Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
Tackling stubborn stains from neck to toes
QUESTION: I am cleaning up all my boots prior to storing them for the summer and I'm seeking clever storage tips. How can I clean street stains from camel-coloured suede (lamb lined) boots and is there a simple way to keep tall boots from creasing when not in use? Thank you. Sue, Winnipeg (a.k.a. Winterpeg)
ANSWER: My absolute favorite way to care for suede is to brush the fabric with baking soda and plain old water. Use a stiff brush and wipe it back and forth to remove dirt and debris. Next, brush the boots with water only. To store boots over winter, roll newspaper and stuff the boots. Doing this helps hold the shape of your boots and zaps any odour on the inside.
QUESTION: I have brown streaks in my toilet bowl from the top to the waterline. I have tried every toilet-bowl cleaner going. I even used muriatic acid. Nothing seems to budge the stain. Wondering if you have any other ideas (other than installing a new toilet). Rita, Winnipeg
ANSWER: To remove stains in a toilet, purchase a pumice stone and lubricate it with either cheap shampoo or dish soap. Wet the stone and gently wipe the toilet rim to remove marks being careful not to scratch the porcelain.
Did you know that, according to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, toilets consume about 25 per cent of water inside a home.
QUESTION: My daughter borrowed a silver necklace from me and gave it back years later. The necklace is tarnished and in need of cleaning. Do you have any recipes for cleaning jewelry that you can pass on to me? Leanne, Thompson
ANSWER: Since you probably don't own an ultrasonic cleaner as most jewellers do, fill a bowl three-quarters full with water and add a squirt of dish soap and 2 tbsp. household ammonia. Using an old toothbrush, gently brush your jewelry with the solution. (Rubber gloves are a good idea for this project.) Polish with a soft eyeglass cloth.
QUESTION: I bought a shaving mirror that sticks to the shower wall. When I first brought it home, it had some sort of non-fog coating on it. But now, after a few months, it fogs up. Do you have a suggestion for keeping my mirror clear in the shower? Thanks. Jeremy, Winnipeg
ANSWER: The easiest solution to prevent fog from forming on your mirror is to spray shaving cream onto the mirror. Wipe and repeat in one month or as needed. Another option is to purchase a fog reducer at a sporting goods store; this product is sold to prevent hockey visors from fogging up on the ice.
QUESTION: What can I do to make the flavor in bubblegum last longer? What gives gum its flavor? Cindy, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Stick (pun intended) to strong flavors such as cinnamon and mint. Stay away from fruity flavors; they don't last as long. Some theorize high sugar amounts help bubblegum keep its flavor. However, artificial sweeteners or "sugar-free" gum tend to retain more flavor for longer. You could spray your gum with breath freshener; but it might be easier just to stick a new piece in your mouth.
I enjoy your questions and tips -- keep them coming. Missed a column? Can't remember a solution? Need a speaker for an upcoming event? Check out my brand new videos/blog/website: reena.ca!
Renovation & Design
Making a move? Some things to keep in mind
Anyone who's ever moved can tell you how much of a hassle it is. And spring and summer are peak times for moving. Matt Guest, owner of First Rate Movers Inc. (firstratemovers.com), helped compile this list of moving to-dos to take some of the stress out of the process.
Reservations
Try to book a moving company or a truck as early as you can to make sure you have what you need on the date you need it. Guest says that although the busiest times for moving companies is between April and August, it's even worse during the last week of each month. If your moving date falls in that time period, make arrangements sooner rather than later.
Notify & collect documents
If you're moving out of the area, make sure to let all the firms you deal with know about a month before the move so they can collect your records -- in many cases, new firms will need to have access to them. Here is a list to keep in mind:
Doctors, dentists, orthodontists and optometrists, cable, telephone and Internet providers, utility companies (such as gas, hydro and water), schools, veterinarian.
Change addresses
Changing your address on all of your documents is not only good practice, it helps prevent identity theft as well, according to a release from Experian's ProtectMyID. Identity thieves often use unclaimed mail to steal an identity, so it's important to make sure your mail ends up with you at your new place.
Service Ontario (ontario.ca) has a list of government documents that need updating, but you might be surprised how many other companies need to be notified, such as:
Health card, driver's licence and outdoors card (accompanies a fishing licence)
Vehicle ownership and insurance company
Magazine and newspaper subscriptions
Gym and library memberships
Employer (for your paycheques and personal records)
Post office and banks
Make arrangements
About a week before your move date, call your service providers to schedule a time to have your new house hooked up with everything you need:
Cable, telephone and Internet providers
Hydro, oil and gas companies
And be sure to confirm with your moving or rental company.
