omagic12

I do not guess that your guess is posted two weeks after the OP told us what the answer is.

This reply is probably too late, but here it goes anyway. This would be the cheapest route, maybe not the best route though: Looks like the chimney is capped of and the stove out of use or gone. I would : 1) Start at the top of the chimney and wire brush as much soot off as possible and then pressure wash the entire chimney and roof with a de-greaser or simply green and thorough rinsing and let dry overnight. 2) Primer paint the entire chimney with one or two coats of BIN Grey (deep base) Shellac primer/sealer and two top coats of dark red exterior latex paint. 3) Paint the mod-bit with a non-fibered aluminium roof coating.

And remember to kiss it and tell it you love it everyday [:-angel]

Every picture tells a story.. don't it? I want to avoid that.

Thank you I-57. The grill I purchased doesn't have curved vents, and doesn't seat against the ceiling as tight as it should. I will return it and get one with curved vent's and hopefully a thicker foam perimeter. How does this sound: I'll seal the boot inside the wood frame with this caulk: http://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Dynaflex ... /100035980 , coat the boot with latex duct sealer and cover with a water heater insulation blanket ?

Yes, there's three 3' W x 5' L windows and a glass/aluminum patio door (all are tinted) with fabric roll blinds on each. The new duct helps. but due to the windows and door it's not as cool as I hoped. I adjusted the vents as suggested by inspector57 and in combination with this beauty: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I2 ... UTF8&psc=1 it's cool.

This is the vent I purchase: http://www.lowes.com/pd_64335-45311-ABS ... uct_price| . I could add this http://www.lowes.com/pd_36708-34146-APS ... uct_price| if needed. Should I seal it with caulking or spray foam? wait til dried and then cover with insulation.

Duct is installed and pushing as much air as the existing ducts. I think I sweated off 5 pounds that will need to be replaced with beer. Thanks for all the replies.

I should have been more specific. The patio/lanai is semi-enclosed, as a set of sliding glass doors were removed and has been partially walled off to separate the patio from the living room. There's also french doors that lead from the patio to the master bedroom that also provides return (gaps) even when closed. The attic extends over the patio and has about 19R worth of insulation. I plan to put a saddle starter boot a bit before the main duct elbow and 6R flex pipe to the register boot. Click to Enlarge 46.79 KB Click to Enlarge 39.08 KB Click to Enlarge 25.06 KB Click to Enlarge 27.14 KB Click to Enlarge 35.76 KB Click to Enlarge 50.22 KB

2/2, 1100 sq. ft condo located in mid-west coast of Florida. I am adding a duct run to cool/heat an enclosed 10'x12' patio. New 2.5 ton, 15 seer Rheem split system installed 4 months ago. Before the ac unit was installed I told the installer/owner that I plan to add a vent to the patio and to make sure the new system was sized accordingly. I enclosed (boxed) this boot: http://www.lowes.com/pd_31696-85334-GVL ... facetInfo= with 2x4"s between the ceiling joist and anchored with screws inside boot to 2x4's. I plan to mastic the seams and collar (flex attachment) and wrap any of the boot's exposed metal with insulation. Should I caulk the space between the boot and wood enclosure on the attic side or should I stuff it with insulation? My gut feeling is to just stuff it with insulation, because if it were to condensate caulking could make it worse and possibly grow mold.

Thanks for the clarification of the float valve/switch. They told me there is a trap in the drain, but I can't tell as it's covered by the plywood in front. i want to rip that piece off, but when I pried a bit of it up I felt a suction. I am not sure if it serves a purpose in the return air flow? I ended up tearing out the wet drywall under the air handler and water heater and underneath the return duct there was a good amount of water. I am convinced the a/c condensation is the issue. I aimed a high power fan at the bottom of the return duct to hopefully evaporate the water. So, do I hold the AC company accountable for the float valve not working properly? I feel I should as it's single function is to protect from what i am experiencing now. I've used the a/c guy a few times over the past few years and I hope he is willing to be civil about it. Total repairs will be low if the carpet is salvageable. We planned on replacing the bathroom + kitchen tiles anyway. Underneath those tiles is black (probably asbestos) cut back which is a whole 'nother issue that I am dreading.

