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Fixing wrought-iron railings
Q. My parents have wrought-iron railings on the outside steps and one of them has broken off (they are about 35 years old). The folks are wondering if there is any way to fix the broken railing, or if they have to replace them all. The railings were mounted right into the cement of the stairs.
Donating used windows and doors
Q. We are going to be doing some work on our house, and I hate to send perfectly useable materials to the landfill. I'd love to find a charity that would accept windows, doors, kitchen cabinets, etc. Do you know of any?
Fixing refrigerator leaks
Q: I am getting quite a bit of water on the floor under and in front of my refrigerator. I can't find where it is coming from, but it's enough to be a nuisance. What can I do to stop it? PAUL O'DONNELL, Reading
How to repair a patio
Q. I have a patio with bricks that were laid on top of dirt. Now some have sunken and they're not spaced evenly. Also, weeds grow between the bricks.
Eliminating black mold; dealing with cracks in wood floors
Q. In one second-floor bedroom, behind a large bedstead, I am getting a goodly amount of black mold on the painted wall and was told that water vapor collected behind the bedstead and condensed on the cool wall, causing mold to grow. I cleaned off the mold with a special cleaner and preventer, and it is gone. Am I in ...
Covering an asbestos floor
Q. I am having a new vinyl floor put down in my kitchen. The installer said there are two layers on there now, the top of which contains asbestos, and is curling at the edges. Also, a third layer might bring the floor too high, and may interfere with the under-the-counter dishwasher. What should I do?
A new liner for the chimney; cleaning tile grout
Q. A chimney sweep cleaned my chimney and showed me where the smoke pipe takes a peculiar turn before it goes into the chimney. He also said the clay flue liner is badly broken up and even has chunks of wood in it, and needs to be replaced. He also said he would relocate the smoke pipe to go through ...
Simple problem, lazy workers
Q: Can I put an air conditioner in a window that faces a closed-in breezeway that has jalousie windows? Also, my oil burner is noisy. I know that putting a plasterboard ceiling above the heater will reduce the noise, but I was told I can't do that because there are wires and pipes on the joists that will interfere with ...
Removing beet stains; securing chimney cap
Q. How can I get a beet juice stain off my plastic counter top? Dishwasher liquid helps some, but not enough. How about a blackberry jam stain? Fantastik did little.
How to fix chipped bathroom sink; subway gives house the shakes
Q. My 35-year-old bathroom sink is chipped quite a bit. Would reglazing work? My friend's sink peeled in less than a year. Is there anything else I can do? AL, Franklin, Va.