Boston.com / Your Life

paula 02:06PM	Peter, what is your opinion of chemically stripping a house before painting? Does it do any damage to old shingles? Is it prohitively expensive?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:09PM	Hi girls and boys and paula, so let's get to work. Any stripping process is expensive, and the work is usually not chemical, but another type of abrasion obut not sand blasting, which they do not do anymore. there is an outfit in Lexingoton called Landmark Restorations which does stripping. If you do strip, apply a semitransparent stain instead of paint or solid stain. on coat is needed, and it will be good for 5 to 7 years and will not peel.
Willy McDermott 02:09PM	Peter, I want to paint my ceiling, but have cracks that need to be filled in. What's the best way to go about this? -Willy
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:11PM	Willy: yoiu can ignore the cracks, or if you want to fill them, uise a caulkingi compound instead of spackle, which will harden and break up often. Buy any good quality caulking in a hardware store, and put a bead of it on the crack, then press it in with your fingers. scrape off excess and wipe clean with a wet sponge.
a 02:13PM	I would like to put a mat down in my unfinished basement for my daughter to practice gymnastics. How would you recommend we clean the concrete floor and walls? Also, do you have any suggestions for what we should put under the mat?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:14PM	a: Cleanthe walls by sweeping with a dry broom. same with the floor. 0put polyethylene palstic under the mat. anything more elaborate would be too expensive for the purpose to which the basement is being used.
NeedHelp 02:15PM	Hi, Our driveway is long and has a small slope to it. When it rains/snows we get a huge flood of water collecting at the end of the driveway on the left side. This water also fills the garage we have at the end of the driveway. The garage always seems damp and there is frequently a big puddle on the floor. Who can we call to help us stop this? Will it be really expensive to fix this? We live in an area with no public sewers (we have septic tanks).
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:17PM	Needhelp: A cure for the puddles at the low end of the drive and the garage is to ut in a trench with a steel grille on top; this will allow that wter to flow into the trench; you may have to guide the trench elsehwere, but since it is in the low end of hte drive, it would be difficult to extrend the drainage further. a ladscape contractor might be hel0pful to do that.
lougatzo 02:18PM	I just bought a victorian from 1880 with the original windows. they are in bad shape and I would like to replace them. I have been looking at Marvin aluminum clad, but they are $550 each plus installation. I am also looking at Harvey vinyl (yes I said the V-word). What about restoring the original windows, is that crazy? What's my best option to keep the house looking original, but still keeping heating costs down?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:23PM	Lougatzo: Repairing the windows miight be as costly as new windows. if you do not have exterior storms, you could put them on and fix the windows at your leisure. thebewt of hte storms is True Channel, made by Harvey. $500 plus installation is a alittle much, in my opinmion, even for a whole windows, frame, sash, sill and all. If the frame is in good shape, consider putting in just the movable sash, That qwill cost up to $250 per window. two good rfepalcement window companies are J.C. Adams of cambridge and J&B Sash and door in chelsea.
Bamboo 02:25PM	Hi, Peter! I want to add a ceramic tile floor over the old linoleum in my bathroom. Is there anything I can do to fit in the tiles where the baseboards and molding around doors is without having to remove it all and replace it? Can I cut a space in the molding around the door frames just big enough to allow space for the tiles? Also, how do I get the tiles to fit snugly at the edge of the tub, which has a very irregular border? Any ideas? Thanks!
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:30PM	Bamboo: It wouldbe a good idea to cut the woodwork so tiles can be slipped under them. when putting in new tile, you have to lift the toilet, lay the tiles and put the toilet back. to make the tiles fit snug against the tub, lay full tiles up to near the tub, then place another tile in the blank space and put compass against the tub with the pencil end on the tile. run the compas allong the tub and the pencil will tace the right contour. most tubs are not very uneven and instead you simply can cut a tile so that about 1/8n top 3/16 inch space remains, which you can fill with grout.
chris 02:30PM	I have some marble flooring that is dirty, badly stained, any recommendations on removing those stains? The marble was not sealed unfortunately. If replacement is necessary, what do I need to cut tile?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:32PM	Chris: It verydifficult to clean tile; almostg impossibl. Try treating with a solution of one part household bleach and three aprts water. If that does not work, l8ive with the stains or rfepalce the tile with granite or ceramic. marble does not belong in a bathroom, especially the floor. It will stain if you look at it. If it is clean you can seal it, but the selaing must be repeated once a year.
COACG 02:33PM	my neighbor demoed his deck. he offered his mahogany deck board to me. i am going to build a new deck with them. they are only 5 yrs old and have a natural finish on them. how would you refinish them to put them on my new deck? I was told 60 grit sand paper and a bleach-or maybe planing them. There are 30 16 foot boards thanks coach
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:37PM	COACG: Wow, you lucked out with all that mahogoany. good deal. If the finish is a sealer, and it is a year old, you ocan refinish the boards by simply app0lying a semitransparpent house stain or semitransparent deck stain. one coat is needed every 3 to 5 years. Just wht is a natural finish to you? it does not make sense. If it a varnish, any power sanding will get it to bar3e wood in a short time. do nto plane. use a bleach solution if there is mold on the boards. one part household bleachj and three parts water. rinsie well before finiwshinig.
smiley 02:37PM	I have brown shingles on my house that are cracking. What is the best way to 'brighten' up my house(new shingles, paint...)?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:40PM	smiley: do not paint the brown shingles. If the shingles are stgained, youi can restain with a similar coilor semitransparent stain. if they are painted, you are better off removing the shingles and putting on new shingles. use white cedar shingles and let them weather; they will last 40 years and will need no staining, no painting, no sealing, no nothing.
