NEW CONSTRUCTION
In the interests of health and safety a number of trades are controlled by law, most particularly plumbing and electricity. The degree to which plumbing and electrical work are actually regulated varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance almost all work performed in...
Update 2025 to the product availability listed below.
US Coatings is marketing a product very similar to BCS under the brand name Abatron, which for Canada is much easier to source than my old stand-by BCS. It is encouraging as a quality endorsement that LeeValley Tools is selling this brand, w...
Update 2025 to the product availability listed below.
US Coatings is marketing a product very similar to BCS under the brand name Abatron, which for Canada is much easier to source than my old stand-by BCS. It is encouraging as a quality endorsement that LeeValley Tools is selling this brand, w...
Update 2025 to the product availability listed below.
US Coatings is marketing a product very similar to BCS under the brand name Abatron, which for Canada is much easier to source than my old stand-by BCS. It is encouraging as a quality endorsement that LeeValley Tools is selling this brand, w...
THE CHALLANGE FOR INSTALLERS AND MANUFACTURERS
jump to - RAIN SCREEN RESEARCH History
Jump to - RESIDENTIAL PRESSURE EQUALIZATION RESEARCH FINAL REPORTS
There are many variations on how to install a window into a wall, largely differing between new construction and renovation, but ther...
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,...
Frost Protected Shallow Foundations
The foundation for a house is generally poured below the soil grade level so that the footing itself is well below the frost depth for any given region and soil type. This protects the house from frost heaving caused by expanding soils beneath the foundation....
Dave Ashberry of King Packaged Materials joins Jon in running down the various methods and products used making surface repairs to concrete.
Cracked corners or edges on concrete steps are a major hazard and should be fixed. Top & Bond (now sold under the brand name Sakrete) is one of the bas...
Air Entrainment
When ordinary concrete gets wet and then freezes, the ice crystals can cause surface chipping, or even more serious fracturing. All outdoor concrete in Canada, even by code, should be what we call air entrained. This means that there are microscopic air bubbles in the concrete ...
David writes that he recently installed a double sink but it gurgles and backs up. It is 10 feet away from the plumbing stack and goes through a garbarator. What did he do wrong?
When you attach a large double sink on a long horizontal run, the drain pipe will tend to fill up with water ...
Click Here to Go to the BLOG
This is one of those problems that are not dealt with seriously enough by the building officials in really cold regions. I have opened a blog space at the bottom of this article for you to add in your case history so we can demonstrate that this is a large and conti...
I don't really have an answer to the question, but I can help you to understand what they mean.
We could find no plumber, nor plumbing manufacturer who could actually tell us the origin of the plumbing code for rubber washers. My guess is that it probably had something to do with the inside diam...
Two unsuccessful service visits later...
I asked Jon a question by email and sent pictures about my furnace not turning on. He pointed out something he saw (almost by accident) in the corner of one picture and that turned out to be the problem! Solved!
M Babins
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Sump Pump configuratio...
Ed writes from Ajax, Ontario : All 3 walls of my bathroom shower stall are finished with 4" ceramic tiles and are in good shape. When I had to remove one of them, I discovered that the drywall was behind it was so wet that I had to put a fan on it over night to dry it out before I could glue the ...
Tools Vary
Woodworking tools, from table saws to portable saws right down to tiny routers vary in rotational speeds from around 3,000 RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) up to 50,000 RPM. If it is a direct drive motor, the arbor RPM and the blade RMP are the same, which is true of routers and many, bu...
If you are just talking about keeping the house from falling down around your head, and a few minor adjustments or additions here and there, but no real renovations -- the tool kit is rather simple.
A multiple head screwdriver.
A pair of pliers.
A pair of clamping pliers.
A light hammer.
A g...
No video - but an entire book
Scroll down to: Download the book
Principles of Precision - excerpted from the book
If you own this book and have a question, or if you just what to say what you think about the book, add to "Your Blog comments" at the bottom of this page.
If you are not su...
Lubricants are products designed to make things slip.
Sister products that have some lubrication but are specialized for other uses are penetrating oils that are used to loosen up rusted parts, drying sprays designed to remove water from electrical wires and some cleaning sprays.
Although I use...
John from Halifax wrote in asking about replacing his salt based water softener with an electronic water softener to make it easier to water his lawn.
Note 2020: I originally wrote this article in 2004 and many products have come and gone since then. I recently received several requests to l...
The rubber hoses that bring water to a clothes washer, particularly the hot water one, will age, swell, and eventually burst, usually right where they bend coming out of the faucet. The official instructions with all clothes washers are to turn these faucets on and off every time you use the mach...
For the first time in history most Canadian National Codes are free.
As of April 2019, the NRC is offering free access to the downloadable and electronic formats of the National Building Code, the National Fire Code, the National Plumbing Code, and the National Energy Code for Buildings, as w...
