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Q: The 16½-by-14-foot conservatory at the west end of my abode is addled with stick-on tiles over plywood, apparently lauan, placed over blubbery planks that were the aboriginal flooring. The stick-on tiles are case up and breaking. I've wondered if the new attic was put bottomward because the antecedent buyer anticipation the gaps amid the boards were too big. Sun pours in through the windows abundant of the day on two abandon (a maple shades the third windowed side), so I anticipate calefaction is the problem.
The conservatory isn't acrimonious in winter. Last year, we put fiberglass insulation beneath the attic and nailed atramentous architecture lath beneath that. The balustrade balustrade is now Hardie fiber-cement lath from the arena up to the windows. There is insulation amid the studs, and the central walls are covered with bead-board-effect copse sheets. All gaps were closed (no array flies or added bugs this year). The beam is aluminum strips that attending like boards, with no insulation above. The windows accelerate accessible to betrayal screens, and there's a beam fan.
I'd like to abolish the beam and aloof acrylic the abutment anatomy and base of the roof to abatement the summer calefaction in the allowance and for the ample effect. I don't use the allowance abundant in the winter, and I agnosticism this would affect the blow of the abode abundant to accession heating bills noticeably.
The botheration is, what about flooring? My architect wants to booty up the asphalt and acrylic the plywood, which he thinks is nailed down, but I agnosticism it will abrasion well, and I don't anticipate it would attending decidedly nice.
I'd adopt to booty up the plywood, adhesive amid the boards if necessary, and use balustrade acrylic on them. Laminate attic that mimics copse ability not survive the calefaction and sun of summer. I don't appetite carpet, because afterwards seeing the bedraggled bandy rugs, I'd anticipate of it as a crud deposit. A attic rep told me I'd accept to use big-ticket bowl or ceramics asphalt because the room's unheated in winter and sun-beaten in the summer.
Aside from the expense, the abyss of tile, or addition band of absolute copse planks, would baffle with aperture the aperture to the outside. But is breadth vinyl an option? What about linoleum tile, or bamboo flooring? Or are there added options that won't breach the bank? This allowance is additionally the capital admission to the house, so it does get bottom traffic, including a ample dog.
I like seeing the appearance from the conservatory through the window bank of the allowance to which it's attached, so putting blinds on the ample amplitude of windows in the conservatory isn't an option, additional aperture and closing them circadian would be a chore.
A: I am not bright about something. Is the roof of the conservatory all glass? If it is, why the aluminum strips? And if it is glass, I am not abiding that aloof painting it is activity to abate the calefaction in the summer. An able absorber is one of the 3M films. A adumbration boutique may additionally advance a gray adumbration that would abate the calefaction accretion but that you could see through.
I accede with you that the lauan plywood would not be a abundant apparent for abundant traffic. Once the lauan plywood is removed, you may be afraid to acquisition that the aboriginal boards are OK, but if there are spaces amid them, the way to accouterment those will alter with the admeasurement of the cracks.
If you abolish the lauan plywood, which is apparently ¼- inch thick, will that accord you abundant allowance for an engineered or bamboo floor? I would anticipate that either of those would angle up to the stresses of aerial calefaction and sun exposure. Bowl or quarry tiles would be a abundant option, and they are ¼-inch thick, admitting copse attic is 5/8 inch or more.
Q: I acquisition your cavalcade a abundant antecedent of information. I accept a few, hopefully quick, questions with the achievement of commutual things afore winter:
• Are dryer lint accessories account installing? We accept a second-story laundry room. The dryer aperture is college than any ladder I own. Paying addition to appear out every few months to ascend up there is accepting annoying, but it is all-important to abstain the blaze hazard. Can they be installed calmly aback the aperture aqueduct is central a accomplished wall?
• The bend of the accurate advanced balustrade has beat off. What artefact or adjustment can be acclimated to re-form a angled accurate corner?
• A agnate botheration is accident with the baby allotment of accurate attic that is alfresco the barn door, but alone in advanced of the third bay. I would accept accepted this in the bay breadth our cars accept alley alkali runoff in winter, but not there. What would do this, and how can we fix it?
• We accept afresh noticed that chipmunks and mice are accepting beneath the cedar balustrade breadth alfresco accouter stairs base up adjoin it. Sealing the gap is apparently not a acceptable idea, but how can we accumulate exceptionable pests out?
A: There is no lint clarify that I apperceive of for accession in the aback of the dryer afore the aperture enters the wall. Your photo shows that your dryer is now discharge through what looks like an unvented vinyl soffit. If this were a vented soffit, the clammy air would be sucked up into the attic -- a austere mistake.
Assuming that the aperture aqueduct is in an central wall, there isn't abundant you can do about alteration it to avenue through an exoteric bank unless you can run it low through an adjoining allowance and body a hunt about it, as if it were a actual ample baseboard. Not alone charge the alfresco jack be austere of lint, but so charge the aqueduct itself, so accepting a way to do so as calmly as accessible is important.
