Losing sleep over mysterious sound
Q. I have a humming sound that sounds like a small motor in my bedroom and it is driving me bananas. I have had four electricians come and check, the phone company, the cable company - without success. It is fairly steady, and usually starts up about 7 p.m. I have traced it to the exterior wall behind my bed. My significant other sleeps in another room and cannot hear the sound. There are no wires coming into the house through that wall; they are all on the other side of the house. I thought the sound came from an outlet on the wall in question, where there is a lamp plugged in. I had my husband flip a breaker and the light went out, but the sound continued. You are my last resort.
E. LAPP, Norwood
A. That outlet has grabbed my attention. Do this yourself or have an electrician do it. Unplug the lamp and see what happens. Then cover the whole outlet with a piece of plastic; tape it snugly and see if it dampens the sound. Then remove the outlet cover and check to see if there are any loose wires in the connection. The outlets have two holes so I know the unit is not grounded, and they are way too old to have aluminum wires, which are notorious for loosening up. Make sure nothing is loose in the outlet box.
Finally, see if the electric company will come over and check things out. The sound is mechanical, so even undoing all electricity might not solve it.
Q. My stone countertop has developed lots of tiny spots and cuts and scratches, and it is really not that old. I found out later that it is granite, and it is pitted. How can I restore it? The dealer said he cannot do anything because I didn't buy the granite from him, but from a third party.
RUINED MY GRANITE
A. You didn't necessarily ruin the granite, but you sure abused it by using it as a cutting board and banging on it and other naughty things. Call the man who sold it to grind it smooth again. Then apply a granite sealer. The dealer who refused to help you is rather selfish; he could have reground the top for a hefty fee. Find a dealer who can regrind it.
Q. My white porcelain sink that is inserted in the countertop with just half an inch showing above the top is leaking into the space under the sink, and the caulking is cracked. How can I fix it?
LAURIE LEAVITT, Holliston
A. Here is an example of professionals doing the wrong thing, or even you doing the wrong thing. And that was to caulk around the edge of the sink, where there is little space for the caulk to stick to. This thin layer of caulk was quick to crack, and the leaks occurred. The fix is in: Cut out the old caulk with a utility knife; then undo the clips holding the basin in place (there might not be any clips); and pry up the sink about half an inch, which is possible despite the plumbing. Then insert a heavy bead of adhesive caulk under the entire rim, and set the basin back down so that its rim presses the caulking, making a watertight seal. Leave it overnight; next morning, cut off any oozing caulk with your trusty utility knife.
Rita VanAmber of Menomonie, Wis., called to tell us about snakes - hundreds of them - approaching her house. You said to live with them, said Rita, but instead I found some friends who told me to get a cat or two as pets. Cats and snakes are pretty incompatible, they told me. So I did that and the snakes simply disappeared.
And from Jason Albino of Lynnfield, who had trouble with his titanium ring creating black marks on whatever the ring touched: "I mixed Ajax and water into a paste, then took #400 emery cloth and rubbed the marks off."
Well, thank you, Rita and Jason, for some great ideas.
Q. My concrete block garage is from the 1940s, and everything has been pretty good for many years. I just had the old overhead door replaced with a steel door, and now there are bits of cement dust falling from the ceiling and onto the car and elsewhere. What is that dust and why is it occurring now, after all these years?
MEDFORD
A. The cement dust is efflorescence, the lime in the concrete ceiling being leached out by water. The water is occurring from water vapor condensing on the cool ceiling. The reason? For many years, the leaky old door provided ventilation, enough to keep water vapor from building up. When the new doors were installed, they were tight enough to allow water vapor to build up until it condensed on the ceiling. The solution? Open windows just a bit for good cross-ventilation: Less water vapor will build up, and also there will be less condensation because of the ventilation. That is my idea, anyway.
Q. We painted our solid wood front door and now it sticks and makes a racket when it is opened. We have tried waxing the edges of the door and sanding the edges; no luck so far. Our daughter has the same problem with a bedroom door. Do you have any suggestions for this?
AILEEN SOWDER, by e-mail
A. There are two reasons doors will stick: 1) Paint that will never dry hard enough, or has not had a chance to dry. 2) A door that is too big for its opening. If the doors stick because of the paint, the solution with both doors is to keep them open for as long as practical so the paint will get hard enough not to stick. If the paint was oil based, I suggest you repaint it with latex paint (exterior paint for the outside part and interior paint for all others). And let it dry for as long as practicable.
If the door is too big for the frame and is hard to open, you will have to plane the edges of the door where the sticking occurs, then paint the edges of the door - sides, top, and bottom - to prevent moisture from entering the wood and swelling it. You may have to trim down the door; not by sanding, which would take forever, but by planing or more drastically, sawing with a saw.
Q. My patio slider has large slatted blinds on the inside. They are getting harder to close or to adjust. What's wrong and what can I do?
SUNNY, North Lynn
A. Clean the mechanisms with a strong ammonia solution, which will tend to cut grease and other gunk. If they work a little easier, wax the moving parts. Do not use oil; it will gunk up the mechanism more.
Q. I would like to convert from oil to gas. It would cost $1,900 to bring in the gas line, and $6,200 to replace the boiler and burner. We are in our 70s. Would there be any kind of a saving involved in the next few years?
CURIOUS
A. No. The main reason to convert is because gas is less expensive, at least for now, than oil. I would stick with oil; who knows, it might be cheaper than gas some day.
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 Boston.com Hotton's e-mail is photton@globe.com.
