Weekly Columns

Both current and archived weekly newspaper columns. The date of the column and a teaser of the column appears below. Click on the date to see the entire column.

June 15, 2019

     Dear Readers: It’s time to service the air conditioning system; this can be an every-other-year procedure at your house. Why? Our cooling season is so short here that our A/C systems aren’t especially overworked. Your furnace, however, is another story. If it goes bad, it can let dangerous fumes into your house, so it needs an annual check, clean and service. Incidentally, some HVAC companies will give you a special price—usually around $100 or so—if they can service both systems in one trip....

June 8, 2019

     Dear Ken:  Our 1916 house has 9" square floor tiles with 15% asbestos. How should we remove them to put in new flooring? We tried to pry one up and it broke. Dale

     Most everybody now agrees that it's a good idea to leave this material in place. Your breaking one probably released some asbestos fibers into the room air, so you can imagine how much contamination would result from tearing up the whole floor!  Removing it would require the services of an...

June 1, 2019

     Dear Ken: Someone wired our two basement bedrooms with no ground wires to the outlets. We now have our computer in the basement and feel we need a ground. Can we do this without tearing out the walls? Rick

     It's easier than you might think. The general rule is: if it has a three-prong plug, it needs to be grounded. This applies not only to your computer (the ground helps carry harmful static away), but also to big appliances with metal frames and certain power...

May 25, 2019

     Dear Readers: Now's a good time to get ready for the inevitable summer "monsoons" coming soon to a neighborhood near you. 

May 18, 2019

     Dear Ken: My smoke detector has started to go off when someone takes a shower.  It's wired into the electrical system. Should I replace it? Stu 

     The water vapor combined with dust may be fooling the detec­tor into thinking it senses "smoke". Older detectors do accumulate cobwebs and dirt inside; it sometimes helps to remove the cover and blow some canned air in and around the innards of the unit. But considering that you can get a new one...

May 11, 2019

     Dear Ken: Our home has a woodpecker that is damaging one side of our house.  What's the best way to get rid of this pest? Larry 

     Contrary to what seems obvious, these birds don't see your home as a snack---but as a great way to meet the new Mrs. The tapping is territorial and is meant to stake out an area for breeding and to ward off interlopers. Trouble is, once they’ve chosen your house as a rendezvous, they tend to stick around. Hanging tin...

May 4, 2019

    Dear Ken: Could you do a column on radon as it applies to private homes sometime? Charles

     Researchers are beginning to re-think the methods used to gather and to ex­trapolate the historical data into today's concerns about this stuff. Radon is a colorless, heavy, slightly radioactive gas. It is produced as a natural result of the decay of uranium deep underground. It can seep into the lower levels of a house, and---so the theory goes---when it's concentrated...

April 27, 2019

     Dear Ken: I used some Vaseline on the base of a decorative light bulb.  I thought that it would come out easier when I had to replace it.  But it seemed to make it worse.  Is there a better way? Lori

April 20, 2019

     Here's my semi-annual lecture on drainage. As a former builder, I spook easily when water in or around a house is men­tioned. There's nothing that can cause more loss of sleep, heartache and value erosion than to be stuck in a house with those dreaded "water problems". Buyers and their agents tend to stay clear of those properties, simply because there are so many others that are dry!

     This is an ideal time to analyze, repair and fine-tune the...

April 13, 2019

     Dear Ken: My wife and I go round and round on this one. I'm from the southwest and think a swamp cooler is all we need. She's from back east and wants central air. Will you break the tie. Gary.