It may surprise you to hear that despite silicone sealants and the like, neither the grout between ceramic tiles nor the tiles themselves are actually moisture or vapour proof. Wherever water can sit on a tiled surface, or steam can soak into grout, the wood below can be destroyed by moisture see...
Wood heating appliances get hot -- that's why we use them -- but they also burn down houses. They are only safe if you install them safely.
-- Let's start with the fascinating process of how wood burns;
-- and now let's see how that process can happen inside your walls or floors near woo...
The world of tiles is changing rapidly.
Twenty years ago we generally had a range of tile sizes from 1 ft x 1 ft down to tiny mosaic tiles. This made tiling relatively simple because slight changes in the flatness of the surface could be adjusted for at the next grout line. In fact that is...
Barry from Calgary, Alberta writes: "I have a problem with cracking grout on an aboveground installation. I suspect the cause is excessive deflection of the floor joists. I'm wondering if there's any additive that can be added to the grout that will prevent this from happening again when I re-gro...
Floors spring or vibrate when they are not rigid enough for the distance they have to span between their supports.
You can always put another post in the basement under the center of the area giving you problems. That solves the problems easily on the top, but often creates an unwanted obstruc...
Before you start fixing anything, you really need to know if it is the chair or the floor that wobbles. If the chair only wobbles in one or two spots in the room, it is probably the floor that is out of line.
CHECKING THE FLOOR
To check the floor, either use a laser beam or a string line tha...
Doug from Manilla, Ontario checked this site for basement heating systems: "I read the section? on cold air returns in the basement, however I could not find anything on where hot air vents should be placed. Do they need to be at the floor level or at the ceiling level?"
In the house above the f...
It is best not to cut holes in floor joists, but when you must there are some important rules to follow.
Never cut into the top of the bottom of the joist. If you do the entire joist is now no stronger than the wood that is left.
Always cut holes in the centre of the joist, closer to the suppor...
Probably one of the best ways to learn about good and bad building techniques is to work on the renovation or restoration side of the construction picture. Here is where you see the results of everything done before, especially when the results are a failed system. In the world of ceramic, stone ...
DRILLING A TILE
When you want to hang something on ceramic tiles you will need to drill a hole. Regular metal cutting twist bits will not cut through the hard ceramic face, and in fact the ceramic material itself will destroy such a bit. You need to use a bit that has a carbide head....
