Homeowner Forum / Repair / July 2008

I wondered if there is an easy way to reverse the air flow in a roof
mounted evaporative cooler, to essentially convert it into an exhaust
fan?
Cheers!

Ok I believe that a transformer changes voltage from x to y, either
raising or lowering the voltage as required for the application. For
example, the a/c charger for my phone lowers the voltage, and an
inverter (like to power my laptop in my car) would raise it. If I am

I have a detached garage which is actually two stories.  It's very well
insulated (better than the house) and the garage bay stays very cool
even in the summer.  Probably because I have tons of trees and there's
only one window into the lower level.  I was just in there the other ...

Woke up this morning to find maggots on kitchen floor.,probably from
garbage. Tried bug spray ,bleach , windex.and wd40. They seem to like all of
them.Any help out there??
Frank

I have an Schlage exterior F-series handleset that a DPO must have installed
wrong and twisted the thumb-push mechanism (the square tube that actuates
the latch). I took it apart and bent it back close to original so that it
works, but they also managed to crack the female ...

I posted earlier, i still can't figure out how water is getting into my
floorboards.  The floorboards get wet at the cracks, as if water were
seeping along the tongue and groove channels, in an area about 3' by
2', and it seems to be associated with rain, though I'm not sure of ...

Since updating the number of smoke alarms in my residences, I now have many
weak batteries.  I know they can be a dangerous fire hazard, having seen
demonstrations, and having had one in my pocket that was trying to copulate
with my car keys.

My fridge was installed at a different location than originally
planned so I think the wiring was not done right. The fridge is on a
20A circuit with its outlet the first one on the circuit, then the
GFCI outlet, then other small kitchen appliances such as toaster,

I live in a condo, and during the next painting and and wood
replacement cycle, someone suggested that I consider replacing the
windows on the side of my unit.  The idea is that the contractor that
the association uses to paint and replace the wood would be removing

I have a 4.5 ton electric logsplitter, 120 volts, 1500 watts. I've been
running it at home on a 120v / 15 amp circuit ... no problem ... the lights
don't even flicker on starting surge.  I plan on going to my cabin and would
like to run it off a generator. The big question is ... ...

Someone called me on my cell and told me that they called my home
phone, and it just rang and rang.
But I was right here...it never rang, and the machine didn't pick up.
Weird thing is, I can call out.  And I can call the home phone from my

I need to move an electric dryer about 15' further from the panel than
it is now (25' from panel).
Is it OK to continue the circuit from the box that currently contains
the 220V 30A receptacle, or do I need to completely replace the entire

Hiya Folks,
I need to raise up the roof of a porch a bit to get old columns out and new
ones in.   I was hoping to use the type of jacks I see (and used ages ago)
on concrete pours to plumb up the forms.   Basically was thinking of

Woman drills hole in vase to make it into a lamp.
Vase was ancient Chinese porcelain.
The hole reduced the value of the lamp by, oh, half a million dollars.
It's a nice looking lamp, though.

How are new Aluminum Seamless gutters attached?
Does the nail go vertically through the top piece of the gutter that sits
under the paper and shingles?  Or does the nail go horizontally through the
inside gutter into the rafter.  Or can they attach either way?