A Home Repair Question From You

What color did you use for your Espresso bathroom cabinet? 
Question: I just saw your article on redoing your bathroom. Great job! You didn't mention what the exact color was that you used for the espresso finish,...

My Portable Clothes Line is Stuck in the Ground Sleeve. How Do I Get It Out? 
Luanne's Question: My portable clothes line is stuck in the ground sleeve. How do I get it out without damaging the sleeve or the pole?

Dave's Answer:...

Ceiling Fans in Bathrooms 
I have a ceiling fan in our bathroom that vents into the attic. Should this be vented to the outside and if so, can I run a line to my soffit or do I have ...

Rusting Floor Drain in Basement Plugged 
Hello,

So the problem is that the basement cement floor drain has been backed up for who knows how many years. The drain cover is metal and 25% rusted ...

Shower knob in the tub spout  Not rated yet
Question: I might need to replace the shower knob control in the bathtub spout. How do I replace this unit? When I pull on it with the water flowing,...

How can I recover a white glazed brick fireplace?  Not rated yet
Question I have a large fireplace in the livingroom. The rest of the main floor has been updated and now the out-of-date decor on the fireplace really ...

No Hot Water Coming Through the Master Shower Valve  Not rated yet
Russell: How do I get hot water into my shower. At first I thought it was the turn limiter, as the handle would not turn to the H side. I fixed that ...

Ceiling Problem  Not rated yet
Question: About a year ago I installed 1/4 inch tongue and groove solid oak (bead board?) on a ceiling in my house. I first applied, with screws, 1x4 ...

One very deep step to front porch - no place to attach a rail  Not rated yet
I have a house that has a brick walkway to the front porch. That walkway forms a decorative half circle as it approaches the front porch and the bricks ...

Garage Moisture  Not rated yet
Jerry's Question: We had our garage insulated and drywalled and now have a tremendous amount of moisture on the windows. What can I do to help with all ...

The Storm Window Won't Stay Up  Not rated yet
Question: I have an older storm window that won't stay in the "up" position. It seems it doesn't "fit" the track tightly enough. I've heard people ...

Hit the Ceiling Fan Blades and Now the Fan Wobbles.  Not rated yet
When moving furniture out of a bedroom, I accidentally hit the ceiling fan blades(it was on)and now the fan wobbles.

Can I fix it myself and do you ...

Foul Smell From Washer Overflow Drain in Condo Unit  Not rated yet
Question: We are on the 3rd floor and have a stackable washer dryer in the master bedroom. The washer sits in a shallow tray that has a drain in case ...

Oily Water  Not rated yet
Question: Why is the hot water in my shower oily?

Answer: This is a challenging question. Have you had any work done to the pipes or the shower valve ...

Sealing an Indoor Chimney  Not rated yet
Question: I have an indoor brick and mortar chimney that goes from the floor to the cathedral ceiling in my great room. Mortar continually drops a ...

Viking oven repair question.  Not rated yet
Sandy's Question: We have a double oven Viking range (a 6-burner top with a grill over one large and one small oven).

The small, left-side oven was ...

Toilet  Not rated yet
Question: The water closet is not filling up on the toilet when flushed. I filled it up with water and flushed the toilet and everything worked. But,...

What High Range Should Your Attic Temperature Not Exceed?  Not rated yet
Scott's Question: I always see ads like "improve your attic ventilation" and I thought that these ads were for resolving problems with moisture.

A ...

Replacing a Stem Valve on the Hot Water Handle in the Shower   Not rated yet
How extensive of work does this entail?

I attempted to replace the stem valve on my hot water handle in the shower. When I took the old stem valve ...

Hardiebacker board question  Not rated yet
The 1/2 inch thick Hardie Backer board that I bought to install in a shower stall got rained on. If I install it after it dries out for a few days, will ...

pipes banging  Not rated yet
I have a shower stall that makes the pipes bang from any tap being used only when the shut off valves are turned on to that stall. I have 16 inch 1/2"...

Bathroom Shower Wall Material?   Not rated yet
Question: We are doing new construction and building a custom master bath which includes a large handicap accessable shower which will be fully tiled....

manifolds  Not rated yet
I am replacing my gray pipe with white. I'm told I should use a manifold to even the water pressure in the system. I know nothing about this. Is it a good ...

My Tub Creaks  Not rated yet
When I'm standing in my shower the tub creaks as I move around it did't do this when we first installed the soaker tub but it is getting worse did we do ...

bathtub fixture problem  Not rated yet
I have a garden style bathtub which has the fixtures mounted on the flat top edge. There is no access that would allow me to get to the bottom of the ...

Two Hot Water tanks in Series, with only the 2nd one powered  Not rated yet
I am in a Cottage with water supplied from a well on the pond shoreline, c/w submersible Pump. This is course filtered for most applications, like the ...

Hot Water Faucet "riding" up to full blast by itself  Not rated yet
Why would my hot water faucet slide up to full blast all by itself? The cold side does not do this.

What is that smell coming from my kitchen sink?  Not rated yet
I recently had a leak under my kitchen sink. The damage was rather extensive. The contracter fixed the intial leak under the kitchen sink, pulled and ...

the glass shower wall blew out and broke but it did not fall of the hinge   Not rated yet
i dont understand, no one was in the room and the glass just blew out. it did not fall out of the hing it blew out.

I got 105 PSI inside pressure but low flow from shower head pipe?  Not rated yet
Hello,

My home water pressures, which I measured with an old and a brand new water pressure gauges, at an outside water house faucet which connects ...

Can I refinish a bathtub?  Not rated yet
Dave,

Can I refinish a bathtub? I am renting a 1930s house and do not want to buy a new bathtub but the original finish (I believe porcelain) is now ...