Homeowner Forum / Repair / September 2008

Just to stoke up the discussion about heat loss from an electric (or
gas) hot water tank/heater, versus those instant-on type, herewith
some current numbers.
Left the house at around 2.00 PM Thursday Sept 4th. turning off both

This has happened for the second time in last One week . Both these
days we had rain and both these adys we went to basement and did some
work (usually we donot frequent basement). The breaker that trip is
associated with Sump Pump, a few lights in Basement.

Awhile back there was an internet tutorial going around that was a
lesson on "lock bumping", basically a method by which a burglar could
fairly easily defeat most household entry locksets.Someone,perhaps on
another newsgroup posted info on one or more brands that were bump-

Hi - I'm hoping this has an easy answer, or at least an answer...
I replaced our deadbolts and doorknobs on front and back doors 3 weeks ago
using the Gatehouse brand from Lowes (made by Schlage). I was very happy
with them. Was. Two days ago the front doorknob got stuck somehow. I

   This past summer I drained my fresh-water pond and built a large
deck.  It sits on 9 large pillars (5'  of water plus 3'  into  bottom)
and the underdeck is made of pressure-treated wood.  Its reached by a
18' bridge.

I opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink to get out the dishwashing
detergent and there was a puddle of water under there.  After 15
minutes of poking around, I have come to the conclusion that the leak
is coming from the side of the garbage disposer unit under the sink.

I have a 30+ year old house.
I want to add a GFCI near the kitchen sink
This is what I have to work with
From the breaker box

My house, built in 1956, needs a new heating system boiler. It's as old as
the house.
I've seen some models that have domestic hot water (DHW) capability - are
these worth getting?   It seems to be a waste to turn on a boiler rated

I've used rosin paper as underlayment on many floors.  What I'd been told
was that it acted as a moisture retarder rather than a moisture or vapor
barrier.
Recently, I was told that termites *love* the red rosin paper by a

Hello again all,
 I am confused about which windows to put in the new home I will be
building soon, in the Houston Tx area.Consumer Reports recommends
Anderson and Pella wood and vinyl clad windows,but I am unsure about

I'm working with some galvanized metal ( the stuff that you use to
take the smoke from a wood-burning fireplace out through the roof of a
house) that I'm bending into a box... about 16" x 4".  It has the
right shape, but I want to make sure that it is waterproof as it is

Just got an email re this.  Looks interesting.  Handbook on rehabbing
flooded homes with what appears to be an emphasis on work practices.
Now if I just had the time for reading ....
http://www.huduser.org/publications/destech/Rehab_Flood_Houses.html

I have a design made out of cardboard that I will be keeping outside
in the elements.  I need it to be able to hold rain water inside it,
so I'm wondering if there is any way to water proof it?  Here are some
ideas:

I will be installing some pre-finished hardwood floors on the second
story bedrooms.
This will replace the existing carpet.
I was looking at the thicker solid type prefinished.