Home repair: Smoke-stench furnace needs to be replaced

Q. I get a smoke odor in my house when my oil-fired, forced-air furnace runs. Five of my neighbors either heat with wood or burn wood in their fireplaces, and the neighborhood smells of smoke most of the time. Is this something we must live with? Can it be corrected?

A. You must have an older furnace that gets its makeup air from any cracks and crevices in the envelope of your house, including windows and doors. Newer and more efficient furnaces get their own makeup air through a pipe that is either separate from or surrounds the exhaust vent.

Older furnaces are not efficient and may be suffering from a cracked heat exchanger — a serious risk of carbon-monoxide poisoning. You may want to consider replacing it with a new, energy-efficient furnace that is vented through a wall or basement band joist instead of a chimney. Not only will this save you money in fuel bills, it will also eliminate the infiltration of the smoky air through the various cracks found in all houses. Caulking around windows and doors may also be needed and would help, regardless.

Q. I have an unfortunate problem with my kitchen floor. About 11 years ago, I refinished all my hardwood floors in our 1954 brick home. The kitchen had old red and green tiles so I laid thick, heavy-duty, premium, self-adhesive Congoleum floor tiles over them.

All was well until about two years ago when our icemaker was leaking and water seeped down through to the second layer of tiles. Apparently after drying out, some of the bottom layer of floor tiles began lifting, affecting about 20 of the tiles I placed. I saved 22 extra tiles from the installation so I want to repair the floor without a total replacement. How do I determine if the bottom layer of tiles has asbestos that would prevent me from digging them out? What is the best method to fill the void from the removed tiles so I can lay the spare tiles down? If I need to do a total replacement, my wife favors ceramic tile. That would raise the level of the floor, but we like the kitchen floor at the same height as the two entryways onto the hardwood floor. So I would need to rip out the entire subfloor, which is not desired. Attached are a couple of close-up photographs of a few lifted tiles and also the entryways to the kitchen.

A. It is likely that the bottom layer of the old tiles contain asbestos. Only a lab testing for asbestos can tell you if you send in a sample. A resilient flooring contractor can remove the old tile, but you may not find one willing to do this if you plan on doing the repair yourself.

Because only 20 tiles are involved, you may remove them yourself, following the industry’s recommendations for safe removal of asbestos-suspicious material. Make a soapy solution with hand-dishwashing detergent. Pour it on the tiles you want to remove, and lift them off with a tool of your choice. (A broad-blade putty knife is a good choice.) The soapy mixture prevents any asbestos fibers from being released in the air. Carefully place the removed tiles in a plastic bag and take it to a Hazmat depot, unless your local jurisdiction tells you to just put it in the trash.

To fill the voids left by the removal of the old broken tiles, get some tiles of the same size from a big-box store or discontinued remnants from a tile store and glue them in the spaces after letting them dry thoroughly.

Q. I purchased a tube of Sikaflex-1a, as you recommended for shower and tub caulking. I had poor luck with DAP and other caulks. I paid dearly for the tube: $20, including $10 for shipping. None of the local hardware or home centers carried the product.

It seems to have solved the problem and is holding up quite well. However, I was puzzled as to how to clean up after it. Do you have any suggestions on how to wipe away the excess? I finally used some paint thinner, and that allowed me to remove the excess smears.

A. Where did you buy the tube of Sikaflex-1a? This seems like a high price to pay for a tube that retails for around $5. I can understand a $10 shipping-and-handling charge, although it does seem quite high for a small package. It is unfortunate that this great product is not more readily available but most hardware stores, paint stores and home centers are flooded with other formulations (silicone, latex, acrylic, etc.). There are other brands of polyurethane caulking compounds, but masonry or building-supply houses that cater to commercial and industrial construction carry most of them. I believe that Home Depot carries a brand of polyurethane caulking.

