:00 a.m. and I had an appointment for 1:15 p.m. I had to shower, eat lunch and get out the door....Doing things under pressure seemed like a good plan.
I thought it would only take a few minutes so why get dressed? Well first off, I had Phillips screws which I know are bad with that criss cross pattern, but thought I'd use them anyhow. If you reef too hard on the little fellows, you wreck them and can't get them back out of the wall if you need to. I have a stud finder so marked the places on the wall for the screws with my trusty pencil...Then I drew a line that I measured with my little level....It was the straightest line I think I have ever worked with. I was proud.
Then I brought out the drill...I needed an extension cord, so that meant running to the broom closet in the hall. I decided I needed my slippers on at least with the rubber bottoms in case of electrocution. Then I got to thinking....if I do get electrocuted...considering I'm working in the bathroom where it could be wet, maybe I should have some clothes on after all....Nothing worse than being electrocuted and found with no clothes on. So I threw my nightgown back on.
I chose a drill bit that was big enough to accommodate the size of the wall anchor which is always bigger than the screw. I adjusted the drill to open to accept the bit and closed it tightly once it was in place. I attached the extension cord and plugged it into a power bar close by in my bedroom. My house is old enough that the bathrooms still have those kinds of plugs that don't take three-prongs...you know...for electric razors only. Nobody has used a razor of that variety in this house for eons, so quite useless really. I made a mental note that all the cords leading into that power bar were in extreme disarray and that I should organize and label them better. Pinterest showed how to use bread bag tabs as labels and I'm happy to say I did get that done later in the day.
I took a look at the towel bar and it's two fancy ends. It came with a little type of screwdriver shaped like an "L". I thought that was in case you didn't have one of your own. That was no problem for me since I have all kinds of screwdriver sets. Regardless, the backsides of the end pieces of the towel rack had stainless steel holders with two long narrow openings one above the other for two screws. I decided this would be a cinch, just hang it up on the screws. I measured where the two holes should be on either side and marked with my pencil. I drilled the first hole on the right hand side and started screwing the wall anchor in. About 3/4 of the way in, it got stuck...As I tried to force it in, the entire end still sitting outside the opening broke off.... Oh brother... Well, I was just going to have to try to put the screw in anyhow. Brute force and ignorance does have a place in this world and I used it to my advantage. I started to screw the Phillips screw in and it got stuck about 3/4 of the way in.... By this time I was starting to sweat.
I decided there and then I needed to go on a hunt for some decent Robertson screws. I walked out to the garage, in nightgown, slippers, unwashed and uncombed, and luckily found a whole container of them and exactly the right length. I was overjoyed! I drilled the second hole, deliberately broke off the stuck wall anchor and screwed in the two Robertson screws. They have a square peg instead of a crisscross, so seemed a little stronger and easier to work with over all. I grabbed hold of the towel rack end, ready to put it all together but was horrified to find the screw heads were too big to get through the holes on the back. I couldn't believe it. It was then I saw a teeny little screw on the outside edge of the round towel rack end and then realized what that little "L" shaped bike tool was for. You have to take the little screw out so the stainless steel thing will come off. You have to put the stainless steel thing against the wall first then screw the screws through it. Maybe these are common sense things to you, but NOT for me. So, I did all that. I dropped that little screw at least five times, before I got it done....but eventually thought I was homefree...Only to find, of all the idiotic things, that the stainless steel piece was screwed to the wall backwards....Oh frick...
I straightened that all out and actually considered throwing in the towel for the other half. I talked myself into continuing on though, because I realized if it took me this long to get going, it would likely take me that long again. So I forged ahead. This time I got a stool involved so I would have a little more oomph. I did the very same thing as I had for the first one, including deliberately breaking off the heads of the wall anchors. It was on my left side so I wasn't quite as strong. This time, I was a little smarter about what was backwards and what was forwards, so it went faster. I wasn't any quicker about working with that teeny black screw and dropped it umpteen times. It was getting so ridiculous, I started to laugh out loud and accused somebody from the other side of playing tricks on me and told them they could quit any time.
Finally the ends were on the wall. I went to put the bar into the little round holders and was ready to kill somebody when I realized that although I had hit the studs, I had neglected to measure the bar...It was way too long for the actual holder spots. Luckily for me, there is a curly cue on either side that I could set the bar on. Take a look and see what you think....I did it all right..., but I think it might be upside down....
OMG!!!
