Evening star., 1942-07-18
First Aid
=,
For the
AMng House
BY ROGER b. WHITMAN.


Q. am making kitchen out of
an upstairs bedroom. What can 1
do to the floor to deaden sound?
A. AS much of the sound will
travel through the framework, COM
plete sound deadening is hardly
possible. You can get good effect
by covering the present floor with
st1h insulating sheets covered with
linoleum. Do not use nails, for these
would carry sound: cement the in
sulating board to the floor and use
cement for the linoleum. If heavy
furniture will be used in the new
kitchen, denting of the linoleum
can be prevented by covering the
insulating board with thin plywood.
Q. After heavy rain. there is
water in the basement of my year.
old house. Walls are cinder blocks.
and the floor is cement; about five
feet below the ground level. The
floor rests on clay. How can the
condition be corrected?
A. In rain, water cannot sink
down through the clay: your best
10 lay drain tile along the footings
TO carry off the water and so to
prevent 1t from getting under the
foor. In refilling the excavation.
pack it solidly with earth and form
the top into sloping bank that will
throw water away from the house.
Sow 1t with grass. Rainwater lead
ers should discharge at least Is
feet from the house to keep the
water from running back to the
walls.
O. When We had the last steady
doWnpour my cellar flooded: the
drain that I made in the cellar
backed up. This drain is not con-
nected to anything: it is just hole
In the ground. This condition never |
occurred before, although the drain
was made 10 years ago and we have
mad similar rainy days in the past.
Ihe water was gone the following
morning. What caused this backing
up. and just what takes place when
this condition happens? Will it oc-
cur again?
A. There are times when the
ground Is saturated with water and
with very heavy rainfall. the ad-
oltlonai water cannot be absorbed.
The accumulated water around the
foundation walls and under the
noors would naturally force its wav
up through the drain in the floor.
Inc drain should have been con-
nected to dry well some distance
away from the house or to a sewer.
Air Valves Defective.
q. This past winter in my two
family house, heated with steam
neat, the first floor radiators did
not get hot until after the second
noor radiators were heated. Can
YOU tell me why?
A. One cause could be the moor
operation of the air valves on the
rrst floor, When heat is coming UP.
llnscrew the valves and note if YOU
get strong jet of air out of the ,
holes, quickly followed by steam. If ,
that is the case put on new air ,
valves. I take it for granted that 3
me heating system has been prop ,
erly installed
Q. When our kitchen was painted T
he new paint was applied over the i
Did without washing it first. Grease t
spots are now working through the
new paint. Is there any way to cor i
'ect this condition now, or remove $
he grease spots as they appear? .
A. There is no way to remove the '
spots, because the paint film is actu- +
Ally stained. The best thing to do 4
S to remove the paint and begin
over. =
@. I have an old bedroom floor of i
soft pine, which has many knot r
1oles and knots due to fall out. The :
floor was always carpeted and never t
mad a finish. The floor is about so
years old. How can I fill up the s
snot holes? Should I varnish or |
paint? ,
A. Fill the small holes with plastic +
wood and peg the large holes with I
wood plugs, after first smoothing the i
inside OF the holes with coarse sand