I just replace the wax ring with this http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-To ... er_reviews . The old wax ring didn't seem to have any visible issues or tears and the pipe flange is solid. Hard to tell if the new ring is sealing because of the water being pushed up from under the tiles. AC company came by a bit ago and the drain from the air handler through the slab to outside near compressor was completely blocked. They suctioned it out with a vacuum and added a bit of bleach to water to check drainage, which is fine now. He informed me now, what he didn't inform me during installation that the flow valve cannot be tilted or the cap loose (angled) at all or it won't work properly. They installed so tight that when we open the closet doors it must have affected the flow valve because the a/c never shut off (like it should have) and it was leaking out of the condensation pan. I' going to opt for installing a condensation pump to help avoid this issue in the future. i spoke with him about one before installation three months ago and he didn't think it was necessary. I cut a few access panels through my son's closet as I wanted to make sure it was a tub drain or valve leak. I didn't see any leak from top (behind shower head) to bottom (tub drain), but I did see water that appears to be running from the back side of the tub (near the air handler). I hope opening the a/c condensation drain solves this issue, but it may take a few days to monitor.

Turned off all water taps in house and meter dial does not move (good news). Removed toilet and it doesn't seem to be leaking, but I will use a funnel gasket when I replace it. There's wetness near my air handler when I felt where the drain connects to the air handler, but no obvious drip.The air handler is located in a closet in the utility (washer/dryer) room, next to the bathroom. The air handler and the hot water heater are on a wood platform about 2 feet above the floor. Underneath the air handler is an enclosed air return and drain pipe from the handler. It's a bit wet in the adjacent space (under the platform) that is not enclosed under the water heater. The water heater is definitely not leaking and it has a 2" high drain pan . We just had a new split system unit installed 3 months ago and it has a valve that will not allow the a/c to run if drain water is backing up. However, the a/c runs and blows cold air as normal. If, it is leaking from the a/c it might be flowing underneath the tub and through the wall bottoms into my son's closet. If not my next guess is: It might be leaking behind the shower wall and only leaks when the shower is on. My son's closet is wet in the corner directly behind the shower/bath tub. Now I am debating whether I should spend $300 for a leak detection company or just cut out part of the closet and get to the plumbing and use those funds for the repair. I called the company that installed the a/c unit and they are coming out today to check it out. Click to Enlarge 62.47 KB Click to Enlarge 30.97 KB Click to Enlarge 47.37 KB Click to Enlarge 30.41 KB Click to Enlarge 30.49 KB Click to Enlarge 32.48 KB Click to Enlarge 64.95 KB

Thanks Jim I plan to wet-vac and fan the bathroom tiles too. Should I be concerned about mold/mildew under the tiles?

A month ago I installed a dual flush toilet in our guest bathroom and now there's water coming from beneath the tiles + grout, as well as into my son's closet (carpet) located behind the bathroom. There's no noticeable drips or leaks from the base, tank, spigot and hose when I installed it until present. The base doesn't leak on top of the tiles. I'm at work now (night-shift) and when I get home I plan to check the water meter while all taps are turned off to see if the dial is spinning or not... to rule out an incoming/ copper pipe leak. I will also pull the toilet and check the (extra thick) wax ring to look for leaks. I hope that it is just a bad wax ring seal. About half of the closet floor is wet and a 2' x 2' spot near the closet. His room smells like mildew, should I replace my son's (commercial grade) carpet and padding or wet vac the carpet and replace the wet pad section?

