On furnace replacement, finished basements, and yard pests

By Peter Hotton, Globe Correspondent, 9/25/2003

My house is 50 years old and so is my oil burner and hot-air furnace. I am replacing the burner and furnace with a Thermo-Pride furnace and a Becket burner. Is this a good way to go? ED WOLNIEWICZ, Danvers

It sure is. A Thermo-Pride furnace is warranted "for life," with a copper-clad steel jacket, and the Becket burner is a good brand. This whole thing will cost about $400 more than a standard furnace, but it is worth it. I am surprised your original furnace lasted 50 years; they are usually warranted for 20. It's interesting: I heard of Thermo-Pride years ago at a small North Shore home show, and had one installed with a Becket burner about five years ago, and it has given yeoman service and shows no signs of deterioration.In another furnace installation, I asked for a Becket burner, but the installers said they are too noisy, so I opted for another. Then, when I installed the Becket burner with the Thermo-Pride, it was not noisy at all.

How can I get rid of chipmunks? At least one has been in the yard since last winter.

ROSE COX, Wayland

Live with them. They have proliferated this summer, and eventually will overpopulate and then crash. They are harmless, as long as they stay out of the house, basement, and attic. Trying to get rid of animals outdoors is like shoveling sand against the tide. Don't even attempt it. If you hire someone to capture them and move them, they will be obliged to kill them. It is illegal to transport wild animals, at least in Massachusetts.A friend of mine was plagued by squirrels in his yard, so he started to trap and transport them, even though it was illegal. He trapped and transported 600 of them in a five-year period. And still they came.

I am finishing off a basement, and can rough it out myself. A building inspector said I need an HVAC system and will need a permit. Do I really need that?

R.R., Wellesley

You certainly do not need heating, venting, and air conditioning, but you do need a permit. You need a permit for almost anything around the house these days. You can provide heat, but a/c is not required. Venting is a good idea anyway, with an exhaust fan exhausting humidity in summer. Or, just keep the windows open in the summer. It's free. You can do almost all the work, except some or all of the plumbing and electricity.

I am finishing my basement and wondered what the best way is to fasten the wood wall framing to the basement floor. Do I need a cement nail gun for this, or will a mason bit do? MITCH OCAMPO, Sandwich

If the wall frame is tight against the joists above, you can secure it to the joists and not do anything with the bottom. If you really want to secure it, use an impact drill (rent it at a rental center) to drill the holes and insert a nail through the bottom plate into that hole. It does not have to be tight; it simply keeps the wall from moving laterally.

I would like to get rid of the popcorn ceiling in our apartment. Can we do that? Or do we need a professional?

NIKI VLASTARA, Florida

I don't blame you for wanting to get rid of those ceilings. They are as bad as whirled ceilings and other types that are not flat. You can scrape off the popcorn, but there is a caveat: Those ceilings may contain asbestos. Remove a small piece of the ceiling, put it in a plastic bag, and take it to an asbestos abatement company or a testing lab. If it contains asbestos, you must have a professional remove it safely. If there is no asbestos, you can wet the popcorn thoroughly and scrape it off with a wide putty knife or wide chisel.

When I did over my bathroom, I installed an exhaust fan, but the wall sweats now. Why?

MATT McDONALD, Somerville

It has been a particularly wet summer, and obviously excess moisture condenses on your cool bathroom walls, despite the fan. For starters, turn the fan on at the beginning of all showers and leave it on for half an hour afterward. Close any windows in the bathroom and open the door, so the fan can pull air from the house through the bathroom, taking the water vapor with it. Also, make sure the fan does, indeed, exhaust to the outdoors. If everything checks out and the longer use of the fan does not help, you may need a larger fan.

About those letters . . .

When J.K. of Wellesley asked the Handyman what the letters CSA amd ETL meant on two electrical appliances, the Handyman had to admit he had no idea. J.K. added that she was taught to consider a UL label as a prerequisite to buying any appliance, so she was confused by those letters.

The Handyman was also confused, so he asked readers if anyone knew.

They did. The Handyman got 55 replies, and here is what those letters mean, specified by Rick Chamberlain of Available Light of Salem:

"CSA: The Canadian Standards Associaton is a not-for-profit, membership-based association serving business, industry, government, and consumers in Canada and the global marketplace." (Another source said it is the Canadian equivalent of UL -- United Laboratories.)

Chamberlain continued: "ETL -- Electrial Testing Labs, now operating under the name Intertek -- is in the business of product performance and safey testing and is among the oldest and continuously operating testing laboratories in the world.

"We will soon see a new label -- CCC -- which is about to become the testing standard listing for mainland China. "All of these standards, including UL, do not indicate an approval of the product; they indicate a passing of standardized testing to insure the product operates safely within its design parameters and under normal use."

I was told to use trisodium phosphate (TSP cleaner) to clean off grease from kitchen cabinets and a plastic grille cover, but that did not work. What can I use that will work? Also, there is so much soap scum on my fiberglass shower that I can scrape it off with my fingernails. How can I clean it without ruining the fiberglass?

TOM SACK, Cambridge

A. Add half a cup of ammonia to a bucket of water, and wipe off the grease. It will cut it fast.

As for the shower, try using an extra-strong solution of Spic and Span and water. Let the solution sit on the shower for a few minutes before scrubbing. Or, use X-14 Soap Scum Plus, which is also good for removing blue copper stains. We got the latter info from Shirley Craig of Ipswich, for which we thank her.

As a last resort, clean the shower walls with KRC-7, a strong cleaner sold in plumbing supply shops. None of the above will hurt the fiberglass.

Handyman on Call Peter Hotton is available 1-6 p.m. Tuesdays to answer questions on house repair. Call in your questions to 617-929-2930. Hotton also chats on line about house matters from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursdays. To participate, go to www.boston.com. Hotton's email is photton@globe.com