Question: How can I get rid of spiders both at home and at my lake cottage? They are outside and are making a mess with their cobwebs. Is there an insecticide I can spray? Eleanor Scribner, Lynnfield, Mass.
Answer: Don't even try, at least with the insecticide. It's a waste of time and money and not good for the environment or you or anyone else. Actually, spiders are our friends whether we like them or not. They eat a whole lot of bugs. If the spiders were not there, you sure would know it because you could be inundated by other bugs. Besides, even with insecticides, the spiders would soon be back. One thing you can do is hose down the webs every so often.
Question: My mother's house in Hyannis has a foundation of concrete blocks that is bowed in the front. It was allegedly fixed with a series of steel posts, but now those are beginning to bend at the top and the top plates have pulled out. I was told that the situation has gotten worse in recent rains. I was also told that to correct the problem, the foundation wall should be replaced by a poured concrete wall topped by concrete blocks, at a cost of $7,000. Should I be suspicious of that cost? M.M., Boise, Idaho
Answer: I don't think so. That cost sounds reasonable for the work that has to be done, and it has to be done professionally because the problem is structural, something the do-it-yourselfer dare not try or is legally not allowed to try. The work entails excavating around that wall, jacking up the house, or at least holding it where it is, as the wall is removed and the new concrete wall poured on proper footings. You could get more bids, but the price sounds reasonable.
The problem could have started because the concrete blocks were too small (a 10-inch-wide block is generally required below ground level) or that the wall dropped in unstable soil. The fact that the steel posts bent, tearing out the top plates indicates the tremendous pressure on them and on the wall, more than either can take.
Question: I have two large picture windows that are losing a lot of heat, being only single glazed (one layer of glass). I would like to change the glass to double glazing. Is there anyone out there who does that sort of thing, without replacing the entire sash? John Martin, Arlington, Mass.
Answer: Yes, there is. Try Bi-Glass, 35 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite 112, Braintree, MA 02114, or Bi-Glass Systems of Canton, Mass., telephone (617) 575-0989. Bi-Glass takes out the old single-layer glass and puts in a double-layer one, in your sash.
Or, you could have a good aluminum storm window installed, and hope that it doesn't fog up too much. Still another way is to have an inside storm installed. There would be less likelihood of an inside storm fogging up.
Question: I put in a drain a little under the ground for the downspout outside my son's bedroom, but I noticed a hole about 12 by 12 inches in the ground about 20 feet from the end of the pipe. I'm afraid the water will continue to erode the grass. How can I fix that hole and keep the erosion to a minimum? Michael Lantonakes, Lynn, Mass.
Answer: You could extend the underground pipe to the hole, and fill the hole with crushed stone or make it bigger, or at least deeper, then fill it with crushed stone and top off with sod. What you'd be doing is building a small dry wall. End of erosion, end of hole.
Or, build the dry well at the present end of the underground pipe, without having to extend the pipe to the hole.
Question: My driveway has developed a hole 14 to 16 inches in diameter. It goes down 2 feet and bears to the right. We think there is a spring under the driveway. We had two holes 15 years ago; my son filled the holes with gravel and paved over them. How can we fill that hole permanently? Stella, Woburn, Mass.
Answer: It's a sinkhole, and might have been caused by the underground spring, just as the orginal holes were created 15 years ago. But the fact that the filling in those old holes has lasted this long indicates that the new one can be filled as well. Fill it with crushed stone or sand; the sand might be better so you can stuff more of it in the hole, compacting it as you go along. Fill the hole to within 4 or 5 inches of the top, and pave it over. If it lasts for 15 years, that's almost permanent as sinkholes go.
Question: My exterior door is particleboard with a veneer. There's a cat door cut in the main door, but the edges of the opening are exposed particleboard, which is rough, gets wet and swells. I'll paint the edges with an oil-based paint, but how can I make them smooth? M.P., Jamaica Plain, Mass.
Answer: Painting the edges with oil-based paint is a good idea; it will help keep moisture out and prevent swelling. As for the rough edges, I suggest you line them with a 1x2 or similar board, or even 1/2-inch pine, and paint that too. You may have to make the hole bigger if you add a liner, so the cat door will fit properly, but that should not be a problem. Just don't paint the edges before you cut them.