Q. Our area flooded due to a prolonged period of heavy rain and a high water table. Can you tell me about sump pumps with battery backups, if they exist? Such a thing would be very important if a power outage occurred — which happens in hurricanes.
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By Monte Leeper
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12/8/10
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Q. We had an addition built over 10 years ago but we didn’t get a permit. Many laws have changed and we have to do a lot of rigamarole, and maybe even tear part of the addition apart to correct things. We shouldn’t be made to do all these changes, should we?
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By Monte Leeper
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12/8/10
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Q. I hired an architect to do plans for my commercial building after I got caught running a sports program. It didn't seem like a problem.
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Monte Leeper
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8/20/10
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Q. What can you tell me about solar on my house? Do I need a permit and will it really make sense for me? I am near retirement and if I downsize in about 10 years, I don't know if it's really worth it.
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Monte Leeper
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8/5/10
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Q. What can you tell me about solar on my house? Do I need a permit and will it really make sense for me? I am near retirement and if I downsize in about 10 years, I don't know if it's really worth it.
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By Monte Leeper
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8/5/10
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Q: I have a 40-year old home with wood plank strips on the top floor. For years the floors in the center hallway and two bedrooms have been squeaking. What can I do?
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Monte Leeper
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5/30/10
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Q. A lot of trees came down around my neighborhood in the last big storm. Is there anything I can do to keep my trees safe, and is it allowed to put in wire tie-downs to keep my trees tethered during a storm?
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Monte Leeper
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5/14/10
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Q. I think your April 1-8 column had an error. You wrote that CO is heavier than air. CO has a molecular weight of 28. Air is mostly N2, which also has a molecular weight of 28. Air also has some O2, which has a molecular weight of 32, so the air mixture is heavier than CO. It should be OK to put the CO detector up high, and not near the floor.
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Monte Leeper
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5/14/10
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Q. I was told by my village that I need to have smoke detectors in my two-family house in order to renew my application. Even though I didn't have them before, I have to install them. One guy said they have to be hard-wired, but my electrician called and they said just battery-operated. Which is it?
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Monte Leeper
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5/14/10
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Q. We're about to start a construction project, and workers' cars will be parked all around us. I have this ongoing problem: My neighbor constantly does vindictive things to cars parked in front of his house.
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Monte Leeper
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5/14/10
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