Apr 26, 2014 2 min read

Q. I have a 10-foot-by-12-foot tool shed in a shady area with a roof covered with unsightly lichen. Can you suggest any relatively simple way to remove it before I paint the shed?

A. Ah, yes, lichen raises its ugly head once again. It is hard to remove sometimes, but try this: Wet it heavily and try scraping it with a flat, wood spatula. If you start gouging the asphalt, stop and live with it.

Q. Periodically over the years, our unfinished basement took in water during heavy rains. The concrete slab has taken a beating; there is effacement in several places on one side of the basement and efflorescence in other areas where the concrete has not chipped or flaked away. Many years ago, a previous owner painted the slab and cinder block walls gray and from eye level, the floor now looks like the surface of the moon and trace amounts of concrete dust still come up. Since we installed a sump pump and new gutters after Hurricane Irene, we haven’t had a water problem; the Lolly columns look fine and there are no major cracks or gouges in the slab. (We’d really rather not replace the concrete.) Is there a tintable product you would recommend that would provide some cosmetic improvement and prevent more concrete dust from coming up?

A. If you don’t plan to use the basement as living space, I don’t see why you should spend money toward improvements, which will be pricey. But the floor can use some help, and I suggest you apply large ceramic tiles to the floor with thin-set mortar. The mortar will help level out defects or gouges, vagaries, and the big good-looking tiles may encourage you to consider the basement for living space.