Thermohydraulics

As a columnist, it’s my job to save you money and time on every repair or improvement project you plan for your home.

When I woke up just before writing this column, it was a balmy 15 below zero here at my house in central New Hampshire. A gale was blowing and the wind chill was -41F.

You may wonder how I got my start as a builder. The hook was set in Boy Scouts, when I obtained my home repairs merit badge. I then helped pay my way through college working on the weekends and during the summer for a man who restored old homes that he bought out of foreclosure. After graduating from college with my geology degree, I decided to start my own construction business.

In the time between your morning and nighttime routines, your bathroom sink gathers all sorts of gross buildup. Blobs of toothpaste, makeup spills, soapy residue, hard water spots and more can collect on the surface throughout the day, creating some serious grime that can’t simply be rinsed away when you wash your hands. A daily wipe-down with a damp cloth or a cleaning wipe can help deter some of the worst gunk, but you should plan to do a deeper clean about once a week.

Q: I live in a highrise condo building. Recently, a sewer pipe burst outside my condo between units. The water caused a substantial amount of water damage to my kitchen and the floors in my unit.

Remodeling your basement into extra living space? Consider adding a bathroom using a macerating toilet system that doesn’ t route the flush water through a drain in the floor like a traditional gravity force toilet. Instead, the“ above ground” system is designed to move it to a macerator pump that grinds the waste in the flush water, and the contents are released...

Two months ago I made a trip to Cincinnati to attend a retirement party for one of my geology professors. It’s my hometown, and when I go back I spend at least a week there visiting friends. One of them, Tom, a grade school friend, invited me to a gathering about 60 miles east of Cincinnati in Maysville, Kentucky.

Winter brings frigid temperatures for much of the country, and when temperatures plummet, the water that supplies your home’s faucets and fixtures is in danger of freezing inside your pipes. Because water expands as it turns to ice, frozen pipes are prone to bursting, which can result in costly water and plumbing damage throughout your home. At the highest risk of freezing are pipes that run against exterior walls and those in unheated or uninsulated places, such as the attic, basement or garage.

In these turbulent financial times, I want to share as much of my accumulated knowledge with you as possible. In this column space, I’ m going to try to save you money each and every week. This week we're going to talk about the toilet, a fixture shrouded in mystery to many homeowners and even to experienced DIYers.

In general, grass needs 1 to 2 inches of water a week for a healthy root system. Keep an eye on the daily temperature and make sure you water the grass before the first frost. This will strengthen the grass and protect it from cold damage.