There is an easy way and a hard way to do add a telephone jack. The easy way is to buy a wireless telephone jack and plug it into an electrical outlet. The hard way is to buy the hardware, cut a hole in the wall and run the line.
Mike Klimek
Home repair columnist
Email: handymanoflasvegas@msn.com
Mike Klimek is a licensed contractor and owner of Las Vegas Handyman. Questions may be sent by email to handymanoflasvegas@msn.com. Or, mail to 4710 W. Dewey Drive, No. 100, Las Vegas, NV 89118. His web address is www.handymanoflasvegas.com.
When adding a circuit breaker or tandem breaker, you must prioritize safety first. You will be working inside your main electrical panel and if you lack experience at this, you may want to call in a professional.
If the pressure in your sprinkler system significantly drops, water from the lawn can siphon back through the pipes and into your potable water system. This means that fertilizer, weed killer, pesticides and whatever else might be on your lawn could make its way to your faucet. An anti-siphon valve is a one-way valve that prevents this.
If your pool water has gone from clear to yellow, you probably have yellow algae. The pool store will have chemicals to treat the water. When used with super-chlorination, products such as Yellow Out will kill yellow algae.
Pressure washing provides a fast way of getting rid of surface dirt, it’s easy to use, and it makes you feel like a man as you ruthlessly blast away dirt.
Q: My washing machine is about 10 years old, and it has started leaking whenever I do a load of clothes. Should I fix it or buy a new one?
Q: Recently, you wrote about replacing a water heater’s drain valve. A friend told us that we should also check the anode rod. Is this worth checking? If so, how do we do that?
Q: On the side of my house next to my outside wall is an open area that we want to close in so the dog won’t run out. It’s a small dog, so we only need a fence about 3 feet high. The guy we bought the house from already installed metal poles in the ground for chain-link fencing. My question is, how do I stretch the fencing across the poles?
Installing patio pavers is plenty hard compared to concrete. There is a lot of digging and lifting, as well as the renting of heavy equipment. The paving system is a multistep process that takes several weekends, whereas concrete is done in an afternoon.
Installing a pocket door during new construction is easy because the walls are open and everything is visible. Installing it into a closed-up wall can be a real challenge since you have to cut open the wall.
Q: I am selling my house and need to repair a small hole in my hallway carpet. The hole is about 2 inches square. Can it be repaired, or do I need to re-carpet the entire hallway?
Q: I read your column on draining a water heater and it worked great. However, as I went to turn off the plastic drain faucet, it continued to drip. Is there a washer or something I can replace, or will this turn into a long, drawn-out project?
Q: I was in a model home and saw some beautiful valance boxes above some windows. I found some similar ones, but they were horribly expensive. Anyway, I have decided to try making them myself. Can you give any hints on building these?
When kids splash water out of the bathtub, damage begins at the top front edge of the tub and gets worse as the tub meets the floor. Aside from supervision, you can install splash guards at both ends of the tub to prevent water damage on the wall and floor.
Medallions are a great way of drawing attention to an otherwise boring ceiling or light fixture.
