Found 45 results for the keyword(s) ‘Drafts’

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  Can I insulate my electric in-the-floor heater?

  Debbie from North Bay, Ontario has electric heaters sunk right into her floor. Very few people even know that these things exist, but if you have a baseboard heated house you know how hard it is to get heat in front of a patio door or some other place that needs heat but there seems no way to ge...
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  Should you caulk window trim?

  Rob wrote in saying that he had an Energy Audit done on his house and as part of the energy tune-up, they caulked his window trim down to the wall. Yet he thinks this was a wasted effort because he put the trim on himself and it was just decorative.In most window installations, the trim actually...
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  Air tight electrical boxes

  Vapour Barriers should go on the "Warm in Winter" side of the insulation so that they can stop all the moisture in the air from going through the wall, but stop it where it is still warm and there will be no condensation. The problem is that a lot of air, and a lot of moisture can go through ele...
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  Insulating an old house and more.

  I don't often answer all the details of a long letter, especially not with the time constraints that we have on television. But Larry from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia wrote such a coherent detailed letter about the 80 years old very cold home that he just bought that I thought I would just wade in...
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  The fireplace stinks a sooty smell.

  Brenda from Port Hardy, B.C. says that her wood burning insert smells of soot when it is not in use.The problem is obviously one of air coming down the chimney. Either the exhaust fans in the house are drawing air when there is no fire to maintain an upward draft, or the wind is twisted around on...
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  How do you insulate a double brick wall?

  Ed and Sharon in Manitoba just bought an old house in Manitoba and it is very cold, there doesn't seem to be any insulation in the walls at all. They have been told that it was double brick construction with plaster on the inside. Well friends, it was probably built by someone from Toronto who ...
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  Cold drafts through a new Patio Door that won't go away.

  Hugh from Vancouver wrote: Our patio door was single glazed and the cold came through it like there was no door there at all. We installed inside storms several years ago and the improvement was like night and day.A couple of years ago, we saw at a local mall show displays of their double g...
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  Aluminum tape to seal window frames

  Terry has heard that if you want to stop drafts, you need to take the trim off from around the inside of windows and seal that gap between the drywall and the window frame behind the trim. He suggests simply covering this gap with aluminum duct tape.That is a great idea Terry. Aluminum duct tap...
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  How can I insulate my electrical receptacles?

  You should not put any insulation or sealing materials inside the electrical boxes as the air space is needed to keep the wires from overheating.In new construction we set the electrical box inside a "poly-pan" which then seals down to the vapour barrier, giving an air-tight electrical box. ...
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  Will Glass Doors increase the energy efficiency of a open fireplace?

  When you consider the total heat given off by an open fire place versus the amount of household air that goes up the chimney throughout the burn cycle, an open fireplace may warm up the room it is in, but it delivers a net energy loss to the house. It is in fact a wintertime air conditioner ...