Boston.com / Your Life

Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:07PM	Hi, everyone, here we go, with all the ships at sea. ready and willing to answeer questions, if I ever get any on my screen.
Ray 02:07PM	I have applied a coat of gypsum veneer plaster (Unikal brand) to a blueboard ceiling. How do I sand off the trowel marks in this very hard plaster?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:08PM	Ray: Sand off the bumps with an orbital sander, with medium coarse paper. wear a mask.
Mike 02:08PM	Peter- My threshold at the front door is down to the bare wood. How should I refinish it??
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:11PM	Mike: If the rest of the threshold is varnised, you can do one of two things: sand the finish and the bare wood with medium coarse paper, then give the threshold two or three coates of an oil-based exterior polyurethane varnish. Problem with this is thqt it will wear and/or peel. better is to sand off everything to the bare wood and apply one coat of semitransparent stain of the color of your choice. In 3 to 5 years, you will get no peeling and can put on onemore coat.
Karyn 02:12PM	Hi Peter! What, in your opinion, is the best tile cleaning solution?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:12PM	Karyn: What tile? For a shower enclosure or surrouond, daily shower use is as good as any. for a floor, a strong solution of spic and span and water will do well, too.
Dhunt 02:13PM	I need to install a retaining wall in my backyard to replace a now defunct railroad tie wall. It does not need to look pretty but must be sturdy. What are your thoughts on poured concrete versus blocks. We have some quotes for blocks which are quite high. Would concrete be less expensive?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:14PM	Dhunt: as expensive as they are, use the concrete blocks specifically designed for retianing walls. poured concrete is considerably less expensive, but the block wall, made of blocks designed for retaining walls, will last indefintely.
Providence 02:15PM	I decided to wash some of the aluminum siding on my house (in the back so noone can see it) so i took some fantastic and a papertowel... spray spray spray wipe wipe wipe. It cleaned it so well the paint came off. WHat are my options? paint the siding? Tear it off and shingle? How can i was the siding without removing the paint?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:18PM	providence: Fantastic can take paint off. spic and span in a standard fix probably will not unless he pai9nt is pretty well worn off anyway. two options: rip off the junk and iput up white cedar shingles which need no stain, sealer or paint, no nothing! and will weather nicely for 40 years. the second option is to sand the siding thoroughly, wash with spic and span and wqter, and paint with two thin coats of a latex solid stain or latex wall paint. thin coats are important.
Liz Fen 02:18PM	I have mold (green stuff and black dots) on my exterior trim and porch in areas that also need to be painted. I assume I should wash with bleach, but this will end up on my lawn. Will bleach damage the lawn? Any type of paint that would retard the mold growth in future. Former owners painted trim w flat paint now, would glossy be better?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:21PM	Liz Fen: the green stuff is algae, the black stuff is mold. wash it wit a solution of one part household bleach and three parts water. scrub the greenstuff and apply another treatment with the bleach mix. if you hose off the bleach, it will not hurt the lawn. most exterior paints and stains contain a mildewcide that makesthe finish mold resistant, foir abvout two years. gloss is not necessaerily better.
bugsme 02:22PM	Hiya Pete. I have a quick question. I think I have termites, but how would I know without getting someone to come in and check?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:23PM	nugsme: it is difficult to determine if you have termites because termites eat the wood from the inside out, and you cfan have a destroyed beam without even knowing it, until you fall through the floor. caLL an exterminator to give an evaluation and offer treatment.
JoeT 02:24PM	Hi Peter, The flashing is loose around a toilet vent pipe on my roof, what is the best way to secure it down to the roof shingles and prevent water leaking into the house?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:26PM	JoeT: is the flashing a sort of collar that fits around the vent pipe? If so, you can isnert roofing cement under it and press it back into placde. Avoid nailing, although one nail otr so to hoild it down while the roofing cement is setting is OK. If it is any other kind of flashing, I suggest taking it off and swetting a collar over it instead.
brighton 02:26PM	suggestions for painting exterior stairs that have been stained. thanks
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:29PM	brighton: sand the steps thoroughly, wash sith spic and span and water, prime with an exterior primerand finish off with a deck paint, probably latex. better, if the stain is wearing off,and is semitransparent, give the steps aznother coat of semitransparent stain.
Liz Fen 02:30PM	My stainless steel stove is rusting in the wells where the grates are. How can I remove and prevent from recurring?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:31PM	Liz Fen: Replace the well covers, if they can be removed. Or, clean the rust off with lemon and salt, and p;olish the s/s with a s/s/ polish.
Rick 02:31PM	Hi, I am looking for a way to strip paint from a wrought iron railing that has lots of paint on it, but has not been cared for in the past few years (lots of peeling and rust).
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:34PM	Rick: sand with a power sander to the bare wrought iron, and paint with Krylon;s wrought iron paint. I think it is called contractor's paint. it is an aerosol spray. you must remvoe all the rust; if any is left, treqat it with rust reformer, an acid that will turn the rust black and make it paintable.
jccm 02:35PM	Peter, When we did an addition recently, we put in a full basement. The new concrete foundation adjoins the old original which is now leaking in heavy rain. What do you know about the basement specialist that claim they can make your basement dry? Am I better off hiring a mason? thanks.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:38PM	jccm: Is just the jolint bet3ween old and new foundaitona leaking? If so, dig down on the outside to expose the joint, and chip it out to at least an inch dfeep and an inch wide, and fill it with hydraulic cement. cover this joint with roofing cement, then a layer of tar0paper, and a final covering of roofing cfement., then backfill. The people who claim to make your basement dry are thos4e who install drainage systems. you dol not need one.
