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Found 96 results for the keyword ‘Concrete’

  • Garage floor sinking

    Don in Oakville Ontario has a garage floor that is sinking in the middle, collecting water from the car and creating a skating rink throughout the winter.One solution would be to leave the concrete alone and put a drain in the middle, not dumping the water just under the slab where it would f...
  • Getting a poorly constructed concrete veranda to work

    Lisa in Markham Ontario has a real water problem because her contractor did not follow the architect's plan for the construction of a concrete veranda around most of her house. The architect had planned a membrane below the concrete as well as a curb between the deck and the house wall. Non...
  • Concrete Fasteners - a survey

    There are many different fasteners and fastening systems for attaching things to concrete. What you are looking for is a balance between speed, strength and cost.Nails driven with a hammer or with a power actuated gun work well in attaching something to a floor to keep it from sliding sideway...
  • Repairing Concrete Steps

    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 is one of the basic surface patching materials availab...
  • Removing Stains on Concrete

    Oil stains are almost impossible to get out of concrete. Substances that tend to sit on the top surface of the concrete are much easier to get off. We did some testing with various stain and graffiti removal products. Nothing worked perfectly.Since this show I have been looking for somethin...
  • Slippery finished concrete

    Bill from Edmonton, Alberta has coloured and varnished concrete outdoors, which has turned out to be just too slippery.To keep the same look but eliminate the safety hazard I would suggest another coat of the same finish but while it is wet, sprinkle in painter's sand. You can find little contai...
  • WHAT IS BASEMENT FREEZE SHIFTING?

    There are two basic mechanisms which can cause a basement to move because of freezing temperatures -- ice-block formation and ad-freezing.Frost heaving: a form of ice-block formation occurs when moist soil lies under the foundation footings and the frost line or freezing-point penetration reac...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...