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Spring into home maintenance

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, May 1, 2009.

Spring is always an ideal time to be checking the exterior of your home and catching up on any maintenance items that have come to light since last summer. As always, maintenance begins with a stroll around the house and a careful examination of its condition. Take a tablet with you, make some notes as you go, and then sit down and work up a list of things to take care of -- sort the list in order of the most pressing items first -- and then list the tools and materials you'll need for each task. more...

Do's and don'ts of deck cleaning

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, April 24, 2009.

A wood deck represents a sizable investment, and keeping it well maintained is an important part of every homeowner's to-do list. A clean deck not only helps showcase that backyard centerpiece, it prepares the wood to receive the surface coatings that are necessary to help your deck fight off the elements.

First, a couple of cleaning "don'ts": more...

Best fix for a cracked patio

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, April 17, 2009.

Q: I enjoy your column and have a question for you. We built a home last year and have a concrete patio at the rear. It already has a crack in it (not very large) and it's starting to stain. I would like to improve the appearance. What would be the best choice? Paint it, carpet it (I do not like the look of the turf like outdoor carpeting), lay down a stone covering over it, or something else? It is fully exposed, and we live where the winters are not very cold but the summers can get very hot. There are few trees around it so leaf stains are not really an issue. more...

Nothing seems to fix low shower pressure

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, April 10, 2009.

Q: I have a shower in my master bath that has had low pressure since we built the home five years ago. I've taken the head off and the pressure is still weak. All the other water sources in the house have very good pressure. A friend mentioned that the cartridge could be the culprit. Does that sound right? Is it hard to replace? I'm pretty handy and have fixed a bunch of stuff in previous homes.

A: If you have good pressure everywhere else, then I would agree with your friend that the cartridge is probably the problem. Since it's been doing this since the house was new, it probably has a small piece of dirt, solder or other debris in it. more...

Need fencing? Think vinyl

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, April 3, 2009.

If you're exploring the different options for new or replacement fencing, one material to be sure to have on your list of possibilities is vinyl. Vinyl fencing manufacturers have made great strides in recent years, offering a tremendous array of sizes, styles and options to choose from. The overall quality is up; the prices have come down; and competition among the growing number of manufacturers makes it a good time to consider vinyl for your next fence project. more...

Pulling the trigger on nail gun purchase

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 27, 2009.

For professionals and do-it-yourselfers alike, nothing makes a job easier and faster than a power nailer. Nailers not only substantially speed up your work and save a lot of stress on your arm, hand and wrist, but they reduce wood splitting and hammer dents, eliminate predrilling in hardwoods, and accurately set your nails at or below the surface of the wood.

COMPRESSED AIR more...

Insulation tips for 1920s home

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 20, 2009.

Q: I recently bought a house built in 1927. It's a two-story with a finished attic (total of three floors of living space). It appears to have no insulation whatsoever. The third floor has access to the tops of the exterior walls, all of the roof rafters, and the tops of the second-floor ceilings. What would you recommend for insulation? Should I blow cellulose insulation down the exterior walls from the attic space? more...

Don't cry over spilt motor oil

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 13, 2009.

Q: I have a spot on my flagstone patio that was caused by spilled motor oil. Any idea how I can clean it? --Scot C.

A: You can typically remove oil from stone by making a poultice to draw the oil out. First, clean the spot thoroughly with hot water and a strong soap such as Spic and Span, using a nylon-bristle brush on the spot. This will remove as much of the residual oil as possible. more...

Be safe installing roof truss

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 6, 2009.

From complex commercial buildings to simple garden sheds, the advent of the manufactured roof truss has simplified roof construction for carpenters and do-it-yourselfers alike. However, trusses are both flexible and awkward until they're on the roof and braced, and it's very easy to get injured during the installation process. You need to pay attention, take things slow and in the proper order, and observe some simple but very important safety procedures.

DELIVERY AND PLACEMENT more...

Icicles in attic a red flag

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, February 27, 2009.

Q: This summer we had siding installed around our house and we painted over the ventilation vents (husband's idea). My husband decided to cover the attic vent on top of the roof with a plastic bag because he said it would help seal the house better. I had a weird feeling about this, but I don't know anything about home repairs. Well, now we have a problem with condensation in our attic (that's what I think). He went up there last night and found that there were icicles on the frame. more...

Shower doors offer choices galore
By Paul Bianchina, Friday, February 20, 2009.

Tired of your ragged old shower curtain? Sick of hassling with that old shower door with the worn track and the missing rollers? If it's time to start thinking about a new door for your shower, you'll find a wide and beautiful assortment of options awaiting you.

Whether you have a tub/shower combination or a dedicated stall shower, there are essentially three different types of doors available: more...

Got workbench?
By Paul Bianchina, Friday, February 13, 2009.

Workbenches are one of those staples of the home workshop. They can take any number of forms, from the very basic to the very ornate, and there is no right or wrong way to set one up. The main thing is that the workbench be sturdy and solid, and that it achieves what you need it to achieve.

BUILT-IN WORKBENCHES more...

Asphalt driveway has odd problem
By Paul Bianchina, Friday, February 6, 2009.

Q: I am having a problem with my blacktop driveway. I have lived in my townhome for seven years, and I have always had it seal-coated every year. The townhome is approximately 20 years old. Last year I noticed that the driveway seemed to be cracking and splitting. I had the seal-coating done and the cracks filled. The gentleman who did the job said that the driveway was heaving due to pipes that ran from the house to the street. I called our public works department and they said that could not be the case because we would notice water in the grass or street area. more...

Truth about home fixture warranties
By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 30, 2009.

Warranties are something we see on a myriad of home improvement products, from roofing and siding to faucets and electrical outlets. They're intended to give the consumer some specific legal recourse should the product fail to perform properly, as well as some general psychological peace of mind.

But how valuable are warranties? Do they cover what you think they do, and can you rely on them to really protect your financial investment in the event of a problem? The truth is: probably not as much as you'd hoped.

READ, READ, READ more...

Attic overdue for re-insulation
By Paul Bianchina, Friday, January 23, 2009.

Q: I would like to re-insulate my attic because the second floor is always warm in the summers and cold in the winters. There is currently loose fill insulation in there, but it barely comes halfway up the joist. I am not sure what would be the best option to re-insulate: adding more loose insulation or removing the old insulation and applying new batts? more...

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