New, energy efficient walls need not cover old woodwork

Q. Even though we're in our 50s and 60s, my husband and I bought our first house this past January. Now we are the proud (and sometimes rueful) owners of a beautiful, very old house. The house is brick, covered by plaster and lath. We just got weatherization done, so our roof, knee walls, basement, etc., are in much better shape. But there wasn't much they could do about the brick walls. The living room has three outside-facing walls, and the plaster is in bad shape due to a moisture problem. We're hoping to correct that by managing rainwater on one side and trying to bank the soil for runoff. When they weatherized, they sprayed foam to seal the foundation, which we are hoping will help with the moisture issue. For one wall, we have to decide about a rain gutter. Our house inspector said this particular brick structure with a shake roof wouldn't do well with a gutter; it could damage the house itself. But others have said to definitely go with a gutter. Once the moisture issue is taken care of, we have to do something to the living room walls. The same guy who said no gutters said we might as well just put up Sheetrock over the plaster and lath - and not to bother with trying to remove the latter, as it's such a messy job. Other people have said to keep the lovely hand-done look and have the plaster repaired. My brother had the idea to put in the Sheetrock over the lath and still have some woodwork. He says there's this thin stuff you can put in between the brick and the lath that's fairly new that would be the best bet. Of course we want it to be cost effective but best for the house in the long run.A. You have several choices. Assuming that your house is two-stories high, instead of a gutter, you can have the Rainhandler installed. It consists of several small louvers that are held flat by brackets. As the roof runoff hits them, it is literally sprayed away from the house. I have installed it on our house to eliminate the problem of gutters and downspouts filling with ice. It does not go with a historic home, if yours qualifies as one. Check it out on their Web site: rainhandler.com. Since the woodwork is deep, you can leave the old plaster in place and save yourself the mess of removing and disposing of it. You can put a layer of rigid insulation over it (you can select from 1/2-inch to 1-inch thick sheets) and cover the insulation with 3/8 drywall. The thicker the rigid insulation, the better the energy savings. The drywall can be trimmed with an L-bead against the woodwork, but if this is not enough, you can preserve the original woodwork by placing a wood strip against it that will cover the thickness of the new insulation and drywall. The wood strips can be stained to match the existing woodwork and make it look like it's always been there. The existing woodwork will look sunken in, but that is not unattractive.Q. My garage is used as an extra room and is carpeted and heated. The attic over the garage is used as a storage area; there is plywood over the joists. This past fall, I removed everything including the plywood and added loose-fill insulation, 3 to 4 inches over the existing insulation. Snow is still melting faster and causing ice buildups at the edge of the roof and gutter. I was wondering if I could put roll insulation in the joists of the roof of the attic to help prevent this problem. A. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that there are no cracks, holes or other places, such as recessed light fixtures, through which the heated air from the converted garage can get into the attic. That's the biggest culprit in causing the snow to melt. It is not a good idea to install insulation between the rafters. You are better off keeping as much of the heat as possible in the room instead of trying to contain whatever gets into the storage area from melting the snow. If you didn't put the plywood floor back in the attic, add more insulation over what you already did. But if you need the plywood floor for storage, you can add sleepers (wood pieces like two-by-four or 6-inch) crosswise to the existing attic floor joists, and lay the appropriate thickness unfaced fiberglass batts between them.Q. My house seems to be a potential teardown. How long do we have until major systems' breakdowns demand our attention? This is particularly important to us because due to health problems, our income has gone from diminished to precarious. As much as we dislike the idea of leaving the house we've lived in for 16 years, we would not be able to afford to rebuild or to make substantial repairs in the foreseeable future. It seems we should get out while the getting is good. Our three-bedroom, open floor plan, two-car attached garage ranch is about 35 years old. It is on a cement slab, built flush to the ground. We do not have storm doors, good quality windows or adequate insulation. The attic is unfinished. Plumbing pipes are under the slab. We have aluminum wiring, with the fix-up on all sockets and switches. We have a roof over a roof, the newer one being close to 20 years old. The bathrooms (21/2) are charming but dated. The kitchen has a vinyl floor directly over concrete and the cabinets are cheap with a vinyl-type covering over particleboard; that is not the type you could update with new doors. We have a partial-brick front, but much of the siding is asbestos. Our house is actually one of the shabbiest on the street. Is it time to bite the bullet and move to a smaller (and rented) property? It seems like a demoralizing step backward, but I do not want to be almost out of money within a year or two and discover that our wiring needs to be replaced. So am I right to think that the best thing for anyone to do would be to tear down and rebuild, rather than put money into piecemeal improvements? A. You may feel as if your house is a teardown, but to a young couple looking for an affordable first house into which they plan to put in a lot of sweat equity, it may be exactly what they are looking for. Talk to a trusted Realtor about your dilemma, and see what he or she suggests. It may be time for you to sell your house and move to an apartment or a small rented house.Q. I live alone in a 40-year-old, three-bedroom ranch and recently installed a Rinnai water heater, replacing the oversized hot water tank. I thought I would save energy and water and do my part to help the planet. To my great dismay, I find that I have to run the hot water faucet wide open for more than two minutes because the hot water has to travel approximately 35 feet from the heater to my kitchen sink. And every time I turn it on while doing hand laundry etc., I have to go through the same thing. I have the same problem with the dishwasher and to a lesser extent with my bathroom fixtures. The reason for this seems obvious to me, but I need your help figuring out how to make it better. Can you suggest a remedy that I hope won't cost too much?A. There is a solution to your problem. An instant water heater does not store hot water; it fires only when you turn a hot water faucet on, which is why it is considered to be an energy saver. Because of the length of the pipe between your kitchen and the water heater, there's the delay you are experiencing. You can have the Laing Recirc Pump - Model ACT-909-Tankless Recirculation Pump installed. It is made especially for tankless water heaters; it uses the cold water line to recirculate hot water, just as the Laing-Auto-Circ does with a regular storage water heater. To some extent, installing instant hot water to a tankless water heater is defeating its purpose, because to provide hot water at every faucet when you turn the faucets on requires the heater to come on even when no hot water is needed. Still, an improvement over what you have. It won't be inexpensive.Q. My husband and I are currently rebuilding a summer cottage in Malletts Bay, Vt. We are one of three construction projects happening, and all of the contractors are using IKO roof shingles. I have spoken with my contractor, and he says he has never had a problem with them. What should I do? Insist on another brand?A. Quite a number of readers have written me of their bad experience with IKO shingles. I know that they are heavily promoted in the Northeast, but that does not change the fact that they are experiencing very early failure. Your contractor, who claims that he has never had a problem with them, may not have been contacted by customers who have had problems. You can insist on your contractor using a different brand. I had BP shingles installed on our house following our own bad experience with 25-year IKO shingles that failed after only 14 years. BP shingles are available in your area. Don't let anyone tell you that they are not.bull; 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.#169; 2009, United Feature Syndicate Inc.