Popular Mechanics: Homeowners Clinic Expert Q & A - April 2006

Professional Engineer Norman Becker solves readers' dilemmas ranging from adding a second doorbell chime to finding out what those turquiose color deposits are in you water heater.

By Norman Becker, P.E.
October 1, 2009 12:00 AM

Adding a Second Chime
The chimes for my house are located in the front foyer, which makes it hard to hear them when we are in the back of the house, especially in the den. Can I attach another set of chimes to the existing system and install them in the rear hallway?

The simplest solution, which doesn't require running any wires, is to install an electronic speaker and transmitter such as the Dimango Carlon Extend-A-Chime ($46 and up; dimango.com). The transmitter attaches to the low-voltage terminal screws on the transformer; the speaker simply plugs into an outlet.

Wiring a second or third chime to an existing system is only slightly more complicated. If the house has one or two electromechanical chimes, the transformer that powers the system usually can accept a second or third chime. A 16-volt transformer can power up to three electromechanical chimes. If the transformer is underpowered, find out from the chime manufacturer about what size transformer to use, and replace it. If the chimes are electronic, the transformer is probably limited to two chimes.

The drawing at right shows the addition of a second chime. You just run 18-ga. bellwire from the terminals on one chime to the same terminals on the second chime. This wire is so thin that the terminal screws are usually long enough to allow two pieces of wire under the screwhead. Incidentally, this is considered acceptable practice only with simple connections on low-voltage systems, such as door chimes. If a terminal screw is too short to accept an additional wire under its head, use wire connectors to join the new bellwire to the existing circuit.

Removing Creosote Buildup
With spring coming, I'm thinking about removing the creosote from two chimney caps. In the past, I've soaked the caps in solvent and then scraped off the residue, but that doesn't fully remove the creosote. Is there a better way?

You might want to try a product called Professional Strength Liquid Creosote Remover (product No. 97L). It's manufactured by Rutland Products Co. (www.rutland.com), which makes supplies for fireplaces, wood stoves and chimneys. This creosote remover is meant to be used inside airtight wood stoves, and works best when the surface to be cleaned is just under 300 F. It should work on a chimney cap. Spray the remover on the chimney cap and wait 30 minutes, then scrape it off. A quart of the cleaner costs $12.50 at fireplace and wood-stove stores.

Wood Against Rough Sandstone
I am planning to install some interior wood trim in my home and would like to know how to deal with the areas where the wood will come up against some very rough sandstone. I'm considering grinding down the sandstone in some places.

If the wood trim will fit against a rough sandstone edge, I recommend that you cut the trim to fit the irregular outline of the stone rather than grind the stone to make a smooth edge or face for the wood to fit against. This is easy to do using a technique called scribing. You open a compass to 2 or 3 in. wide, and run the pin end of the compass along the irregular edge of the flagstone and the pencil end along the face of the wood. Then you cut along the irregular line marked on the wood using a sabre saw. Test fit the piece of wood against the stone and refine the fit, if needed, using a wood rasp.

If the wood trim will fit over the sandstone and partially conceal it, there are several things you can try to level high spots on the stone. The easiest thing would be to use mortar, then lay the wood on top of that. If this is not practical and you must actually abrade the stone, try using a masonry tool known as a rub brick (capcityequipment.com). This is a large abrasive block used for smoothing recently poured concrete. If that doesn't work, you may indeed have to grind the sandstone using a right-angle grinder and a masonry grinding wheel. Check with a masonry supply or stone supply house to choose the right wheel.

However, bear in mind that grinding is the least desirable way to proceed because not only can sandstone be damaged and gouged, but the dust created by grinding it is highly abrasive and can easily spread throughout the house. If you decide to grind, be sure to wear protective gear, such as safety glasses, a face shield and a dust mask. Protect the house by draping large pieces of plastic sheet from the ceiling to the floor at the entrance to the room. Remove all contents from the room, cover the floor with a tarp, and block registers that are used to circulate air for heating or cooling.

Sheet-metal Work Done Right

Sheetmetal is light, strong, and it can be worked readily with a relatively small number of the right tools. The handful here will take you through most projects.


An indelible marker, such as a Sharpie, is handy for quick and general marking, but a carbide-tip scriber is better for drawing lines through rust, paint and greasy areas (generaltools.com). These scribers cost $2 to $7 at hardware stores and online.

Button magnets (sold at craft stores) can hold a long straightedge to the sheetmetal to assist while marking. They also can hold small tools to the metal and pick up sharp metal shavings.

Use a spring-loaded centerpunch (noxontools.com) for quickly marking hole centers.

Most sheetmetal cutting can be accomplished with compound-action snips, aka aviation snips. These are not to be confused with tinner's snips. Those tools look like a pair of scissors on steroids. The compound-action hinge on aviation snips multiplies their cutting force and enables them to cut sheet-metal up to 18-ga. thickness. Unless you have Popeye the Sailor forearms, however, you'll find that's a stretch. These snips comfortably cut 22-, 24- and 26-ga. low-carbon steel sheet. By 18 ga., you've got your work cut out for you, and you may be better off using a sabre saw.

Snips with red handles cut curves to the left. Green-handled snips cut curves to the right and yellow-handled snips cut straight. Visit cooperhandtools.com for more information.

