Alice Happel might live in a high-rise condo on East Wacker Drive in Chicago, IL. I only say this because I've stayed in a wonderful one owned by a friend of mine, Dave Wiener, on that street next to the Chicago River. Wowza did it have a great view! Alice, though, has an undermount sink that Read More »
Tracie lives in Taft, TN. (How's that for alliteration?) She's wondering if she'll have problems with satin finish granite tops. Let her tell you the situation: "I have tried to find an answer to this question online, but cannot. We don't like the look of highly polished granite, but don't want honed because of care Read More »
Ritu Gandhi has a smelly problem in Madison, WI. Here it is: "We have a kitchen exhaust fan over our cooking range but every time we turn it on food smells seem to come into our bathrooms (upstairs) and in the basement. We do have an air to air exchanger. The kitchen exhaust does seem to Read More »
Kathy Parks sent in some photographs of an interesting project that she is undertaking. It is a paper bag floor. She's wallpapering her floor with paper bags to mask an ugly floor. The paper bags, once dry, get coated with clear urethane to make them somewhat durable. We will let Kathy fill us in on Read More »
DEAR TIM: We have a L-shaped basement storage area under our front porch. There's a metal ceiling in this space that supports the concrete porch slab above. There are no cracks in the concrete porch. This space has no ventilation and everything stored in this area becomes damp and then moldy. We installed a small Read More »
Amy, who lives in the quaint city of Martinsburg, WV, is creating lots of angst at her local Home Depot and Lowe's stores. Here's why: "I have not been able to get a clear answer from Lowe's or Home Depot about when a door may need to be re-stained or repainted (and how). I've been Read More »
Jim Elliott had some engineered hardwood installed at his home in Encinitas, CA. However, the installers were rookies. Let Jim tell you why: "We just had engineered hardwood flooring installed in our living room and dining room by a contractor. I wasn't available to make an examination of the floor until after they had left our Read More »
Barbara rents a house or apartment in Guilford, CT. But she's got a problem with her new furnace. "My landlord just installed a gas furnace. When it is running, cold air is leaking into the bathroom through the ceiling exhaust. When the furnace is at rest, no cold air is coming in. Why? and am Read More »
DEAR TIM: Now that we're past Christmas, it's full steam ahead on our kitchen remodel. One of the things that I've never liked about our kitchen is the drab lighting. All we have is an ancient surface mounted center light that takes two 75-watt bulbs. There are shadows everywhere. If I could hand you a Read More »
When you think of a man up in the mountains digging with a mattock and shovel, you probably conjure up a vision of a prospector looking for gold, silver or other valuable mineral. I doubt you'd imagine a man creating caves full of sculptured art. When you watch this video, I hope you take away Read More »
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