Reshingling cottage walls poses problem
Q. I am having my cottage reshingled. The walls are sheathed with tongue-and-groove pine and are not insulated, and I don’t need or want insulation. I like the studs and sheathing showing. When installing the shingles, the contractor drove nails through the shingles and clear through the sheathing, not only exposing the nail points but also ripping off big slivers of wood as long as 12 inches. He suggested clipping the nail points and maybe covering the sheathing with more pine sheathing between the studs. Would that work?
ANONYMOUS
A. I love these kinds of questions, where there is no need for an answer. Clipping the points is good, and I don’t see any need for new sheathing inside, since you like the look you have already. So go along with the clipping. If the nail stubs rust, you can resheath between the studs and retain the look you like.
Q. Porcupines are eating the wood of my cottage in Maine. I plan to cover the wood parts with screening. Wood that work?
ANXIOUS
A. If that screening is like insect screens on your windows, the critters will rip it off in seconds. So use half-inch hardware cloth instead, which is galvanized steel mesh with half-inch openings. It is nasty stuff (dangerous to handle the edges) , and properly secured will deter any critters except maybe a black bear. I am not convinced they are porcupines, unless you have seen them. They sound more like raccoons or squirrels, but no matter who they are, they are determined to get into your house.
Not a good idea, e-mailed Susan Correia, who said the D-Con can be eaten by cats and other small animals, causing severe trauma and death. She wrote that the Humane Society suggests using an “L-shaped footer.’’ This is hardware cloth or welded wire buried a foot deep in an “L’’ shape, at least eight inches out, to keep animals from burrowing under it. Or, if vegetation is in the way, a tight fit to the ground and an “L’’ extension that runs out on the surface, instead of underground, should do the trick.
Thank you, Susan Correia.
Another thanks goes to Patricia Zlotin of Sharon, who e-mailed: “I think that if Alex added a liberal amount of ground pepper when he refills the holes it would suffice to discourage the chipmunks from digging again and would be safer than using D-Con. I have used this technique successfully for several years.’’
Q. I’m redoing my bathroom, but I am stymied by a 4-inch-high vinyl baseboard glued on the wall at floor level. Nothing seems to budge it. How can I get it off? Also, is here anything extra to do to remove wallpaper from Greenboard?
MARK GOLDBERG, Cambridge
A. The glue that holds things like vinyl to the wall is particularly strong, and the instructions that might have come with the installation never mention ways to get the things off. So, insert a chisel at the top of the baseboard and pry it off, a bit at a time. It may take some of the wallboard off, but it can’t be helped. Heating the vinyl will soften the glue and make it easier to remove.
For the wallpaper, it should be easy because it is on the Greenboard, which is waterproof - or more waterproof than ordinary plasterboard. So go ahead with any stripping material and scraping. Since the paper is vinyl coated, you must score it before trying to remove it, to allow your stripper to get behind the paper to soften the paste.
Q. I am getting a weird buildup of leaves, sap, debris, and black gunk on the roof gutters of my 2002 Buick that no amount of effort is getting of it. The car is parked under and around many trees, and there is no other place to park it. A man at the car wash suggested using an oil emulsion, but I really don’t know what that is. What will take it off?
FOSTER COMSTOCK, Chelmsford
A. If you have a garage, your wife’s Caddy is probably in it. One cleaner for the sap is rubbing alcohol, which might also handle the rest. If not, try these, in no particular order: Paint thinner, a citrus-based cleaner, a weak solution of ammonia and water, Goof-Off, Oops!, and a new one e-mailed to us by Bonnie Raymond: Charlie’s Soap, a veggie-based biodegradable cleaner. This last sounds like a citrus-based cleaner, only milder. Any port in a storm, Foster, and one should work.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the g section on Thursdays. He is 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 www.boston.com. Hotton’s email is photton@globe.com. 
