Q. I'm looking at putting laminate flooring in the kitchen but our steel door leading out to our garage can barely "clear" the current vinyl flooring when it opens, so I know it wouldn't be able to open with a taller laminate floor. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new door or make any major renovations. Any suggestions?

A. Another option if you can't cut the door off is to put the laminate only up to the outside of the door reach and leave the vinyl as a circular entry type look. It's done with carpeting all the time by outside entry doors, usually so you can have a scatter rug on the vinyl. In your case, you don't have room for a scatter rug.

Q. Hi. I'm trying to pimp up my garage this summer, was wondering what would be a good flooring for it? The room is a game room / sports room....I have a ping pong table, dartboard, tv, sports photos, etc.... So I'm looking for recommendations about which specific flooring or carpeting would be good for it and what store I could pick it up at? Thanks. edit: Mainly I'm looking for what material for the floor works best in the garage.

A. Cheapest and most durable would be the rubber/foam backed berber off the big rolls at the Home improvement stores. This composite carpet can be laid directly over any subfloor without the need to install a vapor barrier or a carpet pad. The foam backing itself acts as a moisture barrier and carpet pad. It's really easy to DIY.

Q. I bought 800 sq.ft. of hardwood from a major supplier - sounds like limber likequadators. lol Here are the details: -house has been built for one year now. -A/C is usually off as I am gone a lot, so why pay for it. House is usually at 80 degrees. - Have had the flooring in the house for 6 days now and the temp at 77 and has been for one week. - its a wood sublfoor over a garage and I will use #15 felt. Is the flooring aclimated enough or should I wait longer and if so how long??? Thanks so far guys/gals. I am really anxious, I got a new nailer and everything and I am itching to start! Not sure about calling LL. It took me 2 1/2 hours just to pick up the flooring after trying to convince them I was the customer and not a truck driver! So I am not too eager to ever talk to them again! Long story, but the bottomline is DON'T show up at there Toano HQ in your own tractor trailer and expect to pick up YOUR flooring without a major hassle! It took about 20 calls, and one call to the VP of LL to get someone to finally see I was the customer! Apologies ensued, but it definitely turned me off a bit. I doubt Bob Villa had that kind of trouble!!!

A. There should be instructions along with the flooring on how long to let it set. Make sure the boxes are open so all pieces can get to room temp. 6 days should be enough and if no instructions just call the supplier. They will be happy to answer any questions. Wood is a good choice for flooring and you will really enjoy it when its done. If you don't want to call the store, call another flooring dealer and they will answer your question if you act like you want to buy their product.

Q. I own a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house and I was wondering if it would be worth the time, effort, and money to add on another bathroom and another bedroom making it a 3 Br 2 Ba. I would be turning the garage into the bedroom and the breezeway into the bathroom so I don't have to add on any rooms or pour any concrete, I just have to put up wiring, insulation, flooring, and walls ect. Any experts in Real Estate or Construction, I would like your input please. I'm in the Florida Panhandle in an area with reasonable growth and about 35 minutes to the beach.

A. It depends on the neighborhood. The resale of your house goes by the comparisons of your neighborhood. Are most of the homes 2 bedroom or 3 bedroom? Turning the garage is a good idea if you are needing the space but when you go to sell the house, you may have some problems. I am a realtor and most buyers want a house with a garage.

Q. First read this question, it has something to do with this:: http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArbuxwCbyRg3ZS0iTpJSBF7BFQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20080822071247AAeNXyg THEN read this. Our mortgage company majorly screwed up. In August, we switched banks (our mortgage is not with our banks). We usually have direct withdrawl for our mortgage payments. We told them we would be afew days late with out payment while we switched banks. After we were 3 days late, they demanded we pay them immediately. They would not accept registered mail (to send a cheque or cash for it), but only Western Union or a bank payment. We opted to send a Western Union payment, so we would have a receipt of the payment. We sent the payment, and called the mort. company with a reference #. They accepted it no issues, and we thought the matter was closed. 2 weeks later (and 2 days before our wedding) a court officer showed up at our door with paperwork that the mortgage company was commencing legal action over non-payment of our mortgage (our payment is $418 bi weekly, we had been late with ONE payment). We called our lawyer and the mortgage company, and they said to dis-regard the notice, it had all been worked out- the Western Union payment hadn't been submitted by their internal billing dept. in time for them to cancel court proceedings. We got a letter from the mortgage company stating to disregard the repossession proceeding papers we had gotten. We considered the matter closed. Last Friday, a Sheriff of the court showed up at our door, served me papers that we had 7 days to leave the house and have all our stuff gone- they were repossessing our house. I freaked out, called hubby @ work and he came home. We again called the lawyer then the mortgage comp. We had to fax them the Western Union receipt for proof we paid. We did so, and the next day we had a notice from the Canadian Superior Court of Justice saying to disregard the notice of Intent to Repossess, and that the suit was closed, our mortgage was paid up and in good standing. So, again, we considered it over with. The lawyer for the mortgage company told us they were faxing the dismissal papers over to the local court (and sheriff and court officer who was supposed to evict us). We had to go to a funeral yesterday for my hubbys uncle. We were gone overnight about 3 hours from home. We got home @ 12 noon today, and notices were taped to our windows, all our door locks had been changed, and bars put over our windows so we couldn't get into our house (keep in mind it is COLD here in Northern Canada, in November- and we have 2 children under age 3). So esentially we were locked out of our home. We both FREAKED out, smashed a garage window and broke into our house. The sherriff and whoever changed the locks damaged some of our property- we need a new rear entry door, our front door is damaged and the door jamb needs replacing, they left the old knobs on the floor, our hardwood floor by the door is damaged, and our elderly INDOOR cat was sitting out in the cold by the front door when we arrived at home. Our dog had been taken by Animal Control to the pound where we had to pay to get her out. We still have ALL the paperwork pertaining to this issue, I took photos of the damages, and filed a report with the police about unlawful entry. We want to sue, but the mortgage company lawyer just laughed at us and said "Good luck, we have every right to protect our investments". The thing is, this is NOT our fault! It seems like every time we turn around, this company is screwing up something major. I'm worried to leave the house now in case we can't get back in and are stuck in the cold with the kids. What can we do about this?! I am so p-i-ssed off, I'm shaking still. We are in our home right now but I'm worried someone will show up to evict us or charge us for being in here. My hubby had to go to work or he would probably lose his job, so I'm here alone with the kids and freaking out. I'm also really concerned about the ownership of our home- and about our credit rating and all the legal aspects of this.... HELP! WHAT SHOULD WE DO?! We go to talk to a lawyer Monday about filing a lawsuit and suing the company for harassment, emotional and financial distress, unlawful entry, damage to property and whatever else we can sue for. This is insane and we have to do something... We cannot afford to pay for penalties to switch our mortgage, we would be content with suing them for the balance of our mortgage ($124 thousand) and legal fees- and for the money to fix the damages and for the $110 we had to pay to get the flippin' dog out of the slammer. I'm just so MAD. I told hubby I was going to call the most major newspapers and tv shows in the province and tell them about this, and see how the company likes it. Also going to file a disupte and complaint against them with the Better Business Bureau, which will basically put a mark against them if any potential clients check their BBB rating...

