Boston.com / Your Life

Joseph 02:01PM	Peter, I recently noticed some yellow stains in on my garage ceiling and wall that looks like water stains. Directly above the garage is the kitchen but I did not find any leaks. How do I remove those stains?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:03PM	Joseph: First, the handyman is happy to be here, with all you nice people. to Joseph, paiant the stains with clear shellac, then repaint the ceiling with latex ceiling paint. and make sure the wawter leaks is fixed, whatever it is.
AL5000 02:03PM	Hi Peter, I am having precast concrete stairs put in to replace the stairs I remved at my entry. I am getting differing advice on what needs to be done to the soil where the stairs are going. What is your advice? Crushed stone, concrete slab, or just some blocks?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:06PM	al 5000: ideally, the precast steps and stoop should go on a foundation dug 3 feet into the ground. if you cannot do that, dig as deep as practical and fill the space with crushed stone. this will allow for tgood drainaige and help pr[event heaving in winter.
jackb 02:06PM	I'm thinking about buying a power washer for home use:prepping siding for paining, washing deck, washing cars, etc. Electric power washers have pressure of about 1,500 psi, vs 2500 psi and more for gasoline models. Is 1,500 enough for my purposes. thank you
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:08PM	JackB: I think 1500 psi is as good as anything for yur purposes. you relalay do not want a stream too heavy; a heavy stream can get behind vinykl and aluminum siding, and it would take forever to dry out. go for the 1,500.
capecod 02:08PM	I just painted my livingroom a lovely deep red, but unfortunately some of the paint found it's way to my white, textured ceiling! How can I get this paint off?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:09PM	capecod: since the ceiling is textured, it will be difficult to remvoet he red paint with chemical paint remvoers. so, instead, repaint the red or redo the whole cieling. and be a little more careful when you do that.
thatneedsfixin 02:10PM	Peter: An enclosed shower/tub in a second floor bathroom is leaking under the floor, or inside the wall, causing a growing moisture spot on the ceiling of a first floor bathroom directly below. I suspect the leak originates with the drain, but who knows. I'm puzzled about how to investigate and repair wouthout cutting into the wall -- the hardware is inside a hallway wall. Maybe I have no choice but to open the wall. What might you suggest?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:12PM	needsfixin: to checxk the drain, turn oon the shower and check for any mositure coming through the ceiling. if htat hapens, yoiur ownly choice is to 0pen the ceiling below and check the drain. also, make sure there is no overfllow froom the shower to the floor of the bathroom. also, check the shower pan.
Dilly 02:12PM	Hey Peter, did you get my email earlier today about radiator covers? ABC Decorating at 145 Cedar St. in Somerville manufactures custom sized metal enclosures which are relatively attractive. I bought a few of them a couple years ago. Average sized covers cost about $100-150 each.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:14PM	Dilly: I have not checked my email, but i am sure it is there. i appreciate the info. you menmtioned enclosures and covers. do yu mean covers tghat only go on top of the radiator, or enclosures, which cover the entire radaitors. If the enclosure costs $100 to $150 each, it is a good buy.
stained 02:15PM	I have an exisisting red oak floor that was patched with white oak (not a large area just three boards). Is it possible to match the white to the red? And if so what color stain / brand of stain do you recommend? Thank you.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:17PM	Stained: if tghe red oak is already finished, you will ahve to experiment with a stain on fhe white oak for a match. i think yoiu will need a veyr light stain to match. but it is still a guess. if the qwhole floor is bare oak, tghen any stain will even out the color of the wood.
BOSTON DUDE 02:17PM	WHAT'S GOING ON?
Mark 02:18PM	I just had my house painted. One of the windows (TILT-IN style) got stuck form the paint. I whack the window hard to free it and as a result the window does not move at all (It's in the closed position). The reason it's stuck is the metal piece that runs in the upper half the window casing side has dropped ( now it's resting on the bottom of the window casing) creating the window to be jammed. Any suggestion on how to fix (I tried to push it back up but it will not catch on anything and keeps falling back down). The other side of the window is fine.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:20PM	mark: I think the only way to fix the window is to take it out of its casing and try to make that metal strip stay where it bellngs. if you know the brand of the window, call up the dealer or manufacturere and have a rep check it out.
