Q&A / 

Kathleen has a bunch of clogged gutters at her Port Townsend, WA home. Let her tell you about her dilemma. "I am shopping for gutter screens to keep debris out of the gutters. What do you think of Gutter helmet? What suggestions do you have? We Have built a new house and the gutters are filled […]

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Satoshi Segawa, who's a very talented mason, lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. He built a tiny pond on his patio and made a mistake. "I like DIY to make a better looking by myself and it is a cost effective, but I am an amateur and am lack of the technical know-how to […]

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Joe Spinelli doesn't like surprises even though he lives in Surprise, AZ. He's also pithy. "Who do I call to find a leak in my waterfall in my yard?" Here's my answer: Joe, I don't know that I'd call anyone just yet. Why not try to find it yourself? I would turn off the pump […]

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Quick Column Summary: Prep work for pressure washing Chewing gum stain removal Pretreat with oxygen bleach Use pressure washer carefully Jolynn, who lives in paradise - Waianae, Hawaii - wants to clean a commercial building with a pressure washer. Here's what she wants to know: "When pressure washing  a single-story commercial building what should I do […]

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Quick Column Summary: Need a firewood shelter Don't cover with a tarp Airflow keeps wood dry Put a roof over firewood DEAR TIM: Winter is fast approaching. Last year I goofed up. I stacked my firewood outdoors like I see others do, but it rained on the wood, it froze up and then it snowed […]

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Quick Column Summary: How to clean teak table Pressure washers can cause damage Use an oxygen bleach Seal with synthetic resin DEAR TIM: I purchased a used teak outdoor table from the online classified ad website Craigslist. It was a great deal, but it needs some tender loving care. How do I clean it? Should […]

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Quick Column Summary: Can asphalt drive be covered with crushed rock Make sure there are 4-6 inches of angular stone A thin layer of stone will eventually expose asphalt The new stone will not  interlock with the asphalt Karen Cesar, who lives in sunny and warm Tuscon, AZ, is getting ready to tackle a paving […]

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Quick Column Summary: Brick steps falling apart Can bricks be reused Why all brick are not the same Reuse the brick with special mortar Raimond Cheung was working on his brick steps at his house in Rego Park, NY and got stumped. Here's his question: "My old brick step is falling apart.  I took a few […]

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Glue Rocks Together - Use Magic Epoxy Below Quick Column Summary: Stacked rock sculpture What is the bonding material Use a rock/masonry epoxy Maurizio Magnani was perplexed after visiting a public park in Duarte, CA. Here's what he wrote to me: "I would like to build a river rocks assembly I saw at a nearby […]

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Quick Column Summary: Need to fix a planter Can it be ground down and leveled Easier to start over Link to video series Barbara Mandese, who lives not to awful far from the San Andreas fault in Monterey, CA, reached out for a life preserver after throwing out her back mixing concrete. Read what her […]

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