Q. My hardwood floors have been down for about 20 years. This past summer we had mold and mildew under the house. We had a company come spray the floor joists and replace the insulation. They closed off the vents. We had new ductwork done. They told us what kind of dehumidifier to purchase and to leave it on all the time. We have. Could any of the work we had done have caused the flooring to separate? In one place there is a 1-inch gap! Thank you in advance for your suggestions.
A. I would say that the dehumidifier is causing the flooring to dry out, which would create gaps. This sounds like a tricky one: You want to keep the crawl space under the floor dry enough to prevent mold, but not so dry that the wood floor dries out too much. My first thought is that the dehumidifier should be hooked up to a humidistat, and my second is that running a dehumidifier all the time seems excessive. A humidistat will regulate the amount of dry air/humidity and keep things in balance. A consultation with an HVAC company would help.
Q. The wood siding on my 60-year-old house is in good shape for the most part, so I was cheered by your recent comment that wood makes a “good seal.” (”Ask the Remodeler: April showers loom. Help your gutters do their job,” Address, March 20). You also said blown-in cellulose insulation would do a lot toward energy efficiency. I’ve been considering this, but you were responding to a writer concerned that the interior lath walls might buckle during the insulating process. Should I worry about such a possibility? And how disruptive would the process be otherwise? Would I need to replace areas of clapboard, for example?
A. A couple of things here: A house that is only 60 years old should have some insulation in the walls, although it is likely old and nothing like today’s products. It’s also hard to say how much has settled and whether there are voids in the walls and ceilings. The best way to start, as I have mentioned to several readers, is with a professional energy audit from Mass Save or another service provider. These aren’t expensive and will give you the guidance you need as to where you may need insulation. A 60-year-old house will not have lath and plaster walls; it will be wallboard or possibly wire lath, both of which hold up well when insulation is blown in. A professional insulator will be able to remove and reinstall two rows of clapboards per floor to insulate as necessary from the outside.
Mark Philben is the project development manager at Charlie Allen Renovations in Cambridge. Send your questions to homerepair@globe.com. Questions are subject to editing. Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @globehomes.
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