Mason:

 

We have a cultured marble countertop in our bathroom, bought from a home center less than two years ago.  Some visible marks

Mason:

Here's one for you ... how do you fix a leaking window - in a stucco / concrete block house ... that comes somewhere from the wall above (appears above the window), but only when raining from a certain direction ... which no one else can isolate??

In addition, if this is helpful info to know or not (?) ... we also had the entire front face of the house re-painted with 2 coats of a professionally recommended "rubberized" paint that was supposed to give and expand better with the severe high temps we sometimes have here ... the thought supposedly was that it would help fix it by

Mason:

I have a pair of wood French Doors on the exterior of my 25-year-old house, that have rotted over a number of years.  The bottoms of the doors are deteriorating, as well as the wood frame and moldings around the door.

I see that these are pretty expensive to replace; is there any way to repair this mess?  They are not leaking, but it looks awful!

Bill S.  Richmond, VA

Dear Bill:

Take heart that your situation is not at all unusual.  I see this problem on a regular basis.  If the French are conspiring to destroy a piece of the American housing stock, at least they are supporting the

Mason:

My husband and I have been fixing up a 1950's ranch home for several years.  We patched a long crack in the ceiling (did it ourselves; we're pretty handy).  It looked great for maybe six months, but it has reappeared recently.  Is there anything we should consider before patching again, to make it go away forever?

Wendy S.  Midlothian Va

Wendy:

Consider a government bailout!

Really, the influence of the U.S. Government during times of special need, likely had a great deal to do with your ceiling crack.  You are likely aware that many older homes have thick plaster-on-lathe walls and

Mason :

My home is 12 years old, in beautiful Beaverdam. My heel went through the shower floor of the Lasco one-piece pre-fab 47"W x 34"D x 72"H fiberglass shell.  The break is 4.5".  While on my hands and knees, I noticed two small sets of spiderweb cracks in addition to the big break.

My wife says time for a tiled shower. I say let's get it repaired.  How do we decide? 

Steve S.

Steve,

I am sure you've heard that old joke about how men shower versus how women shower.  It starts with the man undressing in the bedroom, leaving his clothes on a heap in the floor, laughing as he shakes his stuff