Gerry is reshingling an open beam low sloped roof that has always given him problems with ice dams. He wants to know if it is worth it to tear up the first four feet, install air sheets and replace the boards?
Actually it is a great idea to perfect the over-the-wall section of the roof space any...
Often in constructing a house, the sequence of putting up walls, applying outside sheathing and installing insulation batts can leave the outside corner as a hollow spot with no insulation. The carpentry work was done and the hollow corner closed and hidden before the guys with the fiberglass eve...
Contact cement is a uniquely useful adhesive. It will adhere to most all surfaces and hence is often the in-between for sticking two different materials together.
It comes in two basic varieties, solvent based and water based, the later often being called "green" or "solvent free". Although thes...
Fiberglass batts, mineral wool batts and all kinds of rigid foam boards are commonly used to insulate basements both inside and outside.
One of the critical rules when insulating basements on the inside is that there must be no air space between the insulation and the wall. (see no air space beh...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Adhesives Product: Adhesive for foam insulation
Temperature Limitations: Check the package: one manufacturer says above -30 C (-22 F) while another says above +15 C (+60 F).
Rain Limitations: A...
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...
It is always better to insulate on the outside of basements and crawl spaces, but usually more expensive and more trouble.
Brick or field stone foundations must not be insulated on the inside for much more than one foot below ground level. The poor quality of the mortar in these foundations dete...
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...
In my experience, heating ducts that run through attics cause serious problems in snow country. Don't let a contractor talk you into it.
In warm climates it is common practice to run heating and air conditioning ducting through attic spaces simply because it is easy to do. Unfortunately this ...
(updated Sept 2012)
Since the early 80's Urea-Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI) was banned in Canada and the US. The Canadian ban is still in place while it is now legal again to sell Urea-Formaldehyde based foam in the US and Europe. Whether it ever was or still is actually a health problem ...
