Q–I am building a wall unit of plywood and want it to fit flat against an existing wall when finished. However, the wall it will fit against is slightly irregular and there is a baseboard at the bottom that I want to leave in place.
How can I trim the edge of the plywood panel that will form the side of the unit so its contour will exactly match the contour of the wall and baseboard and thus make the unit fit snugly against the existing wall?
A–Hold the plywood panel temporarily in place so its edge is up against the wall where you want it to fit.
Now take an ordinary pencil compass and scribe the back edge of the plywood to exactly match the face of the wall and its baseboard molding.
You do this by holding the panel so its edge just touches the front of the baseboard at the bottom, then measure the space between the edge of the panel and the wall in several places to make certain the edge of the panel is standing parallel to the wall.
Set the legs of the compass a little wider apart than this distance, then hold the metal point of the compass against the wall as you slide the pencil leg over the face of the plywood.
The pencil will then trace the outline of the wall and baseboard onto the face of the plywood, which you can then cut accordingly.
Q–My basement windows are slightly below ground level on the outside and the builder installed curved “window well” soil retainers around the outside of each window.
These are partly below ground at the bottom and project up about 5 or 6 inches above the ground around the window. There is just soil at the bottom of this window well, and this soil is only an inch or two below the level of the window.
My problem is that in a heavy rain, water accumulates in the bottom of this “well” and some of this seeps in under the window and runs down on the inside of the basement wall.
What can I do to solve this problem?
A–Dig out the soil inside the window well to a depth of about 10 inches, or until you are almost at the bottom of the well enclosure.
Apply silicone caulking to the joint where the metal (or plastic) meets the foundation wall, then fill the space you just dug out with gravel or small stones.
Pour in gravel until its height is about one inch below the bottom of the window.
Finish by making certain the ground around the outside of this window well slopes away from the house foundation on all sides to help it shed water more effectively.
Q–Rusty nail heads are showing through the paint on the outdoor siding on my house.
I used a metal primer on these rust marks before repainting last year, but some rust stains still show through.
Is there a more permanent solution I can take to cover up these rust stains without having to pull all the old nails out?
A–Start by scraping and sanding all the exposed nail heads to remove as much of the rust at possible.
Then apply a liquid rust converter to each head and after this dries, use a nail set to drive the nail head in about a quarter inch below the surface.
Fill each hole with an exterior grade wood putty or wood patching compound, then finish by touching up with matching paint.
Q–My very old house has a brick foundation and some years ago a layer of plaster was troweled on over the bricks on the inside.
Moisture is apparently seeping up into the bricks from the ground and this is causing the plaster to crumble and flake off in places, although the basement is dry.
Do you have any idea as to how we can correct this problem?
A–The problem may be insoluble because the plaster should never have been applied directly to the bricks originally.
Short of removing all the plaster, you may be able to improve matters by doing what you can to improve drainage on the outside.
The ground should slope away from the foundation on all sides and the gutter’s downspouts should be connected to underground plastic drainage pipes that will carry the water at least 10 feet away.
It would also help to apply a waterproofing paint or sealer to the exposed brick on the outside.
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Have a question about home repair problems? Write to Bernard Gladstone in care of Your Place, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns. Sorry, letters cannot be answered personally.
