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."

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: I mentioned last time that I was going to the National Association of Homebuilders exposition in Orlando, among Disneyworld, Sea World and the rest. Upcoming columns will cover many of the new products and building materials unveiled there (and just a couple of the obvious duds), but here let's start with a short multiple-choice quiz about local color and flavor- while I get started on your questions.

HOME SENSE- NAHB SHOW -QUESTIONS
1. Used to be that many companies hired celebrities to promote products at the builder's show. Not anymore, but one of the few on hand was:
a. Tim Allen, the TV home improvement comedian, at a toolbelt booth
b. George Tenet, former CIA director, at a home security system booth
c. R. Lee Ermy, the shouting host of Mail Call, at a drill bit booth

2. Among many activities for builders, Orlando TV promoted an unusual nightspot in town, which was:
a. The Gator: a bar with a pool where you have to walk across several mechanical thrashing gators without falling in
b. You've Got Problems: a nightclub where you have to answer revealing and embarrassing questions
c. Fiascos: a dinner theater with purposefully bad acts like inept magicians and clumsy jugglers

3. In the fairly modest hotel chain where some builders (and I) stayed in Orlando, one of the guests was:
a. awarded the new Hummer raffled off at the builders show
b. given a key to the city as Florida's best builder
c. shot in the leg in the parking lot during a robbery

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Mike,

Love your column. I recently bought a small ranch house built in 1989. The bathroom has one of those plastic(?)shower inserts instead of a real tub and tile shower. It is an awfully depressing beige color. I hate it. Is there some way for me to successfully paint over this surface with a color more to my liking? What about laying tile, like mosaic, over it? I just dont want to go to the trouble and expense of pulling the thing out--I dont think there is anything under it--and installing a traditional tiled shower stall. Thanks for all the great advice.

Mike McClintock: The great advice, I'm afraid, is a big no. If you painted over it, the paint would peel and crack, probably quickly as surrounds are kind of flexible- more so than paint. That creates problems for laying tile, which needs a rock soild base. Often, those dreary beige surrounds are used as a one-shot solution to bad walls, bad tile and other buried problems. So the solution is the best cleaning you can provide, or ripping out and installing another less-beige model.

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Shepherd Park, Washington, D.C.: Mike,

We're having our kitchen remodelled and a half-bath added to our 1924 bungalow. In order to tie the new bath into the plumbing, the plumber cut out a section of the old 3" pipe. I saw the section and it's accumulated so much of a coating that its internal diameter is now only about 1 1/2". I never had a chance to talk to the plumber--should I worry about this? If it's a problem, what should be done about it?

Thanks!

Mike McClintock: That old a house, you may want to look into the possibility of lead pipes- too much of a quagmire of information to deal with here. The 3-inch means a drain line, not supply, so it's a bit unusual to have lost so much diameter there. More often it's the smaller-diameter supply pipes that pick up mineral depsoits from a hard water supply.
But if the pressure and amount of water is ok there, not to worry, mainly as the only thing you can do about it is replace all the pipes.

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Riverdale, Md.: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Our 1911-vintage house has oil heat (furnace is WWII vintage) with baseboard hot water registers/radiators (forgive my laymen terms). Recently we've heard some water movement/gurgling sounds in the pipes. My husband is concerned there's some air trapped in the pipes, but we don't know how to bleed the radiators as we don't have the old-fashioned-type radiators that you bleed with a key. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Mike McClintock: If there is no bleed valve at the radiatords, some systems can be bled close to the furnace. Seems in all these years (really 1945 furnace?) this would have been done- so maybe the serevice company knows where.

And- even with decent maintenance and cleaning and all, that vintage furnace may be, if you're lucky, burning at 60 percent efficiency. (i'm guessing, of course, but maybe it's more like a fireplace and 50 percent. Point is- new ones are 90 and even 95 percent efficient, which means you could be spending about half as much as you do now on fuel. Look into it.

