Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition Read online

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  Library of Congress Control Number: 209935835

  ISBN: 978-0-470-43063-7

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Authors

  James and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Brothers, are nationally recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 60-plus years of combined experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions nationwide through a weekly radio program, daily radio vignette, syndicated newspaper column, and comprehensive Web site (www.onthehouse.com), all titled On The House.

  These third-generation contractors have had broadcast careers in radio and television for 23 years. They deliver user-friendly, hands-on advice in their radio program, which is carried coast-to-coast weekly, via satellite, to a rapidly growing network of more than 250 stations. The program also is broadcast via live remote from home and building expos nationwide and on the Internet (www.onthehouse.com).

  With a long career in television, the Careys have appeared as home-improvement contributors on CBS Television’s CBS New Saturday Morning. In addition, the brothers were regulars on the Family Channel’s Home and Family show, hosted by Cristina Ferrare and Michael Burger. They have also appeared as guests on national and local television programs.

  Recognized for their efforts in answering immediate and constant structural concerns by the public in the hours and days following the devastating October 1989 earthquake, the Carey Brothers and KCBS radio in San Francisco received the George Foster Peabody Award, broadcasting’s most prestigious honor, for their outstanding contributions toward “comprehensive, intelligent, and useful coverage.”

  Prior to becoming full-time journalists, Morris and James owned and operated a successful home-remodeling and -construction firm, Carey Bros., for over two decades. They have been named to Remodeling magazine’s Hall of Fame “Big 50,” which recognized top achievers in the industry. They have also been honored as one of the nation’s top 500 companies by Qualified Remodeler magazine.

  The Carey Brothers are the authors of Home Remodeling For Dummies (Wiley Publishing) and Cost-Effective Home Upgrades (Ortho Books) and are contributing authors to Home Improvement All-In-One For Dummies (Wiley Publishing) and Living Well in a Down Economy For Dummies (Wiley Publishing). They have also penned a monthly column for The Family Handyman magazine.

  Homeowners can receive answers to their specific home renovation and repair questions by calling the Carey Brothers’ toll-free number, 800-REPAIR-IT (800-737-2474), during their radio program, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern standard time or via e-mail at [email protected] and on the Web at www.onthehouse.com.

  Dedication

  Summer vacation had ended. It was my first day back to school and my first day as a sophomore. The morning air was warm, and I perspired as I anxiously rushed to chemistry class. I was excited and scared all at the same time. I shot into the room and made a beeline for a seat near the back wall. I slouched back in my seat in an attempt to appear relaxed. I wasn’t. Not even a little bit.

  As I glanced up toward the front of the room, I caught a glimpse of her for the very first time. Suddenly, the anxiety began to disappear. She had taken the first seat in my row. The desks between us were still empty. She was wearing a tight, gray-wool, calf-length skirt and a satiny white blouse. Her hair was sandy colored and she wore it short. She was tall and slender. I hadn’t even seen her face, yet suddenly I knew that I had fallen in love. That was nearly 40 years ago.

  We grew up, and she became my best friend. She became a woman of character and ambition. Even when she was a girl, she was wise and mature beyond her years. Yet, she has always been easygoing and fun to talk to. She is passionate about everything she does, and everything she does is tendered with great compassion. Our moments together are priceless pearls of happiness filled with mutual admiration and endearing love. In the morning, her smiling eyes get me going. In the evening, her calming voice puts me at ease. She is a loving mother, a sexy grandmother, and my partner in life. She is my wife, Carol.

  Without her strength, this book would not have been possible. “Yo, Adrianne, Rocky loves ya baby!”

  —Morris Carey

  To Carol, my wife and partner for over 28 years: Thank you for the freedom, encouragement, and support to do my life’s work. I am so blessed to be your husband.

  To Chris, Jamie, and Chase, our three beautiful children; Never take the roof over your head for granted. There are so many people in so many parts of the world, including our great country, who either don’t have adequate shelter or are without the means to maintain it so that it is both safe and sound. Always work hard to be good citizens and contribute to the betterment of society. Love, Dad.

  —James Carey

  Authors' Acknowledgments

  We were thrilled when the folks at Wiley engaged us to give Home Maintenance For Dummies a new lease on literary life. We are delighted that the book has done so well in the nearly ten years since the publication of the first edition and we hope that this second edition will be equally popular and act as a valuable resource for people looking for help in maintaining their piece of the Great American Dream.

  As we write this book, millions of Americans are struggling to survive one of the toughest economic times in modern history — certainly in our lifetimes. We hope that our book will, in some small way, help relieve some of the economic stress that you may be feeling when it comes to your home and its maintenance by empowering you to take on tasks that you might have previously, during more prosperous times, farmed out to a contractor or handyperson. If this is true, than our greatest hopes and dreams will have been satisfied.

  There are many people who contributed both directly and indirectly to the success of this book. Although there are too many to list, we would be remiss without naming a few.

  This second edition would literally have taken forever — certainly longer than our publisher would allow — had it not been for some very valuable writing assistance that we received from Tim Green and Tracy L. Barr. Tim, our longtime friend and a stellar writer, is an obedient husband, a loving father, and a frustrated do-it-yourselfer. He injects his unique perspective, which add both color and humor to this body of work. We were introduced to Tracy by the Wiley folks. She is a very talented writer and editor who has authored or coauthored several For Dummies books, including Living Well in a Down Economy For Dummies, to which we contributed. She did a marvelous j
ob of helping us organize and prioritize content and was a pleasure with which to work. Thanks to you both for helping us make this book the best that it can be.

