De Marne pens his farewell column

Dear readers, this is my farewell. Newspapers have had financial woes for many years, and it is not getting any better. The digital age is taking over. So my column has become financially unsustainable and the powers-that-be at United Feature Syndicate Inc. have come to the conclusion they can no longer keep it going.

Coincidentally, this decision comes at a good time for me, as independently I have realized that 43 years of writing this column, nearly 37 of which under national syndication, is a good run and that I am ready to retire to pursue other interests.

However, if you have any questions you would like me to try to help you with, please send them to me on my blog: www.henridemarne.com. I'll do my best to respond as promptly as I can.

I have enjoyed very much reading your questions and trying to answer them as best I could, and I will certainly miss the wonderful feeling it gave me to read your follow-ups letting me know I helped solve your problems.

But time marches on and things change, and we need to adjust. Thank you for a wealth of homeowner problems that have allowed me to turn this into a remarkable career.

So farewell to all of you, and my very best wishes.

Q. We have Marvin Integrity windows with wood interior installed in our home in Vermont. I have noticed during the winter that moisture appears on the bottom of both the upper and lower sash - I have even seen some ice in extreme cold. We're wondering what causes this and if there are steps we can take to mitigate how much it occurs. The windows are 9 to 10 years old. This question came to mind as we are in the middle of refreshing the stain and poly protection.

A. Marvin Integrity windows are very energy efficient; if there is condensation on the sashes in cold weather, and even ice formation, it appears as if you have excessive relative humidity (RH) in your house.

Examine your lifestyle and see if any of the following apply: keeping the indoor temperature below average (below 70 degrees Fahrenheit); using a humidifier in a furnace or as a separate unit; small house with four or more people and/or pets; long, hot showers; steamy cooking; hanging wet clothes on racks; unvented bathrooms, kitchen and dryer; lots of water-loving plants; storing firewood in the basement; bare earth crawl space or cellar; etc.

Take care reducing moisture emissions from any of these sources. You may also need to consider an air-to-air heat exchanger.

Q. Our semi-contemporary house has cathedral ceilings on most of the roof. The original roof was replaced in 2005. It was a clean re-roofing job. The decking was found to be in good condition, except for some loose nails.

Owens Corning 50-year architectural shingles were selected, with added attic ridge vents. Ice and water shield was specified at leading edges (6 feet), and 15-pound felt for underlayment for the remaining roof. Chimney flashings were replaced, but not the head wall flashings.

Around 2009, during a heavy rainstorm, I noticed some water dripping from the window frames in the master bedroom. I climbed onto the roof to inspect, but did not find any obvious problems with shingles or flashings. However, I suspected the problem might be the flashing at the head wall. This flashing had not been replaced with the re-roofing; the workers simply pushed the new shingles under the original flashing.

On a warm day, I smelled a musty odor in the loft area. Also, the Sheetrock on the head wall at the joint to the roof felt warmer than the rest. I concluded that the head wall flashing needed to be replaced and the head wall opened to investigate. However, before I do this, I would like to have your expert advice and recommendations.

Enclosed is a cross-section sketch for the insulated roofs and walls and provision for ventilation. All cathedral ceilings have R-30 fiberglass bat insulation installed between the rafters, with a vent channel against the roof deck. Roofs have a 2-foot overhang and continuous soffit vents. The attic section has wall vents at both ends. Ridge vents were added in 2005 with the re-roofing. The MBR roof connects to a head wall, which has four awning windows.

Therefore, even with venting channels in the cathedral ceiling, possible vent airflow through the head wall to the ridge vent is blocked by the awning window framing, except at the center and the two ends of the wall, so this roof section is essentially unvented.

I also have enclosed a sketch of the concept for installing a new head wall flashing. At a minimum, I expect to remove the siding and Styrofoam and install new underlayment, and then seal it with tape around the windows. I also intend to remove the Sheetrock on the inside, remove the insulation to inspect the cavity and remove any mildew that might be present.

I would appreciate your comments and any suggestions to fix these roofing issues.

A. Thanks for the sketches; they are very helpful.

You mention "added ridge vents." Were there some before and where? Where were the added vents installed?

