Raleigh, North Carolina.  Is Your Chimney A Disaster Waiting To Happen?  Full ceramic wood-fire chimneys are fast becoming an endangered species.  While a fireplace is still a high demand item in homes of all price ranges, the availability and convenience of pre-fab fireplaces and gas logs makes the choice of a traditional fireplace and chimney less and less attractive.  Furthermore, the cost of a ceramic chimney, the hauling in of firewood and hauling out of ashes, the lingering stale wood smoke odor and the limited number of days one can be used in many areas, further increases desireability of a pre-fab unit.  Now, many very expensive homes come with them. 

Having said all that there are still many of you who love and cling to a good old fashioned fireplace and all that goes with it. Since there are a zillion homes with such fireplaces it is incumbent on the owners of same to see too it that the flue is in good condition.  It must carry the gasess and heat up and out of the chimney.  Over a period of time these gases and heat can degrade the inner surface of a flue.  There can also be a creasote build-up that could easily cause a fire that would destroy the home and everyone in it.  Some masonry chimney’s have a liner and some don’t.

So, what is a flue liner?  Basically, it is a smooth and seemless surface that lines the chimney.  Even if your chimney does have a liner it might be defective and in need of relining.  If it does you have severa options: (1) - Put in a new metal flue liner  (2) - If it has a clay tile liner reconstruct it with new clay tiles  (3) - Have the chimney reinforced and create a new flue with poured-concrete.  The one option most often used are clay tiles.  They are essentially impervious to heat and the by-products most often burned as fuel.  While square and retangular flue tiles are used they aren’t the most efficient.  Round flues are considerably more efficient.  While clay liner tiles are not very expensive, removing the old tiles and installing the new ones is a difficult process.  Because of this, stainless steel liners are the choice of many installers.  They are easier to install, are available in about any type and size needed and come in either rigid or flexible formats.  The selection of the best alloy for the steel liner used has to do with the type of fuel one intends to burn.  Proper selection prevents the worst problem with stainless steel flue liners; that of failure due to corrosion.  Metal flues also should have jackets or wraps that are designeed specifically for that purpose.  The last type of liner is the cast-in-place liner.  They offer the advantages of clay flues and are highly resistant to acids, heat and condensation from whatever fuel is used.  Because of their high insulation properties, temperatures within them are higher and thus the burn is cleaner and creosote accumulation is reduced.  There are a number of factors that determine whether this approach should be used with a given flue such as the structure of the flue (or flues), their age, and how much space is needed.  This information doesn’t begin to tell you all you need to know.  That you become aware of the basics is the purpose of this post.  Suffice it to say that you need to have an experienced contactor look at your chimney and tell you what, if anything, needs to be done.  Even if he charges you for his time and thoughts it is low cost insurance for your safety and the safety of your family.  

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Home Maintenance.  Your wife says something like, “That garage floor looks terrible!”  Translation - If you can’t eat off of it something needs to be done to it.  That comment doesn’t draw the desired action so the next round is, “Aren’t you EVER going to do something about that garage floor?!”  Translation, “Get your butt off the couch and do something about it - NOW!” Mind you she hadn’t looked at it for six months but on the way to the store she dropped the car keys and she had to bend over to pick them up.  Now, she does the white glove routine and all of a sudden no guests will allowed into the HOUSE until the garage floor looks like a Tiffany window. What kind of sense that makes I don’t know but unless you are “Mr. Fix It” or unless your automobile is your pride and joy and working on it in the garage is your second most favorable activity, painting your garage floor is as eagerly to be looked forward to as 20 lashes with a cat-o- nine-tails.  Also, it is as sure and certain a sign of Spring as is the fact that I have had three calls in the last two weeks asking about painting garage floors.

There are many paints, stains and floor coverings you can put on a garage floor.  Some can be staggeringly expensive but what I think you want and what should provide a great looking job for you doesn’t have to be. Getting first things first; I am told by folks who are supposed to know that if you are buying a new home be certain the garage floor is at least three months old before you paint it.  Concrete needs time to dry and cure long enough to be certain paint will properly adhere to it. Since my calls have all been about garage floor paints I am not going into floor liners or stains for purposes of this blog.

