Taking on carpenter ants; sink hole needs to be filled
Q. I have seen mounds of sawdust on the cellar and the first-story floor. A contractor said it's from carpenter ants, and another said the ants are eating through the insulation in the ceiling, which is a white foam type insulation. What can I do?
ALICE BOWEN, Amesbury
A. The ants certainly sound like carpenters, which don't eat wood or the foam insulation, but make nests in damp punky wood. To get rid of them you have to find the nest and destroy it, then replace the punky wood with sound wood. The ants found the foam insulation similar in texture and softness to punky wood, so they nested in it. What you need is an exterminator who will find the nests and destroy them. Spraying here and there indoors or out is not likely to be very effective, and is hazardous indoors.
Q. How can I take down beadboard wainscotting 5/8-inch thick, that is nailed to the wall, so I can reuse it?
WORKING HARD
A. Like you'd move a brick house: Very carefully. It may be only 3/8-inch thick, which makes it more vulnerable to cracking if mishandled. It is probably tongued and grooved and blind nailed, with nails going through the tongue of one edge with the groove of the next board covering the tongue. Once you pry off the first board it's easy to pry the next successfully, with a flat bar, a tool about 12 inches long that makes prying easy and gentle. Pull all nails and you will be ready when the time comes to put them all back. Be sure to remove any baseboard or top board covering the wainscotting before moving the boards.
Q. I have a sink hole in my backyard the size of a football. I stuck a pole down the hole and came up with it being at least 9 feet deep. The ground is full of fractured granite ledge, buried after an addition was built with a full basement. Will filling it with stone dust help? Could I fill it with concrete to cap it?
BARRY HARDING, East Weymouth
A. It may be a perennial job. Capping it with a foot or two of concrete could work for a while, if you can find a base that would support the concrete. But here is a trick that might keep it full for a few years rather than a few months. Fill that labyrinthian hole (it has many nooks and crannies that caused the sink hole in the first place) with stone dust or builder's sand, whichever is less expensive. Start with a small trickle of sand, taking care not to plug a hole below grade and stop the flow. Every now and then, or when the sand builds up, aim a hose into the hole to break up the sand and send it further down into smaller crevices. It's tedious, but what else do you have to do for the rest of the summer?
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton also appears in the Sunday Homes Section. He's available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on 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
