Renovation & Design
Renovation & Design
SOLUTIONS: Give your bathroom countertop a new look
QUESTION: I have an Arborite countertop in my bathroom which needs rejuvenating. Can you give me the name of a product to help my counter? Gordon, Winnipeg
ANSWER: If replacing your countertop is not an option, you can purchase products that will help the counter to improve its appearance. You will need to buy a wax-based sealer in paste (i.e. Miniwax), liquid or spray form (i.e. Gel Gloss). Since you are not preparing food on the counter, you can also use auto wax. Whichever product you choose, test on an inconspicuous area first to ensure that you are satisfied with the results.
Before applying the wax product, scrub the counter with a combination of baking soda and dish soap. Rinse and dry.
QUESTION: I have red circle marks left on my vinyl floor from a wrought iron plant stand. I have tried everything I can think of to try and remove. Can you help? Shirley, Winnipeg
ANSWER: In a measuring cup, combine one quarter teaspoon dish soap and half cup water. Pour onto area. Next, combine one-quarter cup three per cent hydrogen peroxide and 1 tbsp. household ammonia. Blot and cover the area with plastic wrap and pile a heavy pan on top of the plastic. Leave for eight hours. Remove pan and plastic. Scrub area with a damp scrubby pad and rinse (test on an inconspicuous area first).
QUESTION: I really enjoy your column in the Free Press. My question is: Do you know of an easy way to dust pleated horizontal fabric blinds without having to remove them from the windows? Thank you. Elaine, Winnipeg
ANSWER: The easiest solution for dusting fabric blinds is to use the brush head attachment on your vacuum. Dust the blinds every few weeks to keep dirt from collecting between the slats. To reduce the amount of dust that settles on your blinds; swipe a fabric softener sheet along each row to repel air borne dust. You can also use dry sponges, or a good quality microfibre cloth, or a static duster which are efficient at collecting dust. Once in awhile, you will want to give your blinds a thorough cleaning (check with your manufacturer's guidelines to see if the blinds can tolerate water). When this day comes, remove the blinds from the windows. Line your bathtub with rags. Pour a few drops of liquid dish soap into the tub and fill will water. Set the blinds inside the tub and let them soak for at least five minutes to loosen dirt. Drain tub and then using the shower head attachment, rinse with water. Set blinds on towels until damp and then hang to dry.
QUESTION: I have removed wallpaper from a bedroom wall with no problem. The problem is the remaining glue from the sizing that was used before I applied the wallpaper years ago. I have used hot water to no avail. I have also heard that vinegar and water will remove it. HELP. Olvia, Winnipeg
ANSWER: Contrary to 10 years ago, wallpaper removal does not have to be an annoying, tedious process and I am happy for you that the wallpaper came off easily. When it comes to removing wallpaper, the secret is to arm yourself with the proper tools before beginning the project. Purchase a wallpaper perforating tool. This is a little tool that you will run in a circular motion all over your wallpaper to puncture little holes in the old, ugly paper. Get a hold of a garden sprayer and fill it with one and a half gallons of hot water and add wallpaper enzyme stripper (that's the key). Saturate the old paper with the solution. If you do not have access to a garden sprayer, use a spray bottle and add wallpaper enzyme stripper. After the wallpaper is nice and wet, leave it for 30 minutes and grab yourself a hot cup of coffee. During your coffee time, the enzymes will do their work loosening the wallpaper glue. Next, peel the paper. For the remaining glue, use a wet sponge and additional stripper to wash the wall. When the wallpaper is gone, clean the wall with T.S.P. and water according to the directions on the carton.
Feedback from Manitobans who care:
-- I read about the lady that was having a problem cleaning her laminate floor. I also had this problem; I tried different solutions that were recommended to me by the store where I purchased the flooring. No results. I phoned the manufacturers in Texas and they recommended cleaning with Windex Ammonia D. It worked wonders. I spray it on the floor and then mop it up. Try a small area first. Helen, Altona
-- I read the tip from the reader who wanted to reduce the fat in ground beef, stating that she pours the beef into a strainer in the sink and rinse with hot water. What I do is after the beef is browned; I tilt the pan slightly and spoon the fat off into a disposable container, i.e. a used tin can or small plastic disposable one. I then put it into the freezer, and when frozen solid, just put it in the trash. That's my "tip of the day." Always enjoy your articles, Ruth
Fantastic steak marinade recipe:
-- Next time you find steak on sale at the store, consider whipping up the following delicious marinade into a sealable bag and refrigerate overnight or freeze. As the steaks defrost, the marinade will soak in and bring out delicious flavour. Or instead, make the marinade in a slow cooker and cook the steaks throughout the day on low. Here's the stuff you will need to combine: One third cup Worcestershire sauce, one cup Italian salad dressing, 1 tsp. garlic powder, half tsp. black pepper seasoning and one cup barbecue sauce. Yields two pounds of sirloin steak.
