Homeowner Forum / General / April 2005

I have a fairly steep slope on my lawn and would like to build up a
retaining wall and fill it in. This would effectively eliminate the
slope but I worry about the settling and proper drainage. What is the
amount of drop I should have for every 10 ft going away from the house?

we are going to be installing new toilets in our
remodel......................
is anyone familiar with AMERICAN STANDARD:
http://www.americanstandard-us.com/plandesign/performance/BestFlush/best_flush.asp

Has anyone used a product named "Stand 'N Seal" on their ceramic tile floors
to seal the grout?
If so:
   Any problems with "over spray" causing staining or any other

I recently purchased a house that has a converted garage.. the garage is now
living space but it still has a fire door between it and the rest of the house.
The springs cause the door to fly shut and I'm worried that my toddler could get
hurt by this door.  

I am building a cedar home.  I want to use one of the clear sealer
products to seal and protect the siding.  We like the natural finish
and are considering one of the products that has a slight cedar tint
and had uv and mildew protection.  I have heard that one of the best

The trapping place we're using says we can't really do anything about
raccoon smell...they're placing traps to get the critters, but I'm
worried about long-term smell.  Plus they told us the critters pee where
they nest, so our basement ceiling would have to have a bunch of --

This garage door problem really has me stumped.
Fortunately here in Southern California it doesn't rain too often (except
for this year).
But when it does my garage door halts about half way down and then retracts

I just bought a forclosed home and so i got no keys for the house
except for the front door key.
I have a back door that has a deadbolt on it and is currently locked.
As you guessed it i have no key for it but i need to get it out so that

I've done a lot of wiring, but I've never added an exterior outlet.  I
want to add a new circuit for an outdoor outlet.  I'm going to use an
outdoor box and cut the siding out to fit it.  Can I use NM going
through a whole I drill in the wood?  I'm thinking I can because the

We've just purchased a house which the home inspector informed us would
need at grading work done to the foundation on the back of the house or
we'd have a wet basement durring rain. We it seems our basement does in
fact get wet durring rain. I'm curious if putting a patio on this ...

Can I cut through hollow-core closet doors (sliders) with a utility knife?  I
would like to put pulls in them, and I don't really have a way to cut the
holes any other way.
 --  pj

Can anyone calculate the number of gallons that a 30 inch wide culvert,  48
inches long, will hold ??
Thanks for any info  !!!
--James--

Apologies if wrong newsgroup.
I'm moving into a new flat in a couple of weeks, its a 2 bedroom top floor,
and its brand new.
It has dark/navy blue carpet throughout and wall are like a cream colour -

Hello all, I am new to the group and was wondering if anyone could give me
some advice.  I currently have a house with the garage/lower level built out
into a two bedroom apt.  The garage space has been converted to a bedroom
and was most likely done by a contractor.  What I would ...

I'm clueless about this kind of thing, but the bathroom sink leaked water
when I turned it on today.
It's beneath the sink, in the cabinet. I used the cold water.
Is there any way I could fix it, not knowing much about plumbing?