Evening star., 1942-04-25
| First Aid
| For the
|Aiing House
ny ROGER n WHITMAN.

Df ho1Eh 10 Wnk NAV.
@. when q papered ceiling has
been eaiciminec. can new paper be
used over it7
A. No. for the water in the new
paste would soften the calcimins
and make trouble. For q really good
job not only the ealcimine should
be taksn Of but the. old paper as
well
@. N.Y. house In stucco on hollow
tiles. Tpe wallpaper In many places
shows wet spots the shape Of the
tiles. What can ] do about it7
A. The inside plaster ia evidently
applied directly to the tile instead of
being applied ON lath on furrtng
strips. The plaster therefore be-
comes cold as the tile and the vet
spots are due 10 condensation. The
only real way To cure the trouble Ifs
to replaster the house. using lath on
furring strips. or form OF insu-
lsting board. TO be had at a lumber
yard. to be applied over your present
walls. No form OF paint or any out
s,de treatment will do. for neither
one will provide the insulation that
Ia necessary.
Porch Floor supports.
@ In stucco house the frame and
stucco porches are supported on
piers even with the surface OF the
ground. Wood under the stucco
touches the ground and has begun
TO rot. II the wood is replaced by
concrete, must the foundation be
deep. The piers now extend below
the frost line.
A. Evidently the piers are made
of concrete or masonry and could
be used as supports for beams OF
concrete. Foundation walls would
not be needed.
@ will 1t be o. X. to connect an
oil heater to q chimney already con-
nected to q coal stove on the floor
helow7
A. II your chimney has two fiues
I'm ii you can use one for each flre
With perfect success. II there Is
only a single fsue you might be
running the risk of interfering
with the draft. This would certainly
be the case with two coal fires on
single fue. But with one coal 1re
and one oil burner on q single fiue
you would probably find that IL
would work out all right.
Killing Tree Roots.
Q. Having cut down large tree,
how can the roots be killed so that
We can plant another
A. Roots can be killed with salt
and by other means, but nothing
could be planted until enough time
had gone by for the chemical to be
carried deep into the ground by the
rain. Your best move will be to
dig out the roots to depth of 2 feet
or 30. The roots that remain will
rot out and not interfere with the
new growth. AS an alternative. you
may find some one in your neighbor-
hood who has mechanical stump
puller and can do the job for you.
G. Why should tiny cracks have
developed on my furniture2 My
piano and dining room furniture
have these all over. These cannot
be from low temperatures, for In
cold weather I keep my heat at about
rs degrees. Also, I have pals OF
water on all the radiators. How can
the furniture be refinished.
A. Cracks OF that hind are very
fine and usually only on the sur
face of the varnish. The cause is in
sudden changes OF temperature-76
degrees is rather high for ordinary
living conditions. and when every
thing lis heated TO that temperature.
the cracking appears when the tenn
perature drops, as would be the case
at night, or on the opening of a
window. The damage can be over
come by light rubbing with fine
sandpaper. to be followed by wiping
with turpentine to remove the dust
and then applying thin coat OF
varnish.
Chimney Cleaning.
@. My furnace burns anthracite
coal and I have q wood-burning
fireplace in frequent use. How often
should the chimneys be cleaned7
What is the best way9
A. The burning OF hard coal does
not leave much of deposit IN
chimney For your fireplace, open
the damper and hold mirror In
such a position that the length OF
the iue is reflected in 1t. You
should be able to judge whether or
not the chimney needs cleaning.
Cleaning Is usually needed once
every three or four years. For clean
ing, close the opening of the fire.
place with n piece of heavy canvas
or otherwise. An old tire chain is
then let down the top of the chimney
and swung around as it descends.
This viii scrape off all SCOT and
any possible loose obstruction.
@. Is 1t possible to cement new
hnoleum over old7 The old linoleum
ts cemented on very tight.
A. The result would probably be
unsatisfactory; the general practice
IA to remove the old linoleum. The
additional thickness might also in
terterfere with the door saddle.
range, sink and cabinets.
Scratches In Glass.
@. How can remove slight
scratches from glass surface? i
A. The work can only be done by
dealers in plate glass and mirrors.
who have the machinery for this
type OF work.
@. I have mixed some old paint
and = quantity OF plaster of paris
with the idea of using the mixture
10 I'll up small cracks. holes, etc.
particularly in wood. 1t was rather
brittle. Do you know of anything
which could be used with old paint
TO make q good filler for joints, holes.
etc, or even substance which would
cry TO as hard filler as plastic
wood?
A. Try mixing powdered whiting
with the paint. Many paint stores
now stock prepared crack filler
which works very well. For cracked
plaster walls prefer using pre-
pared patching plaster instead of
f%lA ~ rg f.