Ruthie 02:21PM	Hi, Peter! Thanks for all your awesome advice! I am finishing my basement: drywalling and carpeting. Is it better to install the carpeting first or the drywall first? We are also insulating the ceiling and puting in a drop ceiling. In what order should all these things be done? Also, I called Anderson Insulation and they don't work on Saturdays, and I can't afford to take a day off of work to have insulation installed. Any other ideas of who to call? Can I install the insulation myself if it's covered in plastic on both sides? How much does insulation cost? The small basement room is 12'X18' and the other side is maybe 25% larger.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:25PM	ruthie: do the drywall first, ceiling second,and he floor last. find another insualtior in the yellow pages. Anderson is good but any outfit needs a day off occasionally. you can install that insualtion yourself; it is called polywrap, but before putting it up, you should put in a polyethylene vapor barrier touching the ceiling above, between joists, then install the insulation with insulation hangers, pointed wires stuck between joists.
jp 02:25PM	Hi Peter, I have crabgrass and weeds in my yard. Can you recommend a Commercial Product to eliminate them from my yard?? jp
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:26PM	jp: Try Weed and Seed, i think made by Scott. there are many weed killers sold in garden centerrs. take your pick.
Cathy 02:27PM	Dearest Peter: Used your advice many times. Thanks. Thinking about installing a half bath on the second floor of my cape-style home in Brewster. Now, it is an open floor. Oh wise one, how difficult is it to run the toilet & water pipes down through the exterior wall (can't be an exterior wall) of the first floor? Will I have to remove the sheetrock on the first floor where the pipes will go, or does the plumber fish these pipes down? Are water pipes similarly fished up from the cellar? I'm just trying to figure this out now.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:30PM	Cathy: I like that salutation; haven't had oneo like that foro a while. let the plu,ber do his thing. if there is insulation in the walls, snaking weaer pirpes and drain pipes would be difficult, and perhaps the wall finish will have to be remvoed, to make sure the pipes are on the inside of the isnulation. If the pipes go down an interior wall, it might be possible to snake the pipes, if there is no obstruction in the wall. it would be nbetter to install the pipes in an interior wall.
waterfront 02:31PM	peter, I'm redoing my hardwood floors and am thinking about putting down some of those stick on "tread savers" on the stairs rather than using a carpeted runner. how do you feel about those? do you know the things I'm talking about? THANKS!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:33PM	waterfront: by the stickon tread savers, I assume you mean the carpet treads. they are ok, and do save the treads, but are rather inelegant (cheap, ths is). but you can do it until you can afford a good stair runner,which is better; if you usetghe runner, make sure it is wool, and you will be ion good shap;e for years. expensive, maybe $600 for a straight stair (including labor), but worth it. I have it and i am happy with it. Quiet, too!
Driver 02:33PM	Peter, How hard is it to resurface a driveway? Is this a job for an average skilled handyman, or should it be left to the pros. If it's not that hard where do I get the materials? Thanks in advance.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:36PM	Driver: If the driveway is is asphalt, ahjve a pro do it. it is not worth the effort for you to do it, and i do not think yoiu can get the matgerials for a do it yourself job. if it is concrete, you can do it byu putting in forms to hoold twoo inches of concrrete. for thqt much concrete, you want to order it. before anything, thjough, put a bopnding agent on the old concrete before pouring the new.
Dilly 02:36PM	Peter, do you have any tips on removing poison ivy?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:40PM	Dilly: Had a big piece on poision ivy in the at home section a couple of weeks ago. I think on thursday, may 15. basicaslly, it is best to rooto it out bodily. or, kill it first by treating with Roundup or other herbicide. Or, use a pinp;oint torch to kill the plant but not burn it dopwn. once dead, the planyt is more easily removed. where skin protection when working with pi. if yoiu are allgerjic, have a pro do it.
waterfront 02:40PM	Peter, any ideas on how to improve the look of pre-cast concrete stairs on the front of the house. They exist on the house I just bought and are hideous.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:42PM	waterfront: Concrete hidseous? It's all in the eye of the beholder.. If it is stained, tghen it is hideous. wash the concrete with a bleach/water solution, let dry, rinse and let dry. then apply a concrete stain. Muralo makes a concrete stain in many colors; it is sold in painit strore where muralo paints re sold. it will not peel.
roy 02:43PM	hi peter, motor oil stains on my 4yr old asphalt driveway (never been seal coated).. how can I get rid of them completely...
