Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
Q: I live in a two-story condo building with another homeowner living above my unit. We have a drop ceiling with metal framing over part of my unit that is used to house the air-conditioning ducts. Do you think that blown-in cellulose insulation used in that area would help reduce the noise from the neighbors walking around in the unit above us? We have heard of various other products, but we’re not sure if the neighbor would work with us to install it. Any suggestions?
A: Unfortunately, the process you have in mind will not make a noticeable difference in the foot traffic noise you are experiencing. That’s because the entire floor-ceiling assembly is acting like a large speaker cone, transmitting vibration. Adding insulation to that void space will not stop the vibration from being transferred from the floor above via all the connections in the structure.
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The best place to stop the vibration from occurring is — as you say — by installing a deadening material under the flooring upstairs. Many condominium associations have a requirement that such material be installed under hard-surface flooring before installation. But, of course, that may not solve your current problem. You may want to check with the condo management company to see if the managers can help you out.
Q: I have one of those little boxes on the wall at the front of my house that I can use to open the garage door. You just punch in the code and the door opens. It stopped working recently. However, I can still open the door by pressing the button inside the garage and can still use the opener in my car. How can I fix this problem?
A: Since the door still opens from the inside, it sounds like you simply need to replace the battery in that box on the wall. There should be a little screw on the front or side that you have to unscrew to open the box and replace the battery.
Q: I have a sprinkler system on my lawn, and one section doesn’t seem to be watering properly. I tested the other sections, and they are all working correctly, so I am guessing that I have a leak in my irrigation system. What is the best way to determine which of the five sprinkler heads may be the culprit? None of the heads are popping up to full height when the system comes on. There is water pooling in two of the heads, but when I dig them up, I do not see a break in the lines.
A: Typically, when you have a leak in the system, there will be large amounts of water coming out of the ground where the leak is located. Usually, irrigation lines are not very deep, so a leak will show itself quickly. If the heads are not popping up to their full height, I would suspect a failure in the solenoid valve that controls that particular station. The valve is probably not opening completely to allow full flow into the station.
There are repair kits available that let you repair the defective valve without replacing the whole body of the valve.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.