Flickering Lights

Q: The bulbs in the fixture in my master bedroom flicker, not always but every now and then, and I can’t find the problem.

A: Flickering lights can be a real nuisance. Troubleshooting an intermittent electrical circuit takes time and patience.

There are many areas where the cause of the problem could be hiding; the flickering lights are just a symptom of the problem.

If you follow the link, there is a detailed methodology on troubleshooting flickering lights.

Link

Intermittent Electrical Receptacles

Q: This house is only about 3 years old. We have a strange problem with the electrical outlets. It seems that sometimes they go dead. For instance, I have a AA battery charger plugged in here. If I do not use it for a while then put some batteries in it, the charger will not come on. I plug other things in and they will not work either. After a couple of days the outlet starts to work again. We have a laptop plugged in downstairs and yesterday it shut down because the battery went dead. I unplugged it and plugged it back in at the next outlet a few feet away and it started right up. Today I went to turn a stereo on that is on the same wall and I am guessing the same circuit and it would not come on either. What could possibly cause outlets to go dead like that? I am no electrician but I have a basic grasp of electricity and I am completely baffled.

A: It is most likely a loose wire on a terminal on a receptacle or at the main distribution panel on the breaker terminal or the neutral terminal. More complex however, it can also be loose connection in a wire connector, one bad receptacle or a nail in a wire that has split a conductor.

The first thing to check is the distribution panel. If those two terminals are tight, (black on the breaker and white on the neutral bar) try to locate the first device in the circuit, in 95% of the cases the wires are run to the physically closest device on that circuit and then to the second closest, etc. Remember that the bad connection can just as easily be in a light fixture or switch box.

Link

Hanging Rugs On Walls

Q: I was at the movie theatre and noticed some walls covered with actual rug material looked really smooth and nice. I have a room that has really bad walls and I was wondering if it would be a good idea as a quick job to add low weight rug material to the walls using some compatible adhesive to get it to stick. The walls have a high gloss paint (that unfortunately added to the problem 4 years ago). Should I score the wall to expose areas where the adhesive can really stick? I don't want to do a great job adding the rugs and they peal off on the first hot day. Also - would the rugs on the walls create a dust or fibers in the air situation? The warmth factor and quieter environment should be benefits in addition to the smooth wall appearance.

A: Hanging carpets and rugs used to be very common – known as tapestries when hung on a wall. It has some advantages - reduces noise, and provides reasonable insulation. The disadvantages are that it does collect dust and must be vacuumed.

To install it, it is easier to use a door entrance tack strip rather than gluing - these are available at any carpet retailer or big box retailer. It is made of aluminum and has numerous pins protruding on an angle; it is used to hold carpet in position at a door entrance. If you mount it at the top of the wall, and then you hang the carpet on the hooks - it works, I have done it!

To install it, it is easier to use a door entrance tack strip rather than gluing - these are available at any carpet retailer or big box retailer. It is made of aluminum and has numerous pins protruding on an angle; it is used to hold carpet in position at a door entrance. If you mount it at the top of the wall, and then you hang the carpet on the hooks - it works, I have done it!

Link

Fast Setting Thinset

Q: Probably the only "critical" part of our bath remodel is the tile around the toilet. How long will thin set take to set up enough to add grout, and then the grout to set up for the toilet? We only "need speed" for the toilet area. We do have access to another toilet, but it isn't convenient. The rest of the bathroom could be done at a bit more leisurely pace.

A: They make a fast setting mortar for this type of thing. You might be able to grout it in a couple of hours, and I don't see any reason that you couldn't set the bowl within an hour or two of grouting, if you really, really want to push it.

Standard mortar should set up overnight before grouting.

Link

Re-finishing An Old Hardwood Floor

Q: I am a little confused about some aspects of floor finishing. I have heard the expression 'raise the grain' and I assumed that meant water swelling the wood fibers. I haven't had a problem with that so far but I'm not really sure if the problem would be now or later, or what it would be, and hope you will explain. A couple years ago I did an upstairs bedroom floor in this same house....another ancient and funky old floor. I used a water-based paint remover first (Back To Nature Multi-Strip) and had to use a lot of water to scrub off the residue, I mean a bucket of water and a scrub brush and pile of rags, just like if I was washing a kitchen floor. After that, I sanded and would use a wet sponge mop to remove the sawdust in order to see what my results were and if I needed to sand some more. I always let the wood get really dry before re-sanding. When done with all the sanding and wiping and re-sanding and the floor was bone dry, I used tack cloth to remove every last bit of dust. Then used a walnut stain, then urethane. That was two years ago and I haven't had any problem with that floor yet. What is the story about water swelling the wood fibers? I used a lot of water in doing that floor and I'm sure some of the wood fibers must have swollen at some point. So will that come back to haunt me in the future? So far all is smooth and shiny.

A: Raising the grain with soft woods is very common in furniture making. The problem with water on wood is multifold:

1. It swells the wood, which can lead to buckling and twisting - especially if the wood has been laid very tight board against board.

2. In furniture, the wood is generally open to air on one side -if you look at a dresser, the outside surface is finished with a sealer but the inside surface is not sealed, this allows any moisture to find an easy exit for evaporation.

3. With flooring in newer homes, it is more than likely that the underside of the boards are laid on sheathing such as plywood or worse, particle board, which swells the instant it gets wet and does not shrink back when dry. In your case an older home, the boards are most likely the floors themselves and hence they are not "sealed" on the bottom allowing air to take care of any moisture problems that might develop. As well, when there is no airflow around the floorboards and they are damp, they will begin to rot. Water spilt on a carpet that has wood underneath, will feel dry to the touch after a period of time, but the water has penetrated the floor boards.