-- Postmedia News
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Three options for fixing porch movement
QUESTION: We have a 1929 two-storey house in Crescentwood. Sometime before we became the owners of it in 1962, a porch had been attached to the north wall of the living room. It's a 10-foot-by-10-foot interior porch, with a gable roof and a door cut through the living-room wall. It has plastered interior walls and an the exterior walls are painted lapped cedar. The porch foundation was done with concrete pads and posts.
For years, the porch did not move much and we had no winter mice. But over the past seven summers, the porch has started to move more and more each summer, and every winter we have mice to cope with. The house itself has never moved, to our knowledge, and we have had no basement cracks and no need for additional basement posts or the resizing of house doors.
Six years ago, we hired a well-known and reputable firm in Winnipeg. They suggested putting two east-west beams, each with two jacks, under the porch. But this seems to have been an inefficient expenditure.
After every recent summer, there are large, three-quarter-inch cracks in the southeast interior wall of the porch. This is, no doubt, the porch pulling away from the house. Granular insulation from the porch attic is falling into the porch. The exterior east side of the porch usually pulls away by about 11/2 inches from the exterior house siding. There are a few very small cracks on the east and west interior sides of the porch.
Every fall, we hire the same firm to go under the porch to adjust the jacks, which now only close the gaps in a minor way. No doubt the recent hot summers and the abundant Winnipeg clay are to blame for the increased porch movement.
We are thinking of selling the house in a few years. We are now both 80 and stairs are always a problem for the elderly. But first we want to fix up the porch foundation problem, if we can afford it. What are the reliable solutions? And how would they differ in reliability and cost?
Roy and Nancy Vincent
ANSWER: Movement of attached porches is a very common problem, especially in very old homes like yours. There are three main options for repairing a supporting structure, to prevent significant movement. We will look at the merits of the options you have not chosen and weigh them against those of your current system.
The two main methods for supporting any residential building with a crawl space are post and pads, like your home, or a grade-beam system. Grade beams are normally constructed of poured concrete and extend somewhat below grade to the underside of the floor joists. This short foundation is supported either on a footing or poured-concrete piers, commonly referred to as piles.
The difference between having a footing, normally less than a metre below grade, and piers is the depth of installation. Concrete piers are normally poured at least three metres deep and often up to six metres down. This provides excellent support and prevents movement due to frost, which can affect footings or concrete pads on grade.
Piers, then, are a superior option and should prevent any future movement of a porch. However, they're more expensive to install and can lead to differential house settlement, which can cause the same issue you are experiencing.
Grade beams are usually poured concrete, due to the durability and strength, but can also be constructed of pressure-treated wood and plywood. This is a less-costly option than concrete and will still provide good perimeter support and a barrier to pests and outside moisture from getting into the crawl space.
Poured-concrete piers are sometimes poured right up to the underside of the beams or joists and a treated-wood skirting is installed rather than a structural grade beam. Both of these options are similar and can be easily insulated and incorporated with summer vents and access panels if the crawl space is to be heated.
The other main option, posts and concrete pads, is often used because of the minimal cost relative to poured piers. I'm glad to hear your contractor installed adjustable posts to counteract the effects of frost and soil-moisture changes on this type of foundation.
As you've observed, frequent adjustments may be required to prevent movement relative to the home. However, I'm surprised at the size of the gaps you're seeing each year and the inability to close them with adjustments. Normally, these gaps will increase or change in size only slightly over the course of a year. It's possible the new beams may be poorly designed and not transferring the load of the building evenly. The most cost-effective option to prevent major annual movement and pest problems may be to modify the existing floor-and-beam structure. Hiring a professional structural engineer to evaluate the current system and design modifications should minimize the frequent problems. The repairs may include moving or increasing the size of the beams or footings. It may also include replacing the precast concrete blocks with poured-concrete footings on grade, to help stabilize the structure without major changes.
The final issue to discuss is differential movement between the foundation of your home and whichever system you choose for the porch repairs.
While you may think your house is stable and not moving, that may not be the case. Homes frequently are subject to the same forces that are causing your porch to shift. While the changes may be more subtle, you should be cautious when choosing a support structure like poured piers. While this is a superior system that should completely eliminate any movement in the porch, it will do nothing to prevent continued movement of the home. There could still be seasonal movement that creates gaps, but it would be the home moving instead of the porch.
For that reason, a better-designed beam system, with adjustable posts, may be the proper choice for your home.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
