RICHARD CARCIO, Reading

A. No, no, a thousand times no, the handyman would rather die than say yes. The vinyl will attract just as much mildew as anything else; besides, you would be putting a sow's ear over a silk purse. No need, and no point.

The mildew is a fact of life, and will be with us forever. But it can be killed by painting it with a mix of one part liquid chlorine bleach and three parts water. It will have to be done regularly, even once a year, but it can't be helped. And, it has to be said: Use skin and eye protection when working with bleach.

But why are we getting so much mildew these days, while in the good old days we hardly new it existed? Black mildew, and its green cousin algae, will grow on a damp surface, and any damp surface except glass, unpainted metal, and glazed tiles.

It did not grow in the good old days because house paint contained lead and mercury, which are deterrents to mildew and algae.

One thing about exterior paints and stains: They contain a mildewcide that will deter the growth of mildew, but they are effective only about two years. So, if you paint or stain your house, you can count on two good years; after that, it's back to the bleach/water mix.

Q. I have an old Cape-style house with one problem -- pine clapboards. How can I treat those clapboards, or finish them in any way?

C.S., Hingham

A. I don't think that pine clapboards are a problem, unless they are knotty or have not been painted, stained or treated in any way. If they are knotty, it would be a miserable job to paint or even stain them because the knots will bleed through, and there may be too many of them to seal properly before painting or staining. Besides, sealing outdoor knots (with shellac or other sealer) is not always a sure cure against bleeding knots. If they are not painted then they might be in pretty bad shape, because pine, unlike cedar, does not stand up very well to weather.

So, if they are in bad shape, you can replace them with red-cedar clapboards and stain them with a semitransparent stain. Or, cover the old clapboards with white-cedar shingles and let them weather to a soft silver gray without any kind of treatment.

If they are not knotty and not heavily weathered, and have been painted, you can repaint or put on a solid-color stain.

Q. I am putting up new red-cedar clapboards. Should the rough side show? I have heard so many arguments over rough vs. smooth that I am totally confused. And should I pre-dip the clapboards with paint or stain? Information on painting or staining or pre-dipping is also confusing.

B.T., Stoneham

A. You're right, it is confusing, because there are so many options (and opinions) in applying the clapboards as well as painting or staining them. Anyway, rough side out is best because the rough side will take paint or stain better than the smooth side, because smooth clapboards often reject paint and stain. Besides, you can hardly tell the difference.

As for pre-dipping, it's a good idea because it will help prevent cedar bleed, the brown stains that often appear on painted or stained clapboards from the color of the cedar being leached out by water. I suggest you use semitransparent stain. Or, if you want a bigger choice of colors, use a latex solid stain. If you pre-dip with semitranpsarent stain, there is nothing more you have to do. If you pre-dip with solid stain, a second coat is required after installation.

Q. I ripped off the aluminum siding and found pretty fair-looking clapboards, so I replaced some of the bad ones, and applied an oil-based primer and finished with a good acrylic paint. Now, the primer is peeling in spots to the bare wood. The new clapboards, smooth side out, are OK. The peeling is occurring only on the old clapboards. How can I keep the old clapboards from peeling?

DAVID DONATO, Framingham

A. The primer and paint usually peel because of excess moisture behind the clapboards, and that might be in your case. But another possibility, particularly since the paint on the new clapboards is intact, is that the old clapboards are beginning to decay, just a bit, become soft and punky, and unable to hold paint or primer. If that is the case, keep replacing them with new clapboards. Rough side out would be better. Damp, punky wood will not hold paint, and neither will wood that is beginning to dry out and turn powdery.

If it is, rather, moisture, then a possible cure is to put wedges under the clapboards, opening them up enough to allow water vapor to escape and the clapboards to dry out.

When David Mynott of Gloucester asked how to get lichen off his asphalt shingle roof, the handyman suggested bleach and water, and perhaps vinegar (but not together), to try to kill it enough to scrape off, very carefully. He added that lichen is very difficult to remove, and it might be best to leave it there rather than ruining the roof. Lichen is described as a plant made of a particular fungus and a particular alga forming a dual plant that adheres to many things (including roofs), and beomes quite hard and difficult to remove.

But hope springs eternal, and Jean E. Gorney of Summerfield, Fla., wrote to tell us, ``I don't know if this would work on a roof, but lichen can be removed from trees and such by using (rubbing with) a cotton garden glove. My neighbor said she tried this and it worked.

