for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 444 results for the keyword ‘Techniques’

  • Improper power washing can damage the inside of your walls

      More and more people have domestic power washers, allowing them to quickly clean all kinds of things around the house. Of course one of the first things we want to use it for is to clean off the siding on the house. CAUTION -- you all know that you need to be careful not to damage wood or spra...
  • Hiding Cracks You Cannot Close

      Truss uplift causes cracks between the wall and the ceiling that open and close every year and you cannot plaster or caulk them shut.  For details on the cause and solutions to this problem follow this link. If you cannot do the major work required to prevent this crack from opening, or you j...
  • Avoiding common errors with paving stones & Asphalt driveways

    It is frustrating when walkway or driveway paving stones heave with frost, or drop with erosion. If properly built, this doesn't happen. Actually what I have written here about paving stones applies to asphalt driveways as well.   A GOOD COMPACT SUBSTRATE IS ESSENTIAL IN A COLD CLIMATE You nee...
  • Pro: How to Kill Your Pneumatic Tools

    Pneumatic tools are amongst the most indestructible power tools you can buy - and yet we manage to kill them. So I took a trip to a few repair shops to find out what can possibly be done to maim, cripple and kill pneumatic construction site tools. Let's start with the killers: dirty or moist air...
  • Shingle starter strip & should you remove that plastic strip?

      For an overview on changing the roof or roof covering on a house and special information on Mansard roof shingles -- follow this link.   The starter shingle If you put the first row of shingles on the edge of the roof just like all the rest, you will see the bare roof deck through the crac...
  • Re-wiring a lamp.

      Here are a few tips when it comes to re-wiring an old lamp.     Use the existing wire to pull the new wire through. You need to join them in a way that does not create a lump in the wire.           Avoiding a lump On the old pair of wires, cut one wire shorter than the other and s...
  • How to measure windows for replacement or repair

      When hiring a contractor to replace your windows, DO NOT MEASURE THEM YOURSELF.  You can give him measurements to the nearest inch with the very clear indications that these are "approximate measurements only and not to be used for ordering the window".    WHY HAVE A CONTRACTOR TAKE HIS OWN ...
  • Oscillating Tools

    AVOIDING SAW PROBLEMS

  • How do I shim windows properly?

    Shimming windows into a wall is not done just any which way. The better of the window manufacturers will provide a shimming schedule with every window, specifying exactly where the shims should go. The general principles are: Bottom shims On the bottom the shims should go under vertical struct...
  • Radon -- les détails en français

    Radon -- les détails en français