Finally, left- and right-cutting aviation snips are offered with offset jaws. These are handy when making long cuts deep into the center of a large sheet because the offset keeps your hands clear of the surface.

Use a step drill bit to put clean, burr-free holes through sheetmetal. These bits have multiple steps in their body that allow them to drill holes of different diameters. They also neatly enlarge existing holes. The pair shown can handle holes from 1/8 to 7/8 in. They're made from high-speed steel, a tough, wear-resistant material.

Smooth rough edges using a 10-in.-long single-cut or double-cut file (a file with parallel rows of teeth at a single angle or a file with two different parallel rows of teeth that intersect each other). Smooth and straighten an edge by clamping sheetmetal between two pieces of plywood, and run the file along the metal's exposed edge.

Handle sheetmetal with work gloves that have double-layer leather palms.

My kids laugh when I tell them that I'm reluctant to run to the hardware store for every little part, bracket or whatever. They say I remind them of my father, who keeps on hand a huge supply of odds and ends. "You never know when you're going to need this stuff," he told me many times when I was growing up. He usually said that as I held the flashlight over his shoulder while he was elbow-deep in some repair job. Now it's my turn. Not only do I keep spare bolts, screws and oddities hanging around, I also make my own stuff. Bend a piece of steel in a vise and you've got a bracket that is exactly the size you want. Twist a piece of 12-ga. copper wire or soft steel wire around a screwdriver shaft and you've got yourself an eyelet. What are eyelets good for? Use epoxy to fasten them in a hole to hold screwdrivers and other tools. Or, conversely, fasten them to the handle of a broom, dust pan or garden trowel. Hang the tool from a nail so it stays off the floor.--R.B.

Wood Isolation Joints
I have open isolation and expansion joints in the concrete surrounding my home. Some of the joints are 1 in. wide. I would like to fill the open joints with wood. What kind of wood is best for this?

Since isolation joints are designed to accommodate movement between pieces of concrete or between concrete and another structure, such as a set of steps, wood is not an ideal material. It doesn't compress easily, and it may weather and deteriorate rapidly, especially in a hot, dry Southwestern climate.

Instead, place a closed-cell foam backer rod into the joint and then apply flexible sealant on top of the rod. Backer rods are available at home centers and masonry supply stores. You also can buy them in large quantities on the Web at sites like demandproducts.com or, in smaller quantities, at loghelp.com.

Unfortunately, your 1-in. joints will be hard to fill-not many sealants are rated for joints that wide. You might consider dividing these wide joints with a thin strip of plastic with a narrow-diameter backer rod on each side. Then install the sealant above each backer rod as you would normally.

Water Heater Wears Out
I've had to replace three water heaters in three years. Every time the water heater goes out, the plumbers empty it and it has quite a few turquoise-colored deposits in it. These look like stones but are soft and spongy when wet, and powdery when dry. Their diameter varies from about the size of a pea to that of a dime. What are they and what can be done to prevent their accumulation and, perhaps, save my water heaters from going bad?

Rapid failure of appliances, such as water heaters, dishwashers and boilers, is one sign that your house's water needs treatment to reduce corrosion problems. Contact a water treatment company to have your water tested. Once you know the water's chemical makeup, the treatment company can explain how to proceed.

The colorful deposits may be caused by a chemical reaction between the water, which probably has a high pH level, and the aluminum anode in your water heater. The reaction causes excessive amounts of aluminum hydroxide to form on the protective anode and in the bottom of the tank. (The anode is the sacrificial metal bar that deteriorates so the metal tank does not.) Aluminum hydroxide takes the form of green, blue or gray granules.

If the pH level is 7.5 or lower, an aluminum anode in the water heater is okay. If the pH is 7.6 or higher, the heater should take a magnesium anode.

Water heaters generally are shipped from the manufacturer with aluminum anodes because the manufacturer has no idea about the water conditions where the heater will be used. Contact a plumber as soon as possible to have a compatible replacement anode installed.

Do You Have A Home-Maintenance Or Repair Problem?
Just ask Norman about it. Send your questions to Homeowners Clinic, Popular Mechanics, 810 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019 or pmhomeclinic@hearst.com. While letters cannot be answered individually, problems of general interest will be discussed in the column.

Reader Project

Dave Foster
Orlando, FL

Solar Hot-Water System

While I was brushing my teeth one day, it occurred to me that I could save energy by using solar power to heat the water before it got to my hot-water tank. Rather than buy a solar hot-water system, I designed and built one based on the principle that heat-in this case hot liquid-rises and colder liquid falls. The system has three parts: a solar panel consisting of 12 copper tubes soldered to a copper sheet; a 55-gal. drum that serves as a hot-liquid storage tank; and a 25-ft.-long piece of copper tubing inside the drum. I mounted the solar panel to the roof of my garage and connected the pipes inside it to the storage tank in the garage. The tank works as a heat exchanger: A copper pipe connected to the household water supply runs through the tank, where incoming water absorbs heat from the surrounding fluid and continues on to our existing water heater. (It has a lot less work to do now that the incoming water is preheated.) All I've had to do in 12 years is to add a bit of water to the tank to maintain the liquid level. The system cost about $200 for materials and took about 10 days to build.

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