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Basement remodeling can add lots of extra living space to your home but beware; basement water leakage could put a real damper on your hopes if not properly corrected.

There are two conditions you must address for a dry basement, actual water leakage and condensation. Water leakage is a pretty obvious concern to homeowners but many are unaware of the problems that high humidity can cause to a finished basement.

Humidity Problems

Because a basement is below ground, it will be naturally cooler than the floors above ground. When warmer air from upstairs or outside enters the basement, it shrinks in volume as it cools. This shrinking or “condensing” of the air volume results in higher humidity. Everything porous in your basement will absorb the extra moisture in the air and cause a foul odor. Dehumidifiers are appliances which mechanically remove the unwanted extra humidity from your basement. A good dehumidifier is a must if you plan on remodeling your basement. Even a basement that doesn’t leak will benefit from using a dehumidifier.

Water Leakage

Without doubt, water leakage into the basement must be permanently corrected before you start your remodeling project. Start by correcting obvious sources of the problem; broken or non-existent rain gutters, down spouts emptying next to the foundation, ground outside sloping toward the home, uncovered underground windows, etc.

After you exhaust all preventative measures outside, try to identify areas inside where you are experiencing the leakage. If a corner of the basement seems to be a particular problem, again, look outside at your rain gutter downspouts. If you see cracks in the walls leaking, some of these can be repaired with hydraulic cement or crack injection. If water seems to be coming in from an isolated area, installing a sump pump below floor level can lower the water table and underground hydrostatic pressure in that area. If you are unsure or your problems seem to be widespread, it might be best to call in a building inspector, engineer or other professional to help you identify and solve your problem. There are a variety of services available to solve your leakage problems. These include; outside excavating, re-parging your walls, interior or exterior drainage systems, interior cove systems, grout or epoxy injection and others. Most of these options will require a professional.

Basement Remodeling Begins

I like studding the walls out with 2X4s. If you can spare the extra space, 2X6s are even better because they allow room for more insulation. Never, under any circumstances, nail furring strips onto the walls. Penetrating the foundation will compromise its barrier against water.

Use construction adhesive rather than nails or screws to adhere your bottom wall plate to the floor. It’s ok to nail the upper wall plates into the upper floor joists.

Don’t glue down your basement carpet. Carpet is something that is going to wear out and eventually need to be replaced. Glued down carpeting creates a real problem later on when trying to remove it. Tell your carpet installer to use construction adhesive to install the carpet tack strips around the perimeter. Do not allow them to drive nails into the cement floor.

Summary

With some common sense construction techniques, a reliable waterproofing system and humidity control, you can enjoy a lot of extra living space by remodeling your basement.

Robert Clarke has owned B-Dry System NEPA, a basement waterproofing company, for the last 20 years. Visit http://b-drybasementswaterproofingnepennsylvania.com/basement-remodeling.html for more information. He has also served as President of the B-Dry Owners Association, a nationally recognized group of basement waterproofing contractors. Visit http://www.b-dry.com/ for details.

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We use many chemicals in the stained glass studio. It’s sometimes helpful to review how they are best used and when they should be used. This helps us achieve better (and safer) results.

Flux: Comes in different brands and strengths. The purpose of flux is to clean the outer layer of copper foil or lead so that solder will stick to it. Acid eats away a small bit of the outer layer so that it’s super clean which allows the solder to bond with the metal surface. This cleaning process is acidic so this stuff can eat through your clothes and your skin. Try to avoid getting it on you and don’t let it sit on glass any longer than you must.

When using some particularly strong flux, I once left a window with flux on it overnight. When I came back the next morning, the copper foil on the side of the window that hadn’t been soldered was dissolved away. I had to work hard to save that window. So now we always clean away the flux when we’re done.

Some fluxes give off hazardous fumes when soldering so insure you have adequate ventilation when soldering.

Good old blue window cleaner. We dilute it with water and clean flux off the window right after soldering. This removes the bulk of the gunk left behind from soldering.

We once had a large order of windows and neglected to clean them off as we built them. Instead, we stacked them up till they were all done. Days passed and when we finally got ready to clean them, there was a haze on the windows. We had to scrub with cleanser to get most of the haze off of the glass and even when we were done, we needed to replace one or two of the panels because we really couldn’t get them clean enough.

CJ’s Flux Remover. After the Windex treatment, use CJ’s on the panel to completely remove the flux residue still left on the window.

For years I was cheap and didn’t want to spend anything extra on chemicals. When we found CJ’s, we tried a small bottle and the results were great, the copper patina we applied was more vibrant than it had ever been before.

Patinas come in black and copper color. A patina colors the outer layer of the metal. They work best when applied to very clean lead lines.

We used to leave patina on windows for an hour or two so that the chemical reaction would sink in deep and give us a better color reaction. Then we left some on overnight and nearly ruined the window. A bluish residue was left on the panel. We went to the store and bought all their cleaners, orange, ammonia, and lemon cleaners. None of them worked. Finally we tried cleanser and it’s abrasive nature cleaned off the residue.

Then we had to re-apply the patina because we had scrubbed it off.

When we started using CJ’s to clean our glass, we started getting very brilliant results. We pre-clean the lead lines with CJ’s or Kwik-Clean before the patina is applied. Afterwards we also clean the lead lines with the same cleaner to stop any adverse chemicals reactions and limit oxidation and mold occurrences.

After applying patina, we use Kwik-Clean flux and patina remover to do a final clean to a panel. They claim it eliminates white mold from a window. We don’t believe that the white buildup that sometimes forms on lead is mold, we think it’s oxidation. But just to be sure, we choose to use this as a final cleaner. We sure don’t want white buildup inside encased units.

