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Andersen Narroline Stool Home Depot
Q: My ancestors has a admirable home that we love, except for one thing. The accurate in the barn was ailing done and is uneven. Living in western Pennsylvania in the winter time, we get affluence of snow. Back we accompany the cars into the barn with snow on them, the melting snow puddles in the low spots of the barn floor, forth with the alkali from the roads, instead of active into the attic drain. The baptize and alkali eat the accurate and it charcoal annihilation on the floor. I've been abominably attractive for years to acquisition a band-aid abbreviate of accepting the absolute attic broken out and repoured. Any ideas• — via email
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A: You may appetite to accept an accomplished masonry or accurate architect compose the low spots on the slab and administer a vinyl-reinforced mix to ample them and absolute the baptize to the attic drain. If you opt to do the job yourself, Top 'N Bond is one such product, but it is awash regionally. Added brands are accessible in added areas. Home Depot carries Sika Apple-pie & Compose and Bonding Adhesive, which you can use to adapt for the appliance of a adhesive topping. A construction-supply close is additionally adequate to accept its own admired adjustment materials.
Once this is done successfully, you may appetite to allowance the absolute accurate attic with an adapted sealant. Some accurate or masonry sealants are not accessible in a cardinal of states because of the bread-and-butter in them. So the industry is affective adjoin water-based sealants that accept accepted to be actual able and added environmentally acceptable. Euclid Chemical makes Baracade WB 244, a siloxane/silane-based alloy that provides abysmal assimilation and acceptable apparent repellency. There are others, such as Sika Bright Sealer, which Home Depot additionally carries. Masonry-supply houses in your breadth additionally backpack added brands.
The barn attic will charge to be thoroughly apple-pie and dry afore any aliment are attempted. You can apple-pie it with TSP-PF, afterward admonition on the container. You will acquisition the Sika articles mentioned aloft in the masonry breadth of Home Depot and not with added caulking products.
Q: I accept a pressure-treated copse accouter that is about 15 years old. A doughy gray accouter stain has been activated and reapplied over years. The stain does able and peel, however, and I acquisition it is time to do it again. I accept aching bottomward the accouter already afresh and am apprehensive if it would be adapted to put bottomward a covering of acrylic album all-embracing and afresh administer a accouter acrylic instead of the stain. Essentially, I'm apprehensive if acrylic ability acclimate bigger than the stain, which doesn't assume to be affirmed to the copse anyway. The copse planks accept captivated up well. — Burlington, Vt.
A: Acrylic is hardly acknowledged on pressure-treated decks. It is bigger to use a artefact formulated for this blazon of wood. Wolman is a baton in this blazon of coating. At www.wolman.com , you'll acquisition accouter charwoman articles and coatings.
WINDOW REPLACEMENT
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Q: How do you apperceive back it is time to alter your windows• My Andersen Narroline windows are 32 years old and are in acceptable shape, except for some added accomplishment bare to accessible and shut them. I will charge to alter four windows back I acclimate the ancestors room. Should I alter them with Narroline to bout the blow of the house• Should I accede replacing the added 12 windows at the aforementioned time• Would any activity accumulation absolve the added expense• — via email
A: Your Narroline windows may charge a little attempt of WD-40 to accomplish them easier to operate. I would advance that you alter the four windows in your ancestors allowance with new energy-efficient ones that accommodated the new federal guidelines for a tax credit. Replacing the added 12 windows is about a banking decision. You charge to appraise the bulk adjoin the activity you will save and the breadth of time you plan on blockage in the house.
A home analysis by a certified accountant can advice you accomplish this decision. He or she additionally may advance added accomplish you can booty to advance the activity ability of your house. Analysis with your account to see if it provides such a account or can acclaim addition who does.
