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Show FIRST-AID to the AILING HOUSE by Roger B. Whitman Wasps. QUESTION: I have a wasp nest in one corner of my attic about 18 inches in diameter. How can I get rid of it? Answer: On a cool day when the wasps are inert, spray the nest thoroughly thor-oughly with any insect liquid or kerosene. The nest can then be wrapped in heavy paper or, if possible, possi-ble, enclosed in a paper bag, broken away from its support,, and burned. Question: In spring and fall there are wasps in our attic and in one upstairs bedroom, which they seem to enter through the window pulley openings. How can they be eliminated? elimi-nated? Answer: The pulley openings can be covered by strips of cloth of a width to fit the bottom of the groove, and held by a thumb-tack above the pulley. In the attic, locate the pests and spray them heavily with insect liquid. If the nests are within the walls you can locate them by observing ob-serving the cracks through which the wasps crawl in and out. Weed Killers. Question: What is a solution to be sprayed on the ground to kill weeds and to prevent the growth of poison ivy? Is this the right time of year to use such a solution? Answer: A strong solution of rock salt in water is effective; or you can get ready-made weed killer at a seed store. Any such solution will kill all vegetation that it falls on, however, until in time rain carries it deep into the earth. This would be ,a good time ot year to use n, for spring growth is already beginning. be-ginning. Cold Bedroom Floor. Question: The area under the bedrooms bed-rooms is unexcavated. We find the floors in these rooms are cold. The house is just completed. Is it the newness of the house, and will the dampness pass? If this coldness will continue, what type of insulation do you suggest? Answer: Floors without basements under them will most likely continue to be cold. The newness of the house may aggravate the condition Because Be-cause of the dampness given off by the plaster. Insulation will help considerably. con-siderably. There is a form of blanket blan-ket insulation made of shredded wood fiber enclosed in a waterproof paper, made to fit between the floor joists, which might be quite suitable suita-ble for your purpose. Old Kitchen Clock. Question: I would like to clean the works of an old porcelain kitchen kitch-en clock. I was told to soak the works in kerosene, then add a few drops of light machine oil. How would you clean the clock? Answer: If the clock is valuable, the cleaning and oiling should be done by a professional. Soaking in gasoline may be preferable to kerosene. kero-sene. The gasoline will cut the old oil and grease faster. In oiling, place just a drop of light oil on each pivot. Coal and Oil. Question: For house heating how many gallons of oil are equivalent to a ton of coal? Answer: That depends very largely large-ly on the efficiency with which both oil and coal are burned. I have had comparisons running all the way from 150 to 200 gallons of oil to the ton of coal; 175 gallons is, I believe, be-lieve, a fair average. Decorating a Room. Question: A large room in my house is not heated, and the temperature temper-ature in it frequently goes below freezing. In redecorating the room would you advise painting or papering? pa-pering? Answer: I should paint it, for in such extreme changes in temperature tempera-ture and with inevitable dampness, the papering is likely to loosen. Insulating a Floor. Question: I intend to insulate the under part of a floor, which is three feet above the ground. I expect to use rock wool batts. which have waterproof backs. Would it be better bet-ter to put building paper over the batts, or do you recofrimend a rigid insulating board? Answer: Waterproof asphalt paper pa-per may be more practical for your purpose. It will be easier to handle han-dle Where the laps of the paper occur, nail strips of wood over joists to close up any bulge or openings between sheets. Leaking Garage Walls. Question: Water seeps in under the sills on both sides of my garage on the cement floor. The floor extends ex-tends beyond the walls, and is above ground. The rain seems to come in near the bottom. The walls are shingle covered frame construction. How can I overcome this trouble? Answer: Fill all cracks, crevices and openings around the bottom of the wall with caulking compound. This will probably be sufficient Attic Insulation. Question: There is handpacked in-sulation in-sulation four inches thick in the ceilings ceil-ings of our second-story rooms. Would insulating the roof cut down the temperature of those rooms? Answer: It will help, but you will get far more benefit from free ventilation venti-lation in the attic to carry off the attic air as fast as it becomes heated heat-ed U the atlic air is cool, the rooms below will be cool also. ,a Rocer B. Whitman-WNU Service! |