hether you are trying to get rid of smoke odours caused by fire or cigarettes, mold infestation, incrusted pet odours, the aftermath of a contagious disease (used to sterilize ambulances) or just preparing an apartment for rent that smells bad - read on.
THE CHANGING SCIENCE
This article was fi...
Copper is a trusted and proven piping for residential water systems. For years people have been interested in one form or another of more flexible plastic or mixed metal/plastic pipes that could be snaked through a house with fewer joints and easier installation. Unfortunately there have bee...
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...
I have reproduced below an article from the construction professional publication Solplan Review November 2008 because it was such a good article on this complicated subject. In 2023, Solplan Review is no longer in publication. For an animation on what is a rainscreen, follow this link.
But...
Wayland asked: “Does wet Owens Corning Formula Styrofoam ever dry out?”
Extruded polystyrene insulation is generally considered waterproof. In fact it was first invented by Dow Chemical for the US army in WW I to provide unsinkable floating bridges -- and has been used as the flotation eleme...
Copper is a trusted and proven piping for residential water systems. For years people have been interested in one form or another of more flexible plastic or mixed metal/plastic pipes that could be snaked through a house with fewer joints and easier installation. Unfortunately there have been m...
A comment from a reader:
"I notice in your section on self leveling concrete that you mention about needing to let the water out before putting anything on top of the new compound. (Self Leveling Concrete) This is a common misconception about concrete, in fact the water does not leave, it become...
Controlling a hydronic radiator when there is no water shut-off valve.
Hydronic heating means heating with hot water or steam. With older systems it often means overheating as well!
IS THERE NOTHING YOU CAN DO?
Hydronic heating was what kept houses hot a long time ago, and some of the old...
In 1990 I produced a video for NRCan (National Resources Canada) specifically targeted to grade school children to improve the energy efficiency of the family home. If things look a bit weird in the video it is because the camera was always at the height of the eyes of a grade school kid – you s...
The rubber hoses that bring water to a clothes washer, particularly the hot water one, will age, swell, and eventually burst, usually right where they bend coming out of the faucet. The official instructions with all clothes washers are to turn these faucets on and off every time you use the mach...
