Wood Floors on Concrete, Plumbing Repair and Finding Carpet Stains

This is a very full show covering many different topics. We start off commenting on a article in Fine Home Building magazine about wood floors over concrete, address two listener questions (one on leaky faucets and one on garbage disposals), and then we wrap up the show with a tip from Brian about how to find pet stains in carpet.

Wood floors on concrete

Can this be done? Sure it can. Brian and Paul comment on an article in Fine Homebuilding. The Author, Charles Peterson, discusses a technique that uses two layers of plywood and a vapor barrier to create a stable, floating, subfloor for installation of your finished floor. Check it out and listen to The Handyguys comments in the podcast.

Drippy faucets

The Handyguys love getting questions where the answer is simple and inexpensive. We received this question from Cheryl

I have a leaky bathtub faucet, it started dripping and it has gotten worse, do I need to replace the entire faucet? My house was built in 1953 and I’m guessing the faucet is probably that old too! It consists of two knobs, one of hot and cold and the spigot of course. I think both the hot and cold are leaking, I can’t really determine which one it is! Thanks for any help you can provide.

Cheryl – Thanks for your question. NO, you do not need to replace the faucet. The fix is pretty simple. We assume you mean the drip is coming from the spout, not from behind the handles. Our friends over at hammer zone have put together some instructions. I’ll let you read them instead of my recreating the steps here. Check out HammerZone’s how to replace a washer article and listen to our podcast for details.

There could be a few other issues. Give the washer replacement a try first, its easy to do.

Some possible pitfalls

• The washer screw is broken off
• The seat (what the washer presses against) is damaged
• Parts are corroded preventing removal
• The handle you have may remove differently than in the pictures at hammerzone

If you have trouble please let us know. You can hear our discussion of the issue in the podcast.

Garbage Disposal Smells

This stinky issue keeps generating interest. We have received many tips and tricks. We thought we would answer Dave’s question and pass along his tip.

I always shut off the circuit breaker to the disposal anytime I am going to stick my hand in there. Just to be sure that it will not turn off.

Have you guys used Draino? I had a problem where soft foods weren’t getting shredded enough to go down the drain so I started getting an odor. I poured draino down there and after it sat for awhile I ran it again and the food and smell were gone. Do you know of any problems in using draino in a disposal. ex corrosion or other problems?

Good tip about the circuit breaker Dave, better safe than sorry. As for Draino. Yes and No. It depends on which draino product you are considering. Check the label. The crystals are not recommended for garbage disposers, the gel is fine according to the manufacture. Bottom line, check the label.