Home & Garden - 26 December 2007

I thought that the new, low- energy bulbs were supposed to last longer but some of mine have 'blown' or' fused' (or whatever these bulbs do) after only a few weeks. The base of the tubes turn black and they have a 'burnt' smell. Have I just been unlucky or am I doing something wrong?

2007-12-26 05:49:54 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Maintenance & Repairs

here is the floor plan:

http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?image=planms4.jpg

there is a master bedroom next to the living room. separated by a thin wall. it also have a door. i knock my hand on the wall and it sounds hollow...so i think i can knock it down. but i want to move it instead. i want to make the living room a bit bigger. so i want to move the wall about 2' ft. into the master br or next to the master br closet door.

this wall have some electrical outlook, a small steam radiator next to it, a phone jack. so how much would it cost to move this wall if i were to hire someone? thx in advance.

btw..this is a condo on the top floor (6 fl. elavator building) in brooklyn and i confirm i can do whatever the hell i want in this condo since i own it.

2007-12-26 05:25:50 · 2 answers · asked by seafood10 3 in Do It Yourself (DIY)

I want to plant a tree in my yard to celebrate my son's birth. Is there a store online that offers this as a service??

2007-12-26 04:58:45 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Garden & Landscape

2007-12-26 04:52:34 · 6 answers · asked by Thomas P 1 in Maintenance & Repairs

2007-12-26 04:29:24 · 5 answers · asked by View 1 in Cleaning & Laundry

I bought it a couple weeks ago, but I was outdoors with it for about an hour in really low temperatures. It seemed fine when I got it home and the leaves lasted about a week then they all started drying up and falling off. I'm not bad with plants normally I actually have quite a green thumb with tropical plants ( which are all doing really well). I'm just not sure if something's happened to the plant or if it's just responding to the cold. I'm new to bonsai so could someone help me?

2007-12-26 04:25:59 · 3 answers · asked by trinisugar 3 in Garden & Landscape

2007-12-26 04:15:14 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Decorating & Remodeling

The earth seems to be very fine as if it had been sieved,I do not think it is moles.What other animals create these sort of mounds?

2007-12-26 04:12:18 · 11 answers · asked by Clyde C 1 in Garden & Landscape

I have a ceramic kitchen sink that sits on formica. When we bought our house, we noticed that the caulking was old and there was some water seepage. We tried to recaulk but that didn't work due to the moisture underneath. What would be a good way to fix this problem? I'm afraid if I just let it go, the formica and wood underneath will rot/warp causing more problems.

2007-12-26 04:08:39 · 3 answers · asked by TopRamen 3 in Maintenance & Repairs

I am looking to paint my room but there's one problem. I have a huge piece of furniture that is impossible to move. How Can I paint around it.. the sides arent the problem.. it's the top that I'm going to have trouble with.

2007-12-26 04:03:16 · 8 answers · asked by Diana Z 1 in Decorating & Remodeling

2007-12-26 04:01:08 · 2 answers · asked by Buckleigh 2 in Garden & Landscape

2007-12-26 03:57:00 · 7 answers · asked by Berenice B 1 in Decorating & Remodeling

i have an idea in my head of how i want to decorate my room, i know this type of theme has a name ( or at least i think it does :S ). The colour scheme is default bright pink and darkish green (or vice versa) and one of the items is a lcd pink flamingo wall light and kind of coloured frosted glass ornaments. Do you understand my theme ? any ideas ?

2007-12-26 03:53:25 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Decorating & Remodeling

I am a handyman by nature. I do all my own plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and painting. One thing I have never done is lay a ceramic tile floor.
I own a 50+ year old house with a small kitchen, about 200 sq ft. The floor was originally white ceramic tile that we did not like. Several were broken. I removed them only to find that the person who put them down, placed them directly on top of the original hard wood floor. Many of the hardwood boards were so rotton I could push a screwdriver right through with little effort. I removed the hardwood floor only to find that the toung & groove floor is all dried out, cracked, split and weak.
I plan to replace the subfloor with 3/4 or 5/8 plywood, then place a layer of 1/2 hardboard (already purchased) then the tile. Since I hace never done this before (brave guy I am) I have some questions.
Do I need to put a layer of cement between the plywood and hardboard and screw it to the studs? If so what size trowel notch is needed? Advice

2007-12-26 03:47:20 · 10 answers · asked by captbob552 4 in Do It Yourself (DIY)

Hello every one

I want to paint my home but I am looking into buying a paint sprayer. does any one have any suggestions.

2007-12-26 03:32:53 · 6 answers · asked by bigbuddy 1 in Do It Yourself (DIY)

other ideas of natural products? Also need any type of cleaning tips one might have.

2007-12-26 03:31:02 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cleaning & Laundry

The fuse was blown in the house. When i switch the circuit breaker on it switches off again. Any ideas as to why??

2007-12-26 03:28:51 · 11 answers · asked by kelko 2 in Maintenance & Repairs

uuugghh, I clean like 3-4 hours a day! It's endless!

2007-12-26 03:26:08 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cleaning & Laundry

Yeah, I got a Dirt Devil Kurv for christmas, but it didn't come with instructions. How do I change the filter, empty it, and stuff like that? Any advice/help would be great because right now all I can do is turn it on. Thnx!!!

2007-12-26 03:15:47 · 2 answers · asked by Annie 4 in Cleaning & Laundry

Over the past few decades, what techniques have carpenters used to keep homes and other buildings level over say 50 to 100 feet?

Would it be correct to assume that bubble levels can lead a project to be off by several inches over 50 or so feet?

(I realize that new lazer tools have dramatically increased accuracy in recent years.)

2007-12-26 03:13:40 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Do It Yourself (DIY)

Ok, I'm in my office and some candles that smell like concentrated dish detergent are wafting their overwhelming odors in my direction.

I'm about to puke.

Does anyone else get sick from these super strong candles? I got so many scented candles for christmas my house smells like Pier 1 and it's driving me crazy.

What's with this craze anyway? Is the whole world in a rotten funk? Why do we need these things around?

2007-12-26 03:12:37 · 3 answers · asked by Avelyn 4 in Decorating & Remodeling

2007-12-26 03:04:47 · 12 answers · asked by prettygirly0412 3 in Do It Yourself (DIY)

I just applied a "library red" color to my wall which looks pretty depressing so I want to buy a new lighter color instead...can I apply it directly on top of the red?

2007-12-26 02:46:03 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Decorating & Remodeling

I wore my new sweater (92% cotton/8% cashmere) several times and due to the dress shirts I wore underneath, the wrists on the sweater are stretched out a little. Would dry cleaning help fix this problem?

2007-12-26 02:44:51 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cleaning & Laundry

I have a Coleman heat pump that was put in 1987 and the emergency heat light came on and won't go off. It is giving us heat but through the emergency heat. What can we do about it? Thanks.

2007-12-26 02:42:50 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Maintenance & Repairs

i think i have spider mites on my plant. we are supossed to get rain today so i brought it outside. the temps are in the mid 40s and lows around 35 or so. will this kill the spider mite.

2007-12-26 02:39:55 · 6 answers · asked by weather 6 in Garden & Landscape

i bought a washing machine brand new an the inside shakes all around , the service center is closed today, but said when they delivered it , they probably forgot to remove strap an shipping pin, found yellow strap put no shipping pin. can anyone help me with this need to wash clothes today

2007-12-26 02:39:06 · 1 answers · asked by HELP IS AN ANSWER AWAY 1 in Cleaning & Laundry

My wife was up at 4 this morning feeding our 1 month old and saw black ants on the kitchen counter. Over the course of a few weeks they have gone from are bedroom bathroom to the hall bathroom and now into the kitchen. We live in NC and have had no rain for months so we thought they were looking for water. I sprayed and treated both bathrooms and they didn't return. Thing is my wife hates bugs and so she grabed the ant killer and sprayed the counters this morning and they died but then she was upset when she looked at the bottle and it said do not spray were food is prepread. "shes a little sleep deprived with the new baby and everything so she wasn't really thinking clearly" she cleaned the whole kitchen with 2 diffrent kinds of cleaner, bleach and clorox wipes so my question is, is it safe now to lay stuff on the counters since she cleaned them that much.

2007-12-26 02:38:50 · 5 answers · asked by Mr. Allen 1 in Other - Home & Garden

2007-12-26 02:29:24 · 14 answers · asked by Big Sis 2 in Other - Home & Garden

I currently have a water heater that has a dual capability to heat the house. Here is what is happening...

I set the thermostat to around 120, but it doesnt stay at 120. by the end of the day the water is around 140-150 and it causes the t&p valve to let go of a few gallons of water into my garage.
if i set the thermostat to the lowest setting, when i wake up the water is about 80 degrees but gradually goes to about 140 again by 6pm and the same thing happens with the t&p valve.

I replaced the electric thermostat but it still has the same problem. It is a bradford white with a single electric thermostat opening on the bottom, but uses gas to heat the water and send hot water through the air exchange to heat the house.. is there anything else I can check.. anyone.??? I called a local plumber but they had no idea of that kind of tank. go figure.

2007-12-26 02:28:13 · 10 answers · asked by Slippy C 2 in Maintenance & Repairs