Q:I just bought a 380-square-foot condo. I stripped the original plaster and lath and a second layer of wallboard and skimcoat down to the brick. I will reframe and insulate walls and ceilings. Do I frame with wood or metal studs? — AnonymousA:Man, that is one tiny condo. I suggest you use wood studs (if allowed by code) because they are easier to work with, and steel is notorious for transferring cold and heat. I also suggest you use 1-inch strapping fastened directly on the brick and fill between them with 1-inch Thermax, a rigid foam insulation with a vapor barrier. That R factor is only about 7.
If you want more, use 2-by-3 studs and fill the space with 1 1/2-inch Thermax, which gives an R factor of nearly 11 and should be good enough.
Q:Help! I have quite a few black flies in my house. One is dead and the others are sluggish. How can I get rid of them, and why are they in the house at this time of year? — DisgustedA:Sweep them up and throw them away. They are cluster flies, named because they tend to cluster around sunny windows, looking for warmth. They are one of nature’s big mistakes. They breed in late summer, with babies emerging from the ground in August, just when it is getting cold. They are not like filth flies, which often carry disease, and are easily disposed of.
The saga of Cheryl continues.
You may remember the saga of Cheryl and the house she is putting up for sale. It started when her real estate agent said she must remove wallpaper from her kitchen and paint it a neutral color, to stimulate a sale. Also, that her 1995 house was “dated.” She e-mailed the Handyman, who blustered and fumed, saying she could keep the wallpaper or paint the wallpaper, but she didn’t have to do either. Another agent said the Handyman was all wrong.
Here are two e-mails the Handyman received.
From reader Bonnie Raymond: “Three cheers for not jumping on the Realtors’ bandwagon. I have very different tastes than those ‘standard’ recommendations and I hate to see houses dumbed down to the current ‘correct’ fad! I hope Cheryl can wait for a buyer who loves her house, rather than try to make her house a blank (and characterless) slate.”
And from Bob Rawson: “I cheered when I read your response to real estate agent Barbara Favermann, who said Cheryl ‘MUST’ strip the wallpaper and paint her kitchen immediately. I especially loved it when you said, ‘Since when is a 15-year-old house outdated?’
“My brother and I are trying to sell our late parents’ retirement house in North Carolina, and our real estate agent keeps badgering us with the same advice. The house was built in 1993 and is in terrific shape, but she says we can’t possibly expect to sell it unless we overhaul the kitchen and replace the formica countertops with granite and buy stainless steel appliances and all the rest.
“It’s true, the house has been on the market for quite a while, but that’s because the market stinks, not because the house is ‘outdated.’ We know all the other agents in the area think the same way, because the online feedback we get after showings often includes phrases like ‘home is too dated.’ What really bothers us is that we know agents are telling their clients ‘this house is a little dated’ before they even walk in the door. I blame Home and Garden TV for putting such silly ideas into peoples’ heads.
“Thanks for trying to talk some sense into at least one misguided real estate agent.”
The only thing the Handyman can add is the preposterous idea to overhaul the kitchen, replace the perfectly good Formica tops with granite (which can stain easily and must be sealed once a year), and replace all appliances with stainless steel ones. That’s $10,000 to squander, not counting the loss of dumping appliances before their time.
Peter Hotton is The Boston Globe’s “Handyman on Call.” To reach him: photton@globe.com.
