for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 39 results for the keyword ‘Plaster’

  • Paint peeling caused by a chimney flashing leak.

    John in Mississauga, Ontario has paint flaking off of his crown molding, and it seems to be related to snow on his roof. As we ran through the details, it turns out that the problem spot is right below a brick chimney that is poorly flashed where the roof meets it. He has put asphalt roof patch ...
  • Techniques for Installing Drywall

    Working With Knives

  • Fixing drywall tape that bubbles up

    When drywall tape breaks loose with a little bubble, it is because there was not enough compound under the tape when it was first put on. If you can, lift the paper ever so little with a spatula and then simply slide in some fresh drywall compound to glue it back down. In some cases, white glue m...
  • Why are there cracks that come and go in my ceiling?

      Chris from Clarenville, Newfoundland has a mysterious crack in his ceiling that you can see in the photo. It comes and goes with the seasons and nothing appears to be able to keep it closed. Why he asks. Many houses today are constructed with pre-fabricated "trusses" for the ceiling joists an...
  • Jon Eakes & the Singing Nuns of St. Michael's Convent

      THE DEAL I made a deal with the singing nuns of St. Michaels convent in Spokane Washington : If they would teach me how to sing, I would teach them how to repair their convent. My only dissapointment in this large project with HGTV Canada was that they never promoted the show well and the...
  • Truss Up-Lift -- that changing crack between the wall and the ceiling

      In all too many new houses, there is a seasonal problem where in the winter the ceiling actually lifts itself right off the wall in the centre of the house, and then settles down after the heating season.  Even in some older houses this goes on every year.  What causes this crack? Avoiding...
  • 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...
  • History of the Robertson Screw

    If any one thing distinguishes Canadian home improvement from American home improvement, it is the Robertson (square socket) screw. In this segment, we took a look at the history of this famous Canadian invention and visited their head office and warehousing operation in Milton, Ontario. Wikipedi...
  • Making an invisible patch in a lathe and plaster wall

    To fix a bulge or hole in a lathe and plaster wall, we need to pay special attention to two things: limit the damage as we remove the loose plaster, and make sure the new plaster sticks solidly to the old lathe.   DEFINE THE PROBLEM AREA Start by using a pencil to draw a line around the entir...