Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1939-195?, 1942-09-24
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Roger B. Whitman-WNU Features.
SIZE AND DEPTH OF
RETAINING WALLS

n RETAINING wall supporting a
L n terrace or bank of earth is I'M
der pressure from the earth be-
hind it, and must be corresponding
ly strong and solid. The higher the
bank behind it, the stronger and
heavier the wall must be. The base
of the wall should go to or below
the frost level to avoid trouble from
the heaving of the earth due
to freezes and thaws. The exposed
face Of the wall should be vertical,
and to gain strength, the back sur
face should be sloping so the wall is
much thicker at the bottom than at
the top. Should water be allowed
to collect behind the wall, the earth
will become soft and mushy, and
in settling, the pressure against the
wall will be greatly increased. This
can be avoided by providing half
inch holes in the lower part of the
wall through the mortar joints, by
which water can drain out. II the
wall is low, a few holes will serve,
but for a higher wall, there should
be many of them.
Frozen Leaders.
O.: Due to the last heavy snow
fall, the leaders over my open type
front porch froze, and when the
snow melted, caused doWnpour Of
water to leak through the floor of the
porch and into the cellar. Three
weeks ago used roofing compound
Of tar and filed in all the cracks
possible under the porch. This evil
IDENTIFY was not sufficient. Could you
suggest a method that can water
proof the porch floor?
A.: One method is to fill in all
cracks, crevices and openings with
roofing cement, especially the joint
between the wall and the surface Of
the porch floor (not the underside).
Leader pipes can be kept from
freezing by the installation Of
ball-shaped unit in the top opening.
Your roofer should be able to sup
ply it.
Linoleum Table Top.
O.: In my kitchen 7 am using
gate-1eg table for work table. I
covered it with linoleun, using a
black linoleum paste, but find that
the edges have become loose. Can
you recommend a glue that will be
waterproof?
A.: Instead of a glue, use metal
edges, which are intended for secur-
ing linoleurn to the tops of tables
and cabinets. You can get it
through a hardware dealer. For a
waterproof glue you could use roof
ing cement, thinned by gentle heat
ing. If this is smeared on the
linoleum surface, wipe it off with
turpentine while it is still wet.
Moths in Upholstery.
O.: T find moths in my daven-
port. Would it be advisable to call
in a professional exterminator, or
should 7 have the davenport uphol-
stored? Maybe it would be better
to discard it entirely.
A.: If the davenport is badly in
tested, the moths may have gone
through to the padding. In that
case, you can have it fumigated by
professional who is equipped for that
service.
Wall Board Cracks.
O.: We are building a breakfast
nook in our attic fiat, using three
quarter inch wall board. The CELL
ing slants, and its corners have an
extra slant. How can we fill the
Joints between the sheets of wall
board? Plaster does not do, and we
hate to put strips all over.
A.: Consult the maker of the wall
board as to the method that he rec
ommends for that particular job.
Cleaning Asbestos Shingles.
O.: We have white asbestos shin
giles on our house. They are getting
very dirty and we were wondering
If there would be any way to clean
them.