Homeowner Forum / Repair / July 2008

I've been delaying rebuilding the brick BBQ but it's time.
The 3 walls that rise up over the cooking base, are loose and the brick
needs to be replaced.  What is the easiest way to put new bricks and mortar
them in?

Sorry for bringing up such a stinky topic!
It's been an on going problem during the summers but seems to be
getting worse each summer.
It started a few weeks ago this summer. Skunk smell will make its way

I have bought or inherited over half a dozen socket wrench sets over
the years but I go through the same frustrating steps time after time
when trying to find the right wrench and socket for the job. Does
anyone have any unique ways over organizing these things to make it

Greetings.  You may remember me from last year's "ELBOWS - seal with
sealant or duct tape?" thread about the extensive downspout system I
used to drain water away from my house to keep it out of the basement.  
It proved ineffective and difficult to maintain (the plastic elbow

Dear Readers,
I'm renovating my bathroom: I removed the old cast-iron bathtub which
was sitting directly on the wood subfloor.  I’m also removing the
adjacent floor tile and its 1/4” plywood base, down to the subfloor as

OK, I now have 14 doors made of raw pine that need painting. Any suggestions
on how to paint them? I have the ability to spray or brush. Should I paint
them in place or remove them. I'm thinking remove them and paint them
upright, but I await any suggestions.

so what's the general opinion; 12/2 w grnd. to the service panel and a 20
amp breaker or 14/2 w grnd to the panel with a 15 amp breaker?
whole house fan only rated at approx. 5 amps

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

i am in a rental property and the landlord is not responding well
enought. every rain, i get flooding from the basement well. i wnat to
build a wall as a temporary relief. how can i do it at least cost.
17 hours ago - 3 days left to answer.

When the vacuum stopped working - I knew it was electricity issue but
forgot about the lose prong on the ply which at that point was not
visible after I pushed it in a while back, a friend of mine tried to
check the wiring to the motor. In opening the housing, he must have

I need to solder two copper fittings to a very short length of 1/2"
pipe.
When I put both fittings on the pipe, then the amount of pipe showing
between them is about 1/8" inch.

I was looking at a house for sale the other day and noticed some
wetness on both sides of the driveway a couple of inches out from the
garage door where there's a joint in the concrete slab.  It ran about
a couple of feet or so from the edge of the drive in towards the

Anyone know of a sprinkler controller that is simple to use and has a large
display.  my mother is visually impaired and has a garden that she likes to
water on her own schedule.  There is an extremely cheap control unit now
that is useless.  I want to upgrade it so its easier for ...

Last week we installed an electric tankless hot water system.
Everything worked as expected for several days, so we know things were
hooked up right.  For the last couple of days there has been a strange
hot water problem that no one can figure out.  Here's what's

The west, north and south sides of my home's foundation has settled
over the years causing a 2" drop in the floor near the walls. The rest
of the house seems fairly level. The house was built in 1946 on a
raised foundation. The concrete driveways in the area are all cracked,