Q&A: Toilet behaving strangely after lots of rain

Before you start worrying about all that, your first step is to determine the exact cause of the issue. I would suggest you start by having an experienced, licensed pumping company come out and pump your septic tank. Hopefully that solves the problem in and of itself. If not, they should be able to guide you toward the next steps, and who best to contact.

If you don’t know of a septic pumping company to call – although after 30 years in the house I’m assuming you’ve had the tank pumped a couple of times by now – contact your local building department to get a list of local licensed companies. a door, provided there’s sufficient room around them to safely work on them. I would double check that with the manufacturer.

Combustion appliances, on the other hand, require an unobstructed flow of air in order to operate correctly, so they should not be installed behind a solid door. If you want to use a door on the closet, it should have a gap below it and louvers in it to provide enough air for both appliances. I wouldn’t suggest a door on a closet with combustion appliances without first consulting with an experienced heating technician; you could seriously impact the operation of the appliances, and create health issues as well.

One final thing. Please plan on equipping your basement with a smoke detector and, if you do have combustion appliances, a carbon monoxide detector as well. lint from the dryer vent cap a couple times per year. My attic is not finished and not heated.

What is the preferred type of insulation to use and what is the methodology? Should I use something like a 4 inch thick insulation, faced or un-faced, and should it be taped with a duct tape? Other suggestions?

—Vito D. can also use duct insulation made specifically for wrapping ducts, which is a little denser and easier to work with. Hold the material in place with silver metallic ductwrapping tape – the good stuff, not the gray fabric duct tape, which won’t hold up. There are also duct straps, similar to zipties, that you can use to hold the material in place.

Everything you need is available at home centers and hardware stores.