Ernesto G.

Hi Ernesto,
Yes that’s true. Contractors have to abide by the lead laws as set forth by the EPA, which are substantial.
The EPA issued rules of safe practices while working with lead painted surfaces in April 2008. In April 2010, all contractors were required to be certified — both Firm Certified and RRP Certified. Firm Certification for the company license, RRP, or Renovation, Repair, and Painting Certified for staff.
Affected structures: homes, day care centers, or schools built in 1978 or before. Lead paint began to phase out during the mid 1970s and was banned Dec. 31, 1977.
Back in the old days, you would buy paint and a bucket of fine lead dust separately. After mixing the paint, get a handful of the lead and mix that with the paint. Lead makes the paint more colorful and more durable. It is still used by the military and on ship hulls because of its strength, but it’s deadly poisonous. Especially in dust or fume form.
This prompted the EPA to initiate a very thorough set of containment procedures and practices that must be followed whenever disturbing pre-1978 painted surfaces.
These procedures include heavy duty plastic in the work area to walk on; sticky pads to step on when exiting the containment area; sealing the windows, doors, air vents, and handlers; hepa vacuums for tools and personnel; wrapping each piece of debris, like drywall pieces, into a plastic-covered package to be placed in locked dumpster or receptacle. If the debris weighs 220 pounds or more, then it is considered hazardous waste and the contractor owns it forever. This means after it is disposed of, the contractor can be contacted 30 years later and be told that his waste needs to be moved at “X” amount of dollars per pound.
There are many additional steps necessary for working with lead paint. If a contractor happens to miss one of those steps, like not handing a pamphlet to one of the affected homeowners in a condominium complex, they can be fined $37,500. Also, California laws are different than national laws and the EPA laws are not exactly the same as the HUD — Housing and Urban Development — laws. As Firm and RRP certified, we are required to know these differences.
This is a tremendous amount of additional expense and work required to adhere to these laws. More steps and manpower translate into additional costs passed onto the HOA or homeowner.
You as a homeowner, on the other hand, do not need to follow these stipulations. If you want to do all of the strip work and prepping, then call the contractor to complete the project, you could save a large percentage of the cost.
I would strongly recommend that you make yourself familiar with abatement procedures so that you can adequately protect yourself. It is critical that you learn how to control, contain, and dispose of the lead dust properly for the safety of you and your family.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical, and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

I’m a new board member and am perhaps overly cautious from a liability and legal standpoint. We have agreed to put in a new play area in a specially gated section of property. What regulations would be involved with the installation of playground equipment involving basically a slide, swings, cargo netting, and a ramp? Thank you,

Emily B.

Hi Emily,

You would need to pull permits for the footings, which would have to be inspected by the City. They will want to see that the footings were dug properly and that the concrete is set. Also, they will check the pinning, if required.

All of the recommendations will be listed by the manufacturer. That said, the City will want to see that all is installed as they see fit.

Other items of interest to the City will be the flooring — whether it is the rubber matting, bark, sand, etc. Then, once a year, you’ll have to call out an independent contractor that will certify that the play area is still safe and in good working condition. There are several contractors in California that provide you with these annual certifications.

Hello Mr. Lamoureux,

Now that winter is just around the corner, are there any maintenance tips or anything you recommend to prepare your home for the rainy season? Thank you,

Michael S.

Hi Michael,

There are a number of things you can do in preparation of the rains.

You want to make sure that all of your gutters as well as your downspouts are thoroughly cleaned. The only way to be sure they are clean is to water test them.

What we recommend doing is to put a garden hose into the downspouts and flush out all of the leaves and debris. A clean downspout is just as important of having the gutters clean. During a rain, on a two story house, if the downspouts are backed up, there is enough water weight there to pull the spouts and the gutters off of your house.

If you’ve made any recent changes or improvements to your property, such as planting trees, adding a planter or flower bed or any concrete work, make sure everything is graded away from the house so you don’t get ponding and pooling.

Check that all of your area drains are clear. Remove the cover, clean out the leaves, and run a garden hose through them as far as you can.

You can also check caulking around your windows. If you need to caulk, use single stage urethane as opposed to silicone. The urethane has got better elasticity and a longer life for just pennies more on the dollar and is available in an array of colors.

A lot of people have sump pumps. To check them, turn it off and fill the vault with water. Plug it in and see if the discharge line is clear and if it is working. Depending on the size of the vault, you can use a sump pump or a sewage ejector that handles more GPM’s (gallons per minute.) Make sure the vault is cleared of any debris that could interfere with the float and clean the weep hole that could cause airlock.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical, and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

I read your column all the time and enjoy it very much.

