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 […]
DEAR TIM: My husband and I are doing a bathroom remodel. The biggest change is the bathtub. The builder put in a smallish tub and I’m now going with a luxurious soaking tub. Our house is on a slab. Are the tub drain holes, the one at the bottom and the one higher up the […]
DEAR TIM: I embarked on a simple caulking repair around my bathtub that's now turned into a quest. While pulling out old caulk I discovered loose tile. After removing four rows of tile up from the top of the tub, I then was met by a crumbling wall surface behind the tile. I took out […]
Christie is remodeling her bathroom in Monroe, CT. She's conflicted about how to attach the toe strip on top of her laminate flooring. "I recently painted my ceramic wall tile with a tub and tile paint by Rustoleum, and installed vinyl plank flooring in my bathroom. I have quarter round to match the flooring for the […]
Ade lives in cold and snowy Chicago, IL. All of a sudden his plumbing fixtures stopped working correctly. Here's his story: "I had a leak around my plumbing vent repaired last year and the roofer put a cap (see picture) on the vent. I started having problems with my 2nd floor toilet and later with both […]
Dylan, who hales from Southampton, England in the UK, has an issue with grout in his toilet. "I have a clump of grout in my toilet bend which a dumbhead tiler poured down my toilet last night and it's set. What is the best way to remove it? I have a grout remover and was thinking […]
Kate Knight, who lives in Brentwood NH eighty miles south southeast of my house, has a problem with her new shower valve. Let her describe it: "Recently we had a new valve put in our shower which is bigger than our last one coupled with a water saver shower head. We also moved our toilet […]
Old Man Winter and his girlfriend Mother Nature can wreak havoc with your home's plumbing pipes if you don't protect them from freezing. Most people only have this happen to them once if their house turns into Niagara or Victoria Falls once the pipes thaw out and they're not home to stop the damage. I […]
"The most common cause of a stopper that doesn’t respond to the up and down motion of the visible control rod at the top of the faucet is the nut on the flat bar is loose." Adjust Bathroom Sink Stopper Checklist Does control rod at the top go up and down? Does stopper move at […]
Mystery Sewer Gas Smell Lynne K. has a colonial home in North Easton, MA. She's at her wits end about a sewer gas smell in the home. Let her give you a full report: "I bought my home, a colonial, in Dec. 2008. It was built in 2003. Before I moved in, I smelled a rotten […]
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