Certain parts of Canada, particularly in the Winnipeg region, have a traditional construction technique that presents serious challenges when you want to insulate a basement -- the ends of the joists are actually embedded in the concrete foundation wall. Chris, from Winnipeg, asked for some f...
One of our viewers suggested using a hair dryer to soften the glue on labels that you find on appliances and other products. It actually works -- just be careful not to scorch the product or peel any paint. Vegetable oil will soak labels off without any risk of damage to the surface below, but ...
Randy in Winnipeg has found small cracks in a foundation wall and wants to know how to fix them.
Right up front I want to make the statement that it is often not worth the bother to fix a small crack in a foundation wall that is not moving -- especially if no water is coming in. The best way to...
Whether you still have some of those old storm windows, or have single glazed windows used as decorative dividers between rooms inside the house, you may need to know how to work with window putty.
REMIVING OLD WINDOW PUTTY
In ancient history, the old putty was generally removed with a carpe...
The question is: Can you put new asphalt roof shingles right over old ones.
If the old ones are flat and you fill in any missing tabs, and you do no more that a total of two layers of shingles, yes you can reshingle over old shingles. The major question point would be to check out if your old...
"How can I paint my concrete floor when there's white powder on it?"
White powder is salt deposits called efflorescence that is there because high quantities of moisture are migrating through the floor. You need to solve the water problem first or no paint will stick. So find out why there is wa...
The national building code requires a minimum level of insulation in a basement that reaches about two feet below the outside grade level. The objective is to make this storage space a heatable space. Hence some materials and techniques have developed that satisfy this minimum code requirement th...
I recently spent some time at the Terrazzo, Tile and Marble Association training centre in Toronto and learned some very basic but surprising things, like just how to apply tile mastic and why it makes a difference.
Using a notched trowel gives you a measured quantity of mastic or thinset m...
The best way for air to move through a duct is to have a straight duct with a smooth inside wall and a round form will have the smallest surface area to cause the air to slow down. That straight smooth round duct is what is considered the benchmark for good ducting.
Everything else is measure...
We caught a viewer in the hardware store who asked if they could paint ceramic tiles.
Yes, now it is possible.
First take the gloss off of the tiles with sandpaper. This is not easy to do and is best done with a belt sander. The paint companies will tell you that it is not necessa...