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:44PM	Roy: scrape off any excess dried oil; then wet the oil with paint thinner, then immediately sprinkle, heavily, baking soda, Speedy-Dry (an absorbent clay ) or cat litter. leav e it on for an hour, sweep up and throw away. repeat as necessry.
mainstreet 02:45PM	Our bathroom tiles are original to home built in 20's. They proably were white when new, but are now greyish. Despite attempts to clean them with everything from bleach, to Oxycleaner they haven't lightened at all. I'm told it's "mud" construction and held together with cement. Can we install new tile over the existing tile? What about paint? Anything we can do short of bathroom demolition?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:47PM	mainstreet: do not paint a tile floor. it simipy will not work. you can put new tile over the old, setting it with thin-set mortar; you must lift the tolilet and otgher free-standing fixtures first, then apply the tile and put the fixtures bnack on top of the new tile.
jl 02:48PM	is it ok to install a trash disposal into a rented apartment?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:49PM	jl: If by trash disposal you man a garbagfe disposal, the answer is yes.
HB 02:49PM	I have a question about a strange phenomenon... We just bought a house and moved in the first of February. Starting in the middle of March, we have noticed that a strange smell, much like that of a baked potato can be noticed in various parts of the house, first in the living area and now in my bedroom. Is there some sort of decaying material that might cause this odor? It is definitely not a dead mouse and, no, we haven't been baking potatos in the house.... It's just so strange.....
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:52PM	HB: A strange phenomenon indeed. a dead mouse does not smell like a baked potato, so i am hard put to identify it. Consult an odor removal company. it could be any number of htings, each of which may have a different solution. Ventilation might help dissipate it. but if there is a source such as a corpse, it will eventgually dissipate. a mouse may smell for a week. hope for the best.
Brian 02:53PM	The tape has separated from the sheetrock joints in several places in my bedroom. The gaps are 1/8 " to 1/2 ". I have been advised to staple the existing tape back to the sheetrock, retape, then joint compound before i repaint it. Is that the best way to repair the problem? Brian
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:54PM	Brian: Yes, that is the best way: but it is best to remvoe tghe tgape, dig out the old joint comound, instgall a new tape with joinit comund, and replaster the tap3e three times with joint compound. the original job was defective.
Slim 02:55PM	My toilet leaks at the base, and I've discovered that one of the bolts that keep it down is broken. Or maybe the flange is broken. I won't know until I take it apart this weekend. If it is the flange, is there something I can do besides replacing that, since from the looks of that part during a Home Depot Run, that may be the point where I need a plumber.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:57PM	Slim: ity may be a flange oro a ddefective bolt, etc. unless yu can fix what's wrong when you lift the toilet, i suggest you have your plumber do it right. tghe wax ring also may be defective.
Ron 02:57PM	Is there anything I can do to WHITE kitchen and bathroom floor tile, it shows every particle of dirt and grime and never looks clean, can I refinish in some way? thanks
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:59PM	ROn: If the kitchen tile is on tghe wall, and not the floor, you can paint it. sand itwith a pwoer sander to reduce gloss and rouighen the finish, then app;ly one coat of a latex enamel undercoater, then finish with an oil based p;aint or latex enamel. tghe sanding and roiughening the finish is essential to success. Muralo make a good enamel undercoater. a tile floor cannot beo painted. at least it will not last very long.
lefty 03:00PM	Hi Peter! Can a retaining wall be "retro-fitted" with drain holes? The 4' wall at one end of our lot has no holes and is starting to bulge just a bit in one 10' section. I'd like to minimize further damage. What kind of drill would I use, and should a pipe then be inserted in the hole?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:03PM	Lefty: Sure, any reainaing wall can be fitted with wee hioles. if it is concrete,. use an impact drill to drill the holes, and make sure the drill nbit is long enough to go through the concrete. if it is not concrete, holes cna be drilled bewteen blocks or into timbers. it would be nice to put a small cp0per p;ipe in the weep;holes to keep them open.
Ahbid 03:03PM	Peter..............where are you from and how long have you been working for the globe?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:07PM	Ahbid: Who wants to know? I am a Michigander, a Wolverine, from the University of Michigan (The Harvard of the West) and L:ake Superior State universityh in Sault Ste. Marie, my home town. Beenm writing for 63 years, for the Globe for 39 years. served in Korea in 1951 and 1952.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:08PM	OK, oys, and girls, time to go. a good time was had by most of us, I hope. anyone can email me at photton@globe.com. see, next week. or email soonest.