``I had a crepe myrtle tree that was covered on the trunk with lichen and tried (rubbed with) a brown garden glove I had and it worked perfectly and was so easy.''

Thank you, Jean Gorney. Anything is worth trying. David Mynott could try it, but be careful not to rub the stones off the asphalt.

Q. Some of the clapboards on the round tower in my house are pulling off at the joints. How can I get them back into position and keep them that way?

DAN O'BRIEN, Saugus

A. Just screw them back in place, using solid brass screws with a large head and long enough to go securely into the sheathing. Pull the nails and put the screws in their place. If the nail holes are too big for the screw to hold, move the screw half an inch to one side or the other. The brass screws can be stained or painted over.

Q. The previous owners of my house (I moved in 18 months ago) left a big pile of red cedar clapboards wrapped in plastic. I notice they are painted on one side. The whole package is sitting on sawhorses. Can they be stored safely that way?

MARK MIRANDA, Mansfield

A. They already have been stored for 18 months and more, so continue storing them that way. You can even store them outdoors on sawhorses (just don't let them sag because they will take on this sag permanently), as long as you keep them off the ground. The plastic wrap sounds as if it is virtually airtight or at least weatherproof. If it isn't, and they are outside, throw a tarp over them. You could also store them in the basement, as long as the basement is well ventilated from April to October.

If they get wet, take the plastic off and let them air dry. And to air dry them, you have to stick-stack them; that is, put down several boards parallel to one another, and lay several clapboards on these boards, at right angles to them. Lay sticks (1 x 2s or similar boards) at right angles to the clapboards, then lay more clapboards on top of these, and so on. The sticks simply keep the boards separated as they are stacked, leaving room for air to circulate.

Q. I am building a house. My wife likes vinyl siding; I like wood clapboards. But how can I treat the clapboards for minimum maintenance?

K.D., Hopedale

A. For minimum maintenance, install the clapboards rough side out and finish with a dark (dark gray or brown, for example) semitransparent stain. Only one coat is needed; the stain will not peel and restaining will be needed every five to seven years. The dark color is to disguise cedar bleed, those brown stains on the face of the clapboards caused by water. The cedar bleed may be there but it will not show on a dark surface. Install the clapboards rough side out no matter how you treat them.

To do a lighter color, use semitransparent stain, one coat, but you must back-prime the clapboards; that means painting the backs of them before installation with an oil-based exterior primer. This will stop cedar bleed, or at least is designed to stop cedar bleed.

A third way, but one that needs more maintenance, is to prime the clapboards on their face and apply two coats of a solid color latex stain. Solid stains look like paint and come in any color you want. Such stains can peel, however. And, the primer on the face of the clapboard, being a paint, defeats the purpose of a stain. Solid stains must be recoated every five to seven years. And any peeling must be scraped and sanded first.

Q. I have a double-garrison home, with the second floor overhanging the first both front and back. I am re-siding with cedar clapboards, but I want a 5-inch exposure rather than the standard 4 inches. To get this exposure I need 8-inch clapboards (7 1/2 inches wide), but these are difficult to obtain and are expensive. Is there any other way I can get a 5-inch exposure? Standard 6-inch clapboards (5 1/2 inches wide) would allow only a half-inch overlap, for a 5-inch exposure -- not enough.

L.S., Bedford

A. How about a compromise, and this compromise might please everyone: Settle for a 4 1/2-inch exposure; you could use the 5 1/2-inch clapboards and have a full inch overlap, enough to give good weather protection.

Q. I plan to stain my new red-cedar clapboards, which are going up with the rough side out, as everyone seems to recommend these days. Should they be primed or not? And would pre-primed clapboards be the better way to go before staining with a solid stain?

W.P., Hanover

A. If you put up red-cedar clapboards, it is good to prime them, then apply the solid-color latex stain (probably two coats). The primer is recommended to stop cedar bleed, the pigment of the cedar being leached onto the face of the siding by water vapor and water. This cedar bleed can stain light-colored siding readily.

Another trick is to back-prime the clapboards before they go up; that is, paint the backs (smooth side in your case) with an exterior oil primer. Then you could use a solid-color latex stain, or better yet, a semitransparent stain that will resist peeling much more than the solid-colors stains.

The pre-primed clapboards are good; just make sure they can be applied rough side out. Apply one coat of solid-color stain over the prime coat; you may not need a second finish coat.