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Show FIRST-AID to the AILING HOUSE By ROGER B. WHITMAN (fl Roger B. Whitman WNU Service.) Clogged Disposal System QUESTION: After 14 years our cesspool has filled up. The contractor con-tractor tells me that the sides are clogged with grease from the kitchen kitch-en sink, and that if he pumped it out it would only fill up again. Do you know of any chemical that I can put in to dissolve the grease? Answer: I do not know of anything any-thing that can be counted on to be effective. The one remedy for that condition is to dig a smaller cesspool alongside the first, to fill by overflow. over-flow. The connecting pipe should go below the surface of the liquid in the first cesspool, so that grease will not be carried over. I know of such arrangements that are still giving excellent service after many years. All such trouble would be avoided if, in building a new cesspool, a grease-trap is placed in the drains from the kitchen sink and the laundry laun-dry tubs. Of course, the grease-trap grease-trap must be cleaned out every few months, which is not difficult. Chimney Creosote Question: My house, 125 years old, Is shut up for the winters. When I go up, I find great black stains from creosote that has run down the inside of the chimney onto the floor. The chimney is new from the roof up. What to do? Answer: As the creosote appears after periods when the house has been empty and cold, the trouble must start with leakage of rain. The roof flashings around the chimney may be defective, and should be inspected. in-spected. If the flue is very large, as was usually the case with houses of that age, you should put on some sort of a cap to keep out rain. Your architect can suggest a type to conform con-form with the design of the house. Sawdust Insulation A reader sends a clipping from a Canadian paper that recommends the use of wood shavings and sawdust saw-dust for insulation, adding that "I always supposed that both of these products were subject to spontaneous spontane-ous combustion." Answer: Sawdust and shavings are not practical for a house, not because of the possibility of spontaneous spon-taneous combustion which is remote re-mote but because they absorb and hold moisture, and are also attractive attrac-tive to vermin as nesting material. Sawdust and shavings can be used in icehouses and similar buildings where their disadvantages would not matter. Red Sandstone Walls. Question: I am planning to buiid a house, one wing of which will be of red sandstone. One of my friends suggests a stone veneer of six or eight inches. Another suggests solid sol-id walls of 12 inches furred with 2 by 2 inch strips. My concern is freedom from dampness in the interior of the house. Which type of construction construc-tion would you advise? Answer: A furred out solid stone wall is satisfactory, but my preference prefer-ence is for veneered wall construction. construc-tion. The additional air space, sheathing boards and sheathing paper pa-per in a veneer construction make a wall more resistant to weather and dampness. DowndraTt in Chimney Question: I have been troubled at times with a downdraft or backdraft in my chimney, and it has been suggested sug-gested that a revolving top be put on the chimney. Will this correct the condition? What effect will it have on the draft? Answer: A revolving top on the chimney will help prevent down-drafts, down-drafts, and will not affect the draft in any way if the top is sufficiently large. Down drafts may be due to too low a chimney; the top should be at least three feet above a flat roof ana two feet above the ridge of a peak roof. A nearby tall tree may also cause this difficulty. Rolled-Up Linoleum Question: I have had a roll of linoleum standing in my attic for three years. Now I want to use it, but am told that it is likely to crack when I unroll it How can this be prevented?" Answer: The only treatment that will protect your linoleum against cracking when you unroll it is to get it thoroughly warm. It will then hflve greatest flexibility. Any liquid or other treatment would damage the linoleum, and might make it useless. use-less. Caster Marks Question: I have soft wood floors in my bedrooms, and on moving the beds the casters make deep marks. Can this be prevented? Answer: Casters for furniture used on soft wood floors should have rollers roll-ers of felt, or some similar soft composition; com-position; the rollers should not be metal or hardwood. Casters with felt rollers can be had at large hardware hard-ware stores or from the mail order houses. |