A girl's gotta have leverage
Now that the appliances are back in the kitchen, I re-attached the back porch screen door last night. Thought I'd use the opportunity to demostrate a little trick I learned from the pages of Fine Homebuilding awhile back.
All my power is in my legs. My arms are just these weak, wimpy things. All long and skinny. No "omph" there. So I have to compensate in other ways when lifting things is required. Therefore it is all about leverage.
(Three things: Ignore how yucky that door and porch are. They are not long for this world and, here at HiP, you have to prioritize what to save. Also, don't attempt home improvement tasks in open-toed shoes, as I am doing here. I couldn't find my work clogs but I could easily have lost a toe. And then this would be a completely different blog entry. Also, do not make fun of my hippie sandals. They are super comfy.)
Slipping a pry bar underneath the door at the point that I wanted it to be lifted, I could step on the end of pry bar and leverage the door up slightly to where I needed it.
See? Bottom of the photo, step on pry bar. Top of the photo, reach for the hinge so I can move it into place and use the screwdriver.
There are all sorts of ways to use levers around the house to compensate for a lack of muscle. Ah, the strength of a geek's love for applied mechanics. Finally, my undergraduate degree is paying off.
Give me a place to stand, and with a lever I can move the whole world. -Archimedes
Give me a place to stand, and with a lever I can replace my screen door. - me
Give me a place to stand, I'd like to learn how to stand already. C'mon, mommy! - Grace
(About the photo...Well, if she's going to hate me when she's a teenager, she might as well have a good reason.)
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Comments
Please be careful and wear better shoes!!! I would hate for you to get sidelined and then I would have nothing to read at work =)
perogi.
Posted by: perogi | August 30, 2006 8:04 PM
Where did you buy your hippie sandals? They're cute! :)
Posted by: jamaila | August 31, 2006 7:44 AM
Looks like that diaper is chocked full of leverage!
Posted by: Gary | August 31, 2006 11:01 AM
excellent tip for those of us about to hang doors
Posted by: merideth | August 31, 2006 11:42 AM
She is beautiful.
I frequently do home improvement work in completely inappropriate clothing.
Posted by: chris | September 2, 2006 9:09 PM
Spray a little Pledge on the back of that diaper and let her scoot across the floor -- instant dustrag! And the cutest darn dutrag you'll ever see.
Posted by: Daisy | September 4, 2006 5:29 PM