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Arlington, Va.: Mike,

Help. My wife and I just moved in to a 1940s brick townhome that is mostly remodeled. Tuesday night was quite cold in DC and we discovered that the closet in the master bedroom has one wall (an exterior wall) that sweats terribly. It's plaster, possibly original, and is very cold. The same adjoining wall in the bedroom does not sweat, but is also plaster. We had to empty the closet because all of our cloths were getting damp. Additionally, inside this closet is a door that goes up to the attic, so the closet is always a bit colder inside than the rest of the house. Is the condensation due to poor insulation, lack of a vapor barrier, airflow, what?
What is the likely cause and how do I fix it? Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Outside closet walls are tought (even with decent insulation) because they generally don't get as much warm air as other walls. That means one easy out is to install louver doors that letin more heat.

Better yet, give up an inch of depth and install 3/4-inch insulating board (foam with a high r-value per ionch) covered by 1.2 drywall. That's required by fire codes.

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Falls Church, Va.: Hi Mike --

Silly question perhaps, but where do I go for estimates on residential fencing? Fence companies themselves? Lumber Yards? Home Depot? Just wondering where to start my research on fences so I know what to look for. Thanks!

Mike McClintock: Sure there are fence companies. Don't think many lumber yard would do that, and the big-box stopres either.

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Ocean View, Del.: Hello Mike,

I just purchased a beach house that has ceiling fans that I dont like but I dont have the funds to replace them right now. The attached metal light fixtures and embellishments on the blades are polished "brass". This is too shiny for me, so I want to paint the fixtures and details white to match the blades. Any suggestions on how to go about doing this? Do I have to strip off the brass color, or can I paint right over it? What type of paint is appropriate? The fixture is hot to the touch when lights are on so it should be some product able to withstand heat. Thanks in advance.

Mike McClintock: Painting over the brass, of sorts, seems like a painstaking job times several fans. Maybe just scuff it up with fine sandpaper to dull the finish. You could go through the metal primer, topcoat and all, but kind of tough working there over your head.

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi Mike,

Gotta question about crown molding. Due to settling, there are some cracks in the paint due to space between the molding and ceiling -- nothing huge. We're about to repaint. Is it difficult to detach and rehang the crown molding? I'm open to filling the crack and painting over, but would fear that might not last. Thanks.

Mike McClintock: If the cracks are small as you say, leave the molding alone. Even if you could detach it all without breaking, you might not get as good a fit against the ceiling somewhere else by moving it. You could caulk if thegap is big and the house seems to move a lot seasonally. Think i would just fill, in stages for deep cracks, then prime and paint.

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Arlington, Va.: Mike -- We have a double-paned sliding glass door that has moisture gather in between the panes, particularly on humid days. Is there anything short of replacing the door that can be done? Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Used to be some pennysaver-type services that said they would pump air out of the door and reseal it. But i think that's pretty much a factory operation. Unless you can live with the fog, it's replacement time.

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Reston, Va.: My pregnant wife is suffering I think from dry air. I was told by a friend, I may have a central humidifier that could be adjusted on my central heating unit. How can I tell?

Mike McClintock: Simple answer is, yes, humidifers can be adjusted- if you have one, which seems like a good thing to find out, maybe along with some other basic stuff about your house. For one thing, if you have a central system, it should be cleaned throughly every year to get rid of mold and other contaminants in the water tank. Many have pads or wheels that transfer the water and they need cleaning or replacement every year as well.

But if you don't see a thin copper feed pipe going to a breadbox-sized contraption just above the furnace on the main metal duct supply, you may not have one and should just buy a portable. FYI there was a recent column on dryness that will be in the archive online.

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Columbia, Md.: Mike,
I am in a quandry. The house we just moved into has closets that have wire meshes for shelves. We quickly found out that the shelves were too flimsy to carry our clothes due to lack of support. I could only identify one stud on the side walls but that was too far away from the back wall to attach new wire shelves to that stud. What other options do I have? Would you suggest other kind of shelves? My wife is mighty miffed at me and I have to fix this VERY SOON. Thanks for your help.

