Nail holes from carpet tack strips can be repaired
Q. I'm considering covering the hardwood floors in two of my rooms and a hallway with wall-to-wall carpeting. The use of conventional tack strips, though, raises questions about damage to the floors and the cost to resurface them later if another owner wants to remove the carpeting.
I'm wondering what your thoughts might be regarding this, and if you know of another product that might be better suited for this.
A. There does not seem to be a way to install wall-to-wall carpeting without using tack strips that would damage the hardwood floor.
Securing tack strips with epoxy would be worse, as this would damage the wood floor in any attempt to remove them. The removal of nailed tack strips would leave small holes that can be filled by a professional floor mechanic.
An alternative is to use carpet tiles installed with Interface Carpet TacTiles, but that would preclude the use of padding. These TacTiles are easily installed and removed. Check them out at bit.ly/27RuV4A.
You also can find these TacTiles in some flooring and carpet stores.
Q. About a year ago, hot candle wax was spilled on our non-treated concrete fireplace hearth. Many dark spots have been created.
How do we remove the wax and spots and return to our beautiful smooth concrete hearth? Once removed, how do we treat the surface to repel liquids?
A. Place a sacrificial piece of terry cloth (the best method) over the wax, or use several layers of kitchen paper towels or brown shopping bags.
Have mineral spirit on hand, as well as a pan with warm water and dish detergent at the ready. Using the hot setting on an iron, run the iron over the terry cloth. The heat will melt the wax, which will be absorbed by the terry cloth or paper towels.
Lift the towel(s) and quickly wipe the melted wax with paper or cloth towels soaked in the mineral spirits. Wash the area with the detergent solution to remove the mineral spirits and allow to dry.
You may have to do this more than once. However, even though the wax can be completely removed, the concrete may still show darker discolored areas. You can try to remove these area with a strong solution of TSP-PF, but success is not guaranteed.
You may also try to bleach the remaining stains with a Clorox pen. If you are satisfied with the results, seal the concrete hearth with a concrete sealer, which you should be able to find in masonry-supply houses or hardware stores.
Q. I have ceramic floor tile in my kitchen, laundry, two hallways and two bathrooms. The home is about 10 years old and only my wife and I have occupied it, so the floors do not get abused. I would like to clean the grout back to as close to new as possible.
What formula do you recommend, or is a commercial product available? Also, what tools should I use to clean the grout? Finally, what is the name of a sealant I can use to encapsulate the grout?
I prefer doing the work myself as opposed to having it done commercially, and I take pride in doing as much as I can around the house, even though I am going to be 80 soon.
A. You can make your own cleaning solution with non-oil-based cleaners with a neutral pH such as Lestoil and water, Fantastic and water or soap and water.
A good tool to use is Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser, which you can find in supermarkets. Or simply use a soft-bristle brush. You can buy commercial cleaners and sealers from tile stores. Here are two respected manufacturers:
• VanHearron, vanhearron.com, makes tile cleaners in concentrated and premixed forms. It also makes Stain Guard 5000 sealer. Be sure to follow directions on the containers.
• Miracle Sealants Co., miraclesealants.com, makes Tile and Stone Cleaner, and Tile, Stone & Grout Sealer in spray or concentrate forms.
Q. Thank you for your reply to our question about mold growth in the attic beneath our mansard roof. The top (upper) roof is where the mold was seen. We cannot see into the upright (lower) parts, because there are no vents at all at the bottom of those sections. I saw inside one of the upright roof sections about five years ago when we replaced our windows, and there was no mold inside it at that time. I am not even certain that the upright sections are open to the upper roof.
I have a few additional questions: If we switch to a hot roof with closed-cell polyurethane, do we remediate the mold first, and then have the insulation sprayed, or does the insulation encapsulate the mold as well as insulate? If I understand correctly, after the closed-cell polyurethane is installed, we would remove the existing blown-in insulation in the attic. Is that correct? I have read that there is shorter shingle life for a hot roof.
In the additional reading I have done since I last wrote, I learned that, as you mention in your reply, replacing the solar attic fan with a powered one would not serve much purpose. I read that without a place for air to enter at the bottom of the top roof, all that we will accomplish is to pull air into the mushroom vents and out through the attic fan a few feet away. So, I have been looking at how to ventilate the upper roof.
I found this product - a vented drip edge by Air Vent Inc. It would be installed at the bottom of the top roof, where it meets the upright roof parts. My understanding is that part of the upper roof deck would need to be removed to provide the opening through which the air can enter. Have you any experience with this or a similar product, such as Cobra Fascia Flow?
As to the foyer leak, it is a mystery. It has continued even though, over a series of years, we have replaced the roof, all the upstairs windows, and had the exterior wood of the eyebrow dormers replaced with Aztec lumber. We even opened a section of the ceiling of the porch so that we could watch inside the canopy when it is raining, and we do not see any dripping. If we need to replace our 12-year-old roof while dealing with this mold problem, maybe we'll solve the mystery.
I appreciate your patience with me.
A. The photos of your mansard roof were taken from the ground and do not show much of the upper roof. On only one photo can I see that there seems to be a very shallow attic, and the solar-activated fan being visible corroborates this.
Since you have determined that there is mold in this part of the attic, there must be access to it to measure how much insulation there is, and it may be that you would benefit from more, if it is possible to add some.
The mold is on the roof sheathing and perhaps on the rafters, and its presence indicates that warm, moist air is getting into this section of the attic. This may be because there are convective paths from the conditioned areas below the attic, bathroom fan(s) discharging into the attic or some failure of the fan's venting allowing the escape of moisture into the attic.
You can introduce ventilation with the Air Vent's Vented Drip Edge installed at the base of the upper roof and Air Vent's shingle-over, externally baffled ShingleVent II at the ridge. I prefer it to the Cobra vent.
A 2-inch-wide slot will have to be cut at the ridge, which may allow more insulation to be blown in by an experienced cellulose contractor.
The removal of the solar fan is also a port for inspection and remediation. It will be essential to assure an open air path from the drip edge vent to the ridge. This may be difficult to accomplish without major disturbances.
Once any convective paths have been sealed off and ventilation provided, the mold will dry up and die without the need for remediation. This will be a better and less expensive solution than spraying foam onto the roof sheathing, which would require access to all of it.
A ventilated roof is always preferable to a hot roof, as long as all convective paths have been sealed off. If you choose the hot roof, it would encapsulate the mold, but it is not the best for the shingles. It is likely to cancel any manufacturer warranty, which is often hard to collect on anyway. There will be no need to remove any insulation between the floor joists.
The best way to deal with the foyer leak, when the time comes for roof replacement, is to cover the bare sheathing of the entire section of the lower roof and of the canopy roof over the entrance and garage with an ice-and-water protective membrane before re-shingling.
<h3 class="leadin">Follow up from a reader: In answer to an earlier question about white noise machines, an Illinois reader sent the following: </h3>
"I have used these for decades, and they really help light sleepers. The ones sold by Hammacher Schlemmer are made by Marpac (marpac.com) and come in a variety of styles, including a smaller version for travel. Brookstone sells its own brand. Many others are available through sources such as Amazon or Bed, Bath and Beyond."
• 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.