Horizontal wallboard will eliminate crack
Q. My addition is 15 years old, and a crack has appeared in the wall where the addition and house meet. It comes and goes, is larger in winter and virtually closes in summer. The crack is where two panels of plasterboard meet. I think that joint was taped and the tape has broken, making a straight vertical crack. My contractor said that to fix it, I should take off the wallboard (plasterboard) and put in replacement sections of wallboard horizontally. Would that work?
RON BASER,
Danvers
A. I think it will, and hang on to that contractor - he knows what he’s doing. There is no stronger force than the movement of wood, plasterboard, and other materials when they gain moisture (in summer) and expand, and dry out (in winter) and contract. The contractor’s idea is to install the plasterboard so that a solid piece spans the crack. To do that, locate the stud about 16 inches away from the connecting stud and cut the plasterboard from ceiling to floor. Do the same on the other side of the connecting stud, and remove the plasterboard. With the wall material off, you will probably see doubled studs at the connecting joint. If so, connect those studs with 1/4-inch or bigger bolts, spaced 18 inches apart. Bolted, these studs will resist separating. Now, put up new plasterboard horizontally.
Another easier way to solve the problem is to nail a decorative post on the crack. It will cover the crack as it opens and closes. I know it does not make sense to have a post in the middle of nowhere doing nothing, but it’s a good conversation piece when people ask what the heck it’s for.
Q. I am replacing some of my spruce deck boards that have rotted out after nearly 20 years. The contractor offered two types of boards: Pressure treated 5/4 boards (1 full inch thick) and Trex, which is three times the cost of the pressure treated, unit for unit. Which should I use?
BOB,
Methuen
A. Both are good, even excellent, and the pressure treated southern yellow pine boards milled for deck use are of high quality, unlike the southern yellow pine used for other purposes. I’d go for the pressure-treated, partly for its price but also for its excellence in standing up to all kinds of weather and abuse.
Q. The drawers in my all-metal kitchen cabinets (circa 1940s) slide in metal tracks, and have worked well for years, but now they are very stiff. I lubed them with a silicone spray, and they worked nicely, but when that spray dried they were even stiffer. I discovered that the silicone had hardened the heavy grease that was on the sliders. How can I get that grease out of there?
STIFF IN FALMOUTH
A. Grease and silicone spray will yield to paint thinner, TSP cleaner, or a strong solution of ammonia and water. Make sure every trace of grease and spray is gone, then treat the sliders with the silicone spray, or rub candle wax on the sliders.
Q. My 40-year-old double-glazed windows are spring loaded, and six out of 12 won’t stay up any more. None is foggy, so they still do their job. A window man said I need new windows. Do I really?
CONFUSED
A. Heck no. Those windows are unique in not having fogged up in 40 years or so. So keep them. Brosco (Brockway-Smith) sells replacement springs that might work, but it is a complicated procedure to replace them. If you are old enough you may remember that in the good old days windows were held up with block of wood or little latches that tightened the windows against their jambs. You could do the same, especially with the blocks of wood. A might less expensive, too. Go for it.
All well and good, but no less than seven kind people e-mailed the Handyman with their ideas. Most of the ideas were to buy a double-faced magnet that would hook together through the screen. Others suggested hanging pins or buttons in strategic places. Another idea is fluorescent police line tape. Ah, it lights up at night.
Among the e-mailers are Kathy from Braintree, Barbara Pappas of Wilmington, Tom Plantages of Marlborough, Laurie from Stoneham, Holly Prees of Chelmsford, and Marion Jacobi, the Divine Gardener of New Hampshire. Bruce from Chatham suggested installing a Phantom Screen, which will yield to anyone trying to walk through it. And Warren Poschman of North Quincy suggested installing a metal grid that no one can walk through. One is made by Andersen.
Globe Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is also in the g 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 email is photton@globe.com 
