Home Sense

Mike McClintock (For The Washington Post)

Have questions about how to keep your home fit and trim?

Home Sense columnist Mike McClintock is online every other Thursday at Noon ET to answer your questions about home building, remodeling, repairs and the wide range of home-consumer issues. If it has something to do with the place where you live -- from home security to the latest on appliances, energy-saving and a lot more -- just ask. Mike has the answers.

McClintock's column appears in the Post Home section every Thursday. He is the author of 10 books, including "Alternative Housebuilding."

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Mike McClintock: Hello again: Getting right to it, in a 2005 report, Profile of Second-Home Buyers, the National Association of Realtors says that reasons for buying a second home include "the desire for a vacation getaway, rental income, and increased portfolio diversification". (I usually blow away my portfolio diversification time on, oh, doing laundry.) But anyway, it surprised me that the NAR says "investment property and vacation homes comprise more than one-third of all residential purchases." Do that many people really have two can openers and doubles of just about everything? I don't because my vacation home is the porch, but they must, so the quiz this time is about vacation homes- answers with some extra info as usual end of hour.

HOME SENSE-VACATION HOMES-QUESTION
-How far away from home is the typical second home: 19, 49, 79, or 119 miles?
-What percent are detached single-family style: 23, 43, 63, or 83 percent?
-What is the age and household income of the average vacation-home buyer?
45 years old making $51,000
50 years old making $61,000
55 years old making $71,000
60 years old making $81,000

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Takoma, Md.: I'm trying to budget for a couple of home repairs/fix-ups. How much should I expect to pay for painting the trim of my house (using 2 or 3 colors, so slightly more complex than a standard 'paint everything white') on a typical craftsman sized house? I don't know how the wood trim has to be prepared before the painting -- should I count on the painters telling me if any wood is bad?

Thanks

Mike McClintock: CanÕt really give you a price thatÕs realstic without seeing the place, and Tacoma right now would be a trick. But a painter should be able to tell you where thereÕs rot, but better to find and fix that before painting begins, not during the job when tearing out or otherwise fixing the damage will hold up the job. Go over thisin a walk-around with any contractor biddinbg for the work.

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Delta, Pa.: Hello there Mike: I have a question about selling a house, actually my parents' house that we're still in the process of clearing and cleaning. It's basically in good shape except for the exterior paint, which isn't a disaster by any means but has cracks, chips missing and looks dingy. I'm not sure if the price of a new paint job (about $7,500) is a good investment on the $350,000 (about) house. Do you think it's necessary, a good investment, at least a break-even investment?

Mike McClintock: On the down side, you've probably got a lot to do there already and hiring and dealing with a paint contractor will only add to the load. If you don't live close by, supervising the job could also be difficult.
On the other hand, buyers do like things spiffy, but at what price? Markets vary, but think about this tactic. First settle the asking price and bottom line vprice you'll take with a real estate agent. Then get a solid quote for the work. Then tell the agent you're thinking of painting but only if the $7k or whatever can be built into the price, guaranteed to return. Of course they can't guarantee, but should be able to say, yes you'll get your money back and we'll boost the price accordingly (adding on the painting cost), or no you won't and the boost would be too high. Agents generally want you to do more (it's not their money) to make the house salable, but the scenario above involves them in the decision and should get you a neighborhood-specific answer. My guess: at something like two percent of the house value, it probably makes sense to paint.

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Manassas, Va.: Hi Mike: Can you shed some light on a question that's come up about our potential (due to a limited budget) kitchen project. Should we be upgrading to new appliances even though the existing ones work just fine, or put the substantial new appliance money into new wiring, new plumbing and other fundamentals that really need improvement? It probably tells you where I stand, but aren't new appliances basically the same old boxes with more bells and whistles?