Reena Nerbas is the author of the national bestselling Household Solutions series. Her website is www.householdsolutions.org. You can contact her at Box 429, Blumenort, Man., ROA 0C0.
Renovation & Design
ASK THE INSPECTOR: Contractor should fix problem repair work
QUESTION: I live in a one-and-a-half-storey house located in North River Heights, built in 1927. The house has sunk towards the front of the property. Some of the history I have obtained indicates that at some point a portion of the house was piled. Not surprisingly, there are cracks in the foundation in a number of different locations.
When we moved into the house, we didn't know all of this information, which we have subsequently obtained or have since discovered. In spring 2009 we did a large landscape project which included addressing foundation cracks, waterproofing and installing new weeping tile. Initially the plan was to fix certain areas where we knew we had some moisture in the basement.
During the project we discovered more problem areas than initially anticipated and ended up having every wall of the foundation, except the north driveway wall, fixed with waterproofing and new weeping tile. Disappointingly, the following spring we found that there was moisture in a number of areas that had just been fixed.
The company that did the work came back to try to address part of the problem in one particular area. In this area, they agreed to install an interior weeping-tile line beside the footing, with a bubble pack over top of the footing, and then completed it by reapplying concrete to the area, at no charge.
For the most part, this area is dry, but other areas are not. In order to fix the other areas I have been advised that I will have to spend thousands of dollars more to have other interior weeping tiles installed.
If the waterproofing and new weeping tile was fixed on the exterior and was done properly, should I have to spend more money to install interior weeping-tile lines everywhere that we are having signs of moisture at the cove joint? I know that the company didn't run the bitumen membrane over top of the footing on the exterior, and that some companies do in order to protect water from coming in at the exterior joint between the wall and the footing.
What should I do? Should the company try to fix this problem by re-digging on the outside, inspecting and waterproofing the exterior footing? Should this be covered under their lifetime warranty? Re-digging will also disrupt our lovely landscaping. Who should be covering the cost to reinstate the disrupted area back to its original state, the foundation company or the homeowner?
Your advice and professional opinion would be greatly appreciated. -- Laura Sheps
ANSWER: The answer to your main question is simple. If you paid a professional contractor to repair your foundation to prevent moisture intrusion -- properly, by exterior excavation -- it should be fixed in the areas where they completed the work. If they gave you a warranty against seepage, that should be even more reason they should complete the job properly.
The real question in my mind is "What did they do wrong in the repair?" There are dozens and perhaps hundreds of homes in our area that have foundation repairs done by exterior excavation each year, and most of them are very successful in preventing basement leakage.
Even if your contractor did not seal the joint between the footing and the foundation wall, replacement of the old, useless weeping tile with modern plastic drainage piping should collect enough excess soil moisture to prevent seepage. When repairs of this type are done, the exterior backfilling should be primarily drainage stone, which also helps prevent moisture intrusion through hydrostatic pressure common with clay soil. I suspect that the company not only did not seal the footing properly, but may have botched the weeping-tile installation in some manner.
The first thing to check is whether the contractor flushed out or inspected the old weeping tile under your basement floor slab. These tile tubes should channel the water collected at the exterior tile to the catch basin below the floor drain. If these old tiles were plugged, damaged or have lost their slope, they may not work properly. A proper connection must also be made outside the footing between the new plastic drainage piping and these old tile drains.
If either of these items were overlooked or neglected, water could still come into your basement through floor cracks or near the footing. I suspect that this is the root-cause of the defect because installation of interior weeping tiles may collect this water after it has passed below or through the footing, preventing it from seeping onto your floor.
The way to ensure that the weeping tiles below your floor slab are operational is to contact a rooter technician to use a snake camera to inspect them. This can be accomplished by inserting the snake into the catch basin and fishing it through the old tubes until they meet the new piping.
If the camera detects blockages, or cannot be easily threaded up the old passages, then there is a problem below the floor slab. The solution is to cut sections of your basement floor slab and remove and replace the old clay tubes with new drainage pipes. This should not be any more disruptive than installing interior weeping tiles, which are a poor way of fixing a seepage problem because they collect the water after it has already penetrated the foundation.
If the old weeping tiles pass the snake camera test, then there is obviously a defect in the repairs outside the foundation walls. In that case, exterior excavation is again warranted.
In my opinion, if the foundation contractor you hired did a crappy job, and water is still leaking into your basement, they should fix it to your satisfaction. While I'm not a big fan of warranties -- mostly because they are primarily advertising gimmicks -- if the company warranted that their repairs would stop seepage, they should honour it. If you have water in your basement after the job is bought and paid for, they should fix it at their expense, whatever the manner or inconvenience.
If you get no satisfaction from them, take your invoice and the "lifetime warranty" papers to a lawyer.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the 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
