Homeowner Forum / Repair / December 2007

I've got an old convection microwave that's probably seen it's better
days, but I thought I'd throw this out here and see if there are any
ideas.  It's actually on it's second magnetron tube, which I replaced
like 8 years ago.  The symptoms (way back 8 years ago) were when you

What' brand(s) do you like? I'm looking for good hiding power and
long-lasting. Price isn't important.
Everything - siding, fascia, soffits - has been cleaned by a combination
of powerwashing and scrubbing with Simple Green and bleach where necessary.

We have an approximately 4 year old gas-fired 50 gallon hot water
heater.
Based on recommendations I saw on one of the TV howto shows, I tried
to unscrew and examine the sacrificial anode for corrosion.

We would like to buy headlamps for our grandchildren, and the ones we
have seen have been made in China.
With all the news about dangerous ingredients in Chinese products we
have some reservations about the elastic head straps.

I lost some shingles during a storm a few days ago, and I want to put
some new ones on, but I thought I was supposed to wait for the roof to
be dry.  I was going to put them on today, because the weather report
yesterday said today would be partly cloudy, but damned if we didn't

I'm replacing the counter tops in my kitchen with granite slab.  I'll
be removing the old counter tops myself, and installing the plywood
foundation over the existing cabinets.
Are there any issues with driving in fasteners from above the plywood

After I had my house built, I noticed that the natural gas line to the
dryer did not have a shutoff valve. The builder sent over a plumber to
install one. Without turning off the gas, he unscrewed the end cap,
doped up the threads, and screwed in a shutoff valve. Although it only

has anyone gone through the process of converting a steam system to
hot water by using the old steam radiators and piping?  i have been
told i can do this since i have a two pipe system with the hot water
type of radiators.  but I can't help but wonder whether my the size of

Has anyone had first hand experience with them ? what brand etc. This
will go on house in Florida near ocean. I Googled them , but would like
someone with real experience.
thanks

I am going to finish my basement and in short I'm going to have to
move my hot water tank about 10 feet so I can finish that part of the
basement.   How much should it cost me to have a plumber come in here
and move the hot water tank, disconnect th gas and the ABS pipe and

I have a Triton Big Bear air filter on my heating system. I just
installed a new programable thermostat that monitors the number of
hours on the air filter. The most information I can find is to change
the filter at the beginning of each season. My question is. Can anyone

Sometimes when I attempt to open the garage door using our opener it
raises up about 2 feet and then stops. I can press the button again
and it closes. It may take 5 or so times before the door opens up
completely.

I just replaced the decking on our covered entrance porch with T&G ipe
decking.
Now I need to find a way to re-anchor the porch columns and railing
posts back to the decking or joists below. The posts which I am

I asked a snowblower question a couple weeks ago and asked where the
Snowblower forum that I ran across a few years ago was hiding. no-one
seemed to know where the forum was.
I found it again-

He folks,
I have a buck stove insert with a really really noisy fan.
I've pulled the stove out to try and remedy the situation.
What I found is that the shaft of the motor has a certain amount of