First Aid for the Ailing House: Faux brick siding

Q: As a fairly skilled DIY'er and fairly new homeowner (18 months), I appreciate the experience that you bring to your column. I hope you can help us with a product recommendation.

Our 2 1/2-story 1925 Pittsburgh house has Insulbrick siding on the first floor. On three sides, the siding is in good to excellent condition (some parts also being newer), and its appearance is good enough that our next-door neighbor, who has lived there for 50 years, did not realize it was not real brick. However, on the rear of the house, which gets the afternoon sun, the siding is in worse shape. I have patched it in places with scraps of Insulbrick salvaged from a Dumpster and sealed the joints with asphalt roofing compound (the kind that comes in a caulking-type tube), but it is not perfect and will not last forever. I really like the character the brick appearance gives to the house.

Can you recommend an affordable brick-effect siding? Ideally, we would hope to find one available in a Craftsman-compatible style of dark red brick with dark pointing. — Pittsburgh

A: Insulbrick is an asphalt-based fiberboard with a granular facing that mimics real bricks. It comes in large panels that are normally nailed to a wood sheathing. The problem with it is that, because of its asphalt base, it is an exterior vapor barrier, which can lead to condensation on its back and structural decay of the wood material behind it. Removal of this siding has often revealed carpenter ant infestation because of the moisture accumulating behind it. Mortgage companies have often refused to lend money for houses covered with this material because of these problems.

The deterioration of the siding on the sunny side of your house is caused by the heat of the afternoon sun. Hopefully, it does not mean there is a problem behind it.

You may be able to find a suitable replacement at http://www.fauxpanels.com.

PAINTING INTERIOR BASEMENT

Q: I am improving the appearance of my interior basement after repairing and replacing the drainage pipes from the roof downspouts on the exterior. My house is about 60 years old, and the basement walls and floor were painted by previous owners. I want to repaint both the walls and the floor. The walls and floor are both staying dry, with no seepage.

I am planning on scraping and wire-brushing the walls, which have some loose paint and loose mortar. Is there any special treatment that I can apply before I paint? What type of paint would you recommend?

The floor has some loose, flaky paint that I will also scrape and wire-brush. Some parts are nothing but dry, dusty old paint. I have no idea what to do with this condition. Other parts still have intact paint but need to be repainted with the rest of the floor. Again, is there any special pretreatment, and what paint would you recommend? — Pittsburgh

A: Painting concrete block or cinder-block foundations is never a good idea. Regular paint is likely to peel if there is any moisture behind it, and applying a waterproof paint can result in the buildup of water within the cores of the blocks, with disastrous consequences in the living spaces above and in the attic.

The fact there is loose paint and mortar on the walls is an indication that there is, or has been, a moisture problem. Therefore, it is preferable that you use non-waterproofing paint that can peel if the problem persists. You'll have to paint it again, but you'll be avoiding a far worse scenario.

As for the floor, prepare it thoroughly, as should be done for all painting jobs, and use a concrete deck paint. Moisture coming through the concrete is likely to repeat what you are faced with now.

Poor installation may explain drafty windows

Q: I live in a fairly new home. About five years ago, I replaced all of my windows. I installed new Marvin windows that are wood on the inside only. The problem is that there is a noticeable air leak from all of the windows. The company that installed the windows put in an extra strip of rubber at the base of the bottom window. This did help some, but there is moisture on the inside of the windows (sometimes up to 2 inches all around the windows) every day in cold weather. Once I even saw ice on the inside of one window.

When I complained to the installers, I was told that all windows leak air and there was nothing else they could do. On really cold days, just standing by the windows you can feel a breeze, not to mention on a windy day. The leaks are mainly at the bottom of the window and where the upper and lower windows meet. Is there anything I can do to correct this?

Also, I can feel air coming through my electrical outlets. I have already put in the foam pads, but I still have air coming in. Is there anything I can do to fix this? — Cold in Vermont

A: It sounds as if the window installers did not do a good job, as Marvin windows, when properly installed, are very tight and energy-efficient. I speak from experience, having a number of them in our house.

The strip installed at the bottom of the windows is making it impossible to have a tight seal where the two sashes meet. You should call the Marvin dealership (assuming it is not the installer) and ask one of its representatives to check your window installation. I have found Marvin's service to be excellent.

As for your electrical outlets, it sounds as if the builder of the house did not do a good job, either. During construction, a careful builder should foam all holes through which electric wires and plumbing pipes are fed. That goes for studs, plates and any other place where these holes go through framing and sheathing.

At this point, the best you can do is to remove the covers and, if there is some space around the electrical boxes, caulk them. This may help.

MIXING VALVES

Q: Thank you for your response. I hope you don't mind if I ask a follow-up question! Isn't the water supply valve on the shower a "mixing valve," as opposed to a two-handle faucet from the "old days"?

Where does the mixing valve you refer to go? Is it something that is installed on the plumbing pipes? — via email

A: With two-handled faucets, water is fed to each faucet and comes out mixed through the spout. Single-lever faucets have an internal cartridge that is connected to the single handle and controls the distribution of hot and cold water to the showerhead by internally mixing them.

Follow-up on noisy ducts

I recently answered the following question: "My ranch home with a basement is 2 years old. During the heating season only, as the ducts heat up and cool down I have excessive duct banging. It occurs only in a 6-foot section of the ductwork."

I suggested that an HVAC contractor be called out to investigate the constriction or lack of support that might be causing the banging. Since then, I have run the question by an expert duct fabricator and installer, who gave me another possible reason for the banging.

He suggested the banging could be caused by an imbalance between the supply and return. The reader didn't mention whether the banging was on the supply duct or the return duct. If it is on the return duct, it may be that the duct is undersized and, when the fan comes on, it causes the duct to "collapse," causing the banging. When the fan stops, the duct returns to its normal size. It's worth checking.

