Henry Harrison 10/08/2002

HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat room. Today, Henry Harrison, home improvement expert and host of Help Around the House, is here to answer your questions. Hello, Henry!

Henry Harrison: Hello! And welcome, we are well into the fall season, and this is also the month of 'discovery' so let's see if we can "break new ground" tonight in our chat.

Question: I am trying to remove linoleum tile squares from a concrete floor adhered by a tar based glue. Any good way to go about this?
Henry: There are wide-blade floor strippers that you can use to pry the squares up and then the residue can be removed with linseed oil. Try that first. Because it is non-toxic. If that doesn't work, purchase an adhesive solvent remover from your local hardware store. However, be very cautious when removing the tiles, and it's a good idea to have the tiles tested to see if they contain asbestos.

Q: When considering a major home renovation, where is the first place to start—an architect or the local building code office?
Henry: I would start with the architect, to go over plans and workability schemes first. To get a feel for how much footage needs to be added, or if the existing square footage can be altered or reengineered.

Q: My wife and I are in the early stages of a kitchen remodel. How do we choose our cabinets? Are there any name brands that are known for their quality?
Henry: American Standard is a good brand. Most of the home centers, like Lowe's or Home Depot, carry quality millwork items like cabinets, and they will have free information on cabinetry. However, expect to spend at least 5 to 6 thousand dollars for a basic set of new cabinetry.

Q: I'm getting a built-in dishwasher and have to remove a cupboard. How much larger should the opening be than the dishwasher?
Henry: It's always good if you can leave about three-quarters of an inch on each side for trim. This will aid in installing and removing the dishwasher for possible repairs or adjustments.

Q: I'm looking for ideas for covering the downstairs bonus room concrete walls. The top portion is drywall on two sides of the room, and the other two walls are entirely drywall. It is a split foyer home. The exposed concrete is rough, but the builder did paint it the same color as the drywall. Suggestions?
Henry: Well, you can always apply a stucco-type finish, or paneling or wainscoting. These are the most common.

Q: Any suggestions on tackling an entertainment center to house a 36" TV along with a receiver, CD player, VCR, etc.?
Henry: It will take some planning. First, you should decide whether the entertainment center will be free-standing or built-in. Plywood (cabinet-grade), along with hardwood edging, makes a very stable, good-looking cabinet. It's also very warp-resistant. And will finish with either varnish or paint easily.

Q: How can you be contacted to help with a project?
Henry: I can give you our email address: www.sfpseattle.com. You can reach us through this website. Also, right now, we are working in the Seattle and Houston areas exclusively. Unfortunately, if you live outside these areas, we won't be able to work with you as yet.

Q: I recently saw you repair a bathroom wood floor that had water damage. Can I use the same method to repair the lower corners on some of my kitchen cabinets where the varnish has worn off. (by people opening the cabinets with their hands instead of using the handles. LOL)
Henry: Yes, that same technique can be used. And the good thing about it is that you can isolate the repair to a specific area. If the cabinetry currently has a varnish-type finish, then it can be cleaned with mineral spirits, and if the odor from the mineral spirits bothers you, there are also low-odor mineral spirits available. Once the area is clean, sand lightly with a 220-grit sandpaper and the 220-grit will be a medium-fine. Remove the dust with a clean cloth, dampened with mineral spirits, allow the area to dry, then re-coat the area with a light coat of varnish. Allow the first coat to dry, at least overnight, then come back the next day and lightly sand with a 320-grit sandpaper (not 220). Remove the dust and re-coat again. Check the surface, see if it looks even, if it is too shiny, the surface can be dulled with steel wool. I recommend using a four-zero (0000) steel wool, which is very fine, to blend the freshly varnished area into the existing varnish so that the sheen will be uniform throughout. It may be necessary if the gloss or sheen does not match to steel wool the entire area.

Q: Do you know if you can use self-adhesive hardwood floors on cement floors?
Henry: Yes, you can. However, the concrete floor must first be sealed against moisture. There are many concrete sealers available. They usually look like milk when they go on the floor, and will dry clear. If the floor is not sealed, eventually moisture will break down the adhesive on the back of the flooring.

