Evening star., 1940-09-14
First Aid
For the
Aiing House
BY ROGER B. WHITMAN.

BY ROGER b. WHITMAN.
Two readers have trouble with
leaky roofs in winter, due to the fact
that snow and water collect on the
caves. Naturally they want tc cure
the trouble before winter comes
The cause is often in roof cutters
which are so high that snow cannot
slide of them. A gutter should be
placed so that its outer edge is in
line with the slope Of the roof.
Leakage can be prevented by putting
heavy roofing felt under the first few
courses of shingles, so that when
water backs up it cannot 60 through.
Sheet copper is often used in place
OF roofing felt.
Seepage Through a Wall.
@. My old house stands on the
side of a hill on stone foundations.
In hard rain, water seeps through
the walls on the upper side. In
some places the cement between the
stones has dropped out. What
should I do about it?
A. Water that comes downhill on
the surface and possibly under
meath the surface collects against
the uphill wall and works through.
Instead of putting a cement coat
Ing on the wall, by far your best
move will be to eXcavate outside the
uphill wall and to lay drain tile at
the footings to carry off the water
before it can work its way through.
hn
outside of the wall should be given
a coat of tar. In filling the ex-
cavation, pack it solidly with earth.
Damp Brick Walls.
O. My cellar walls are brick and
they are very damp. What can
do from the inside to help this
condition?
A. Cover the walls with a coating
Of one part portland cement and
three parts sand, with a water
proofer added. You can get
waterproofing material for this pur-
pose from dealer in mason ma
terials. The jobs should be done by
an experienced mason.
Dripping Water Pipes.
O. How can dripping be stopped
from water pipes that run across
the basement ceiling?
A. The drip is from condensation.
because Of the chilling of the base
ment air by contact with the cold
pipes. To stop it. cover the pipes
with jacketing such as is used for
steam pipes, If appearance makes
no difference. wrap them with twist
ed newspapers which you can tie on
with string.
Filling for Worn Wood.
Q, For lack of paint the outside
window sills in many places have
deep grooves which were worn into
the wood. If they are not rottinc.
should they be replaced. or should
some kind of a filler be worked into
the depressions to level them before
painting?
A. Wood that has rotted should be
replaced. If it is still sound the de-
pressions can be filled with a ma
terial called spackle that can be
had at paint store.
Damp Basement.
Q. DampneSS in my basement rec
feation room starts at the base of
the wall and creeps up two or three
feet. The wall is rough plaster and
1t seems to act as a blotter. I have
laid a wood floor on two-by-fours on
the composition concrete floor. This
helps little What can I paint on
the wall that will keep out the damp
ness?
A. I believe that some of the
dampness is from condensation. but
most of it probably comes through
the concrete floor. and it is prevent
ed from evaporating by the wood
floor. Under this condition YOU can
expect quick rotting of the wood
unless you have protected it with
waterprooflng. Full ventila ton un-
der the wood floor and along the
walls will probably clear up the
dampness. You should investigate
the under parts of the wood floor to
see whether or not rotting has al
ready set in.
Dusty Pipeless Furnace.
@. Last winter dust and dirt from
the floor register of my pipeless fur
mace spread all over the house. Now
that the furnace is out, can any,
thing be done to the register to stop
this nuisance?
A. The dirt that comes through
your register probably gets into the
air passages through open joints be-
tween the sections of your furnace.
These sections are cemented to-
gether. In the course of few years.
rarely more than five, the cement
begins to crumble, and SCOT and dirt
can then escape from the firebox
Into the air passage. The remedy
Is to have the sections cemented
again. When this is being done, the
sheet metal jacket around the fur
mace should be taken off. so that
the interior can be thoroughly
cleaned With this cleaning, and
the repairs to the surface, it should
be some years before you again have
trouble with dirt
Sun Porch Floor.
@. I am planning to build a sun
porch. What would you recommend
for floor?
A. If the floor can be laid on the
Z ground you can make it of con-