I hate to put exhaust ducts through roofs, because there will always be some condensation that could drip back inside. I would much rather go through a side wall, or down and out the side of the basement. But if you must go up and through the roof...
Don't allow your ducting to have any loops in...
Many government or crown corporation publications are afraid to ask too much of homeowners both in terms of work and comprehension. They prefer that homeowners do things half-way rather than not at all. When compromises seem to work some of the time, these publications (and many contractors) are ...
Gerry is reshingling an open beam low sloped roof that has always given him problems with ice dams. He wants to know if it is worth it to tear up the first four feet, install air sheets and replace the boards?
Actually it is a great idea to perfect the over-the-wall section of the roof space any...
Wendy in Golden, British Columbia is having constant problems with her front door lock freezing up. Actually this is common in a very cold climate when you have a positive pressure in your house for some reason. The positive pressure pushes moist warm air out the door lock, and it freezes there. ...
Jon in Winchester, Ontario has a free standing natural gas stove and wants to get that heat distributed to the rest of the house.
First, what not to do
Do not try to put a grill in a return air duct of a forced air heating system over the stove as you see in the photo, especially forbidden fo...
We caught a consumer in the hardware store and he was asking about the leaking roof on his new addition in the Beaches area of Toronto. Often in that area, a back porch is converted into living space with what we call a "compact roof" -- a roof/ceiling assembly that is about one foot thick with i...
Manuel from Kingston, Ontario has just purchased a house and knows that there have been past problems with ice-damming. He inspected the attic and found that there were enough roof top vents, but the old wooden soffits have been covered up with aluminium and there were no vents installed. How can...
Todd in Kirkland, Quebec writes: "I just purchased a house that has five low profile roof vents, 3 gable vents and perfect soffit ventilation. I have insulated the attic and now have R32. My concern is whether the low profile roof vents and gable vents will be effective in the winter or should I ...
Bathroom and kitchen fans are rated to move a certain volume of air, but do they actually move what they say they move? A study done in 1990 by CMHC says "rarely". In fact, on the average, measured volumes were 44% of rated flow for bathroom fans and 38% of rated flow for kitchen fans. The primar...
More and more people are asking for powerful kitchen range hoods or bathroom exhaust fans. The logic appears simple, increase the power of the exhaust fan and get rid of pollutants quicker. In more and more modern homes which have been weather-stripped and sealed against cold air leaks and heat l...