Mike McClintock: You have a point that coincides with the very practical remodeling maxim: if it's not broken don't fix it. On the other hand, at resale time older appliances (even still working fine) will probably be an oddly sore thumb in otherwise improved surroundings- and a little strange to do one (the wiring and all) but not the other (appliances). When a redo has to be limnited it's usually the other way around: new appliances in the old backdrop just spruced up low cost with paint, paper, maybe cabinet refacing and a new light fixture.
I guess it's yes and no about the bells and whistles. Sometimes the nearly endless digitally programmable options just get silly (like the infinite;ly adjustable car seat you always use in one position), but there are cases where new is also improved. Self-cleaning ovens at first were considered energy wasting,. But the extra insulation needed to resist the super high cleaning heat meant better efficiency for cooking. And automatic dishwashers use only half as much water as washing in the sink. As usual, more money would help in your case; maybe the fiundamentals, then replace the appliances in stages.
Now i'll try to stop with the long answers so we can cover more questions

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Falls Church, Va.: Mike,

I have some timber steps in my backyard, which have no real "fill-in" except dirt and some ground-cover. It gets way too muddy, so I thought I'd fill it in with more timber (maybe 6x2 slats).

Any tips on what I should lay down first, and whether I need to do any nailing or other type of fastening?

Thanks!

Mike McClintock: I'm trying to picture it, and come up with wooden stairs that have the steps but not the risers, maybe, the risers being the ground and when iut rains they spread mud onto the steps, maybe.
In any case, if you don't need more steps, it probably makes more sense to do some excavation and fill with gravel- as long as you don't dig out the supports.

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Silver Spring, Md.: The floors of our 1950s era house are wood tiles (I am not sure if they are considered parquet, tiles is the best way to describe them...) They seem like they are very dry and dull in color. Not to sound like a moron, but I am not sure if they were waxed or polyurethaned at this stage. What can I do to bring out their shine? Most of the oils I have seen are for use not on floors. I am worried about the dryness of them as they are becoming very brittle. Do I need a professional? I was trying to look for a lowcost option.

Mike McClintock: Wood blocks can be sanded and refinished just like strip oak, parquet and other floors. But if the dullness is theonly problem you might get buy with a very light sanding or steel wooling (a rented machine). Then you could finish to suit, maybe staining first if you want to deppen or at least unify the wood tones. Then modern poly is the practical clear-coat finish of choice.

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New Toilet: I want to replace an older toilet myself. Do toilets tend to have differnet waster pipe sizes, or are they pretty standard? I've removed it before for painting and to replace tile, and replaced the gasket, etc. But w/ a new toilet, I'm worried about sizing. (I will remember to measure from the bolts to the wall to make sure it fits!;)

Mike McClintock: The waste flange right at the floor is a standard fitting so you shouldn't have a mismatch. Oddly, guess you've discovered it already, the only real conmnection there is a wax seal, which you'll need to replace. Still, it's a good idea to measure the bolts.
Now the tough part: making a new, which means low-flow, toilet work in a house plumbed for a standard, now considered too high a flow, unit.
I've heard many, many reports of problems from that mismatch- sometimes to the point where after plumbing callbacks the owner finally rips the thing out and either goes hunting through removation suppliers for a period piece.

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Arlington, Va.: Is there any regular maintenace I should be doing on my house? I change the heat pump filter regularly and I used to drain the hot water heater once a year until I heard that was no longer necessary. But are there things I definitely should be doing? I keep thinking I should do something for the garage door opener, but other than maybe greasing it, I have no idea.

Mike McClintock: If you're hot to do home maintenance i bet a few chatters could let you burn off some of that energy at their houses. Anyway, eachhouse is different, so there is no static regimin, and i wouldn't be draining the tank every year unless i kept finding a lot of deposits each time.
Filters, sure, and maybe a top priority in most places would be professional service for heating systems, flues and fireplaces- and on it goes.

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Columbia, Md.: I'm submitting this question early Mike. Have you heard of "cement lifting?" I'm considering having this done to lift my sidewalk which has sunk quite a bit in one corner. Evidently the process involves injecting something like mud below the slab to lift it up. What do you think of this process? Thanks.

