Question: My garage door was frozen to my driveway a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know it and when I opened it with the remote, the strip holding the weather stripping at the bottom of the door pulled off for a distance of about three feet from the end. The strip is hanging from the door bottom. I am able to see two thin nails that were holding the strip in place. The nails are beneath the weather stripping through to the bottom of the door. The weather stripping itself is fine. Do you know of anyone who has had the problem and what they did to fix it? I don’t know if it’s a do-it-yourself fix or if I need a handyman or garage door repairman. Hope that I explained it clearly enough.
Answer: There are two types of weather stripping used on the bottom of garage doors in Sun City. One type slides on from the side and the other is nailed on to the bottom of the door. Depending on the type you have the cost is $1.65 – $1.85 per foot.
My garage doors were installed by Consolidated Garage Doors. They have an excellent website at: www.doormn.com. They answer many questions you may have about your garage door. Their most frequently asked question is whether the weather strip on the bottom of the garage door is available for purchase, to which they answer, Yes, it is, and they recommend bringing a small sample to be matched.
Question: Yesterday my CO detector went off. I called the fire department, who came right out. They tested and found the carbon monoxide was elevated. They asked if I felt sick. I had been headachy most of the day but thought I was coming down with the flu. They checked the furnace, but found it was OK. I was cooking a pot of soup for about six hours and they said that could be the source of the carbon monoxide.
Answer: Gas cook tops produce carbon monoxide along with carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor as combustion products. Kitchen range manufacturers recommend installation of a range hood to exhaust the combustion products along with cooking odors, grease, and moisture produced during cooking to the outside. Some installations do not vent to the outside. While legal, these installations do not exhaust the combustion gasses to the outside and will result in higher carbon monoxide concentrations.
It is very important to have the range serviced when any of the following occurs:
• Burner flames are not blue
• The burners do not light properly
• The burners or pilot produce soot
• Carbon monoxide concentrations in the house increase during operation of the range
Even when the kitchen range is properly tuned, there will be some carbon monoxide. To minimize this, the range needs to be properly maintained and the exhaust fan should be run whenever the gas range or gas oven are in use. Also be sure your CO detector is up to date and placed properly. The detectors should be placed outside each bedroom within 15 feet of the bedroom. If the bedrooms are close together this can sometimes be accomplished with one CO detector, but usually one detector is required for each bedroom. They should be replaced every five to seven years.
Question: Enjoyed your article on windows. Can you tell me who I contact about the Simonton Warranty on Pulte windows? Thanks a lot.
Answer: In the last issue we covered window seal failures. Pulte built houses have Simonton Windows, which carry a 10-year warranty on seal failures. Simonton has warranty information on its website at:
www.simonton.com/Articles/Index/Simonton%20Product%20Warranty%20Downloads
You can also call them at 1-800-Simonton.
Del Webb-built houses have Weathershield windows that have a 10-year, 100 percent warranty on the glass and a10-year, 50 percent warranty. You can find a local dealer on their website at: www.weathershield.com/dealersearch.
• If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home, submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
