Home repair: Electrician should check smoke alarm wiring

Q. I live in a house that is 10 years old. This winter, I noticed a small amount of water dripping from a smoke detector installed on the ceiling of the second floor. I had a roofer inspect the attic space above the smoke detector, and he found no evidence of any leaks in the roof. We suspect that something is causing condensation to build up in the electrical conduit. There seems to be a good amount of insulation in the attic covering the conduit. I read online about a product called Duct Seal that I could use to somewhat plug the opening so that warm air does not get into the conduit. Is this a safe thing to do?

Should I have an electrician check it out, or is the Duct Seal something I should try? Or should I have someone come out to make sure my attic space is properly insulated and vented? We have ceiling fans in all of the second-floor rooms, and while there has not been any water dripping from those, I wonder if condensation could be building up in those conduits and what damage might result.

A. I would not recommend sealing any part of the smoke detector, if that is what you are asking. Normally, the smoke detector would be wired without the need for a conduit, so I am wondering why there should be one. Or to what other openings are you referring?

You should have an electrician check the wiring to make sure no part of it is exposed to the cold air in the attic. It sounds as if there is a way for cold air to get to the smoke detector, either through its wiring or directly, because there is a break in the insulation above it, causing condensation, which might damage the detector and render it useless.

Q. I read your column faithfully. Within the past year, I saved an article with great advice for selecting a metal roof for your home. Unfortunately, I have misplaced this article. If possible, could you please send me the date it was published, and I will request a copy of the newspaper for that date. I put the article somewhere safe and now have spent several days looking for it.

A. Oh! How often this happens to me as well! Unfortunately, I do not know when your paper printed that particular column, but here is a reprint of the information, which I hope is what you are asking:

If you are opting for a standing-seam roof, I suggest you choose a contractor who uses 24-gauge metal and double-lock seams, and who seals the eaves terminations with an appropriate sealant followed by locking the standing seams with a folded-metal tab. An experienced standing-seam roofer will know how to cut the metal to obtain that folded-metal tab. Unfortunately, few of them do this, but it’s your assurance of a top-quality job and no problems down the line.

I recently was involved in a case where this wasn’t done, and windblown rain entered the seams and rotted the fascia boards. A quality job will cost you more up front, but will not cause you untold headaches later on. If you are contemplating a ribbed, screw-on metal roof, it can be installed on horizontal furring strips, 24 inches on center up the roof over existing shingles.

Q. I have a problem that I have tried to correct for several years. I have a 3-year-old house. Every winter, when the temperature drops into the 20s, a damp spot forms on the concrete blocks in the basement. These blocks are in a corner and about a foot below the grade. On the exterior, one side of the corner is against the ground and the other side is against a concrete porch.

I dug a four-foot trench around both sides of the corner and looked for cracks, etc. I found nothing. I resealed the block with a good waterproofing.

On the interior, I removed the wallboard above these concrete blocks looking for signs of water leaks. The wallboard is above ground level. I found nothing.

The foundation sill is sitting on thin insulation barrier, and these corner blocks are not filled with concrete.

I had another corner in the basement, distant from the aforementioned problem, which had some moisture spots on the block. There was a ¼-inch crack where the two sill plates meet. Air was coming up through the block. Moisture droplets were forming in the corner of the rim board. Once I sealed the crack with foam, the problem went away.

Could the cold air be coming up the block and causing condensation on the bottom of the sill plate? As noted above, I do not see any wetness on the rim board or top of the sill plate. If it is condensing on the sill plate, could I resolve the problem by filling the block cavities with foam? If foam will resolve the problem, how should I fill the block? How many blocks should I fill? What kind of foam should I use? If you think there is another issue causing this dampness, I would appreciate receiving your comments.

A. Your photo shows the damp spot to the right of the foundation’s corner. If the damp spot is on the concrete-porch side, the heat loss from the basement may be accentuated because concrete, like all masonry, is a poor insulator, whereas dry soil is a fairly good one. This would cause the damp blocks to become so much colder than the other ones that condensation can form. If you have access to the cores of the blocks (blocks are either eight or 12 inches deep, and the sill plate is probably a 2-by-6 inch), spray foam into the top cores for as far as the foam will go. This may insulate the damp blocks from heat loss and solve your problem.

