Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-06-29
First Aid
For the
AHing House
BY ROGER b. WHITMAN.


Question-Will you please give
me the formula for painting the
outside of the house from A to q?
Do the weather-beaten boards have
to be treated with oil first? How
should the spaces between the over
lapplrg boards be filed?
Answer-To give complete A to z
information on painting will require
too much space in this column. I
can only give you some of the high
lights on painting The surfaces
to be painted must be clean and
dry. SCOT and grease must be
washed off, then rinSed with clear
water and allowed to dry. All dust
is brushed or wiped off. Loose paint
is scraped off. The first or printing
coat is thinned with linseed oil, the
quantity depending on the dryness
of the surface. Paint on weather.
beaten wood may require about the
same amount of thinning as that
used on new wood. Follow the
manufacturers directions on the
label of the can. After the clap
boards have been given prime
coat, fill in all cracks, crevices, open
joints and spaces between clap
boards with a good grade of putty
The succeeding coats of paint are
put on according to directions on the
can. Avoid applying the paint in
thick coats; brush it out we'll. Never
paint after rain; allow at least
four dry days to pass. There should
be no painting in misty or damp
atmosphere; wait until the sun has
dried up the dampness. Tempera-
ture should be so degrees or higher.
For durability use a good quality
paint.
Remember that cheap paint is
waste of time, labor and money.
Summer Water Heating.
Question-Would it be better to
use the oil burner all through the
summer for hot water, or heat water
in kettle by gas for household
needs, and use the oil burner for
an hour or so for hot water for
baths?
Answer For convenience and
economy it is advisable to use the
oil burner for summer water heat
ing.
Filling Holes in Woodwork
Question-How can nail holes in
woodwork be filled before painting?
Answer-Put on the first coat
of paint, and after it has dried, fill
up the holes with putty. With the
final coats of paint the putty will
remain hard and will not drop out
Shingles Over Clapboards.
Question-Would you recommend
putting shingles right over clap
boards on a house?
Answer-That can be very good
thing to do. You can get wedge
shaped boards that fill the spaces
below the clapboards to make
smooth surface Cover this with
building felt, and lay the shingles
on top. This will make your wall
proof against the leakage of air, and
the house will be much warmer.
Cypress Exterior Trim.
Question: understand that my
exterior window and door trim, the
half tinbering and the paneling,
are all Florida swamp cypress. The
house is IA years old and the outside
trim has never been treated There
is some slight erosion evident on
window trim, but no cracking or
rot. The architect and a whole
sale cypress dealer advise the wood
needs no preservative. do not
want to treat the wood unless neces-
sary for its preservation What rep
resentative association could give me
disinterested advice?
Answer-Cypress is a very durable
wood, requiring little or no atten-
ton. Being a wood grown in the
sWamplands of the South, it is
highly resistant to decay and
weather. For further information
on this wood, write to the Southern