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WI-ITBY FREE PRESS. HIOME IMPROVEMENT SECTION. WEDNESDAY APRIL 24. 1985, PAGE 21 Is there an extra room hiding in your house? Check out the basement When bomeowners want more liv- ing space they usually think expansion - which means expensive. But why build, when extra space may already be available - down in the basement. Although people are daunted by the idea of fixing up a blow-grade room, in most cases the solution is to water- proof from the inside, a job no more complicated than plastering and painting.* The secret of interior waterproof- ing is finding the right materials. Cracks and holes should be filled with a quick-setting bydraulic cernent. Waterplug, made by Thoro System Products, can stop leaks even when water is coming in througb the wall. For seepage problems, use a heavy cernent-base coating. One of the best, Super Thoroseal, actually becomes a part of the concrete surface that it bonds to. Before you stant work in the base- ment, check the outside of the bouse. Make sure that drainpipes are long enough to direct ramn water away from the walls. Gutters should be clear of leaves and twigs, and window wells sbould be cleaned out so that tbey don't becorne reservoirs for basement leaks. The first step of the inside work is to dlean the basernent walls and brusb off any efflorescence, the chalky substance that sometirnes leaches out onto concrete surfaces. If your wall is made of cernent block, make -weep holes" at ten-foot intervals close fo the floor. These holes will allow water trapped inside the blocks to escape while you're doing the rest of thc work. Next, chip out any cracks or holes to 1/-inch width and depth, making sure to keep the sides even, not V- shaped. Check where the wall and the floor meet - this is an area where water is nften forced up into the bouse through hydrostatie pressure. Then, using rubber gloves, mix the Waterplug to putty consistency. After a minute or two it will begin to feel warrn in your hand. Push it firrnly in- to the crack and hold it there for a couple more minutes. Let it stand a little wbile longer and then shave off excess material with a trowel, so that the patch is even. Wbere the wall rneets the floor build the Waterplug up against both surfaces in a cove Living Alone The fastest growing nmarket in the housing industry appears to be anong one-person bous ý-hoIds. According to the 1980 census. such households comprise 30 percent of the total in the San Franc isco-Oak a nd area and 28 percent inftic New York-Long Island region. Between 1970 and 1980. one- person households accounted l'or fine out of* ten new households in Pitts- burgh; eight out of ten in New York- Long Island; better than seven out of, ten in Philadelphia; and more than six out of ten in Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. shape. This will give it the strongesi possible grip. Once the leaks have been pîugged, take Super Thoroseal or a similar cernent-base coating, and mix with water to pancake batter consistency. It should be thick enough for your brush to stand up in. Brush over the areas you'patcbcd with Waterplug and then go over the lower three feet of the wall. Put it on generously. as if it's plaster rather than paint. Wait a day, and then go over the whole wall from top to bottom, so that the Iower part gets two coats. You can create a dccorative effect by rnaking swirls with your brush while you're applying the top coat. For a completely smooth finish wait tili the coating sets (about an hour) and then loat it snooth with a sponge. Last ofal., fil! the weep holes with Waterplug and êover with Super Thoroseal. As soon as the coating has dried (approximately 12 hours). youre ready for thc loor trealmient. the bujît-ins and the furniture that wilI turn your basenent into a plavroonm. a workshop. an extra bedroorn or evcn a full floor-through living space. SPRÎN~'~ M~ ~Vv~ AQUAVELVET Latex eggshel Fiat enamel PAINT by Now arrlved Slkkens Ceoai1iCeoaI23 Superior quality wood coatings englnoered ta stand up againsi the elements. CENTRAL PAINT 295 Rtson Rd. S., AND Oshawa WALLPAPER 728-6809 OOPER-SMITH EXPERTS Specializing in Bu/k Garden and Lawn Seed Ail Varieties Sold BuIk Sa you arily Buy What you Need. Potato and On ion Sets Avallable Large or Smaii1 Orders, aur Expert Seed Cou nter Staff ?.wllibe Happy to Package AYour Order whlle you wait or get It ready for you to pick up Serving Oshawva and Area for Over 75 Years COOPER-SMITH 16 Celina Street, Oshawa 571-1541 SPRNGGaren*edIutes,