To avoid applying excessive amounts of the product, cut only a small piece of the tip of the tube. Holding the gun at an angle, slowly move it while avoiding a large bead. Wear rubber gloves, and tool the bead using a finger on which you should use a little spit to push the caulk into the crack. Immediately wipe any smears with a clean cloth or paper towels. Any cleanup must be done before the compound “skins up,” which happens fairly quickly. Paint thinner is not effective; xylene, acetone or MEK are the chemicals to use, all of which require plenty of ventilation, as do any polyurethane caulks because they emit chemical fumes. The product itself should not come in contact with the skin so wear appropriate protection and use it in well-ventilated areas. To caulk a tub, you should set up a fan to get the fumes out of the bathroom.

I am glad that it has worked well for you; it’s a wonderful product that I have used for around 50 years without fail.

Q. My submersible sump pump is about 12 years old. I do not want to find out that my pump is not working during a water buildup and have a flooded basement. I know the pump needs no oiling, and I try to run the pump once a month to make sure it is working. I also take it out in the summer to clean away the dirt and stones and allow the pump to dry. Are there signs to look for that indicate the pump is getting old? What is the life expectancy for a submersible sump pump?

A. There is no way to tell when any mechanical device will fail, and there is no such thing as a known life expectancy of any given submersible sump pump. If it is in a plastic sump in your basement, it should not be subjected to extreme conditions. But if it’s set in a hole with sand, dirt or other material that can get sucked up, it may have a shorter life. Normally, it should not need to be serviced and taken out to dry. These pumps are built to remain in a wet environment. Because you are concerned about failure at the worst time, consider buying another one and keeping it handy in case of emergency.

Q. What can you suggest to treat wood to keep boring bees away? I don’t want to kill them.

A. Carpenter bees drill perfectly round holes in soft wood, turn 90 degrees, and excavate tunnels to build nests in which they lay their eggs and paralyzed spiders and other insects that feed the larvae. The tunnels can be several inches long. The best environmental way to keep them from doing so is to keep the wood painted regularly, as they drill in wood with old paint or stain.

Q. We have a two-story home. When it rains quickly and heavily, our first-floor powder-room ceiling leaks on an inside wall (and the ceiling on the other side of the wall has a bit of water damage, too), which I’m certain has been occurring for years now. We bought the home five years ago, and the inspector didn’t notice it. I’m guessing the former owners painted over the problem and were hoping it wouldn’t rain before it sold. We took some wallpaper down, and in that area of the wall near the ceiling, the glue was all funky and several lower layers of wallpaper had water damage. Someone suggested that it might be leaking through an upstairs window and then running down the wall/floor joists to that spot. But we’ve had all the windows replaced, and that didn’t fix the problem. I know we probably let the problem go too long already, but I’d love to know what kind of professional to call to address the issue.

A. If the leakage was not mentioned on the disclosure statement, which should have been given to you and which your home inspector should have had the opportunity to read, you may have a claim against the sellers. Talk to the real-estate broker or agent involved in the transaction, as he or she has also some responsibility if representing the sellers (not your buyer broker).

From your description, it is a strange leak, and it can come from a variety of places. If your home inspector did a good job, and is thoroughly familiar with the workings of a house, why don’t you ask him or her to try to detect the source? If you are not fully confident in his or her ability, consider contacting another experienced home inspector — one who has been in the business for many years and has done thousands of inspections. ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors, www.ashi.org) is a good place to find one. Another choice is a professional engineer.

Q. Our house was built in 1844 and needs to be painted! Do you think it is a good idea to vinyl an old house? Or is it better to put stain on it?

A. If your house has any beautiful features — as many old houses have — or historical value, you should think twice about covering it with vinyl siding, although the vinyl-siding industry won’t like my statement that siding may diminish its resale value. Staining it is an option, but that depends on the condition of the wood and how much preparation will be required. Keep in mind that solid-color stains (if that is what you have in mind) are thin paints and will require more frequent applications than if you stick to a high-quality latex paint. Semitransparent stains need to be reapplied every two to three years. An experienced painter should be able to tell you if you should first apply a primer like Mad Dog, Cabot Problem-Solver or equivalent.

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 email at henridemarne@gmavt.net.

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