Cool DIY things I learned this summer
 

There are some things I always assumed were very hard (and thus paid vast amounts to have done for me) that I discovered are quite easy.

1. My uncle was visiting from SF and showed me how to replace the fill valve in my toilet. The only difficult thing was the corrosion that made turning off the water a feat requiring brute force.

2. I installed several ceiling lights and switches. Both are so easy I'm pissed at myself for all the $$ I've paid electricians over the years to do it for me.

3. If your house is older and you are replacing 3-way switches, pay extra attention to the location of the wires on the old switches. 50 years ago electricians apparently didn't follow conventions on wire colors.

Question re dryer
 

Well, after a trip to the local home depot, I have run into another problem: nobody makes a 24 " wide dryer any more. 24" was apparently the standard 15 or so years ago, but dryers are all 27" or larger now. This becomes a problem because the space where my current (dead) dryer sits is 25". Period. Anyone know of any skinny dryers out there?

Question re dryer
 

Miele and the other fancy euro-systems generally fit into smaller spaces. Not sure if they use gas, though, but I'd guess one of them does. Unfortunately, euro-style = $$$

Question re dryer
 

Thanks, Burger. There's a dealer near by. I'll check it out at lunch.

Question re dryer
 

For appliance selection, I find Home Depot blows.

Try Sears. Seriously. They have massive numbers of different washers and dryers.

Question re dryer
 

I'll check them out over the weekend. I wen to HD because they are close and I was lazy.

Question re dryer
 

Their website doesn't let you search by width, but I found at least one: http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...ab=spe#tablink that is about 24" wide. Not surprisingly, its capacity is smaller.

If the washer is old as well, and you have height available, you could get stacking washer/dryer -- my parents and sibling have nice front-loader stacked washer/dryer that they like very much. I think Neptune, but I can check. That would let you have a "normal" size dryer.

Question re dryer
 

And - no surprise - it's on sale. The other thing about Sears is that if what you want is not on sale this week, it will be next week.

Of course, they usually carry four or five brands' complete range, so you can probably find the exact same thing in, say, a Maytag next week, when all the Maytags are on sale.

Question re dryer
 

I invented referrals to Sears.

Question re dryer
 

Thanks for finding that. One problem: I need a gas dryer. 110 v electric dryers truly suck. I went to the local miele dealer (the also have several other european brands) and miele and its peers do not make a gas dryer.

I am thinking I may go with the stackable solution, and get rid of both the existing washer and dryer. Then I won't be constrained by the width issue.

Replacement windows
 

Anyone have recent experience with replacement windows? I am pricing replacement double-hung windows for Chez deLarge. Is there any advantage with contacting the Pellas of the world directly vs. going to a local dealer first? Anything to avoid?

thanks,
AdL

Question re dryer
 

if my dating website wasn't structured that same way you and i would never have met.

Replacement windows
 

I've heard that Andersen windows are the way to go, though I haven't done that much research on the issue.

While I'm here, how much of a pain in the ass is it to tile a floor? My kitchen floor was killed by a leak and needs to be redone. I bought tile at a sale a few weeks ago, and now I'm procrastinating at the final installation step.

Replacement windows
 

In my experience, if you let the tile guy in when you leave for work, he's generally done and cleaned up when you return home.

Replacement windows
 

Dissent with respect to the Andersen products. Not that they are a bad product, but if you ever have to replace things, like cranks/hardware/handles, it can be a pain-in-the-ass. I had to replace a handle mechanism on an Andersen French door, which was roughly about 12-years old. One of the guys I talked to at a place that specializes in windows and doors told me that, over the life-cycle of the products, Andersen makes a number minor design changes to these kinds of items which are not always necessarily compatible with their existing products, but they don't always see fit to manufacture or stock parts for some of their "older" stuff. This may not be a concern for you now, but depending on how long you own the home, it might be. The guy proceeded to tell me that a great deal of Andersen's success is based on marketing and not necessarily quality or design advantages. He actually told me that going with a Pella or even a smaller name manufacturer is preferable to Andersen.

I guess what I'm saying is shop around.

As to RT's question, it's actually more of a pain-in-the-knees than a pain in the ass, from my experience, anyway.

Seriously, though. Tile floors aren't that difficult or time consuming to install, although I suppose it depends a bit on the type and size of tile you're using. Are you going with ceramic? Depending on the size of the room, the work can be done in a day or less. The biggest pain about tile installation (generally speaking) is removal of the old stuff/preparing the floor and cutting.