Home Related Questions and Answers

Sunday, June 30, 2013

What brand you recommend when it comes to home appliances?

Q. I need new home appliances for my home but not sure which brands are reliable. I am thinking of buying a small appliances, washing machine, and small microwave ovens. Some brands that I consider are Samsung, Kithcen Aid, GE, and BOSCH. Which of the best brands for home appliances?

A. Depends on prices and features: For entertainment I would stick with Samsung. I have Samsung microwave and Whirlpool everything else big, except dishwasher which is a GE brand - and I have to keep cleaning the filter on it which I have never had to do with other dishwashers.

What home appliances should I buy?

Q. I'm a new housewife and newlywed and I want to be the best homemaker that anyone can be! I know the basic home appliances that you get, but I want to make a straight list. Including some appliances that are used in homes, but you don't normally find in the everyday house. What should I buy?

A. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing or making? What does your husband enjoy in his free time? Specialty appliances are purchased for specific purposes, based on the needs & desires of your family. For instance, I love to eat yogurt, but find most commercial brands too sweet, so I have a yogurt maker to create my own flavors. As to items not found in everyday homes...thanks to the popularity of diy remodels, foodie gadgets & fad driven consumerism being oh so popular in our society, there aren't many gadgets or appliances not easily found in everyday homes. It's about finding what works for you & enhances your life as a family. Hope this helps. Good luck & Congratulations!

Does Nevada require to install home appliances in a house to be rent?

Q. My friend is thinking to rent her house, and she said it will have no home appliances include fridge. I once heard before that Nevada requires installing certain appliances in a house. Do you know what kind of home appliances has to be equipped in a house for rent in Nevada?

A. There is no law but it would be really hard to rent a house without appliances.

Can I replace things in an apartment?

Q. I'm currently looking to move into an apartment and was wondering, are there apartments that would allow me to replace amenities if I choose to? Things such as microwaves, ovens, toilets, or kitchen cabinetry? Do apartments normally allow people to paint the walls?
Why would I wish to improve other people's property? Because I'm living there, and I want to live well. Stick to answering the question.

A. NO, you legally can not alter their property.

How to simply decorate the top of kitchen cabinetry that reaches the ceiling?

Q. My kitchen cabinets have this plain unopened wood area above the actual cabinetry. It actually looks like the retro version of lighted cabinetry most people use to display different things within. I am not into all this excessive clutter of Knic Knacs hanging in every area of space. There isn't much lighting in the small kitchen but I need some decoration that looks clean and simply yet sophisticated and elegant. Also, I am really clueless on how to decorate a section of the cabinets that extend over the kitchen bar area which is also apart of the kitchen/dining room combo. This massive wood area has left the place feeling undone. The two answers I am in need of will have to not include painting the wood!!

A. Of course you wouldn't paint all that beautiful wood! How about some moveabel lights? You know, where you can move the head of the light to wherever you want it to shine? Or track lighting? That would help with your lighting problem. Just a couple of nice vases or a decorative plate or two would do with out making alot of clutter. A simple viney plastic plant would work too. I think those look the best. Hope this helps alittle.

What two colors will work for a living room and a kitchen?

Q. My living room flows into my kitchen and there is a "bar" to separate the rooms. You are able to see into the kitchen so the colors cannot clash. My dilemma is what two colors will go well together or should I pick one color and do different shades? I have a rich brown, comfy couch in the living room with brown furniture and a neutral carpet. The kitchen has dark cabinets and counter tops, light floors, and the appliances are white. The kitchen table is glass and dark metal. Hope that helps!
Thanks!

A. To play off your brown furniture either a sage green or a warm golden color. From the same color strip at least two shades lighter for the kitchen. Considering the furniture and kitchen cabinetry are dark wood I would go for the golden/amber paint color.

How much would it coast to get a heatorater and instalation put into an attic?

Q. The attic is a pretty decent size. I was thinking about adding a heatorater & installation so it wouldn't be just an empty room.

A. I know a guy whose attic contains 3,000 sq. ft. of floor space. Until you know size of the area you're dealing with, it will be impossible to answer your question.

How do you install insulation in attic with flooring?

Q. I need to put more insulation in my attic. It is finished for storage and has a wood floor. Where do I insulate? Do I just lay it on the floor for the winter and put my boxes on top? Do I need to do something special along the edges? What kind should I use and is there a tip for installing? Thanks!

A. If there is no insulation under the flooring (plywood or OSB usually used, you'll have to pry up the floor and place the insulation between the joists. Installing between the joists like I described is merely rolling it out and stuffing it in. Nothing special needed. Typical R-Value for an attic is R-38, but R-values of the insulation will depend on your area of the country. Check out this site for your areas specs:
http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellent2/groups/public/documents/pub/phtv_se_in_gs_000570.hcsp

How can I get rid of squirrels in my attic, preferably without killing them?

Q. There are places around my house that I'm repairing to stop squirrels from coming into the attic, but the little critters are in several places and I don't want to close them up inside the attic since they will die and cause a horrible odor or chew another hole somewhere and still keep their 'home' in my home. I thought about using some type of bait that causes them to seek water, which them kills them, but I don't want to get that drastic, if possible. Do things like Blood meal or Coyote smelling packs drive squirrels away, and if they do, will they leave a strong smell in the house that might drive us away too? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

A. Purchase multiple boxes of "Moth Balls", use any device,(slingshot)etc. to propell into Attic
unreachable spaces. Sprinkle Boric Acid Powder inside thier entrance points. Close ALL But (1) hole, with mashed up old Aluminum Screening, Then Seal. When they vacate, close last hole, same way./// M.B's dispell annoying gases, driving them out, and COVERS Any Oders of dead ones, that will quickly dry to likeness of shoeleather,NOT Needing to be removed from attic/ walls etc.
Moth "FLAKES" can be used inserted along baseboard fichers, lasting a few days to cover any possible odor seapage into dwelling. Odors from M.B's and Flakes will dissapate in about 5 days. "NOT Harmfull to Humans or pets unless swallowed." Read Directions on box, and use common sense ! ""SOLVED"".

Why do my newly refinished hardwood floors have dents and bubbles all over?

Q. We recently had our hardwood floors refinished by a friend of a friend who said he knew what he was doing. The floor has dents/waves in it and the finish is not smooth but has small pimply bumps on it. Is there any way to fix this without refinishing the floor entirely? We haven't paid this "friend" yet - what should we do?
The dents/waves were not in the floor before it was sanded. Could the sander have caused them? Is there a way to fix without resanding all of the newly applied stain and polyurethane?

A. Those dents and waves are a direct cause of the belt floor sander being improperly used. If the belt sander is allowed to sit to long in one spot it will eat away too much wood causing dips and waves in the flooring. You will have to re-sand to fix this unless this guy ate to much into the wear layer of your flooring then you will have to replace it (this usually won't happen unless you've had your floors sanded several times before). From the sound of the pimply bumps you are either looking at particulate (improper cleaning before finish is applied) that has been finished over leaving a sandy like finish or fish eyes which can be caused several things. If it is just particulate that has been finished over this can be buffed out then refinished again after a good cleaning. If it is fish eyes in the finish they may be sanded out depending on their size. But like I said in order to fix the waviness you will have to resand anyway.

How To Remove Scratch of a Refinished floors?

Q. I recently had my 50+ years old pine hardwood floors refinished with 3 coats of oil based. Looks really nice and shiny. Now I made a light/clear scratch from moving furniture and I can't get it off by using an eraser or water+soap. Any other ways to remove a simple clear scratch/scuff from the top coat? Thank you!

A. Try a little bleach, don't pour it directly on the floor, put some on a towel, or sponge and a little elbow grease.

How to get paint off newly stained floors?

Q. Hello. I just had some floors refinished in a room I had painted. The baseboard got some floor stain on it, though. So, I put painter's tape on the floor in front of the baseboard. After I peeled the tape away, though, white paint had dried on the floor (small amounts, but they make the floor look like hell at the border). Does anyone have any tips to remove this little bit of paint? A razor does nothing and I don't know how to get off the paint without ruining the floor.

Thanks!
I should be more clear. The floor's stain is relatively new. As such, even though it's dry, it (like all new stains) "catches" the razor on contact. So, I can't make a smooth scraping motion over the floor.

A. you can try goof-off professional paint remover with a q-tip, available at any hardware store, but i suspect if its not budging with a razor that goof off might not remove it or might cause damage to the stain. goof off also removes urethane so be careful

Saturday, June 29, 2013

how much should I pay for getting my 900-square foot apt painted and the floors tiled?

Q. Hello,
Does anyone know how much it would normally cost to get a 900 square foot apartment to be painted? I also need tile installation for the floors,i am looking not for a very high quality paint,just decent work and inexpensive tiles on the floor. I will rent this apartment, that is why i need to watch my cost. Thank you everyone for the answers
Have a nice day
S.

A. where ?

what is the best way to level a rough concrete floor and prepare?

