Some of the earliest signs of the present economic troubles appeared in the nation's housing industry.  Presently, new home starts (as indicated by permit activity) have dredged 25-year lows, and existing home sales have fallen even as they become seemingly more affordable amidst heretofore unseen devaluation.  As lenders tighten their practices, real estate finance has become markedly more conservative, decreasing the ability for many to obtain credit for purchases and improvements.

While the daily headlines emphasize these and other domestic economic problems, is it any surprise that

Mason,

About 12 years ago we had our kitchen remodeled in our 1925 home in Northside. It's a very narrow galley-style kitchen, and it requires having a side-by-side refrigerator--there's not enough swing space for a full-door model. We dislike the side-by-side because you can't really fit anything of any size in either side, but at the time that was our best option. So now, the fridge is dying, and we've started looking at 3-door models with the freezer on the bottom.

This is great, except that we can't seem to find one that will fit into the space that our current 66-1/4"-high model tucks

Mason:

It appears that we have a leak from an upstairs shower, right over our dining room table below. Is this a job for a plumber or a handyman service, or what?

Bob S., Glen Allen, VA

Bob,

Most know that the works of Frank Lloyd Wright were fraught with technical problems.  I recall the story of an angry letter from Edgar Kaufmann (owner of the famous Fallingwater house) to Mr. Wright, complaining of a roof leak over his dining room table.  Wright's flip response:  "What a perfect place for a bowl!".

Seriously, though, let's first get familiar with the particulars of your shower, toward

Mason:

I’m a friend and neighbor of Jim and Marguerite Bruce and, having seen their home being built in the late 70’s - knowing it could be so much more than it was - love what you did for “the old Groseclose place”! I have a question - can you recommend someone experienced in cleaning and sealing an interior brick floor? My living room, approx. 16 x 40', is brick over concrete on grade. Installed in 1981, it was sealed with polyurethane. Most of that has deteriorated and peeled up over the years, except an area that was under a rug which still looks pretty good. I now want to remove the rug