Now that spring is here and all that cold weather is behind us we can start all kinds of projects.  And if you can’t do them yourself, and if you have to depend on someone else, you have to be careful.  Just picking up the yellow pages and getting some one to come to your home and paint, remodel or put a roof on – I’m not sure that is the way I would get a responsible person.  People that do remodeling and do a good job, hang out at lumber yards.  So if you need a good contractor – checking with your local lumberyard is a smart thing.  Because if a contractor does bad work, doesn’t pay bills, slow to finish, they know about it.  And good contractor and lumberyards kind of of work hand in hand.  Most contractors are very pleasant to work with and once on the job have great ideas that they give you.  Those great little ideas are like bonuses.  Every good contractor will be glad to give you a list of people he or she has worked for.  When you decide it’s time to start the project go to your home town lumber yard and meet with the owner or manager.  You can discuss with them the type of project you want to start and they can suggest the best contractor for you.  They will have lots of projects that they have worked with the contractor- and they will know all about the jobs.  That is valuable info.  I am telling you about this because I get heart wrenching calls from people that just go to the yellow pages and pick the cheapest contractor.  Cheaper is not better.  And lumberyards have lists of contractors for painting, plumbing, roofing, or just a small contractor that can do just about anything.  Now your lumberyard will not guarantee the work, no one can, but if your fish in the right hole- chances are the good ones are there to be used. 

Now to the mailbag…..

Question:   Howdy!  We live in the Woodlands and have a kitchen door that is solid wood and very heavy.  As its aged the door is either no longer square in the frame of the top hinge is weakening.  So the door sticks at the top corner opposite the top hinge upon opening or closing.  Without have to re hang the door or replace the hinges- do you have any ideas?

Answer:  How about let’s tighten the hinges.  Screws get loose so lets open the door and one at a time take a screw out that screws into the jam of the frame.  Not the door.  So here is how your going to do this.  Take the top screw in the hinge out stick a wood match into the hole and break it off and now screw the screw back into the hole.  Do this with all the screws – including the door side if you need to.  This will usually do the job. 

Question:  Johnnie- crown molding was added to bedrooms and now we need to cover the nail holes.  Is there such a thing a paint putty?  We are senior citizens and the less we spend on ladders the better.  By the way- we love love love Quick Shine!

Answer:  Dap makes a spackle that you can fill the hole with that starts out pink and dries white.  And when it’s dry you can paint.

Question:  Our sprinkler system started making a loud noise when it’s turn on.  It’s almost shaking the walls and sinks of our house.  I remember reading one of your articles about air bubbles but I forgot the sequence. 

Answer:  Well you have lost your air cushion.  This is the way to restore that.  Turn the water off at the street and then go turn all the faucets on and then go and turn the water back on.  Then start turning off the faucets.  This will restore the air cushion.

Question:  My front door was a beautiful golden oak finish which has now faded.  It is not a solid wooden door but a plastic material.  It does not warp, peel, shrink or have any of the other problems associated with solid wooden door in Texas.  I want to restore the original golden oak- what can I do?

Answer:  Before you would have to call a good painter and have them take the varnish off and restain and the revarnish.  There is a product made by Howard called “SunWax”  that can restore the luster back to your door.  I used it myself and was amazed about how well the door looked.  “Sunwax” has lots of UV protectant in it – which is what our front door needs. 

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KTSA (5500 AM) from 9-11 or call 828-8907. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.