A Southwestern Barbecue to Dye For
Question: We’ve designed our back yard to look Southwestern. In planning to build a stone barbecue, I’d like to make the color of the mortar brown. Can I dye the mixture?
E.P.
Villa Park
Answer: “You can get a powder or liquid pigment that will dye your masonry grout,” says Ken Newland of Tustin Block Co.. “You can color it brown or even red, black and some pastel colors. The less of the dye you put in, the lighter the shade, and there is a maximum you can mix in before you weaken the mixture. The place you buy it should have a color chart to show you the color what to mix to get the color you want.”
Q: I have those old metal casement windows, and I’d like to find a way to seal them to keep out hot and cold weather. Is there anything available to retrofit them?
T.B.
Stanton
A: “Unfortunately, I haven’t seen any kind of weatherstripping that specifically works for casement windows,” says Eldon Primrose of Diamond Glass in Santa Ana. “Typically, these are found in older homes and were installed when no one really cared much about insulation. They have metal-to-metal contact where the window connects to the frame, which isn’t energy-efficient.
“You can get foam rubber strips at a hardware store that are available in various thicknesses and attach it to the frame, which will give you some insulation.”
Q: I’d like to build a workroom off the garage, and in doing so, I’ll need to install at least two electrical boxes. I’ve been told that I should use plastic boxes, but are these really as good as the metal ones?
N.I.
Santa Ana
A: “You’re much better off with plastic boxes,” says Jack Bolte of Essco Wholesale Electric Supply in Anaheim. “They have a two-hour fire rating on them and they’re as strong as metal boxes. A metal box with insulation will also cost about $5, while a plastic box runs about 50 cents. This really adds up when you’re planning a big remodeling job.”
Q: I’d like to sharpen some knives on my grinding wheel, but is there a certain type of stone available for this purpose?
F.Y.
Huntington Beach
A: “I wouldn’t take the chance,” says Marcus Molina of Martenet Hardware in Anaheim. “The safest way to sharpen a knife is by hand with a sharpening stone. With a grinding wheel, it’s going so quickly I think you’d run a risk of breaking the knife, particularly if it’s an older knife.”
Q: A couple of our door locks have become a little hard to open. The key needs a shove to get it in and then we have to turn it hard to unlock it. How do I free them up?
C.M.
Yorba Linda
A: “Whatever you do, don’t squirt oil into the keyhole,” says lock installer Jeff Greenway of Tustin. “Oil will just drip out eventually and create a mess.
“Use a graphite spray lubricant and shoot it into the keyhole. This will free up any gummy tumblers that cause you problems when you try to turn the key. If you’re ever in a spot where the key won’t go in or won’t turn, there’s an old lock trick you can try before calling a locksmith. Rub pencil lead all over the teeth of the key, then insert it. This will let it slip in, and could get you in the door.”
Q: We have a Brazilian pepper tree and each year thousands of red peppercorns fall off. Are these similar to the ones found in pepper grinders and are they edible?
M.B.
Huntington Beach
A: “No, don’t even try it,” says Richard Tiffer, a plant pathologist with the Orange County department of agriculture. “According to the AMA Handbook of Poisonous Plants, both this and the Peruvian varieties of the tree are poisonous. Sweep them up and throw them out.”
Q: I’m going to be repairing a large patch of stucco on the side of my garage and I want to know how to make a swirling pattern in the stucco to match the rest of the wall.
N.B.
Brea
A: “You won’t need any special tools to do it, just practice,” says Jim Gorman of Rancho Lumber Co. in Westminster. “You’ll take the trowel you’re working with to apply the stucco and move it around in a circular motion instead of normally finishing it smooth. As you try it a few times, you’ll see how it works and you can get it to match the rest of the wall.”
