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Found 144 results for the keyword ‘Walls’

  • Weather Restrictions: Elastomeric Liquid Waterproofing Coatings

    Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:   Category: Concrete     Product: Elastomeric Liquid Waterproofing Coatings Temperature Limitations: Use above +10 C (+50 F)  and below +32 C (+90 F) Rain Limitations: No rain for 24 hours Wind Limitations:  ...
  • How do you know if a wall is load bearing?

    David from Tracadi, New Brunswick wants to tear a wall down in his basement and wants to know if it is load bearing or not. He says it runs perpendicular to the floor joists. If a wall runs parallel to the floor joists, chances are that it is not load bearing, as it is only holding up one floor ...
  • Protecting wood from moisture in concrete

    Concrete will allow water or water vapour to move through it quite easily, so any wood in contact with concrete must either be pressure treated wood, or you should have a plastic separator between the wood and the concrete. A simple slip of polyethylene plastic is all it takes to prevent rot at t...
  • Is this wall structural? A code proposal for labeling structural walls.

    At one time or another every renovator, professional or weekend warrior, has tried to determine what might happen if they remove or make a big hole in a wall – is it holding something up?  This is not always easy to determine but you can get some help from this article. Getting this right is imp...
  • Improving a wood chimney to stop backdrafting

      Rick from New Brunswick is having problems with his wood stove backdrafting and he wants to know if it will help to box in the chimney on the outside of the house. Backdrafting or difficult starting with wood burning appliances is often a problem and there are several entries in this database ...
  • Laying counter, floor, wall or shower tiles in a professional manner

    It may surprise you to hear that despite silicone sealants and the like, neither the grout between ceramic tiles nor the tiles themselves are actually moisture or vapour proof. Wherever water can sit on a tiled surface, or steam can soak into grout, the wood below can be destroyed by moisture see...
  • Can I paint over lead based painted walls?

    Yes Wendy, just as you can paint over any other painted walls. You can paint with an oil based paint directly over the lead based paint (which will certainly be an oil based paint). If you want to use a latex over it, then you must first use a "super adherent primer", made by most of the paint ...
  • Just how do you install windows properly?

    The reality is that there is not just one good way to install windows, but there are certain principles that must be taken care of with any installation to prevent cold air or water leakage later. Basically a window installation must shed most of the water with the siding, what does get through ...
  • What is a "drainage layer" for a window installation?

    Janice from Thornhill, Ontario writes: I'm having some wood/fiberglass windows installed and would like to know the product you recommend as the moisture barrier between the outside capping and inside insulation. Your website recommends installing such a barrier but no specific product is mentio...
  • Insulating problems with historical buildings

    Hello Jon I am the chairman of a church committee with the task of raising money, and doing the admin. for the restoration at St Andrew United. My concern now is the proper procedure to fully insulate the Church. I am alright with the Attic as well as the crawl space, however I am pondering the...