Mike D 02:39PM	What's best way to cool a hot attic on a hip roof colonial? Soffit vents plus ridge vent? How do you feel about powered vs. unpowered roof vents?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:41PM	MikeD: If your hipped roof has a ridge , then soffit vents (a continuous 2-inch wide screen strip) plus a ridge vent is your best bet. a hipped roof is one that slopes down all four sides from a peak or a short ridge. if yhou can avoid using a powered roof vent, do so.
Dhunt 02:41PM	can termites get into a house if no wood or wooden structures are touching the earth?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:43PM	DHunt: yes, they cazn get into the housoe by buildong mud tunnels along or inside the foundaation to reach the wood. they cannot be exposed to air or light, so they must abuuild the tunnels to get to the wood. they come into the house twice a day for dinner; they spend most of their trime in underground nests.
birdbrained 02:44PM	hello, i have a bird that's built a nest in the vent that leads outside from my bathroom. How do I get rid of it and prevent further nests. Is there a way to keep birds away from your home? They really seem to like hanging around my house. Last year one built a nest under my AC in the bedroom
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:45PM	birdbrained: leave it; the birds will fly the nest soon. whenthe birds are gone, take it down and cover the vent with screening.
Katie 02:46PM	Hi Peter, lots of ants hand out on the mulch areas in my front lawn. I have the red cedar mulch. Is it because of the mulch that creates the ants or something else? It's not just one area. Thanks!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:48PM	katie: In don't knopw which comes first, the mulch or the ants, but here is how to treat them. sprinkle granular diazinon on the infested areas. this will keiep ahead of them.
Liz Fen 02:48PM	I have a new cedar fence. I want it to be white. Should I paint or stain and how many coats, etc?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:51PM	Liz Fen: You can leave it alone and leot it weather, and have no maintenance chores. to make it white, yu can apply two thin coaots of a latex solid color stain. it will peel. or, apply one thin coat of a light, light grayt semitransparent stain. it will not be white, but veyr light gray, and only one xcoat is needed and it will not peel. In a few years, apply another thin coat.
DAS 02:51PM	How easy its it to seal coat my driveway? any suggestion as to what products to use?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:52PM	DAS: It is easyh: apply driveway seal;er , not too thick, with a large long-handled squeegee. but be aware of this: sealer is 95 percent cosmetic and in my opinion is not worth doing.
ram 02:53PM	Hi Peter! What are your thoughts on refurbishing old windows in lieu of replacements. Can they be made as energy efficient? What are the options for making storm windows more attractive?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:56PM	ram: Refurbishing old windows can be almost as expensive as rpelacements, but it is worth a try. you can also make your single-glazed windows into douoble-glazed windows with a treatment called BiGlass (in the phone book). A good aluminum storm window enameled white is really not that bad looking if it is set on a white casing. a storm window msut be the same color as the window casing. one of hte best storm windows is True Channel, made by Haervey Industires and custom made at theBoston Building Materials Coop.
Dhunt 02:56PM	I have one piece fiberglass tub unit that is the original to the house (20 yrs) it has cracks on the floor area. Is it possible to simply cover this unit with a bathfitter fiberglass unit?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:57PM	DHunt: I doln't think bath fitter will put a shell over any fiberglass unit. you can have the tub repaired by a finberglass fanbricator, or install a new unit.
frank 02:58PM	Peter, I just moved into a 30 yr old house and updated both bathrooms, among other things. We are just noticing a smell coming from the 2nd floor bathroon sink. We had the drain snaked when we updated th bathroom and put in the new sink. The smell is only apparant when I turn the water on. Is it possible that the inflow pipe is bad and is causing the smell? This is the only area that we are experiancing the problem. Is there a way to test the water so that we know it is safe?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:00PM	frank: The smell may be coming from a dirty drain pipe; drain p;ipes often collexct a reallly bad smelling mess of grease, oil,, hair and other goodies. put a cup pof belach into the drain, and clean the drain with an oversized bottle brusgh. leave the bleach int he trap overnight. if that doesn't do it, I don't nkow what is wrong.
Frank/Chelmsford 03:01PM	Peter - In the past you have suggested using vinegar to kill grass and weeds between bricks in walkways and also between patio blocks. Should that application be held off until weather forecasts indicate no rain for X? number of days?.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:02PM	Frank/chelmsford: i don't htink it matters if it rains a day or two after the treatment. Ignore the forecasts and apply the vinegar on a sunny day.
John Boy 03:03PM	Is there a rule of thumb for how much roof area can be serviced by a downspout (or linear ft of gutter)?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:05PM	John Boy: There should one downspout for each 30 feet of gutter. as for heat in the attic, a well ventilated atticf, with soffit and ridge vents, should be no hotter than 10 degrees less than ambient air.
Lance 03:07PM	What is the best way to build a stone wall? Is it any harder then put one stone on top of another stone; repeat?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:09PM	Lance: The best way to build a stone wall is to put down the stoneos jsut as you would a common bond of brick: Large stones as the first course, then more laerger stones on top, directly over the joint between the stones below. in otherwords, never let joints line up from one course to the other.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:10PM	OK< boys and girls, time to go. you can still get me at photton.@globe.com See you next.