On this TV segment we focused on testing if water based cleaners worked better than solvent based cleaners on concrete stones.When done thoroughly, they didn't make much difference. What does make a difference is waiting long enough for the chemical to work, and scrubbing or rinsing before it dr...
Dan from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland has seen us place magnets around the hole where we were drilling to trap the metal shavings. He suggests using speaker magnets because they are round doughnut shaped.Great idea Dan, except that all the new speakers we had didn't have those magnets any more, and...
The Elgin and Wintergarden Theatre in Toronto was left empty for 60 years. When they set about restoring it to its original beauty, they had to find a way to clean the walls, which were all painted with intricate murals, all in water based paint. How do you clean that without destroying it?They...
One viewer needs an extra heat grill in the kitchen, which is right above the furnace room, so running ducts is not a problem. The question is, how do you attach to the existing ductwork?You do it with what we call a "boot".You will have to cut a square hole into the large heating duct and the f...
There are many ways to apply brick mortar to a wall for re-pointing.The traditional method is to slide the mortar off of the trowel with a pointing tool.Some masons use a bag, much like a pastry bag to squeeze it on. With this method you must be careful not to make the mortar too thin, or it wil...
It may look easy when a professional is repointing brick, but there are some things to be very careful about.If you are using a grinder to remove the old mortar, be careful to avoid cutting into the brick. It is easy enough to slide up or down hill with the grinder, and even easier to mess it up...
A stainless steel backsplash has to be cut right to start with.Then you apply adhesive, PL Premium, to the wall, not the metal. Why? So that you don't butter up the counter and the faucet on the way to the wall.It must be held in place by screws or supports or it will just slide down the wall, ...
We have all admired the beauty of a new stainless steel sink. With time it does avoid taking on stains, but it tends to get dull and scratched up. It is really difficult trying to get it back to the manufactured buffed surface we there are several things you can do to brighten it up.Most Stainl...
I was invited over to shoot a re-tiling job for the TV show. The camera got there before I did, so they recorded some things that I thought would be good to show you so that I could point out why you should not work this way.Safety Glasses pleaseFirst our worker was hammering straight down on th...
Tim from Timmins, Ontario has a 2x4 constructed home with wood chips for insulation in the walls. He wants to know if he can leave it there and insulate over the wall on the inside or should he tear it all out?Wood chips do insulate but only at about R-1.4 per inch. Fibreglass is 3.5 per inch a...