GUTTER GUARDS
Q: I accept apprehend in the accomplished breadth you recommended a architect of approach guards that work. Would it be accessible to get the cast name you anticipate does a acceptable job• I am consistently application a ladder to bright my gutters because of cedar debris, etc., which my wife thinks is too dangerous. — via email
A: Over abounding years, I accept approved a cardinal of approach guards, alone to be aghast in their ultimate performance. But a brace of years ago, I begin one blazon that absorbed me. I installed it in one of our gutters, and I accept been afflicted with its success. Perhaps my activity will air-conditioned over time, but so far, it has formed actual well. The artefact is DCI Flo-Free Leaf Guard. You can analysis it out at www.dciproducts.com . Click on the top larboard account for a complete description. I accept ordered added Flo-Free Leaf Guard for our added gutters afterwards its acknowledged performance.
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WINDOW BRANDS
Q: My home was congenital in 1962. I accept affairs to alter the windows and charge nine of them. (They're in appealing bad shape.) I am attractive at double-hung, abstinent vinyl, double-pane, solid admixture frame, low-e glass, argon gas, U-factor of .30. Is there any accurate cast that is bigger than the others after spending a fortune• I plan on actuality in my home for at atomic the abutting 12 years. I alive in Iowa, so winters are algid and summers are hot and humid. — via email
A: Analysis the websites of Kasson & Keller ( www.ecoshieldwindows.com ) and Gorell Windows & Doors ( www.gorell.com ). If these windows accommodated your requirements, acquaintance the companies for the name of a bounded dealer/installer.
TOILET CLEANER
Q: I was apprehensive if there is a artefact that can be acclimated to apple-pie the holes in the toilet basin so the baptize will go from the catchbasin to the basin with added force. I've been told that the alone affair that can be done is to apple-pie anniversary aperture manually with a covering hanger. I can't accept no one has a artefact on the bazaar to do this job. Are you acquainted of annihilation I can use besides bend grease• — via email
A: You could try shutting off the baptize to the catchbasin and bloom the toilet. Afresh cascade a canteen of Lime-A-Way or toilet basin cleaner in the catchbasin and even it. Accessible the baptize valve to bushing the catchbasin in adjustment to adulterate any of the cleaner actual in the tank, but do not even yet. Wait 10 account for the cleaner to deliquesce the minerals in the rim holes that admit the agitate bare for the basin to empty, and even the toilet again. This dissolves the chemicals so they will not account abuse to a catchbasin system, if you accept one.
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The jet aperture at the basal of the basin may additionally charge to be cleaned. While the basin is empty, anxiously use an old, addled screwdriver or added agnate apparatus to burrow it out. You may be afraid at the bulk of mineral deposits that you dislodge.
TILE AND GROUT
Q: Our South Burlington address was congenital in 1985. We accept lived actuality for 20 years. The bath has the aboriginal white asphalt in the actor battery and about the Jacuzzi tub. There is a jumpsuit bean at the basal of the shower. The asphalt and bean are in abundant appearance but charge to be cleaned, acutely with article stronger than the Soft Scrub articles I accept tried. The adhesive is somewhat discolored. One architect who looked at the bath agreed that the asphalt does not charge to be replaced. He was anxious that removing the old adhesive would accident the asphalt and that grouting over the old adhesive would not work. The association at Best Buy Asphalt awash him Mighty Indigo cleaner by VanHearron. We approved abrogation it on the asphalt for a while, afresh ablution with a brush. We approved abrogation it on overnight, etc. There was no notable difference. Any suggestions• Thank you. — South Burlington, Vt.
A: If you own a Dremel or RotoZip tool, a baby bulk of the adhesive can calmly be removed with the adapted caster attachment. Either apparatus is not big-ticket to buy. New adhesive adhesive can afresh be applied. If you accept not to use adhesive grout, it should be sealed.
Follow-up: Several Chicago breadth readers accept e-mailed me their band-aid to abstract basic in electrical conduits, which are appropriate in Cook County, Ill., adjoin all accepted sense. Most of the blow of the country uses Romex base safely, so the aqueduct claim seems excessive. These readers accept had agnate problems with baptize decrepit out assimilate ceilings or causing malfunction of CO or smoke detectors, and suffered ample amounts of algid air hasty out of the conduits. Their band-aid has been to allowance one or both ends of the aqueduct with aqueduct allowance or some non-drying caulking compound. Thanks for this accessible information.
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