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...
Air for Your Gas Appliances
There are two forms of air that are needed to make gas appliances work properly. Without them things go haywire and it could kill you and your family. There is makeup air and there is combustion air. Although they both do the same thing they are though of in different...
Glow Igniter Failure
I was called to fix a gas fired forced air furnace the other day. It was one I was familiar with. This one is on its side in the crawl space. Not the ugliest situation, at least it was dry, had light, and was free of major obstacles or creepy crawlers. Upon...
Gas Water Heater Failure
No hot water is the symptom but what could be the cause. I responded to the home of a client that we did a major remodeling project work for in 2012 which 5 years after installation. What could be wrong? Its a gas water heater, for cryin' out loud, such simple...
Recent Posts
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...
Gas Oven Failure Fixed
I've been working on a Viking Professional natural gas oven that was not heating properly. It is a simple system that has very few parts or controls. The burners were burnt out and that was the first obvious sign, I bought an igniter thinking that it was the problem...
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