Mike McClintock: It works up to a point, meaning that it's generally a pumped in (under in this case) slurry that forces up the sagging concrete, In cases where it's easy to get a line under the walkway (not too hard when there's a lot of errosion) a slab can be hoisted up and concrete poured underneath in the void.
But however the walkway is raised, it's often a temporary fix unless the conditions that caused the sagging in the first place are fixed. That's the part many people leave out, say, digging a drain trench to carry away water that gradually washed away the supporting soil.

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Pennsylvania: Hi Mike, Thanks for the chat.

We have an old house (built in 1929) with a boiler that heats our home and our water. On a recent visit, a repairman suggested that we consider adding an electric hot water heater, sort of as a holding tank, since our boiler only heats about 5 gallons of water at a time. He also added that this would enable us to turn off the boiler in the summer, thus saving some expense for oil.

It sounds like a good idea to me, but is there a downside that I'm not taking in to account?

Thanks!;

Mike McClintock: The main down side is the electric bill, plus buying the heater. Difficult to say when that investment will be returned, and like many energy or other payback scenarios there are other favctors that don't seem to be included in the equations. For instance, if your water supply is even a little hard, running domestic hot water through the coil in the furnace can shorten its life, require extra maintenance, etc.
Overall, it's a good idea if the electric rate isn't too staggering there- and you'll enjor that summer silence without the boiler going on and off at odd times.

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Arlington, Va. -- Cabinet Refacing: Hi Mike:

Thanks for taking my question. We have an outdated circa 1980s galley kitchen in our VA condo. We love modern design but we are newlyweds on a limited budget.

Our current kitchen cabinets are a dark reddish-brown wood with raised panels and moulding.

We can't afford to gut our kitchen and install new cabinetry so we are interested in cabinet refacing.

Where can we go for kitchen cabinet refacing with a very modern look?

Mike McClintock: Refacing is offered by contractors and some of the big-box stores, too. But you might consider sanding, cleaning, and then maybe bleacing to lighten before restaining with a light tone (or going super dark i suppose). Drawback being that the raised-panel motif will still be there.

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Bethesda, Md.: Hi, I really need help on gutter covers. Are they worth the price? We have drainage problems and our back yard is wooded. We haven't been able to find a reliable gutter-cleaning service and frankly, we also have forgotten to call when we should. But do covers really do the job? We're looking at the kind with a solid top since holes seem to defeat the purpose, but is it then a problem if you can't see a clog that does happen to occur? Thanks for your help in advance!

Mike McClintock: Some homeowners say they've found the answer, but many more report problems. I've never tried one that continued to work except the gutterless systems that just shed water and everything else. Problem there is errosion around the foundation, aside from water down the neck over entries.
Cutting back leaf-dropping branches helps, but regular cleaning seems to be the best solution despite all the claims. (We've heard here about several systems, including one that tips over on hinnges for cleaning, but as i recall the guy who had that installed said it departed in a snowstorm.)

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi Mike! My house has steel window frames. I'm painting one of my upstairs rooms now and noticed the paint bubbling on the steel frames. It looks to me like moisture got in there. Should I remove the bubbling paint and sand and prime or will a really good double coat of latex work? I'm thinking the moisture may have come from condensation in the winter and not caulk failure. By the way, how long does exterior caulk last?

Mike McClintock: Metal window (like the old apartment-type casements) often sweat because there are no storms, so it's freezing outside and 68 inside- perfect conditions for sweating,. That gradually erodes the paint, cvauses bubbling, rusting and away you go. So, yes go down to bare metal if you can and start from scratch with a metal primer, then a compatible latex if you want.
How long for the caulk? depends on where it is, mainly, but an exterior latex properly applied should last many years.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Mr. McClintock,

I just had a new furnace with new duct work installed in my home. The installer punched serveral holes in the drywall trying to find the best location for the return duct. He says he's not responsible for repairing the damage. I don't agree. What say you? Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Who else would be responsible? If the explorations were part of his work of course he should fix them. But maybe you want to be there when he makes the "repair"- then finish it up yourself.

