April 5, 2010
Dear Ken: I have a 1983 house. The walls are cold. Could I add some more insulation into the wall cavities? Leah
In that era, we would normally put a 3-1/2 inch insulation batt into the wall spaces. So, it would be pretty hard to get any significant amounts of new material in there-not even counting the pipes, wires and fire-stopping in the way.
It is possible to add wall insulation after the fact-if the house is old enough. Many homes built in the 1950's and earlier had little or no wall insulation. In those days, natural gas (and, even earlier, coal) was fairly inexpensive. So we would install minimum amounts of insulation in the walls (if any) and attics. So, an insulation company can sometimes drill small holes in the wall spaces (inside or out) to inject new material. The holes are then patched to match their surroundings.
In any event, if you've added new attic insulation to a depth of about 14 inches (about an R-48), and installed new windows, you've accounted for the lion's share of energy loss at your house.
Dear Ken: This week my neighbor and I discovered that moles have invaded our lawns. They're doing horrendous damage. Help! Claire
They may actually be voles-a sort of smaller cousin to regular moles. Anyway, they like north side, wet lawns, since the snow cover keeps them warm all winter. The only real answer is to use a specific poison in pellet form. There are other methods, like electric shock and maybe ultrasound, but the reports I get say they have limited effect. The Colorado Sate University Extension Service (http://www.ext.colostate.edu/) has a great section dedicated to household yard and garden pests. They'll walk you through the steps to exterminate these pesky critters.
Dear Ken: What do you think of these paint barrier coatings that are supposed to save energy? They are pretty expensive. Do you think they are worth it? Mark
The claims made for these products-in terms of actual R-value energy savings-are usually somewhat vague. They supposedly contain "space age" micro-ceramic particles that reflect heat waves back inside (or back out in the summertime). They are resilient, no doubt, and will last far longer than regular paint, but the overall return on investment period for these pricey systems is too long for me.
Remember my philosophy; If you're out to Save The Planet, I can't help you. But if you'd like to save energy when the arithmetic makes sense, we should talk.
Dear Ken: I have a non-functioning cement pond in my patio. It's about 14 inches deep. I'd like to get rid of it, but if I concrete over it, I'm afraid of cracking and settling. Any other ideas? Denise
Why not fill it with gravel within a few inches of the top, then inlay some pavers? Regular brick or manmade paver stones set in sand make an attractive walking surface. You simply lay them on a tamped, flat bed, then sweep sand mixed with a little dry cement in between the cracks, wet it a little and you're done. Hopefully, your pond is a regular geometric shape in the middle of the patio; if so, the new paver area will look like it has always been there.
Dear Ken: I have a stone retaining wall that gets covered with a whitish, powdery material all the time. I power wash it, but it always comes back. How can I get it gone for good? Clayton
You could try scrubbing it with some white vinegar, in which case it might stay away longer. These are alkaline salts in the soil that are leached by water up through the wall. When the liquid evaporates, the salts are left behind. So, the only long term answer is to eliminate the water source. You could redirect drainage around the wall, or line the backside of the face with some 6-mil plastic sheeting.
