July 12, 2010
Dear Ken: My deck is older, so some of the joists are starting to deteriorate. Do I have to rebuild the whole thing? Tom
You can simply replace the rotting ones with new boards. One way is to "sister" the new joist alongside the old one. Maintain a little separation between the new and the old so there is no cross contamination of whatever fungus is lurking in the rotting member. One more thing: it's important to protect the top of the new joist from water that sits between it and the deck boards on top. Apply a layer of ice and water shield (sticky tar paper)or a strip of galvanized sheet metal on the upper surface before you install the new wood. Of course, you'll want to use treated lumber for this operation- a product that probably wasn't available when your deck was built.
You can slow down this inevitable deterioration of an exposed wood deck by applying a deck stain on the UNDERSIDE of the deck every few years. It's messy and best left to a professional, but if you want to tackle this yourself, use a pump sprayer after donning a good mask, goggles, hood and total clothing cover.
Dear Ken: I'm going to install a whole house fan. Should I spend the extra money for one that has doors on the attic side that close automatically to keep cold air out in the winter? Bradford
It depends on how far away the fan will be from your attic access hole, since you have to cover and uncover the fan each fall and spring. I'd do anything to avoid climbing up there and tromping down the insulation twice a year. My access is about eight feet away, so I've rigged a chunk of 2-inch Styrofoam on the end of a long homemade pole that I rest on top of the fan before cold weather. In the spring, I lift it off and set it aside on a wire "cradle". If your fan will be close enough to do something similar, I wouldn't spend the extra money on the automatic doors.
Dear Ken: I've got fog between my window panes. Is there any easy way to take care of this besides replacement? Martha
This usually indicates that windows have reached the end of their useful lives. But the good news is that the energy efficiency of a given window is not affected in any significant way by the presence of vapor-in other words, it's mostly a cosmetic effect. Several of my listeners have reported good results by letting a little air inside. Here's the scheme: Buy a diamond coated glass drill
bit--say 1/8-inch diameter-and drill a hole in opposite corners of the inside window pane. Theoretically, that let's a little air circulate through the air gap, which in turn carries out the moisture. Once it's gone, squirt a little silicone into each hole to seal it. This only works on non-tempered glass. If you see a faint medallion etched into one of the four corners of the window, leave the window alone! Any attempt to poke a hole into it will shatter the glass into a zillion pieces. Once again, I haven't tried this, so you're on your own; remember that any repair is only temporary, so start saving your shekels to buy a brand new window.
Dear Ken: I have a 60's house with batt insulation covering the old loose stuff. Can I add more? Bob
The best case would be no paper on the batts, so you don't end up with an intervening vapor barrier in the sandwich of loose-batt-loose. However, it's so dry here that the insulation company will probably ignore it. Add another layer of loose fiberglass or cellulose (my preference) over what you have, so you end up with about 15 inches total-which is close to an R-50 total value.
