Q:We live in a home that is more than 50 years old. It has a cement foundation with a finished wallboard basement. We noticed an earthy smell in the basement. We feel that the smell is coming from the high moisture content of the old cement walls behind the wallboard.

We have been advised that to fix the problem, the wallboard would have to be torn down and wire mesh would have to be put up on the walls and more cement and then a special paint be applied. The estimated cost for the wire mesh process alone would be roughly $10,000, not including the demolition and refinishing of the basement.

Since we do not plan to stay in this home for the rest of our lives, do you have any other suggestions for us?

A: Get another opinion. Moisture finds the lowest point, and you don’t get much lower than the basement. Yet putting a layer of—I guess—stucco on top of a moisture problem is not the answer.

The source of the moisture is outside the basement or perhaps under the basement—a high water table. Some basements are not meant to be finished.

Water problems are never cured— they are managed with a sump pump and french drains or a properly sized dehumidifier.

When builders of new houses create “dry” basements, they start on the outside, not inside, and that’s where someone who knows what he or she is doing should start.

Q: We bought a house with a wall of mirrors in the master bedroom. I want to remove them. How do I do that?

A: The mirrors are probably glued right to the wall, which means lots of work and damaged plaster or wallboard.

You could use a solvent to take care of the glue and loosen the mirrors, sand the remaining adhesive off the wall, make any repairs, prime the walls as if they had new drywall, then paint.

Someone else suggested steaming the mirrors off the wall and loosening the adhesive as one would wallpaper paste. But the glue used for sticking mirrors to a wall is different from paste.

Maybe a wallpaper removal company would be your best bet.

Have questions for Alan J. Heavens? E-mail him at

aheavens@phillynews.com

or write him at The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia PA 19101.