Make fixtures from the past part of plans for the future

by Henri De Marne/The Star-Ledger

Wednesday November 05, 2008, 4:53 PM

Q. A few months ago, you ran an article about old bathtubs and how there is now a demand for old colored tubs in good condition. Could you please send me any information on whom to contact? I have a home for sale with tubs, sinks and bath tiles that might perhaps be of interest to others.
-- New Jersey, via e-mail

A. I do not recall discussing this subject, but here is a website that specializes in old fixtures: recyclingthepast.com. Contact them.

Q. My wife and I are building a new house (approximately 2,400 square feet, two floors, three bathrooms) and are considering a gas-fired, on-demand hot-water unit. We would like to know what your thoughts are regarding makes and models, size, potential problems, and the advantages and disadvantages over having a tank. Is there anything else that you think we should know?
-- via e-mail

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Power-wash wood, but please be gentle

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday October 22, 2008, 2:14 PM

Q. I have an old Vermont farmhouse, and the trim around the south windows may be too old to hold paint. After 10 or more years since I last painted the wall, the paint on the trim comes off in sheets, and the bottom of a sheet isn't the white of the primer but gray like the wood was. Should I use an oil-based primer that will sink into the wood and act more like what a primer should be? The wood must have been unpainted for a time in the past, as it has weather-beaten grooves in it. Paint covers most of this, if it would stick to the job. What works better to remove the paint: power-washing or regular scraping?
-- Bristol, Vt.

A. Power-washing will do two things for you. It will remove any unsound paint and will also remove all the dead wood fibers that you see when you inspect the underside of the peeling paint. It will work better than scraping since the wood has weathered grooves. Be careful using the power-washer. Use the minimum strength on the jet so you don't damage the old wood. Allow the wood to dry thoroughly and apply a coat of oil-based primer followed by a quality latex paint within a couple of days. Considering that the wood is old, use a moisture meter to make sure it is safe to apply the primer. Old wood may take quite a while to dry, and oil-based primers or paint must not be applied over damp wood.

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Window shopping offers new options

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday October 08, 2008, 11:49 PM

Q. We are planning on replacing some double-hung windows and an awning window in our 30-year-old colonial. What are some good quality, environmentally sound windows? Is fiberglass or aluminum a better choice? Or do you have another preference? The inside will be wood.
-- Waterbury, Vt.

A. Fiberglass windows are relative newcomers on the scene, but are a good choice. Marvin offers the Integrity Line of fiberglass windows, which are either all fiberglass or have a wood interior. Andersen windows come with all-vinyl Perma-Shield double-hung models or with a Perma-Shield exterior and wood interior.

Q. I have a basement with standard masonry walls. There's a little "bump out" workshop that was put in sometime after the original house was completed. The owner cut through the original foundation to create a door and built an underground workshop there. An enclosed sun porch rests atop the workshop. The workshop is the dampest part of the basement. We keep finding puddles in one corner, sometimes up to a half-inch deep. This happens every few weeks, regardless of the weather. We have to take out the shop vac and vacuum it up.

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Stained wood shingles don't need painting

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday September 24, 2008, 3:30 PM

Q. I would like to paint the exterior of my home. On the north, south and east sides of the house, I have asbestos shingles that are in fairly good shape, installed in 1975. On the west side, I have cedar shakes that have been stained twice in the past 33 years and are in great shape. I would like to go from this brown color to a light gray.

I have heard of Tex-Cote paint that is sprayed on and never has to be done again. Final Coat Exteriors is the contractor for the New Jersey and Pennsylvania area (ihatepaint.com). Have you ever heard of Tex-Cote? Will it work on my asbestos and cedar shingles? If not, what would be a good paint and how should I prepare the outside of the shingles before applying the paint?
-- via e-mail

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Getting heat -- on demand

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday September 17, 2008, 2:31 PM

Q. We live in northern Vermont and have an oil-fired furnace, but primarily heat our house with wood. Due to the high cost of oil, we're thinking about changing our hot-water heater to either an electric or an oil on-demand, hot-water heater. Which system would be more cost-effective and efficient?
-- via e-mail

A. If your hot water is coming from a coil in the boiler, it may be worthwhile having an electric water heater installed (be sure it's a well-insulated tank like the plastic Marathon, or add to it an insulated jacket you can buy in hardware stores or home centers). If your hot water is heated by the boiler and is stored in a side-arm tank, and you have an energy-efficient boiler, it may not be worth switching systems.

