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Q: The door of our bedroom closes on its own. How do we fix it so that it stays open without using a doorstop?
A: Your house has settled, so the door is no longer hanging level in its frame — that’s why the door closes by itself. Carpenters I’ve talked with over the years recommend that something be wedged between the lower hinge and the frame of door. This will compensate for the settling and help level the door.
There are two ways to do this without removing the door. One is to loosen the screws holding the bottom hinge to the door frame just enough to slide a cardboard shim underneath the hinge. (Any flexible piece of cardboard will be sufficient.)
Tighten the screws. If there is some, but not enough, improvement, loosen the screws again and fold the cardboard to increase the thickness of the shim. You can fine-tune the shim until the door stays open.
The second technique requires that you remove the door pin from the bottom hinge. Then bend the pin slightly by striking its head gently with a hammer on a hard surface such as concrete. Then tap the pin back into the hinge. The bent pin supposedly creates enough resistance to keep the door from closing by itself.
Q: My mother is having carpeting installed in her upstairs hallway. The hallway floor squeaks when you walk on it. How can she get rid of the squeaks before the carpeting is installed?
A: Squeaks typically result when the subfloor starts separating from the floor joists. To end squeaks caused by large gaps beneath the floor, you’ll need to fasten a piece of scrap wood against the floor joist so it fits snugly against the subfloor. The wood will support the subfloor, preventing it from moving down to the joist.
If carpeting is being installed, your mother can probably attack the problem from above.
Find each squeak, then hammer a long finish nail into the floor so that it goes into the floor joist. If the separating floor and subfloor cause the squeak, two nails should be driven into the floor at opposite 45-degree angles.
Make sure that the nail head is driven below the floor surface so it won’t pop up through the underlayment and the carpeting. Perhaps ringed nails would accomplish permanence.
Q: I have a leak originating in my bathroom. The plumber wants to replace the lead drains at a cost of $2,800. The drain taps coming from the vanity and tub do require replacement. To do this, a part of the bathroom floor needs to be ripped out. The floor, sadly, is mosaic tile that may not be easy to replace.
What’s the best way to remove these tiles? Do you know what kind of drain taps I would need if I tried this myself?
A: I’d get a couple of additional estimates, because $2,800 sounds steep. I don’t know what’s involved in the work, though; you need to ask for a breakdown of the estimate before hiring someone. When you review the estimates, make sure that the work to be done is exactly the same on each. Don’t do it yourself. This job is best left to plumbers, because you could make the problem worse.
You are right. Rescuing the mosaic tiles won’t be easy. Is it basketweave common to turn-of-the-20th-century baths, rather than mosaic? Even if you had patience and proper tools, the tiles are probably embedded in concrete, and you would need to chip that off the bottom of the tile. I’m speaking from experience here. Don’t even try to do it.
Is there any way a plumber could reach the drains through the ceiling below the bathroom? If not, try the Internet to see if someone is still manufacturing or has access to professionally salvaged tiles that match yours or come close.
Q: I am trying to remove plaster to expose a brick wall. Is there a special kind of tool I should be using?
A: Unfortunately, there’s just no easy way to get the job done. A hammer and cold chisel are what I have used for such a task. I wore gloves, a mask, and safety glasses during the work. The wall beneath ended up not being worth the trouble.
There could be asbestos in the plaster if the building predates 1980. To be on the safe side, you should wear a respirator recommended by experts — check the Internet when doing the work.