Diamond in the Rough

Buying a house with changes in mind?

Many people including myself, when considering a house purchase, look beyond the existing house and the existing condition of the house. It is “the diamond in the rough” syndrome.

We hear common statements like: I love this yard. It is just perfect, as soon as I put that fence up in the back to block the view of the dumpsters. Or, this house is just what I was looking for, after I add that big kitchen on the back. We hear many statements like this. We hear many plans that our clients have for their new purchases that we don’t hear during the transaction. Sometimes these plans fail, because of things they did not take into consideration.

For example, when the plans include anything that is on the exterior of the property, it is important to check with the local Zoning Commission. Zoning is the way the government controls the physical development of land and the use of each individual property. Zoning laws typically specify the areas in which residential, industrial, recreational or commercial activities may take place. Besides restricting the uses that can be made of land and buildings, zoning laws also may regulate the dimensional requirements for lots and for buildings on property located within the town.
Some zoning ordinances regulate how far from property lines additions or other improvements can be. Other zoning laws are not so obvious, such as restrictions on the type of windows that are allowed as replacement windows, the allowable height of a fence, or what kind of fence can be used. Some zoning ordinances also regulate the extraction of natural resources from land within the zoned area, others provide space for hospitals, parks, schools, and open space and still others protect places of historical significance within the community.
Since zoning ordinances are set and regulated by each individual town, city, township, or village, it is important for our clients to check with them before making plans.
If the plans include remodeling that will disturb any of the original building materials, it may be necessary to test any questionable materials. Most testing is not expensive, but will help determine if any special precautions or special handling of the building material is required for the remodeling job. Knowing this in advance is important from a budgeting standpoint.
A professional home inspector can determine the condition of the property and have testing done on questionable building materials, but a home inspector will not give estimates on repairs or remodeling.

Small jobs can add up quickly, not to mention additions, kitchen and bath remodels, and paint. As a handyman I was always happy to give my clients an estimate on the repairs and remodels before they purchased their “Diamond in the Rough”. This helps with a realistic cost of your finished diamond.

Knowing the facts and getting professional advice will help make a good investment for the buyer.

Running at Night

As a handyman I receive a number of questions about leaking toilets. Here is an example of the questions I receive;

Our toilet comes on in the middle of the night and runs and then stops. But it
doesn't visibly leak. This is very annoying and I am concerned that there is a
growing problem that may be hidden. It may be doing it all the time.
Is it time for a plumber?


This may be a problem you can fix without a plumber. What is happening is water is leaking from the tank into the toilet bowl. When the water in the tank gets low, the float triggers the ballcock to add water in the tank. When it gets back to the correct level it shuts off. What you are hearing is your toilet repeating this pattern. This is the same thing that happens when you flush, the only difference is with a full flush the tank dumps all the water at once into the bowl. The reason the tank is losing water is because the flapper is not sealing properly. The flapper is the device that covers the hole leading to the bowl. The hole the flapper covers is called the flush valve. To see this device, just remove the top of the toilet tank, and look in the tank this device will be on the bottom in the middle of the tank.

To see how it works:
While looking at this device flush the toilet. You will see the flapper rise up and let the water into the bowl to flush it. When the water is gone, the flapper will rest back over the hole (flush valve) and the ballcock will allow water to refill the tank.

The most common reason for the flapper not sealing is residue building up on the flapper valve and the flush valve. Here are some steps you can take to fix this problem.

 Turn the water supply off to the toilet (this valve is on the left-hand side facing the toilet and near the floor).
 Remove the top to the tank.
 Flush the toilet and hold the handle down until most of the water drains out of the tank.
 Lift the flapper enough to clean it and the rim of the flush valve (an old tooth brush and liquid soap works good)

If cleaning does not keep this valve from leaking, you may have to replace the flush valve and the flapper. This is not a big job and also not costly. Even though this condition is not serious, it should be corrected to preserve water, not to mention that enough water can be wasted to notice a difference in your water bill.

Remember making your own repairs can be rewarding, but know your limit, making a bad repair can cost a lot more to repair than the original problem. Don't forget that your local handyman is just a phone call away.

Plumb Out Of Ideas

As a handyman I have had my share of stopped up toilets, slow drains, and leaking drain traps. I remember I pulled a toilet to clean out the trap and found eleven doll heads. As a handyman I took on a lot of simple plumbing jobs, but I left the big jobs to the plumbers. Here is a question I received, and this one sounds like they need a plumber;

We live in Valdosta in a slab home that was built in the sixties. We are on public sewer system. We have lived here for ten years and up to this point we have never had a problem with slow drains. The weird thing is that the drains work fine, until we wash a lot of clothes, or take several baths in a row, and then every thing backs up.