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Annapolis, Md.: Here's my guess:

79 miles
43 percent
55/$71K

Your chat is very informative. I have a split foyer with a cold basement with fireplace. We're sure there's no insulation in the walls so we're ripping out the hideous wall paneling and will replace with drywall. Will putting insulation between the walls make for a more comfortable winter next year? Anything else we can do?

Mike McClintock: You got one out of three.
Adding insulation will make a big difference- so much so that if the area is really chilly and you would like it be really warm, consider giving up another inch or so of floor space, i.e. instead of furring with 3/4-inch, adding foam panels, a vapor barrier and then drywall- at least on themost exposed and coldest wall you could build a standard 2x4 stud wall, and pack in 3-1/2 inches of insulation before finishing. That would also leave plenty of room for running some new wiring.

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Re: Timber steps: That's right, Mike. The steps are "U" frame upon "U" frame held together with galvanized nails and 2ft rebar into the ground. The "riser" part is nothing but dirt. There is a slight slope above the top step, so dirt and stones wash right down the steps whenever it rains. As a result, they are often a mess to walk on. Thus, I want to fill them in with anything that can withstand a flow of rain. I thought more timber in the "riser" part might do it. Would gravel alone suffice? Thanks again.

(BTW, I am working on evening out the slope to stop the rain flow, but that is a bigger project).

Mike McClintock: Even resonably snug wood risers probably won't stop the flow; gravel (as much as you can dig and add) will provide more help with down drainage. But you're on the right track attacking the slope- and maybe a swale or even a shallow drain trench (wrappen in plastic, gravel, drainpipe, more gravel, filter fabric, then sod orgravel on top) would divert enough water to solve the problem.

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Tysons Corner, Va.: I just had a sidewalk put in. The neighbor's cat walked across the still wet concrete, leaving footprints. Is there anything I can do to repair now that the concrete is cured? Or was there something I could have done if I had noticed when it was still wet?

Mike McClintock: Was it a famous cat?
Anyway, when wet or even almost hard, yes, you could have troweled over the marks. Now, filling tiny little paw prints with cement may not work, mainly because the little repairs will pop. Best bet may be to repour that section.

Don't suppose the neighbor's love little what's its name so much that they would want that piece of slab?

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Arlington, Va.: Our furnace was installed in the early 80s. We have heard that old furnaces may leak CO and that it is likely to go soon anyway. Should we replace it before it breaks, or see if we can get a few more years out of it?

Mike McClintock: I really like the maxim- if it's not broken don't fix it- for several reasons. One is that you may get the jewel (the oppoiste of the lemon) that defies lifespan tables for appliances. About CO, first you sho8uld have a detector, for peace of mind. Second, have the furnace serviced: checking for CO leaks is a standard part of the job- and you'll also then find out what the efficiency is. It may be 75%, who knows, but then you can look at the cost of a modern unit *some are 95% efficicent, and see about how much youi'll save.

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Home sweet home: Hi Mike,
I've got a kitchen that's in a part of the house which has no basement below (1920s house), basically crawlspace open to the outside under the room. Pipes running under the kitchen floor have been freezing all winter. Some solutions offered by contractors: entirely enclose crawl space and insulate walls and maybe add a heater to the space, other option would be to create a space under the floor that is insulated (basically hanging below and around the beams), not enclosing the entire crawl space but creating a warm space right under the floor. Any thoughts?

Mike McClintock: If you have the height, the second, more clever solution might work better. Closing off acrawl space without treating the floor (at least gravel, but better some moisture supression and a thin slab of concrete) can create all sorts of moirture and odor problems in the room above, and start rot in the structure, too.

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Frederick, Md.: Aw, little kitty cats paws prints! Leave it there! Cats were worshiped in Ancient Egypt, you know.

Mike McClintock: I could see that if it were your cat, maybe.

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Chicago, Ill.: We have a 4 year old home, we didn't build, the previous owners did and moved after a year. The stain they chose for the kitchen cabinets is chipping off. I have contacted the installer and he is refusing to fix it. He says they put a sealer on the stain (the wood is maple). What can we do to fix it besides stripping and re-staining?