A. It sounds like you are on the right track - legal action at this point is your only recourse. Also, as soon as your mortgage term expires, I would be looking for a new lender. Depending on how old your mortgage is and what you still owe, you may even decide that it would be worth paying penalties to refinance with a different company.

Q. We've been in out house about a year now & I wanted to take the carpet out of my daughter's room & put in wood flooring. When we ripped up the carpet...lo and behold there was wood flooring under there already. It looks like it's in good shape for the most part, but there's either parts of the carpet pad or possibly mold that's on the floor...it's big black dots only on one side of the room. We can get them up but I'm wondering the best way to disinfect the entire floor without damaging it since we don't know what it is. My daughter has horrible allergies which is why we're getting rid of the carpet so I can't take a chance with it being mold & not disinfecting it really well before she comes home. Any help is appreciated!!

A. Okay first or all you need to take a shop vac and vacumn it really well, and then Clean it with Pledge for wood floors,(it is liquid and comes in a can just follow the directions) and then I would recommend putting on a wax also in pledge name just wax on and wax off. but it is worth it. We took all the carpet out of our house and the original hard wood floors were down under it from about 40 years ago and people that come over now think they are brand new so it is worth all the work. But for a few days after you wax, it will be a little slippery, but on top of the garage there was black spots and also spots where the carpet pad stuck, and this is where the wax comes in handy b/c it worked wonders. And I have the worst allergies so does my Mom, especially when it comes to mold, and we have no trouble any more.

Q. Last week i realized that my car's air conditioner wasn't working properly. It was not producing cold air except in the AM when it was cool out already. I took it to the garage and freon was added. Eighty bucks plus tax. Air conditioning was running fine when I left the garage. but next day, the same problem. Took the car back and the mechanic said "There was a lot of air which had to be sucked out and then the thermostat had to be reset". That was done on Monday. No charge, of course. All seemed to be working fine. Yesterday morning all was well. After being in the lot where I work all day, the car was hot when I got in. Turned on the air ~ cool 15 seconds, then just air. Nearly passed out since my comute is a 45 minute one. Had to open all the windows. About the last 15 minutes of the commute, the air came on but not fully. Should I ask for my money back from this mechanic and go elsewhere to solve this? It's a 1999 Mazda 626. This will be the third time at the garage. The garage opens in an hour and a half.

A. If you had to have freon added that means you have a leak. To be fully repaired you need to find the leak first. Almost everything is part of a sealed system, like the lines to and from the condenser to the evaporator. Where the lines hook to the compressor can be sealed by O-Rings, they can dry out and freon can escape from there. Also around the pulley shaft. When you mentioned the car sitting in the lot on a hot day that raises the pressure of the freon so that it creates more pressure at the point where it is leaking. There are some dyes that you can add to aid in finding the leak. The system does need to be evacuated if it is completly empty of freon. With the gauges on and after the system has been pulled down if there is a leak the reading of the gauges will start rising toward zero. The system should be pulled down lower than 29hg, 30 being a perfect vacuum that you never reach. I mentioned the vacuum because if it will not hold the vacuum, it will not hold the freon either. It may cost yyou more, but if you can get your money back, go to your Mazda dealer. The tech at the place you took it should have told yyou that if you lost your freon you have a leak and that to do it right that is the first thing to fix. Freon does not evaporate from a properly sealed system. Thomas S.

Q. Can I buy a condenser alongside an evaporator for a home AC system ? Does not the EPA call this a split system? I can pass the test but would rather avoid the BS. I am a welder and can braze the fittings and use my vacuum pump to 10 microns. WW Graingers does not want to sell to me, but I am thinking about signing the papers anyway. Would ask my buddies but know none in the AC business. Know this is not for experts but I know what I am doing. The EPA must think I will open the valves in the unit and release all the R-22 just for fun and incure that 20,000 plus fine. I fix garage doors and openers, very old ones for fun. Would love some help. will reciprocate!

A. To buy a pre-charged condenser you must have the EPA Cert. or have someone licensed call it in and you can pick it up on their Cert. Yes this is a split system.Where you at maybe I can help. I am in Cincinnati, Ohio.