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: 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?
