Homeowner Forum / Repair / July 2008

Because of water damage to the wall of my house I had to remove my
existing deck.  I was able to leave the outer frame but had to remove
ledger board, joists and deck boards.
I have repaired water damage and I am ready to rebuild deck.  The old

I hung fence panels on the west side of my house to give it some shade
from the sun. Before I hung them the inside wall temp would be just
over 100F in the afternoon measured from inside the house the outside
walls would bearound 130F. The house has 2x4 walls with masonite

I am installing a 120v water heater in a 208/120 breaker box.  Oddly, there
are no knockouts.  Is that common in 208/120v?
I see three options; your advice on their legality would be appreciated.
1) I can cut a hole with a hole saw.  Not a pleasant chore, but possible.

In the winter we get condensation on the windows which eventually
leads to mold in the crevices where the glass and vinyl meet. This is
a real problem at the latches which are hard to clean except with
Q-tips, and even they do not get everything.

I'm doing some work on my sump pump pipes.
First time in almost ten years.
I have a couple of questions concerning an air vent.
One reason why I'm doing this work is to stop the pipework from

I have a drain in my basement bath made to be used for a shower, but it's
18" off both walls. I've tried searching for corner shower kits (neo-angle
that have a drain 18" off the walls) online with no success. I realize I
could tile in a custom shower, but I was hoping to get ...

Wife and I are converting our garage into a family room. I am curious
what to do with the stairs. They were built as "outside" stairs --
just like you would on a deck. But they were built very well and they
are very sturdy.

I need some help with a electrical question. A few years ago I had
some electrical work done and the new wiring used up all my empty
slots as well as having to change most of my breakers to double ones.
At that time the electrician told me that if I ever wanted any more

My girlfriend wants me to add an outside faucet in her back yard that will
require a 1" hole through the brick foundation.  There is an adequate crawl
space for me to work and it looks like I'm about to get an education in working
with PEX.  But before I tackle that, I need to ...

I noticed that both of my neighbor's front lawns have crab grass that
are slowly making their way to mine, is there any way to form some
sort of barrier to keep them from getting on to my lawn? I heard rock
salt and water can kill crab grass is that true?

well after a lifetime of carpet my wife wants the floors refinished.
all 1950s hardwood in pretty decent shape. spent most of its life
covered with carpet, no doubt that helped.
well with a 2 story 3 bedroom home, I am wondering how to go about

When you install an electric tankless water heater, do you have the
electrician hook up the wiring first or do you have the plumber hook up the
supply lines first?
I am thinking the electrical should be hooked up first but not sure.

I'm looking to install fixed skylight windows in the North East of the
US. What are some of the best companies? How about Velux?
Thanks!
Aaron

I just installed a solid flush 30" service door on my garage,it needs to be
primed,now it's been raining for 2 days,the bottom 1/4 is damp,can I still
paint it,try to dry it out with a hair drier,or just wait until the sun
dries it out.Just worried that it might ruin the door ...

I made a poor design choice and ordered an island/peninsula in my
kitchen with a 9" overhang for use as a breakfast bar.  Once the
quartz countertop was installed, it was obvious that 9" was too
shallow, and I should have gone for at least 12" or 13" to make it a