J uly 14, 1993 • T he P ortland O bserver
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Book Takes Mystery Out Of Small Home Repairs
In case you haven’t noticed, the
day of the handyman is over
Your are a rare homeow ner if you
can find someone to come in and fix a
sticky door, a leaky faucet, a worn
screen door or the dozens of other
little annoy ances constantly cropping
up
More likely, the door continues
to be pounded open, the dripping
faucet stains the sink yellow and
drives to distraction anyone within
hearing distan ce, and household
occupants learn to live with and love
the myriad o f diminutive v isitors w ho
meander in through the hole in the
screen door.
Any one w ho has ev er needed a
small household repair, which surely
includes everyone, has experienced
the frustration of try ing to find a pro­
fessional to do a small job and the rage
of hav ing to pay traveling costs and
service charges in addition to labor
and parts.
Then there is the indignity of
spending time on the phone trying to
track down and get a repair person to
deign to acknow ledge the small prob­
lem. because most home improve­
ment professionals are not interested
in small jobs The cost, coupled with
the agony of waiting for the return call
and tune off for work wailing for the
serv ice person to show up. often late or
not at all. make a minor home repair
a major headache.
Robert Berko may have the
answer for you. Berko is the editor
of Small Home Repairs Made Easy ,
a m anual that lists step-to-step
directions on how to do around-
the-house repairs. A ccording to
Berko, such my steries as unstopping
the toilet, fixing the door bell and
repairing the garage door are within
the capability o f even the most
unskilled and unschooled among us.
The paperback manual starts
your education even before you
attack the problem with an illustrated
rundown of common tools you will
need and how to handle them For
example, the nov ice will appreciate
the illustrations of five different
types o f ham m ers, such basic
revelations as how to start a nail
and how to avoid hammer marks on
wood.
But lest the more experienced
among you scoff at a book that devotes
a page to hanging a picture, shelves
and other things on a wall, rest as­
sured that the manual gets into the
more exotic home repair tasks such as
eliminating holes in masonry, plumb­
ing problems, repairing or replacing
cracked or warped outside siding and
shingles, and repairing flashing and
caulking roof joints
Berko tells us that most home
repairs are simple and can be mas­
tered with no previews experience
with tools or home repair The manual
prov ides easy-to-follow instructions,
indicating the proper tools and mate­
rials to have on hand at the outset,
making a visit to the hardware store in
the middle of a project unnecessary.
This 88-large-pagc, Small Home
Repairs Made Easy , is available for
$5.95 (plus $2 p&h) from Consumer
Center, 350 Scotland Road, Orange,
NJ 07050 or 1-800-872-0121 with
credit card.
An added benefit to doing the job
yourself is that you will probably do a
better job than a workman who is
try ing to do thejob in the least possible
time, said Berko. "It’s good for people
to do their own repairs,” he said “It
saves money and it’s a source of satis­
faction.”
IT
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Multnomah County Legal Aid, To
Present Three Evening Workshops
This book has just been updated
to include new products and tools and
now includes simple instructions on
installing your own telephone and
extensions
Berko is executive director of
Consumer Education Research Cen­
ter, a national non-profit consumer
organization founded in 1969 and
devoted to education consum ers.
CERC gets all proceeds from the sale
of this book
As a director o f the N.J. Home
1 mprov ement Contractors Associauon
and former head of one of the state's
largest home improvement contract­
ing companies. Berko has had many
years experience in the home improve­
ment field
He found th a t m any tim es
homeowners, intimidated their mis­
taken impression of the difficulty of a
project, would hire contractors and
still be unhappy by the quality of the
repairs.
Even it a homeowner does not
choose to do the home repair himself,
this book will demystify the process,
giving him the knowledge o f what
needs to be done, how' complicated it
is and what it should cost, said Berko.
The Portland Housing Center is
offcri ng some free classes about credit,
re-financing, and buy ing houses on
contract.
O n Thursday, July 15th, from
6:30 to 8:30pm, a class about "Buying
a House on Contract" w ill be taught at
Portland Community College’s Cas­
cade Campus, (705 N Killingsworth),
Terrell Hall #219. The instructors,
Gary DeSav io ofOregon Title Co. and
Judy Carnahan of Bridgetown Realty,
will help potential buyers understand
the complicated issues that involve
home-buy ing, and steps to take when
beginning such a process. Signing
contracts that are legal, and safe-guard
the buyer’s inv estment will be stressed.
“Options for Re-Financing Your
Home” will be offered on Thursday ,
July 22nd, from 6:30 to 8:30pm at
Portland Community College’s Cas­
cade Campus, (705 N. Killingsworth),
Terrell Hall #217. NOW is the right
time to learn more about Home Re-
Financing. Find out about conv en­
tional loans, when to finance, how to
find the right program, 2nd m ort­
gages, and whether to sell. Taught by
Chris Bonner, Bridgetow n Realty, and
Sue Fillm an, W ashington Mutual
Savings.
“Credit and Money Management"
will be held on Thursday, July 29th,
from 6:30 to 8:30pm at Portland Com­
munity College’s Cascade Campus,
(705 N. Killingsworth), Terrell Hall,
#217 Taught by Jewell Bailey , a coun­
selor with Consumer Credit Counsel­
ing Service, this class will tackle the
problem of cleaning up existing bad
credit, establishing new credit alter­
natives, and the root of crediting
problems... money management.
Various classes will be offered
this Summer. These classes can be
found in the PCC Summer catalog in
the Community Education section
Registration will be taken at the door.
