QUESTION FROM Charles Theobald

I have a traditional ashphalt shingle roof. I am getting lichen and moss growing on the surface, is this problematic?
Thank you.

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear Charles:

Lichen is a type of fungus that grows with algae on roof shingles, forming a combined organism with crust-like growth. Lichens can penetrate deep into shingles and feed off of their organic oil base. It is important to remove lichen, moss and algae from your roof to prevent damage and to prolong the lifespan of your shingles.

Here is a webpage which describes how to why lichen and moss forms on asphalt roofs, and what you can do to prevent it. Note however, that the article also describes how to use a pressure washer to clean your roof, and I would strongly recommend leaving this task to a trained professional.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/672_Roof_Cleaning.shtml

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.copm

QUESTION FROM lynn

I have a hole in my chimney on the second floor from an old space heater. what do I use to fill on the spaces around the metal cap that I put in the chimney?

ANSWER FROM HOME-WIZARD

Dear Lynn:

From your description, it sounds like the metal pipe and cap that you want to install is for a connection that faces the living space of your home on the second floor? So in other words, if there is any leakage of chimney flue gas from around this metal pipe, that this flue gas could leak into your home? If this is the case, I would strongly suggest that you have a trained professional do this task for you.
Unless you have a lot of experience working with chimney masonry, I would not want to see you take even the slightest risk of having deadly CO gas leaking into your upstairs bedrooms.
With that said, if you want to understand what a professional would do, here is a webpage which describes how to install and seal around a chimney thimble (a pipe which goes into the side of a chimney wall): http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-install-a-chimney-thimble

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com