Gas Furnace Flame Sensor Fix
The flame sensor was an ingenious solution to a serious safety problem. On a gas furnace, they provide an incredible safety feature when they are working right. When they aren't they become a menace and cause silly service calls. For some reason there seems to be a...
Failing Exhaust Duct work
A client called to report a hot exhaust wall in their bathroom. Naturally fire and Carbon monoxide poison come to mind. The gas water heater exhaust and the 80% furnace exhausts commingle and go up and out of the home in a double walled oval exhaust flu. The home was...
Is My House Toxic?
I have always enjoyed understanding building science and have dabbled in the realm of an amateur of sorts trying to discover what is causing a home to make a resident feel ill when they are inside of it. Being a former Paramedic, I blend my knowledge into a pretty...
Figuring Out a Three Way Switch
Three way switches used to frighten me, they seemed so complicated. I found a great residential electrical book and redrew the diagram several times until I thought I had it figured out. Inevitably, I ended up not trusting myself and randomly switching wires around...
Hey, Is That A Contractor In Your Pocket?
Technology is becoming so important. I have seen the future and it dared me to think big. It begs the question, "Is that a contractor in your pocket? Or are you just happy to see me?". My daughter Athena lives in the Bay Area 800 miles away but she is able to get me...
French Door Repair
I have a Peach tree French door that has been troublesome for awhile. Having them out of business has been a pain in the butt. They has some proprietary weatherstripping that is no longer available and the parts are getting harder to find. I had to replace the door...
Recent Posts
My Floor Feels Like A Trampoline
In an effort to make houses as comfortable as possible you set up your stuff and it looks good, some stuff is fragile and you would assume that the floor is stable but we see all sorts of stuff that flys in the face of a solid floor. The Big 3 Questions Turns out...
How Old is My Water Heater?
A neighbor of mine had me come over to fix a supply line that had failed on his ancient water heater. Apparently, I had told him a few years ago that the supply line was failing and he needed to fix it. To my shock, he reported that he uses some Flex Seal in an...
Faulty Shutoff Valve Floods Home
An acquaintance had her shut-off valves replaced recently from the gate valve type to the 1/4 turn shut-off style not because they were bad but because she wanted to update things and not have to worry. Talk about proactive property maintenance! The Weakest Link There...
Help My Roof is Popping
I get some intriguing questions from time to time. I could not pass this one up. A popping roof means it is not just a weird occasional issue, it actually wakes her up. This concern is that the house is in some danger of collapsing. Although possible it is unlikely...
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