Q: I'm looking for ways to repair loose boards in hardwood floors when there is no easy access from underneath—these are second floor bedroom hardwood floors in a circa 1910 Victorian home that we are restoring/renovating.
Henry: Well, here's one idea: Use a stud finder to locate the floor joist, and of course the joists are the support members under the hardwood floor. Once they are located, mark the area that is loose and mark the nearest floor joist. Here's the tricky part. Take a very sharp chisel and lift a sliver of the hardwood of the floor about a sixteenth of an inch thick, and about an inch and a half long. Lift it with your chisel, but do NOT remove it from the floor. Then, take a No. 8 finishing nail and drive it under the sliver of wood and into the floor joist to tighten the plank to the joist. One thing you also want to do—drill a pilot hole with a 3/32 drill bit before driving the No. 8 finishing nail into the floor. This will keep the plank from splitting. Next, carefully apply waterproof wickworkers glue under the sliver that was cut and place a piece of wax paper over the sliver, and then press it down hard and let it stay there with a heavy weight. Even a heavy paperweight will work. Come back the next day, remove the weight and the wax paper and sand the area smooth. Your nail should be completely invisible. Be very cautious and very careful.

Q: I have those old textured ceilings, the kind with Styrofoam? bits, that need painting badly. What is the best way to do this?
Henry: The best way is to spray paint them. Rent an airless sprayer and spray paint that textured ceiling.

Q: In the winter, the melting snow on our porch roof drips onto our front steps, making it very slippery. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Love the show, Henry!
Henry: Are there gutters over the porch? If not, consider installing gutters over the porch. And thank you very much for watching our show! Also, check and see if there is flashing under the roofing material near the edge of the roof. This will also help.

Q: Could you please tell me how to fix an interior door that shuts by itself? I have tightened all the hinges. HELP!
Henry: The door is probably not level. Take a level and place it on the top edge of the door. If the level shows that the door is sloping down, or toward the lock, that means the top hinge, mortice or cutout that is in the doorjamb will need to be deepened. The door will have to be removed and the top hinge mortice—the little cutout in the jamb—will need to be deepened. Instead of deepening the top hinge mortice, the bottom hinge mortice can be shimmed out with very thin pieces of wood or cardboard. This will bring the bottom of the door up. If it sags toward the hinges, that means that the bottom hinge will need to be deepened, or the top hinge will need to be shimmed out. So it will be just the reverse. Try not to shave the door edge. The problem will only get worse, and you'll end up with a sizable gap between the door and the frame.

Q: Hi, can you tell me what I can use on a screw that is stripped and rusty....once was a philip screw? I am trying to replace the faucet head at my kitchen sink. Thanks.
Henry: There are screw extractors that look like reverse drill bits, however they are pretty expensive. Another alternative is too deepen the grooves or the slots in the head of the screw with a file or very sharp, cold chisel. If you can get a pair of vice grips or needle nose pliers around the head of the screw, you can usually twist it off this way. Use a little Liquid Wrench on the threads of the rusty screw before trying to remove it. The liquid wrench will give you a head start.

Q: I live in a c.1900 house that was converted (probably in the 50s) to apartments. My problem is insulation from noise, or lack thereof. During some recent repairs we noticed that the space between the floors of the building has extra planks of wood in it. We're told this was a common insulation technique in the era our building was constructed. Strangely, we have fairly good noise abatement from room to room within our flat, with the exception of the wall adjacent to the street outside. The problem is, we can hear EVERYTHING from the floors above and below us. From the most normal conversation to (sometimes) too loud bass-laden music, it can become quite disruptive. The people who live both above and below us are good people, trying to enjoy their hobbies/life also. What can be done about this kind of situation? And would and true remedy mean tearing up the flooring and great expense? Forgive me for being so long-winded...
Henry: That's no problem. Some of the problem could be coming from the windows. If they are single-pane and double-hung there is a certain amount of noise intrusion from the exterior that will be hard to dampen unless storm windows are installed or new double-paned windows purchased. The walls in the home are probably plaster. Plaster is notorious for resonating sound. As far as the floor space, you can remove the flooring. However, I'm sure since it's an older home, I'm sure it has beautiful floors. The ceilings in the lower levels can be redone with a layer of soundboard and drywall. If any adjustments are made in this area, I would recommend making the adjustments at the ceiling level. This way, if you add a couple of layers of either soundboard or insulating material, along with drywall, you won't change the molding profiles on your trim. If you try to do this on your walls, the molding and trim profiles will be dramatically changed. It will basically destroy the character of your rooms.

Q: Hi, can you tell me if there's a method to dye a small portion of discolored carpet to match the rest?
Henry: That would be an easy job for a professional. But I would not tempt that on my own as a homeowner.

Q: It is my understanding that you must use a masonry drill bit to make hole in plaster walls to hang pictures, etc in order not to chip the plaster ; however, what item do you put in the hole after it is drilled? Screws or nails and can you find wall studs in plaster walls so you can hang heavy items such as shelves and mirrors? Thanks for suggestions.
Henry: Definitely you can find the studs (they are back there) and a lot of times you will also be able to connect into the wooden lath that holds the plaster together. I recommend using screws instead of nails and use a self-tapping masonry-type screw.

