for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 68 results for the keyword ‘Drywall’

    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...
  • Tips for working with fiberglass insulation

      CUTTING FIBERGLASS STRAIGHT AND SQUARE   It is always easier to cut fiberglass batt insulation if you compress it down as flat as possible. That way you can get through in one pass. Using a piece of plywood gives you a straight edge at the same time.         There is a special devic...
  • Air Spaces in Walls -- Myth and Science -- Overview

      Walls often have air spaces hidden somewhere between the siding on the outside and the drywall on the inside.  Some are accidental -- some on purpose, even code required -- some served a purpose at one time in history but because of the evolution of construction, are no longer useful -- some a...
  • Techniques for Installing Drywall

    Tubs and Showers

  • 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...
  • 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...
  • What causes metal studs to show through the drywall?

    Colour from the studs themselves is not really "bleeding" through the drywall, but it is the studs that are causing the problem. When metal studs are used in outside walls of a house, they conduct so much energy through the metal that the overall R-value of an R-19 wall drops to only R-10. When ...