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When to prime after a power-wash

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday September 10, 2008, 4:11 PM

Q.What length of time do you recommend for drying between power-washing and primer application?
-- via e-mail

A. It depends entirely on the weather. The safest way to find out is with a moisture meter. You should be able to rent or borrow one from an obliging painting contractor, but feeling with your hand is often a good-enough guide. If you are planning to use latex, dampness is not a problem, but if you are planning on using an oil-based primer or paint, the wood must be dry.

Q. Last month, we had our asphalt driveway dug out and replaced in conjunction with our neighbor's driveway. After the old driveway was dug out and gravel was laid, they replaced some cement sidewalks for us and then poured the new asphalt. Shortly after the asphalt was laid, we noticed a white substance that seemed to have seeped up through the top of the asphalt. When we called the asphalt paving company, they came out to look at it and said they had no idea what had caused this defect. His only suggestion was that perhaps we spilled something on the driveway and we told him emphatically that neither we nor our neighbors had spilled anything. It continued to get worse and seems to have now stabilized.

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Rid a musty basement of its unpleasant smell

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday September 03, 2008, 3:09 PM

Q. Do you have an opinion on a product called Musty Basement Solutions? I have a 1951 ranch-style house that I have been renovating, with a cement-slab basement. It does not take water as far as I can tell, but does have a musty smell that I want to get rid of. The prior homeowners left an older dehumidifier that ran 24 hours a day but did not completely remove the odor. Rather than invest in another dehumidifier, I wanted to check out this product. Any advice?
-- Verona

A. The product's website indicates that the Musty Basement Solution draws air from the basement or crawlspace and exhausts it outdoors. This creates a negative pressure in the basement or crawlspace that is equalized by drawing air from the upper levels of the house. The manufacturer states that, in turn, the negative pressure that is caused by this is equalized by drawing air from the outside through all the cracks and crevices that are found in most homes. So the MBS acts as a sort of air-to-air exchanger.

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Commercial gutters for residential rains

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday August 27, 2008, 3:03 PM

Q. The rains this summer are creating many headaches for us. A recent deluge has prompted me to get some help with two problems. We have a soil-erosion problem in the back of the house where there is little gutter assistance. The rain comes off the roof in buckets and is gradually sending our soil down the hill. In the front of the house, our current gutters that were installed years ago -- improperly, I might add, as the rain falls between the house and the gutters -- cannot handle the rain, causing other problems. What would you recommend?
-- Burlington, Vt.

A. Consider having your gutters and downspouts replaced with commercial equivalents. Commercial gutters are 1 inch wider than regular gutters, and commercial downspouts have twice the cross section, 3-inch-by-4-inch instead of 2-inch-by-3-inch. They should handle any volume of water from your roof and will never clog. My Maryland metal subcontractor told me in the 1950s -- when all gutters and downspouts were either copper or galvanized and custom-made on the job -- to: "Always use commercial gutters and downspouts, even a dead pigeon would flow through them."

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DIY lady seeks leaky basement solution

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday August 20, 2008, 2:33 PM

Q. I've had occasion to read your column in The Star-Ledger since moving into my house in October 2006, and must say that I've learned quite a bit. Hopefully, you can help me with my question.

When it rains, water seeps into the basement at the side of the house through a crack in the lower part of the wall. This wall is immediately adjacent to the outside steps where I gain entry to the house. It would appear that these steps were not originally part of the house, but added to make a side entrance. The driveway is also located on that side of the house. It wasn't something that was noticed during the inspection of the house before purchase -- no dampness in the walls, etc. I contacted the inspector, who initially inspected the premises and told me that I needed to fix this, but it does not require a French drain.

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Will tankless heater keep you in hot water?

