Question No. 1
Robert,
I am purchasing a high-profile vehicle that has a luggage rack on it, so though my garage door opening will accommodate this, the opener itself will ultimately not allow enough clearance because it hangs slightly below the opening.
Is there some other alternative to the standard opener which takes up ceiling space in a garage, that would give me additional clearance equal to the opening?
I have a standard roll-up door, for your information.
— Jim D.
Answer No. 1
Jim,
There is another option. There is a side-mount operator: It sits at the front of the garage on the small side wall next to the sectional door you have. Linear and Chamberlin each make side-mount openers, and my preference would be the Linear brand.
There are options on their operators also, even thermometers that give you the temperature of your garage. Good luck to you.
— Robert
Question No. 2
Hi Robert,
One of my neighbors recommended I get The Signal Newspaper for your article and write in for advice.
I’ve had white calcification build-up on my jacuzzi and pool tiles for years. I’ve used everything from plastic scrapers to butter knives to try and scrape it off, but I’ve done damage to the tiles and am in no position to replace them. This problem continues to get worse, and I don’t know what to do.
Are you able to help, do you know what I can do?
— Alice C.
Answer No. 1
Alice,
It makes sense that the problem is getting worse quickly, given you’ve damaged them with scraping. The minute you damage the tile, they are more porous and attract that much more calcium.
There is a contractor here in town who specializes in this very thing. He’ll come in and drain the pool followed by shooting glass beads, a form of pressure washing, at this calcium. It is called bead blasting, and it works wonders. The glass beads will break up the calcium without damaging the tiles — it’s very effective.
If there are any loose tiles, I’d recommend you have the contractor make those repairs at that time. Once all of that is complete, he’ll clean out the bottom of the pool and jacuzzi, removing all debris from the blasting.
Any tile repair will need a couple of days to cure prior to introducing water, then he can come back to fill the pool and reset anything needed for function.
Typically, if you do this about every two years it will keep the tile looking great and it will ultimately be much less unsightly.
I will send the contractor’s information separately, best of luck.
— Robert
Robert Lamoureux has more than 40 years of experience as a general contractor, with separate licenses in electrical and plumbing contracting. He owns IMS Construction Inc. in Valencia. His opinions are his own, not necessarily those of The Signal. Opinions expressed in this column are not meant to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after that contractor has made a thorough visual inspection. Email questions to Robert at [email protected].
