Plumber fails to flush out a noisy problem

Q My toilet sometimes sounds like it is flushing, but it isn't. It makes a real bang when everything seems done. What's wrong? The plumber couldn't figure it out.

A It's mighty weird that the toilet sounds like it's flushing but isn't. Let me guess. A phantom flush occurs when the toilet leaks a little into the bowl because the flapper over the outlet is slightly off-center. Then, the full flush occurs, startling the homeowner at night and annoying him during the day. Adjusting the flapper can fix that.

The big bang you heard is the shutting off of the flow by the ball cock, which rises as the water rises in the tank and slowly shuts off, even with that real hard bang. I think the toilet needs a new ball cock.

Q Before we bought our house seven years ago, the person who flipped it painted the foundation white. Now, it's peeling and dirty and needs to be redone. I'd like to paint it gray so it won't stand out so much. How can I prep it? What kind of paint should I use?

A I get tired of flippers and other sellers who have no idea what a buyer wants, so they go ahead and do something that rarely works, and they don't give a fig.

So, it might be easy to do this: Wire brush and sand off all loose paint, then apply two thin coats of a solid color stain in your favorite gray. Thin coats with a solid stain resist peeling where paint might not.

A better way, if the foundation is concrete or field stone, is to take off all the paint

Q We just replaced our gas-forced hot water boiler, a high-efficiency one that exhausts through a wall. I think the repairman I went with did a good job, repiped all water and gas lines in the area, new valves, etc. We got a quote from a bigger company for more than two times his price. What could they have possibly done to warrant that much more?

A Welcome to the world of competition. The bigger company bid way higher, confident that some poor sap of a homeowner would pay those ridiculous charges because he didn't know any better. There are greedy people out there.

Your choice was instinctive and wise. You also have learned there are real people around like your guy.

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Plumber fails to flush out a noisy problem