Judging from the age of your house and the symptoms you described, you have a clogged or collapsed yard drain. The drain line for the sewer runs from your house to the street, where it connects to the public sewer system. These lines can be crushed from tree roots or maybe just clogged. The reason that the drains only clog when you use a lot of water is because the lines are not completely clogged, but partially blocked. So after the lines drain, under light use, you have all of the lines to fill before it starts to back up. With heavy use, the lines fill faster then the partially clogged drain can drain.
For a temporary fix you can buy some drain line cleaning crystals, that you can flush down the toilet. But the best way to fix this is to have a plumber clean and scope the drain. If they tell you that you have “Orangeburg” pipe, you will need it replaced.

The Top Of the List

As one Handyman to another, we all understand the importance of routine/preventative maintenance; to limit our risk of premature failure to our large ticket items, such as cars, furnaces and AC unites. However, there are millions of dollars a year spent on replacing roofs that may have lasted a lot longer, had they had routine maintenance. Roof maintenance is an important part of overall home maintenance, and should get the same routine/preventive maintenance that we give our heating and cooling systems. With any system, routine maintenance will give it a longer service life, and keep it at maximum efficiency.
Many things can contribute to shortening your roof's life, such as algae build-up. If your roof is dark in color, you may have algae. These stains are often confused for sap, soot stains, and rust. This algae needs inorganic material to support its growth, which it gets from the filler material in the asphalt/fiberglass shingles. This algae is found in approximately 75 to 80 percent of the United States, but grows best in warm damp climates. If algae is the only symptom your roof is exhibiting, it may be professionally cleaned to add years to the life of your roof system.
Proper ventilation of the attic space is important to prevent premature aging of the shingles, due to excessive heat. Proper ventilation will also reduce moisture build-up that can damage the wood components of the roof. An easy way to check for attic ventilation is to observe the attic space in the daylight with the attic lights off. Where you see daylight, is an indication of venting. It is also important that you have cross ventilation. For example, if the roof has soffit vents (vents at the eves) and has ridge vents, the air will flow from the soffit vents through the attic to the ridge vents. Cross venting helps to prevent hot spots in the attic. You may see soffit vents on the outside, under the eves, but may not see light in that area from the attic side. The most common cause of this is when the attic insulation has covered the soffit vents. If this is the case, just pull the insulation back until the soffit vent is open, and look for light.
It is also important to have good insulation in the attic, especially if you live in a cold climate. Proper insulation will help prevent ice damming. Ice damming occurs when the heat from your house passes through a poorly insulated attic, thus melting snow or ice on the roof, allowing the melted snow or ice to run down to the lower edge of the roof where it can refreeze. As the snow or ice refreezes, it forms a dam. When the dam gets large enough, the water that is hitting it will start running back and under the shingles. This will cause the roof to leak and can damage ceilings and walls.
Here are some preventive maintenance tips that can help reduce the chance of getting leaks, and help avoid premature roof failure:
 Trim back any overhanging tree branches.
 Keep the roof free of debris.
 Keep gutters free of debris and in good working order.
 From the ground, with the aid of binoculars, inspect the roof for missing or broken shingles.
 Inspect all flashing; around chimneys, valleys, pipes, and butting roofs.
 In your attic with the aid of a flashlight, inspect the wood decking under the shingles for water stains.
 If you see signs of leaking have it repaired right away.

If your roof is more than twenty years old, you should consider having it inspected by a professional roofer.
Remember your roof is a major system of your house, and deferred maintenance of this system can be very costly.

Frozen and Airless

I have said it before, and I will say it again,from my point of view when it comes to home remodeling or home repairs, I feel there is no substitute for the professional handyman or other service technicians. However I also think that a homeowner can learn to do simple repairs and trouble shooting in their own home, as long as they know their limits and call a professional when the job is over their heads. sometimes things are simple if you know the basic things to look for.Here is an example of a call I received;

We recently bought a three-bedroom ranch with central air-conditioning. We have used the unit just a week, and it was working just fine. But the unit stopped working on one of the hottest days we have had. It was cooling just fine at the beginning of the day, but even though the air was still blowing cold, less and less air was coming out of the vents. I did notice a lot of frost on the sheet metal above the furnace, and on the air-conditioning lines going in to the sheet metal.
We turned off the unit and have called an air-conditioning company.
Is this a big problem?





The restricted airflow through the coil is causing the frosting you see. The coil is similar to a car radiator and is located in the air supply duct of the furnace. The connection to the air-conditioning unit located outside chills the coil. The coil cools the supply air to the central air system. Since this is the same duct system that supplies heat, the coil has air passing through it all of the time. Dust and dirt can clog the coil, restricting airflow. When the airflow is restricted during the cooling cycle, the coil will start to freeze; the more it freezes, the more airflow is restricted. Soon no air passes through the system.

Here are some things you can do when the coil freezes:

v Change the furnace filter.
v Turn the thermostat setting to the fan-only position until the airflow returns to normal.
v Check the condensate line to make sure there is a good flow of water.

Routine maintenance and changing the furnace filter often, will help this from happening again.