Homeowner Forum / General / April 2004

We just had our annual inspection and cleaning on our heating furnace
and oil tank. The technician suggested we change the tank because he
said they only last about 35 years and this tank is the original tank
that was installed when the house was built in 1955.

I was looking for house plans and can't seem to find exactly what I am
looking for. Is there a search engine for house plans out there where
I can plug in the specs and it will spit out all the plans that match?
Or, if that doesn't exist, how much would it cost to drop off my specs

I'm looking for retractable awning. I checked both Lowe's and
Homepot's website. I didn't find it. Do you happen to know where to
buy that stuff. The portion of the deck I wanna cover is 12*12. How
much would that cost? And do they handle the installation?

Hi, I bought a home entertainment unit and just completed cutting
holes into drywall (2"x 2.5"),  'fishing' the wire through the wall
cavity.  Unfortunately, I didn't take into account, for the panels to
remain well secured to the wall, I must cut the hole right next to the

I don't understand why my new toilet leaks between the tank and the bowl
(Crane Plumbing toilet).    I put in the foam seal on the proper
orientation, I tightened the two bolts (with rubber washers) evenly.     I
tightened them until the tank barely touches the bowl ribs.   I ...

I'm about to get married (2nd marriage) and my future wife and I have
talked about house hunting, but that's an area I'm brand new to. I
"feel" like we're probably not house-ready (to lenders), but maybe I'm
just pre-overwhelmed by the whole process. Maybe someone can help put

I have one of those lovely instant-carport type structures we've all seen
at Costco.  
[In my own defense, I have to point out that I live out in the boonies, not
visible from the road, so no one but me has to look at the thing. ;-)  ]

Just got some outdoor redwood furniture...no stain or anything on it,
just "natural". The paperwork that came with it says NOT to use any
type of polyurethane on it, as that "closes" the pores or something.
They recommend a water-based stain. I'd like to use something clear,

I am building a new house with 2500 sq-ft of hardwood floor.  I plan on
maintaining the floor with water based finish for recoating high traffic areas
once a year or so.
Should I ask the builder to use water based finish for the original finish, or

My Sears brand lawn mower doesn't want to start anymore. I used it
only for 4 seasons and have always changed the Oil, Spark Plug,
air-filter, blade, etc. regularly! Instead of spending money to fix
it, I was thinking of buying a Cordless Lawn Mower. Since I have about

Anyone know what those numbers on the bag mean?  Like "31-4-4"
Alex
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http://www.bargainminder.com for daily postings of special online-only

Well (another) story from Precision Garage Door Repair.
Perhaps the work was unnecessarily complex or the door was
unusually fubar; I cannot say. But I paid $800 to have a broken
garage door spring replaced on a 10 year old house. I'm not saying

I have a mortered masonry wall that is in good shape.  It is about 40"
high and runs about 35 feet.  the wall is in good shape as far as I
can tell, but it follows the slope of my property which means that one
end is about 8" lower than the other.

Anyone know how to keep the mulch blown off by wind or washed down by
rain?
I have a yard with 60 or above degree of slope. I'm planning to put
some blue rug Junipers on the slope about 12 as ground cover. But my

7 Overlooked & Affordable Remodeling Projects
While your neighbors are outside enjoying the nice weather, are you inside
worrying about what
they are thinking about your home? Yes, winter has taken a toll on you're home's