ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608190131
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Hints for Homeowners
SOURCE: STEVE ELDER
Here are more questions from readers, with some editing for brevity. If you don't see your question answered, you will get an answer by mail.
Q: Last year we bought a house with plastic water pipes. It is about 10 years old. I read recently that plastic pipes can leak and cause water damage. Will these pipes give us trouble?
A: Not necessarily. I'm assuming you are asking about water supply pipes, and the answer is: it depends on what kind of plastic pipes you have. If they are white and connected with cement, the chances are that you have chlorinated polyvinyl chloride piping (CPVC). If your pipes are grey, they could be either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polybutylene.
PVC piping is also cemented together, but polybutylene is a flexible piping that is mechanically connected with crimped fasteners. Both PVC and CPVC water pipes are relatively trouble-free, but polybutylene has been known to develop leaks at the fasteners.
There are two main causes of the polybutylene pipe leaks. When poly began to be used in the late 1970s, the connective devices were plastic fittings. Plumbers were not familiar with the crimping tool required to apply the copper bands. As a result, some connections were over-tightened (and the fitting cracked) or undertightened (and the connection leaked). Other leaks developed because the plastic fittings failed chemically, particularly in areas with a heavily chlorinated water supply.
Later installations, with copper fittings rather than plastic, have had hardly any problems. Naturally, the manufacturers and the plumbers have been pointing fingers at each other for years, and the matter has been under litigation for some time. The manufacturers have set up what amounts to an insurance program that will replace defective polybutylene water supply piping. For more information, call the Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center at 800/876-4698 or view the proposed settlement on the World Wide Web at: http://www.hunt.com/polybutylene/pipe/propset.htm. The latest word is that Shell Chemical, the last remaining polybutylene pipe manufacturer, has discontinued production.
Q: I do a lot of work with wood and I enjoyed your article about glues. A friend of mine told me about one called ``Gorilla Glue,'' and he says it is really great. Do you know anything about it, and where can I get it?
A: Gorilla Glue is a brand name for a one-part polyurethane wood glue. Since it is water-activated, it is suitable for adhering wet wood in exterior applications, unlike most wood glues. It is useful for exterior framing applications involving somewhat uneven surfaces, but if you're dealing with interior work involving dry wood and tight joints, I think you'd be advised to use a traditional yellow glue.
Gorilla Glue is fairly expensive (almost $1 an ounce) and messy to apply. Do read the application instructions and don't try to remove squeeze-out until it has dried. According to the company headquarters in California, there are no distributors in Southwest Virginia yet, but they're working on it. A similar product is Excel, also a one-part polyurethane glue, which may be easier to find. You might try Cox Sales Co. at 341 Reserve Ave. S.W. in Roanoke. This company handles a wide variety of adhesives and sealers.
Q: I'm getting a little old for climbing up on ladders to clean out my gutters. I know that there are gutter screens that you can get to keep the leaves out of the gutters. Which kind would you recommend?
A: I am not a big fan of gutter guards. The flimsy plastic kind gets pushed down into the gutter and becomes part of the problem as opposed to being the solution. They actually trap leaves and tree buds and serve to clog the gutter and downspout. The stiff metal guards do not keep out the finer tree debris such as oak buds. After a couple of years it is necessary to remove and reinstall these guards in order to clean out the gutter properly; this can cause as much irritation as it saves.
Gutter guards can give a false sense of security. People think they never have to pay any more attention to their gutters, which is just not true. In my opinion, there is just no substitute for a semi-annual gutter cleaning the old-fashioned way. The job is important enough to merit hiring someone to do it if you're not comfortable on ladders anymore.
However, there is a new type of gutter on the market, a one-piece gutter with an overlapping lid. In theory, leaves and debris are supposed to skate off the top surface, while rainwater follows a curved lip on the top and goes into the gutter. It appears to be a good design, but I haven't had much feedback yet from owners or installers. Check the Yellow Pages for dealers and try to consult with someone who has used these gutters before you have them put on your house.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB