Search results

I posted this thread in the HVAC forum too, but thought someone here may have ideas too- We have a new-to-us log cabin in central Maine. It is 20 years old, built on a crawl space which has a plywood skirt around it, with blue foam insulation inside the crawl walls. No insulation under the...

Greetings We have a new-to-us log cabin in central Maine. It is 20 years old, built on a crawl space which has a plywood skirt around it, with blue foam insulation inside the crawl walls. No insulation under the floor. The crawl is about 3 feet deep. All plumbing is in the right corner of...

Greetings We are new owners of a vacation home / log cabin in central Maine. This first winter, we plan to visit once or twice a month, leaving the interior heat at about 50 degrees. The cabin is built on a 3 foot deep crawl space, with blue foam around the inside perimeter of the crawl...

Greetings We have a well that is suddenly running brown from the cold taps but clear from the hot taps. Not sure if either of these are relevant, but (1) we are in the middle of a spring thaw with lots of melt on the ground, and (2) we had a 5 day power outage ending 5 days ago, during...

Greetings After the last ice storm here in the Northeast, we are in the market for a generator. We had an electrician come out and install a Reliance transfer switch. Now, what do we buy to hook up to it.... Looks like these are the options: 1. Buy a propane-fueled generator. We...

Greetings from the northeast's ice storm After 75 hours, we finally got power back this morning. As soon as the burner kicked on the hot water tank started to leak from the cap at the top of the tank. Husband took off the cap and tightened up the screws and the leak slowed to a drip...

Hello all. We went up to the in-laws' summer camp in central maine yesterday to open it up. We turned on the furnace (which runs on propane) and 2 or 3 minutes later I opened the front door and smelled a horrible burning smell. Shut off the furnace and found some fur just inside the exhaust...

It looks like the snowblower got a little too close to the well cover. The well cap has two good-sized nicks in it but they look to be very superficial wounds. We've noticed no problems with the water quality or pressure, so can we assume "all is well?" Is there any chance that something...

I'm wanting to insulate the pull-down staircase going up to my attic. Are there companies/ stores where I can buy a pre-made/ fitted unit, or do I have to make my own? tia for any info

After a day of cleaning, with heavy use of the slop sink and washing machine, I have water dripping from the plywood / ceiling in my basement. It's right below where the washer and slop sink are (which are side-by-side on the first floor). The drip seems to have started about a half hour AFTER...

In our continuing effort to solve our power woes (our electronics keep getting zapped during storms) we finally got an electrician out who discovered that the pole at the street, which has a transformer, should have a line going from the box at the bottom into the ground but does not. This is...

Our 2.5 yr old hot water tank is leaking from the top of the tank, and there is no hot water... Also, there is a little black box on the side of the tank with a green light that is blinking. we had a power surge yesterday with lots of breakers tripped... not sure if that could have done...

Our house/ AC system is 2 1/2 years old. We tried to fire up the AC this week to be sure it was functioning and it was fried. The tech came today and advised that the contacts on the switch unit were completely corroded from exposure to moisture from our power venter, which is located about...

I'm hoping for some tips on where I might find an inexpensive replacement sink for our camp. We now have one of those old metal cabinet structures, all white, with the sink built in to the top. The sink is in the center, and the box measures 54" left to right, 36" tall and 24" deep. I'm not...

Hello all We got socked with heavy snow here Tuesday night, and the power was out for 20 hours. When it came back, our well water was brown. It seems clear now, but should I be testing it? Our well is 2 years old and 450+ feet deep. Thanks for any responses!

Can it hurt anything? I want to clean the kitchen sink sprayer and the toilet tanks to dissolve hard water crud. An internet search suggests the toilet tank is okay as long as it isn't left for too long (how long is too long?) and that it's okay on chrome sprayers only - not sure why only...

We have a two-year-old toilet that is running intermittently. It began to run every few flushes and would stop when we lifted the tank cover and tapped the black float (I think that's what it is), which would cause it to get unstuck and raise up enough to stop the running. Husband went in and...

Perhaps this isn't a plumbing question but you all know so much, maybe you can direct me. Internet searches have not turned up much. We have a 2yr old home with hot water heat. They installed the power vent right under the bedroom window, which keeps us awake at night in the winter (and I...

Greetings from the flooded northeast When we get a LOT of rain, we get water coming in to the basement at the hole in the concrete where the well line comes in to the house - the opening is about 8 inches from the floor and enough water is seeping in so that we need to wet vac it every few...

Not sure if this should go here or in the "Pumps and Wells" section, but here goes. We have a new house built in a relatively low area. The house on the hill next to us has their vent pipe in their backyard. Ours is above our roof. (We only have one.) We frequently get a very strong sewer...