Mystery powder near chimney not a big deal
By Henri de Marne
Q. After October's heavy rains, a white powder appeared on some of the decorative bricks surrounding my chimney as it passes through the second floor. The powder is only on a few of the bricks, and it's generally at the edges near the cement that's between bricks. This is a tile-lined block chimney, which vents our oil burner, and the brick is only decorative. The house and chimney were built in 1989. We've only been in the house for a year, and we haven't seen this before. Suggestions for prevention and removal?
A. The white powder is called efflorescence, which is produced when the salts in the masonry are dissolved by water and brought to the masonry's surface. When the water evaporates, the salts are left. These salts are harmless and can easily be removed with brushing. If they do not completely come off by dry brushing, use a little water to dissolve them again.
It sounds as if there may be a minor problem with the chimney flashing through which the wind drove water during the excessive weather you experienced. Clean the bricks off and see if it happens again, in which case an inspection of the chimney flashing may be in order.
Q. We have had the area around the foundation regraded, and with the new larger gutters everything is working well. We had a new roof put on one year ago and have noticed that in some areas it is turning dark. I know this is something you have addressed several times, but could you do it one more time? What is the best way to take care of this problem?
A. If the darkening areas are due to the growth of algae, there are several approaches for removal and prevention. Algae develops from a combination of moisture and spores in the air. The shaded side of your roof is affected because it does not dry from rain and dew as quickly. A permanent fix is to have zinc strips installed just below the cap shingles at the top of the ridge. You can buy zinc in rolls in certain hardware and big-box stores or from www.shingleshield.com. However, be prepared for a long wait to see results.
Please remember that it is dangerous to walk on a roof, particularly if it is wet or damp. It's a job best left to people experienced in working on roofs building contractors and roofers. Walking on a roof can also void any warranty, although these warranties leave much to be desired and can be hard to collect.
A quicker fix is to buy Shingle Shield Roof & Deck Cleaner, but you'll have to wait for warm weather to apply it. You can also try spraying the affected areas with a solution made of three parts fresh Clorox bleach and one part water (one gallon of the solution will treat 50 square feet of roof). It will take time for you to see results. Spray from a ladder on a windless day, but do not use so much solution as to cause a substantial runoff. If you have metal gutters, run water from a garden hose during the spraying. Before starting to spray, cover all vegetation below the roof with plastic after wetting it thoroughly. Do not rinse the roof, but rinse the plastic and soak the vegetation when done with the roof.
Q. Last summer, we redid the flooring in the living room, dining room and kitchen area. The base sheathing is three-quarter inch, tongue-and-groove plywood. The sheathing was originally nailed with 3-inch nails every 8 to 10 inches (36 years ago). Before the flooring contractor came, I left the nails there and added 3-inch screws into the floor joists every 5 to 6 inches for all the floors areas. The floor in the living room was bare after I had removed the carpet and the padding. In the kitchen and dining area, the floor was covered with a linoleum type of covering cemented directly to the plywood sheathing. I screwed these areas in the same way I did the living room.
First, I countersunk the holes so the head of the flat head screw would be below the bottom of the linoleum. The linoleum was cemented directly to the sheathing. The flooring contractor told us there was no real practical way to remove the old linoleum. He laid one-quarter inch green composite 4-by-8 foot sheets of particleboard and stapled them to the sheathing with one staple every 5 inches or so. I believe the staples were 1 inch long. Then they made sure all seams and joints were flush with some kind of filler cement. They proceeded to lay the new vinyl resilient sheet and cemented all of it over all areas.
Almost immediately after the installation of the new floor covering, we started hearing squeaking in the kitchen and dining areas as we walk on the floor. But there is no squeaking at all in the living-room area. The subflooring in the living room was laid directly on the plywood sheathing, whereas in the kitchen/dining area, it was laid on top of the old linoleum. The contractor did not use any adhesive on the floor before laying down the subfloor sheathing in any area.
Was there really no practical way to remove the old cemented linoleum? If not, then should the quarter-inch subflooring have been screwed to the ¾-inch sheathing? Would this have worked with the thin quarter-inch sub particleboard? I am sure this approach would be more time-consuming than stapling. Should the quarter-inch subfloor sheathing have been cemented to the sheathing? Should a totally different approach have been used? I understand it's too late in the game for me to do any remedy. But for the benefit of others, I would appreciate your comments.
A. It's possible to remove old linoleum, but it's a bad idea. It could contain asbestos, and there is no good reason to remove it since an underlayment board needs to be applied to ensure a quality installation. Removal would also leave a residue that would make it difficult to get a good job.
Your situation is very puzzling, and I have no good answer to the sudden squeaking in the kitchen and dining room. Are you sure that there were no squeaks beforehand? It is something that we frequently do not pay attention to until changes are made.
Assuming that the flooring contractor used serrated staples, they are not the problem. It was wrong to use particleboard instead of hardwood plywood with an unblemished and smooth side, which still needs a light sanding after installation. Particleboard absorbs too much of the moisture in the adhesive, which deprives the white lining of the resilient flooring from absorbing it. This can affect its adhesion to the substrate. But this would not cause the squeaking, or you would hear noise in the living room as well.
Q. My husband and I have owned our home for 25 years. It is a two-story with two full baths upstairs and a half bath downstairs. We have a septic system and have noticed in the last couple of years that the two upstairs toilets fill up very slowly after being flushed. What could be causing this, and can we fix it?
A. The first things to check are the supply valves that control the water flow to the tank. They are located on the feeder pipe coming out of the wall or through the floor below the tank. Since you have a septic system, you may be in the country and have a well with hard water, which can have dried up the O-ring of the plunger that controls the refill, thereby slowing the refill. American Standard toilets are prone to this problem. The O-ring should be lubricated and, if you are not comfortable doing the repair, call a licensed plumber.
Q. Your expertise is unmatched! After many personal struggles, I am now able to make some improvements to my home. I had a new furnace installed in 2004, as the old one was rusting. For the last few years, I have noticed the brick on the chimney spalling. This summer it got real bad, so I called a company to do the work. They said the top of the cement part of the chimney has cracks and may be letting water in. I called about four chimney repair services. Three of them said there was never caulking around the base metal plate. Could this have caused this problem? Some also said I should have had a B-vent installed, because the distance from the furnace to the chimney is about 10 feet, which also seems to be an issue. Most want to put in a new liner and a B-vent, and of course repair the brick, which at this point has to be done. Did the original furnace company make mistakes? This company is a member of BBB, and the furnace is Lennox, Merit series.
A. To be a member of BBB, you simply have to pay a fee; it does not mean that the company's reputation is unblemished. The important thing to check is whether any complaints have been filed against that firm. Cracks on the masonry chimney cap can allow water penetration, which saturates the bricks.
Spalling occurs when the saturated bricks freeze, and their exterior layer pops off. This leaves the core of the bricks exposed and vulnerable to further damage. Spalled bricks should be replaced, depending on how bad they have become. A mason or chimney sweep who makes chimney repairs is the person to call.
You haven't said, but if your furnace is oil-fired, you do not need a B-vent, as the distance from the furnace to the cap is immaterial; it's only needed for gas-fired heating appliances. However, the liner should be stainless steel and not aluminum. I doubt that you can get them to replace it after six years, but it's worth a try. They'll probably deny any responsibility and tell you that flex aluminum is fine. You could ask some of the other chimney-repair people you had look at your setup if they think that flex aluminum is OK where you live. The absence of caulking where the metal plate comes through the masonry chimney can indeed be responsible for water penetration.
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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