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" Hanging Out Your Shingle Some of the cedar shingles on one side of my house are damaged. Can a few be replaced, or will all of the shingles have to be torn off and the entire wall re-covered? Yes, individual cedar shingles on a side wall of a house can be replaced. But if there are large numbers in poor condition (more than a third or so of the wall surface), it may make more sense to strip the wall and reshingle it. Replacing a few shingles is a pretty straightforward job. To remove a damaged shingle, use a hacksaw blade held with a hacksaw blade holder to saw through the nails that hold the shingle in place (1). A damaged shingle that fits tightly can be split with a chisel. After splitting it and lifting away the pieces, you would still need to use a hacksaw blade to cut off the nails. Try to remove one of the shingles without breaking it, or at least preserve a piece that is large enough to take to the lumberyard to match with a new product. Cedar shingles come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and it&amp;#039;s important to match, as closely as possible, the replacements with the existing siding. To install a replacement shingle, first pretreat it with a water-repellent preservative, stain or primer. At a minimum, its back and edges should be coated. Next, hold the shingle 1/2 in. below its finished position and drive a shingle nail into it at about a 45-degree angle (2). Butt a wood block to the base of the shingle, then tap the shingle into final position by striking the block with a hammer (3). This distorts the nail slightly but the shingle is still held securely in position. Air Control I think my central air-conditioning system lacks sufficient return airflow. When it runs, it draws a slight vacuum that you can feel when you open the basement door. I suspect this lowers the system&amp;#039;s efficiency and makes it work harder than it has to. I used to open the basement door for better air circulation, but I can no longer do this because I have an infant son crawling around. I would like to put an automatic damper in the basement that leads to the outside. If this operates in conjunction with the air-conditioning system, will that correct the problem? Don&amp;#039;t install a damper to the outside. This would allow warm, moist air in, which is what you are trying to remove with air conditioning.  It&amp;#039;s not clear from your letter whether you live in a one-story or a two-story house, but it sounds like a two-story structure with no return duct for the upper level. There should be a return on both levels. A simple solution is to cut an opening in the basement door and cover it with a grille (provided this is not a building code violation in your municipality). A more effective way to improve the system&amp;#039;s efficiency is to install a return duct. Cut an opening in the first floor and use a flexible duct to connect the floor opening to the system&amp;#039;s return plenum in the basement. Use a return register to cover the hole in the floor. Note that this requires hiring a mechanical contractor to properly size the opening and the flexible duct. Improper sizing can result in a noisy and inefficient installation. Also, you or the contractor should install a filter because a floor-mounted return gets dirty more quickly than one mounted on a wall or ceiling. Do not create a return duct that draws air from the basement. That is a building code violation. A malfunctioning combustion appliance in the basement or a blocked chimney can cause flue gas to enter the basement. In that case, the air-conditioning system would distribute the carbon monoxide throughout the house. Feeling Floored I want to install 3/4 x 6-in.-wide pine flooring on the first floor of my house. The subfloor is 3/4-in. particleboard, and the floor joists are parallel to the direction that I want to install the flooring. I&amp;#039;m concerned that the nails will not hold in the particleboard. Should I install 3/4-in. plywood over the particleboard? I&amp;#039;m sorry to say that you&amp;#039;ve got a big job ahead of you. Even adding 3/4-in. plywood over the particleboard will not leave you with a sufficient substrate for the flooring nails to hold. Given that you want to install the flooring parallel to the joists, the nails will not make sufficient contact with solid lumber, and the flooring likely will become loose. I discussed the problem with the technical department at the National Wood Flooring Association, and the pros there advise building a substrate that provides greater rigidity and nail-holding power. First remove the particleboard and replace it with two layers of underlayment-grade oriented strand board or plywood. The first layer should be 3/4 or 5/8 in. and should be laid perpendicular to the floor joists. The second, 1/2-in.