Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeroβs radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
Q: I recently replaced all the old flooring in my home with tile and carpeting and then I had the house painted. During that renovation, I kept an eye out for evidence of termites, and I saw nothing. But later, I went out to the garage to do some cleanup of cardboard boxes and other debris and found a wooden table with evidence of termite damage. A few days later I found a mud tube in the garage. Now Iβm wondering if I should have the whole house treated for termites or just the garage.
A: To begin with, get rid of those cardboard boxes; theyβre like candy for termites. Yes, you may need to treat other parts of your home for termites. The problem is that even if you find a mud tube in one place on your house, there might be termites elsewhere. Have a thorough inspection done for any other signs of termites. Then you can decide on the amount of treatment to do.
Q: I had some work done in my yard with concrete pavers and now I have a lot of pavers that were left over from that job. Can I use these extra pavers in a DIY effort to cover a concrete sidewalk?
A: It may be possible to do that, but setting pavers over a large area can be complicated. Generally, pavers are set on sand or crushed concrete rather than bound with mortar. They can be put on top of concrete patio slabs or walkways, provided that the area you are covering is level. But sometimes you need to work with mortar as well on the edges of the project. It would be good to talk to a company that sells pavers in order to get advice on the job youβre planning.
Q: I have an iron security door on my custom-built home, and the door has really started to fade to the point that it looks almost gray. Itβs only 3 years old so what should I do about it?
A: You could have it painted, but first Iβd contact the installer of the door to see if they will make good on their product. You can also call a painter, but most likely theyβll recommend powder-coating the door rather than painting.
Q: I have a four-car garage where Iβd like to provide a cooling system because I use part of it as a woodworking area. Would it work if I installed one of those mini-split air conditioner units?
A: You can do that, but youβll have to clean the filter out every day after using it for woodworking. Thatβs because mini-split systems donβt pick up the dust and purify the air in the way that conventional air conditioners do. People who have a lot of problems with allergies might also have more difficulty with mini-splits than with a regular air conditioning system.
Q: Iβm repairing a 1920s-era house in Southern Arizona. It has rock walls that are covered on the exterior with poured concrete and then covered with plaster on the inside of the house. There are a lot of hairline cracks in those plaster walls, but some of the cracks are 3/8ths of an inch wide. What should I use to fill the cracks and then what should I use as a top coat on the interior walls?
A: You can start by just troweling on elastomeric caulk into the cracks to fill them up. Then there are lots of other options for a topcoat. Two good possibilities are drywall mud or possibly acrylic stucco.