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday August 13, 2008, 2:44 PM

Q. I read your recent column in The Star-Ledger regarding tankless water heaters. We are considering purchasing a Rinnai, but we have concerns about whether there would be enough hot water if we were to use the shower at the same time we are washing clothes. Do you have information on that issue? Would you recommend the tankless water heater over the traditional type? Thank you.
-- via e-mail

A. The amount of hot water delivered by tankless heaters can be a problem. Since you are considering such a water heater, you should make sure that it is sized properly to satisfy your needs. Rinnai has heaters delivering as many as 9.8 gallons of hot water per minute (GPM) at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinnai claims that you can use up to three water outlets without a problem. Look in your washing-machine manual for the maximum number of GPM it uses, add the GPM of your shower heads (change them to water-conserving heads, if needed), and see whether it will work.

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Consult a professional when ants go marching

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday August 06, 2008, 3:20 PM

Q. We have black ants in the kitchen cupboards and would like to know how to get rid of them.
-- via e-mail

A. You should determine whether they are carpenter ants by sending a couple of them to the extension service of your local university or by having a pest-management professional check them out. If they are, there is an infestation somewhere in the walls or floors, and you need the help of a professional to locate the nest and get rid of it. But if you are sure that they are not carpenter ants (very hard for the untrained to tell), use one of the crawling-insect pesticides available in hardware and garden-supply stores. Terro is one of them.

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Is a French drain right for this house?

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday July 30, 2008, 2:34 PM

Q. I would like to find out more about installing a French drain. My house is a split-level built in 1964. The crawl space is dirt, and we had a flooding rain last spring. Most neighbors had flood-damaged basements. We had moist soil in our crawl space from, I assume, the ground being saturated. No water penetrated the cement-block foundation or the plate area. I deduced that we experienced ground water "flooding." Moist soil was prevalent, with minor pooling on the north side of crawl space. Pooled water trickled into a large, concrete block tub set lower that contains the physical plant. The water drained without incident.

The north side of our home is on a 20-degree north/south slope. I noticed that the neighbor's downspout points south and drains into the lawn between our houses. I wondered whether a French drain would be a good solution between our homes, or is ground water typically going to rise into the dirt crawl space after an exceptionally severe rainy spell? Past years of normal rainfall have never yielded any damp soil in the crawl space.
-- via e-mail

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No end to noise after water fills toilet tank

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday July 23, 2008, 3:45 PM

Q. When my toilet on the first floor is flushed and the water refills in the bowl, there is a loud bang at the end of the water coming in. The toilet is a "small, water-efficient" type. Copper piping was used when this toilet was installed about seven years ago. The problem started recently. The second floor toilet, old-type, has the same problem, but the bang is not as loud. The water faucets cause no problem now, but the water pipes did a continuous banging when the water was running, which this occurred for a while after a new hot-water furnace was installed. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. My regular plumber has not been able to correct the toilet problem.

I just bought your book, "About the House with Henri de Marne," and found it very interesting and helpful. I read your column every week in The Star Ledger.
-- New Jersey, via e-mail

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Reader's drainage system is in the gutter

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday July 16, 2008, 3:11 PM

Q. We have recently moved into a home that is in the woods. Our gutters are consistently filling up with leaves in the fall and debris from our oak trees in the spring. Is there a new technology in gutters that will allow the rain to flow through and keep the debris out? If I remember correctly, you have not been positive on the type of gutter system that I am describing. Thank you.
-- New Jersey, via e-mail

A. I have been very disappointed over the years with the several gutter covers I have tried. I have looked at several alternatives but find that they all seem to have some flaw. Some use a rounded shape, and water is supposed to follow by surface tension to shed leaves. This type may work for you since you have oak trees, but it does not prevent pine needles and other fine debris from following the water into the gutter. When that happens, how does one clean the gutters?

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Mold and moisture problems call for reader to 'can' lighting

by Henri de Marne

Wednesday July 09, 2008, 3:34 PM

Q. Our house is a Dutch colonial now; it was originally a three-bedroom ranch with an addition put on in 1989. I was in the attic installing canned lighting when I noticed the insulation has no vapor barrier. There are 12 inches of rolled insulation currently. There is a ridge vent and two end vents (12 inches by 16 inches) and air vents from the soffit to the attic with rafter vents in each bay. Should there be a vapor barrier? Is the ventilation OK?

About the canned lighting, what should I do to prevent heat loss there? Also, there is a crawl space on the second floor that is about 20 feet long and has insulation with a vapor barrier but no Sheetrock covering it. Should that be covered?
-- Williston, Vt.

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