Found 43 results for the keyword(s) ‘Drainage’

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  How do I keep a shallow Sump drain from freezing outdoors?

  Michael writes from St. Lazare, Quebec : We recently found a nasty surprise with our new house. The land has a high water table and as a result we have sump pump in the basement. The plumbing for this pump was hidden in the walls and ceiling of the basement. When our inspector inspected the home,...
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  Stopping sewage back-up in the basement floor

  INSPECT, MAINTAIN OR INSTALL BACKFLOW DAMPERS UNDER THE BASEMENT FLOOR BEFORE DOING ANY RENOVATION WORK IN A BASEMENT. Installing a backflow valve between you and the city requires cutting into the concrete floor.  With our changing weather, this valve is almost always necssary and generally cod...
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  Retaining Walls and Frost

  Hi Jon,  I have a driveway retaining wall that continues to be pushed by the ground, even though it is backed by gravel and drained to "nothing under the driveway" except crushed gravel. I realize proper drainage affects this somewhat, however would prefer not to cut open my driveway, sidewalk a...
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  What is a "drainage layer" for a window installation?

  Janice from Thornhill, Ontario writes: I'm having some wood/fiberglass windows installed and would like to know the product you recommend as the moisture barrier between the outside capping and inside insulation. Your website recommends installing such a barrier but no specific product is mentio...
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  Just how do you install windows properly?

  The reality is that there is not just one good way to install windows, but there are certain principles that must be taken care of with any installation to prevent cold air or water leakage later. Basically a window installation must shed most of the water with the siding, what does get through ...
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  Floor Tiles that drain

  I went to the store and bought a box of really nifty 100 percent recycled vinyl interlocking floor tiles, the kind that stand up above a concrete floor and let the water drain through and under. I needed them to keep boxes off of a basement floor where there was occasional moisture -- and I ended...
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  Insulating an above grade block wall from the inside

  This article deals with a block wall above grade.  For a below grade block wall see Basement Perimeter Drainage and Leaking Foundations.   Bryan is faced with a totally un-insulated cinder block wall with 1x2 strapping and a plaster covering.  He is thinking about stripping it back to the block...
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  The mysterious toilet that drains itself

  Several years ago when we had my live hot line TV show across Canada, I got a call from a homeowner who had a toilet that functioned perfectly except that every night when he came home from work, the water in the bowl had dropped low enough to let the sewer gas smell into the bathroom. He ha...
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  Trench Drains in a driveway

  When a driveway slopes down into the house, you need to intercept any and all water flow and carry it away before it gets to the garage. If you don't do this, you will find the concrete pad in the driveway getting into moisture and frost problems, the door freezing to the floor, and the like.You...
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  Keeping appliances alive.

  A viewer wrote in complaining about soap suds backing up in her sink, another complained about the suds backing up in the basement floor drain.Suds are something that drains have trouble flushing out, because they float on top of the water and tend to pile up in the pipes. First you should try t...