Call Portland Housing Center for ad­
ditional class information, 282-7744.
The Portland Housing Center is a
private, non-profit organization that
prov ides information, education, and
counseling for home buyers and
homeowners.
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30-Day Notice With Cause
According to Oregon law, your
Presenter: Elizabeth Chadwick, landlord can give you 30 days to clear
T his m onth a series o f three
evening working workshops will be a paralegal with Legal Aid. Her spe­ out of your rental for no good reason.
presen ted in N orth P o rtlan d by cialty is welfare law. She w ill describe But if you live in federal housing
paralegal staff and attorneys form your rights and ways to be assertive (either owned or subsidized by the
M u ltn o m a h County L egal A id and effectiv e when dealing with large government) or you rent space for a
mobile home, the law forccsyour land­
Beginning on W ednesday July 7, agencies like AFS
lord to give you “good cause,” or a
Wednesday . July 21st
the w orkshops will answer common
reason
for kicking you out, in any
Topic: Welfare Rights
questions about three im portant
eviction
notice The “good cause” must
Presenters:
Julie
McFarlane,
Di­
issues facing families today Each
be
specifically
written in the notice to
rector
of
Juv
enile
Rights
Project
and
event will be held at the University
evict
Jim
Wrigley,
an
attorney
with
Legal
Park Community Center, 9009 N
“Good cause" can be a violation
F oss, from 5 :3 0 -7 :3 0 pm R e­ Aid working on CSD issues.
of
the
rental agreement or the law. If
Don’t miss this chance to ask
freshm ents will be available and
the
notice
was given with good cause,
questions about Your situation The
childcare is prov ided
the
tenant
must get 14 days to cure, or
workshops will offer information and
Wednesday, July 7th
correct,
the
problem the first time, or
plenty of time to ask specific ques­
Topic: Subsidized Housing
30
days
if
renting
space for a mobile
Presenter Carole Colie, a parale­ tions
home.
All
of
this
information
must be
Sponsored by The St. Johns
gal with Legal Aid
written
in
the
notice
For
example,
if
She specializes in subsidized Y W CA’s Family and Community
you
play
your
stereo
too
loudly,
and
housing issues (including Housing Partnership Project and the Columbia
Authority of Portland and Section 8). Villa/Tamarack Apartments Residents that violates your rental agreement,
Council For more information call the landlord can give you a 30-day
Wednesday, July 14th
notice to move, bu, must also give a
283-3775.
Topic: Self Advocacy
C la s s e s F o r H o m e B u y e rs
A nd H o m e o w n e rs
14-day opportunity to cure the prob­
lem If you keep the volume down, you
have cured and can stay. But if within
six months o f that time, you crank up
the stereo again, the landlord can give
you a 10-day notice without cause. In
that case, you can be evicted w ithout a
chance totry again. If\ou thinkyou’re
being evicted for discrimination or
retaliation due to race, religion, handi­
cap or some other reason, you may
have a defense to the eviction and
should call Legal Aid.
Multnomah County Legal Aid
Serv ice prov ides legal advice and rep­
resentation to low-income people liv­
ing in Multnomah County with land­
lord-tenant problems
Appointments may be made by-
calling our downtown office at 224-
4086 or our North/Northeast Com­
munity Law Office (on the Portland
Community College Cascade Cam­
pus) at 295-9494
V-ZIICKA
REALTOR
Realty Inc.
i±r
“ T£ Class Guarantee”
SOU AL llO U^riO
0 * F O R T U M IT T
700 N.E. Multnomah, Suite #400 • Portland, Oregon 97232
(503) 230-1390 • FAX 233-2688 • (503) 287-6837
"Serving The Greater Northwest"
R&T
PAINTING & WALLCOVERINGS
INTERIOR • EXTERIOR
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INDUSTRIAL
PGE To Offer Free
Shower Heads
The metro area's water and en­
ergy' supplies will get a boost this year
through a new program to be launched
next week by Portland General Elec­
tric Co. (PGE) in cooperation with the
City of Portland PGE will begin dis­
tributing energy-efficient shower
heads and faucet aerators to residences
in Northeast Portland and Gresham.
PGE has lu red three conservation
contractors to install the water and
energy-saving devices in 125,000
single-family homes (electric water
heat only) during the next two-and-a-
half years. Some 8(),000ofthcsc house­
holds will receive the free devices by
the end of 1993.
PGE will also distribute a kit of
smaller water-saving items assembled
by the City of Portland and 13 Port­
land metro-area water providers This
kit will include two toilet tank water
displacement bags, two faucet aera­
tors, leak detector tablets, and an in
formational brochure.
Summertime Low Prices!
SAFEWAY
Tender Fryer
Hindquarters
■5-Lb. package
' Save up to
30C per lb.
Customers eligible for the pro­
gram will be notified in advance
through the mail In some instances,
residents will also be alerted through
the use of door hangers.
39
99
£
lb
L u ce rn e
L arge A A E g g s
DISPOSAL
OF JUNK,
TRASH AND
LAWN
DEBRIS
FREE
ESTIMATE
2 4 6 -3 6 8 9
Ad Prices Good July 14 through July 20,1993 At Safeway.
1 1/2 dozen carton
Save up to
46(
Look In The This Week
Magazine for your Safeway
Shopping Guide for a complete
list of specials on sale this
week at Safeway!
ea
E n j o y E x t r a S a v i n g s W it h T h e
N ew In -S to r e ’
S a fe w a y S h o p p in g G u id e
z\vailaf»le at your Safeway store.