Electric only, no gas. According to some posts, on the various sites I browsed, an HRU is more efficient than solar and can be used year round. However, with HRU it takes about 5 years to recover the initial cost: http://www.homedepot.com/p/ZeroEnergy-H ... c=17588969 This one is on the expensive side, but supposedly very efficient. http://www.olivetreeenergy.com/residential/

Home is in mid-west coast of Florida (Tampa Bay area). We have a 2 bedroom 1250 sq. ft. single story condo/villa (built in 1985) that we purchased two months ago. The AC unit was old and we knew would need to be replaced within a year or so, but turned out to be much sooner. Last week we got a Rheem 2.5 ton, 15 seer split system heat pump with electrical heat strip backup whole house A/C unit installed. Since downsizing form our 3/2 2000 sq. ft. home (built in the 1950's) in the same area, I am looking for more ways to cut energy cost. Going form a 10 seer / 2 ton unit to our current one in combination with a programmable thermostat should lower our a/c cost by 25% or more. Now I am turning my attention to the hot water heater and have been reading up today on a/c unit heat recovery systems to heat water tanks. There is currently a limiter used that is provided by FPL (power company) that limits use during peak times and I keep a blanket wrapped around the heater. I read that timers don't really help save electricity for water heaters. An HRU seems like a very viable savings especially in Florida where the A/C is needed about 9 months a year and heat about 1 month total. The other 2 months we like to keep the windows open as much as possible. Does anyone have experience with these? What type of savings is expected? Is there one brand or type that is recommended more than others? Any other relevant comments or suggestions towards energy savings are welcomed.

Come on fellas you are supposed to do my leg work for me [] and instead I have to answer my own question [:-monkeyd. I called around a few local flooring stores and the consensus is to not scrape it and use a Ardex Feather Finish: http://www.ardexfeatherfinish.com/ as a skim coat and then use Flexbond, Versabond or similar to adhere the tiles.

Test the lid switch for continuity or try this

Recently purchased a condo unit in Florida built in 1985. The kitchen and second bathroom have a couple cracked, hollow and missing ceramic tiles. A layer of old, black cut-back adhesive (most likely laid down when built) is underneath the tiles and apparently not addressed properly or at all when one of the previous owners had the current tile installed. We would like to install ceramic tiles again, but would settle with peel and stick vinyl if need be. I've read through a lot of post on various sites that provide good info and suggestions, but I'd like to get input from the brain-trust of TIJ. This link:http://www.flooring-professionals.com/dealing-with-cutback-adhesive/ provided a lot of info connected with use of primers. Mohawk Sure-seal falls within as it suggest scraping until "residue" layer. Encapsulators require scraping too. Others have suggested using an elastomeric fast-dry concrete "link" topped with a a higher quality thinset like Flexbond or Versabond. If I go the peel and stick route Armstrong S-700 Thin Spread Floor Tile Adhesive can be used without scraping down to the residue layer. The cut-back could possibly contain asbestos or may be a bitumen compound. Any experiences or suggestions for both ceramic and/or peel and stick vinyl?

Thank You Sir. I can do that.

Kurt, if you are going to go Redneck you will need a can of PBR in one hand, a Marlborough in the other and Kenny Chesney blaring from your truck or trailer. The likely scenario is whoever buys my place will want to modernize it with new windows and stucco.The playdough exterior home look is popular on my street. The sill will get addressed at that point.

Steven I can handle constructive (no pun intended) criticism well and agree that it could look better than it does. I am the first to admit that I don't like such household projects anymore and look forward to selling my home (if that day comes) and moving into a condo or villa. The conundrum lies in the fact that things have needed to get fixed in this old house and I can only afford to hire a professional for upgrades (not repairs) that I can't do myself. I tried a brush, a roller, my hand and a flat blade with the grout to emulate the existing exterior coating, but couldn't match the pattern well. IMO the sparkle-crete under the window sill that came off when the sill fell is what makes it look bad. If I matched the old texture for that part only the sill wouldn't even stand out. My wife and I intend to put a few plants along that wall so eventually the sill may not be seen. I attached a couple pics after one coat of paint. Download Attachment: Painted Sill Front.jpg 1171.24 KB Download Attachment: Painted Sill Side.jpg 1370.75 KB