May 30, 2015 4 min read

Q. Like most people in New England this winter, we had damage to our condo from all the snow. Our kitchen skylight leaked, as did another part of the ceiling. Within a couple of days of the leaks, our hardwood floors in that room buckled. The skylight leak happened before our roof was shoveled, the other one occurred later. How do we find someone qualified to locate the source of the leak? It makes no sense to paint the ceiling and fix the floors without figuring out how the water is coming in and damaging the floor.

A. I would look for a competent roofer to evaluate the skylight flashing kit. Once the warmer weather comes, you can test the flashing with a garden hose. My guess is that you have a flashing issue or that the ice dam worked its way past your flashing. One option is for your roofer to remove the skylight flashing kit, add a rubberized underlayment membrane up the skylight sidewalls, and then install new flashing.

Q. I have a general question regarding using a cleaner for an oak hardwood floor at an American Legion lounge/bar. There is heavy exposure to smoking (the lounge is exempt from the nonsmoking law). The floors are in OK shape and don’t need sanding. We are just trying to do an annual cleaning before using a sealer. What would you recommend for a cleaner and a sealer?

A. The BEST way to revive a hardwood floor that is in good shape is to screen and recoat it with the same oil or water-based polyurethane finish. Have you folks waxed the floor previously, and what do you usually use to clean? Cleaners such as Murphy Oil Soap leave a residue on the floor that prevents a simple screen and recoat. The only way to get that residue off is to sand to the bare wood.

Assuming that your floors have been waxed, then the next best option to screening and recoating is to use a cleaner such as Bona. Simply mix some from concentrate into a spray bottle and use a microfiber mop to clean the floor.

Q. We live in a post-and-beam-style home. The roof rafters are 4-inch-by-6-inch timbers, 24 inches on center. Above the rafters are half-inch pine boards, and over them are stress-skin panels with half-inch sheetrock, 4.5 inches of urethane foam board, and a half inch of particle board. Fiberglass shingles are above that with a 1-inch gap between the particle board and the roof shingles.

All of our walls are also composed of stress-skin panels, but they have 3.5 inches of urethane foam boards instead of the 4.5.

All of our posts and beams are 8-inch-by-8-inch timbers. The house was built in 1986. Most of our ceilings are cathedral.

Would our roof be less susceptible to damage with large amounts of snow? Do the stress-skin panels provide more capability for higher snow loads?

We’ve never had a problem with ice dams, and there are no gutters on the main roof.

A. That’s a really tough question with no easy answer. It depends on the roof-system geometry, species of wood, and loading conditions. I wouldn’t say a timber frame with stress skins is any stronger structurally than a regular-framed home. Each building must be evaluated as a unique structure. Sorry!

A professional will screen and recoat your floors at a cost of $1.75 to 2.50 per square foot. At that point you can apply a matte, satin, semi-gloss, or glossy finish on your floor. Screen coats are less expensive than sanding and a great way to prolong the life of your floors.

If the floor is in good condition – it has no color chips, scratches, or other damage – I highly recommend using the screen-coat approach. The whole process may take one to two days, depending on how many coats you apply. If you have a high-traffic floor, consider applying more coats.

Rob Robillard is a general contractor, carpenter, editor of AConcordCarpenter.com, and principal of a carpentry and renovation business. Send your questions to homerepairglobe.com or tweet them to globeaddress or robertrobillard.