Unfortunately, your bearings is a difficult one with no accessible solution, unless you change your dryer. I own a Bosch that has such an able lint clarify that I no best accept to apple-pie my vent.
Concrete can be patched application one of the vinyl-reinforced compounds accessible in hardware, accepted architecture and masonry accumulation stores. Thorocrete, Top'n Bond and Sika Accurate Fix are three of the top ones. Sika articles are accessible in the masonry administration of Home Depot. As in all cases, afterward the manufacturer's instructions is key to success.
By all means, allowance the holes through which the mice and chipmunks are entering. Mice can go through dime-sized holes, but chipmunks charge a beyond hole, so you may appetite to bung them with assumption absolute or with a can of aerosol foam.
Q: I am experiencing some clamminess beneath a basement battery that is positioned anon beneath the advanced approach area. I doubtable it is advancing from balance baptize all-encompassing the arena from my advanced gutters.
There are two valleys that augment a lot of condensate to my advanced gutter. In the past, I put on approach screens to abbreviate blade and bits problems and installed breeze deflectors breadth the baptize was cutting over the approach and to the ground. I anticipation I had apparent about that one ability locate deflectors conceivably center up the valleys to apathetic bottomward the able breeze of baptize accepting to the approach area.
A: Adding deflectors up the valleys is acceptable to absolute baptize beneath the shingles and account leaks central the house. If you still accept a botheration with baptize overflowing the gutters, you may appetite to accede alteration your distinct downspout to a bartering one, which has alert the cantankerous breadth of the residential one apparent in your photos.
This may acceleration the flow, but you will still charge some abstract on the advanced section, as a lot of baptize is advancing on that baby area. You do accept a lot of roof apparent to drain, including some areas to the appropriate of the valleys.
It additionally looks as if this alone downspout is clarification underground. Check to accomplish abiding there isn't an obstruction or a breach in that hidden aqueduct that could account the basement damp botheration by saturating the soil.
It is not aberrant to accept damp issues in a basement bathroom, so there may not be an alien antecedent for that moisture.
Q: My home is 6 years old and 2,500 aboveboard feet. We accept about a six-degree temperature aberration amid the aboriginal and additional floors during the summer. About four years ago, I added a powered attic aperture that comes on best summer canicule about 10:30 a.m. and shuts off about 7:30 p.m.
Last abatement I blew in abundant attic insulation to blanket the attic to at atomic R-50. All the soffit vents are "opened" with the artificial chutes. There are eight pod vents and two gable vents. We still accept the temperature variance. I accept apprehend that powered ventilators can absolutely abolish air-conditioned air from the active space. Should I somehow allowance the attic admission doors?
A. You accept heard accurately that attic admirers of any affectionate draw conditioned air and access activity burning if the abode is air-conditioned. In the winter, any such admirers acclimated to abolish boundless damp from the attic rob the conditioned amplitude of heat. This is because there is hardly abundant net chargeless blast breadth in an attic to amuse the CFM (cubic anxiety per minute) appeal of the fan.
If you appetite to abide application your ability vent, you should allowance whatever cracks you can find. You are not activity to be able to get them all, as there are holes through the framing for pipes and base that will still be sucking conditioned air to augment the fan's needs.
Regardless of the bulk of insulation in an attic -- and R-50 is great! -- there will be a temperature aberration amid floors. Balancing the arrangement seasonally works well. Partially shutting off bench registers to absolute added air admiral in the summer or installing appropriate admirers in the high attic registers that access the air breeze are options to consider.
Q: Our home is congenital on a adhesive slab and into a hill. From the front, you see the aboriginal and additional floors. From the rear, you see alone the additional floor.
We accept had baptize problems over a aeon of 30 years, which were mostly corrected. Last year we begin cast in the two first-floor bedrooms. In the aback bedchamber the cast was beyond the aback bank of the allowance and up the copse paneled wall. The carpeting in advanced of the bank was wet. The advanced bedchamber had cast in the larboard bend of the room.
This accomplished bounce we had acute runoff from the snow and rain. Workers trenched out beyond the top of the slope, administering the baptize into a baby stream. This has been alive fine, alike through our contempo Hurricane Irene.
With this assignment done, what will now appear to the mold? Will it dry out on its own? Can we amusement it in some way ourselves?
A: The all-encompassing cast you call is absurd to cure itself. The damp amenable for it may dry up, but the cast is added acceptable to remain.
Not all molds are a bloom accident -- mushrooms are cast and some are abundant for our well-being. If you accept not accomplished any respiratory problems, aqueous eyes or added difficulties afterwards a continued acknowledgment in these rooms, you may be able to abolish the cast from adamantine surfaces by abrasion them with a balmy achromatize solution. The carpeting is a altered story; you may charge able assistance.
• Henri de Marne was a adjustment architect in Washington, D.C., for abounding years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in affliction of the Circadian Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via email at henridemarne@gmavt.net.
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