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Found 92 results for the keyword(s) ‘Concrete’

  • Article

    How do you level concrete floors?

    Tereasa and Dennis from Simcoe, Ontario asked about leveling a slightly uneven basement floor. Is it necessary to build a whole sub-floor?If a concrete floor is sturdy, just not flat enough and you want to put a rug or tile or vinyl directly over it, you can apply a topping that will smooth and l...
  • Article

    What are "injection" repairs for concrete wall cracks?

    Gordon from Montreal writes: I want to seal a crack in my foundation myself using an injection system. I hear there are two types of injection materials and can I do it myself?-------- ReplyYou are right Gordon, the two primary materials used for injection into concrete wall cracks are epoxy and ...
  • Article

    Are insulated concrete forms a good way to build?

    Insulated Concrete Forms, or ICF construction, is a growing and viable way to build houses. Initially sold just to make insulated foundations, whole homes are now being built out of concrete because of these techniques. ICF actually stands for the whole field of pouring concrete into forms ...
  • Article

    Preventing graffiti damage on walls.

    Graffiti is a major problem primarily for cities and schools, but even some homeowners have to deal with passing artists. There are now several graffiti removers on the market, but here we looked at a new graffiti inhibitor from a company called Wearlon.This is a transparent coating that simply ...
  • Article

    How do you insulate a brick and block construction?

    Boris lives in a 45 year old bungalow that has no insulation at all. It has a brick outside, an air space, a concrete block wall for structure inside and then drywall. Is it possible to blow foam into the space between the brick and the block?NO. As long as the brick is the weather shield for ...
  • Article

    How do you remove asphalt splashes from the concrete curb?

    There are now a number of products on the market specifically designed for cleaning concrete, and when I tested them on the TV show, most of them appeared to work on asphalt stains. One of the keys is to brush in the cleaner, and then to use a high-pressure water power washer system to flush eve...
  • Article

    Can you put peel-and-stick tiles on a painted concrete floor?

    A viewer asks if she can put peel-and-stick tiles on a painted concrete floor or whether she has to build a sub-floor.If the paint is intact, that means that there is no moisture problem pushing up from below and that the paint will work as a primer for the glue. As long as the surface is smoo...
  • Article

    Removing Paint from Concrete.

    When paint gets onto concrete by accident, or as graffiti, it is difficult to remove because the concrete is so porous that the paint soaks down in.We decided to test a few different removers.Bio-Wash Masonry Strip works very well at removing oil, latex, and spray enamel paints.De-Greaser from St...
  • Article

    WHICH CAULKING SHOULD I USE?

    -- Oil base, resin base and polyvinyl acetate caulking do not hold up. There are far too many better caulkings available to waste time and money with these old formulations.-- Latex based caulking is inexpensive, can be painted and has medium durability. It is acceptable for baseboards and caul...
  • Article

    HOW DO I PREVENT DRY ROT IN BASEMENT STUDS?

    Wood in contact with slightly humid concrete can easily develop dry rot. (search keyword "rot" for the title "WHAT IS DRY ROT?") This often happens to studs laid on the basement floor or standing up against basement walls. A perfectly dry basement will present no problem -- but how many ba...