Ron from Penticton, B.C. has a "stepped" foundation with a pony wall from the concrete to the ceiling above. This upper portion is insulated but not the concrete. He wants to insulate it all. He asks: "Does he have to remove the existing drywall, and does the vapour barrier need to extend over th...
As you can see in the first graphic, the soil helps to insulate a basement so there is more heat lost on the top of the basement than on the bottom. That is why the National Building Code requires a minimum level of insulation in a basement that reaches from the floor boards above your head, down...
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...
Robert from Oakville, Ontario wrote: I live in a town house and only have two basement windows. Last year I cut out the wall on one of the windows and took out the 32" X 15" window and replaced it with a 32" X 24" window. It worked great. So this year I decided to enlarge the back window before f...
Iron ochre is a rust coloured sludge that accumulates and clogges perimiter drains in certain soils. It is often found the Eastern Townships of Quebec. It is a very complex problem which can be controlled but not solved. In fact the real solution in regions known to have iron ochre is to not b...
Here is one water proofing material that approaches the field of Science Fiction -- but it is for real and it does work.
Xypex High'n Dry is a not so commonly available brand name of what is generically referred to as Crystalline Growth waterproofing products. These are applied to a sound bare c...
Do I need to place a vapour barrier against the brick wall, then insulation and then another vapour barrier over that? The wall does not leak and is fully underground. Barbara
THE VAPOUR BARRIER
The vapour barrier is more properly called a vapour retarder. It is designed to stop moisture in t...
Jim from London, Ontario is wondering what temperature he should leave his thermostat while he migrates south for the winter. The short answer is 55 degrees F, or about 12 degrees C.
That should keep the pipes from freezing, keep the humidity under control, keep the furniture from going through ...
Our camera caught up with Alfred at the renovation centre and he says that he has cracks in the concrete and in the plaster. What to do? (Be sure to read all the way to the end of the article to learn how to read a crack.)
The important first step is to determine which one of three possibilitie...
In this 2004 HGTV episode, we collected several different viewer questions about supporting outdoor structures so we could compare one to the other. At the bottom of this article I have added, in 2015, the Helix screw piles that may just have replaced all the rest.
Elephant Feet
The first vi...
