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.
Q: My bathtub is old and abused, and I am tired of listening to my wife complain about it. I would like to replace the tub, but I am a little nervous about taking on a job of this size. The walls of the tub area are ceramic tile and the tub faucet comes out of the wall instead of sitting on the tub. What is the most difficult part of this job?
Q: One of my neighbors recently moved, and as a parting gift, he gave me an airless paint sprayer. I want to paint my living room. I have never used a paint sprayer before, but he did give me the manual. Is spraying paint easier than using a brush and roller?
Q: We are from California and just moved into a new house. The problem is that the water in Southern Nevada is different. My skin is dry and itchy right after a shower. I understand that a water softener is in order, so I bought one that uses salt at a home center and am ready to install it. Fortunately, we have a loop in the garage, and I have sweated copper a few times before. Is there anything to look out for?
Q: We are remodeling our bathroom and would like to install a new countertop on our vanity. We are buying a new drop-in sink and would like to buy a laminate countertop to go with it. We need a simple rectangular top with no cuts for a small vanity. We have seen these in home centers and were wondering how difficult it would be to install.
Q: We have several squeaky floors throughout our house, along with a stair step that squeaks. Anyway, we are getting new carpet and thought that now is the time to get rid of the noise. How should we approach this job?
Q: I have vinyl flooring in my kitchen. Around the perimeter of the room, I would like to install some vinyl base molding so that the entire thing is washable. Is this any different from installing wood molding?
Q: My niece is just tall enough to pull out my kitchen drawer and hang on it. Over time it has become wobbly and is hard to operate. How can I fix this?
Q: On my side yard, I have grass that leads to a backyard patio. I would like to install steppingstones as a walkway leading to the patio. I want to keep the grass, but I don’t want to set the stones right on top of the grass. How can I accomplish this?
Q: I have a patio door handle that is all screwed up. The thing hardly even locks anymore. Can I repair the lock or do I have to buy a new one?
Q: I found a nice wooden chair at a garage sale, which I purchased very cheaply. The only problem is that I need to refinish it. How do I go about stripping off the old finish?
