You cannot use a dimmer switch on a fan motor, but you can find fan speed controllers.Why? A regular dimmer switch simply reduces the voltage. That works with lights, but will burn out a motor (and maybe burn down the house).A fan speed controller is a much more complex electronic device that re...
One of our viewers lives in an apartment over a noisy basement suite and wants to know what are their options to blocking the noise.Soundproofing is never a perfect thing and although each possible action can have an important effect, the sum of all the actions together can be less than you expec...
Bernice from Midland, Ontario wants to know how to get more insulation into her vaulted, or cathedral ceiling.The common problem with structures like this, that we call "compact roofs", is that there is not usually enough space for a lot of insulation and a lot of ventilation. In fact, when the ...
Martin from Moncton, New Brunswick has frost forming on the ceiling of a closet in an unheated bedroom.First, you need to realise that heated or not heated, that bedroom has just as much moisture in it as the rest of the house, perhaps more because moisture tends to migrate from warm to cold area...
When you have water damage, or a wild swing from a hockey stick that forces you to repair the stipple on your ceiling, the repair is a combination of art work and home improvement technique. You probably won't match the colour, even if it is just because the old one is dirty and the new clean, s...
Ted has plaster falling off of his concrete condo kitchen ceilings. Apparently it is related to moisture, so it would be a good idea to see if there is a leak from above, or a lot of excess moisture in the kitchen itself. Exhaust fans may solve the problem.Sometimes you just can't solve the pro...
What a mess whenever you have to drill either small or large holes in the ceiling.A nifty trick is to take a fairly flexible and transparent food container, put you bit right through the bottom and into the drill.Hold the container low to sight your entry point, then slide it up tight to the ceil...
Yes you can, but it is not always easy to do. The joists may not be perfectly spaced and you only have a 1-1/2 inch target for attaching two edges of the drywall. As well, the floor joists are often not perfectly on the same plane, with one or more of the floor joists being slightly lower or hi...
On other shows we talked about wiring in ceiling fans -- today we dealt simply with how to attach it to the ceiling so that it does not come down on top of the bed like a giant blender.You cannot just attach it to the ceiling drywall.You cannot just attach it to a simple electrical box in the att...
In this TV segment we followed a sound proofing specialist through a home, testing it for problems, and indicating some solutions. Elsewhere in this database you will find more through discussions on soundproofing various parts of your house.The photo shows the use of Z-bars or resilient bars on...
