My neighbor has expressed a desire to rebuild the wooden fence between our houses. We share one side of the fence with her, and it's definitely in need of repair--warped boards, aging, etc. Should she be fully responsible for paying for the fence, since it was her idea to fix it? Or should we contribute some money since we share one side of the fence?
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posted by starkraven
on Apr 2, 2013 -
36 answers
My old cast iron bathtub is stained beyond help. None of the tough cleaners do anything at this point. I looked into repainting it myself but couldn't cope with the idea of the prepping and the awful epoxy-based paint etc. etc. We could pay a fortune to have it reglazed, I guess, BUT
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posted by DMelanogaster
on Mar 24, 2013 -
25 answers
I have a two-car garage with a LiftMaster automatic garage door opener that is misbehaving and it's driving me crazy. It seems to be randomly just opening the door long after it is closed and I can't figure out why. I've seen the other questions about garage door openers but was hoping for some advice specific to my situation.
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posted by misskaz
on Feb 22, 2013 -
14 answers
I have to replace a rotted out bathroom window by the shower, but I'm pretty confident that there's a bad mold problem in the shower wall beneath the window. Who should the first call be made to to resolve this?
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posted by Slack-a-gogo
on Aug 7, 2012 -
5 answers
I own a house built in 1904 - how can I learn more about home construction and home maintenance? I do a lot of my basic repairs myself and always make a point to watch and ask questions (non-obnoxiously) when I have repair people over.
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posted by waylaid
on Jul 7, 2012 -
20 answers
I want to attach a weathervane to a rooftop. To prevent roof leaks after screwing through the shingles, what should I do? Silicone? Washers? My dry attic thanks you in advance for the advice.
posted by jackypaper
on Apr 10, 2012 -
11 answers
Our stove's electric cord melted and our electrician says that he thinks it was a fault with the stove itself. When I say the cord melted, it is a 6 inch gooey mess starting in the center of the cord that had heated up to the point where it started to burn through the wall and melted a hole in the gas line. The stove itself was off (oven and burners) and it apparently happened spontaneously. The electrician was, in his words, "shocked your house did not burn down. Be glad you smelled the gas when you did".
My question has two parts going on the electrician's hypothesis:
1) The stove is out of warranty but it is still only 7 years old. Maytag is sending a repair person to asses the problem. Would we have any leg to stand on to ask for money towards a new stove? I doubt it but am hopeful.
2) Who, if anyone, should we notify that there may be an issue with these stoves? I would hate to think that someone else's house might burn down through some sort of faulty wire and we could have let "someone" know. (we are in Georgia).
A bonus question - can anyone think of how this could possibly have happened? It seems pretty odd to us and to the electrician and we cannot think of something that might have made this happen.
posted by GrumpyMonkey
on Mar 5, 2012 -
18 answers
I own a house and needed a new furnace. I found a guy to do it, and he totally screwed me over. He left all his tools in my basement and not had any contact with me for a couple months. Do I own these tools now, and what if anything should I do now?
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posted by BlackWalnut
on Feb 8, 2012 -
15 answers
If I need plumbing, painting, electrical, HVAC work and carpentry work done on my newly purchased home, is it better to hire one contractor for all the work or just find a separate painter, electrician, HVAC guy etc? I am a first time home buyer, so sorry if this is an obvious question.
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posted by dottiechang
on Sep 4, 2011 -
7 answers
Our new home came with a wonderful bath tub jacuzzi but with a nasty problem. When we fill the tub up with water and turn on the air jets all this nasty gunk and junk comes out of the tubes and makes the water disgusting. Is there a way to clean this out or to flush the pipes? I've tried running the jets and cleaning them out around 15 times and this crud still comes out.
posted by randomthoughts
on Jun 11, 2011 -
6 answers
I need to get some smoke detectors but I am having trouble finding out what the right kind are. There are, as far as I can tell, three different kinds. Stand alone, interconnect and hard-wired. What do the plugs that hang from the ceiling look like for the interconnect and for the hardwired? What do I ask the guy at the hardware store for (Ace just said they are on the endcap and the detectors there had nothing that told me what type they were)?
posted by CodeMonkey
on May 10, 2011 -
5 answers
I need to install new carpet in my 2-bedroom house. I know next to nothing about this. Sorry, we're not looking for wood or vinyl floors at this time. I just want to hear from people who've been through this experience. Got one grade-school age kid, one dog and one cat. What type of carpet deals with this traffic, resists stains and still looks good and is moderately priced? Also any advice on trying to learn how to install this yourself vs. professional installers.
posted by caveatz
on Mar 17, 2011 -
12 answers
Is it a bad idea to install new carpet over carpet that has been down for over a decade?
