NW Renovation For Boomers

Local Website And Magazine Delivers Answers

If you’re a Portland baby boomer who pays someone else to do your home repairs, you’re missing some fun.

On the other hand, if you’re a boomer who loves doing it yourself, you have a friend.

From my home ownership experiences, a new friend is a good thing.

My father in law would agree after he spent three hours on the phone getting me through replacing the wax seal on a toilet.

I think he liked putting his knowledge to work, since he brought up the phone call many times over the years.

You’ll get a similar call, whether from kids, friends, or the neighbor. How can you be ready?

Dial into NW Renovation (nwrenovation.com) for the right answers.

Robin Fisher wrote an article about low-flo toilet problems and possible remedies. Who is Robin Fisher?

Robin Fisher is a Certified Master of Kitchen and Bath Design (CMKBD) with the Neil Kelly Company. Fisher has been designing award-winning kitchens for more than 24 years. Fisher may be reached at: 503-335-9286 or robin.fisher@neilkelly.com.

I’m a writer, a blogger who works to make important information accessible. Fisher makes things work. I wish I had known someone like Robin when this happened:

My low-flo toilet plugs up easily. It seems like one tissue does the trick.

• One morning I cam downstairs to the sound of my water fountain in the front yard. How nice, I thought, the soothing sounds of running water is such a comfort.

Except the front door was shut. The sound of running water came from somewhere else. Not at all comforting.

One of my kids had flushed the low-flo toilet and walked out of the room. The waterfall coming out of the bowl was anything but low-flo as it followed the path of least resistance down a heating vent to the lower level ducts of the house.

The waterfall upstairs leaked through the duct and soffit in a basement storage space, and on my head, while I worked to fix the water problem before the whole roof came down.

If I wanted to re-do this part of the heating and ventilation, I had a friend who knows the ropes.

Would How to Fix a Wet Basement by Maureen Mackey have helped? The short answer is yes.

• My phone rang one evening. The screen showed my old neighbor’s name. Since we rented the house out, I wondered if he had something to report.

“Hello,” I said.

He got right to the point.

“One of your trees fell on my roof.”

I jumped in the car and headed down to help.

What did I miss about the tree that should have warned me? Where can you learn about your trees’ problems?

Are Your Trees Ready for Winter? by Michael Mills would have been a good read, and still is. Who is the author?

Michael Mills, owner of Autumn Arbor Care, has been a certified arborist for nine years and has worked in the tree and landscape industry for fourteen years. He has also been a volunteer tree planter and crew leader at Friends of Trees, an organization that helps plant trees in the city, urban and natural areas to help reforestation. For more information call 360-944-1778 or email at mmills7306@aol.com.

• If a house is old enough, it has flooring issues. Hardwood floors have their own set of problems.

Where can you find what needs to be done?

Start with Hardwood Floor Care General Do’s and Don’ts.

But what if you need to patch your hardwood floor? Try the first of a two part series, Patching A Hardwood Floor by Rich Prewitt.

Step by step instructions along with pictures will give you the results you want. Even if you hire someone else, it’s good to know what to expect. Rich gives it to you.

Portland baby boomers have the joy of living in a very diversified housing market ranging from old to new on the same block.

NW Renovation covers the same neighborhood. Best of all it has a list of all the advertisers for an easy get.

A for Appliance includes Hamilton’s Appliance and Standard TV & Appliance.

W for Windows (and doors) includes: Chosen Wood Window Maintenance, Inc., Classic Sash & Door, and Truax Builders Supply.

How many websites put their information and advertisers behind a pay window? Not NW Renovation.

If you’ve had success, or learned how to do the work from the website, leave a comment.

House stories are some of the best. Looking forward to hearing yours.