Tim,
I am just starting a search to try to determine why there is low water pressure in a home that we have just made a bid on. The problem will need to be remedied by the seller but I want to get smart so I can understand their findings, ask the right questions, troubleshoot in the future, etc.
Here's what I know about the house: It is a 30-year old home in North Pole Alaska. The water is from a well. Hard water is a problem. The house has a double filter and then a water softener just a few feet from where the pipe from outside comes inside the house. The double filters are nasty but can that cause low flow? The water softener is also not working, but I don't believe it is related to a salt bridge as I was able to pretty easily tap to the bottom of the tank.
I might be able to give you a better picture if asked specific questions but that's all I know to tell you.
THANKS -
Doris Bohney
North Pole, AK
Doris,
Among other things I am a licensed master plumber. The filters can absolutely be a problem. They may be clogged and restricting the flow of water. I isolate these problems by installing a tee as soon as the water line enters the house. On the tee branch is a second tee with a boiler drain and a water pressure gauge. Just after the first tee fitting on the house side is a new ball valve. If you turn off the ball valve on the house side of this new arrangement, you now have a small isolated system to see the real pressure. You can actually read it on the gauge and open the boiler drain to see the real flow. If you have low pressure and flow, then you know it is in the line outside the house. Once you close the boiler drain the pressure gauge will register the accurate pressure in the main line as it comes into the house.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
I have a question concerning slate flooring I have installed the flooring and am wondering what grout would be best? Sandless or Sanded? I had also read your instructions and you say it is best to put down a sealer before grouting is this necessary and does it need to be sealed again after?
Thank you,
Debbie
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Sanded grout is always used on joints larger than 1/8 inch in width. The grouting process removes or partially removes the grout-release sealers so you mush reseal after the slate is grouted and perfectly clean.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hello Tim,
My name is Tracy. My husband and I have just built a new home with a subcontractor. We only had a verbal agreement, no written contract whatsoever. Our original agreement was to pay him 6% of only what he manages, NOT the total price of the house. This subcontractor is a framer so we paid him for the framing, labor & materials, up until the sheetrock was completed. We used the crews that he had lined up for the sheetrock.
After the sheetrock was completed, we took over so-to-speak. We used our own crews, our own business & our own laborers. This person had absolutely nothing to do with being our "manager". Now the house is a week away from being completed & he now is demanding the 6% of the total price of the house. This is a total shock to us because this was not our agreement. He threatened to put a lien on our home & prevent us from closing unless we pay him the additional money. Does this guy have a legal leg to stand on? He doesn't even have a framer's license. He doesn't have a builders license & we have no written ANYTHING with him.
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Tracy,
What am I going to do with you and the millions of other people who keep doing things without a written agreement? ? ? ? ?
You are going to spend $250 and have a one or two hour consult with a contract attorney. Call your local Bar Association and they will have listings of attorneys who specialized in contracts and home building. Ask to meet with that person and tell her / him the facts.
See what your options are. Can you DOCUMENT that this person ONLY supervised his work and nothing else? If you can prove you made many phone calls, hired other contractors and supervised the work yourself after the sheetrock was up, you have a strong case. If this person did much of the above and can prove it, you may be getting your checkbook out.
The decision will come in *who* did the management work and can prove it. This is why phone logs are used as evidence in court. If he says he called people, then you tell him to get the phone company logs to support the calls.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
We hired a contractor to put a sealcoat on our driveway. I assumed that he had
used tar as a filler in the cracks. I really don't know. The filler was put into the
cracks and almost immediately, he did the sealcoat. The coat is dry, but the
filler is mushy when the weather gets warm. It has been a week and it is no
better. I have complained and he is coming today. I wondered if there is some
way we can get this stuff off our driveway, or repair what has been done already. Can you help me?
Claude
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The contractor made a mistake by sealing right after the crack filler was installed. The liquids in the crack filler that need to evaporate for it to get hard have no place to go. The sealer is blocking the evaporation. I'll bet if you read the instructions on the crack filler they say to let it dry for 24 maybe even 72 hours before sealing over it.
I would wait for two more months to see if there is any improvement. You might get lucky and it could harden quite a bit. Next time use one of my Bid Sheets to find a professional.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
Please Help! When planning our new house with our contractor and architect we specified and were told that three skylights would be aligned with three corresponding windows below. The blueprint confirms the alignment. When the trusses were set one window was roughly aligned, one truss fell directly in the
center of another window. The third truss was also drastically off center. When asked, our contractor told us this was acceptable because that was just the
way the trusses happened to fall. We asked to have the skylights aligned according to the blueprint and were told that would incur additional cost. Are we correct in expecting these windows and skylights to be aligned according to the blueprint WITHOUT ADDITIONAL COST!
Your advice would be dearly appreciated! Thank You!
Chris L.
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Chris,
You should not have to pay one penny for this correction. Get the person out to the jobsite who drew the plans. See what they have to say to the contractor. It is possible to make everything align, but it depends upon several things. First, I would want to know if the center line of each window has the exact same spacing as the truss interval spacing. The usual truss spacing is 24 inches on center. So, are your windows 24 inches on center or a multiple of this? Next, see if the trusses are 24 inches on center. The plans, if they are indeed good ones, should show the spacing. The plans should also show the spacing of the windows. Without this notation, rough carpenters would be on their own to place things where ever they felt like it.
The only bugaboo might be a specialized truss layout created by a hip roof. In these cases, there are often girder trusses that have to be placed a precise distance from one side of the house. The regular trusses begin to step inwards towards the center of the roof at 24 inches from these girder trusses. But even with this situation, a talented architect working with the truss fabricator, would have known exactly where the trusses would be above, so that the windows below could line up.
If you are still in the framing stages, why not relocate the windows? It might take a talented carpenter perhaps 4 hours to do the job.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hi Tim,
I live in a townhome that is about 7 years old. I am going through the process of preparing my driveway to be sealed. The problem that I have is that there are four depressions about an inch or so deep where my car tires rest. Is there a way to repair this without having to rip up the asphalt?
Thanks
Jamie
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Jamie,
The best way is to cut out just the bad areas only and patch them. Trying to fill in the depressions will not last. Read my past column about Patching Potholes for tips on long-lasting repairs and the proper way to shape the hole. You can rent a saw at a tool rental shop to make the angled slices in the blacktop.
Once you have installed the patching material, you need to wait perhaps 60 days before you can seal the driveway. Read the label on the patching product. It will tell you how quickly it can be sealed. IF you seal it too soon, the patching material will stay soft and you will be right back where you started.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
I would like to purchase a safety mirror that is 2 ft. by 6 ft. 7in. It is a safety mirror for a sliding closet door. The label says plate mirror, complies with section 5406(e) of the Uniform Building Code for use in wardrobe door locations.
Ask suggestions on where I can buy this mirror?
I live in the suburbs of Detroit, MI
Thank You,
David S.
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David,
Any really decent glass shop that sells large plate glass to businesses often sells mirrors. These companies know all about tempered glass and can get safety mirrors any size and virtually any thickness. They are also experts in the building code and know what type of glass must be used in what locations.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB