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Fixes for a noisy water heater

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, November 19, 2008.

Q: I read with interest your articles on water hammer, and have a question. I have an older gas water heater. It works fine, heats well and has no leaks, but as of late, makes the most horrible grinding and gurgling noises as it fills and heats after hot water use. It sounds something like the boilers of a ship sinking at sea. Any clues?

A: Oh yeah. We've got more than a clue -- we're confident we know the problem. Better yet, we may have a fix. more...

Easier ways to kill water hammer?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, November 12, 2008.

A previous column on "water hammers" struck a chord with two of our readers.

One accused us of being "on the take" for suggesting that our homeowner might have to open a wall or call a plumber. Another offered another avenue to explore if there is noise in the pipes. Both suggestions bear repeating.

Our first reader wrote:

"How much did the plumbers pay you to give that answer to the question about hammering pipes? more...

Residents endure water hammer wrath

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, November 5, 2008.

Q: We live in a duplex that was converted from a 1912 single-family house. The upstairs flat had a kitchen added, and doors were installed for each unit. This house is built right up against houses on either side, a typical but stripped-down Victorian. more...

Chimney works best with flue liner

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 29, 2008.

Q: We bought a Queen Anne Victorian 10 years ago, but have never used the chimneys because the chimney sweep said pigeons had been pecking at the mortar. There is no chimney liner. I have been up on the roof and see where some of the mortar is missing, and think I could easily fix that. I tore out the plaster on the first floor covering the chimney, thinking I might just be able to repair it from the outside, but it all looks pretty good. more...

Should I buy earthquake insurance?

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 22, 2008.

Q: I read your column on earthquake preparedness. And although I don't think our 11-year-old house needs structural changes, I was wondering if you have any advice on whether to buy earthquake insurance. We are new to the area, so we have no experience or feel for it.

A: Your question is a little far afield for our do-it-yourself column. But it's a subject we've had to consider over the years, and, as you mention, we have addressed earthquake preparedness from a structural perspective. more...

Best plan for insulating garage

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

Q: I have an open ceiling in my garage that is insulated with paper-backed R-13 batts with the fiberglass exposed and held in place by metal strips. The ceiling has a lot of pipes and wires running over the ceiling joists. more...

Glass painting tips from the pros

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 8, 2008.

Q: Sometime in the past 50 or so years, someone thought it would be nice to remodel my entire entrance hall with glass blocks. And since it was never maintained, I am sure the wall below will have some water damage.

Anyway, because of the glass, the hall is always cold in the winter and hot during the summer. And it just looks bad and worn out. I would like to paint it over on the inside. Can it be done? I'm looking for a cosmetic fix until the day comes when I can get that entire side of the hall rebuilt. more...

Termite damage a nightmare to fix

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, October 1, 2008.

Q: I had a termite inspection done on my home. Now I must find a reputable contractor to do the work. The work to be done is extensive, and I feel it will be costly. The termites have damaged the rim joist, mudsill and subfloor in the subarea. Termite evidence was also noted in the subarea that appears to extend into inaccessible areas and should be treated.

I would appreciate any help that you can give me, as I have no idea where to start. more...

Toilets: the good, the bad, the ugly

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 24, 2008.

Praise to our readers, they've done it again. Last week we wrote about dual-flush, water-conserving toilets when, after returning from a trip to France, a reader questioned why she could not find a dual-flush model similar to the one she used in France to install in her Alameda, Calif., home. more...

Dual-flush toilet sure to wow

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 17, 2008.

Q: We recently returned from a vacation in France. Many toilets had two flush buttons -- one for a small flush and one for a full flush. I thought they were a great idea, as they save water and, when needed, actually clean the bowl; the lack of cleaning action is a common complaint with many water-conserving toilets.

I recently remodeled and could not find any similar toilets at Home Depot or Lowe's. I ended up with something that was satisfactory, but I was disappointed. Are there any dual-flush toilets being manufactured or sold in the United States? more...

Brick foundation prone to fail in major quake

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 10, 2008.

Q: My two-story, Berkeley, Calif., home, built in 1905, is very close to the Hayward Fault. It is lath and plaster with a stucco exterior. The house is U-shaped around a courtyard. There is only one area -- about 20 feet by 10 feet -- under the house that you could call a basement. The rest is crawlspace. more...

Earthquake retrofit begins in crawl space

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 3, 2008.

Last week, a reader asked our opinion about insulating his crawl space and doing a little earthquake retrofitting under his home. We recommended that he install batt insulation between the floor joists, retrofit the cripple walls with plywood sheathing to make a shear wall, and put down a plastic vapor barrier over the dirt in the crawlspace. more...

Eliminate heat loss through floors

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 27, 2008.

Q: We have a frame house with a stucco exterior. Part of it is over a crawl space about 3 feet high. The house is bolted to the foundation and the exterior stucco covers the walls down to the ground. On the inside of the crawl space, I can see the 1-by-8 redwood backing for the stucco and we have no problems with termites. more...

Best insulation for attic loft

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 20, 2008.

Q: I read your recent article on adding insulation to a bare-beamed ceiling and I have a question about insulating the ceiling between the beams.

From what I read, it seems that no ventilation is needed between the roof sheathing and the R-13 batt insulation. Is that correct and, if so, is it because it's a flat roof? more...

Failed drywall tape common on new homes

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, August 13, 2008.

Q: Although my house was built only five years ago, some of the tape has pulled away from the wall. It looks like it is just peeling at the seams. I had a contractor come in with a price and he wanted $950 to fix the problem. He said the original Sheetrock contractor did not put enough mud beneath the tape. He seemed to think it was easy to fix, but the job requires a good deal of prep work. That's the reason for the high price. more...

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