Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: drain + 0.17 + problem  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

Concrete saw should solve this drainage problem

Q: I have an aggregate patio between two adjoining buildings 10 feet apart (detached garage and the rear of the house). The concrete was poured so that water drains toward the garage and its siding. Rainwater stands against the siding. The roof overhang here is minimal, around 1 foot or so.

I considered putting more concrete up against the garage building, to make a curb, to keep water away from the siding. This seemed like an ugly solution, plus I was worried about the new layer of concrete breaking or not sticking well, as well as leakage between the layers of concrete.

I cannot afford to rip all the concrete out but do not want my garage siding and wall to rot. The area is too large to cover with a roof. Any ideas?

A: Rent or hire a concrete-cutting saw. Cut a drainage path for the water with the saw under the path of the overhang, or as close to the building as the saw can get — but no closer than 4 inches, to prevent fracturing the edge. The cut will need to have varying depth and be at least 1 inch wide or wider to be effective (take multiple cuts and chisel out the concrete between). Placement and width of the cut may need to be altered depending on foot traffic flow and the topography of the concrete.

Do not get too aggressive and build yourself a trip hazard. Make the cut shallow at the center, deepening as it transitions to either side, overcoming the incorrect slope. A kerf cut such as this should prove to be effective and not distract visually from the patio. Good luck!

Q: My power went out recently for a few hours, and I could not open the garage door. I had to take a cab to work. Find out from talking to co-workers that all electric garage doors have a release that allows the door to be brought up. I spied the release rope hanging down when I got home and tried it. It worked! Unfortunately, I couldn't get my cab fare returned. Darn.

This got me to wondering, what else in my house can be operated manually when the power is out?

A: As you know, the wall phone will work, but the cordless will not.

Your electrically operated garage door can be disconnected and lifted manually. If the spring is weak, you may need a piece of rope to tie it open so it doesn't smack the top of the car.

A gas fireplace that does not have electronic ignition (most) will run just fine, despite the appearance of a conventional electric wall switch. The pilot flame creates a millivolt of electricity, which opens the magnet, keeping the gas valve closed. Turn on the switch and you open the gas valve, with nothing connected to the main electrical system. The circulating fan, if so equipped, won't work, though.

Gas water heaters that don't have forced exhaust (95 percent do not) will work just fine. Disposals can be turned manually with the Allen wrench.

Everything else requires juice.

TOILET POWER — It had to happen. Researchers at Penn State have discovered a way to get a true "powerflush," and I'm proud to say I am here to report it. Yes, fuel cells from the toilet.

We won't be replacing Grand Coulee anytime soon, since the amount of power produced is 10-50 milliwatts per square meter of electron surface — about enough to run one-fifth of a mini-Christmas tree light. But it does help clean the wastewater. Maybe if the researchers would stop doing the math in metric, it might help their case.

In any event, the fuel cells work through the action of bacteria that pass electrons to an anode (the negative electrode of a fuel cell). The electrons flow from the anode through a wire, producing a current, to a cathode (positive electrode), where they combine with hydrogen ions (protons) and oxygen to form water. No special bacteria are added. In addition, a reaction (oxidation) that occurs in the interior of the bacterial cell lowers the biochemical oxygen demand, cleaning the water.

LOCAL TV STARS — HGTV's "House Hunters" features local couple Tim and Laurel Schreiner in a segment airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

We see video tours, interviews and narration of the three homes they consider on Bainbridge Island shown to them by agent Vicki Fazzini.

While the show was definitely entertaining, I felt myself wanting more information on the specifics of the purchase, the how/why their decision was made and the greater market dynamics, rather than what I considered cosmetic issues.

While I could spoil it and talk about the home they ultimately chose (good choice — mine too), it did not have a fuel-cell toilet, which was somewhat of a letdown.