Stationary things, of course, don't move, and include clothing, jewelry, furniture, walls, flooring, cabinets, fences, and lots more. Even doors and windows are considered stationary; although they do open and close, you can't move them to another room. These are things that don't move on their own; they're stationary. You can move furniture or wear clothing, but part of their job description is to stay where they are put. In fact, if a stationary thing doesn't stay put, it's probably broken.

Troubleshooting stationary things is relatively easy because it can be done visually in most cases. You can see that the necklace clasp is broken, the cabinet drawer is stuck, the wall has a hole in it, or the fence is leaning.

Fixing stationary things, too, can be easy. In most cases the solution is to reattach something. The cabinet drawer may need the glide or a screw reattached or replaced. A shirt with a button missing simply needs a button reattached. A broken dish needs the broken part reattached. Most stationary things can be fixed with fasteners, either mechanical fasteners such as bolts and screws or chemical fasteners like adhesives.

Mechanical Fasteners

Mechanical fasteners come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and purposes.

There is a wide variety of mechanical fasteners available for do-it-yourself repair including nails, screws, bolts, and anchors. Your home has hundreds of fasteners in it, holding walls together, binding appliance components, keeping the floor from moving underfoot, and even fastening sleeves on to clothing. All fasteners have a single function: to hold two or more things together. When they don't, something's broken.

Fasteners include nails, screws, bolts, nuts, adhesives, and thread. Adhesives, such as glues, are chemicals that attach the surfaces of two or more components. Fasteners are easy to use and will help you fix hundreds of things around your home, so let's take a closer look at them.

Types and sizes of nail fasteners.

Nails are thin, pointed metal fasteners driven with a hammer to join two pieces of wood. There are dozens of varieties of nails, depending on the specific purpose. There are special nails for masonry, roofing, finishing, and other common applications. Nails are classified by the size of the shank and the shape of the head. Fix-It Guides refer to specific types of nails needed. The most common type is called common, with large, flat heads for secure fastening. Next is finish nails with smaller heads that aren't so obvious if flush to or below the wood's surface. Nails are sized by length, indicated by a d or "penny." A 4d nail is 1-1/2 inches long; an 8d nail is 2-1/2 inches long.