We’re putting an addition in on our home. I’m planning on doing all of the work myself. On the prints it says I can use plywood for the sheerwall or O5B. Are you familiar with this product? Thank you,

Jean M.

Hi Jean,

It says OSB, which is oriented strand board. It looks like plywood, which is made from wood fibers that are glued together. The OSB is a little cheaper than plywood, but it’s basically the same thing and is widely used for sheerwall applications.

Just make sure you follow all of the nailing patterns, and whether they want ring shank or screw downs.

Robert,

I have had nothing but problems with my plumbing pipes over the years. The HOA sent out a plumber, and he is going to spray an epoxy lining in the pipe. They have scheduled the work for Dec. 21 so I hope you can answer before that time. Thank you,

Sasha R.

Hi Sasha,

I’ve seen hundreds of these epoxy lined pipes over the years and my experience with them has been negative. In theory they work great. The insurance companies like it because it offers them a cheaper alternative to sawcutting the slab, which takes additional labor and concrete repair.

With the coating, they come in and spray this system and it works, but if and when you have another back up, you can’t use cutters on the cable because it will damage the liner.

In my opinion, the epoxy lining is a band-aid. It’s a waste of money and time. To do this job properly, they need to open that slab and replace the pipe. Depending on the age of your home, you might have galvanized.

If cutters are used, the insurance company will say that you destroyed the lining and now you own it. One suggestion would be to ask the insurance company what kind of allowance they are giving for that repair. Then ask if they will give you that money so you can make up the difference —do it right.

Robert,

I have a property that sits lower than my next door neighbor’s yard. I have a block wall that divides our yards but from their side, it is only chest high so they are looking right into our pool. Can I add a couple of rows of blocks on this wall? Is there anything else I need to know? Thank you very much,

Ron L.

[After a follow-up email, I found out Ron’s wall had 11 courses.]

Hi Ron,

Unfortunately the answer is no. Your footing is designed for up to 11 courses and the cap, and that’s it. It can’t handle more of a load than that. To rebuild it higher, it would have to be engineered, and the City probably would not allow it anyway.

You can, however, plant some shrubbery on your side of the wall that can grow up to eight feet high. It will require maintenance, but it will help with your privacy. Go to a nursery and look at their evergreen, year-round shrubbery. Some varieties grow in very dense. Many people look at this option as a living fence and prefer it to block.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

I remember you once had written about a way to install vinyl fencing to make it stronger. I’ve got a fence going up on my own private property so I’m not aware of any restrictions. I am in a stiff breeze area and will be putting in solid panels, and I don’t want it blowing over. Thank you,

Benny D.

Hi Benny,

The first step, before you break any ground, is to make sure you notify Dig Alert. By law, anyone that plans to dig even one inch deep, anytime earth is moved, must notify Dig Alert two working days in advance. Failure to do so could result in a $50,000 fine.

It’s your responsibility as a homeowner before you put a shovel to the ground that the utilities are notified. The various utility companies will then send out locators that will mark the approximate location of their lines but not the depth. Especially along the perimeter of a property, you do not want to sever any gas, water, cable, or telephone lines. I’ve seen some of these as shallow as one foot deep.

You would spray paint “USA” in white paint on the ground beforehand with arrows indicating where the fence will be located. Remember the utility guys will mark only an approximate location of the lines. You are responsible for 18” on either side of the mark, so you have to be very cautious. For example, if you have a yellow delineation running close to one of your post hole locations, indicating a gas line, be careful and slowly dig it out by hand. Sometimes just scraping a gas line with a shovel is enough to weaken and cause it to leak in the future.

Once the utilities have been marked, then you can dig the post holes. Depending on the length of the fence, you might want to rent a power auger for this step.

One thing you can do to really strengthen the fence would be to add a couple of pieces of steel in each of the post holes. Drive rebar into the ground about two or three feet with a mallet. Then come up 1/3 of the way with concrete and set your posts around the rebar. It’s going to take more than a stiff breeze to bring this fence down.

Hi Robert,

First time question, long time reader: I’ve got a block wall that is cracking out the concrete in between the blocks. It looks like stairs. The crack goes over, down, over, down, etc. This wall was just put in less than one year ago. What is this indicative of?

Marley E.

Hi Marley,

This is either a footing or compaction problem. The stair effect is movement caused by undermining below grade. Typically, when you see this type of damage to the mortar lines, it’s due to a cracked footing that is no longer supporting the weight of the wall. Or, it was poorly compacted when the wall was built.

There’s no way of knowing what will happen as time goes on. It may have finished settling or the damage could worsen. If the wall is less than a year old, I would have the contractor come back out and make it right.