Mike McClintock: Try installing some extra braces- anchored to a stud if you can (should be every 16 inches on center, once you locate one). Most systems offer angled brackets that clip onto the outer edge of the shelf and slope down to the wall for support.

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Washington, D.C.: Mike,

We have a number of plumbing issues.

The water pressure in our kitchen sink is low when using hot water (pressure is fine with respect to the cold water); this is the only faucet in which this is a problem relating to hot water.

Second, when we run the hot water in the tub, an awful rattling occurs, but this does not occur when the shower is being used. Here, unlike above, the pressure is fine.

Could you give us any advice as to what might be causing these problems.

Thank you.

Mike McClintock: My brain hurts with thinmgs like this because they don't make sense, which often means there's more than one thing going wrong. SO: try cleaning or just removing the sink aerator to see if the pressure issue goes away. If it doesn't, it must be the supply line to that fixture, or valve, because pressure is ok elsewhere.

Don;'t know the valve setup ion the bath, but the mixing valve might be clogged or worn and not able to mix in the tub even though it can in the shower.

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Crofton, Md.: I have a 1970's townhome with two small problems. First, one of the hardwood boards on a stair has sunk below the level of the others on that step. How do I go about repairing that? Second, the baseboard along the stairs into the basement has pulled away from the wall. Previous owners caulked and painted, but the caulk is in terrible shape. Do I recaulk and repaint or replace the baseboard? Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Second first. Maybe it's time to pry off the board, fix and level out the wall, then clean up the board and reinstall- or you could just do what they did after some scraping and sanding.

The other is odd, and tricky if you can't get to the treads from below, in which case a couple of wedges will do it. From the top, guess i'd be stuck predrilling, countersinking, and trying to lift the piece on a screw that i covered with a plug to match the stairs. An iffy fix to be sure.

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Quiz: I'm gonna go straight Cs on all three.

(do I win a Hummer?)

Mike McClintock: Was i that obvious, and are you going to kill the suspense and get them all right the first time? Well, sigh, OK; it's all C's- and no hummer, or Corvette either.

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi there! Wondering about kitchen flooring. What would you recommend? I have medium oak cabinets, white counter tops and black appliances. I want to go with Pergo. What's your opinion of it for kitchens and should I do it a shade darker or lighter than my cabinets? I like tile, but I have a baby that falls and heard Pergo is easy to clean, looks nice, and quicker to install? What do you think? Thanks!

Mike McClintock: Think you're on target about everything you mentioned. Lighter but not very light generally shows less dirt and wear than darker colors, but no big deal so use the one that strikes you right.

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Naperville, Ill.: Water damage has caused some joint tape to seperate from a bedroom ceiling. Can I remove this tape, prepare with joint compound, and retape or is it best to remove some or all of the drywall?

Mike McClintock: After a modest leak, drywall will dry out, even though the paper is bubbled. But retaping is the easy part. Just pull off what's there, clean up the jopint, get rid og grit, embed new tape and cover coat to finish.

But if the drywall seems spongy or flaky around the leak area, even after drying, it probably will cvause problems and should be replaced. Often, that deterioration is due to a long-term leak or a couple of real floods.

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Arlington, Va.: We have a 4 year old furnace (installed by a previous owners), that broke down over the weekend. Apparently, a motor blew due to not enough oxygen coming into the furnace room forcing the motor to run hotter than normal and forced furnace to shut down. When the repairman came out to the house he noted that the exhaust piping installed for the new furnace. The previous owners had moved the mechanical room from one side of the house to the other and instead of venting through the chimmney in the old furnace exhaust, busted through the foundation and sent a b-vent up the side of the house with out the proper insulation, according to him. The repairman said it would cost a 2000-3000 to get the vent up to code (can't remember the insulation said - maybe a100). We had the original installers come out on Monday and they said the vent was up to code, naturally.

The first repairman suggested, since the heat exchanger is likely to go in the near future and the cost associated with the venting system to replace the entire system with a condensing furnace that can be vented right out of the house with PVC piping instead of the exhaust system presently in the house.

