Home improvement chat—01/08/03
HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat room. Today, Henry Harrison, home improvement expert and host of Help Around the House, is here to answer your questions. Hello, Henry!
Henry Harrison: Hello the holidays are behind us , but that doesn't mean we can't keep celebrating. So let's have a fix-up information party.
Question: Can you give an easy way to make a window seat in a straight or angles window ???
Henry: One way is to locate the studs along the walls, and build out using the studs as support.
Q: We need a door to close off our family room from our kitchen. The door way is 66" X 80"H. We have looked at french doors and the sizes are either too big or too small. Any ideas would be very helpful!
Henry: One idea is, if you need to take up space, put in a set of small French doors and fill up the space on either side with matching side lights.
Q: We are having problems locating a contractor to help us with an addition. Could you give us any ideas that could help us locate a contractor?
Henry: The first thing I would do is check with the local National Association of Home Builders for recommendations, then maybe contact the Better Business Bureau. Another source is people in your area who have made additions to their homes.
Q: I have a driveway that slopes down to the garage and when it rains the garage is always wet, any suggestions?
Henry: My first suggestion is to install gutters over the garage. Make sure the downspouts are directed away from the garage. This will help, but will not completely solve the problem. In lieu of tearing the driveway out and completely re-grating, you can install a drain directly in front of the garage door.
Q: How do I take out a kitchen vent fan?
Henry: If the vent fan is located over the stove instead of under the stove or built into the stove, you can carefully disassemble the cabinet that holds the venting system, or sometimes you can simply unbolt the vent from the duct work and reinstall a new vent.
Q: Hi, Henry. How do you connect an arc fault circuit breaker to the breaker box?
Henry: There are different types, but most of the arc fault breakers are installed at the breaker box.
Q: Thanks, Henry. But how do you install (wire)an arc fault circuit breaker into a breaker box?
Henry: The best thing to do is to have an electrician come and do it, because it involves turning all of the power off to the breaker box. And that also, depending on the area where you live, must be done in a specific manner. There are some breakers that can be installed at the location for individual switches.
Q: Would it be okay to paint dark paneling white?
Henry: Yes, but remember the paneling will need to be primed and sealed first. Then painted with at least two top coats.
Q: We just purchased our new home and would like to put a mantle over the fireplace how can I attach it to the brick wall?
Henry: You can start by installing anchors or lugs in the masonry joints. Also when anchoring, make sure anchor sleeves match the size of the lag screws that will anchor into the mortar joint. Use a strip of lumber. Most mantles that are lightweight recommend using two by two inch lumber as a ledger board. Once the ledger board is anchored into the joints, the mantle can be secured to it.
Q: So I will need a masonry drill bit?
Henry: Exactly.
Q: And it'll go into the mortar joint not the brick?
Henry: The reason for going into the mortar joints and not the brick, if he decides to remove the mantle he will be able to repair the mortar where the lugs and anchors were very easily. If you drill into the brick those will be repairs that will be very, very hard to make.
Q: Are there any "new" shows with Henry, and if so, when will they be aired?
Henry: We're in the process of taping new shows, please check your local HGTV listing for dates and times for the 300 series.
Q: I have a scratch that I need to get out of my mothers dinning room table. I saw a show you did which talked about a product called rubbing powder (I think). I have not been able to find such a product. Is it sold under another name or where can I find it?
Henry: It's called pumice or rotten stone. You can usually find it at some of the older hardware shows. You can also get it online at woodworkerssupply.com.
Q: Won't that scratch the wood (of dining room table)?
Henry: Basically what it is, it's a very, very fine stone. It's real fine. If the scratch is real deep and the wood is not solid you may have to completely re-veneer the top. If it is solid wood, the top can be completely sanded and the top refinished.
Q: Henry, love your show, although I don't like the new time slot. I miss watching it, because I have to work. Any segments on widening a doorway?
Henry: Not that I can think of, but that's a good idea for a segment. We've changed a lot of doorways, but we've never widened one.
Q: any ideas on where I can get info on doing the door way?
Henry: Basically what you'll need to do is to remove the existing door. If you already have your new door, the directions that come with the door will tell you how wide and how tall the rough opening should be. Once the door and the trim have been removed you can open up portions of the wall by removing the sheet rock or plaster and positioning new studs according to the specifications of his new rough opening. Make sure that you get the new studs and the new header in place before to much demolition is done. So you take out a little and you add a little. It's a surgical process, but very simple.
