Sticky Carpet Glue Problem Needs a Solvent

Question: I recently removed carpeting on my patio and found that since so much glue was used when it was installed, pieces of carpet and glue have stuck to the cement. I’ve tried getting it off with a wire brush attachment on my drill, but there’s still a stain. Is there any way to remove this?

N. V.

Laguna Hills

Answer: “There are solvents available that specifically remove adhesives,” says Eric Gomez of Standard Brands in Mission Viejo. “They work like paint strippers and come in a gel or paste form. It’s messy to work with and you have to be careful about not getting it on your skin.

“Your success at removing it may depend on how porous the patio surface is. If the adhesive has seeped below the surface, you may have to try something like Concrete Edge, which is a strong concrete cleaner made with muriatic acid. If these don’t work, you may have to consider painting the surface.”

Q: I’ve recently bought an older home and I’m getting involved in doing some of the carpentry and woodwork myself. I’ve got the basic tools, but I’ve also been looking at reciprocal saws. Would I, as a beginning handyman, get a lot of use out of one?

C. T.

Anaheim

A: “Reciprocating saws are great for remodeling or new construction work,” says Mike Delaney of Fullerton Hardware. “They work similar to a jigsaw with a blade that moves in and out, but you have a greater selection of blades over a jigsaw and it has a full 1-inch stroke, as opposed to a half-inch stroke of a jigsaw. It allows you to reach difficult areas, cut into existing walls and do things you can’t do with a jigsaw or a circular saw. However, it’s not versatile enough to replace those tools in your garage.

“It’s also an expensive tool, the cheapest is just over $100, so you should make sure that you’re going to get a lot of use out of it.”

Q: We have an invalid relative staying with us and it’s difficult for him to see the television from the TV table. Is there a way I can rig the television from the ceiling like you see in hospitals?

R. Y.

Laguna Niguel

A: “It might be best to hang the television from the wall rather than the ceiling,” says Chris Robert of James Hardware in La Habra. “There are a few companies that make special brackets just for this purpose. They have a table that the TV sits on that pivots up and down and to the side. You’ll need to fit the brackets into the wall studs, rather than using a toggle bolt, because of the strain created by the TV’s weight.”

Q: I’m interested in using those wallpaper borders in one of our bedrooms. Are they applied the same as wallpaper rolls?

W. P.

Huntington Beach

A: “Most of the borders are pre-pasted, which makes applying them easy,” says Carol Walter of Alamitos Paint and Wallpaper in Los Alamitos. “These are really popular now, especially among people who are renting a house or apartment since they allow you to decorate a room without much expense with something that can be easily removed.

“They work well when being applied to a painted wall, but if you’re going to be applying them onto wallpaper, you’ll need a vinyl-to-vinyl adhesive, or the border will roll right off the wall. The adhesive is usually very strong and almost fuses the border to the wallpaper, which does create potential problems with the border and wallpaper have to be removed.