Q: Looking for somebody to install crown molding on my first floor before I get the painters in.
A: Wouldn’t it be easier to:
1) Paint the walls w/o molding
2) Paint/Spray the crown molding outside
3) Install crown molding already painted
4) Touch up nail holes
Advantage – Don’t have to worry about getting paint from the walls on the new crown molding
A: I disagree, but not because I’m trying to be difficult. It definitely would be easier, but I don’t think it would look as good.
• Truly skilled professional painters should be able to manage not getting paint on anything they don’t intend to paint, such as crown molding.
• Unless you have non-textured walls that are truly completely flat and straight, there will likely be some amount of putty involved to hide gaps between the molding and the wall. Skilled painters will be able to paint in a way that allows for the any putty to blend properly and not pull on the eye.
• A skilled painter also will wait a few days before coming to paint as putty needs some time to set.
Note my liberal use of the word “skilled”. I did this all myself, and while the effect is “good enough” to people who visit, I know exactly where my mistakes are and I grind my teeth daily, wanting to fix it. I can’t imaging paying someone and getting something as good (as bad) as I can do!
A: I have used both approaches numerous times (“install and then paint” versus “paint and then install”).
Nowadays, I always go with “install and paint” because pain touch ups when filling nail holes always show up and it is actually better looking to paint everything after install.
You will get paint in within the small gaps in the joints which will give things a tighter look.
I have also had great results with a mix of both approaches: prime / paint one coat before installing and then put the last coat after installation.
A: A trip that our crown installer taught me was to paint the very bottom edge of the crown the color of the walls. It really helps hide where the wall may not be completely even and there are areas of heavy caulking, plus it easily creates a nice straight line on the crown without the use of tape.
A: +1 on the prime/paint one coat and then install. This is how I always do it, then I caulk the molding, paint the final coat and touch-up the wall anywhere needed due to the caulking (I am too lazy to tape before caulking.)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
How to install drip edge
Q: During rains I have water leaking down the fascia board behind my gutters. The downspouts are not stopped up. How much should the shingles overhang the roof decking, and extend over the gutters? I have a bay window which extends out from the walls to the fascia board and has received damage from all the water running down it. During a rain there is almost a solid sheet of water running off the fascia boards, I just as well not have gutters. HELP!
A: It sounds like you have no drip edge on your roof. Most gutters get tucked in behind the drip edge and eliminate this problem.
Assuming that you "have" a drip edge, I usually overhang about 1/2" to 5/8" past the drip edge with my starters and first course of shingles. It shows how to do it on the shingle bundle wrapper.
A: There are slight different type of drip edges http://hardware.hardwarestore.com/27-108-drip-edge.aspx.
The lower edge of the roof is the edge that first row of shingle is laying on. The drip edge should be put underneath of felt (memberance).
The rake edge (sloped edge) is two arm of the triangle. Those shingles have been nailed on the roof. The drip edge should be installed between felt and shingle.
Here is a installation instruction http://www.rollex.com/pdf/dripedge.pdf
Another quick way to fix the problem is to put vinyl gutter cover sold in Homedepot or Lowes underneath of felt. It is not necessary to nail the gutter cover unless you want to.
A: It sounds like you have no drip edge on your roof. Most gutters get tucked in behind the drip edge and eliminate this problem.
Assuming that you "have" a drip edge, I usually overhang about 1/2" to 5/8" past the drip edge with my starters and first course of shingles. It shows how to do it on the shingle bundle wrapper.
A: There are slight different type of drip edges http://hardware.hardwarestore.com/27-108-drip-edge.aspx.
The lower edge of the roof is the edge that first row of shingle is laying on. The drip edge should be put underneath of felt (memberance).
The rake edge (sloped edge) is two arm of the triangle. Those shingles have been nailed on the roof. The drip edge should be installed between felt and shingle.
Here is a installation instruction http://www.rollex.com/pdf/dripedge.pdf
Another quick way to fix the problem is to put vinyl gutter cover sold in Homedepot or Lowes underneath of felt. It is not necessary to nail the gutter cover unless you want to.
Dryer Vent Cleaning
Q: We are looking for a handyman to clean our dryer went. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
A: They sell this dryer vent cleaning kit at Fred Meyers for around $20 bucks. Works pretty well for me. Its has a vacuum attachment that I attached to my shop vac and it worked great
A: They sell this dryer vent cleaning kit at Fred Meyers for around $20 bucks. Works pretty well for me. Its has a vacuum attachment that I attached to my shop vac and it worked great
Air Duct Cleaning
Q: Does anyone have recommendations on air duct cleaning services? We also have an unpleasant urine-like smell coming from one of the floor vents. Any suggestions as to how to deal with that?
