Evening star., 1939-10-28
First Aid
For the
AHingHouse
By ROGER b. WHITMAN,

question:. is II usual cOnd1tlOn,
In all highly figured mahogany, to
develop surface scratches, known as
'crazing?" This condition has de-
veloped in my bedroom suite, which
is English Chippendale, crotch ma
hogany. Can this condition be
remedied at home, and will it recur
after it has been repaired?
Answer: Grazing in the varnish
finish is not natural on any wood.
This condition is usually caused by
the drying out of the varnish. If
the Grazing is not very deep. light
sandpapering will remove it, fol-
lowed by wiping with turpentine to
clean the surface; after this, apply
thin coat of varnish. Deeply
crazed varnish must be removed
and the furniture refinished.
Leveling a Basement Floor.
Question: I have taken a parti-
ton wall out of my basement, which
has left one floor lower than the
other by two or three inches. How
can I get the two floors level, and
how should I go about the job Of
mixing and applying the cement,
sand, ETC.?
Answer: For the first step, go over
the low part of the floor with a
pointed hammer or a pick, to make
bashes and dents in it; these will
form an anchorage for concrete to
be poured on top. Then cover the
low part of the floor with wire net
ting, and pour concrete to bring the
low part of the floor to the level of
the other part. At the time of
pouring, the old floor should be well
soaked with water.
For mixture, use one part Port
land cement, two ane one-half
parts clean, sharp building sand,
five parts pebbles or crushed stone,
and only enough water to make a
workable mixture.
You can get great deal of in
formation from booklets issued by
the Portland Cement Association,
38 West Grand avenue, Chicago; or
from the New York Office at 347
Madison avenue Write and ex-
plain what you want to do, and they
will send you the booklets without
charge.
Waterproof Glue.
Question-How can glue for wood
be made waterproof?
Answer-That will not be an easy
Job to do at home. 1t will be far
simpler to buy waterproof glue. One
excellent variety is glue made of
casein that can be had at a hard
ware store. While this is mixed with
water, it becomes highly water re-
sistant when it dries.
Concrete on Brick.
Question-We want to cover a
brick paved court with concrete.
What mixture should we use?
AnsWer-If the brick are laid di-
fectly on the ground, there is every
chance that heaving, as the ground
freezes and thaWs, will crack the
concrete. This is not so likely to
happen if the brick are laid on a
foundation of inches of packed
cinders-not aSheS-or are on con-
crete bed If this is not the case,
there is likely to be trouble. If you
want to 60 ahead, use mixture of
one part cement, two and one-half
parts building sand, and five parts
6nely crushed rock or small peb-
Dles, with only enough water to
make a workable mixture. Spaces
between the bricks should be cleaned
out to depth of an inch or more,
to permit the concrete to penetrate,
and at the time of pouring, the
bricks should be well soaked with
water.
Putty.
Question: have been making nv
own putty with white lead, whiting
and linseed OIL My hardware man
says that I should use only whiting
and linseed oil; no lead. Which
mixture is better?
Answer-Ordinary putty contains
no lead. The addition of about
one-fifth as much white lead gives
the putty greater hardness and per-
manence.
Hot-Water Supply.
Question-Would 1t be advisable
to install coil to heat water in the
firebox of my oil-burning furnace?
The burner is of the rotary type.
Is such coil difficult to install and
does it in any way affect the heat
ing of the home? There are II in
our family and we require an
abundant supply of hot water.
Answer do not advise putting
q water heating coil in the fire.
box of furnace, and especially in
one with an oil burner. If your
heater is hot air you had better
put in separate pot stove or laun-
dry stove in which the temperature
of the water can be controlled.
You can get pot stoves that feed
coal by magazine or by stoker,
which are very satisfactory. 1t is
quite possible that the modern type
of storage water heater burning gas
will serve your purpose. These are
economical and if you have not
done so I recommend asking your
gas company for figures.
Burning Wood.
Question-we have steam heat.