Cracked mirror remains a mystery to owner

Q. A renowned local bathroom remodeler performed work for me almost five years ago, which included providing and installing a bathroom mirror above the sink, the dimensions of which are about 2½-by-5#189; feet. I found this morning that the mirror has a vertical crack extending its entire length. I have never experienced a situation like this and wonder if you know how something like this could happen. The remodeling company has a superb reputation and is honorable, and I am sure would take responsibility if I can prove that they are at fault in some way.A. I can think of a couple of possibilities: An inherent fault in the glass; or, if new framing was built, and the mirror was installed tightly on this new wall, one of the framing members (in the center of the wall) may have twisted upon drying and put too much stress on the mirror. It is a far-fetched idea, but stranger things have happened in construction. Have you asked your contractor to take a look at it? He or she may come up with a better answer after examining the evidence. A reputable contractor will be eager to fix the problem if he or she made a mistake. However, neither of the reasons mentioned above would be the contractor's fault. When you find out, let me know, as I am curious to know exactly what happened. There may be a lesson here.Q. I have louvered, galvanized vents cemented into the crawl space walls of my home. The vents have screening material on the inside to keep out insects, debris, etc. The screening in all of the vents has rotted out. I don't see any easy way to replace the vents or the screening material. Any suggestions?A. If you have access to the vents from the crawl space, remove what is left of the screening, which can be cut out with a utility knife. Install new metal screening (aluminum or brass; avoid fiberglass as it is easily torn apart by animals), using sheet-metal screws to fasten it to the frame's flanges. To make it more secure, get narrow metal strips from a hardware store and pinch the screening between the vents' flanges and the metal strips. If you can't do that, cut the screening a couple of inches bigger in all dimensions and try embedding it in adhesive to the concrete. You can use either polyurethane caulking or construction adhesive.Q. I have a small ranch home in the Chicago suburbs that is on a slab. I currently have carpet everywhere but in the kitchen. I can't keep the carpet clean with my two medium sized, very active dogs. What flooring would you recommend? A. Hardwood, including bamboo, is a good choice, but your dogs' nails may scratch the finish. I probably would not consider a laminate floor, as it can't be refinished, whereas a solid hardwood floor can.Q. I am the president of our homeowners' association; we have 35 units. Each unit has a good-sized front porch built of cedar wood, which we have discovered is not easy to maintain. We have tried sanding some of the porches down to the bare wood and applying Penofin for cedar, which seems to be a good product. But the stain doesn't last more than a couple of years before it begins to darken, get spotty and lose its luster. We need to find a longer-term fix for the porches, one that will last at least five years. Semitransparent stain is clearly one solution, but it will hide the natural beauty of the cedar, which is a visually appealing wood. Do you have any suggestions? Like most condominium associations, we have to look for cost-efficient ways of maintaining our property. Our owners have a great deal of ownership pride, and our porches are an important first impression piece of our common property. A. My favorite product as a finish for most woods, especially cedar, is Amteco TWP, which you can buy at any ICI store. It is a semitransparent finish that will not hide the beauty of cedar. You can get more information on it by looking at their Web site www.amteco.com, click on "Products" then "More Information." The product you want is one of the 100 series. You will have to remove all previous coatings before you can successfully apply Amteco TWP, but once you have applied two coats following the schedule on the cans, it should be good for five years, unless there is heavy traffic on the porch floors. To clean the wood before applying TWP, use a special deck cleaner to brighten the darkened wood and remove all other pollutants (available at the same paint store). You may also need some sanding to remove the previous coating. Comments from readersI keep reading about how those who want instant hot water and are distant from the hot water tank will need to install a recirculating pump. Not so! I lived in a 1920s four-square house that had two hot water lines running from the tank to an upstairs' bathroom. I'm not sure how they were connected, but by simple gravity, one line was bringing hot water up, while the other line was taking the now-cooled water back to the tank. No pump - nothing but two parallel hot water lines. There is a way to do it, and it worked perfectly. I just can't figure out why more builders don't think to include an obvious setup like this. The only downside that I can think of is that the unused heat of the incoming hot water line will be used up within the walls. But if it's insulated, that should be a minor issue. Apparently this is a plumbing trick that has gotten lost over time. Thank you for this interesting comment. The questions that I answered were about homeowners who have an already built house. It may not be practical to install the return line you mention or to do what some other readers have suggested. There are occasions where the pumps I have mentioned are the most practical solutions to the annoying wait for hot water.In your response to a reader's question about drafty recessed fixtures, you suggested adding an insulated enclosure around the light fixture. While this would probably achieve what the reader wants, there appears to be a more serious problem. For fire-safety reasons, the space above the family-room ceiling should not be shared with the garage. Most building codes require a partition between the garage and any living space and require that this be sheathed with 5/8-inch Sheetrock with a fire rating as a minimum. A door can be included in the partition, so that access to the space is possible, but it must be fire-rated as well. Presumably, sheathing a door with the 5/8-inch Sheetrock would be acceptable. Installing this partition should take priority over insulating the lights, as it is potentially a matter of life and death in the event of a fire in the garage. The partition should reduce the drafts significantly; your suggestion of insulation around the fixtures could still be followed once the partition has been installed.You are quite right, and everyone who has such a condition should make sure that it is dealt with as you point out. However, the reader who asked me the question about his recessed lights never mentioned anything about an open space between his ceiling and the garage, so I didn't address that particular concern.Your recent column asked if anyone knew of a way to remove pinesap from a grill and deck furniture. Many years ago, I helped clear land in Virginia. We got the pinesap off our saws and axes with kerosene - sort of a "hair of the dog" approach. I don't know how plastic will react to kerosene, so this is a "try it first" idea. Clearly this will not be of use with cushions and is a "nonsmoking" project. I hope this helps and works for your reader.Thank you for this tip to be added to isopropyl alcohol, turpentine and Goo Gone. Dear readers: Over the years, I have been asked many times what is the best caulk to use to seal the joint of a bathtub and the wall above it. For years, I had been recommending Sikaflex-1a polyurethane caulking, which I have been using in construction and home maintenance since the 1950s. A couple of years ago, I experimented with a different caulking, because several readers wrote to tell me that Sikaflex-1a was turning pink or yellow. I tried DAP Kwik Seal Plus Premium Kitchen Bath Adhesive Caulk w/Microban and wrote that it seemed to work very well. It remained sparkling white and did not mildew. Since then, I have noticed that it is peeling off the wall on the long and faucet sides of the tub, whereas the Sikaflex-1a left on the opposite short side of the tub is as solidly attached to the wall as it was when I put it on years ago. The DAP is still very white, while the Sikaflex-1a is slightly gray. The reason some of you had the bad experience of Sikaflex-1a turning pink or yellow is because it was subjected to moisture too soon. Sikaflex-1a needs to be allowed to air-cure for seven days before getting repeatedly wet - something not easy to accomplish if the tub in question needs to be used daily. You would need to use another bathroom for a week, and it may not be feasible. So the choices are Sikaflex-1a with minor discoloration and tough adhesion or DAP's color retention and loss of adhesion. Choose your poison. But for me, I will stick to Sikaflex-1a.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.