Right now the furnace is running so I am afraid to make any changes but if so what cost would a condensing furnce run us? and is it a good idea?

Mike McClintock: Whem- and nice of it to go on the freezo weekend and not today when it's 35 or so and you could do sweaters. Anyway, a 4yr furnace should not need to be replaced, specially not just for a condensing furnace that doesn't need hot exhaust installations.
Mainly, what you say was the problem (lack of air and hot running) has nothing to do with venting, but with the move and maybe enclosure. That's easy enough to fix- even if you need to install a fresh air intake to feed the furnace.

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Bethesda, Md.: Mike
We have an oddly configured roof area connecting our house to the garage. Previous owners put a deck out there. Water collects through a small hole to an exterior downspout that gets clogged easily, resulting in extensive leaking into the garage roof. I go up there frequently to clean out leaves, etc. and patch up possible leaks, but is there a better solution? Would rubberizing the entire area help?

Mike McClintock: Yes, that would help, but even a l;eakproof membrance can't help with a badly designed drain. TYou could try a wire bulb or a V-flashing about to try to keep debris away.

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Silver Spring, Md.: On Saturday morning I asked my wife: "What WERE we going to do this weekend?" I had found a leaky joint in one of our water pipes in the basement of our 50-year old house (pinhole leak?). Anyway, your chats emboldened me to go to the hardware store for a soldering torch and requisite bits. I couldn't get the water to stop dripping so I called a buddy and he suggested plugging the pipe with bread while I soldered. Anyway, everything went well and the whole deal cost about $35. Thanks.

If you can't be handsome, at least be handy!

Mike McClintock: Odd, as pipes with water in them can't be soldered. That's because the torch heats the water, and there's too much to heat so the pipe never gets hot enough to run solder. So somehow you got lucky, and maybe the right bakery.

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Arlington, Va.: Mike,

We just moved in to a 1924 bungalow that has non-working c. 1951 O'Keeffe & Merritt 840-G (4 burners, griddle, 2 ovens, 2 broilers). It measures 39 inches and is in a space that is 55 inches wide, as it has cabinets on either side and on the wall with a 40 inch vent hood. We had a technician out to diagnosis the problems and the bottom line is everything leaks and would need to be replaced. The thing is he's not the excited about repairing it, and though it looks great on the outside probably needs to be refurbished (which is big in CA but not here on the east coast).

While we'd like to get it fixed, this does not look like even a possibility. So we will have to either buy a regular 30 inch range or a pro-style 36 inch range. Either way we might need cabinet/counter fill-in and maybe wall cabinet work (especially if we go with a 30 inch). Also, we'll have a depth issue too, with a regular oven, because the O&K is 30 inches deep.

We've been to a ton of appliance stores and read everything we can, any ideas on whom we can talk to about what really would be right for the space, and how to fill-in the area around whatever range we pick? No remodel place seems interested in just working on a 55 inch wide space in an existing kitchen.

Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Small-space labor intensive jobs are hard to estimate, mainly because the cost is high for what often seems to owners like no big deal. But redoing a dead stove sounds like minting a dead '57 Chevy- a winter in the garage.
Once you setlle on another stove, a cabinet guy really should be able to fill in with a reasonable match with what you have now.

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Lint in wall: The previous owner of my condo had stuck the vent to the dryer in a hole in the wall, and I'm now interested in ensuring that all of the lint is out of the wall. (I now have the vent in a water-filled box that I bought at Home Depot.) I've pulled out lint by the handful, but some still remains.

Thanks.

