We're thinking about making an offer on a house. However, it has an odd feature in the basement that may be related to drainage. Can anyone tell us what this might do or what could be behind the wall? Picture here - it's the 4" bumpout in the back left corner. [more inside]
posted by WowLookStars on Sep 30, 2012 - 11 answers

My wife and I have found a house and we love it, except that it's on a septic system. We don't mind that, but we're trying to find out if the septic/leach is going to make our backyard unusable or not. [more inside]
posted by damiano99 on Apr 23, 2012 - 13 answers

What questions should we ask while taking estimates from mold remediation specialists? [more inside]
posted by Orinda on Mar 28, 2011 - 2 answers

Exchanging a water heater with previous home-owner to avoid loan on unit, am I opening myself up to trouble later? [more inside]
posted by Frasermoo on Jan 6, 2011 - 18 answers

I need advice on fixing condensation on aluminum window frames. My house has a ton of aluminum window frames. Now that the weather has turned cold water is condensing on them, puddling at the bottom of the frames, and causing problems. How can I fix this? [more inside]
posted by bq on Nov 30, 2010 - 8 answers

Master bathroom shower takes FOREVER to get hot water. The hot water heater is outside, less than fifteen feet from the actual shower. Other faucets in the house are much farther away (up to 30-40 feet away) never fail to get us hot water in less than 15-30sec. What gives? How do I fix it? [more inside]
posted by Spyder's Game on Mar 19, 2010 - 13 answers

My family has mold growing on the lower portions of inside of the walls in the central area of our 15-year-old home. We're getting the house sprayed, but the price the contractor gave us seems extremely high. What should I expect? [more inside]
posted by silasjones on May 9, 2007 - 8 answers

I just discovered a bottle of water has leaked onto my hardwood floor. What can I do to minimize the damage while the floor is still damp? [more inside]
posted by werty on Sep 3, 2006 - 10 answers

Moving into an apartment that was built a year ago and never lived in. How do I get stale water out of the tank and pipes? [more inside]
posted by Saucy Intruder on Aug 30, 2005 - 2 answers