  At Wiley, we want to thank Diane Graves Steele and Tracy Boggier for believing in this project and for giving us yet another opportunity to share the better part of our lives’ work with you. A special thanks goes to our project editor, Elizabeth Kuball. This is our first opportunity to have had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth. She worked tirelessly to ensure that the second edition would contain the best of the first edition with lots of new and exciting material. We sincerely hope that she again will have the opportunity to transform our journalism into a finished project that is both professional and easy to understand and of which we are very proud.

  Publisher’s Acknowledgments

  We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

  Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

  Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

  Contributor: Tracy Barr

  Project Editor: Elizabeth Kuball

  (Previous Edition: Mary Goodwin and Sherri Fugit)

  Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier

  Copy Editor: Elizabeth Kuball

  Assistant Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney

  Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen

  Technical Editor: Roger A. Zona

  Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich

  Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor: Carmen Krikorian

  Editorial Assistants: Jennette ElNaggar, David Lutton

  Cover Photos: © iStock

  Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

  Composition Services

  Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees

  Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Joyce Haughey, Christine Wiliams

  Special Art: Shawn Wallace

  Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Toni Settle

  Indexer: Galen Schroeder

  Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

  Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

  Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

  Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel

  Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

  Publishing for Technology Dummies

  Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

  Composition Services

  Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

  Introduction

  In our first For Dummies project — Home Remodeling For Dummies — we ventured with our readers down the sometimes rocky road of remodeling a home. Our goal was to prepare people for the many steps and potential pitfalls involved in planning and executing a home-remodeling project, regardless of its size or complexity. Throughout that book, “plan, plan, plan” was our mantra.

  For this, our most recent offering, we’ve adopted an old cliché as our credo. In fact, had this not been a part of the best-selling For Dummies series, a more apt title may have been An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure. On the other hand, Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition, does have a nice ring to it! What’s more, chances are good that by the time you’ve had a chance to sink your teeth into this book, you’ll be anything but a dummy when it comes to maintaining your home.

  Your home is probably the largest investment that you’ll make in your lifetime. So, it makes good sense to do everything that you can to protect that investment from deterioration caused by the forces of nature, wood-eating pests, and good, old-fashioned wear and tear. As you’ll soon read, in addition to protecting the structural integrity of your home, regular maintenance will make it more comfortable, safer, and more energy efficient. And don’t forget that a well cared-for home stands out in the neighborhood, and that’s worth something — a bigger price tag when it comes time to sell, or simply the satisfaction of knowing that you’re in charge of your home and not vice versa.

  Few undertakings offer the pride and personal satisfaction that a home-maintenance job done well can. Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is so full of information on how to care for your home, we guarantee that your cup of pride and personal satisfaction will forever runneth over.

  Finally, if we’ve met our objective, your reading will be peppered with lots of laughter. Enjoy!

  About This Book

  Like most For Dummies books, Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is a reference, meaning that it was written with the expectation that you would not read it from cover to cover over a couple of sittings. Instead, we think that you’ll consider it one of the most important reference tools in your home-maintenance arsenal — like your prized hammer or wrench that you pick up and use whenever necessary.

  Each chapter is divided into sections, and each section offers instructions on some home maintenance task, like

  How to fix those pesky floor squeaks

  What to do when you know you’ve got a leak but you don’t know where it’s coming from

  What cleaning solution is the best for removing mildew

  How to easily maintain those confusing machines that keep you comfortable, like your furnace, boiler, air conditioner, and water heater

  How to prevent a flooded basement and how to fix it if your last fix didn’t work

  How to reduce your energy costs while improving your comfort — all in one fell swoop

  How to decide whether to do it yourself or hire a contractor

  Who needs this book? Everyone — unless you’re independently wealthy and you have no intention of lifting a finger to care for your home. Even then, this book could prove to be valuable. Who knows? You might just find it handy in rescuing one of your loyal servants. Seriously, if your home is an apartment, condo, single-family house, flat, co-op, cave, or hut; if you rent, own, or borrow; if your habitat is old, new, or somewhere in between, this book is for you.

  Conventions Used in This Book

  To help you navigate through this book and make maintenance as easy as possible, we’ve set up a few conventions:

  We use italics for emphasis and to highlight new words or terms that we define.

  We use boldface to indicate the actionable part of numbered steps.

  We use monofont for Web addresses and e-mail addresses.

  In addition to these standard conventions, whenever a task takes more than a few tools, we provide a list so that you can gather everything you need before you start to work.

  What You’re Not to Read

  We’ve written this book so that you can find information easily and easily understand what you find. And although we’d like to believe that you want to pore over every last word between the two yellow-and-black covers, we actually make it easy for you to identify skippable material — the stuff that, although interesting and related to the topic at hand, isn’t essential for you to know. This text appears in sidebars, which are the shaded boxes that appear here and there throughout the book. They share personal stories and observations, but they aren’t necessary reading.

  Foolish Assumptions

  You know what they say about the word assume. In any event, we’ve made the following assumptions about you:

  You care about the appearance and condition of your home and, hence, its value.

  You’re not a home-improvement fanatic, nor are you particularly handy — you don’t need to be.

  You have a song in your heart, a smile on your face, and an insatiable desire to see your home be the best that it can be.

  You don’t have a warehouse full of tools and you’re interested in getting only what you need. A few tools are of infinite value when it comes to home maintenance. However, the most complicated tool that you�
��ll need is a cordless driver drill for sinking a screw here and there. The tools that you’ll find yourself needing most often are a scrub brush, a paintbrush, and plenty of patience.

  You’re the type who always seeks help when needed and always puts safety first when attempting a home-maintenance endeavor.