With clapboards, rusty nails must go
Q. I tried to have the rusty nail heads on my clapboard siding removed by prying up the clapboards, then tapping them back to reveal the nail heads, for pulling, but my handyman could not do it. He suggested caulking the nail heads and painting over them. Is there another way?
CYNTHIA LEE, Boston
A. Caulking and painting over will not work. Other ways: slip a stiff knife blade or chisel under one nail head and pry up until you can grab it with a claw hammer or flat bar. No matter how you do it, those nails have to go. Trying to countersink them will not work because it will split the board. Once the nails are out, sand off the rust and drive in stainless steel nails thick enough to hold in the old holes.
Q. What can I put vinyl siding over: clapboards, shingles, or anything else?
CURIOUS
A. Vinyl siders put their stuff over almost anything, including clapboards, shingles, and asbestos cement siding. But it should never be put over hardboard siding; it absorbs water like a sponge, and wet hardboard will never dry under the vinyl.
Q. I am in a wheelchair and would like to find a movable sink, one that lowers when I move a lever. Do you know of any?
NEEDS A MOVABLE SINK
A. Call a hospital equipment or appliance company. They are in the Yellow Pages under Hospital Equip Supplies. Or, call Bill Tragakis, chief executive of Watertown Heating & Plumbing Supply. When Bill called me on a different matter, I told him about "Needs" and he said, "One of my workers is in a wheelchair, so I will get them together."
Here is what Peter Norman, a master plumber in Woburn, had to say: I think this is from the washer being loose on the new stem. It can be quite a rapid banging. Take the stem back out and tighten the bib screw. Of course, if it doesn't have a washer, you're most likely correct, except that it never happened before.
Q. My chimney is disintegrating in the attic because of leaks. The leaks have been fixed, and I got two offers to treat the chimney: One is to coat it with mortar, and use a net to hold the mortar in place. The other would not use a net. What should I do?
LOOKING FOR HELP
A. I think the use of a net (wire mesh) is best. But if the other person coated the chimney with a bonding agent, then the mortar without the net would be nearly as good.
Handyman on Call also appears in G on Thursdays. Peter Hotton is available 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair; call 617-929-2930. Hotton chats online about house matters 2 to 3 p.m. Thursdays, at Boston.com. Hotton can be reached at photton@globe.com. 
