Tim,
We have a contactor building our new home. The foundation and framing were completed several weeks ago and then we began to get lots of rain (almost two weeks solid). Then, the roof decking was put up - no shingles yet - and we have received another week and a half of rain, with more on the horizon - we live on the Texas Gulf Coast. My concern is that the framing now appears to dark gray, almost black appearance in places. Is that mold? Is this something that we should be concerned about? If so, is there anything we can do about it?
Thanks so much! Kristi
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Kristi,
Based upon your description, it sure sounds like mildew blossoming to me. It is nothing to worry about at this point as it can be somewhat easily removed.
The first thing to do is to get the house under roof and dried out as soon as possible. I realize you have little control over this. Once this is done, you or the builder need to spray a 50/50 solution of chlorine bleach and water onto the wood surfaces that have discolored. If the chlorine bleach method is too harsh, you can use oxygen bleach. Oxygen bleach will remove the mildew and is totally non-toxic to you or any other person who comes into contact with it.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
After spraying down the outside of my house yesterday, my outdoor outlets stopped working. We have tried replacing the outlets themselves as welll as the
breaker attached to them, but with no luck. Any ideas?
Jennifer H.
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Jennifer,
They are probably connected to an indoor GFCI outlet. For example, some electricians put the GFCI outlet as required by code in an indoor bathroom, powder room or an obscure outlet in a basement or garage. It could be a GFCI outlet you have never even used in your home. Go find all of them and hit the Reset buttons. See if that doesn't solve the problem.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
After spraying down the outside of my house yesterday, my outdoor outlets stopped working. We have tried replacing the outlets themselves as welll as the
breaker attached to them, but with no luck. Any ideas?
Jennifer H.
- - -
Jennifer,
They are probably connected to an indoor GFCI outlet. For example, some electricians put the GFCI outlet as required by code in an indoor bathroom, powder room or an obscure outlet in a basement or garage. It could be a GFCI outlet you have never even used in your home. Go find all of them and hit the Reset buttons. See if that doesn't solve the problem.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hello Tim,
Can a person put drywall in a cottage that isn't heated over the winter months?
Thanks,
Larry Y. Alberta, Canada
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Larry,
Yes. I would recommend 5/8 inch thickness for ceilings and 1/2 inch for walls.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
When pouring the concrete in an attached garage, would you use expansion board along the foundation block walls or not? Thanks,
Jayson
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Jayson,
It is usually not necessary since the concrete is protected from direct sun. The extreme temperature swings of exterior slabs cause them to expand and contract much more than those slabs that are covered with roofs and protected with sidewalls. But one thing is for sure, you can't go wrong installing the expansion board material.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hello Tim,
Could you explain to me what the "dried-in" stage means?
Thanks,
Lynne
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Lynne,
It means the point at which your house is unaffected by rainwater. The roof must be on, windows and doors installed and at a bare minimum felt paper or some other rain barrier applied to the outside walls.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
Is it safe to use aluminum wire as service entrance cable for a new home?
Lance Carter
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Lance,
Absolutely yes, so long as you apply an anti-oxidization jelly to the stripped portion of the exposed aluminum wire before it is placed in the lugs of the circuit breaker or disconnect panel and the meter base. I have aluminum entrance cable in my own home and it looks as good as the day it was installed. I just do not like aluminum in branch wiring circuits.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
My wife wants me to build a 16" tall concrete block wall to lay a "fake rock" on to cover a sprinkler system pump we have at our lake home. I already have the solid concrete blocks. The dimensions of the wall will be 4.5 feet long and 4 feet wide. The "fake rock" (designed to be a pump cover) looks a like a boulder and covers the pump. I need to build the wall around the pump so animals, etc cannot get in under the rock. Should I build a footing and how deep should the footing be? Each side will be two blocks high (16 inches) None of the walls will be weight bearing. This is similar to a small retaining wall used for landscaping. The fake boulder will then bolt to the wall, so it can be removed as needed.
Robert J. Pullin
Iowa
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Robert,
If you don't install a footing, all of your work will be for naught. Over time, the frost movement within the soil will destroy the wall. You need to discover the frost depth of your soil out there in Iowa. It may be 36 inches or very close to it. Your local building department will tell you the frost depth.
The footer should be eight inches thick and have steel reinforcing bars in it. They should bend in one piece around corners and when you overlap bars, make sure the bars overlap two feet.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hi Tim,
I've read everything you've written about cleaning and sealing decks and am even purchasing your Oxygen Bleach - Stain Solver tonight. However, the one thing you don't write about at all is what to do with deck wood that has been blasted to pieces by previous pressure washing so that now, it's like a bunch of razor blades on edge. I want to clean and seal the deck but it will then be a clean, sealed bunch of razor blades. Do you have any advice on how to repair this problem? It's apparent on the deck surface and on the railings and rail slats, as well as on the tops of the vertical deck posts supporting the deck.
I appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you.
Buck Smolow
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Buck,
Great question! You have two choices: Sand the deck before cleaning or after cleaning with my product. If I was doing it, I would clean the deck with my Stain Solver first, then I would wait until the deck was nice and dry and sand it with any number of electric sanding tools. You may have to rent a big pad sander, or at the very least use a belt sander for the large flat deck area. The spindles and railing will need lots of attention with palm sanders or even hand-held sanding blocks.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hi Tim,
I've read everything you've written about cleaning and sealing decks and am even purchasing your Oxygen Bleach - Stain Solver tonight. However, the one thing you don't write about at all is what to do with deck wood that has been blasted to pieces by previous pressure washing so that now, it's like a bunch of razor blades on edge. I want to clean and seal the deck but it will then be a clean, sealed bunch of razor blades. Do you have any advice on how to repair this problem? It's apparent on the deck surface and on the railings and rail slats, as well as on the tops of the vertical deck posts supporting the deck.
I appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you.
Buck Smolow
- - -
Buck,
Great question! You have two choices: Sand the deck before cleaning or after cleaning with my product. If I was doing it, I would clean the deck with my Stain Solver first, then I would wait until the deck was nice and dry and sand it with any number of electric sanding tools. You may have to rent a big pad sander, or at the very least use a belt sander for the large flat deck area. The spindles and railing will need lots of attention with palm sanders or even hand-held sanding blocks.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB