November 3, 2008
John has a mess on his hands: I spilled hot pink candle wax on a painted and plastered wall. I've tried heat, but it won't come off. Any other ideas?
Let's try cold instead. Buy some dry ice (many Wal Marts have a dry ice cooler near the front of the store)--and then secure it to the stain with duct tape. The cold (minus 109 degrees) ice should harden the splotch enough to let you ease it off the wall with a putty knife. Dry ice can burn the skin, so use insulated gloves while handling it. You can have some fun with the kids afterwards by experimenting with it in the front yard as it sublimates (evaporates directly from a solid to a gas). Go to http://www.deepscience.com/experiments/dryiceday.html for some fun ideas.
Steve wants to keep his attic warm this winter: You wrote about covering spinning roof turbines for the winter. What about the other vents up there?
It's OK to seal up more than just the turbines, up to a point. We always want to keep one or two open to let built-up water vapor escape. Those flat roof vents can be blocked up with a piece of cardboard from the inside-but, if a bath fan vent is pointed at one or more, leave them alone. The gable vents in the end of the house can also be blocked up (start with the most north-facing one) the same way. Another alternative is to buy some cheap fiberglass furnace filters and secure them over the gable vents. They will allow a little air to go back and forth, but the snow will stay outside.
The goal here is to trap (and keep) as much of the passive solar heat gain as you can, while allowing some minimal air movement to equalize the moisture between inside and out.
Doris has garage door issues: What can I do to close the gap underneath the door? Also, what about painting it. It is metal of some sort.
Over time, the concrete floor in the garage can shift around so there no longer is a tight fit under the door. That can let cold air, leaves and dirt-not to mention mice and other pests-into the garage. One easy way to seal that gap is to screw on another layer of rubber weather-stripping at the bottom of the door. Most home centers have a garage door repair section, and you can buy just the right length to close the space. The new (thicker) rubber will squeeze down on to the now lower floor and seal the crack.
You could apply a layer or two of regular latex paint, but I have a better idea. Go to a name brand paint store for a suggestion for just the right metal surface primer. Power wash the door first, prime it according to the manufacturer's recommendations, and then you can apply latex to match or contrast with the existing color scheme.
Dave has electrical deficiencies: We don't have an outside plug, so we end up plugging lights into one of those sockets screwed into the porch light. But it isn't grounded. What else can we do?
Those sockets aren't meant to carry much current-especially the 10 amps or more demanded from several strings of Christmas lights plugged end-to-end. Plus, as you indicate, there is no GFCI grounded protection for the outside circuit.
It's not as hard as you think to cut in a new exterior plug. Just go to the most appropriate inside living room plug ,and drill a hole next to it on the outside wall. That will allow you to pull wires into a new surface mount weatherproof box. Install a GFCI outlet, and you're in business. Picking just the right location for the hole is a little tricky-for instance, if you cut existing wires, you're in big trouble. If you're at all unsure, this is best left to an electrician.
