Homeowner Forum / Repair / April 2008

The other day, in Costco, I saw a bunch of Purwater
water-filters (for eg glasses of water -- screws onto
kitchen-sink faucet -- manual turn-on for filtered
water, then switch back off again.

I suppose I'm only adding to the problem by noting that there's a big surge
in junk spam being posted on this newsgroup, including a lot of pornography.
I don't suppose anything can be done about it, but it's a pity to see such a
useful newsgroup being polluted.

I have a few Cottonwood trees that have undermined and damaged the
driveway with their roots.  There are other areas of sidewalk that the
damage is just starting.
I want to remove the trees, but unsure of the best approach.

Go buy a 6' length of foam pipe insulation - you know, the gray stuff
with the slit.
Roll up a ball of tin foil, just small enough that it fits snugly into
the end of the foam.

Hi again,
Should have asked this as part of my previous circuit breaker question, but
forgot:
Is it common or typical for an "old" house service box circuit breaker

Hi all. I have an older panel and I need to install a new one. I have only
1+ years experience with electric. The old panel is a Federal Pacific
125amp main lug. The service comes into the house to a 100amp main
breaker, then goes to the panel. I consulted an electrician and he told ...

Will be replacing a quite old residential electrical service box with a new
150 or 200 amp one in the near future.
Haven't spoken to any electricians yet, but before I do, would like to gain
a bit of knowledge as to

I have a steel handrail that is attached to concrete steps with what
appears to be an anchor set-up consisting of 4 carriage bolts and a
brackets in which handrail sits.  I noticed that the railing is really
leaning to the right.  I am guessing that either the base of the

In August of 2007 our six-unit apartment building installed a Burnham V9A
series boiler (oil burning). The warranty was for one year.
When we had our spring inspection-servicing recently, we discovered that the
three-inch round glass lens on the rear, which the service manual ...

I have just discovered that my basement floor has a 3-foot long crack
in it.  This crack has begun to seep water through it slowly. The
crack "starts" from a PVC pipe that is in a vertical direction which
is used as my washing machine's drain.  On the other side of the crack

Anyone know of any sources where to look for general pricing of new roofs
for various types of roofing and various size homes?
I got an estimate which was higher than I imagined yet it might be in line.
I'd like to get a general idea what the range of roof costs would be.

I'm planning to do a 25' run of 2" cast iron pipe between floor joists
and am thinking about how to properly support it.  There are pipe
hangers that I could use to support it from above, so I would have to
attach these to the subfloor.  I was wondering if instead there is a

Any good?
Steve

My wife is looking for ways to cut some expenses out of our family
budget, and she has suggested that we drop the monitoring of our home
alarm system.  She got the idea from a friend of ours who has done the
same at his small business.  If his alarm starts going off in the