Old cast-iron pots may be valuable
Q: I have some very old, very nice cast-iron pots. They would be wonderful to use on the stove, but they have feet. They have flat bottoms, and were designed to be placed on coals for cooking. If I could remove the feet, the flat bottoms will allow me to use them on my stove top. Is there any way I can remove those feet?
NORMA FLOYD, Lexington
A: Pots that old, with or without feet, may fetch a pretty price at an antiques auction, so I would not consider removing anything until I got a good idea from an appraiser or other expert. Maybe the Antiques Road Show might be interested. That said, check the inside of the pots to see if there are any screw heads showing. If so, simply unscrew them and the legs should come off. Fill the hole with a stainless steel bolt to prevent leaks. If the screw heads are obscured by cooked-on food, take it off with Easy-Off foam or paint remover. If the legs are attached, check with a metal worker to see if he can cut them off. But don't do anything drastic until you determine their worth.
And here is another brilliant idea: Devise a thick cast-iron trivet that you can put on the burner, then put the pot on that so that the legs clear the trivet. You will be accomplishing the same thing without removing the legs.
Q: I am having a new roof installed, to replace 20-year asphalt shingles that have had two leaks after 20 years. One roofer said I can put a new layer over the old. Another said not to because it would be adding too much weight. Who's right? Will a second layer cause ice dams? I am getting ice dams each winter, with ensuing leaks, just below a skylight that is only a foot or so up from the roof edges. How can those ice dams be prevented?
SUSAN SONKIN, Weston
A: You can put a second layer on, depending on whether the old shingles are in good shape and not curling too much. A second layer is not too heavy for an American house, which is overbuilt. This is despite the fact that the attic rafters are only 2-by-6's. They are at a fairly steep angle, so they can hold a second roof. If in doubt, nail cross-beams connecting the rafters in the attic, turning the upside down "V" that the rafters form into an "A."
As for that pesky ice dam area below the skylight, you can have the roofer take everything in that area and install an ice and water shield going from the eave to the skylight. By the way, an extra layer of shingles will not cause ice dams. A warm roof causes ice dams, and the solution is a well-ventilated attic. The ice and water shield will not stop ice dams but should stop leaks from them.
Q: I am having gas heat and air conditioning installed in my house and the furnace seems to be too large to fit through the existing scuttle as the unit will be placed in the attic. I have a one-story contemporary cape. They want to cut the trusses (and reinforce them on the sides) to make a bigger scuttle. This scares me.
CHERYL, by e-mail
A: You don't have to be afraid of an enlarged scuttle (trap door in the attic floor). That can work, but you want to be deadly afraid of a gas furnace in the attic. Do not do it. I know it is being done widely, but it will do your house no good, and can cause ice dams in winter. The geniuses who put furnaces in the attic can insulate the duct work, they can insulate the furnace, but they cannot insulate against an open flame, which makes the attic warm, and that is the one of the reasons for ice dams in winter.
There is one way a gas furnace (with a power exhaust) will work in an attic, and that is if the attic is completely surrounded by foam insulation and vapor barrier, with no ventilation and no air allowed in and out, except for the air that comes in through the power vent to give the burner combustion air. Your contemporary cape does not have such an attic. Also, a gas furnace produces two cubic feet of water vapor for each cubic foot of gas burned. That is way too much moisture to put in an attic.
Where is your current heating system? If it is in the basement, that is where it should be. If there is no basement, the furnace should go on the ground floor, or if no room there, in a separate housing. I have written this many times, and no architect, contractor, or any other authority has claimed that I am wrong.
Mary and her crashing fridge
Remember Mary of Belmont, and her crashing fridge? She called to thank the Handyman and all the people who emailed to say it was probably due to an automatic ice maker dumping out new ice cubes. Nope, she said, my fridge does not have an automatic ice maker. So much for that.
But something must have happened because after occurring three times, it stopped making that crashing noise, said Mary. Must have been Gremlins, if anyone can remember that far back (1942).
But wait! Here is what Frances Manley of Roslindale wrote by snail mail: Mary is describing exactly what my 20-year-old Whirlpool has been doing for years. Some time ago, tired of the racket, I had an appliance man come to check it out. He pulled the fridge out, looked at the back and said, "Compressor was made in Brazil, all the compressors made in Brazil do that." I just resigned myself to living with it, and, other than the annoyance, is still giving me good service. Thanks, Frances Manley.
Here endeth the lesson, except for two things: I checked the original Q & A and discovered that Mary said the
Q: I have begun renovating my 1770 Cape post-and-beam house. I took down the ceiling in one room, and discovered that the beams and joists are quite dark, and so are the floor boards of the room above that are between the joists. Is there a way to lighten them or clean them up a bit? I would like to expose those beams and joists.
CHIP DONNELLY, Dunbarton, N.H.
A: My house is two years older than yours, and I noticed too that the beams were quite dark, although they are a nice brown color that wood gets when it ages. All wood darkens as it ages, so live with it. As for cleaning, simply use a brush and forget it. For those dark floor boards above (they show when you look up to the ceiling), the way to handle them is to cover them with
Q: How can I stop or reduce noise from my neighbor's outdoor air conditioner? It really is very noisy.
ANNOYED
A: Your best bet is to have your neighbor build a high, solid wood fence as close to the compressor as possible. This will redirect the sound upward. You could also contact a sound engineer to check to see if it is excessive, and suggest other ways of reducing the sound. It would also help if you build a solid wood fence as close to the property line as possible.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the Styles 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 e-mail is photton@globe.com. 
