Q: Two years ago, our small, cottage-style home was renovated. In an effort to conserve space, we installed a trap door in the kitchen floor to access the cellar. The flooring consists of a layer of 3/4-inch plywood and glued to this is a layer of 1/4-inch plywood covered with a 1/2-inch layer of floating bamboo flooring. Additionally, the trap door has three 2 x 4 supports on the underside. The trap door has developed a considerable bow in the center. My guess is this is caused by the humidity variation between the cellar and the 1-inch floor. I attempted a fix by inserting rebars through the 2-x-4 supports, boring an offset hole in the center 2-x-4 support, which I hoped would flatten the bow. Instead of flattening the bow, to my surprise, the rebar bent to accommodate the bow in the door. What can I do to prevent this warping from happening again?
MARK RUSSELL, Weymouth
A: Never underestimate the power of contracting wood. I think your door warped not from moisture, but from drying out. Your basement may be drier than you think. If it is not, you can dry it out by ventilating. You have to rebuild the door, I think, this way: Buy 2-x-4 cleats or joists, and get the straightest, most cured (dry) ones that you can find; the shorter the cleat, the less it will warp, or not at all. Screw and glue the bamboo boards - 3/4-inch thick and tongued-and-grooved, to the cleats, spaced 12 inches on center. Use construction adhesive as the glue. When you buy this wood, store it in the house so its water content will adjust to that in other parts of the house
An alternative is to glue and screw two 5/8- or 3/4-inch sheets of plywood together and top with the bamboo. I personally would do the first.
Q: I am having a new roof installed, and one bid I got was very high, but also included these provisions: No testimony allowed in case of a suit, and only cash or cash equivalent. Should I pay attention to this or ignore it?
AMAZED
A: It's amazing the brass of some people, and alleged professionals at that. I would steer clear of this bozo. I can understand the demand for cash, but what the heck is a cash equivalent? Maybe you could pay him, if indeed you dared to hire him, with Monopoly money.
Q: I am redoing a three-season porch, using plasterboard walls and ceilings. How thick should the plasterboard be for the ceiling and walls? I know I can match the beveled edges of the panels to ease the chore of filling joints with tape and compound, but what happens in corners where one or both panels don't have the beveled edge?
RICHARD JENSEN, Weymouth
A: For walls, 1/2-inch, although 5/8-inch is better and stronger, and adds a bit to the sound-deadening abilities, if you can handle the weight. For ceilings, 3/8-inch is enough, and is light enough to be handled more easily in awkward positions.
While the beveled edges of each panel make it easier to fill with joint compound while taping, so you won't make the patch too thick, a lot of joints have no bevels, and you have to live with it. And to make those unbeveled edges nice and flat, just put in the joint compound much, much thinner.
Q: I have French doors on the second level looking out over a deck, and it is entirely exposed to the weather. Now the bottom is collecting water and is rotting. A man fixed it but it is rotting again. What kind of a new door, or rather two doors, can I use to avoid this?
AGNES AUBREY, New Orleans
A: A permanent cure is to replace the bottom stile and the lower part of the rails (vertical) with pressure-treated wood, but this takes considerable skill and time. I don't think it is worth it.
I suggest you invest in fiberglass doors, which will resist decay a lot more, and a lot longer, than the wood. Such doors are expensive but will give yeoman service for a lot longer than the wood did. They can be stained or painted, but I think it is best to stain them with a semitransparent stain. I would avoid steel, which has to be kept well painted to keep it from rusting, especially in an unprotected wall.
Q: I had Harvey storm windows installed some time ago, and they gave very good service. You are right; they are good storms. Last summer I had Andersen replacement windows installed, and they work well, but the workmen took away the storms without telling me. Since you told me I could keep them on the window frames, I would like them back. How do I do that?
ANNOYED
A: Contact the Andersen people and ask for them back. They might be destroyed, and if they are, you could try to get some cash for them, because they are expensive. The crew had no business taking them without your knowledge unless there was some mention of them in a contract. And if they put them on another house, you have a really good argument to get some cash.
Sometimes storm windows cannot be used because the frames of the replacements are wider than the old, and if you put a storm on, you would not be able to take out the storm sash to wash them. In a pinch, you could wash the storm sash in place. There is always a solution. Many dealers will tell you that you don't need storms with replacement windows, but if you have the storms, you will get triple glazing, which is at least a third more protection.
Why not? So go get 'em!
Q: Some of my foundation shrubs were planted too close to the foundation, so a friend cut them down and produced stalks of wood 3- to 4-inches thick. Are they hardwood? And can I burn them in a stove or fireplace?
TOM SWEENEY, Stoneham
A: If they are leafy shrubs like rhododendron, azalea, and others that may or may not lose their leaves in the fall, they're probably hard enough to be used as firewood, after they have been cured, (dried out). While the stalks are a heath, related to cypress, they are not classified in the construction sense of being hardwood like oak, walnut, birch, maple, mahogany, and others.
Stack them in the yard with a tarp over them, and they will cure in six to 12 months, so you can enjoy them in the fireplace or stove. In general, needle-leafed evergreens (soft woods) should not be burned except for kindling.
Q: My new roof is five years old (before Katrina), but now has developed leaks along the valley, where two sloping roofs meet to make, well, a valley, where the water gushes down quite hard. I may need a new roof, so how do I determine how to install the valley flashing and shingles?
METAIRIE, LA.
A: You may not need a new roof, if you can get the roofer to install the proper flashing. To do this, remove all shingles on each side of valley and the flashing, if any, under the shingles. Then install two-foot-wide roll roofing in the valley, then another strip of roll roofing three-feet wide right on top. Then install new shingles. In parts of New England and other parts of the country, the shingles are woven across the valley. This is the best way, and most likely not to leak.
If you have a problem of water gushing down the valley and overflowing the gutter, you can try to install a baffle on the outside of the gutter in the corner, extending a foot or two on each side of the valley. This may help prevent any overflowing. Another trick is to install a series of 1-x-4s over the valley, angled on each side to slow down the flow.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the Styles Section on Thursdays. He is available 1-6 p.m. on Tuesdays to answer questions about house repair. Call 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats online about house matters 2-3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to Boston.com. Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com
