A good way to test a ladder is to lay it flat on the ground, and then have a heavy man walk up and down it, bearing his whole weight on each rung. If he carries something heavy in his hands, so much the better. It is cheaper if a rung is broken in this way than if it should break later on while a man is standing on it painting the side of a house. The first case means only the cost of a new rung. The second means a lawyer's fee for defending a damage suit, and the possible payment of several hun dred dollars' damages.
All ladders and scaffold boards should be painted some uniform color, which will enable one to keep track of them at a building, and prevent them from being carried away by the masons, carpenters, or roofers. Each piece should also be stenciled with the name and address of the owner. Extension ladders may be a good investment, as much time is wasted by men in lashing together separate ladders and in lifting old and heavy ladders. It racks lad ders badly to raise them on edge; they should always be lifted square, with both feet on the ground.
Ropes should never be kept in a cellar or damp place, or unnecessarily exposed to the weather, as this will cause them to rot. If a set of blocks and falls are left out in the rain, the ropes will afterwards dry upon the surface; but the water that has soaked into them and is hidden beneath the dry exterior may be slowly destroying the fiber. Tarred ropes, such as are used on shipboard, cannot be employed in house painting, because they would discolor a freshly painted surface if they happened to touch it. It is a good plan occasionally to pull the entire length of the rope out of the blocks, and put it in again in the opposite direction. This brings a new portion of the rope in the pulley blocks, and distributes the wear more evenly, adding considerably to the life of the rope.
Finishing Radiators. One of the most dura ble finishes for radiators and steam pipes that are exposed to great heat is aluminum bronze, mixed to the consistency of paint in the so called "banana liquid." This is a solution of celluloid in amyl acetate, and is very explosive if brought in contact with fire; hence it should never be used in a room lit by gas or lamps, or in which a fire may be burning. It has a very peculiar and pungent odor which is disagree able to many people, but which passes off within a day or two. Bronzes thinned with this
medium hold their color well and stand exposure to the weather. It may be used with gold, copper, and colored bronzes, as well as with aluminum; but the latter is the most durable, especially when subjected to great heat, as in the case of radiators, besides presenting a very pleasing appearance.
For painted radiators and steam pipes, zinc white should be used as the base, and it should be colored with some pigment not easily affected by the heat. For a light buff, Italian sienna may be used, lightened, if desired, with perma nent yellow (zinc yellow). For other tints, such colors as ultramarine blue, drop black, burnt sienna, red oxide or Tuscan red, Indian red, yellow ocher, chrome red, or madder lake may be used; but on no account should chrome yellow, chrome green, Prussian blue, or other colors affected by heat be selected. The zinc white should be of the best quality, ground in (Tamar varnish. If only zinc white ground in linseed oil can be obtained, it should be washed with turpentine to draw off the surplus oil. The colors should be ground in japan. When the proper tint has been obtained, it should be thinned with turpentine to a creamy consist ency, and a good pale baking varnish added to give a glossy surface. The pipes should be painted when fairly cool, and steam should not be turned on until the paint is dry and hard to the touch.
Painting in Winter. The average property owner, and not a few painters as well, have an idea that paint is injured by frost; but this is far from being the case if the paint is thinned only with pure linseed oil and turpentine and the necessary quantity of driers. As the freez ing point of linseed oil is eighteen degrees below zero, it is not at all likely that any outside work will be done when the temperature is sufficiently low to freeze the oil and cause injury to the paint film. The only effect of cold, dry weather is to reduce the rapidity with which the paint dries, and for this reason a somewhat larger proportion of the best liquid driers should be added than would be needed for work done in warm weather. it is well, also, to use a larger proportion of turpentine in order to render the paint somewhat more fluid; also to apply the paint somewhat thinner than usual, and use plenty of care in brushing it out.