Submit questions to: robert@imsconstruction.com.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

We may have messed up here at our HOA. One of our board members hired a contractor and did not check his license or references or anything. I think it’s going to bite us where we don’t like things biting us. He was hired for a waterproofing issue in Santa Clarita. He dug out about half of a very large planter, but he did not get any permits. He waterproofed the front of the wall and four feet on the bottom of the planter and told us that the water would not come into the building, but water is coming inside the building. He is not returning our calls, and it gets worse: The address on his business card is to a storage unit. I personally saw the material that he waterproofed the planter with. It was a black rubber and green Styrofoam. How could this leak? What do we do? Thank you for your time,

Vick T.

Hi Vick,

The green Styrofoam is called Amacore board, which is used to protect the waterproofing membrane from rocks during the backfill. The black rubber material you are describing could be bituthene, which is a good waterproofing agent, but it could also be roofing tar.

The reason it’s still leaking is because he only sealed half of the planter either to save money or time or perhaps just a lack of experience. Because concrete is porous, water will leach through the non-waterproofed section, travel under the waterproofing, and then into the building.

At this point, unfortunately, the entire planter will have to be excavated and all of the waterproofing he applied must be removed. If he did use roofing mastic it will eventually crack and give you leaks. It will have to be removed by sandblasting.

My recommendation for not only this repair but any future work is to go with a reputable contractor. Check with friends, check references, check with the Contractor’s State License Board. Don’t just hire anybody off of the street. You want to make sure they are licensed and have Worker’s Comp.

The City of Santa Clarita will not require you to pull permits for waterproofing or sandblasting. Personally, I wish this was not the case, but that’s the way it is. Beverly Hills, however, and zones 1 and 2 of Los Angeles do require permits for waterproofing. I, for one, appreciate the Building Department being involved.

Your planter may also need crickets, which will act to raise the water and channel it over to a drain. If you have subterranean parking and you don’t have drains, then spend the extra money and install them. You would first need to X-ray the slab to make sure not to core through rebar or post tension cables. If the slab is more than 10” they would have to go to a cobalt x-ray.

The bottom line is doing it right the first time is always better. In this case, you’ve spent bad money on this problem and were misguided by someone who does not know what they were doing. Now, you need to spend good money to have the work redone the right way.

We have a 12 year old 40 gallon hot water heater that is starting to rust out (no surprise there). It’s only function is to provide hot water for four or five faucets in community building restrooms used mainly on weekends. We’ve been quoted on a 30 gallon replacement tank and have also been told we would need instant hot water heaters for each sink, which makes that idea more expensive.

Do we really even need hot water, and if so, what other alternatives have we not thought of?

Steve T.

Hi Steve,

If these are out buildings, it sounds like this is a request from the health department, or a plumbing company aware of the requirements of that agency. Either way, yes, you have to provide hot water.

Since you don’t have washing machines and showers, a 30 gallon tank should provide ample hot water for community bathroom lavs.

The health department wants to assure that people are able to wash their hands with hot water to kill bacteria before going back into the pool. You don’t want bacteria to contaminate the water.

They are requiring instant hot water because most people will not wait and will return to the pool without thoroughly washing their hands.

Hello Robert,

I was reading the warning tag on a light in my home. It said do not use anything other than 60 watt bulbs, but this is too dim. How important is that warning? Can I put in 100 watt bulbs? Thank you for your time,

Alicia M.

Hi Alicia,

The problem is the heat generated by the higher wattages. The more heat you are creating, the more at risk of damaging the fixture or fire. I would follow the manufacturer’s recommendation and use 60 watts. If it’s too dark, consider buying additional fixtures and add lighting to the darker areas of your home.

Another option would be to call the manufacturer and ask if they recommend replacing the 60 watt incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb. An incandescent bulb uses heat to produce light. A fluorescent bulb contains a gas that produces ultraviolet light when the gas is charged by electricity. The UV light hits the white coating inside the fluorescent bulb and changes it into light. This process is four to six times more efficient than incandescents, so you could use a 15 watt CFL that would produce the same amount of light as a 60 watt traditional bulb. Also, the CFL’s last 10 to 13 times longer and use much less electricity to operate. Here is a list comparing the wattages of standard incandescent bulbs and CFL’s :

• — 40 watts incandescent = 10 watts compact fluorescent
• — 60 watts incandescent = 15 watts compact fluorescent
• — 75 watts incandescent = 20 watts compact fluorescent
• — 100 watts incandescent = 26-29 watts compact fluorescent
• — 150 watts incandescent = 38-42 watts compact fluorescent
• — 250-300 watts incandescent = 55 watts compact fluorescent

Submit questions to: robert@imsconstruction.com.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

It so happens Chaminade is the CIF Southern Section’s top-ranked team in the Western Division, and Arcadia is No. 3 in the Southeast Division. Upsets can occur, but not on this evening as the chalk ran true to form.