4. If you used water and the boards are 100% dry, then you shouldn't have a problem. Most people don't wait for the boards to dry out completely. The surface water may have evaporated, but that does not mean that all the moisture that penetrated the wood has dissipated. If you seal a board that is wet inside, and there is nowhere for the water to escape, the board will begin to rot.

5. Wood can only absorb so much water, if they are wet when you apply a water based stain it does not penetrate the boards to the depth it should.

Link

Stains On Old Floor Boards

Q: I have a 117 year old house and am working on finishing the old wood floor in the living room. I say finishing rather than refinishing, because the floor has never been finished in the sense of sanded, stained and urethane. I'm not sure what kind of wood but probably not oak or anything high-end. Just old wooden boards. The 'archaeological dig' shows evidence that in olden days it had an area carpet in the middle, with varnish and then later on paint, around the edges. I've removed the modern wall-to-wall carpet, taken out all the old staples and nails, and used a drum sander. The old paint has been removed. The old red varnish was tough to get rid of but is pretty much gone. The outer four foot rim of the room looks reasonably good. The problem is that in the center of the room where there was once only area carpet, there are some black stains that are proving very difficult to deal with. Sanding and more sanding seem to have little effect on them. My husband thinks that the stains must go all the way through the boards; he says someone must have worked on their engine in there! I've tried bleaching them off, but that just lightened the unstained wood around them without lightening the stain. Does anyone have any advice how to deal with this? Is there some special product that is made specifically for removing stains from wood?

A: Sounds like animal urine damage that soaked through the rug/carpet and then into the floorboards. Sorry, but to my knowledge there is nothing that can be done, besides replacing those boards.

Link

Finishing Hardwood Flooring

Q: I have a question about finishing wood. I have sanded down the wood in preparation for putting on a shiny topcoat of varathane or polyurethane. When I finish sanding I wipe off the sawdust with a wet cloth. When the floor is wet it looks much darker than it does when it's dry. Does the coloring of the floor when it is wet pretty much give you an indication of what the coloring will be when clear polyurethane or varathane goes on?

A: The floor should be wiped with a tack cloth not a damp cloth. Water swells the wood fibers. It must be 100% dry before you stain, not 99.9% but 100%. The wet darker appearance is Not a good indication of what you will get. A clear high quality urethane will not change the color of the floor.

Link

Musty Smell In Closet

Q: My home is 54 years old and there a musty smell coming form one closet located in the center of the house. I have checked to see if there is any leaking from the ceiling and there isn’t. I have also checked the floors. My vents for my AC and heating are in the ceiling because the house was too low for anyone to go under it in the front. The floors are hardwood there is no carpeting at all. Could this still be from the ducts?

A: If the musty smell were only in one closet, I would venture a guess that it is a closet not used often and the door seals quite well, possibly carpet on the floor. Musty smells in closets are usually caused by poor ventilation and stagnant air. If it is not too inconvenient, leave the closet open for a while - a few days at least, and see if the musty smell disappears. If it does then you will need to put a small vent grill on the closet door, or just leave it open more often.

Link

Musty Smell

Q: My daughter has just moved into a beautiful huge house. It has a very bad musty smell i believe comes from the basement. They have a large dehumidifier that is on all the time. The house was empty for 2 months before they moved in. What can be done to remove the smell it is on all three levels?

A: New homes can smell musty due to the drying of the materials used in construction - there isn't a lot that can be done for that other than leave the windows open - it will go away. If it is an older home that has been closed up, the musty smell can becoming from drain traps that are all but dry - tell them to turn on all taps for a few minutes - one at a time is fine. If drapes or other furnishings, such as carpet were in the home, they need to be washed or dry-cleaned - carpeting needs to be steam cleaned. If the furnace is on, now, the odor could be from mildew in the ducts after not being used and humidity in the air - the ducts may need to be cleaned by a professional.

Link

Roofing Suggestions

Q: I was wondering if I could get advice on roofing materials. Bill you seem the have pretty good experience in the home improvement area so feel free to express your ideas. We live in southwest Ontario, Canada and have very hot summers and very cold winters the spring and fall are very mild, that said what roof vents do you think work best, what style of shingle, (I cant afford the metal roof). Any advice is appreciated.

A: If you can't go metal, stay with asphalt shingles for the Canadian Winters!

Link

Light Wiring

Q: I took out an old fixture in the kitchen. It was a box with 2 sets of wires running to it. This is old wiring so each black insulated wire contained one brown and one black wire. I should have noticed how they were intermingled but I didn't although I seem to remember that one brown and one black were together. So first I wired the light to just one set of brown and black. Sure it works but does not shut off with the switch. Then I tried wiring to just the 2nd set. I got nothing. Then I tried brown to brown, black to black-both into light-the light works but does not turn off. Tried cross wiring, brown to black, brown to black. Fuse blew, so there must be power to the switch in the 2nd set of wires, but how to I wire them into the set that I hooked up to the light? I don't want to have climb up on a ladder and unscrew the bulbs every time. And the fuse also controls the basement lights, where the fuse box is of course, and I don't want to blow a bunch of fuses trying other combinations. Any insight appreciated.

A: What you have is a standard light controlled by a switch. One set of brown and black wires brings in the power to the light and the other set of brown black wires is from the switch.

Join the two black wires together.

Join one brown wire to the white wire on the light fixture.

Join the other brown wire to the black wire on the light fixture.

It doesn’t matter which brown wire goes to the white wire and which brown wire goes to the white wire.

Link