Mike McClintock: Stain normally soaks in instead of lying on the surface like paint, so the chipping may be the clear coat on top- maybe put on too soon. Anyway, try some tests, for instance, with sanding, or maybe steel wooling, and also some solvents until you ghet one that reduces the top coat. Then some light sanding and resealing would do.

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Alexandria, Va.: I am meeting with several landscape design/installation companies this weekend for estimates on completely re-doing our front yard. Beyond cost, what should I look for that will make one seem better than the rest? Are there any special questions I should ask?

Mike McClintock: Don't have much help for you because landscape plans that seem bizarre to one person seem perfect to another. Guess i would spend at least some time on practicalities, though- like maintenance on walks, drainage, maybe watering systems and the like.

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Federick, Md:
-79
-63
-55

Mike McClintock: 55 years old with $71 k is right, like the laste guesser, but not your other two.

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Cleveland, Ohio: Hi Mike. Spring question for you...I want to put up windowboxes on two second floor windows. Issue is aluminum siding--what is the best way to fasten a windowbox in this case? I know there is more solid material underneath (old wood siding)so the boxes will solidly attach but do I have to worry about moisture getting through the holes I make in the aluminum siding?

Thanks!;

Mike McClintock: Add one or more fairly supple washers (under the hardware attachment point), and then mayve some neat caulking for good measure.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi there -- do you know anything about split air conditioners? I have a small apartment in a 100 year old co-op that currently has a big, noisy window unit. I want to be able to open the window and don't have space for a portable AC, nor is it possible to get the building to convert to central AC. A split AC seems like a good option, but I don't know much about them. I would need the outside portion installed two stories above ground level. Possible? Worthwhile?
Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Split loop systems are probably the best way to add what amounts to central air (usually in only a few rooms). The guts of the machinery sits outside and piping bring the refrigerant back and forth. I had one in a big studio, in the ceiling, flush mounted, quiet of course- it was great. Main drawback could be that to run all the pipes you need access to the walls and ceilings- and if the place isn't ready to do central AC they probably won't want you doing your own local version.

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Washington, D.C.: Mike,

My circa 1989 home has vinyl siding. I have two questions:

1. How can I repair small holes in the siding? The former owners attached the street numbers to the front of the house with screws. I took them out and now I have very obvious holes.

2. The house has vinyl shutters that I would like to paint rather than replace. They are in great shape, I just dont like the color. Can I repaint the shutters? If so, what type of paint should I use?

Many thanks in advance.

Mike McClintock: Never seen a good vinyl siding repair kit, maybe because the stuff is so thin there would be nothing to do but add a patch, and that would stand out. If you hired a contractor, he would use a zip tool (only $4 or so) to unlock the seams, then pull the nails on the bad piece and replace it
If the repair doesn;t involve too many pieces, it's really an easy job so long as you don't have to go climbing.

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Mike McClintock: Ran out of time; thanks for your Qs, and if we didn't get to yours and the project can wait, try again next time- and:

HOME SENSE-VACATION HOMES-QUESTION
-How far away from home is the typical second home: 19, 49, 79, or 119 miles?
-What percent are detached single-family style: 23, 43, 63, or 83 percent?
-What is the age and household income of the average vacation-home buyer?
45 years old making $51,000
50 years old making $61,000
55 years old making $71,000
60 years old making $81,000

HOME SENSE-VACATION HOMES-ANSWER
-How far away from the primary home is the second home? 49 miles
(Investment properties are closer on average; 18 miles away.)

-What percent of recently purchased vacation homes are detached single-family style? 83 percent
(Median size is 1,290 square feet and median purchase price $190,000; 'median' meaning half are more and half are less, which supposedly gives amore realistic picture than a straight mathematical 'average')

-What is the age and total household income of the average vacation-home buyer?
55 years old making $71,000
(For investment-property homebuyers the median age is 47 and the household income of $85,700.)

Investment property or getaway, you have to figure that these folks have done pretty well with savings along the way, as two mortgages, two new roofs etc. could put an awfully big dent in $71,000 a year, not to mention, say, college tuitions.

See you next time

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