The cathedral ceiling over the master suite is essentially not ventilated. Counting on airflow from the soffit of this section of roof up through the head wall to reach the ridge vent at the very peak is not realistic. There should have been an exhaust vent at the base of the head wall.

Air Vent Inc. (airvent.com) makes a Utility FilterVent, whose upper leg is installed under the wall's housewrap or felt. You would have to cut the sheathing to create an opening for the air to reach the Utility vent.

The old flashing that was not replaced may be responsible for the recent leaks, but it would not cause leaks at the top of the windows. It is more likely that the heavy rainstorm, if accompanied by a strong wind, caused the leakage over the master suite windows.

Unfortunately, many builders apply housewrap over all wall openings and X-cut it, folding the four flaps over the framing. They install the windows over the housewrap at the top instead of cutting it and inserting the window flange under it. This failure has caused many leaks.

The absence of proper ventilation at the base of the head wall may have encouraged the development of mold. The smell and heat you describe are troublesome, as they may indicate some framing damage.

Your plan to open up the area is sound, and I hope you do not find any decay. But I do not see the reasoning behind installing wall vents in the regular attic; ventilation from the soffit to the ridge of the long roof should be sufficient.

Q. I used a product from Scotts called Scotts Green MAX Lawn Food. It has left rust stains all over my daughter's 1-year-old concrete sidewalks. I tried a product recommended by Scotts to remove the stains, but they did not even lighten. Do you have a recommendation to remove these stains? Since it was a new house, the concrete had not been sealed. I would appreciate any help.

A. Scotts Green MAX Lawn Food contains iron, which is what caused the rust stains.

Try brushing the affected areas with a solution of equal parts water and fresh bleach. If that does not completely clear the rust spots, increase the proportion of bleach to water.

When satisfied with the results, rinse the walks.

Q. We live in a two-story house with a full basement that was built in 1982. The roof is 2-by-6-inch trusses on 2-foot centers. It was originally built with 20-year fiberglass shingles on a 4/12 plywood roof (⅝ inch) with gable vents, and soffit vents at every third panel. Through the years, the shingles bubbled parallel to the joists in about three sections, but never leaked. In 2010, I reshingled with the 30-year heavier shingles.

I also added a ridge vent that was not there before. Before doing so I went into the attic and installed 2-by-4 inch bracing between the joists, up against the plywood in these areas and some others that felt spongy. Approximately a year ago, the shingles bubbled in one of the exact same places. What is wrong?

A. I assume that by "bubbling," you mean the shingles curled. This is an indication that the shingles have been subjected to excessive moisture from the attic.

For ⅝-inch plywood to become spongy and sag between the trusses' support corroborates the problem of excessive moisture in the attic, combined with inadequate ventilation.

Gable vents in combination with inadequate soffit venting have done little to help. Air entering one gable vent sinks to the floor and travels across the attic before rising again to exit the opposite gable vent where it is drawn out by negative pressure. No venting of the roof sheathing takes place.

Adding a ridge vent without closing the gable vents and increasing the soffit venting has not been effective. Low roof venting, in the form of soffit vents, needs to equal or exceed the net free ventilation area (NFVA) of the ridge vent. Gable vents short-circuit the airflow.

When you replaced the shingles, all soft plywood sheathing should have also been replaced.

You need to reduce as much as possible the convection of warm, moist conditioned air into the attic. An energy audit is the surest way to find out where the problems are.

Correction: I have been advised by Amteco that TWP cannot be purchased directly from www.amteco.com. Amteco is the manufacturer and TWP goes to several distributors. The retailer locator on Amteco's website is the best source for finding TWP, or you can call Amteco at (800) 969-4811 and the staff will try to help you locate it.

Follow-up: And in response to my answer to a reader about how to add grilles (grids) to their windows to be in compliance with their homeowners association, a reader with 25-plus years of working in the window business advises me that there are suppliers, found online, where leaded (or gold color) adhesive tape can be purchased. He says: "Individuals use this to give their windows the appearance of stained glass. This would be the cheapest (and best-looking) solution!"

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

© 2016, United Feature Syndicate Inc.