A labour of love

Press, 12 May 1984, Page 14

A labour of love

Home One

with

Bill Harrison

I have been given a copy of publication that I believe should be required reading for all young New Zealanders about to become home owners. It is appropriate to mention it in this column because the publication is a booklet entitled, “Did It Myself.” produced by the National Housing Commission to summarise the essay competition organised by them in October 1982, and judged in February 1983. It is certainly not my intention to add book reviews to the list of things that a Building Centre manager is expected to do, although booklets seem to be an obvious starting point. For those considering renovating, altering, extending or attacking their home in any way, and to those aboutto give it all away in absolute despair reading this booklet could prove to be invaluable. When the commission announced its essay competition I voiced my concern that it appeared to be promoting and encouraging doing it yourself. This was not, in my opinion, a role for the National Housing Commission. However, I must now say

that the booklet “Did It Myself,” compiled from extracts from 4500 pages of essay from 76 entries, gives a balanced account of the hard work, inconvenience, and sacrifice required before experiencing the sheer joy of achievement. Two Christchurch entries won first and second prizes. These were featured in “The Press” last year. That women play major roles in home renovation, from initiator and labourer through to decorator, is cleary evidenced by all entrants. Some quotes worth considering from the essays: ® “Carefully assess your capabilities in respect to the size of the job.” ® “Consider if you will be able to live in the house while construction is taking place. Nothing can upset a household more than a bathroom or kitchen that is out of working order.” ® “Plan carefully, if you start incorrectly problems multiply.” • “Almost without exception we have under estimated the cost of the work we have done.” • “Read the instructions on the products before using

them, not after you have messed up the job.” From the conclusions: “Would we do it again? Well — looking at friends just starting their alterations we say, ‘lt’s really no trouble at all!’ It’s worth the effort to acquire a copy by writing to the National Housing Commission, P.O. Box 1789 Wellington, or calling at the Building Centre, 211 Cashel Street. Christchurch. My daughter lives in a farm house that has the good old double-hung windows, but unfortunately some off the sashcords are broken making it difficult and in some cases impossible to open the windows. When next I visit her I intend to have a go at fixing some of the cords, and I thought you may be able to help with a few tips? “Hanrtjrffld” Your daughter is indeed fortunate to have such a thoughtful father, so let’s see if I can help the job along. Double-hung (cord and weight) windows can provide excellent control of ventilation when the top sash can be lowered slightly. But, all too often these windows are found to be inoperable because of broken cords or they are jammed with paint. Both problems can be easily fixed from the inside of the room. First clear the window of curtains and drapes. Damage those and no matter how well the windows work your shares will be down to zero and you will be assigned to helping son-in-law in the yard. You should need no more than a hammer and a wide chisel, a pair of pliers and a mouse. A mouse is a piece of string weighted at one end with a bit of lead wrapped around it. Do the job properly and replace all the cords while you are at it. Use a good quality, braided sash cord from your builder’s merchant. Any left over will always be very handy in the work-shop. Carefully remove the “stop bead,” that’s the one up either side holding the bottom sash in place. Use the chisel to lever it off, starting about the middle. The bottom sash can now be lifted out and the old cord removed from it. The top sash is held in place by the “parting bead,” which must now be removed before the sash can be taken out. Unlike the “stop bead,” which is nailed on, the “parting bead” sits in a groove in the pulley stile and must be carefully

levered out, starting from the top. You should now be able to see the “pocket piece,” that is a little door that gives access to the weights. Again the “pocket piece” is levered out. Lift out the weights and clear the old cords. Your mouse is now used to feed the new cord over the pulley. Attach the cord to the weight and replace it in the pocket. Before reassembling, clear away any old paint so that the sashes will move freely when replaced. Pull the weight to the top of the pocket, that is right up to the pulley, before fixing the cord to the sash which should be at its lowest position. When nailing the cord to the sash, keep the nails well down from the top rail so as to avoid fouling the pulley. A little oil on the pulleys and some candle wax on the sash stiles will get things moving. Help replace the curtains, and it should be hot scones for the rest of your visit. Q I have been told that laying some sheet plastic on the ground under the floor of our home will over-come some of the dampness and condensation in the house. Do you think it would be worth trying, and what should I use? “D. C. Woolston.” A Yes, definitely worth trying. It is in fact one of the Building Research Association of New Zealand recommendations to help overcome the problem of dampness in homes. So much of Christchurch is built over very damp ground with such high water tables that a vapour barrier laid on the ground under a wooden floored house must be beneficial. It is certainly not a job for anyone with claustrophobic tendencies, but any home owner of the right shape and size, with an old suit of coveralls should be able to wriggle round under the floor to spread the plastic out. Polythene film in various widths and thicknesses is available from hardware stores or garden centres. An 1800 mm width, .025 thick should be most suitable, and some adhesive tape will be useful for fixing round piles and other obstructions. If the sheets are lapped about 300 mm and held in place with a few stones or brick-bats, then taping should not be necessary. Be sure that all of the sub-floor ventilators are kept clear, and you should soon notice a difference as

the floor dries out. It may even develop a squeek or two. We purchased a 14-year-old house a few months ago, and ever since moving in we have noticed an unpleasant stale smell occasionally in the passage by the laundry. We have looked for leaking pipes under the floor but can find no obvious answer. Have you any ideas? “Floored.” A Accepting that you have looked in all the most likely and unlikely places, have you contacted the previous owners? They may be able to offer an explanation such as one case that I call to mind. The hot water cylinder lagging had become saturated from a leaking pipe, and although the leak was repaired an unpleasant smell remained until the lagging was replaced. Sorry, but I think you will need someone with a better sense of smell than mine. If you have a question relevant to home ownership or maintenance, write to Home Line, c/- The Building Centre, P.O. Box 22-143, Christchurch.