Evening star., 1939-12-09
First Aid
For the
AHingHouse
Nv ROGER b, WHITMAN.

Question-How can I brighten up
q new broken flag floor that we have
Just had put down on our porch?
Could I take of its dusty look with
. polishing of liquid wax?
Answer-After brick, stone or tile
IS laid in cement mortar 1t should
be scrubbed with solution Of
muriatic acid to remove any cement
that may have been smeared on
the surface. Us one part muriatic
acid in 20 parts of water, allow to
act for a few minutes, then rinse
with clear water. Work on a small
area at time. When mixing the
solution pour the water slowly into
the acid, stirring constantly. AS this
acid is highly corrosive, wear rubber
gloves and old clothes; be careful
not to get any of it on your skin.
You can enrich the color of the
stone by applying liberal coat Of
raw linseed oil, mixed half and half
with turpentine. After several hours
of soaking wipe off the excess oil.
Try the oil first on some hidden part
of the floor to see how you like the
effect.
Copper Porch Screens.
Question: am going to leave my
copper screens in place for the
winter on my porch that faces the
north. Should I give them a coat
of crude or linseed oil? Or would
you advise outside spar varnish?
a4,1lI 1novrn fha a fhnv
are?
Answer-The screens should be
protected. Clean them thoroughly
and then coat them with good
quality spar varnish, thinned with q
half-and- half mixture of turpentine
and nnseed oil, either boiled or raw.
Damp Plaster.
Question-In damp weather the
wall plaster in my old house sweats
50 that the paper becomes badly
stained. Resizing and papering
the walls does no good. Can we pro-
tect the paper by putting thin
waterproof1ng on the plaster?
Answer-Your house suffers from
q trouble that is common to old
houses, the placing of the inside
plaster against the brick walls. With
no air space between, as would be
formed by putting the plaster on
lath on Turing strips, the plaster
Is chilled by contact with the out
side walls and sweating is the result.
The trouble will continue as long
as the plaster is colder than the
house air. One remedy is to line
the walls with stiff insulating board
or to relay the plaster over lath on
furring strips.
Cold-Air Return Pipe.
Question: heat a second-floor
apartment with a hot-air furnace
through five 8-inch pipes. There is
no cold-air return pipe, only a box
2 feet square, without cover in
the rear of the furnace, taking air
directly from the cellar Dust
and dirt from the cellar are very
annoying. want to put a 12X18-
inch grille in the front hall floor,
connecting it to the furnace with
some 12-inch pipes, as a return for
cold air to the furnace. Is this
feasible?
Answer-The idea is not only
feasible but is part Of every modern
hot-air heating plant. However,
the grille and the duct that returns
the air from the hall to the furnace
jacket must be Of ample size, its area
of each should be at least four-fifths
the combined area of all of the hot
air pipes leading from the furnace
to the rooms. Your grille should
l.. be 18 inches square and the duct
connecting it with the furnace
should have the same area.
New Shingles Over Old.
Question-Should old wood shin
giles be removed before putting new
ones on top? Are shingles that come
in strips as satisfactory as single
shingles?
Answer-New shingles should go
on top of the old, not only to save
the cost of tearing off and Of clear
ing up the mess, but for the ad-
vantage of a roof with double thick
ness. Strip shingles are satisfactory
and should cost less in labor to
apply.
Banging Steam Pipes.
Question-We are annoyed by q
loud banging in the steam pipes to
the second floor. This occurs mainly
at night when the radiators are cold
and automatic heat goes on. The
house is five years old and the
owner says the noise has been
present from the first. One plumber
tells us that nothing can be done
about 1t. Can you make any sug-
gestions?
Answer-The banging is due to a
section of the pipe that is level or
on q bank slant, instead of being