Ask Handyman

How can I sound proof my home office?

Q I work from an office in my home, and when my teenagers have their friends over, they drive me crazy with their noise. Often I can barely hear my phone ring. How can I modify the room to cut down the noise?

Tom West, Birmingham, AL

A The solution to this common problem (other than evicting all teenagers) is to block the avenues sound uses to get into your office. Sound transmission reduction is a complex subject, but keep it simple by considering this basic scenario: A massive wall, whether it’s concrete or built-up drywall, is a great sound absorber and blocker, but it becomes useless if there’s even a tiny hole in it.

The lesson? Start small. First seal openings into your office, and then consider strategies for absorbing more of the sound as it passes through the wall, ceiling, floor and door materials.

Try these solutions in the order shown.

Install a solid-core door with vinyl weatherstripping and a bottomsweep and threshold.
Caulk around ductwork and electrical boxes where they penetrate the drywall.
Glue a layer of acoustic board and then another layer of drywall over the existing interior walls. This is a bigger project. It requires extending or moving electrical boxes, adding jamb extensions to doors, and removing and reinstalling casings and baseboard.
If the noise is coming from upstairs, nail 1x2 furring strips on the ceiling with 3/4-in. rigid insulation in between. Run the strips perpendicular to the joists. Screw resilient channel to the furring strips with 3/4-in. screws, then hang 5/8-in. drywall from the resilient channel with 1-1/4 in. drywall screws. Tape, sand and paint the ceiling. Electrical boxes and heating registers will need to be extended or moved downward. Another big job.
Glue a layer of acoustic board and drywall inside a stud space that’s being used as an air return. This will reduce the amount of return airflow by about one-third. Consult with a heating contractor to ensure that this won’t compromise your heating system.
Install rigid foam insulation board or fiberglass batts behind and around ductwork and electrical boxes. You have to tear open walls.
Fill wall and ceiling cavities with fiberglass insulation batts. If you open a wall for any another reason, add this step.
If the noise is coming from below, loose-lay acoustic board under the carpet. This requires pulling up the existing carpet and tack strip, installing new tack strip and restretching the carpet.

Am I likely to get shocked?

Q Each winter, I plug a set of Christmas lights into an exterior receptacle in my garden. The plug gets wet in the rain and snow. Could I be shocked when I go out to unplug it?

Wendell Harrison, Sioux City, IA

A It’s not likely if you have a GFCI-protected outlet. A GFCI (the outlet with test and reset buttons) is specifically designed to prevent lethal shocks and is required by code in exterior situations. What’s more likely is that the wet cord and plug will cause the GFCI to shut off the power and your lights to go out. Also, the outlet will eventually corrode.

To prevent this, install an in-use cover like the one shown to keep the cord end and the outlet dry. The National Electrical Code now requires these covers to be installed on new exterior receptacle boxes. We recommend a sturdy all-metal cover. These covers are available at home centers, hardware stores and electrical wholesalers.

Where should a house sit on the site?

Q When constructing a new home in the Northern United States, is it preferable to align it on an east-west axis for a better southern exposure?

Ralph Greipp, via E-mail

A Yes. If you position the long side facing south and add a lot of windows on that side, you’ll get a lot of warming sunlight in winter. This “passive solar gain” will reduce your heating bills. Unfortunately, home planning is rarely that simple. Large south-facing windows with warm sunlight streaming in on a cold January day may be desirable, but not if you’re looking at the city dump next door. Designing is a process of give and take.

Here are other major factors:

Lot line setbacks, structure height restrictions and other zoning laws
Access to the street for cars and foot traffic
Views
Privacy
Protection from wind and rain
Trees and other major landscape features

Consider hiring a professional to help develop the concept drawings. Architects and designers should consider all these issues and incorporate them into the design. Armed with these concept sketches, meet with your local building officials to determine what they require for actual working plans. You can save money during the design process by completing the working drawings yourself. If you’d like to bite off an even bigger chunk of the planning, dig into the books in your local library on home and remodeling design.

Should I replace my cordless drill batteries?

Q My old cordless drill has a rechargeable battery that’s shot. I can’t find a replacement battery. Can you tell me where to get a replacement?

Steven Gent, Richmond, IN

A First, find a factory-authorized service dealer (check the Yellow Pages under “Tools, Electric”) and ask about the replacement price. Brace yourself; it might shock you. A new 12-volt battery for an old drill of mine costs $45. Next I called a battery dealer, Batteries Plus (800-MR-START; www.batteriesplus.com). They quoted me a price of $33 to rebuild the battery, which includes a six-month warranty. Rebuilding consists of opening the battery pack and replacing the ten 1.2-volt cells (10 times 1.2 volts equals 12 volts) with new ones.

Find rebuilders in the Yellow Pages under “Batteries.” They’ll tell you if they can do the job. If the drill is still working well, I’d rebuild the battery pack.

For tips on optimizing the life of your rechargeable batteries, see “Ask Handyman,” June ’01, p. 11. To order a copy, see p. 120.

Is treated lumber hazardous?

Q I’m enclosing my yard with a fence and I’d like to use treated wood. Will the arsenic in the treated lumber be a hazard near my well?

Bob Tucker, via E-mail

A You shouldn’t have any trouble. When it’s used appropriately (not for cutting boards, countertops or food containers), lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) isnotconsidered a health hazard by the Environmental Protection Agency. But because of continuing health concerns about the arsenic in the preservative, the treated wood industry is voluntarily switching over to non-arsenic wood preservatives for the residential market. The changeover will be completed by the end of year 2003.

You can currently buy non-arsenic treated lumber at many lumberyards and home centers, and most retailers can order it if they don’t stock it. It’s sold under the brand names of ACQ Preserve, NatureWood and Wolmanized Natural Select. For help finding it, go to www.treatedwood.com, click on distributor locator, then enter your ZIP code, click on the retailer box, and check the Preserve and Preserve Plus product boxes.

All treated lumber that contains arsenic carries a label with a red arsenic warning.

Clarification

Before you install the can recycling chute featured in “Wordless Workshop” (Feb. ’02, p. 103), ask your building inspector if it meets local codes. Several readers pointed out that drilling holes between floors in a multi-story home may be considered a fire hazard.

Art Direction• GREGG WEIGAND

Photography• BILL ZUEHLKE