Show FIRST AID to the AILING HOUSE by y roger B whitman released by western newspaper union rough concrete floor A CONCRETE floor of a cellar is rl usually laid with no special smoothing ot of the surface and may be too rough for dancing one way to smooth it is to have it ground down with a floor machine such as is used for ini finishing shing terrazzo floor the job can be done by a flooring contractor at no great cost his only charge will be for time it is sometimes thought that the same effect can be had by laying a surface of concrete over the old floor this is possibly only under certain conditions however concrete is not sticky and a new layer will not bond on top of an old ono one without making special preparation to secure a bond between the two the surface of the old concrete must de be roughened by gouging with a cold chisel or a pointed hammer new concrete in hardening will then become attached to the old and the two will become practically one before laying the new concrete the old floor must be thoroughly soaked with water and as soon as the surfacing hardens it must be wet with water and kept wet for several days this can be done by covering it with a layer of sand or with old burlap bags that are frequently sprinkled in this continued dampness the cement will cure and attain full density whereas if it dries out too quickly the coating will be soft and powdery drying out a cellar being in contact with the earth the walls and floor of a cellar will remain at about the same unchanging temperature in humid weather the masonry will be cooler than the air and condensation will take place on it as warm and damp air is chilled by the contact condensation will often be so heavy that pools of water may collect on the floor this can sometimes be overcome by running a low fire in the heater another method is ventilation for this opening the cellar celiar windows may not serve sarve for being in the upper parts of the walls drafts through them do not disturb the mass of damp air lying on the floor to get the air circulation that is needed an electric fan can be placed at one end of the cellar blowing along the floor toward open windows at the other end this should be done on dry days in humid weather and at night cellar windows should be kept closed to keep out damp air calcium chloride is excellent for the drying of cellar dampness due to condensation using it according to the method that I 1 described in m this column recently house insulation question my attic is open and has no hoor floor entrance is through a trapdoor trap door it if I 1 put rock wool between the rafters what would happen should the roof leak how can it be kept from absorbing moisture from the house air should the attic be ventilated if I 1 cut holes in the ceilings of the rooms below would heat pass to the attic and make the rooms cooler answer for an open attic tion is best placed between the floor beams rock wool should be laid in four inches thick covered with paper to keep out dust there should be louvres douvres or windows in the attic walls for or continuous ventilation all summer mer holes in the ceilings would cot be practical sand for insulation insulate tf on question I 1 own a cottage at the seashore and have been told that I 1 can get good insulation by filling in g the spaces between clapboards and wallboards wall boards with beach sand have you any faith in that answer not the slightest salt in beach sand would absorb moisture from the air which would give trouble even sand that was not salty should not be used for its weight would bulge the clapboards find and the wallboard I 1 should not consider such a thing |