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posted by ainsley
on Mar 10, 2011 -
21 answers
Can anyone recommend a great book (or magazine or website or series) on DIY home repair and remodeling?
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posted by piers
on Nov 29, 2010 -
10 answers
All 3 of the thermostats in my home read "Low Battery" with an * and my a/c isn't working. My landlord says that I need to replace the batteries. That seems unlikely to me. Also hard.
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posted by katyjack
on Jun 16, 2010 -
15 answers
Mold -- Is it possible to eliminate mold as part of a home rehab project without hiring an all-out mold professional? Will it be sufficient to remove all the drywall, scrub and bleach the wood behind (or replace anything damaged), and stop the sources of water intrusion? Did you deal with mold as part of a major fixer-upper?
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posted by slidell
on Apr 19, 2010 -
13 answers
Please help me to repair a roll up matchstick shade or refer me to a web site with directions in plain English.
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posted by kbar1
on Nov 8, 2009 -
5 answers
[PlumbingFilter] Ack! The toilet sprang a leak and is now acting like an impromptu bidet when flushed! What is the proper way to fix this? (more inside)
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posted by Nanukthedog
on Sep 23, 2009 -
9 answers
Every 3,000 miles, I change the motor oil. But what about the house? I need a home repair and maintenance schedule? I'm looking for the best books and online resources that describe optimum home repair schedules and practices.
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posted by Cool Papa Bell
on Aug 18, 2008 -
9 answers
Home electrical problem/mystery: I accidentally plugged the phone charger into an outlet incorrectly and now that outlet and the dishwasher don't work. Help?
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posted by mundy
on Jun 27, 2008 -
10 answers
I am shoring up a sagging fence that I will help replace in a year. The original posts are not in cement and are rotting at the base. I'm trying to figure out how to attach some support posts.
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posted by mecran01
on Jun 27, 2008 -
9 answers
What's the best home-repair / fixit manual for someone with little-to-no experience in such matters? Also, web sites and / or blogs in the same vein?
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posted by dersins
on Apr 25, 2008 -
19 answers
Help me identify and fix a possible water intrusion / water damage near my sliding glass door.
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posted by escher
on Apr 7, 2008 -
3 answers
Does anybody have experience with painting a bath tub? I heard about using the plastic krylon spray paint that you can buy at wal-mart which is supposed to bond to acrylic, I'm wondering if anybody has tried this? How about using a refinishing kit?
posted by ets960
on Sep 5, 2007 -
15 answers
Looking for advice on rebuilding / repairing a section of concrete block (cinder block ) wall that once upon a time separated two yards. If nothing else, the dog is happy with the new expanded yard.
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posted by korej
on Sep 5, 2007 -
4 answers
2 outlets & a ceiling light stopped working at the same time. None of the circuit breakers were flipped. What would cause this, and how can I troubleshoot it?
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posted by designbot
on Aug 30, 2007 -
15 answers
When I turn the cold water tap, the faucets in my upstairs bathroom are putting out room temperature water. How do I fix this?
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posted by ND¢
on Aug 23, 2007 -
15 answers
How should I treat burn marks in a bathroom laminate counter top so that my corporate landlord doesn't ding me? Any advice before I start into it with sandpaper, chisels and paint?
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posted by GPF
on Aug 8, 2007 -
15 answers
Yesterday we painted a very large interior wall. Today we tried to spackle and sand down a blemish in the wall done by curtain hangers. When we started hand sanding it, the paint began peeling. On closer inspection, it is not just the paint we recently put down but also the layer of paint directly below it. The layer remaining after it has been peeled has a chalky texture to it. I've searched the 'net and have seen a suggestion for spackling/drywall mudding around the edges and then painting over it. Does anyone know if this will actually work? The wall is huge so I really want to avoid sanding the entire wall if at all possible. The peeled paint area is about a foot in radius. Photo
here. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
posted by GlowWyrm
on Jun 8, 2007 -
8 answers
I punched a hole in the drywall on my apartment. I probably should be asking about managing my anger, but instead I need advice about fixing the hole.
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posted by owenville
on Mar 8, 2007 -
15 answers
[Klutz Construction Filter] Insulating a daylight basement with the wrong size of insulation, can I safely make it work?
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posted by KneeDeep
on Nov 25, 2006 -
6 answers
