Oct 19, 2013 7 min read

Q. Several times when we store our tractor mower in the barn for winter, the mice seem to nest and eat the wires in the motor, causing expensive repairs in the spring.

Surrounding the mower and motor with mothballs seemed to prevent nesting and damage for a few winters. But this spring, dead mice, wires chewed, etc. What do you recommend to keep this from happening?

A. I wonder if you could put a light tarp over the tractor with secured ends on the floor. Try putting heavy boards, maybe 4x4s, holding the tarp against the floor.

Or, invest in an animal repellent called Stomp, an Ultra sound device that a caller who told me about it said works well. He bought it at an Agway store. Go to Home Depot or Lowe’s to see what they have to offer.

Q. I am trying to paint or stain a new fence. Should I prime and paint, or use a stain of some kind. The fence has red cedar posts and rails, with long white cedar pickets.

A. Why bother at all; the fence will weather to a light, then a little darker silver in a year or so and look like it’s a part of the landscape.

The posts will last 30 to 40 years, just put them in the ground with no concrete. The pickets will last probably 50 years, except the parts that are close to the ground. In that case, just cut them short a bit.

Q. I have had gutter guards on my gutters for some years now. A gutter man said that gutter guards will collect a lot of snow in winter, causing damage to walls and ice dams, and I should take them down. I have not had ice dams in 20 years.

Do my gutter guards have anything to do with absence of ice dams?

A. Probably not, but it does not matter. Keep the gutters guards; you will get snow buildup in winter whether you have gutters and/or guards. This is natural and when it happens water will flow over the gutters and drip far enough away from the gutters to be no hazard.

Ice dams are caused by a warm roof. So, make sure your roof is cold. Which it probably is. Tell that fellow he is wrong.

Q. My 1980 house was built when builders had a habit of digging holes in the yard and burying large amounts of wood: tree stumps and other wood that would take years to rot away.

I built a patio of concrete with reinforcing bars some years ago, and now the time has come for the wood to rot away, creating sink holes, one under the patio, which is showing cracks. How can I fix it?

One problem is the size of the yards, so I can only get a Bobcat near the patio.

A. There are no really good ways to fill in under the patio. One is to prop up the patio and add filler (dirt, clean fill, or sand) under it to level and stabilize it. This is very iffy.

The best idea is also the most expensive: take out the patio and excavate as much as possible to provide a filled in space that is level and stable. Then put in a patio of bricks or pavers set in sand, with no mortar. It will move with the changes in the earth.

Q. I have a new oak threshold under my front door. How should I finish it? Semitransparent stain, polyurethane varnish, paint?

A. The only way is semitransparent stain. Only one coat is needed and it will last up to seven years.

When it begins to look shabby, give it one coat. It will never peel. Polyurethane or any other varnish will fade and peel almost as quickly. Paint will do nothing but peel.

Q. Two of my skylights are leaking, but it is in the glass and frame, and not around the outside structure. How can I have them fixed?

A. If the skylights are flat, without the usual skylight dome, they are probably roof windows made by Velux. Call a Velux dealer, which should be able to install a replacement sash.

Q. Our 1800s house has “quarter-sawn” oak floors. What does that mean, and can we match new hardwood to that?

A. Quarter-sawn is done this way: The oak log is stripped of bark, then sawn in half, lengthwise, and each half sawn lengthwise. If you look at the end of a log, the sawing makes it look like a cross.

Flooring companies have, I’m sure, quarter-sawn boards.

Q. I live in one of four condos in a complex that just had its roof redone by a roofer whose bid was the lowest of several. The rubber roof on my condo’s widow’s walk is lifting about an inch, and one section was installed in several pieces, resulting in numerous seams.

Are those numerous sections a proper job, and can the wrinkled roof be fixed? I am not a member of the condo board, so I don’t have much to do with the job. What can I do?

A. From the slipshod rubber roof installation, it’s obvious that rubber roof has to be taken off and a new one put down without wrinkles, lifting, or in many sections.

What to do? Convince the board to order repairs to be properly made, and if the roofer refuses, fire him and find another roofer who knows what he’s doing and will make the proper repairs, for a reasonable price.

Q. Can I paint plastic flower pots? They are a good terra cotta color, but I’d like something brighter.

A. You could paint them, but terra cotta and black are the best colors for a pot. If you like, find some attractive ceramic pots or other containers to hold those crummy old plastic ones, and keep them nicely concealed.

Q. I put in a new wood threshold in my bathroom, but it left a 1/2-inch gap between tiles and threshold. How can I fill that gap?

A. That should be easy to figure out. Buy some ceramic tile pieces that match the tile on the floor, or take samples from leftover tiles.

Cut them to 1/2 inch wide or slightly less to allow you to put in some grout. Or, fill the space with grout or mortar and then buy a wider threshold and cut it so it covers the gap.

Q. Can gutters be adjusted up or down to make them drain better? I am getting a few shallow puddles in some sections of my gutters. If those puddles are allowed to remain, would they become a place for mosquitoes to breed?

A. The only way to adjust the gutters is to take them down and put them up again, something I would not encourage.

The gutters are probably close to level, and a level gutter will indeed drain. The puddles are probably too shallow and will evaporate quickly enough to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

If you are that concerned, put Mosquito Dunks granules in the puddles to prevent breeding. The only other thing to do is to slope the gutters 1/16th of an inch, per foot. But I don’t think it is necessary.

Q. I have a flock of sparrows – I swear it is a flock – in a third-floor bathroom vent that exhausts through a wall. It has been six weeks now, and I am sure the babies have gone, but the remaining birds are driving me nuts. How can I push them out and put a proper closure for the vent?

A. Use a long-handled brush to push them out. A proper outside closure will prevent anything from coming in. Two brands of ducts and covers are Vent-Axia and NuTone.