A: They’re expensive. I just called them today for a duct cleaning (for October) so I know they do them. $3xx+ for 13 ducts (additional ducts are extra) but it sounds like they clean them the right way (as opposed to basically doing nothing and charging you for it).
A: That actually sounds too inexpensive for that many ducts done the right way, unless they know all the access holes have already been cut during a previous cleaning. Even then it’s a bit low as this is not a quick service, easily 4hrs (our 10-vent took 6hrs for one worker because it was the first proper cleaning it had ever had, and there were no pre-existing access holes).
A: They told me roughly 6 hours for this.
A: “Access holes” ? Man, that’s pretty thorough, more thorough than I want. (Access holes sounds a bit unsightly).
What Duct Cleaning company does depends on the design of your system, mine was difficult for them. Basically they drag a huge vacuum into the house and connect it to one of the vents most central to the system. The then go around and block off all of the other vents in the house. They then figure out the path from the central point to the most outward vent, and start with that vent: unblock it, stick a hose in there with compressed air, and blow dust / debris towards the vacuum. If the system is undamaged, this provides them with quite enough suction to clean out a lot of stuff (they were pulling cat food out of my ducts, and my system has a hole.) Once they get to the next vent, they re-block the last vent, unblock the new vent, and continue. Eventually they’ve pushed everything to the center of the system where their vacuum captures it.
This is pretty much “good enough” for dust and apparently cat food.
A: Sounds similar to what I had done, but:
The huge vacuum is a MONSTER truck outside with a flexible duct around 1’ in diameter that they run through your house to the central furnace and hook up to the intake of the furnace.
The compressed air hose has a spider attachment that flails around scraping all the dust/mold/etc out of the ducting
The access holes (1” circles) were needed to do a really thorough job at areas that had T intersections.
A: They’re expensive. I just called them today for a duct cleaning (for October) so I know they do them. $3xx+ for 13 ducts (additional ducts are extra) but it sounds like they clean them the right way (as opposed to basically doing nothing and charging you for it).
A: That actually sounds too inexpensive for that many ducts done the right way, unless they know all the access holes have already been cut during a previous cleaning. Even then it’s a bit low as this is not a quick service, easily 4hrs (our 10-vent took 6hrs for one worker because it was the first proper cleaning it had ever had, and there were no pre-existing access holes).
A: They told me roughly 6 hours for this.
A: “Access holes” ? Man, that’s pretty thorough, more thorough than I want. (Access holes sounds a bit unsightly).
What Duct Cleaning company does depends on the design of your system, mine was difficult for them. Basically they drag a huge vacuum into the house and connect it to one of the vents most central to the system. The then go around and block off all of the other vents in the house. They then figure out the path from the central point to the most outward vent, and start with that vent: unblock it, stick a hose in there with compressed air, and blow dust / debris towards the vacuum. If the system is undamaged, this provides them with quite enough suction to clean out a lot of stuff (they were pulling cat food out of my ducts, and my system has a hole.) Once they get to the next vent, they re-block the last vent, unblock the new vent, and continue. Eventually they’ve pushed everything to the center of the system where their vacuum captures it.
This is pretty much “good enough” for dust and apparently cat food.
A: Sounds similar to what I had done, but:
The huge vacuum is a MONSTER truck outside with a flexible duct around 1’ in diameter that they run through your house to the central furnace and hook up to the intake of the furnace.
The compressed air hose has a spider attachment that flails around scraping all the dust/mold/etc out of the ducting
The access holes (1” circles) were needed to do a really thorough job at areas that had T intersections.
Leaky Toilet tank
Q: I have a leaky toilet tank. Yesterday, I heard water trickling sounds intermittently between flushes. I tried the food coloring test and it confirmed the tank is leaking. It is not running always – but just makes a trickling water sound now and then.
Is this something I can fix myself ? If someone has experience, can you please share with me. ( I tried locating the flapper, but my tank doesn’t seem to have the regular chain and flapper. The trip handle is integrated with a central big pipe/structure which joins to the base of the tank)
Do you have any good ( and inexpensive) plumber recommendations?
