Monday, November 28, 2011

What to Do When Your Lawn Mower Needs a Tune Up

!±8± What to Do When Your Lawn Mower Needs a Tune Up

A lawn mower is a heavily-used machine, so like all machines it needs a little tune-up now and then. By taking the time to tune up your lawn mower, you will keep it running in good working condition for a longer period of time, and thus will be able to save on its repair costs. You will also notice that the mower will run more smoothly and efficiently, so this will make the mowing job even easier than if you had to contend with a noisy sputtering machine.

Thankfully, you do not have to tune up the machine every time you want to use it though. Just once a year is good enough, so it's usually recommended to do the tune up in spring when you first take it out for use during the season.

Before you do anything, please remember to read your user manual first and take note of the safety precautions. Then before you take apart the mower, remove the spark plug first so that it cannot be started by accident.

The last thing you want is to have the sharp metal cutting blades start spinning wildly in front of you when you have your hands in the depths of the machine. This is an accident waiting to happen, so taking the precaution of removing the spark plug first will ensure you will have a safe tune up session.

Once you have removed the spark plug, the next thing to do is a general cleaning of the mower. Use a scrapper to remove any accumulated dirt or grass clippings from underneath the mower, and then check that all the holes, ducts and debris channels are not blocked.

If the blades are dull, this is a good time to have them sharpened. If you feel up to it, you can try sharpening the blades yourself, but you must be extra careful because the curved blades are harder to sharpen for the inexperienced. A safer way is to dismantle the blades and take them to a professional to be sharpened for the best results.

If you are sharpening the blades yourself, make sure they are replaced properly and the retaining screws or bolts are tightened securely. And if any of the blades is severely chipped or is showing signs of wear, you should replace it with a new blade for safety reasons.

Then check the engine belts to ensure they are still taut and not worn out. If any part of the belt is frayed, it's time to have the belt changed. Just get a replacement from your local retail store and follow the simple instructions to change the belt.

This is now a good time to change the engine oil. Again, it's a simple affair that goes a long way to help prolong the working life of the mower. Just make sure you dispose of the oil in an environmentally-friendly way. Do not just dump it into the nearest drain, but take it to your local car lubrication shop instead for proper disposal.

After that, check the air filter to see if it needs changing. If it's a paper filter, just swop out the old one and put in the new one. But if it's a foam filter, you will need to soak it with a few drops of engine oil first before installing it back into the mower.

Now the last thing is to put back the spark plug. But you should change the spark plug and put back a brand new one instead of the old one. This helps your engine run more smoothly and efficiently, thus reducing the amount of gas used.


What to Do When Your Lawn Mower Needs a Tune Up

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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Monday, November 21, 2011

Finish Off Your Landscape With Elegant Brick Edging

!±8± Finish Off Your Landscape With Elegant Brick Edging

A few years ago, my dad got tired of the mis-matched rocks and broken bricks that my mom used to line the flower beds around our house. So he and I went to a local home improvement store and bought about a dozen scalloped brick edgers for her to use instead. We brought them home, and then went off again on another errand.

When we returned, my mom had already put the brick edgers in place the way she wanted them. Because there weren't enough of the edgers to stretch to all the flowerbeds, she'd interspersed the edgers with those same old broken bricks and rocks. So it rather spoiled the effect. My dad just threw up his hands and gave up. There's no doubt about it, when it comes to designing landscaping my mother does not have any taste. But if you ask her about it she'll say that she likes the way everything looks.

There's not much point to that story, except to say that either you have good taste or you don't, and if you don't have good taste hopefully you're self-aware enough to know it, and hire someone else to do your designing!

What makes good taste? Well, it's not necessarily a liking for wood over metal, or metal over plastic. All that is a matter of personal taste and is not necessarily bad or good. But if you're going to have a series of bookcases in your home, for example, they should be all the same design - all wood, all metal, all plastic - so that they match and don't detract from the eye. That's the key to good taste.

If you do have an eye for design, then you'll probably find that your landscaping can be set off quite elegantly with the addition of brick patio stones, paving stones and landscape edgers. As with any other landscaping accessory, these bricks come in a vast variety of colors and designs, so that you're sure to find something you like. Only please, buy enough so that you can use them on every project, and if you run out - go back to the store and get more! Don't ruin the effect by adding broken brick and rocks...it just doesn't work.

Use brick to line your flower beds, build up retaining walls, or make pathways.

Add a patio

If you'd like to add a brick patio to your backyard, it's quite easy to do, but you do have to give it some thought. Take some time to ensure that the ground where you want to place the patio is level - otherwise some of the bricks might settle and others will rise and give the patio an unfinished look. Also if live in an area with frequent frost or snow, where the ground has a tendency to heave up, you'll have to take that into consideration. Consult with your local home improvement store professional to learn the best ways of building your patio. As for the design of the bricks, you can get plain brick and place them in rows, or alternate them vertically and horizontally, or do a sort of basket weave. The design is pretty much up to you. However, check your local building or neighborhood codes to make sure they don't have any say over whether or not you can add a simple patio.

As with any landscaping feature, design what you want on paper first, before you go out and purchase the material. Then, go out and buy your material, pick up a couple of pairs of sturdy gloves to protect your hands, and get to work!


Finish Off Your Landscape With Elegant Brick Edging

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