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Electrical, Home Improvement Library, HVAC
Q: How much electricity does a gas furnace need? A: A gas fired, forced air home furnace typically requires a small amount of electricity to ignite and operate in your home. Most gas heat furnaces use less than 600 watts of electricity, or less than half of a typical...
Cleaning, General Construction & Repairs, Home Improvement Library
The white dust you describe may be from several sources and also may be a little bit from each. If there is any carpet in the house there will inevitably be dust from foot traffic which usually shows up as “white dust.” Opening the windows for spring and...
Home Improvement Library, Siding
I strongly advocate removing all the old siding, installing a wind/moisture membrane like Tyvek over the wall sheathing, and then applying the new siding. Current building technology experts advocate and promote this critically important practice of removing old...
Home Improvement Library, Plumbing
Your PVC waste pipes are behaving correctly, and noisily. They are tightly secured to the wall framing. When they expand from hot water (get longer) or contract and cool off (get shorter) they slide along the wood framing they are secured to. The temperature change...
General Construction & Repairs, Home Improvement Library
Q: How do I properly store caulk? A: The proper way to store caulk – open or not yet opened – is in the upright position. Once opened, the caulk material is designed to cure with the presence of air, and an opened caulk tube lasts a short time depending...
Flooring, Home Improvement Library, Water & Moisture
I think your suggestion might help but will not likely fix the problem unless it is buried very deep. The problem is typically that the soil beneath the front porch concrete slab is supported with brackets or knee supports that are part of the foundation of the house....
Flooring, Home Improvement Library, HVAC
I suspect your squeak is the ductwork sheet metal moving up and down along the shaft of the vertical nail or bracket holding it to the bottom of the floor joists. The 2×12 floor joists on a 16 foot span are well within span limits for single family residences,...
Carpentry, Doors, Home Improvement Library
Finish Trims are available and standard from professional millwork supply houses that supply pocket door rough frames. This is where a professional sales person can lead you through a quality selection process. I believe your “supply contact” needs for you...
Concrete, Home Improvement Library
Use the old soil, put it loosely in the hole and ram compact it with the end of a 2×4. This allows the soil to be compacted through the hole with an inexpensive tool. The end of the 2×4 can really pack the soil. If you have difficulty ramming the 2×4,...
Concrete, Home Improvement Library
Concrete Slab with Fiber Mesh or Wire Mesh Reinforcement Q: Should I reinforce my concrete slab with fiber mesh or wire mesh? A: I advise welded wire fabric (6x6x10x10 mesh – 6″x6″ pattern with #10 gauge wire both directions), low slump concrete...
Home Improvement Library, Plumbing
You likely have PVC plastic waste pipes that are behaving correctly, and noisily. They are tightly secured to the wall framing. When they expand from hot water (get longer) or contract and cool off (get shorter) they slide along the wood framing they are secured to....
Cleaning, Gutters & Downspout, Home Improvement Library
Top Job, Krud Kutter, Simple Green & Whitewall Tire Cleaner will clean the milling oil streaks off the gutters and remove the difficult dark streaks off your aluminum gutters. I’m also sure that Goof Off would clean the gutters but might harm the gutter...
Basements, Home Improvement Library, Water & Moisture
Wet Sill Plate in Basement and Floor Joists are Wet I suspect your mechanical engineer with the dew point issue is the most credible and the likely cause based on the information I read. An 80 year old concrete, stone or even wood foundation can, and will, wick or...
Home Improvement Library, Plumbing
Q: How do you back-flush your hot water pipes? A: Thanks for the back-flush question and an interesting topic. I am aware of back flushing the hot water pipes in a house but I haven’t discussed this for years. This is not for the faint of heart. This can be...
Home Improvement Library, Venting & Circulation
Yes, any simple air block material like plastic, OSB or plywood can be used to block air flow into the attic through the gable vents. The minimum recommended attic ventilation is 1.5% of your attic floor space. If you have a 1000 square foot attic floor, then the...
