Homeowner Forum / Repair / September 2008

This follows the threads "recipe to restore VOCs?" and "more on paint/
stain VOCs." It's my experiment on "doctoring" deck stain to get
better performance. This is Episode 1.
I bought a pint of Klean-Strip boiled linseed oil (BLO) and a gallon

Got some mysteries I need cleared up on  a surface old pump.  The pump is
controlled with Intermatic 220v timer:
1.  I have a cable with unknown wiring.   It has two red, two blacks, and 1
green.   I THOUGHT it was 220v going to my well pump.   I THOUGHT the well

the battery is dead on our riding mower.  We cant afford a new one and
it's too late in the year to buy one anyhow.  I checked the water
level and it's filled.  How can I rejuvinate it?  What would happen if
I put two battery chargers on it.  Would the extra voltage rejuvinate

I'm getting very tired of constantly replacing the rubber flappers on our
three toilets. I've tried different suppliers and grades, but after a few
months they seem to distort and start leaking.
I know that there is no buildup on the flapper, or the hole where it seats.

I am insulating the ceiling in my garage.  The ceiling is 2x8 16 on
center with dead space above.  I am using R-30 batts.  Now, I know
these will stick up about 2.5" and that's fine for now.  But if
someday I put a rough floor up there for storage and compress it,

A friend of mine had some high winds and her patio table was blown into and
knocked over her CHIMINEA style patio fireplace.  It was a fairly clean
break right where the chimney starts.
She has built a small fire in it after the accident and reports that there

Looking for something that may not exist, but I sure would like to find one.
I need a nut-grabber.   This would allow me to get nuts way up inside
something to get 'em started for bolt backup.  It would have to give me just
a little flexibility on placing the nut so the bolt can ...

I'm unable to find any information pertaining to "floating" concrete
when it is poured into a form.  My ultimate goal is to hide all coarse
aggregate from all surfaces when poured into a mold.  I plan to use
melamine surface for the mold.

I noticed that bleach will clean, but should I be worried that it may
come back?
I just used bleach on our wooden cabinets and not sure if my mold
problem will come back.

My Name beEboneesha,
an African-American girl who just got an award for being the best
speler in class. I got 57% on the speling test and 30 points for being
black, 10 points for not bringing drugs into class, 10 points for not

I'm considering epoxy and tile, but can't decide.  I've seen some
really nice epoxy jobs with clearcoat on top (I'll be doing this work
myself by the way, and don't mind doing it "right".)  I've also seen
some nice tile jobs.  I've seen some tile for $8 and up per sq ft, but

Four year old mower, have replaced the three mandrel assemblies once
each, now all three are making grinding noise again.  The manual shows
two bearings, and I was thinking maybe I could replace the bearings
rather than replacing the entire mandrel assembly and save some money.

I need to knockout a pre-punched hole in the bottom of my breaker panel.
the hole size will be fairly large, but not quite as big as the outer ring.
I'm kind of wondering how to "knock out" JUST the rings I -want- knocked
out, withOUT knocking out any 'undesired' outer knockouts ...

Hello,  I am thinking of buying a chandelier for my dining room and
have found my 'dream' chandelier at an auction in Virginia (far
away).  However, this chandelier happens to be a bit bigger than what
I'm accustomed to and wanted to get your advice as to whether I

I have an O'Keefe and Merritt range that looks similar to this:
http://www.classicranges.com/Web%20Pix/OM1950.jpg
I had the utility guy turn off the pilot light early summer since it
was adding a tremendous amount of heat load to the already hot