Show AID to the HOUSE by ROGER B WHITMAN I 1 ad roger B whitman service defective chimney the chimney in my Q QUESTION house has a defect no roofer has been able to correct three different roofers and chimney expert state there is nothing wrong the paper over the fireplace is water stained the house is clapboard the roof slate and with heavy rains or m melting elt snows the wall in one corner is saturated do you know of a remedy answer it if it is an outside chimney look tor for cracks or open spaces between the chimney and the outside wall all such cracks or openings should be filled in with a caulking compound porous stone or brick in the chimney Js is also a possibility lity it can be made waterproof it is also possible leakage occurs some distance from the chimney and may run along a joist until it is diverted toward the plaster which absorbs the water A minute examination for all cracks and crevices crevice s is necessary knotty pine finish question my basement game room is finished with knotty pine and I 1 would like to retain its light natural color waxing has been advised but an experiment shows it would be a long tedious job what would be the best treatment one that is simple and would not take too long answer one very usual finish for knotty pine is to brush liberally with a half and half mixture of linseed oil and turpentine after an hour or two for soaking in the excess is wiped off A second treatment is applied in two or three days this will not interfere with the natural mellowing of the wood with age another popular treatment is a coat or two of clear penetrating wax applied with a brush or a cloth spotty paint surface question I 1 am painting the walls for the first time each coat of paint shows spots right through a and n d has the appearance of being put on in a light streak and a dark one this happened to the walls in every room I 1 shellacked shel lacked and sized one wall but the spots came through what is the answer answer the plaster surface absorbs a great deal of oil due to the uneven density of plaster the fault may be in the quality of the priming coat or an insufficient coat of paint new plaster is usually given iven three ahr e coats of paint the first or priming coat should be thinned with a pint of raw linseed oil to the gallon of paint where the spotting has occurred try applying another coat of paint over a small area if this does not correct the condition you may need to give the walls a coat of aluminum paint to seal the porous surface smoke stained tiles question we have recently moved into a new house the tile hearth of the living room fireplace has been almost ruined by painters burning wood which lay partly on the tiles and lett left burned places Is there anything I 1 can do to clean the tiles answer the tiles can be cleaned by rubbing with a paste made of a scouring powder and water another satisfactory cleaner for the purpose is the kind of soap that mechanics use for cleaning their hands after using either of the above cleaners rinse the surface with clear water white sand for mortar question kindly let me know if I 1 can use fine white sand tor for pointing my inside cellar brick foundation walls what are the proportions must I 1 remove the lime on walls before cementing the bricks are close together and I 1 need a fine pointing cement answer fine white sand can be used for mortar but a sand of variegated size from fine to coarse is preferred be sure the sand is clean one part of portland cement to three parts of sand will mat make a good mixture tor for mortar |