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.

November 9, 2009

      Dear Ken: We are in a one bedroom condo. Our furnace is in a separate room off the patio. Do we still need a carbon monoxide detector? Lisa

      Yes. The hot air from the furnace still blows into your living space, regardless of the furnace's location. If there's some sort of breach in the heat exchanger, you could be overcome by this insidious (and odorless) gas.

November 2, 2009

            Dear Ken:  I  have a couple of doors that just won't stay put.  They swing open by themselves, so we have to use a door stop.  Do we have to call a carpenter?      Scott

October 26, 2009

     Dear Ken: When we flush one of our toilets, we get a loud humming noise. Do you think it could be our pressure regulator downstairs? Terry

October 19, 2009

     Dear Ken: I have a sewer gas odor in the basement only in the evenings, in cooler weather and also on windy days. Can you help? Francis

October 12, 2009

     Dear Ken: Our new front loading washer is about to shake the house apart. It's on the second floor, so it's very noisy. Any ideas? Cary

October 5, 2009

     Dear Ken: Is it too early to drain my sprinkler system? John

     Actually, you should have been doing it already. The pipes won't freeze and burst until the ambient temperature gets down to about 27 degrees, but why take a chance? In addition, though the weather forecast may say, "Overnight temperatures in the low 30's", if you're in a low-lying area , you may get to the freeze-up point.

September 28, 2009

           Dear Ken:  I want to remove that popcorn ceiling in my home.  But the drywallers disagree.  One wants to remove it, the other wants to cover it with new drywall.  What do you think?             Carlos

September 21, 2009

Dear Ken:

We have an 800 square foot basement.  About how much would it cost to finish it out?

Jim

September 14, 2009

Dear Ken:  I want to get the new HDTV signal into my TV and get rid of the satellite to save some money.  But in my retirement area, we are limited as to what we put on the roof.  What can I do?

Julie

 

September 7, 2009

 

            Dear Readers:  The heating season is just around the corner;  this is the ideal time to schedule that furnace check up.  Why?  When the first cold snap hits, the heating and air conditioning companies get swamped with requests to light pilots and to clean and service heating systems.  You'll have to get in line then and may not be able to schedule a visit when it's most convenient for you.