Q. Our cedar house is about 40 years old, and it needs to be stained and some caulking done. We do not know what the other people used, and we need your help on what black stain and caulk to use. Is there a certain time of year we should be doing this? Being green homeowners, your column is like a Bible to us.

A. A black stain is unusual. Could it be a dark hue instead? If the existing finish is quite old and is truly a stain, as opposed to a paint, which would prevent absorption of a new stain, you can pressure-wash the walls carefully, let them dry and use a dark stain of your choice. My favorite product for cedar or pressure-treated decks, cedar roofs and walls is Amteco TWP. Its 1500 Series offers two dark stains — a dark oak and black walnut. You can look at the entire line at www.amteco.com, and select the product that will be best for your house. You can also contact the company for advice if you have difficulty making the right choice. A well-stocked paint store may also have what you want.

The caulking I recommend above all others is polyurethane. You can order Sikaflex-1a, my favorite, from A.H. Harris (www.ahharris.com) or find another brand at Home Depot or Lowe’s.

Q. We moved about a year ago. The house was built in 1954, and we need to have a basement wall repaired because the wall is being pushed in. We have had different contractors provide estimates on the repair. The first two contractors were going to use Kevlar straps. The last contractor wanted to put anchors in the wall with a bar running to the outside of the foundation into the yard. I think I remember reading a column you wrote about this type of repair using those anchors as being a bad idea. I thought that you recommended Kevlar straps? Any help you can give us would be greatly appreciated!

A. The contractor who is proposing anchors through the wall is probably referring to the Grip-Tite Wall Anchor System (www.griptite.com). It is a proven stabilizing system.

Prior to its coming on the marketplace, I used a similar approach by inserting ¾-inch threaded rods through the bowing wall into a trench we dug outside. Its end was inserted through a pressure-treated log, termed a “dead man.” We fitted the rod through a plastic pipe after coating it with grease to prevent it from rusting. We had a large ½-inch thick metal plate placed against the leaning wall.

I have heard of Kevlar straps, developed by Fortress Stabilization Systems, but have no experience with them. You can check them out at www.fortressstabilization.com/index.php. I am inclined to trust the Grip-Tite Wall Anchor System more because it relies on the mass of the earth outside to hold the wall in check. Your decision may come down to cost.

Q. Our hillside ranch house experiences water seepage almost every spring when the ground begins to thaw. My husband installed a below-grade sump pump inside and outside the house. Last year and the year before, we didn’t have any moisture in the basement, but this year, some water seeped into one corner of the basement. We want to solve the problem once and for all, but don’t know whom to call. The companies (like Servpro) that get the water out don’t instruct you on how to keep the water from coming in.

Is there an engineering firm that specializes in this? Is a curtain drain the answer? I have read that proper landscaping for drainage solves 90 percent of the problems, but who can advise us accurately?

A. Proper grading and landscaping can cure 99-plus percent of basement and crawl space water problems. In my experience, the few not solved by repairs to grading were due to underground springs or watercourses swelled by heavy rains. Having the grade and all appendages checked is the first thing to do.

If no deficiencies are found, you may need to have some interior work done because the sump pumps didn’t completely solve the problem. There are several ways to do this, but it depends on the severity of the problem, which no longer seems to be so serious. Before getting involved with a waterproofing contractor (who will try to sell you expensive remedies), you can have the house checked by a professional engineer experienced with these problems. A curtain drain or a French drain can be the answer if there is a hill behind your house and the cause of the problem is a below-grade watercourse or surface water that cannot be controlled any other way. A curtain drain is covered with soil, which can be finished as a swale to direct surface water away, while a French drain is also filled with stones but is kept open at the top to catch surface water and dispose of it through its underground pipe.

Ÿ Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.

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