By ED DEL GRANDE, HGTVPro.com
Kitchen odors cook up a debate
In a recent column, I addressed a question about a "rotten egg" smell coming from a kitchen sink. The homeowners were convinced that it was a sewer smell from the drain system and they asked if their kitchen sink should have a new plumbing vent installed.
Saving water is as easy as one, two, three
Many of the "green" building techniques that we use today were incorporated in new home construction projects I worked on more than 30 years ago when I started in construction with our family business. Except we didn't call it green building, we simply called it commonsense building.
Get a permit before installing a bathroom
Q: Hi, Ed. I do all my own work and have a question about a half bathroom that I want to install in my basement. I'm using an original pre-plumbed utility area for the location of the new bathroom, but I have some concerns. The electrical panel, furnace and water heater are all in this space as well. How close can I install plumbing fixtures, walls and doors next to all this equipment?
A rotten-egg smell .... Water heaters
Q: Ed, my husband and I love your column and you are the only one left we can turn to. We have had a serious rotten-egg smell in our kitchen on and off for the last five years and our home is fairly new. We know the problem is not in our fixtures since we have recently installed a beautiful sink and faucet. We do not have a garbage disposal and we are careful about what we wash down the drain.
Sealing toilets ... A shower dispute
Q: The advice you gave about setting a toilet without sealing the fixture to the floor sent me to my code books. According to my code books: "Joints formed where fixtures come in contact with walls or floors shall be sealed." My jurisdiction has taken this to mean the joint between the toilet base and the floor must be caulked or sealed with grout on tile floors.
New toilet job goes down a rocky road
Q: I enjoy your TV show "Ed The Plumber" and read your newspaper column every week. Can you help out a loyal fan with a toilet problem?
Covering up a potential problem
Q: My wife and I have a potential problem with our new kitchen plans. We live in a small house on a small lot. For years we have wanted to build our big beautiful dream kitchen.
Installing a shower stall ... Brown water
Q: Hello, Mr. Del Grande. I enjoy getting my building tips from your column and I now have a problem that I'm hoping you can help me with. I'm installing a custom tile shower stall and had planned on using a rubber membrane with thinset mortar for the shower base. Then, I was going to tile over the cement floor.
The great toilet debate goes on
Well, it happened again. My last article on the great toilet cleaning debate generated hundreds of letters and I want to share some of them with you.
