Q I have a problem with my modular home, a Cape Cod-style house with a one-story bedroom at one end and a one-story den at the other end. The problem is that snow in the winter blows into the joint where the one-story units are attached to the house. I can see daylight there. The contractor caulked the joint but it did little good. How can it be fixed, and who should do the fixing?

Mary Ann Beaton,

A Ah yes, it’s an old story: The modular house, manufactured in a factory, is of top quality. The installation is at fault. Where two units come together, the only proper way to seal the connection (where roof meets the wall) is metal flashing. Caulking, inside or out, will do no good. Flashing is the only way.

Q Can I paint ceiling tiles? They are in a suspended ceiling and are loose, so it might be hard to paint with a brush. The tiles are some sort of fiber, smooth and painted white. Also, you wrote about a movable threshold not too long ago. What is it and where can I buy one?

Bill Benson, Easton

A Yes, the loose tiles will yield when you use a brush. Very frustrating. One way to get around those yielding tiles is to take them out and paint them on the floor or other convenient space. Or, buy a latex spray paint, and spray them in position, but be careful with spray paint; be sure to mask off surfaces you do not want painted.

As for the movable threshold, it is a door sweep that flips up as you open the door and flips down as you close it, making an airtight and watertight seal. It is sold in hardware and big-box stores. Most of the sweeps are the fixed kind, but there is usually one or two of the movable kind in the display. If not, ask.

Q I plan to take the glued-on linoleum off a hardwood floor, then sand the floor. I was told to use a blow torch to heat the linoleum so it can be scraped up. Would this work?

Peter Brumenthal, Sharon

A Sure it will work, and you will also remove the hardwood and half the house if you’re not careful. Even a hot air gun is too hazardous to use indoors. True, it does take heat to soften linoleum glue, so you can use a hair dryer, set on high. Start at the edges and insert a shovel or wide long-handled scraper and pry up as you go along. You may burn out the dryer, but that is a small price to pay for a difficult job. Or, rent a power scraper. Once the linoleum is off, you can scrape off the glue or dissolve it with paint stripper. Then sand and finish. It will be wonderful.

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