Call Your Handyman

As a handyman I receive a lot of questions from homeowners about how to do small repairs on their home. In most cases after I am done answering the question, I am asked how much it would cost to have a handyman do the job. Here is such a case;

We bought a 50-year old house; it had an old wood-fired heater in it with a round flue to a chimney. This flue went through the cinder block wall. Also the house had a furnace with a large pipe going through the cinderblock. We got the old heater out and replaced the furnace with a heat pump. Now we want to turn this room into a nice laundry room. My question is how do I plug up these holes in the cinder block so we can start with the project? Both of the flue holes are about 8" in diameter.

The cinder block has two faces that are two inches thick. The best way to repair the holes is to cut out the two-inch face. Cut the whole face out around each of these holes. Once you get the face cut out, you should have a hole sixteen inches long and eight inches high. Make sure that you have cut this out at least two inches deep.
You now need to buy two “patio block” (1-½X 7-½x 15 ½) and a small bag of mortar mix.
Use two wood wedges to center the patio block in each of the holes. Try to get the patio block not only centered but flush with the face of the wall. Mix some of the mortar mix with water, but not too much water. The mix should be thick, not runny. Take the mix and pack it in the space around the patio block. Give it about an hour to set, than remove the wedges (slowly). Now pack some mortar in the holes left by the wedges. For a finished look, strike the joint with a half inch piece of copper pipe.

Remember if you have a professional handyman take care of those jobs around the house, it will give you more time for fishing.