Show fa RT al D to the AILING HOUSE by ROGER 11 by newspaper New paper union STEEL HARDWARE QUICKLY LOSES POLISH A HOUSEWIFE was much dis stressed i at finding that the hardware on tho the front door of her new house could not bo be polished to its original brilliancy instead of the bright and glowing brass that she had in mind the hard hardware wari D was dull and lifeless in spite of her hard polishing the trouble come came be bc cause the hardware was not solid brass but was made of brass plated steel the plating was so BO thin that a few polish ings took it off her remedy was to replace the hard wore ware with solid brass which could either be cast or formed of sheet brass any well stocked lit hr dware store carries brass doorknobs door knos and plates pushbutton push button plates and othor other parts with which the original hardware can easily costly bo be replaced when now new brass plated hardware looks just as attractive as solid brass and is used only because it Is lower in price the difference van can be told by applying a magnet on which solid brass will have hava no effect on brass plated steel however the magnet will stick the test Is easy to make and should bo be applied when going over a house before making a purchase tree roots question lombardy poplars in my back yard were cut down last spring but shoots are now springing up all over we wa pull them up each day but others come up overnight I 1 fear that the roots will damage the house foundations and get into the sewer what can we do answer roots cannot live without growth above the ground pulling up the shoots will eventually have a killing effect to speed things up bore holes downward into the stumps as many and as large as possible and keep them filled with crude saltpetre salt petre which is inexpensive the chemical will be liquefied and wilt will have a 0 killing effect on being absorbed it will cause quick rotting of the tha wood wallboard cracks question our brick house Is 60 years old and was never plastered A number of years ago the walls and ceilings were covered with plasterboard ter board the joints having cloth pasted over them the joints show and some break open how can we do them over so this will not happen we do riot not like strips of answer it may not be possible to make permanent fillings for the joints are likely to open as the plasterboard is affected by changes in weather you can do a fairly good job with patching plaster to be had at a hardware store covered with strips of open opan mesh fabric Inter intended vied for that purpose these of course will be concealed by the decorations I loose tiles question in our bathroom eight of the wall tiles are loose what kind ka n d of cement should I 1 uso use to stick th them em back answer it if your tiles are of the usual kind scrape the old cement off the backs and soak the tiles in water for a few hours stick them back with a stift stiff mixture of 1 part portland cement and 3 parts clean building sand spreading this evenly over the backs do not fill the joints between the tiles this is done after the tiles are firmly in position with a mixture of plaster of parts in water cipo it on oa and f plean lean the faces of the tiles before it hardens hot water heat question in installing a hot water heating system wo we are arc planning to use a 2 inch pipe for the main iced feed line and a lanch inch pipe for the return we are told that the return should be the same size as the teed feed Is this true answer yes it is there will be the same volume of water n both of them and to have the return smaller than the inala would have a throttling effect cracked alaster question plaster in our 40 year old house is badly cracked can the cricks cracks bo be filled so smoothly that they will not show through paint answer it if tho the plaster is still tight on the lath the cracks can be filled with patching plaster to be had at a hardware store instructions for use are on uie tho label it should be possible to fill the cracks so smoothly that they will not show hornets lists question for two summers hornets have built nests and combs un j er the eaves outside my kitchen window making it dangerous for us to go out I 1 have broken down the nests and combs but ue insects come back and rebuild how can I 1 keep them away answer after breaking down the nests brush the places where they weri with kerosene |