Shifting foundations can be inconvenient but not a cause for alarm – Houston Chronicle

Have I mentioned that my daughter and son-in-law and my adorable granddaughter are living with me right now? They sold their house and are waiting to move on to bigger and better. Im in hog heaven because when I come home a little voice screams, G. Its supposed to be Grammy, but I will take G. But the other night my daughter sat close to me and said in a quiet voice, Mom, I think you have foundation problems.

Well, I know I dont have foundation problems, but I do know it has been extremely dry lately and that can cause some shifting in foundations. Foundations are made to flex, so during extreme dry spells or lots of rain, they move. It can cause inconveniences, but its not cause for alarm. So, I want to go over some things that you can do to alleviate some problems associated with this dry weather.

The easiest thing to do is put a soaker hose around the house and water the foundation on the days that you are allowed to water. Just leave it there out for the duration of the summer. Buy yourself a Y connector and attach it to your outdoor faucet. That way you can water both the foundation and hand water when you want to.

Check out how convenience a Water Wigot can be. It will allow you to put water where you dont have a faucet. And then you wont have to drag around a 100-foot hose during this 100-degree heat.

Sometimes extreme dryness will cause doors not to close completely. You might have to push on the door to get it to latch. Maybe your door rattles when the A/C comes on, or its hard to get it to unlock. Defender Security makes an Adjustable Strike for just this problem. It will allow you to adjust the strike up to a quarter of an inch. And in door terms, thats a lot!

If you are really worried about your foundation, there is a way to check it out. Go outside and look around the foundation. If you see little hairline cracks, dont worry. They are just cosmetic and can be easily fixed. Use a product made by Sascho Sealants called Slab. Its for sealing up those little cracks around the foundation and on stucco. Foundations have a smooth concrete skirting and that can crack, and you can repair it with Slab. If you have some mortar cracking around the brick facade, use Mor-Flex to fill in the damage. Mor-Flex looks just like mortar, but it flexes. And when you repair the mortar with Mor-Flex, it will never crack again.

I hope if you have been concerned about your foundation this article will put you at ease. If you have any questions, call me at the store in San Antonio.

Question: I just sold my house and moved to a smaller condo. I love my condo because it has a large patio and I could bring all my plants with me. It makes me feel like I am still at home. However, there is no faucet outside. How can I water my plants without having to lug water from the sink. It didnt seem like a lot a first, but I have a lot of plants.

Answer: That is no problem! There is a faucet to garden hose adapter that can hook up right to your kitchen faucet. Attach a lightweight hose and start watering. Good luck with this next adventure.

Question: We have a master bedroom downstairs. We have an upstairs bathroom and bedroom that only gets used when we have company. Well the other day I was upstairs and noticed water under the toilet and quickly turned off the water. It was leaking from the connector. We replaced the connector, but I started thinking if I had not seen that, I could have had a mess. Do you have any suggestions about turning off the water to the unused bathrooms?

Answer: Instead of turning off the water, use a Leak Alert under the toilet. Leak Alert has sensors on the bottom of the unit, and when they get wet, it sets off an alarm. All leaks start off as a drip, and Leak Alert will let you know.

If you cannot find the products mentioned here locally, you can find them at http://www.happyhandyman.com . Click on Shop Johnnies Favorites, or call the store at 210-341-1573. Email Trudy Chuoke Lesage at happyhandyman2@yahoo.com. Mail can be sent to Johnnie Chuokes Home and Hardware, 2361 NW Military, San Antonio, TX 78231.

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Shifting foundations can be inconvenient but not a cause for alarm - Houston Chronicle