Homeowner Forum / Repair / April 2008

My front yard like other is sloped towards the street.  The water that flows
through the gradd flows over the in certain areas as deposits a dark slimy
film on the concrete.  It is a PITA to presure wash several times a year.
I'd like to make some 1" wide openings in the curb ...

Often times when you install plumbing valves or electrical boxes on an
exterior concrete block wall you have to chip out concrete. Since
those are block wall once you chip it you have a six inch deep hole.
So after you installed everything, what do you do with the cavity

Can someone give me info on home water filters?  I need one big enough for
the kitchen sink and ice cube maker.  I was thinking of a reverse system
then I read that I shouldn't use it.  I have well water.  Please answer
either here or off list.  Thanks much.

Our house has a flower bed immediately in front of the foundation.
There's a patch in the flower bed that has no significant plants growing
in it, and we decided to add some.  When we tried to dig a hole to plant
them, we discovered why there aren't any plants there:

I'm looking for some MR16 recessed swivel lamps. For installation in an
existing ceiling a shallow remodel housing for remote transformer makes for
the easiest install. But do I want a magnetic or electronic transformer? I
don't plan to dim.

Our kitchen has three under-the-cabinet flourescent lights. Suddenly two out
of the three tubes won't come on.
The one nearest the switch still comes on, but not the next two.
It's not the tubes, because I tested all three in the one that works, and

My freezer failed last month and almost all of
the meat and all of the fish had to be tossed.
The repairman said the controller needed to be
replaced.  He is coming back next week to do

I got a new client today -- my optometrist said he'll knock some off my
new bifocals if I fix his front door. The leverset requires an excessive
turn to open the door, and clients have trouble leaving.
I checked it out, and it's very loose. Now I just have to figure out how

In the apartment building where I work, we have stackable
washer/dryers installed.  The dryers are gas.  We have had the duct
cleaned out several times in the last few weeks to be "sure" that they
are not clogged.  The problem is that the tenant (same tenant)

    Broadly there seem to be two types of larger portable
compressor:  7-9gallon twin tank wheelbarrow compressors, which sell
for about $650 new, and then 15-30 gallon single-tank compressors,
which with the same quality of motor and compressor head cost about

I was wondering if some one could recommend a few smoke detectors that
are interconnected and are not very sensitive to thinks like steam or
making toast.  Since I need the detectors to work for two dwellings I
was hoping to find ones that work on a delay such as 30 seconds to 1

Anyone know where to get lead testing kits? I have in mind something I
can use to test surfaces or pieces of material (for example, chipped
paint) for lead. Something fairly reliable but not super-expensive (this
isn't an OHSA operation after all). This would be a service for my

I'm in the market for an 18V cordless drill. I was looking at
http://tinyurl.com/2g9bkl  and was wondering if anyone has it and
could give me their opinion.
Thanks,

I need to fish some 240v wiring as follows: From the breaker panel
into an existing 3/4 inch conduit that goes vertical umtil it hits the
ground. Once in the ground it nakes several 90 degree turns until it
comes back out of the ground about 25 feet away. A great portion of