Q. The yard along the side of my house slopes down from front to back. I would like to build a couple "step down" retaining walls so that we can put in some nice shrubs and flowers. Problem is the painted wood siding slopes down parallel to the ground and building a wall would mean resting dirt against the siding. I know this is a bad idea as it can cause rotting/water damage/mold. What can I do to protect the siding and still make the step down walls look good?

A. There is more to be concerned about than just the wood rotting. You could be opening your self up to termites and possible moisture inside your walls. If you are going to do a step down you need to do it so all of the wood is still exposed. Make the top of each step down start below the siding and then dig down. I would like to repeat this. Do not try what you are talking about all you will get is grief. You should keep all of your wood and hopefully a couple of inches of foundaton showing.

Q. I have a retaining wall (maybe 4 feet deep and 4 feet wide) which sits against my concrete block foundation wall. The bottom of the retaining wall is filled mostly with concrete and some dirt. The top half is filled with volcanic rock. I recently noticed I am getting seepage inside my basement near where my retaining wall is situated. I had a basement waterproofer out and he said I need to buy an interior drain tile. Is this retaining wall part of my issue. Someone else suggested removing all the material in the retaining wall and putting in a perforated pipe. How do I access what is the cause of my water ? I have never really taken a look at this corner of my basement during a rainstorm, so this water/seepage could have occurred before. Note I checked my gutters and all the water is being drained properly.

A. Sure seems to me that the space between the retaining wall and the foundation wall is like a big flower pot, when it rains or plants are watered the water hits the volcanic rock and filters on down. I most likely doesn't happen each rain, because the stones and concrete can absorb a lot of moisture if dry. After a few rains in a row and the water will run right in. I would clean out this space and see if a water tight membrane can be installed and a drain pipe inside to carry off the moisture Good Luck

Q. Commercilal rubber matrix playgrounds are nice but very expensive. Need something for pool deck that's waterproof (rain water must run off away from pool) and semi-flexible (won't crack). Pool is in a small backyard formed by back-filling a large, 13 foot high concrete block retaining wall with soil. Can't let heavy rains saturate the D.G. soil or wall will crack from hydraulic pressure. (Already had small crack because soil got saturated in heavy rains.) Thanks.

A. If thats the case, sooner or later your wall may give up even if you put water insulations. your retaining wall may have been designed in substandard procedures.... if you can. make holes on your retaining walls so water would just pass thru it. best way in making this is to drill a hole about 2.5 inch in diameter 1.5 meters apart. (not in a straight horizontal line) and then inser a 1 1/4" dia pipe thru it to the entire span. if you think it wouldnt be possible, then, you should have another pool that is safer enough for you and your poolmates to swim. i could not give you assurance of just waterproofing your deck

Q. I might get a job with construction but it says these positions are open only, i want to know what they are before i go. - FOUNDATION REPAIR - DRAINAGE - RETAINING WALLS what are those? what would i be doing?

A. Open is non-union - be willing to go home sore from muscles you didnt know you had till you get in shape

Q. I built a 3 center block high retaining wall on my property, which I place on crushed stone. The bottom row of blocks is buried in. I drove rebar into the ground about 2 - 3 feet every other opening and filled the entire thing with cement. The wall is functioning great but looks like a center block wall. What kind of Stucco product can I use to give the wall a more finished look? I prefer Quickrete products as they are readily available where I live. Thanks - Sean Can I not just Stucco it directly?

A. Wow! a question i can finally answer! what you should do is plaster it, use plastic cement and sand to scratch it, than all you do is stucco it. (easier said than done but you get the picture).

Q. I recently laid down stones for a retaining wall. The stones were trapezoid shaped, so we were able to lay down the stones in a decently shaped oval around the area we wanted enclosed. Now we are putting one layer of a thinner top stone to make it look finished. The thing is this: The top stone is square, so it makes fitting the top stones to the others incredible difficult because they can't be bent around like the trapezoid stones did. We have to cut them in order to do this. I have all the tools needed to cut the stones I believe, I just don't know how to align the stones to create the lines I need to cut. There's going to be about 50-60 stones in all, and no 2 stones are on a perfect straight line, meaning every stone has a bit of a turn on it. So all the stones must be cut. Is there any method to create lines to cut the stones? What are some general instructions on how this is done by professionals? Thank You

A. Get yourself a bevel gauge. You can get this at any hardware store or home center. Use this to lay out the angles on the wall, then transfer it to your stone. It's a handy tool. Hope this helps.

Q. This is regarding a house in Pittsburgh, PA. I just bought my first house and i'm kinda clueless about these things. 1. I need to install a fire-rated door or a solid-core door between the garage and basement. Right now there's a screen door only. I'd need to get a lockset installed. How much will labor and materials be? Is it cheaper to go with Lowes or Home Depot rather than local contractors? 2. The retaining wall is bulging and needs to be fixed. How much would this cost? I was told that the same stones could be reused to rebuild the wall. 3. The house is old and has fuse boxes. I need to get a new circuit breaker panel. Cost? Also have to change the old outlets to grounded ones. 4. I need to regrout the tiles by the tub in the bathroom and recaulk it. The tiles themselves are ok, just need to refinish. I've heard that this shouldn't be too expensive. Does anyone know any reliable contractors? I'm in the South Hills part of town.

A. Hey I grew up about 30miles from you in a town called Vandergrift ever heard of it? 1. If you are handy just get a door at Lowe's or HD and do it yourself. If the jamb is in place already it will be pretty easy 2. This is a labor intensive job to save money do the tear down yourself then hire the rebuild out. 3. A new panel is something you can also get at HD or Lowe's but should be installed by a contractor. But if YOU buy the box you will save some good money. 4. The tile is also a diy project and probably cost around $30.00 for you to do it. If you e-mail me I can recommend someone in your area.

Q. I've got plain white walls in my apartment and I'm trying to find alternatives to painting them as I am not allowed to do anything to the walls that would be considered permanent such as painting, or putting up wallpaper. I'm not looking for decorating tips on how to liven up the space with furniture or accessories, I'm just hoping that there is some sort of alternative to paint that gives the impression of the walls being painted. Thanks!

A. Ummm..this is tough. You can't paint, hang wall paper or liven anything up with accessories and furniture and want a new "paint" look to the walls. Hmmmmm....? Try "big" monochrome art panels. http://www.graziafortunaward.com/