A: When you push the handle do you see anything move in the tank? There has to be something at the bottom of the tank that controls when the water goes in... I replaced my broken filler with a FluidMaster which can best be described as a ‘big pipe structure thing’ since I no longer have a floating ball in the tank, but that still connect via chain to the flapper.
A: I’m having roughly the same problem. I think water is leaking into the actual toilet from the tank, but I’m not 100% sure. Who is a good person to call?
A: It could be the “flapper,” the thing at the bottom of the toilet tank (rubber device) that forms a seal between the tank and the toilet. Try pressing down on it (gently) with a ruler or some other long object (so you don’t get your arm wet) and see if you still hear gurgling. If not, then the flapper is worn out and needs to be replaced. You can check on the internet to see how this is done (links below).
If you still hear gurgling when you press down on the flapper, then it could be that the float needs to be adjusted. The float is the balloon-like thing that is screwed to a bar that connects to the left side of the toilet (usually; at least on my toilet). Try lifting the float just a little bit to see if the gurgling/bubbling noise stops. If it does, then the bar may need to either be bent up a little bit so the float goes “higher” or otherwise adjusted.
My toilet (a Mansfield) has a screw that you could adjust to raise/lower the float. I had the same problem as you describe below, and was able to fix it by adjusting the height of the float. Now, the toilet is nice and quiet.
You could try http://www.familyhandyman.com/ and a few other sites like This Old House, diynetwork.com, etc. to search for toilet repair tips, and I think they will have stuff like this outlined. I found this info in a Home Depot DIY book I bought from Home Depot ~2 years ago.
Is this something I can fix myself ? If someone has experience, can you please share with me. ( I tried locating the flapper, but my tank doesn’t seem to have the regular chain and flapper. The trip handle is integrated with a central big pipe/structure which joins to the base of the tank)
Do you have any good ( and inexpensive) plumber recommendations?
A: When you push the handle do you see anything move in the tank? There has to be something at the bottom of the tank that controls when the water goes in... I replaced my broken filler with a FluidMaster which can best be described as a ‘big pipe structure thing’ since I no longer have a floating ball in the tank, but that still connect via chain to the flapper.
A: I’m having roughly the same problem. I think water is leaking into the actual toilet from the tank, but I’m not 100% sure. Who is a good person to call?
A: It could be the “flapper,” the thing at the bottom of the toilet tank (rubber device) that forms a seal between the tank and the toilet. Try pressing down on it (gently) with a ruler or some other long object (so you don’t get your arm wet) and see if you still hear gurgling. If not, then the flapper is worn out and needs to be replaced. You can check on the internet to see how this is done (links below).
If you still hear gurgling when you press down on the flapper, then it could be that the float needs to be adjusted. The float is the balloon-like thing that is screwed to a bar that connects to the left side of the toilet (usually; at least on my toilet). Try lifting the float just a little bit to see if the gurgling/bubbling noise stops. If it does, then the bar may need to either be bent up a little bit so the float goes “higher” or otherwise adjusted.
My toilet (a Mansfield) has a screw that you could adjust to raise/lower the float. I had the same problem as you describe below, and was able to fix it by adjusting the height of the float. Now, the toilet is nice and quiet.
You could try http://www.familyhandyman.com/ and a few other sites like This Old House, diynetwork.com, etc. to search for toilet repair tips, and I think they will have stuff like this outlined. I found this info in a Home Depot DIY book I bought from Home Depot ~2 years ago.
Moss on roof
Q: Aside from aesthetics, what is the harm of having moss growing on my roof?
A: It reduces the lifespan of your roof.
A: It’s really easy to take care of. They sell moss-killing stuff at hardware and gardening stores. Just mix it with some water (there will be instructions for how much on the thing you buy), put it in a watering can, get up on the roof, and pour it all over the roof. A couple days later, get up on the roof with a big push broom and sweep off all the dead stuff. This should keep the moss from growing back for a couple years.
A: You can also spread some Tide with bleach (powder) right before it’s expected to rain (Costco sells big boxes). The rain will spread it out and the bleach will kill the moss within a week.
A: Just be aware if you have composite shingles that pressure washing can damage your roof and can include causing your roof to leak immediately. Most contractors believe you lose 3-5 years of life from your roof from pressure washing. If you use bleach (you don’t need Tide), make sure you don’t use more than a 1% bleach solution as this can damage your roof. If the moss is dead you can sweep it off, if not you can put zinc strips at the top of the roof and with the rain it will eventually kill off the moss. The main point is you want to keep the granules on your roof
A: Zinc strips work perfect and I’ve used them for 15 years…replace every 5 or so.