Mike McClintock: Dryer vents need to reach the outside, and the lint should be caught at the trap in the machine. You could diosassemble and clean the pipes if you're worried.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: Mike,
Recently I stripped wallpaper from my walls in the bathroom. I used the paper tiger to score holes in the paper and applied DIF according to directions. Unfortunately, the previous homeowner didn't paint or prime the drywall, so the paper was applied over bare drywall. When stripping the paper, it peeled off the facing of the drywall in many areas, except for those areas that were spackled where there were seams. Any suggestions for tackling the paper in other rooms? I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

Mike McClintock: It's a common problem- and a drag, i know, when you do everything right and then get the short end of the stick anyway. The choices now are to spackle the areas or replace the drywall. BUT, if you want to repaper you can get the wall close to smooth and then apply liner paper. On other wall, better try a small area to see if the same thing happens, then resort to steaming instead of the scoring systems you used.

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Boynton Beach, Fla.: Mike,
Hi! A few chats ago I wrote in about a pocket door that's stuck in its pocket. I had read where the doorframe and jamb could be removed and a few holes cut in the drywall large enough to remove the track (the door comes out after the jamb) and then to install new hardware. You suggested just removing the drywall.

How much of a DIY project is it to just remove the drywall around the pocket and then replace the drywall, as opposed to just cutting the holes and patching? I've considered hiring a general contractor or carpenter to do the job but if it's not insanely difficult with some help, I'd like to learn to do it myself.
Also, does it matter which side of the pocket the drywall is removed from?
Thank you!

Mike McClintock: The work of fixing or reinstalling the track, checking the wheels and all will be almost impossioble working partially blind through holes in the wall. Give yourself enough room to see and fix what needs fixing. Replacing one sheet of drywall is no big deal.

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Arlington, Va.: Mr. McClintock,

The walls behind our radiators are in pretty bad shape. The space between the radiator and the wall is tight, so we think the radiator would need to be removed (and later re-installed) in order to fix the portion of the wall.

Is this much more trouble than it's worth. Regardless of whether the task will be a real headache (my wife probably won't budge on this one), who is the appropriate person to perform such a task, i.e., a plumber, other type of repair professional?

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Regards

Mike McClintock: I wouoldn't be replumbing radiators to get at the least seen wall sections in the house. There are special angled brushes you can use to get paint back there, or build a vented enclosure, or install decorative metal reflectors that cover the wall and bounce more heat into the room.

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Springfield, Va.: Hi Mike.

I have a bathroom exhaust fan with a heat lamp that I think is on it's last legs. I have replaced regular light fixtures in the past, is this in the same skill category?

Mike McClintock: About the same. Just take the trouble to mark all the wire leads clearly so you know what goes where on the new instaklation.

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Bethesda follow-up: Mike
Thanks for the suggestions re my roof, but what's a wire bulb?

Mike McClintock: Shaped like a light bulb but made of thin wires, idea being that water goes through while wires catch leaves. A diverter embedded abouve the drain might help even more.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Mike,
Re: bread in my water pipes

My problem was that water continued to trickle into the section of pipe that required soldering. I stuffed bread into the pipe to hold back the water while I soldered. After everything was sealed up and I turned the water on, and the bits of bread worked there way out to one of the sinks.

Is there a better way to compensate for an old main shut-off valve that doesn't work?

Thanks again.

Mike McClintock: Gotcha- and now it obeys the laws of physics.

You could always replace the old valve, which might come in handy if you ever have a major leak and need to shut everything down quickly.

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Washington, D.C.: When it rains, I have a little bit of water pooling on the inside bottom of the door onto the floor. I've tried to seal inside the door opening with caulk, etc., but it comes in sometimes, and doesn't other times... probably depending on the direction of the rain. Any ideas?

Also, should every door close flush onto the weather stripping? The door that I have is made of fiberglass, and when it gets hot during the summer, it get tough to open the door, so some areas of the door looks bent (the door is a french door).

Mike McClintock: Try cualking outside instead of inside. And seasonal movement is tough to handle, except with a very expensive interlocking segmented metal weatherstrip system that has to be cut into door and jamb by a contractor.

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Washington, D.C.: Mike,
I live in a DC rowhouse. Our contractor noticed that a downspout on our neighbors roof has rusted off and now rainwater drains from his roof onto ours. Do you know what our options would be to get him to fix the roof if he refuses to do so on his own. He rents the property and from the looks of it, will probably not be willing to spend the money to fix. Thanks.

