I know that when you go looking for a faucet whether it’s for the kitchen, bathtub, shower or the laundry room, you have a certain style and color in mind. Whatever you have in mind about style, make sure that you keep in mind a quality faucet, like Moen. Moen is known for quality and there must be millions of homes in the San Antonio and Houston area that have Moen in there homes and all they ever have to do to keep up maintenance is change out a cartridge once every 10 years or so. Every hardware store in the US carries Moen cartridge replacements or can get it in a day or two. Unfortunately everyone and his brother is making faucets, and having them made over seas. Getting parts could be a problem and then what do you do? What if the faucet is in the shower and it is giving you only cold water? It could cost you thousands of dollars to open up the tile wall, take out the old faucet and put in a Moen. I know that you probably think by now that I own stock in Moen, nah…but this happened to me. We bought a beautiful home closed to Trudy and Kim, and it was 12 years old. It has a single lever faucet in the shower and was giving me nothing but hot water! So far, 2 plumbers have been at the house, they look at the job and just walk away. They both said the same thing, “We can’t get parts”. The last plumber said that he thought it was the mixer valve. So if you are looking to replace a faucet, get the style that you want, and make sure you get a Moen. My dad and I built homes and apartments, and always used Moen and we never got a call about a bad faucet.
Oh by the way, I finally got my faucet fixed. I found the part myself, and fixed the faucet too. And that’s why they call me, “The Happy Handy Man”.

Now to the e-mail…..

Question: Hello, we have had doves congregating on our upstairs deck and making a mess. They have a nest in the hollies along our back border. Do you have any suggestions for discouraging them from hanging out on our deck? Would one of those Styrofoam owls work?
Answer: Bye, Bye Birdie bird repellant comes in a caulking tube that you just put in the areas that the birds are lighting. It’s sticky and when they land on it, they don’t like it. They will find a new place to land.

Question: Which is the best radiant barrier to use?
Answer: I could write a whole article about radiant barrier. Don’t fall for that product. They are great sales people but remember, for every $1 you spend on energy 46% goes through your old windows, 22% is ductwork, 17% for walls and roof, the last 15% is lost when you open and close the doors and windows. If you get dust on any aluminum product that claims to be a radiant barrier, then what ever it was supposed to do, it doesn’t. Please save your money, spend it on vinyl windows that have low E, and put insulation in the attic.

Question: Johnnie we have a rod iron fence along the back of our lot. It’s only 4 years old and is already rusting. Everyone I call says they will replace it- isn’t there anything else we can do?
Answer: There is a great product called Rust Cure that you can spray on the rusty spots and get rid of the rust. Here is how you use it- spray on the rust, wait 30 minutes, wipe off residue- wait a week for it to cure. It will turn a gun metal grey, and never rust for many years. After the 7 days, you can paint with Rust Scat enamel by Coronado. Your fence will look great, and you will have saved some money.

Got a question for Johnnie? Tune in to Johnnie's radio show Saturday mornings on KKYX from 11-12 or call (21) 341-1573. Reach him on the web at www.AcmeLumber.com.