Q: Henry, I've enjoyed watching Help Around the House at 6:30 p.m, but recently it's not been in our area. Can you tell us when we would be able to get it in the NJ area?
Henry: Eight o'clock Saturday and Sunday mornings during the " Weekend Work Zone."
Q: Hello, this is my first live chat, so please be patient! Henry, love your show and need help with how to make a refrigerator door level. Advice or a reference to a show or book gratefully appreciated.
Henry: Usually there are adjustments that can be made at the hinges. By loosening the screws and moving the door either up or down. If this doesn't work you can completely remove the door and insert washers either on the top or the bottom hinge. Before place a level on the top of the door to see which way it's leaning. Make sure it's the door that needs adjustment and not the feet on the refrigerator.
Q: With the refrigerator door, I can only see screws that would let me take the hinges off the body of the fridge. There is one hinge shared between the freezer door and bottom door and one on the very bottom and one at very top. Do I have to take this all apart to get to the bottom door bottom hinge to open that up and put in a washer. Raising it this way seems like it would work, it's not that much off level more like too low. Scared to take all the doors off the fridge and have my Hubby in fumes!!
Henry: It won't be a problem because depending on how the doors are situated usually the top door is just resting on the bottom door. Remove the top door first, then once the top door comes off the bottom door is a piece of cake. Most of the time the doors just lift straight up and there will be metal pins and brackets that connect everything. The bottom bracket can stay in place. Don't be afraid.
Q: Hey, Henry... how do you clean an outside metal fire door?
Henry: The most effective way, if the door is iron, is by sandblasting it. However you must be very careful and start by using what I call sugar sand, which a very fine grade. Start in an inconspicuous area and work down to a coarser grit. Once you find a grit that works, go ahead and blast the entire door. You can rent sandblasters at most of the major home centers. Wear gloves, long sleeves, goggles, dust mask and be very careful.
Q: It's my front door, and I don't think it's iron.
Henry: If it's a front door, it is best to remove first and then sandblast it. Is it an old antique iron door? If it's a new metal door, forget sandblasting.
Q: I have a Larson Storm door that I'm having problems with. it's rubbing against the frame, I had the installer come back and adjust it. but its out of line again and the warranty has worn out, I've tried tightening the screws but it works good for a while and then it starts rubbing the frame again
Henry: On the hinge side of the door, that part of the frame will need to be moved closer to the surrounding structure. One way to do it, without complete disassembly, is to use three inch galvanized, coarse threaded screws. Make sure that the screws go through all of the pre-drilled holes in that side of the frame. If this doesn't work you can remove the storm door and shave a quarter to a half of an inch from the support structure on the hinge side.
Q: Hi this is probably the wrong group, but I need some information on how to build a dog house /Kennel.
Henry: You can purchase plans at your local home center. Most of the houses can be constructed with exterior grade plywood. The kennel and fencing materials can also be purchased from the major home centers. Another good source for information would be one of the pet specialty stores like PetSmart.
Q: The upstairs bedrooms are cold. I have a Cape Cod house in PA. The kneewalls are insulated and the house is heated by hot water baseboard heat. When I put things to store in the area behind the kneewall it is freezing in there. Any suggestions on how to warm the bedroom?
Henry: Call out a heating specialist to give you an assessment of the heating requirements. Is there proper ventilation in that upstairs bedroom? Even though it's cold there must good ventilation and air transfer. Are the heating vents on the floor, along the walls or on the ceiling? Is the duct work insulated?
Q: Henry, I have white particles floating in my tub from the hot water heater!!! I have had it drained and the elements replaced ?????
Henry: Probably what's happened is that since the elements have been replaced there is still residual at the bottom of the tank. This was leftover from flakes and deposits leftover from the old elements. What needs to happen is the tank needs to be flush. Draining is pretty effective, but does not allow you to remove the deposits that are resting on the very bottom of the tank. There is a procedure that you can follow for flushing a water heater, it is usually contained in your owner's manual. If you don't have your owner's manual you can go to an appliance store and view manuals from heaters that are close to yours.
Q: Should I reflush the heater? It only happens in the one tub...
Henry: Is that particular tub close to the water heater or at the end of the line.
Q: YES it (the tub) is right next to the heater!
Henry: So what's happening is the debris gets to the tub first and even if the tub is not used the debris is routed there it just sits and waits until it's open. Every thing else down the line is clean.
HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thanks for joining us tonight. And thank you, Henry, for answering our questions.
Henry Harrison: Thanks for being with us, and don't forget to watch us faithfully on the "Weekend Work Zone."
