Boston.com / Your Life

smiley 02:02PM	What's the best solution to drafty windows?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:05PM	Dear Smiley: Wow, a question even before we start. so here goes, boys and girls, all aboard.For drafty windows, first, weaterstrips them. For old-fashioned wood windows with weights, spring bronze stripping is best. For others, you can use a vinul tube type stripping. A temporary stripping that can be remvoed in spring and re-used is Mortite, a flexible rope type strip that is pressed into all joints. Another fix: exterior storm windows.
pawtucket 02:06PM	Hi Peter, in today's column you aswerd a question about the zinc weatherstripping; do you know where can i find replacement parts for the weatherstripping? Thank you for your column and helpful advice!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:07PM	Pawtucket: I don't think they make it any more. if parts of such stripping is missing, you can use spring bronze weather-stripping, sold in some big box chains and hardware stores.
waterfront 02:08PM	I'll up the ante on that first question and ask about a drafty front door...the cold air is like a knife coming through the hinge side
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:09PM	Waterfront: gain, it is a matter of weatherstrippping. If the dooro is wood, spring bronze weatherstrip[ping will fill that gap. If you use any other kind of stripping, it must go on the outside. A storm door will help, too, if it is not as loose as the main door..
ct 02:10PM	I want to refinish rather than replace an old tub, seems like it is cast iron (not on feet though). Want to change color from tan to white. Any suggestions?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:12PM	ct: You could have the tub reglazed in the color of yur heart's desire, but i do't think reglazing or refinishing is the best approach. If yu just want to change the color, forget it. But if push comes to shove, you can have an acrylic shell put over your tub; it work, better than reglazing. Bath Fitter is one company that does this work. I am not a part of Bath Fitter.
Seeg 02:12PM	Hi Peter! Is there a normal or standard angle that stairs are built at? I'm trying to calculate the slope of the angle of my stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor to cut some wainscoating. Thanks!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:16PM	Seeg: there is no standard for the slope of a staircase that I know of; if there is, it wold be about 45 degrees. But it depends on how much room you have to put the staircase in, and how high your ceiling is. there is a standard for the treads and risers, and it is 25. The sum of one trad and two risers should total 24 inches, give or take an inch or so. thes treads and risers should nbe equal; that is, all treads should be equal and all risers equal to each other. So, if your tread is 10 inches wide and your risers are 7-1/2 inches high, the tread and two risers total 25 inches. It is this standard that you have to stick to.
MWM 02:17PM	Have you heard mostly positive feedback on Harvey all-vinyl new and replacement windows? How would you say they compare to Pella pro-series (wood interior, aluminum exterior)?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:19PM	MWM: I have heard some good thinvgs about Harvey's vinyl windows, and no bad things. I do not think Harvey is in the same league as pella, marvin and andersen. I salso think clad wood is best. That is an opinion.
Smith 02:19PM	Hello Peter, I have terrible water hammer that makes a thunderous banging when my washing machine stops filling. The plumber tells me that it is exceptionally bad because I live at the end of a cul-de-sac and recommended putting in a pressure reducing valve at the water main. I have read about water hammer arrestors that can be installed right at the washer hoses.. Any comment on those? I'd prefer not to reduce the pressure throughout the house if I can avoid it.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:21PM	Have your plumber install a n arrestr on the supply lines. You could try the pressure-reducer and you might find that will work without losing too much pressure where you want it.
rp 02:21PM	Peter, What's the best way to take down a "mud job" tile wall? Use a sledge hammer or cut the tile along the studs but this may cause sparks as you cut the metal lathe behind the wall. I'm in a delima!!!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:23PM	rp: A sledge hammer to remvoe a mud job is dirty but effective; when you reach a stud you can pull the mess off with a pry bar or a ripping hammer. Why take down a mud job, by the way?
