Homeowner Forum / Repair / February 2004

Problem:  How to lay out a repeating element (stairs, railing
balusters, etc) over a length.  
Dividing the span by the number of spaces and then measuring it out is
tedious, and errors can creep in as you measure along, resulting in

I would like to paint everything on my basement ceiling - joists, sub-
floor, ducts, pipes, etc. - white to make it blend in as well as possible.  
What kind of paint is ideal for such a job?  I basically would like to
spray everything above the walls.

The gas flame on the water heater is blowing itself out, as if there
is too much pressure.  I partially turned the gas cock off to reduce
the gas, and now it is burning at the jet ports.  What is causing
this?  The jet ports look clean, but I'm not sure if they should be

I have a puzzler and need help.  I'm getting some very strange high
voltages, high neutral-ground voltages, and smoke!   I'm not sure if
I've got a bad breaker, or a wall short, mis-wiring, or a broken
ground, or ???

Problem: House I recently purchased has a toilet that blocks the
bathroom door from opening fully, by about 1.5". Access to the
bathroom is 21" between open bathroom door and opposite wall.
Rough opening for waste pipe  = 14"

Back in the summer I ran across a couple window AC units that also had a
"Dehumidifier Only" setting (IE - not cooling) although I don't remember
where.  I'm now renovating a basement and wanted to install one but cannot
locate...any suggestions?

We are redoing a bathroom and one of the changes is  to replace a
shower curtain with a shower door for the tub.  The problem is that
the shower curtain rod is drilled into the ceramic tiles such that
four 4" tiles are damaged on each wall.  The shower door end pieces

I live in an apartment where the shower can take quite a while for hot
water to flow through the shower head and the temperature to
stabilize. I already have my coffee maker & towel warmer on an X10
home automation system.

I've scraped away a small portion of the paint off the metal top over
my heater and see rusted metal.  There's some kind of coating between
the metal and paint - is that spackle or plaster? To make everything
look new I think I have to gut everything, replaster and repaint.  Is

I would love to hear feedback on whether the tips for Selecting a Roofer
offered at http://www.roofingdocs.com  are good ones or not.
Thanks,
Andy

I bought a used bolens 24" snowblower with a shot 6hp engine. I
replaced that engine with a new 8hp Tecumseh HMSK-80 engine with a
recoil start. Had to drill new holes in the body of the snowblower,
clean up the transmission for easier shifting, but no big deal.

I got a new gas stove, I can't seem to get the oven adjusted correctly. I
have turned in the orfice like explained in the manual. And then tried to
adjust my air , I have it all the way open and I still have big yellow tips
and out 3-4" long.

Neal:
NW> A few years ago I installed a set of 5 "under cabinet" halogen light
NW> fixtures. These are the 12v 20 watt variety.
NW>

I bumped my small space heater and the top part of the fan fell off.
It looks like it fits right back but what was hold one blade on top of
the other blade.  Was it welded? Any assistance would be appreciated.

I've been told by quite a few people that turning a heater (or an air
conditioner) off for the day uses more energy due to it having to
"work harder" to restore the home's temperature.
This made no sense to me, because the load the heater normally carries