Thank you, in advance.
A. First you need to do an exorcism of the home. You may even profit from this problem by getting Hollywood to do a film of the attack. It sounds pretty dramatic, and the people from Cornell Cooperative Extension were amazed by your question. They agreed with my assessment that you have to check for the entry the bees use to get into the eaves of your home. Seal all openings so that only proper air holes, which are much smaller, are still preserved for venting the space. The back side of the sheetrock ceiling, the side the yellow jackets get to and chew apart, should be coated with an acrylic paint. They will not gnaw at acrylic.
Fortunately, winter is the dormant season for bees, so you have plenty of time now to prepare the area. If you procrastinate until spring, they may return before you can do anything.
The other alternative is to build a very tiny amusement park next to your house with a sign that says "just for bees," and another one saying "must have yellow jacket to enter." Make the signs just big enough for a bee to see or you may have a lot of hungry real estate agents drop over unexpectedly. Good Luck!
Q. Do you have a solution? I dug up my mother-in-law's porcelain top kitchen table. The bottom looks like a beautiful oak and has been restored, but restoring the porcelain top has me facing a brick wall! I called ceramic tile people and they cannot take off the porcelain and redo it.
Can you tell me how to redo a porcelain top? I hear it is almost impossible. Is this true or are you a miracle worker? Thank you.
A. Let me see if I understand your question. First, you dug up your mother-in-law. After looking at her table, you faced a brick wall, then you called people made of porcelain for help. This sounds like the intro to "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," but I am sure you are hoping I can work miracles.The first problem is that although porcelain is repairable, is it worth it? If you have a seamless, uniform table top, it can be filled and repaired by an epoxy process but will not be perfect unless the entire top is completely recoated. If you are referring to porcelain tiles with joints or seams, maybe it is best to remove the tiles and re-tile the top. Furniture restoration can be very expensive due to the amount of labor involved. The restored oak "bottom" may be damaged by removal of porcelain, even under the most delicate method of removal. Unless the table is an heirloom, you may want to consider a glass overlay in one of many tints and types of edges, or replacing the entire top. Otherwise, save your money and get a beautiful new table for the same money and a lot less aggravation.
Bon Appetit!
Readers are encouraged to send questions to: HERALD Homes379 Central Avenue, P.O. Box 220, Lawrence, N.Y. 11559-0220Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.
