By Gene Austin



Q In winter, the upstairs rooms in my house are always colder than downstairs. Even if I set the thermostat up (it is downstairs), it doesn’t help. What can I do to improve the comfort upstairs?

This is a common problem, and there can be many factors that contribute to it.

One of the simplest and best things you can do is leave the doors open to the upstairs rooms you want to use. Warm air rising from the first floor will be able to penetrate to those rooms and help warm them.

Here are some things that can contribute to a cold upstairs. They can also contribute to cold rooms downstairs.

4 Reduced heat delivery. In most homes, the upstairs is farther away from the heating plant. Whether your heat is carried by forced warm air or hot water, it has farther to travel to reach the outlets and can cool slightly along the way. Warm-air furnaces might have a fan that is not working properly (a loose fan belt can reduce heat delivery). An annual checkup and cleaning can help prevent these problems.

4 Inadequate ceiling insulation. The upstairs ceilings in many homes, especially older ones, are often poorly insulated. Check the insulation in the attic or roof area to see if it is up to current standards. A minimum of R-30, equivalent to about 10 inches of fiberglass, is recommended for most cold-climate areas.

4 Drafty windows. Old, loose windows can cause significant heat loss and allow cold air to enter. Check the caulking around the outside window frames and replace if necessary. Weather stripping for windows, sold at many home centers, can also help. So can effective storm windows. In many cases, replacement windows with insulated glass are the best solution.

An obvious remedy is to use auxiliary heaters in cold rooms. Upstairs rooms are often bedrooms, so safety should be a key consideration. Among portable heaters, an electric radiator such as the widely sold DeLonghi heater would be a good choice. If you want permanent heaters, electric baseboard radiators would work well.



Q The caulking around our windows was removed when we had vinyl siding installed. This was done so the siding would fit close to the windows. Now, we seem to be getting drafts around these windows. We were told not to caulk because the siding needs to expand and contract. What can we do to stop the drafts?

The windows should have metal or vinyl moldings called J channels around them. The molding has a J shape, and the ends and edges of the siding fit into the open side of the J, making a neat installation and giving the siding room to expand and contract.

The closed side of the J butts against the window frame, and you can caulk this joint, which should stop much of the draft. There is no need to caulk the open side of the J, where the siding fits in.

Q The cement around our house, which is only a few months old, is a dirty gray color. Our neighbor’s cement is white, which we like much better. Also, there is already a crack in the garage slab. Are the color and the crack normal?

The color of concrete (cement is only one ingredient) depends on the color of the materials used (Portland cement, sand and fine gravel). Dark concrete is not necessarily weaker than light-colored concrete, although it might not be as pleasing to your eyes. Cracks can develop in concrete slabs if there is settlement of the earth underneath them or, in large concrete areas, if there are not enough expansion joints.

EASY KNEELING

Home maintenance and gardening often mean working on the knees. I have tried various types of pads to make kneeling more comfortable, but I have not seen anything that equals the comfort and convenience of QuickSwap knee pads by Craftsman (Sears; 1-800-377-7414, www.sears.com). These strap-on pads (about $25) have interchangeable kneecaps suited to different work.

If you are installing a vinyl tile floor or painting baseboard, for example, use a smooth cap that makes it easy to move along the floor.

If you need more traction, such as when gardening or working on a roof, switch to a rubber pad with cleats that give a strong grip. The interchangeable pads are held in place by hook-and-loop fasteners. (KRT)