It began with Chaminade fumbling the opening kickoff as it became 7-0 in favor of the Golden Knights when quarterback Jared Lebowitz spotted tight end Christian Hess with a 22-yard pass.

Chaminade (7-1 and 3-0 in league) came in averaging nearly 32 points, and put up nearly that number before St. Francis was able to answer with a touchdown on its final series.

Eagles’ running back Terrell Newby accounted for 165 yards on the ground, and scored Chaminade’s first three touchdowns.

Lebowitz connected on 18 of 44 passes for 197 yards with two interceptions, and his favorite target was wide receiver Travis Talianko, who snared five passes for 75 yards. Austin De Los Santos finished with 95 yards on 18 carries.

The Golden Knights (6-2 and 1-2 in league) have lost back-to-back league games, and will venture to St. Paul with a potential playoff berth on the line.

Arcadia raced up and down the field against the Nitros, who haven’t won since their opener against winless Hoover.

The Apaches (6-2 and 4-1 in league) moved ahead 7-0 when quarterback Myles Carr drilled wide receiver Joey Willm with a 13-yard pass and 7:37 left in the first quarter, and it became 14-0 after Carr scrambled 15 yards late in the quarter.

Carr’s four-yard strike to tight end Robbie Haines pushed the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter, and Jake Medel (155 yards on 12 carries) had a nine-yard run with just under 10 minutes left before the half that made it a four touchdown affair.

That score was made possible when Joe Wong intercepted Glendale quarterback Evan Norton (two of seven attempts for 52 yards).

Michael Davis had both catches for the Nitros (1-7 and 0-5 in league), and Christian Osorio finished with 55 yards on 22 carries.

Norton left in favor of reserve Kevin Felix, who was sacked in the end zone for a safety with 6:38 showing in the second quarter as it became 30-0.

Nick Ryor scored from three yards out in the second quarter to make it 37-0, and Rodney Arnett added a 12-yard romp with just under nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.

I’ve noticed that you’ve been writing a lot on gates recently. I hate to be redundant, but you said that as people either come in or out they jump on the loop but that will not cause the gate to open. We have a loop inside our garage and when you step on it or when a car drives over it, the gate opens. Just a small correction —thank you,

Marty R.

Hi Marty,

What you have is a truddle hose, which is pneumatically operated. This is not a loop. A loop is a set of wires that is put into the ground that creates a magnetic field that detects metal.

You have is what gas stations used to have in the old horseless carriage days before the electronics came about. That hose can be replaced with a loop or a photoelectric eye. That will eliminate people jumping on it and opening the gate if that is what you’d like to achieve.

For our younger readers, a truddle hose looks like a black garden hose that has a bladder on one end. When the hose is compressed, air pushes the contact and causes the gate to open.

Hi Robert,

One of our fire hydrants (out of three on our property) has been hit twice this year. They came out and replaced the bolts with break-a-way bolts. Is it a good idea to replace the break-a-way bolts with strong bolts so it will stop the car? Sincerely,

Rebecca P.

Hi Rebecca,

The reason breakaway bolts are used is because you want the hydrant to sheer away from the underground line, which is usually ductile. These lines are very cost prohibitive to repair so they are protected as well as possible. Also, the breakaway bolts are code so they must be installed. They have to be put in with the head on top of the hydrant. Inspectors don’t want to see the threads sticking up.

I’ve seen some of those ductile lines buried as deep as nine feet. If you were to break one of them below grade, you’re talking about a major repair expense. It’s much less money to have the hydrant broken.

You can take steps to protect the hydrant. One preventative measure would be to put in some steel bollards. These are 4” black pipe with 1/4” walls. Mount them in such a way that the vehicles will hit the bollards before the hydrant. Pour them with a good footing of about 600 lbs. of concrete on each post and set about 2’ underground. Let the bollard come up about 3’ out of ground so they’ll be a little higher than the hydrant. Keep them about 3’ – 4’ away from the hydrant so they don’t obstruct the hose connection and won’t interfere with firefighter access in case of emergency.

These bollards are not appealing to look at, but they will stop the car before it reaches the hydrant. If you are having continuous problems at that area, then this is the way to address it.

Submit questions to: robert@imsconstruction.com.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

Thank you for your column.

We want to put in an electric gate system, but nobody on the board is well versed with these matters. What should I look for? Is it all basically the same standard equipment? Where should I start? Thanks,

Larry L.