I have great intentions. I do try very hard, but I am absolutely NOT gifted in doing things that involve drills, screwdrivers, screws and especially those funny-looking plugs they call wall anchors....You get the picture. A simple little thing like hanging a towel rack becomes a nightmare. First off, I bought two towel racks at Home Depot probably three years ago. It took this long to get the equipment I needed all lined up and ready to go and I laid it out on my dresser. I walked past that grouping every day thinking I should do something about it... probably for the last month. Finally, today, as I strip and ready myself to enter the shower, I decided it was time. Of course, I was under a time constraint because it was after 11:00 a.m. and I had an appointment for 1:15 p.m. I had to shower, eat lunch and get out the door....Doing things under pressure seemed like a good plan.
I thought it would only take a few minutes so why get dressed? Well first off, I had Phillips screws which I know are bad with that criss cross pattern, but thought I'd use them anyhow. If you reef too hard on the little fellows, you wreck them and can't get them back out of the wall if you need to. I have a stud finder so marked the places on the wall for the screws with my trusty pencil...Then I drew a line that I measured with my little level....It was the straightest line I think I have ever worked with. I was proud.
Then I brought out the drill...I needed an extension cord, so that meant running to the broom closet in the hall. I decided I needed my slippers on at least with the rubber bottoms in case of electrocution. Then I got to thinking....if I do get electrocuted...considering I'm working in the bathroom where it could be wet, maybe I should have some clothes on after all....Nothing worse than being electrocuted and found with no clothes on. So I threw my nightgown back on.
I chose a drill bit that was big enough to accommodate the size of the wall anchor which is always bigger than the screw. I adjusted the drill to open to accept the bit and closed it tightly once it was in place. I attached the extension cord and plugged it into a power bar close by in my bedroom. My house is old enough that the bathrooms still have those kinds of plugs that don't take three-prongs...you know...for electric razors only. Nobody has used a razor of that variety in this house for eons, so quite useless really. I made a mental note that all the cords leading into that power bar were in extreme disarray and that I should organize and label them better. Pinterest showed how to use bread bag tabs as labels and I'm happy to say I did get that done later in the day.
I took a look at the towel bar and it's two fancy ends. It came with a little type of screwdriver shaped like an "L". I thought that was in case you didn't have one of your own. That was no problem for me since I have all kinds of screwdriver sets. Regardless, the backsides of the end pieces of the towel rack had stainless steel holders with two long narrow openings one above the other for two screws. I decided this would be a cinch, just hang it up on the screws. I measured where the two holes should be on either side and marked with my pencil. I drilled the first hole on the right hand side and started screwing the wall anchor in. About 3/4 of the way in, it got stuck...As I tried to force it in, the entire end still sitting outside the opening broke off.... Oh brother... Well, I was just going to have to try to put the screw in anyhow. Brute force and ignorance does have a place in this world and I used it to my advantage. I started to screw the Phillips screw in and it got stuck about 3/4 of the way in.... By this time I was starting to sweat.
I decided there and then I needed to go on a hunt for some decent Robertson screws. I walked out to the garage, in nightgown, slippers, unwashed and uncombed, and luckily found a whole container of them and exactly the right length. I was overjoyed! I drilled the second hole, deliberately broke off the stuck wall anchor and screwed in the two Robertson screws. They have a square peg instead of a crisscross, so seemed a little stronger and easier to work with over all. I grabbed hold of the towel rack end, ready to put it all together but was horrified to find the screw heads were too big to get through the holes on the back. I couldn't believe it. It was then I saw a teeny little screw on the outside edge of the round towel rack end and then realized what that little "L" shaped bike tool was for. You have to take the little screw out so the stainless steel thing will come off. You have to put the stainless steel thing against the wall first then screw the screws through it. Maybe these are common sense things to you, but NOT for me. So, I did all that. I dropped that little screw at least five times, before I got it done....but eventually thought I was homefree...Only to find, of all the idiotic things, that the stainless steel piece was screwed to the wall backwards....Oh frick...
I straightened that all out and actually considered throwing in the towel for the other half. I talked myself into continuing on though, because I realized if it took me this long to get going, it would likely take me that long again. So I forged ahead. This time I got a stool involved so I would have a little more oomph. I did the very same thing as I had for the first one, including deliberately breaking off the heads of the wall anchors. It was on my left side so I wasn't quite as strong. This time, I was a little smarter about what was backwards and what was forwards, so it went faster. I wasn't any quicker about working with that teeny black screw and dropped it umpteen times. It was getting so ridiculous, I started to laugh out loud and accused somebody from the other side of playing tricks on me and told them they could quit any time.
Finally the ends were on the wall. I went to put the bar into the little round holders and was ready to kill somebody when I realized that although I had hit the studs, I had neglected to measure the bar...It was way too long for the actual holder spots. Luckily for me, there is a curly cue on either side that I could set the bar on. Take a look and see what you think....I did it all right..., but I think it might be upside down....
OMG!!!
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