Q. it for tile installation?

A. Depends on the type of tile... if you're using a Vinyl Tile... you will need to purchase some Leveling compounds... The best to purchase is either Ardex or Armstrong (these are both Cement based and are very hard once they dry)... this comes as a grey powder... add water and 'float' out the bad spots in the floor... (you want to skim over all of the bad places... and work the floor patch slowly up in the low spots).... for high spots in the concrete... you can still float around them... try to take the ridge out of it (as much as possible)...
Good luck... ;)

Is it appropriate to install tile backerboard over a laminate countertop?

Q. Instead of tearing off the old laminate kitchen countertop and installing a plywood base and tile backerboard on top, is it appropriate to screw/glue the tile backerboard directly onto the laminate countertop for a tile installation?

A. Of course you can do it and it'll probably last for a long time but I would NOT do it. As another pointed out the material under the laminate is probably flake board. you don't want that under your tile job. Tile, grout, concrete backer board and thinset, not one of these are "waterproof". Water and flake board don't mix. Pulling it and putting down some plywood is the best

Who are the best " green " commercial lighting contractors in the Midatlantic region? LEED accredited ?

Q. I am designing a LEED silver office building, and I have some questions regarding daylighting and other energy effecient lighting technologies, from a contractors practical point of view.
Thanks !

A. I don't have any suggestions for the best commercial lighting contractors. However, the U.S. Green Building Council's membership directory is a good place to start. You can access it online at no charge at http://www.usgbc.org/myUSGBC/Members/MembersDirectory.aspx?CategoryID=2&CMSPageID=140. You can retrieve results by category (Contractors and Builders) and State.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need more information.

Laura Barnes, MSLIS
Illinois Waste Management and Research Center Librarian

how does emergency lighting work?

Q. Like in a commercial building. Can you buy battery powered commercial lighting thats not connected to a 120volt plug? and what activates emergency lighting?
i figured, that the emergency lights would have to be connected to a 120 power supply from the building to be activated when power is cut. i just dont see how these emergency lights are triggered. unless they are connected to the buildings power?

A. Emergency lighting is always connected to the AC power, both to keep the batteries charged and to detect when to turn on.

If it were not connected to the AC power, how would you charge the batteries?

To repeat, the system is triggered by the AC power going to 0, probably by something as simple as a relay across the AC power leads.

Anyone know anyone who buys unused commercial light fixtures in California?

Q. Im looking for anyone to buy some unused commercial light fixtures that we have left over from a completed job. Does anyone have any ideas?

A. the surplus house

How do I remove asphalt tar sealant from wood flooring?

Q. We removed tile from the original wood flooring in our bedroom but they layed it down with asphalt tar sealant and it is stuck to the wood floor. We have bought a sealant stripper but it is coming off with difficulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

A. You'll be lucky to remove enough of it to save the floor beneath it. This is bad news. The commercial stripper is time-consuming, but it is the better option if you're even considering trying to rehab the wood floor.

If the wood floor is not that great of a concern, cosmetically speaking, you have at least one other option, but it is no less back-breaking or time-consuming than using chemical stripper - heat stripping. Use a heat gun to loosen the tar sealant and scrape off the wood with a steel putty knife or tile scraper. Try to scrape the loosened sealant in the direction of the wood grain as much as possible.

There are several risks involved with this method, the most significant being fire. Improper use of a heat gun can set fire to the sealant and/or the wood beneath it. The best way to guard against this is to work in small areas, scraping what is completely loose before moving on to another patch of floor. Never put the heat gun directly on the surface of the floor, no matter the surface covering. The other, less deadly, risk is the chipping, gouging and scratching the wood floor itself endures from the scrapers. Most light surface damage can be sanded out, but gouges are forever.

If you've already made the investment of time, energy and money to remove the tile from your wood floors, I'm guessing that you're up for the challenge of restoring your floors. I hope this alternative method helps and wish you good luck in pursuing the results you want for your home.

How do I know which company's wood is good for wood flooring?

Q. Which company's wood is good for wood flooring. I am thinking about engineered wood. Do you know how to pick a good company?

A. What I do is Google the flooring name and "reviews" and see what others have to say.

How much should i charge to install wood flooring ?

Q. As a handyman, how much do i charge per sq.ft to install oak wood flooring? They all need to be glued and there will be alot of cuts because the wood needs to curve in an s shape. There is 1000 sq.ft. I installed 1600 sq.ft before but did not charge my father in law. Thanks for your help.

A. For glue down wood flooring, 4 dollars a s.f. is about what you should be charging.