Dan 02:40PM	Peter. Having problems with birds nesting in my gutters. House is high up on a hill, gutters are beyond reach of a ladder.. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them? thanks
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:41PM	Dan: How about putting on a huigh quality gutter leaf guard. Gutter Helmet is a good one.
catsfriend 02:41PM	The 10-foot high posts of my 10-year-old 3-season room are slipping off the in-ground concrete cylinders that support them. My town building inspector suggested that "teco connectors" might help. He also suggested connecting the posts with braces so they would be less likely to shift? Everyone I talked to agrees about the braces, what's your opinion about the teco connectors?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:44PM	Catasfriend: the teco fastermers will do nicely. They can be secured to the concrete and will hold the posts in place.The cross braces are also oa good idea becuase of the height of the deck. you will het much more stability with the cross-braces.
Peter Pepper 02:45PM	I would like to paint my bathroom tiles - bad color but in good condition - what prep do I need to do, and what kind of paint should I use?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:47PM	Peter Pepper: If they are wall tiles, you can paint them. sand heavily with power sanding, apply a latex enamel undercoater (primer sealer) and finish with one or two coats of a latex enamel or oil based indoorr-outdoor enamel.
sally 02:48PM	PLEASE HELP - what do I need to know about getting a new gas boiler I am desperate. I need to get a new gas boiler installed. Does it need a chimney liner and fan in a can(vent)? One installer told me I needed both. I want to do it right, but not over do it. $5700 for gas boiler in 1125sq house reasonable?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:50PM	Sally: Do you have an old gas boiler:? a nedw one may need a new chimney liner if here is not one thee now or if the presenet flue liner is clay tile. usually a stainless steel or alloy liner is needed with a gas nboiler. you do not need both a chimney liner and fan in a can (powered vent). The pwoered vent is installed throuhg a wall, and the chuimney is not used. $5,700 for a new boiler and bnurner seems a little high, unless it has a pwer vent.
howie 02:51PM	Peter, on a recent househunting trip my wife and I saw an old home that had asbestos covered pipes in the basement. The coverings were not in good shape and ripped in some cases. Do old houses generally have asbestos covering all pipes inside the walls, or just exposed ones in the basement and how much does it cost to handle that sort of thing?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:55PM	Howie: not all old houses have asbestos covering pipes; only those with steam pipes. Sosmes there is asbstos pa0per covering air ducts. IN both cas4es, the asbestos can be covereed with a safe material or removeed. Both are expensive to do. If you o0pt to buy the house in quesiton, have the owners remvoe the asbeostos and put in special compressed fiberglass insulation. the abestos is not usually on pipes in tfhe walls, but cannot tell that unless you expose the pipes in the walls. .
Jules 02:55PM	Hi Peter. I live in a home built in the 40's. It currently has aluminum siding, that is dull and dusty when rubbed agaiinst. Maybe ina few years it wil get resided with vinyl, but can the siding be powerwashed safely?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 02:58PM	Julesd: Do nopt power wash aluminum siding; there is too much chance of water getting behind the siding; once it is there it is idifficult to remove. you can wash it with detergent and water, and rinse with a garden hose. and you can aint it with a latex hoursei paint or a solid color latex stainl. when you reside, don't use vinyl; that is almost as bad as aluminumk. Use white cedar shingles and let them weather; they will last for 40 years without staining, painting or sealing.
TILLEY 02:59PM	Peter, I have a slab home, and my water pipes were in the floor and they leaked. We replaced the water pipes to the attic but I still get a mildew smell in portions of the house. I cleaned what I could with bleach but you cannot get in between the walls. Also the sinks are made in 50 with fiber board and they did get wet do I have to replace everything?
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:04PM	Tilley: To combat the mold smell, ventilate the house on drydays. lots of ventilation should help. so will a/c. Locate any black spots or little black dots, all signs of mold. Trfeat with a solutionof one part household bleach and three parts water. wear skin and eye protection when working with bleach. if the fi'berboard sink cabinets are soft, put in new ones.
Anton 03:04PM	We're re-doing a bathroom completely, and have decided to tackle what we can on our own. The room is now empty, down to the studs, and the plumbing has been roughed in. Now...which comes first: Do we put down cement board and tile the floor, or do we put up the greenboard and do the floor after? I say the floor comes first...with the bottom of the greenboard sitting on the tile. Others have told me to put up the wallboard first...which would mean the wallboard would sit on the subfloor and extend below the tile, when it's installed.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:07PM	Anton: While normal procedure is to do the floors first, in your case, do them first. then you can set the toilet and install canbinets, etc. and you are right; wall materials will sit on top of the tile. a good idea.
Peter Hotton (Moderator) 03:08PM	OK, boys and girls, time to go. I will be off next thursday but will be back in two weeks. you can email me at photton@globe.com see you soon.