Manufacturer's window repair trustworthy

Q. We built our house in 1989 using Andersen casement windows. Within a few years, almost all of them developed a problem in which the two panes of glass touched in the middle -- Andersen replaced them all. They work well now. I am concerned about Andersen's solution: Drill a hole in one window to allow the pressure to equilibrate between the windows. Wouldn't this negate much of the insulating value of the double-pane window? What are your thoughts on this solution, proposed by Andersen?

St. Johnsbury, Vt.

A. I assume you are concerned about the air between the two panes of glass moving freely in and out and mixing with the ambient air. The fix to the problem of collapsed glass that Andersen windows suffered from in the early 1990s has been expertly devised by Andersen, and employed successfully for many windows with this condition.

A small hole is drilled in the spacer between the two panes of glass, and gas is injected to replace the one that had escaped. The holes are sealed once the pressure has been equalized between the two panes. Andersen is one of the most responsible window manufacturers in North America. Their glass is guaranteed for 20 years, and the warranty includes collapsed glass. They will either replace the glass or repair such problems. Several readers have written to tell me about their satisfaction with the repairs and the way Andersen responded to their problems. This is why I never hesitate to recommend Andersen products whenever someone asks me for advice on windows.

Q. I know you like TWP 501 for deck treatment; so do I. However, I have used it for years, and the last time, it did not hold up for over one year. The color faded and it did not have the same good color and quality. I called the company, and they said it was the same product. However, Consumers did a test and found the same thing. They ranked it at or near the bottom of all products tested. They indicated that manufacturers change their formula to meet competition, etc. Have you had any experience lately with the product? Or can you recommend another product?

Via e-mail

A. Amteco has not changed their formula; it is registered with the EPA and cannot be changed without reapplying for new registration. I assume that by Consumers you meant Consumer Reports. Their latest testing is misleading. In earlier testing, they compared products in matching categories: opaque stains, semi-transparent stains and clear finishes. This is not the case in their latest testing, in which they compare TWP 501 -- a semi-transparent stain -- with opaque stains. Obviously, opaque stains will stand up much better than semi-transparent stains and clear finishes. This change in procedure is unfortunate and not a fair comparison.

Q. Our home is a bat house! For years there has been a strange odor emanating from the area under our finished basement stairs. The source became clearer when we heard squeaks and the scraping sound of wings in the Sheetrock basement ceiling a few days ago. The entry point is probably in a corner of the house under some exterior stairs.

How do we entice the bats to leave? Do we plug the entrance after dark when, hopefully, the bats have left to dine on insects? Must we wait for warm weather before we can expect them to exit their cozy home for the evening meal? What's the best way to clean their lair of guano and odor after removing Sheetrock?

Shelburne, Vt.

A. Most bat species have left Vermont by now and are hibernating in caves in more hospitable regions. However, the big brown bat is known to overwinter in buildings in Vermont. That would be somewhat unusual, however, as they would be very quiet in their dormant stage and not likely to be squirming around. If you do have bats, they will not be active until spring, so you cannot dislodge them at this time of year. The smell is not going to get worse, as they do not add to what causes it while in dormancy.

It is more likely that you either have a family of flying squirrels or other rodents such as mice. Flying squirrels are nocturnal, so you would not see them during the day. Mice are also nocturnal and come out at night to forage for food. Both species stay in their nests during the day.

You should look for the suspected entry point. In the unlikely even that your problem is bats, you should be able to see a staining ring from body oils around the entrance hole and also some droppings just below it. Deal with bats in the spring by taping a piece of plastic 6 inches above the entrance point. Let the plastic hang about 2 feet below the entrance point, tape down the sides, and make sure that the plastic is loose enough to allow the bats to drop down from their hole. Leave the bottom open, of course. When they return to the nest, they go for the entrance hole and cannot figure out what's happened; they do not crawl up under the plastic. When you are sure they are all gone, seal the opening and open the suspected area to clean it up and deodorize it with a Clorox bleach/water spray.

Q. Would you believe I have both blue water and insulation issues? A little more than a year ago, we put an extension on our house that included a bathroom. I recently noticed a bluish stain forming at the bottom of the bowl. However, this does not happen in the existing toilet, which is also white and has been in service for at least two decades. Since the water source is the same, what could cause this?

Secondly, I have a house built in the late 1920s or early '30s with no insulation in the exterior walls and am considering having cellulose blown into them. Unlike the reader you responded to, I am not adding siding and would have no opportunity to apply XPS as you had suggested. Is there another solution?

Via e-mail

A. The blue water tells me that you have acidic water that is eating the copper pipes in the new bathroom. Considering that your house was built in the late '20s or early '30s, my guess is that the old water pipes are galvanized, which explains why you do not have bluish stains coming from them. The old pipes are probably quite rusted, and you may need to have them replaced in the near future.

There are several approaches to the uninsulated-walls problem. If you opt for the least-costly solution -- blown cellulose -- you should provide a vapor retarder on the interior surfaces of all exterior walls. If you don't, you risk ending up with condensation in the outer layer of the cellulose and on the exterior sheathing. This would be a recipe for trouble in a few years. You can provide a vapor retarder by painting the walls with B-I-N, topped by your choice of latex paint. As an alternative, you can also paint with a low-perm paint. Check with your paint store for the lowest perm rating (less than 1).

You can also hang solid vinyl wallpaper. You will need to caulk all joints between dissimilar materials (window and exterior door trim, baseboard, etc.) to prevent moisture bypass. Other choices are to have foam insulation injected into the stud spaces. Here your choices depend on where you live. If your house is located in the cold Northern United States, you would be safer using closed-cell polyurethane foam; with it, you will not need to provide a vapor retarder. You can use Icynene -- an open-cell foam -- but you should provide a vapor retarder because it does absorb water. In warmer regions, Icynene does not require a vapor retarder. You didn't say what your current siding is made of, which limits other suggestions I might have.

© 2008, United Feature Syndicate, Inc.