What's the Catch?

As each weekend rolls around, my mind races with a long to-do list. That list varies depending on what the family has going on and what the weather's going to do. While we're not directly in the path of Hurricane Ike, it does look like our area will see tropical storm force winds and some rain. Guess that means I won't be doing any spray-painting outside. It also means that my daughter's musical theater class will probably be cancelled, and I'll get my Saturday morning back.

So what to do when you're stuck inside and may even lose power? Why work on the guest room, of course! I've figured out the easiest solution for doors for that room, and I'm pretty darn proud of myself.

The opening is 72 1/2" wide. I'd considered installing sliding doors, similar to a closet, but I think the opening may be a tad too wide. Doable but not necessarily the final option.

Hanging standard doors can be tricky, especially if the opening is not perfectly square. If the two doors have to catch together in the middle, well, it's just not that easy.

By nature, I tend to be a trouble-shooter or a "fixer." I'm all about finding easy, quick and inexpensive solutions, at work, at home, etc. Finally, I had a revelation on the guest room door dilemma. See this? It's called a "closet door ball catch." That ball part gets installed on the top of the door, and the catch/strike plate is installed on the facing, so that the ball catches it when closed.

That little two-part mechanism is very inexpensive and the perfect solution to our dilemma -- definitely a DIY kind of project! Plus, if the power's out this weekend, we'll still have our trusty cordless drill.

With the impending arrival of Ike, we'll be stocking up on groceries and topping off our gas tanks. We've never been through a hurricane before, and we know that whatever we see from Ike will be minimal compared to those on the coast. If any of you live down there and need to head inland, I'll have an extra room for ya. Of course, there's a catch. You'll have to help me hang doors.