Homeowner Forum / Repair / July 2008

Winter is approaching and always good to save dollars on heating.  My
house uses hot water baseboards.  The furnace also supplies domestic hot
water.
The house is four years old.  It uses six heating zones, each with an

Years ago I bought a toolbox from someone and there were a couple of
these small hammers made out of wood. The head is maybe 1 -  1 1/2
inches across, a couple of inches long. On one of them the head is
made of what looks like a wood strip that's been wound, the other is

Time to paint the shop again.  I constructed the stairs and hand rails about
8 years ago out of pressure treated wood AKA "sunwood", so not the hard core
PT stuff, but a lightly treated wood specially designed for this type of
application (outside, non-ground contact).

I have a Carrier AC unit from about 1997.  Being that it is 95 degrees here
in the mid-Atlantic area, the unit seems to struggle to keep the house cool.
It used to work better, even in hot weather like this.
Does this indicate that it has lost coolant?  Any idea of what I should ...

We would like to fence in our back yard with 6' x 8' wood fence panels (I
would guess using 4" x4" posts).  Wood choices would be probably white
pine, white cedar, red cedar, or redwood for the panels.  The total
perimeter is approximately 200 lineal feet.  We would probably ...

I've got a bell-shaped dry well (maybe 3 feet in diameter) attached to a
big box (about 3 feet by 4 feet, 4 feet deep?). The thing is clogged, and
I'm trying to fix it.
I'm thinking that both these well containers are open to bare dirt at their

I am trying to open the front panel of my Kenmore / Whirlpool 29" dryer
to service the rollers, idler pulley, and drive belt.
I have the top open and am trying to disconnect the door switch before
unscrewing the front panel.  The door switch has two wires leading to it

I just moved into this home, so i dont know any history of this problem.
But upon my first use of my fridge's water dispenser i thought maybe it
was broken - only a small amount came out and then it stopped.  But then i
realized it had to work since it makes ice just fine.  so i ...

Our master bathroom has a larger whirlpool tub build on a platform
which uses teak wood for the decking and steps.  Over time, due to the
placement of bath mats, wet items, grandchildren, etc. the teak has
developed dark areas/spots.

I'm trying to find out what the proper name is for what we call "monkey
wrenches".
Can't recall, right now.......

I have a six year old electric water heater that works find and
doesn't leak water on floor but two of the metal screws that hold the
top to the sides are leaking enough water to leave rust trails down
the side.  I wipe the trail away and the next day it's back.  Is this

Does anyone know the Florida Building Codes well enough to know if you
put up tongue & groove pine panelling for the ceiling, do you need a
layer of sheet rock on top to be a fire barrier or can you fasten the
T&G directly to the joists?  Or maybe just a dust barrier sheet and

My french doors are double-paned.  I don't even know if 'pane' is the
right terminology because there are no muttons in the door.  It's just
a big sheet of glass -- a quick unofficial measurement is 21 1/2" x
66".  The french door is wood, not metal.

We let our above ground pool go for a few months, and now I'm unable
to get the water clear.  It's an above ground pool, 25 feet diameter
and about 5 feet deep on average.  With a few larger trees in our back
yard, the bottom was covered in leaves, which I believe started

after spending the afternoon alternately trying to work on my truck in
the driveway and running inside to bask in the A/C and rub alcohol on
the skeeter bites to cool them off, I'm thinking that A/C in my garage
would be oh so nice.  A friend recommended a two piece unit but I am ...