Q: Can you recommend an "industrial strength" remover for caulk on a fiberglass tub? I recently removed shower doors and am left with some residue on the tub. I tried "caulk remover" from Lowe's—it worked OK; also a razor blade—still have some very hard places left as well as discolored combination of caulk and "gunk". I'll try anything at this point—including smelly chemicals.
Henry: Try a hair dryer to soften the material along with a putty knife. But be careful not to apply too much heat or scrape too hard. Fiberglass can be a little tender. However the heat gun will soften the caulk and allow you to scrape it away. A heat gun or a hair dryer.

Q: Hi, I have a old house and in the living room and entryway the floors in the winter get very cold. Down in the basement I have two walk-in storage rooms and above is living room and entryway. Basement wall faces northwest. How do I insulate this area—especially the floor joist, which is mostly my concern.
Henry: You can install if you can see the joist, you can install batt-type insulation between the floor joists. They will be able to tell you at the hardware store the "R" rating you need. Like an R-19, R-13, etc.

Q: I have just taken on some work for friends who are willing to pay for my painting/redecorating services. Trouble is, I don't know how to begin to figure out what to charge. Do I charge by the hour? By the job? And differently for one task (wallpaper removal) than for another (faux finishing with two glazes)?
Henry: I would charge by the job. If you are not a professional , charge by the job. My reasoning is: you are not doing this for a living, and you are doing this for a friend. If you charge by the hour and you are a nonprofessional, there is always the possibility that you will drive your friend into bankruptcy. It's going to take you about 4 to 5 times as long to do a quality job as it would a professional. So, charge by the job, stay with it as long as it takes, do a top quality job and you will be happy. And your friend will be happy.

Q: Before I bought my house, the previous owners installed new ceiling fans and lights. I recently found that the new items have copper wiring and the house has aluminum wiring. I thought this was a no-no????? Do I need to do something?
Henry: The switches and connectors will have to be switches and connectors that are rated for both aluminum and copper wire. It isn't good to mix the two because copper and aluminum, when heated, expand at different rates. Aluminum wiring has been known to come loose from connectors and cause short circuits and even fires because of its rapid expansion and contraction rate. So just make sure that the switches and connectors are rated for aluminum and copper.

Q: I am looking for a brick facade to install in my house similar to the latex. in the movie wall street—Daryl Hannah has a brick facade made out of latex nail gunned to the wall. Is there anything like that available. if not is there anything else for a brick look without the bricks?
Henry: I would check with one of your local paint stores or home centers that has an interior designer or decorator on staff. Get that information. You may also want to check the following website: www.z-brick.com.

Q: Henry, how can I remove decorative bricks from my wall in my living room that I put on many years ago with mortar?
Henry: Use a mason's hammer, along with a 3-1/2 inch brick chisel. Begin in an area where you can get under a brick and start chipping away. Once the heavy material is off the wall, the wide chisel can be used to skim away most of the remaining mortar. All of the mortar can be removed with either a wire brush attached to a grinder or wire-brushing by hand

Q: During remodeling, one of my storm windows disappeared (the lower half of a double-hung triple track window). the window is about 25 years old and is in good shape, but I need that storm window! can you get replacements for the storms without buying a whole new window? I don't know the brand and can't find any identifying name on the window. this remodeling stuff is all new to me and I don't know what's available out there.
Henry: What I would suggest is to take one of the storm windows you have—the match—and take it to a local window store, such as Andersen. They should be able to identify the make and brand. It is sometimes etched in the framing members, but have to be removed to be read. Usually, the larger companies can identify the competition's product, or their own, even from years back. If not, you will be able to look at the materials, and possibly have something custom-made for you.

Q: I am planning on replacing my current sliding patio door with French doors and am interested in the French doors that have the shades already between the glass. I am hesitant about these concerning the longevity and durability of the enclosed blinds between the glass panes. Do you have any experience with this product? What is you opinion of it?
Henry: They haven't really been out long enough to really see how they'll hold up over the years. But time will tell. There is no substitute for a well-constructed pair of French doors and if you want the same effect you can add your own tinting or UV blockers yourself. There are kits available at your local hardware stores and home centers.

HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thank you for joining us tonight. And thank you, Henry, for answering our questions.

Henry Harrison: Thank you so much for being online, and we hope that you will continue to watch the full lineup on HGTV. We'll see you next month!