There are a considerable number of paints and kits available to do the job.  Materials needed for the job are: An epoxy paint specifically formulated for garage floors (it’s the only kind made that will hold up to vehicle tire heat) - Primer - Paint roller with water-resistant and solvent-resistant covers - bleach or driveway cleaner - concrete etcher (if needed) -a stiff-bristle brush - goggles to protect your eyes and rubber gloves to protect your pinkies.  Oh yes, when you do this be certain your work area is well ventilated.

As you want the paint to stick around for a long time after the paint job is done, be certain the floor’s surface temperature is between 50 and 90 degrees when you grit your teeth and do the job. To start, sweep the floor then wash it and let it dry.  To remove stains a mixture of 3 parts water to 1 part bleach will usually do nicely or you can get a commercially produced cleaner.  For stains, allow the cleaner to stand a few minutes before taking your bristle brush to them.  After you have the floor clean, wash it down again.  This is a good time to do any needed repair work on cracks.  Ask someone at Lowe’s (or whoever) for a concrete/mortar repair compound for for the smaller cracks and a concrete patch for the larger ones.  If you can stick a pencil in the crack it’s a larger one.

To etch or not to etch that is the question.  Whether tis nobler to hope the paint will stick and thus not etch it so you can get back to the ballgame or to do it and be certain that it will - is your call.  A good way to determine whether or not you need to do it or not is to sprinkle - that is SPRINKLE and not SLOSH - some water on the floor.  If it is absorbed into the concrete rather quickly you can trust to luck and get on with painting.  If not, get a commercial etcher and follow the instructions.  Let the floor dry overnight and if you have a big fan you can let blow on it and you can leave the garage door open so much the better.  NOW - - you are not ready to paint.  No dear friend there is yet another step and that is application of a primer coat.  Assuming you have done the other tasks well, the primer coat will determine how well and how long the paint will stick to the floor.  You should let your primer dry for at least eight hours before applying the paint.  One coat of paint or two?  Well, you have enough time, enough effort and enough sweat envolved by this time, you have missed the ballgame (or maybe two or three) and you MUST be certain that “she who must be obeyed” (do you remember where that line comes from?) KNOWS how hard you have worked so - two coats are probably better.  The first should be thin with a 24 hours drying period before applying the second - - and then - - wait another 24 hours before walking on it.  This whole magilla is really a very good deal.  If may a pain in the neck (or wherever) that you have had to park outside for several days but oh, dear friend, so has she!!  By the time this job is done and she can get back in the garage she will think twice before getting you involved in some other husbandly task and that can worth its weight in skinned knuckles, barked shins, shore knees, etc!   

I mentioned that there are good kits available to do the chore in question and a good one is Quikrete’s Epoxy Garage Floor Coating Kit.  Most such kits include the cleaning and etching solution just discussed so you can get the floor squeeky clean and properly prepared before attempting to put the paint down.  Also, their kit includes some color chips you sprinkle over the epoxy flloor when wet and which gives it a very satisfying and textured finish.  Please be certain to point this out to your better half once the job is done so she knows that your taste isn’t all in your mouth.  There are several base colors you can use.  While grey is probably the most common, tan, and other colors are available.  Believe it or not a saw a black one the sparklies on it that really looked gang busters.  Finally (and this is only for those of you who have enough marital years to be sophisticated at the gentle art of turning the tables to your advantage without incurring her ladyship’s wrath), you must take every opportunity to show the job off to your friends and neighbors (ESPECIALLY your buddies wives) with full understanding to all within earshot that it was YOUR idea in the first place! Sir, if you don’t understand this last comment you really are a newlywed.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email; marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

Raleigh, North Carolina.  I have been asked what a “Green” House really is so, without going overboard, I thought I would try to answer.  With the costs of heating and cooling homes continuing to increase more and more thought is being given as to how homes can be made more energy efficient.  More homeowners are evidencing an interest in how this can be done and therefore builders are as well.  The buzz words - green home, green house or green building are used basically interchangeably.  There is no precise meaning for them but rather a broad meaning having to do with the issues involved. There are some themes that are common to most programs.  A list of the factors involved that I saw in the March issue of Fine Homebuilding is as good and as quick as any I have seen.

* Site work that minimizes the environmental impact of the house during and after construction.  * Energy efficiency.  * Water efficiency  * Use of recycled materials and materials whose production can be sustained without harming people or the environment.  * Healthful indoor air quality.

As you can see it is a “package” of items rather than just that of using new and better insulation, a more energy efficient heating and cooling system, etc.  Also, the part of the country one lives in has a great deal to do with what this list would include.

John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com