Tradition and the building code have always said that a vapour barrier (properly called a vapour retarder) should be placed on the warm side of the insulation. This is actually an oversimplification of the scientific reasoning on the placement of a vapour barrier. With modern, energy-effici...
Yes. R values simply add together to give a total R for the wall or ceiling. Generally speaking, a denser insulation should not be put on the cold side of a less denser one; it's a question of letting the moisture escape as easily as possible and not creating double vapour barriers. Hence, loo...
Isolating parts of the house located underground from the heat of the house can cause freezing and shifting under certain conditions. Wing walls, carport posts, and the like are common frost heaving or ad-freezing candidates because these structural parts of the house are far away from the heat ...
There are so many different insulating materials that it is quite confusing. I have tried to pull together information on the most common types from the manufacturers, the critics, the contractors and the researchers. Usually this information seemed to me to be either too simplified or too ...
You must make five decisions before insulating your basement or crawl space:-- Heated space, warmed space, or cold space?-- Interior or exterior insulation?-- Full height or partial height insulation?-- Fiberglass or rigid foam board?-- What R value?I discuss each of these decisions separately in...
When weather-stripping can be applied in such a way as to compress between the frame and the moving door, window or trap, without any sliding action, it will seal better and last longer.-- Simple foam tape is quite effective for the attic trap if it is put on the frame and the trap falls flat ...
-- Cut the nozzle as small as you need but as large as you can get away with; a small bead is harder to squeeze out of the tube than a larger one.-- Make sure the surface is clean and sound.-- Stuff deep and wide cracks with oakum or fiberglass, or foam backer rods. It is discouraging to see ...
There are really only two practical methods to scientifically test for heat losses in a residential house:Infra-red thermography: using infrared sensitive film you can take a "heat picture" of the house. Hot and cold areas show up on the infra-red film to give an image of your house -- it's more...
One way to minimize chipping when cutting melamine with a circular saw is to turn it over so that the good side is down, as that side will chip the least. On the top side, where the saw blade comes up through the panel, score your cut line deeply with a knife first and then cut just barely away ...
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...
