The three fundamental cures for basement problems are: removing the water from the outside, using granular back fill or a drainage layer against the foundation wall and insulating on the outside of the basement. Any one could stop or prevent a problem, all three of them together is the bes...
Wing walls, posts, and concrete steps are common candidates for ad-freezing, even if they go below the frost line. They usually do not have proper granular back-fill around them, they have no weeping tiles under them, and they receive little or no heat from the basement. They are overlooked...
A viewer asked the question, can I replace the plastic surface on my kitchen counter?If there are curves and bends, like a round front edge or a continuous splashback, either forget it, or cut off the curves. With home workshop equipment you won't manage to mold the new plastic laminate to th...
George from Hamilton, Ontario suggests using round toothpicks to plug the holes left by staples after pulling up a carpet.It does plug them easily and permanently, but if you are going to stain the floor, the end grain of the toothpick will take on a lot more stain than the rest of the floor, mak...
I got Dino from North York, Ontario on the phone to talk about his crawlspace. He has a split level home and below the upper split is a crawlspace with a concrete floor. He never seemed to have a problem until he decided to finish this space and use it for storage. He put vinyl tiles on th...
Annie has three roofs on her house, a shingled roof in the front part followed by an asphalt and gravel flat roof and then an elastomeric membrane flat roof over her back porch. They all seem to leak. The asphalt roof is only six years old, installed by someone who advertised in the local paper...
False.
Vapour barriers, together with air barriers, prevent moisture from escaping into the walls.
In this sense vapour barriers make you more aware of the quantity of moisture you have generated in your house.
Condensation problems are caused by generating too much moisture and/or having too ...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Asphalt Product: Acrylic sealer for Asphalt Driveways
Temperature Limitations: Above +10 C (+50 F) and below +30 C (+85 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain for 24 hours
Wind Limitations: n/a
Humidi...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Asphalt Product: Asphalt emulsion sealer for Asphalt Driveways
Temperature Limitations: Above +10 C (+50 F) and below +38 C (+100 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain for 24 hours
Wind Limitations: n...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Masonry Product: Masonry based weatherproofing coatings
Temperature Limitations: Use above +7 C (+45 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain until hardened -- about 8 hours
Wind Limitations: High wind c...