NewInMA 02:23PM	I was wondering if a Venetian Plaster wall treatment can be used in a bathroom - I've only seen it used in non-bathrooms. Would it need a special sealer of any kind? Thanks!!!!!!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:25PM	NewinMa, I am ancient in ma, and I don't what venetian plaster is. If it is rough or scrolled, do not use it in a bathroom.
ft 02:25PM	Hi Peter, I have a ranch built in 1960, with radiant heat my closet doors are stained, but have many spots on door appear to be water, but wear they are they cannot get water on them. when I clean with a liquid polish they disappear and then only come back. any ideas how to help... 2nd question, I have my water pipes in the attic, i use heater coils during bad cold times. that god it has been no problem so far. Is blown insulation OK for an attic.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:28PM	ft: To get rid of the water stains, you have to refinish the door. If there is no varnish or shiny finish on the door, you can try restaining the door to cover the stain. if that works, give the door two thin coates of a water-based polyurethane varnish. You can blow finerglass or cellulose opn the attic floor, but keep it out of the roof ovfrhang.
Ralfred 02:28PM	I own a one family house & need some insulation. could you tell me someone I can contact to get the job done
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:29PM	Ralfred: Try looking up insulating contractors in the yellow pages, and take your chances.
metrowest 02:30PM	Peter, We installed a pull down attic stair case a year ago. Last week there was ice build up on the tips of the roofing nails. Can these stairs cause enought moisture to build up in the attic to cause this? The house is 50 years old and there has not been a problem before. The attic has large vents on each end but no ridge vent or soffit vents.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:34PM	metrowest: If the attic floor id insulated, that is good. The attic staircase door in the attic floor is probably a thin piece of plyyweood, allowing loss of heat and also allowinog warm humid house air to leak into the attic, causing frost on the nail points. You can cover that door with an insulated box that fits tightlsy over the opening, not only as insualtion but as a good air stop. There are covers on the market, or make one yourself.
AllanT 02:34PM	Can a steam heating system (oil run furnace, with steam valve radiators) be converted to forced hot water ? Also If the system is changed to gas heat, does gas burn hotter and require the chminey to be lined from cellar to roof opening ?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:36PM	allanT: Steam heat can be converted to hot water, but it is an expensive oepration. Converting to gas heat will reauire a new flue liner of stainless steel or a special aluminum alloy. think twice before converting. Gas is considerably more expensifve as a fuel than oil.. stick wtih the oil.
JeffS 02:36PM	Hi Peter! Any thoughts on the benefits (energy efficiency-wise) of having wooden radiator covers installed? I've heard different things... Thanks!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:38PM	JeffS: wood radiator enclosures with proper openings and a reflective back can be highly efficient. Store bought enclousres are expensive, but yu might be able to find plans at the Big Box chains, so yu can make your own. .
jen 02:39PM	Hey, Peter. I run a vaporizer in the nursery, which has about half of its ceiling sloped. The sloped part is uninsulated because the configuration of the attic crawlspace doesn't permit me to get some fiberglass into it. On the colder nights, I end up with a lot of condensation on that sloped part of the ceiling, and the paint there is peeling. Any suggestions on how I can protect the ceiling without having to turn the vaporizer so far down that it's not providing the baby with appropriate humidity? Thanks!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:42PM	Hey, Jen: The only cure for the peeling paint and hhumdity is to have the sloped ceiling insulated. As long as yuou use that humdifier, you will get condensation on any cool surface, if not on he ceiling, then elsewhere. if the humidifier is not needed for medical reasons, turn it off and see what happens. there might be enough moisture in the room to be good for you and the baby. A humidifier is good in some ways, nbut if too much condensation occurs, mold can grow, and that is worse than too little humidity.
Heat 02:44PM	I was given an indoor Kerosene heater recently as an extra heating unit to heat my house. Do I need to vent the unit? Do you know where I can buy kerosene in the west of boston vicinity?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:46PM	heat: Any eater that uses fossil fuels, including kerosene, MUST be vented to the outdoors. Keep looking for the kerosene; you will find it eventually at a hardware store. Most stores carry aromatic kerosene for lamps, but it is criminally overpriced.
