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Show FIRST ABDto thel AILING HOUSE A J by Roger C. Whitman QUESTION: Our wallpaper is coming loose above our radiator Wa papered three years ago this spring. We took all the old paper off and then gave the walls a good coat of glue sizing. Could you suggest sug-gest something we could use that will not looser) the paper? (We have vapor heat.) ANSWER: As you say the paper loosened above the radiator, but evidently did not loosen anywhere else, I make the guess that the heat was in the radiator at the time of papering, and the heat dried out the glue size too quickly so that the paper did not make a good bond. If you are planning to repaper, make sure that the radiator radi-ator is cold at the time you paper that part of the room. QUESTION: Our dining-room furniture has white spots on the legs, probably caused by striking the legs with shoes. Is there some way I can touch them up? I do not want to refinish the entire piece unless I have to. ANSWER: I suppose the pieces are made of a white wood, such as maple, and the varnish has been scuffed off. I believe you will find it more satisfactory to do a good job rather than touch up the pieces with preparations for hiding the damage. However, perhaps you would rather do it this way. If so, ask your hardware dealer for one or two of the new products made for concealing scratches and other blemishes on furniture or ask at a furniture store. QUESTION: There is a corner crack in our bedroom wall and the ceiling has cracks. We have used a preparation for fixing cracks, but after a severe winter the cracks show up again. Is there any other material besides paper that would be pretty and not crack down at the corners? Our room is finished in calcimine. Would that have to be removed if covered with other material? x ANSWER: A corner crack needs a somewhat different treatment from a crack in the straight wall. The plaster should be removed down to the lath on each side of the corner for a distance of 4 to 6 inches. Then a metal corner lath is nailed in place and that part of the wall then is replastered. If you cannot get corner lath, you may be able to get metal lath in strips 8 to 12 inches wide. Bend the strips at right angles to fit the corner and fasten in place. It would be advisable to have a plasterer do the job for you. The ceiling crack can be "undercut" to make it wider at the lath than at the surface. The plaster crumbs should be cleaned out and the groove wet with water. It then can be filled with patching plaster almost to the top and allowed to dry. It will shrink a trifle in drying. dry-ing. It then should be filled to the surface and smoothed level with the surrounding plaster surface. |