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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
In 1990 I produced a video for NRCan (National Resources Canada) specifically targeted to grade school children to improve the energy efficiency of the family home. If things look a bit weird in the video it is because the camera was always at the height of the eyes of a grade school kid – you s...
When I work as a Renovation Coach I do the following:
Trace problems to their source
Evaluate options for remediation
Guide you in your project – step-by-step
Help avoid future problems
Critique conflicting contractor propositions
Find solutions that fit your house and your climate
Help po...
Controlling a hydronic radiator when there is no water shut-off valve.
Hydronic heating means heating with hot water or steam. With older systems it often means overheating as well!
IS THERE NOTHING YOU CAN DO?
Hydronic heating was what kept houses hot a long time ago, and some of the old...
It all started when his older brother and sister were really good at music and he couldn't carry a beat with the garbage can. So he holed up in the basement and built boats. The saving grace for his 12-year-old engineering talents was the discovery that wooden boats float even if they're full of ...
(updated May 2023) -- Essentially nothing has changed in the last year -- read on.
As for heating contractors that say you have no choice but to go all-electric, they are either ignorant of the regulations or lying to you. When they tell you that you have no choice, tell them to call their ...
After an exchange about hydroxyl air purifiers, Mike asks another question:
"What is your opinion on purification units with HEPA and carbon filters versus the hydroxyl technology. I am reading a lot about fine particle pollution I.E dust and I notice that this (hydroxyl) technology does not eli...
Skylights are basically windows that are not vertical, but usually closer to horizontal as they sit on top of the roof. Most are fixed but some open a bit for summer ventilation. There also exist roof windows which are basically skylights that open wide and are much more common in Europe where ...
Click here to scroll down past all the legal updates to see the
Overview of the debate on Cell Phones, Wi-Fi and Smart Meters.
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Update Dec. 2019: The US Supreme Court just rejected an appeal of a lower court ...
A comment from a reader:
"I notice in your section on self leveling concrete that you mention about needing to let the water out before putting anything on top of the new compound. (Self Leveling Concrete) This is a common misconception about concrete, in fact the water does not leave, it become...
Kim from Victoria, B.C. pulled up a carpet and discovered that the concrete floor slab was not level with the door sill. What to do? Use Self Levelling concrete.
This is an easy to find but very special type of concrete that will say 'Self-Levelling' right on the bag. It is designed to flow like...
Arlette from Victoria BC is trying to dig through the confusion of all the power tool marketing. Let me copy much of her letter here, because she really is asking the kind of questions we all ask sometimes when looking at that wall of tools where each claims to be as good as the next and we are n...
Ok, I'm not the best painter in the DIY world. I don't even enjoy painting that much. So I asked Alan Watkins from Sico paints to come in so I could grill him on my common painting errors.
I always thought that the thick rollers were for rough surfaces and the low mat rollers were for smoother s...