-thick layer should be installed at a 45-degree angle to the joists. Once that work is complete, you can install the pine flooring parallel to the floor joists. Pressure Points Will adjusting the Square D pressure switch for my well improve its flow? How do I adjust the pressure? And what should it be? It&amp;#039;s rare that a well system needs adjustment, but it does happen occasionally. In most cases, a performance problem indicates a malfunction that requires the services of a plumber or well contractor. Still, it pays to check and perhaps adjust the system before calling a pro, so you may find this background helpful. The system&amp;#039;s pressure is not constant; it varies between the pump&amp;#039;s cut-in and cut-off settings. The difference between the two is usually 20 psi and should not exceed 25 psi. You can check the system&amp;#039;s pressure range by activating the pump. Turn on a faucet and watch the pressure gauge on the well piping. There are two pressure ranges used in residential well systems. One range is 20 to 40 psi and the other is 30 to 50 psi. Though there are different types of pressure switches, it&amp;#039;s likely that your switch is adjusted with two hexnuts, one larger than the other. The large one adjusts the set point on falling pressure and the small one adjusts the set point on rising pressure. Get the model number of your pressure switch and call the Square D technical service department at 888-778-2733. Someone there can fill in the specifics of adjusting your switch, such as whether the hexnuts should be turned clockwise or counterclockwise. Once you have observed the system operating, you&amp;#039;ll be able to tell whether it is working properly and adjust it as needed. If a simple adjustment does not work, you will need to call a professional who does well system repairs. Short Course: Threading Metal Tap and Die: Threading metal is an important skill because fasteners get damaged and need repair, or you may need to cut (tap) threads in a hole. On rare occasions, you may also want to make a specialized fastener. The 41-piece tap and die kit above costs $84 to $104 and will see you through most threading jobs. For extensive metal-threading charts, visit the manufacturer&amp;#039;s Web site: irwin.com. Also see our resource on the subject here. --Roy Berendsohn Drill Taps These high-speed steel bits drill, tap and bevel a hole&amp;#039;s edge in one step. Their 1/4-in. hex shank allows them to rapidly pop in and out of a sliding-sleeve chuck. The seven-piece set includes the chuck and 6-32, 8-32, 10-32, 10-24, 12-24 and 1/4-20 bits. $22 to $35. For information: greenlee.com. Triple Tap Times Two The Six-in-One Tapping Tool is a compact means to repair damaged or blocked holes for small electrical screws. On one end of its shaft are graduated machine screw taps: 6-32, 8-32 and 10-32. On the other end are three larger taps: 10-24, 12-24 and 1/4-20. $20 to $25. For information: idealindustries.com. Reader Project Ronny, Kenny and Donny Pylant Houston, TX Our father made &amp;quot;The Racer&amp;quot; for us in 1952. After we grew up, the go-kart sat in a barn until May 2004, when we started to restore it. Even though it was covered in rust and was lying in pieces, it was fun and challenging to figure out how everything fit together. The body was built with parts from a &amp;#039;39 Pontiac, a &amp;#039;48 Olds, a &amp;#039;48 Chevy and a &amp;#039;48 Buick. Other parts Dad fabricated. We sent the body out to be sandblasted. Unfortunately, it was dropped during sandblasting, so we had to hammer out a large dent. Then we applied layers of Bondo and sanded until the body was nice and smooth. We repaired, painted and assembled everything ourselves except for the chrome pieces. Dad had used a hood ornament from the &amp;#039;48 Buick, and pipes from underneath the kitchen sink for the side trim. We sent it all out to be rechromed. The engine, rear wheels, steering wheel cord and upholstery were the only things we had to replace. For authenticity, we used the original yellow color for the accent pieces, and we left the grille broken from when Ronny hit a tree. During this project we talked about our father--it brought us closer together. It also made us appreciate the amount of work and ingenuity that went into building the kart. We are still trying to figure out how to restore the pulley system Dad built that used a lever to engage the drive axle to make the kart go. If pulled in the opposite direction, the lever slowed down the kart by engaging an axle pulley. Because we know how much damage kids can do, we told our grandkids that they would not be allowed to drive it, and we got them their own go-karts. The project cost about $2000. We&amp;#039;re actually having as much fun now showing it as we did as kids racing. Illustration by Flying-Chilli.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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