Clarity Finishing Compound: This is a light clear wax that seals your metal and protects it from oxidizing. It’s applied by wiping a thin coat all over the window and then allowing the wax to dry. When it dries to a hazy finish, buff the wax briskly with a rag.

Every tiny crack and crevice in the window will need to be buffed and polished. Sometimes we’ll take a rag and a stick to polish along edges that are hard to get to.

We also recommend that once the window looks good on each side while lying down, you should tip the panel on it’s edge and look though each pane for any streaks and haze. The window will then be very slick and shiny. This takes a lot of time, but the payoff is well worth the time, especially on panels that are going to be sealed between tempered panels.

We use Minwax on more windows than the finishing compound. It goes on easily, just the same as the clear wax, except that instead of being poured on, it’s wiped on with a rag. It also has a great smell. And a can of it lasts a long time.

The first time I tried it, I was rather scared because I had never tried it and it could have easily made the window worse or made it cloudy or too waxy, then I wiped some on and there was a moment when the glass was hazy. I was terrified until I let it dry for awhile and then buffed it. It turned the glass into a brilliant, work of art.

Never-Dull Rubbing Compound: A cottony can of silver polish which is good for cleaning and polishing a window. When you first apply it, the window will become a little hazy but it buffs up well. It’s especially good on sun catchers because it brings the lead line up to a bright silver shine.

We buy EnviroTex Lite 2 part polymer from a local craft store. It’s the best stuff for really bad damage. Sometimes a window gets so damaged that the only practical fix is to pour this clear polymer over the entire panel. It glues the whole piece together and stabilizes it into a solid piece.

If the cracks were noticeable, they’ll still be able to be seen, but you won’t have to put little pieces of scotch tape on it to keep little pieces from falling out.

It’s a good idea to put the window you’re sealing on paper so that if any of the finish runs through, the project won’t be struck to the table.

One chemical I didn’t write about are the essential oils. When cutting glass, you need to oil the cut with a light lubricant.

A few months ago, we stumbled on using orange oil instead of kerosene when cutting glass. What a difference, when you get orange oil on your hands, it smells good. When you get kerosene on your hands, it makes you cringe. There is something happy about using orange oil, there must be something to aroma therapy, we feel like we get a shot of it every time we cut glass.

We also keep Lavender essential oil on hand in case of a soldering burn. putting it on a minor burn or cut seems to relieve the pain almost immediately.

Photos to go with this article are at http://www.betterstainedglass.com/
Newsletter/Archives/2006Apr-chemical/shopchemicals.htm

David Gomm started building stained glass windows professionally back in 1983 and has become an expert at many aspects of stained glass building, design and repair. He writes a monthly newsletter at his better stained glass website.

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How to Collect Physical Mold Growth Samples for Low-Cost Mold Laboratory Identification of Mold Species

VANCOUVER, CANADA. Many property owners, apartment landlords, renters, employers, and employees want to know, and need to know, the precise identities of the various mold species infesting their moldy house, rental unit, or place of employment, according to Phillip Fry, Certified Mold Inspector and author of the book Do-It-Best-Yourself Mold Prevention, Inspection, Testing, & Remediation.

The accurate identification of mold species requires two steps: (1) physical collection of mold samples from the moldy building; and (2) mold laboratory analysis of the collected mold samples.

The least costly way to collect mold samples is the do-it-yourself approach carried out by gathering actual samples of mold growth to submit for mold laboratory analysis ($20.00 or more fee per sample analyzed).

Bulk Physical Mold Sampling

If a property owner or occupant sees mold growing on a wall, ceiling, floor, heating or cooling duct register, or any other surface, he can scrape mold particles off the mold growth area into a small ziplock bag. Collecting such a physical sample is “bulk mold sampling” or “physical mold sampling.”

During such scraping of the mold growth, the tester needs to wear rubber gloves and a full-face respirator mask with organic vapor filters (such as the 3M brand from a large hardware, home improvement, or safety store).

To do the scraping, use a new or thoroughly disinfected (with ethyl or rubbing alcohol) paint scraper. Disinfect the scraper after each individual sampling to remove any possible mold contaminants, and thus avoid mold cross-contamination in the sampling process from one source or location to another.

Print clearly and neatly on a large pressure sensitive label the property owner’s name, the property address, the precise test location at that address, the testing date, and the type of sampling method (”bulk sample”), along with the tester’s name and contact information.

The label should also include each individual test number, as listed on the mold chain of custody form, available free from the mold laboratory. Attach the label to the ziplock bag containing that respective, numbered mold sample.

Alternatively, the tester can scrape the mold particles directly into a mold test kit (Petri dish) to start the growing (”culturing”) of the mold sample. This “viable testing” growth process takes 5 to 7 days for accuracy in mold species identification.

The tester can then either watch the test kits for mold growth, or send the mold test kit to the mold lab immediately, or after the self-observation growth period.

Another bulk physical sampling technique is to cut out a small section (no larger than 2 inches by 2 inches) of a building material or home furnishing that contains significant mold growth. Then, put that cut piece into a small ziplock bag, or press firmly the moldy side down into a mold test kit. Follow the same labeling instructions explained above.

Examples of moldy materials from which bulk samples can be cut for mold lab analysis are wood timbers, drywall, plasterboard, wallpaper, ceiling tile, carpeting, padding, heating/cooling system filters, clothing, furniture upholstery, and any other favorite mold food.

Scotch

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