I learn something every day, which makes my work so interesting.

Merits of fiberglass vs. cellulose insulation

Q: This is in reference to your recent home repair column concerning insulation for an attic floor after fire damage repair.

While blown cellulose is very good for the majority of residential insulation above ceilings in attics, I personally do not think this is a good application. With a flooring to be installed above the insulation, there will not be any easy way to refresh the insulation due to settlement. I personally think 8-inch-thick fiberglass batt insulation would be a better choice in this application.

Settlement of the blown cellulose insulation occurs due to a number of reasons, most commonly natural settlement and vibration. Natural settlement occurs when the weight of the insulation, over time, pushes out some of the trapped air between the cellulose particles, thereby compacting the insulation. Usually this is relatively minor.

Vibration, however, can create major settlement and greatly reduce the insulation value. Vibration in a house can come from any number of external sources. I hope you find this information useful. — Palatine, Ill.

A: Although cellulose will settle over time, it has a higher R-factor per inch than fiberglass, and it also is an air barrier -- a very important factor in the efficiency of any insulation. It is made of recycled newsprint, whereas the manufacture of fiberglass insulation requires a considerable amount of energy.

The R-factor of fiberglass insulation is calculated in what is known as a hot box, i.e., in a completely sealed box exposed to heat on one side and cold on the other. This is not a realistic R-factor for attic conditions or any condition where the fiberglass insulation is not in a completely sealed space, as fiberglass is a filter and air will flow through it, degrading its insulating value. Even if the cellulose settles a bit, it still retains most of its R-factor because it does not let air through.

WINDOW PROBLEM

Q: I hope you can help us solve a window problem. We have double-hung, double-paned Andersen windows that were installed when the house was built in 1995. The windows are made of wood with vinyl cladding on the outside. Some are single windows, and some are an assembly with two windows side by side. The windows that are in pairs are showing moisture damage on the interior wood of the sash. This appears on the lower right-hand corner of the bottom sash. Some of these windows face east; some face west. There is no moisture on the glass, between the two pieces of glass or on the windowsill inside or out. Oddly, the single windows have no damage.

I have contacted Andersen, and they were no help. (The warranty has expired.) I contacted a company that deals in Andersen windows and, no surprise, they suggested replacing the windows. I contacted a company that repairs windows, and they said it could be a caulking problem around the frame. I don't see how that could cause water to get inside the sash.

Do you have any idea what is causing this problem and how we can stop it? — Inverness, Ill.

A: What is so unusual about your problem is that only the right corner of the bottom rail of all ganged windows is affected -- an unusual coincidence. If the damage were between the two ganged windows, moisture could be penetrating around the mullion.

Looking at the photo you sent and reading your description (no condensation on the glass, etc.), the only thing that comes to mind is the possibility I encountered once on several Andersen Perma-Shield windows (vinyl coating on the exterior). There was a tiny crack at the joint of the Perma-Shield covering the stile and the rail that admitted rain, eventually causing rotting of the wood core over many years.

At the time, Andersen sent a repair person, who injected an epoxy in all the joints between the stiles and the lower rails. As unusual as this hypothesis is, consider having an Andersen specialist check the affected windows.

Second sump pump may help wet basement

Q: Years ago, my son broke up the basement floor to install drainage pipes that led to a sump pump, which he also installed before replacing the concrete. Where the drainage pipes and sump pump are, I no longer have a water problem. He didn't go through the entire basement, unfortunately. A small room where I have my washer and dryer still has a water problem. It happens after a hard rain if the water table is high.

The water seems to come up through the floor. The floor next to the exterior wall doesn't get as wet. The vinyl tiles next to the exterior wall are still in place, while the tiles nearer the center of the room are either completely gone or loose.

I would like to eliminate this problem. I'm hoping that installing just a sump pump (without the drainage pipes) where the floor holds moisture would solve the problem. I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. -- Burlington, Vt.

A: Ask your son if he remembers whether there is a stone bed of at least 4 inches under the slab. If there is, you may have two choices. Another sump pump can be installed in an inconspicuous place where discharge can be safely made. If your son installed a solid sump into which the drain pipes discharge their content, another choice is to replace that sump with the type I recommend, set on and surrounded by several inches of stones. This would capture any water building up under the slab.

Interesting comment from a reader

"I was reading your column in the Greensburg (Pa.) Tribune-Review regarding the black and pink mold a reader has on their plumbing and in the toilets, etc. It was signed 'Irwin.' I'm wondering if the reader who posed the question is from Irwin, Pa.? If so, I know exactly why they are getting this, and vinegar (or anything else, for that matter) will not help. It has to do with the water treatment facility in our area and how they treat our water supply.

"I get the funky pink in my bathtubs and showers and the black in the toilets. I also get the funky pink mold (which is harmless to humans) in my swimming pool. I took my water for testing a few years back and asked about the pink funk and was told that it was not me or anything I was doing and that it was a common occurrence in Westmoreland County. (Greensburg and Irwin are near each other in Westmoreland County.) I was told that we should be blaming the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (the water company).

"He told me that I could clean, disinfect or replace all of my plumbing and toilets and I still would eventually see the mold return. He said the only thing I could do was clean it when I saw it and accept the fact that it will come back.

"I do not have a moisture issue in my home and do not have mold anywhere else. Neither do my neighbors or my family who live in different areas all over the county. If the person who wrote in is from Irwin, Pa., please let them know they are not alone but are basically going to be cleaning this junk forever (or at least until the treatment facility does something about the way it treats the water).

"Hope this helps someone."

Yes, the reader in question is from Irwin, Pa. Thank you for a most enlightening explanation. I hope that person will see this.

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First Aid for the Ailing House: Faux brick siding