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Found 181 results for the keyword(s) ‘floors hardwood finishing’

• Article

  Creating Drainage Paths Under Basement Walls

    For years we have talked about protecting the sill plate of basement walls from moisture rising up from the concrete.  This could be water in the concrete from plumbing spills, or even from under the slab from a high-water table.  The old standard ways to protect that bottom piece of wood on t...
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  How do you properly stand a stud wall up against a basement wall?

  When we are working with wood studs we generally build the wall on the floor and then lean it up to the wall. But in the basement we have all kinds of overhead obstructions, so if you just tip it up, you will probably find yourself blocked by pipes or ducts. The secret is like in the photo, to b...
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  Working with bamboo

    BAMBOO FLOORING -- LOOSING FAVOUR Bamboo flooring is beautiful and reasonably durable -- but it is falling out of favour.  Ecologically bamboo is a sustainable resource as it is a very fast growing grass, so bamboo production on a piece of land is far more profitable than growing trees on th...
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  Stopping flies and gasses from coming out of my basement floor drain with Dranjer!

  I have had several letters recently about bad smells and even flies coming up out of basement floor drains and sump pump pits. One viewer was quoted hundreds of dollars to break up the entire basement and replace all the sewer lines. The real problem is usually that the trap under the floor has ...
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  What makes a good sump pump pit?

  It is rather surprising to me how little information there is available on sump pumps and more specifically on sump pump pits.  We find two basic kinds installed in homes. One is just a water collection box where perimeter drains flow and a pump then lifts the water up and away from the house. ...
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  Techniques for hiding furniture and hardwood floor scratches.

  Scratches on furniture can often be camouflaged by any of a number of simple techniques, especially if the scratch follows somewhat the grain of the wood.   WIPE-ON POLY When there is no stain on the wood, so the finish is actually the natural colour of the wood, simply putting a bit more fini...
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  Insulating un-insulated outside wall corners

  Often in constructing a house, the sequence of putting up walls, applying outside sheathing and installing insulation batts can leave the outside corner as a hollow spot with no insulation. The carpentry work was done and the hollow corner closed and hidden before the guys with the fiberglass eve...
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  Drilling & Replacing ceramic tiles -- even with your own photo

          DRILLING A TILE When you want to hang something on ceramic tiles you will need to drill a hole. Regular metal cutting twist bits will not cut through the hard ceramic face, and in fact the ceramic material itself will destroy such a bit. You need to use a bit that has a carbide head....
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  Where should basement furnace ducts be placed?

  Doug from Manilla, Ontario checked this site for basement heating systems: "I read the section? on cold air returns in the basement, however I could not find anything on where hot air vents should be placed. Do they need to be at the floor level or at the ceiling level?" In the house above the f...
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  How to glue down curling edges of vinyl floor tiles?

  First use a hot air gun, or hair dryer, to warm the problem part of the tile. Then carefully lift it slightly beyond the original problem. Now, clean off the floor and the tile from the years of dust that has accumulated under this slightly curled tile. Put contact cement under the corner. Pu...