Quincy 02:47PM	Peter, I took down an old oven hood and I'm replacing it with a spacemaker microwave. The hood was "hard wired" but the mic uses a plug/outlet. I believe I can simply add a box and outlet, but I'm making an assumption that the voltage is the same for the mic and hood. Any thoughts? Thank you.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:48PM	Quincy: If the microwave has a three pronged plug that fits into a standard outlet, the voltage is the same for the hard wired hood.
mice,mice,mice 02:49PM	Peter: HELP! Over the last week, we've caught 26 (count 'em 26) mice in our 1916 colonial. During the past few days we haven't caught any big ones - just the babies. Any chance we've caught most of the family and we can avoid an exterminator?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:50PM	mice, mice, mice: wow wow wow, that is a lot of mice. you probablsy did not get all of them, so keep catching them in traps or use D-Con. and check the basement and foundaiuton and other places for entry holes. mice can go through an opening the size of a dime, and are good climbers, so fill all suspicious joints. With a lot of luck you will keep new ones from coming in.
mikey 02:51PM	Hi Peter, Recently I've noticed water stains in the bathroom ceiling near our skly light window. The window is part of the original house built about 13 years ago. What do I look for and how do I correct this problem?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:53PM	Mikey: It sounds as if the skylight is leaking. check the flashing around the skylight. If it is a rubber gasket aruond the skylight superstrucure between wall of the skyliught ahnd the roof, , that may be the reason for the leak. proper flashing around a skylight is step flashing, individual aluminum pieces set up under each rfow of shingles.f you can't do this yurself, you can have a roofer check it out.
Bob Vila 02:54PM	I have a leak in my bathroom where the tile floor, wall and tub meet. I believe the caulking in that area isn't doing its job. What is the easiest way to remove the old caulking and replace it.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:57PM	Bob Vila: The real Bob Vila would not have to ask that question. anyway, if the material you call caulking is really cauylking, soft stuff installed with a caulking gun, you can cut it out with a utility knife, and put in new cualking. A good caulking is Phenoseal, an adhesive caulk. iF THE MATERIAL IS GROUT, A CEMENT-BAsed material, dig it out with a chisel, and put in new grout, very compactly.
chr 02:57PM	Peter, I have FHW baseboard heat...I live in a NE Colonial (100 yrs old) the house seems to be very dry. I recently purchased a humidifier (Kenmore Evaporative 11 gal). I have a finished basement and run a de-humidifier...If I run the humidifier on the 2nd floor and dehumidifier in basement am I defeating the purpose of both units?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:59PM	chr: I don't think the humidifier on the second floor and the dehumidifer in the basement will counteract each other. Go ahead. But I don't think the dehumidifier is needed in tfhe absement in winter, when it is cold. Besides, the dehumidifier will not work under 60 or so degrees.
rp 02:59PM	To answer your qestion Peter, It's Yellow Ugly tile with Black caps!! I want to just put blue board and plaster to update the kitchen along with new cabinets. Is there another alternative?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:00PM	rp: Well, you certainly did answer my question, and i agree that is has to do. But you can paint it. scradrch it up by sanding, wash thoroiughoy andf apply a latex ernamel undercoater, and fginish with an oil based enamel. It could last a long time.
mo-thepro 03:00PM	hiya peter. i know there is probably and easy answer for this but for the life of me I can't figure it out. My front stairs are painted over conrete. Is there any way I can rid the steps of the paint?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:03PM	mo-thepro: The only way to take the paint off in winter is to have it ground off by a professional grinder.ou might be able to rent one. Or, in warmer weather, use chemical paint remover. the strongest you can get. it is tedious and messy. Once yu get it off, apply a concrete stain. Muralo makes a good one in many colors. no peeling.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:04PM	OK boys and girls , time to go. Email me at photton@lobe.com