INSIDE & OUT : When a Glass Door Leaks, Don’t Let It Slide
Q: I have a 3-year-old townhouse, and I’m having a problem with water seeping from the sliding glass door track onto my carpeting when it rains. Any ideas on how to correct this?
V.T.
Mission Viejo
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A: There are many possible problems here, says Katy Jackson of Maley’s Glass in Anaheim. The first thing I’d do is check to see if there are any cracks in the stucco under the track. When it rains, water could be pooling and seeping through the cracks to the interior and soaking the carpet. It’s also possible, especially with a structure that’s relatively new, that some settling has occurred and has created a gap under the track where water can enter the house.
You should also look at the “weep holes,” which are the openings along the bottom of the track, to make sure they’re not obstructed. When you look at the holes, make sure they’re on the exterior side of the track. If the track was incorrectly installed with the holes on the inside, it could let water seep into the house.
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Q: I recently inherited some very old furniture that wasn’t cared for very well. The surface is greasy and rough. What can I do to restore it?
H.G.
Buena Park
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A: The greasiness you feel when you run your hand across it is probably leftover polish and wax residue, says woodworker Steve Green in Santa Ana. The roughness is probably from the wood grain being raised up by moisture. There are lots of furniture refinishing kits on the market that you can try; most have an agent that will take off the old finish along with the grime of wax buildup. After the finish is off, the wood will probably need a light sanding to smooth the rough areas before you can apply a new finish coat.
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Q: We have a wrought-iron railing going up our stairs, and we’d like to cap the top with brass. Can this be done?
R.F.
Yorba Linda
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A: It can be done, but it may be expensive, says Jim Gorman of Rancho Lumber in Westminster. Any time you’re dealing with an item that’s custom-made, the costs can go up. It may be easier and cheaper for the installer to remove the old railing and install a new one rather than cap your old one.
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Q: We have a sulfur odor coming from one of our bathroom faucets. It’s a brass fixture, and the plumbing throughout the house is copper. Any ideas on what could be causing this?
L.Q.
Santa Ana
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A: It’s possible that the water is reacting with the plumbing and this faucet to create copper sulfate, says Joel Gwartz of B.J. Discount Plumbing & Heating Supply in Garden Grove. You could have some kind of analysis done on the water coming from this tap to check the sulfate level and then replace the fixture or install a filter on your water system. You also might want to plug up the faucet and make sure the odor isn’t coming from the drain.
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Q: I have a heavy, 15 1/2-by-20 1/2 silver tray that has faded in storage. Is replating something this size worthwhile?
K.F.
Laguna Hills
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A: It depends, of course, on how important the plate is to you, says Elaine of Allan Adler Silversmiths in Corona del Mar. Replating an object that large would probably cost $500 to $600. Replating involves applying a very thin coat of silver on the object; once plated silver is badly tarnished, it must be redone. Sterling silver is more expensive, but the silver coating is thicker, and if sterling is tarnished, it can generally be cleaned and polished.
Most hardware stores carry silver bags that you can use to hold store sterling and plated silver and which protects them from tarnishing. However, they only slow the oxidation process. Over time, all silver tarnishes.