A: It reduces the lifespan of your roof.
A: It’s really easy to take care of. They sell moss-killing stuff at hardware and gardening stores. Just mix it with some water (there will be instructions for how much on the thing you buy), put it in a watering can, get up on the roof, and pour it all over the roof. A couple days later, get up on the roof with a big push broom and sweep off all the dead stuff. This should keep the moss from growing back for a couple years.
A: You can also spread some Tide with bleach (powder) right before it’s expected to rain (Costco sells big boxes). The rain will spread it out and the bleach will kill the moss within a week.
A: Just be aware if you have composite shingles that pressure washing can damage your roof and can include causing your roof to leak immediately. Most contractors believe you lose 3-5 years of life from your roof from pressure washing. If you use bleach (you don’t need Tide), make sure you don’t use more than a 1% bleach solution as this can damage your roof. If the moss is dead you can sweep it off, if not you can put zinc strips at the top of the roof and with the rain it will eventually kill off the moss. The main point is you want to keep the granules on your roof
A: Zinc strips work perfect and I’ve used them for 15 years…replace every 5 or so.
Sticky Garage Door
Q: I have a single car garage, that when I close it it sometimes activates some sort of sensor and starts moving back up. I’m pretty sure it’s not the IR beam across the entry way, but rather it’s thinking that something is under the door on its way down.
When I close the garage, and I can see that it isn’t closing smoothly and hops/jumps while it’s moving down (it will move down smoothly, then seem to stick on something, then quickly catch up to where it was supposed to be).
What is the best way to troubleshoot this problem? This started happening a few months ago, and now I need to babysit the garage when I’m closing it. I’m starting to get worried that it’s introducing too much load to the garage components (the whole motor piece attached to the roof shakes when this happens) because of the way it hops down the rails.
I’ve considered spraying WD-40 everywhere, but that seems like a shot in the dark and perhaps not addressing the root cause.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
A: With the door down, release the opener from the garage door and activate it. Make sure it moves smoothly up its track. Now that it’s out of the way (it thinks the door is open, but it isn’t), try to open the door manually. You should be able to do so with little effort, and it should move smoothly up/down. Note that it will latch into the opener mechanism again when it’s open, so you’ll have to re-release it to bring it down again. Since you’re moving the door manually, you can move it through the ‘sticky’ range and try to figure out where it’s binding. Could be that some of the bolts holding the hinge/wheel to the door are loose allowing things to get crooked and bind.
A: I have had a similar situation, with the garage door wheels (that run in the track) being the culprit. One of the wheels pops out, causing the door to open incorrectly.
I also had a garage door opening problem where the door would not complete its opening process, and the garage door motor circuit board was the culprit (I replaced it).
A: I had the same problem. I tightened the wheel bolts and it started working ok again.
When I close the garage, and I can see that it isn’t closing smoothly and hops/jumps while it’s moving down (it will move down smoothly, then seem to stick on something, then quickly catch up to where it was supposed to be).
What is the best way to troubleshoot this problem? This started happening a few months ago, and now I need to babysit the garage when I’m closing it. I’m starting to get worried that it’s introducing too much load to the garage components (the whole motor piece attached to the roof shakes when this happens) because of the way it hops down the rails.
I’ve considered spraying WD-40 everywhere, but that seems like a shot in the dark and perhaps not addressing the root cause.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
A: With the door down, release the opener from the garage door and activate it. Make sure it moves smoothly up its track. Now that it’s out of the way (it thinks the door is open, but it isn’t), try to open the door manually. You should be able to do so with little effort, and it should move smoothly up/down. Note that it will latch into the opener mechanism again when it’s open, so you’ll have to re-release it to bring it down again. Since you’re moving the door manually, you can move it through the ‘sticky’ range and try to figure out where it’s binding. Could be that some of the bolts holding the hinge/wheel to the door are loose allowing things to get crooked and bind.
A: I have had a similar situation, with the garage door wheels (that run in the track) being the culprit. One of the wheels pops out, causing the door to open incorrectly.
I also had a garage door opening problem where the door would not complete its opening process, and the garage door motor circuit board was the culprit (I replaced it).
A: I had the same problem. I tightened the wheel bolts and it started working ok again.
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