Q: I'd like to tile my basement floor, but there's a coat of paint over it. Someone told me I'd have to sand the paint off. Is there any alternative that's not so messy, or should I go to another type of flooring?
— Daniel, Mineola, N.Y.
There's a national hotline to call before beginning any excavations. Dial 811, and a utility crew shows up to map out pipelines, wires, and other underground infrastructure free of charge—meaning you won't have to worry about a charge of the electrical kind when you start to shovel.
