water-proofing
chemical.

One cannot be over-zealous in this, for a flooded or even damp cellar
is always a hazard. Under no circumstances attempt to turn on electric
lights if you are standing where it is wet or damp. Ninety-nine times
out of a hundred all that can happen is a mild electric shock but
there is always the one chance in thousands that by so doing you may
be your own electrocutioner. It is safest to have all cellar lights
controlled by one or more switches at the head of the cellar stairs;
but if there is a light that must be turned on in the cellar itself,
leave it alone under conditions of standing water and be sure the
fault is rectified before the next heavy rain can cause a repetition.

Just as storms can make trouble below stairs, roof and eaves may
develop faults. Where the roof is of wooden shingles, one of the usual
causes of leaks is a cracked shingle. When this chances to be directly
above a slight space left in laying the roof for expansion between the
shingles of the next course, rain, instead of flowing off the roof,
runs through this crack and wet plaster results. This does not mean
that the roof must be re-laid if otherwise tight and sound. Get a
sheet of roofing tin or copper, locate the troublesome crack, and
gently insert a piece of the sheet metal, trimmed to the right size,
beneath the cracked shingle. Properly done, you should not find it
necessary to nail the piece of sheet metal because the shingles
themselves will hold it in place. While making this repair, be careful
not to walk on the roof more than is absolutely necessary. Your weight
and the pressure of your feet may crack other shingles. It is better
to work from a ladder. This should have a large iron hook that will
catch on the ridgeboard and keep it from slipping. It also distributes
the weight of the man making the repair.

Sometimes eaves, instead of providing drainage and conducting rain
from the roof to ground, work in the reverse. The dampened plaster of
the interior side walls soon betrays this. When these spots appear it
is probable that the opening where the down-spout joins the
eaves-trough is clogged with leaves and small twigs. Remove this plug
that has gradually accumulated round the strainer and once more rain
water will flow merrily and noisily down the spout. Also, in winters
of unusually heavy snowfalls and cold weather, if the eaves-troughs
are hung too close to the edge of the roof or have not sufficien