Hi Larry,

The best advice I can give you is to get with someone that is very qualified for the layout. If you write me privately, I’ll be happy to provide you a recommendation.

The equipment is as critical as laying out proper hanging of the gates. You don’t want junk. There is a lot of inferior equipment available that will only last a couple of years. You want to work with someone locally in case you need parts. There is a major supplier now that has gone out and bought a lot of local companies. They are out of state, and getting parts from them is not easy.

You’ll also need a telephone entry system, and I strongly urge that you budget for cameras, which have become very reasonable. In 30 years I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen gates hit. Unless you’ve got cameras to go after the culprits, it’s a he-said, she-said situation.

I would also include adequate lighting at night. If you have an entry and exit, be sure and put a set of spikes on the exit side to keep from unauthorized entry. Unless you put a barrier arm in front of a slider or swing gate, you will always get tail-ins.

Stay away from the old style transmitters where you just push rocker switches. People buy an extra remote, give it to a friend, and you lose all access control to the property. I recommend a revolving receiver system. Just make sure everything is restricted so that you have control. That’s the purpose of gates, to control the ingress of the property.

For the telephone entry system, I would not put an entry code where the owner’s can punch in a code and let whomever in. If you have an entry code set up for your landscapers for example, your pizza man will have that code in 30 minutes or less.

I would also replace any factory locks because they open with universal keys — especially the telephone entry systems. Go with a barrel type lock. There is a lot of theft that happens when factory locks are left in place. Everybody and their brother have those keys. They unlock them and walk away with a $1,500 board.

Also change the keys to the lids on the operators. Make it as secure as you can and put the operators inside of the property. It’s not uncommon to see them on the outside of the gates. Anyone can just walk up, take off the lid, short out the terminal, and they’re in.

I could go for days on the do’s and don’ts when it comes to gates. Again, write me privately and I will forward you the companies we work with.

Submit questions to: robert@imsconstruction.com.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.

When I turn the water on at a faucet (hot or cold — no matter what room) in my house, the pressure is high as the water rushes out of the faucet. This lasts for about two seconds, and then the water flows much slower after that. The pressure at the valve outside from the street reads with my gauge as 50 lbs. My friendly plumber’s gauge reads 60 lbs. He has heard of this happening due to the hot water tank causing the problem. We’ve lived in this house since 1972. We never had this problem before. We did install a new hot water tank in 2010. Since then at some time after its installation, I can’t say when, this high pressure build up at the faucets began. Sir, will I receive an email from you about my problem? I just know that I will miss reading the signal the day you respond to my question.

I thank you in advance for responding to my problem. I am now scared to leave the house for more than a day or two without turning off the water to my house, thinking that the pressure will build up enough to burst a line somewhere in the house. Thank You,

Al P.

Hi Al,

It sounds like you have a PRV that is what we call “floating.” This is when the pressure fluctuates up and down.

The first thing would be to check the PRV. Get a pressure gauge from the hardware store and put it on a water bib outside. If it is floating, you might be able to catch it. You’ll want to monitor the gauge to see if the pressure is building. Check it, then come back and check it again in about an hour to see if the pressure moves up. If you’re having pressure spikes, then it’s a bad PRV that needs to be replaced. 99% of the time, that’s the problem.

Hi Robert,

This may be an old wives’ tale, but I heard once that someone was having their wooden floors worked on and whatever chemicals and rags they were using self combusted and burned through the floor. Is this possible? I’m working on our floors now and was just wondering. Many Thanks,

Kenny H.

Hello Kenny,

Yes, that is true. It’s called pyro combustion. This is one of the reasons proper cleaning is so important. An important part of any job includes cleaning the workplace and tools.

You have to be very careful when using wood oils, especially linseed oil which is extremely hazardous, when finishing a wooden surface. Other oil and hardwax mixtures including sunflower, soybean and thistle oil can suddenly ignite without spark. When the oil and a cotton rag oxidizes, it can spontaneously combust. You mostly hear about this happening when someone leaves a bucket of wax covered or oil soaked rags inside of a closed closet. The lack of ventilation and fume volume will self-ignite. There are also instances, depending on the quantities and conditions, where it will also combust outside.

Always check the safety and warning labels on any products that you use. When finished for the day, especially with oil based products, immerse oil-soaked materials in water and store in an air-tight container.

Submit questions to: robert@imsconstruction.com.

Robert Lamoureux of IMS Construction, Valencia, CA, has 30 years experience as a Commercial, General, Electrical and Plumbing contractor. The opinions expressed in “Ask the Expert” are not to replace the recommendations of a qualified contractor after a thorough visual inspection has been made.