Sewer Smell When Using Fireplace Tom Grote, who lives in Ivoryton, CT, has an unpleasant experience when he starts a fire in his fireplace. It's not a smoking issue, it's a sewer smell. Read what he sent me: "I live in a two-story colonial with a bathroom and fireplace on the first floor. Every time I […]
Basil Pallone lives just south of me in Sudbury, MA. But he's got a problem with his older home he's trying to improve. Here's what he wrote to me: "I recently installed spray foam insulation in the attic of my two story colonial home, built in 1968. Since I installed the spray foam insulation, the windows […]
I intended to get this newsletter out to you sooner today, but I’ve been dealing with a completely BORKED (dead, keeps crashing, melts down, etc.) new Nexus 4 cell phone. I spent hours following all the instructions online to clear the cache, take it back to factory settings and even do a hard reboot from […]
"To calculate the weight of the Giant Rock, you need to figure out how many cubic feet of rock it is." What does the Giant Rock weigh? The Giant Rock in Landers, CA weighs tens of thousands of tons. I provide a method to calculate the weight below. The rock weight, that's the burning question. […]
Happy Sunday! If you're a new subscriber, this is NOT a normal newsletter. With Christmas getting closer, I tone back the home improvement advice and try to have some fun. On Friday I promised you a quick e-blast for today that will have some gift ideas and I've got a fun brain teaser for you […]
I can't even imagine all the leaves I've blown in my lifetime. The house I lived in before my current one had many huge oak, maple, ginko and beech trees on the property. I've used every known leaf blower known to man, so I believe I'm qualified to give a strong opinion about the performance […]
If you're a new subscriber, I send out a SHORT blast on Fridays. This is it, but because we're getting close to Christmas, it's light on home improvement tips and HEAVY on fun. Where's the Challenge Tim? Were you one who emailed me on Tuesday and Wednesday after I talked about the Wall Control pegboard? […]
Each day you've noticed your bathroom sink takes longer and longer to drain. Remember when the water used to race from the sink to the sewer and you'd hear that slurp sound as the last water races from the basin? In just a few minutes time and with a simple tool, you can get your […]
A woman who wishes to remain anonymous for some reason who's name begins with D and ends in an a, lives in a house in Chicago, IL, where someone let a door fly into a wall. Let her tell you the rest: "Hi. We had a door handle type hole in our wall and we have […]
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