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...
How to turn a "butt" joint into a "tapered edge" joint -- creating a valley for compound and tape.
Why bother? This technique allows for a wall or ceiling that would normally have a "tape bump" to be perfectly flat. That could be important under certain lighting conditions, or when a straight ed...
This is one amazing product. Softwood wood chips with just the right mix of magnesium chloride to help the chips to melt into and stick on the ice - making the safest icy walkway I ever walked on. This is a Swiss invention and Canadian distribution is finally underway.
See comments at the end...
(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 ...
EN FRANÇAIS
There is an elephant in the room – QUEBEC GETS REALLY COLD. The ecological dream of an all-electric urban society is suicidal in a cold climate like Quebec.
Extended power system black-outs are a reality of life in Quebec. Every few years electrical system black-outs have forced...
This article was written in 2003 -- and in 2023 Fibre Decor is no longer on the market, but still on some walls. Want to patch some, check out this article.
'Fiber Decor' was that paper mache type wall finish that gives you an interesting textured and random coloured finish. Many people really ...
Note, this article was originally written in 2002 -- in 2023 the product is no longer on the market but still on some walls. Read on for how to patch it.
Patricia from Winnipeg, Manitoba writes: "Our old house is rather cold and is in need of some serious decorating. The walls are covered with...
One of the most common places for accidents to happen in the home is in the bathroom. You are not dressed to be protected, and there is both water and slippery surfaces. Bathtub mats and anti-slip decals do make life safer, but much more difficult to keep the tub clean.
SLIP PROOF ETCHING WIT...
Common Name: Cellulose Fiber, ground up newspapers.
Colour: Grey or white.
Thermal Resistance: RSI - .025/mm R - 3.6/in. Good
Cost: Lowest plus blower. (The only blowers that can be rented by homeowners)
Capacity to dry out if wet: Fair to poor
Fire Resistance: Good to Fair (Borax can leach ...
S’il était possible de créer une barrière parfaitement étanche entre les gaz souterrains et la maison, aucune autre mesure de contrôle du radon ne serait nécessaire. Mais, à ce jour, cette perfection ne se retrouve sur aucun site de construction. Meilleure sera l’étanchéité de la membrane au rado...
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...
Homeowners hear a lot of strange suggestions when it comes to repairing a flashing at the bottom of a brick wall, or installing one where it had not been installed. Actually it is a bit difficult to find reliable guidance in this endeavour as most industry brick information is intended for indus...
"Why do some houses have ice dams on the roof and others do not?"
The overview is below -- for details go to Ice Dams -- for contractors who will really solve this problem, scroll to the bottom of this article.
What causes ice dams and ice cicles?
Ice dams develop when snow is on the roof, ...
All blades wear and the Japanese teeth can break off, but with certain techniques you can make them last longer than usual. At times you need to make the cut despite the knowledge that it will scrap your blade, like using the nail cutting bi-metal blades to cut a hardened screw or an ancient squ...
Whether you are removing grout from between tiles, or removing caulking between two deck boards, usually boat deck boards, the oscillating tool has special blades for each task.
The grout removal tool has carbide grit on three sides and the blades come in various thicknesses, both full round a...
Video conferencing, like Zoom, is known for head-to-head talks, but it is also a dynamic tool for interactive inspections, remote on-site consultations and remote on-site teaching.
See for yourself!
Let me show you how much amazing detail I can see with a Zoom consultation, and with it being...
THE CHALLANGE FOR INSTALLERS AND MANUFACTURERS
jump to - RAIN SCREEN RESEARCH -
There are many variations on how to install a window into a wall, largely differing between new construction and renovation, but there is one almost universal principle presently in practice: Stop both the wat...
June is building a new home in Kenora and they have decided to make what is often called a double wall structure to have room for lots of insulation. They are intending to build with 2x6 walls and then add another 2x4 on the inside to hold more insulation. They have been told that they could do s...
They took the lead out...
Several years ago, throughout North America lead was removed from the solder used for making joints in copper pipes intended for carrying drinking water, just as before that we had removed lead from paint. Lead based solder is still available in stores for other tasks, ...
There are three key steps to making leak proof copper pipe joints.
Clean off both the inside of the elbow and the outside of the pipe with steel wool or a special cleaner tool.
Apply a soldering flux to both cleaned surfaces. The cleaning gets rid of contaminates and oxidation o...
The whole question of mould started as a simple nuisance in home maintenance but with experience and research has become a major element of creating and maintaining a healthy house. Of course, whenever research develops over time, recommendations change and things can get quite confusing.
IT...
