Evening star., 1940-07-27
First Aid
For the
Aiing House
BY ROGER B. WHITMAN.

@. What kind Of wood, if any,
can be stained and finished to re-
semble mahogany? I would like
wood that is soft and has grain
similar to mahogany. Will you give
me the name of good wood filler
and directions for using? The filler
am using is hard to work and won't
take stains. Should a piece of wood
be stained before filler is applied?
A. Birch is the wood most widely
used to simulate mahogany, and is
frequently combined with mahog-
any. Paste wood filler is not used
on birch. All of the we'll known
paint manufacturers make good
paste filters. A wood filler Is al
ways applied after the wood has
been stained. You should tint the
filler with the same stain that you
use on the wood. Then thin with
turpentine to the consistency of
thick paint and brush on in a thick
coat in the direction of the grain.
When the gloss disappears, wipe off
the filler with course cloth such
as burlap; then allow to dry for
"a hours. Sandpaper the surface
with very fine sandpaper, then
finish as desired.
New Wooden Steps.
Q. My porch is 40 feet long, and
the three steps IL feet long. What
size wood should I use for the new
lumber and what kind of lumber
should I buy?
A. Lumber for the steps should be
at least one inch thick. Porch floor
ing usually measures about 13-16ths
OF an inch in thickness. Cypress,
long or shortleaf southern pine, and
redwood, are most widely used for
porches and porch steps.
Driveway Curbing.
Q. How could 1 construct some
sort of curbing for my driveway?
I have cinder driveway and need
some way to keep cinders from get
ting into the lawn.
A. You can put down a concrete
curbing. The Portland Cement
Association at BAT Madison avenue.
New York, and at 33 West Grand
avenue, Chicago, will send you in
structions for doing this work, no
charge being made Or, you can
make curbing of heavy wood
planking, using cypress or yellow
pine. The plank should be partial
ly buried in the ground and held in
place with wooden stakes measur-
ing about two by two inches, and at
least 18 inches in length. Give the
wood coat of creosote.
Patching Plaster.
@. Under my bedroom window my
dog has scratched the wall so badly
that the wood shows. How can this
be covered before putting on the
wall paper?
A. The hole can be covered with
patching plaster, which you can
get at a hardware store. Directions
for use are on the label. The only
tool needed is putty knife or
stiff blade kitchen knife.
A Summer Chalet.
Q. Two years ago I built a sum-
rner chalet using log cabin siding.
On completion the builder stained
1t with a light oak stain, and in the
fall gave it coat of spar varnish.
This spring there is no sign of the
varnish, and the finish has weather.
ed a dark color. Can you advise
me what the proper procedure
would be to refinish the house so
1t will be light color and stand up?
A. Remove the present finish by
scraplng or sandpapering. When
the darkened surface has been re-
moved, brush or wipe off the dust,
then finish with three coats of
good quality spar varnish. The
flrst coat is usually thinned with
about one pint of turpentine to the
gallon, unless manufacturers di-
rections on the label are different.
After the first and second coats are
hard and dry, dull the gloss by light
sandpapering before applying the
next coat of varnish.
Cracked Foundations.
Q. What causes cracks in a foun-
dation wall of poured concrete.
six inches thick? The wall was
constructed late last summer in
sandy soil and now has an unfinish-
ed house upon it. The cracks are
appearing in the corners and near
the windows and doors. The foun-
dat1on extends four feet in the
ground. Is it possible that the wall
Is not thick enough?
A. The foundation walls are not
thick enough. Small homes general
ly require foundation walls from
to II inches in thickness. It
is also possible that the foundation