Mike McClintock: That's tough, if the person really refuses to do the right and looks like very obvious thing. If reason fails, maybe spring for the not very expensive supplies and offer to do it yourself, heaping on guilt and shame in the process.

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Detroit, Mich.: I've got a badly corroded elbow on a water pipe. It is dripping. Can I replaced the pipe with plastic (PVC)? How would I connect another metal pipe that comes off the-soon-to-be-PVC pipe?

Mike McClintock: There are plastic adapters designed to join metal to plastic, typically threaded on one end, but in your case it might be just as easy/difficult to use metal. If it's copper, omce you drain the line you can reheat to make the solder flow and take out the old fitting for a new one.

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Amenia, N.Y.: Hi: On the last chat someone mentioned Alternative Housebuilding and I have it, too. I used it mainly for the section on timber framing, which is the kind of house I decided on and still live in. My question is about adding on, particularly one contractor's estimate using stress- skin panels on the roof of the bedroom-bath addition instead of the exposed wood planking I have elsewhere. Is that's a good approach, and economical?

Mike McClintock: Timber fgrames built decades ago often had 2-by-6 tongue and groove planking installed over the beams. You could still do that, leaving the underside exposed, and then start the l;ayers of insulation and roofing on top of the planks. Stress-skin panels do more jobs in one shot, and now can be engineered to span considerably more than the 4-foot spaces between beams handled by typical planking.

Also, in some TF construction, you lose some of the beam depth to insualtion and drywall. Stress-skin panels already have a drywall surface inside and rest completely on top of the structure. They also can be found with fairly massive foam cores that provide exception R-values. Generally, big panels are set with a crane, providing a finished ceiling, insulation and structural roof deck in one shot. It's a good way to build efficiently. Glad you found the book useful.

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Boynton Beach, Fla.: A follow-up to a pocket door issue....
Notwithstanding the space issue that caused the builders to use a pocket door in the first place, can a pocket door frame be converted into a regular or bifold door frame easily, or is that more work than replacing the track?
Thank you.

Mike McClintock: That's easier because you can add full studs on the pocket sides, drywall overe the new framing, then trim and hang the door out in the open.

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Mike McClintock: So that's about it this session, and even though we had a fully correct answer before halftime, here are the answers


HOME SENSE- NAHB SHOW -QUESTIONS
1. Used to be that many companies hired celebrities to promote products at the builder's show. Not anymore, but one of the few on hand was:
a. Tim Allen, the TV home improvement comedian, at a toolbelt booth
b. George Tenet, former CIA director, at a home security system booth
c. R. Lee Ermy, the shouting host of Mail Call, at a drill bit booth

2. Among many activities for builders, Orlando TV promoted an unusual nightspot in town, which was:
a. The Gator: a bar with a pool where you have to walk across several mechanical thrashing gators without falling in
b. You've Got Problems: a nightclub where you have to answer revealing and embarrassing questions
c. Fiascos: a dinner theater with purposefully bad acts like inept magicians and clumsy jugglers

3. In the fairly modest hotel chain where some builders (and I) stayed in Orlando, one of the guests was:
a. awarded the new Hummer raffled off at the builders show
b. given a key to the city as Florida's best builder
c. shot in the leg in the parking lot during a robbery


HOME SENSE- NAHB SHOW -ANSWERS
1. Used to be that many companies hired celebrities to promote products at the builder's show. Not anymore, but one of the few on hand was:
c. R. Lee Ermy, the shouting host of Mail Call, at a drill bit booth

2. Among many activities for builders, Orlando TV promoted an unusual nightspot in town, which was:
c. Fiascos: a dinner theater with purposefully bad acts like inept magicians and clumsy jugglers

3. In the fairly modest hotel chain where several builders (and one Home Sense writer) stayed in Orlando, one of the guests was:
c. shot in the leg in the parking lot during a robbery
(the guy recovered, said the Orlando Sentinel story the next day)

See you next time

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