Barbara rents a house or apartment in Guilford, CT. But she's got a problem with her new furnace. "My landlord just installed a gas furnace. When it is running, cold air is leaking into the bathroom through the ceiling exhaust. When the furnace is at rest, no cold air is coming in. Why? and am […]
Jim Fiste is getting ready to reroof his home in Cedarburg, WI. Let him fill you in with the details: "I have a roof valley that is formed by two intersecting cathedral ceilings. Both ceilings have ridge vents and 2' vented overhangs. However the portion of the valley above the overhang only has venting at the ridge […]
Troy McWhirter owns a townhouse in Ashburn VA. He's perplexed about what might be under the steps that lead up to his front door. Here's what he sent me: "I own a 1999 Toll Brothers townhouse with a brick second level walk up to front door. I want to know what is under those stairs? I […]
Threasa Brown lives in an Irving, Texas neighborhood that has a perplexing mystery. Many houses have one sole gold brick in the front wall. Here's what Threasa says: "Most of the houses (built in the 1970's) in our neighborhood (including ours) has a single gold brick on the front exterior wall by the porch. I have […]
If you've used regular pre-mixed drywall joint and topping compound that comes in a bucket before, then you know all about being patient waiting for it to dry. If it's humid, it can take well over a day for the initial taping or thicker second coat to dry. The issue is you need each coat […]
DEAR TIM: Now that we're past Christmas, it's full steam ahead on our kitchen remodel. One of the things that I've never liked about our kitchen is the drab lighting. All we have is an ancient surface mounted center light that takes two 75-watt bulbs. There are shadows everywhere. If I could hand you a […]
I know I said that you'd not hear from me until after New Years Day, but you may have been one who begged me to show you photos of what it looks like outside my home at Christmas. CLICK HERE to see what Mother Nature can do when she's motivated. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you! If […]
Ronald A. Carleton has trouble with paint peeling on his patio in Port Clinton,Ohio. Perhaps paint is not practical. How's that for alliteration? Here's what Ron wrote to me: "What's the best product to apply to pre-painted cement on a outdoor patio? The pre-painted area in the sun area flakes off while the shaded area stays […]
DEAR TIM: I plan to build a privacy wood fence as soon as the weather breaks and want to do all my planning now while the ground is frozen. I've got many questions, not the least of which is how to secure horizontal wood framing members to the vertical fence posts so the weight of […]
Mystery Sewer Gas Smell Lynne K. has a colonial home in North Easton, MA. She's at her wits end about a sewer gas smell in the home. Let her give you a full report: "I bought my home, a colonial, in Dec. 2008. It was built in 2003. Before I moved in, I smelled a rotten […]
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