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We've been in our home for the past four years and haven't been able to use the fireplace. The few initial times I did, smoke would back flow into the house and continue to build until it was banked down from the ceiling. I've had a chimney sweep here three times and he couldn't find anything...

Hello. I have two windows in my home that are in need of a temp repair until I can replace them completely. The inside lower wood trim is rotting out. I would like to remove the damaged piece, clean out anymore rot underneath, then replace with new trim. I understand this isn’t a permanent...

Another thirty minute project at a standstill.... I have two new sink faucets to install in our master bath. When I went to remove the original ones, I ran into an issue because I've never seen the type of hardware to secure it to the sink like these have. It looks like they cut two holes for...

We have a large outdoor chandelier type light, over our front porch. It is covered, but there is damage to the sockets as far as corrosion and a little rust. I noticed a few of the bulbs were out, so when I removed them I found the corrosion on the bulbs and the sockets today. What’s the best...

I’m not sure if I worded that right but I put in a concrete base for a flagpole. I used three bags, but still came up short. I’d like it to be almost flush with the top of the sleeve you see in the picture. Without drilling holes for rebar, can I just add another bag of concrete on top of the...

We had a tile floor put in about a year ago. I didn’t ask at the time about the edges being “softened” or rounded off where they meet the carpet, but I’d like to do that now. It’s a little painful to walk on so I’d like to see if I can use a grinding stone to soften the edges?

When we had our home inspected, the inspector told us it’s not stucco, but called it something else. It looks like stucco, but I can’t recall what he said it was. He said stucco would have a board underneath it which this doesn’t. The first pic is looking up from below the bottom edge. The...

I bought a Kreg Jig, (model 310 I believe), and the directions are lacking. I can’t tell how to do a butt jig with this. I’m building frames and using 1x4’s. The jig has a small grey adjuster that I can see how that works for other joints, but I can’t tell how, or if I can, adjust the jig...

Hello, We’re finishing up replacing our interior doors but have run into a snag. We have three closets left; all are double interior doors. I measured the width, and they’re 23 3/4” wide. My plan was to just remove the old, buy the new prehung, and put those in place as the hinge mortises are...

We’ve got two locks on exterior doors that are awkward and need to be replaced. One is from the kitchen to the back deck, and the other is from our bedroom to the same deck. The bedroom one is broken, and not lined up. It’s a weird setup in that to lock the door, you lift up on the handle to...

I know it’s not something to lose sleep over, but I’m a perfectionist. We’re changing all switches to rocker switches. I have a couple three way switches that are not in the same “position” as other switches in a dual bank box. So as in the attached pic, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th are OFF, (left...

We tore out the side posts and old mantle, and I built a free floating wood beam mantle. I was going to use a French cleat to mount it to the wall, but I was going to use a 2x4 for the mount , but only have 4” of space for that. A 2x4 French cleat won’t work due to space. I don’t think 3/4”...

We had our countertops replaced, and bought an air switch for the disposal. The installer said I’d need an extension for the switch because it would be to short. I bought the extension, but then looked at the switch and countertop, and I don’t see why I would need an extension. The tops are 1...

We have a project goIng on after replacing our countertops in the kitchen. The old tops had 4” tile backsplash that I’m in the process of removing. It tore the heck out of the wall, so I’m going to remove all the damaged drywall and replace it with new. I’ve run into an issue with a 4’x6’...

I have a four burner cooktop in my kitchen. We just had the countertops replaced and the guys disconnected the cooktop to install the new counter. They didn’t tell me which wires went to which, and from what I’ve seen on the net, it’s not how I think it should be. So the outlet box on the wall...

I ordered an Ecobee 3 Lite and picked the self install. I started unhooking the wires on my old thermostat which is a Trane XT500C. I found that the old thermostat has a black wire going to the X2 terminal. This is a heat pump system, so that's what's confusing me. On the OLD Trane...

I recently had some new tile and backer board installed. Yesterday, me and my brother in law tried to set the toilet. When it went down, it didn’t feel like the wax ring compressed much, so he suggested doubling up wax rings. We did that but in the process of trying to line up the bolts, he...

I started a new tiling job in my hall bath this week. I had to breakup the old tile, and it came up pretty easily. Now, I just have the old mortar on the floor. My first question is, can I tile over that mortar, or do I have to scrape it up? I'm hoping I can go over it with new mortar, but...

We’ve been in our house for a couple months now, and have run in to a fireplace issue. It’s a dual fireplace setup, one upstairs and one down with separate flues. We haven’t used the downstairs one yet, so I’m not sure if it’ll have the same problem. I had a sweep clean both flues when we...

We just moved into a new home and I’m looking for info on the HVAC. I don’t see any info in the paperwork on the AC unit. I think it’s a heat pump only because it’s been running during our cold days when the heat comes on. I’ve only had AC units at my other houses and they didn’t run in the...