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Remover products will cut through dried glue

By Glenn Haege

Q. Our basement flooded recently and the carpet must be removed. Which product should I use to remove the glue from the concrete floor?

A. Adhesive Remover by Savogran, www.savogran.com, or Bio-Wash Foam Off, www.etscompany.com, should do the job.

Q. We installed a new wood privacy fence in our yard. We had one before and used Penofin on it, but over the years it had turned very dark from the sun and weather. What can we use on the fence to seal the wood but not add any color that will turn dark over the years?

A. Reality check. It sounds like your privacy fence did beautifully with the Penofin. You should not expect more than two years wear on a horizontal surface (a deck) and four years wear on a vertical surface (spindles or a privacy fence).

Performance Coatings, Penofin, www.penofin.com, now makes Penofin Ultra, which will give you the most durable finish possible consistent with your desire to keep the natural wood look. If longevity of finish is your desired goal, consider using a solid-colored wood stain.

Q. Is there a liner we could put inside the toilet tank to prevent so much condensation? On humid days, we actually have a puddle of water forming under the tank and running down the floor.

A. The William H. Harvey Co. makes liners for toilet tanks. You can find them at Ace, True Value and Do-It-Best hardware stores and most plumbing supply houses. When you get the liner, turn off the water, flush the tank to empty, then cut out and install the liner.

Q. What do you know about Ardex products? Specifically, I want to use their SD-T self-leveling product to put a colored concrete surface over my existing basement floor. I'm a budding architect, so I do crazy things like that. I just want the materials so that I can install it myself. No commercial contractor is going to want to come over and do 400 square feet in my basement.

A. Ardex SD-T is an excellent Portland Cement based resurfacer for interior concrete and can be used as the base for fantastic designer floors such as the MGM Casino Walk in Las Vegas. Ardex considers their company one that makes products for professionals, not do-it-yourselfers. To find a dealer or distributor, consult www.ardex.com.

Glenn Haege writes for the Detroit News. Write: Ask Glenn, Master Handyman Press, P.O. Box 1498, Royal Oak, MI 48068-1498; or askglenn@masterhandyman.com.