Q-The wall-mounted faucet for my tub/shower has been allowing water to drip out of the tub spout even though it’s tightly shut off. I want to take the faucet apart and replace the washer, but the faucet body is recessed into the wall and partially covered with cement so that I can’t get at it with an adjustable wrench or pliers. Do I have to rip off the ceramic tile around it to make the repair?
A-You don’t have to touch the wall tiles. Just buy a deep-socket wrench, an inexpensive tool that’s made for reaching into and taking apart recessed wall-mounted faucets. These wrenches are available at most hardware and plumbing supply outlets.
If the top of the packing nut is partially covered and you can’t easily get at it with the socket wrench, use a small cold chisel or an old screwdriver to chip away the small pieces of plaster or cement covering the nut.
Q-I’ve just finished building a wood deck around my summer cottage and have used 4-by-4 cedar posts to support a hand rail that will go around it and alongside the stairways leading to the deck.
Instead of using a wood rail on top of these posts, I want to use a 2 1/2-inch-diameter rope for the railing.
I don’t want to drill large holes through the posts to hold this rope. How I can attach this heavy rope to the top of the 4-by-4 posts?
A-Offhand, I can think of several methods.
You can lay the rope on top of each post, then drive long wood screws down through the rope and into the top of each post. Use finishing washers under each screw head and recess them slightly as you tighten them.
Or you can use metal or plastic pipe straps to secure the rope to the inside of each post, up near the top, or to the top of each post.
Lastly, you can lay the rope on top of each post, then secure it with strips cut from weather-resistant vinyl or acrylic fabric-sold in marine canvas shops for making boat enclosures. Use a double thickness of the fabric to hold the rope in place on each post by fastening the fabric band to one side of the post, then wrapping it over the top of the rope before securing it firmly to the other side with nails or screws.
Q-My husband built a small cedar closet in our attic to store our winter clothing during the summer months. Our attic gets very hot, and I’m worried about the effect this heat will have on our woolen garments.
It’s very dry in the attic, so I don’t think mildew will be a problem. Do you think the heat will affect the clothing?
A-As long as it is dry heat, I don’t think it will cause any damage unless you store items that are susceptible to drying out or cracking. As far as I know, woolen clothing shouldn’t be harmed by the heat.
Q-Our toilet often keeps on running after it’s flushed. The problem seems to be that the float doesn’t shut off the water. When the tank is full, water keeps pouring in and flowing out into the bowl through the vertical overflow tube that sticks up in the center of the tank. What can I do to correct this?
A-The float arm isn’t shutting off the ballcock (the inlet valve) when the tank is full-that is, before the water level gets high enough to overflow. It should shut off the incoming flow when the water level is up to the “full” line marked on the back wall of the tank or on the overflow tube.
With conventional float arms, the water level can be adjusted by curving the float arm (to which the float ball is attached) slightly downward.
If one bend doesn’t do the trick, try a little more. If the water continues to overflow, lift up on the float ball and arm to shut off the flow of water at any level. If the water doesn’t stop flowing, chances are that the ballcock assembly (the inlet valve mechanism) needs to be replaced.
Replacement ballcocks are sold in all hardware stores and home centers.
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Have a question about home repair problems? Write to Bernard Gladstone in care of Your Place, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns. Sorry, letters cannot be answered personally.
