We would like to think that roofing systems today are well thought out, easy to assemble and trouble free. And then there is the real world. We went to the manufacturers of roofing systems and roofing components to get a handle on what are some of the real world field problems that shouldn't be...
Jeff in Ottawa, Ontario wanted to put a toilet in his basement but was worried about the slope required from the toilet exit to the floor drain. He was even looking at an expensive toilet pump.One easy solution for basement toilets is often overlooked. Drilling through a concrete floor is never...
The books say 32 inches, but there is no reason for that to be a hard and fast rule. However if you make it a lot smaller you will have the impression of being a giant Alice in a tiny Wonderland. If you make it a lot higher, it will dominate the wall.Wainscoting was originally created to protec...
I am always amazed at house construction where so often things are half built or more while people are running around beginning to think about "extras" that should never be though of as "extras" but as part of the essential system. So time for one of my lectures -- (you asked for it).Heating is o...
Dan caught our camera in a store and asked just what is "scribing a counter top"?When you have a wall that is not flat, like you see our exaggerated wall in the first photo, the kitchen counter will not fit tightly up against this wall. If you look at the second photo you will see that all forme...
Don't you just hate trying to line up all the PVC pieces in a sink drain? Wouldn't it be so nice if there was just a little bit of flexibility someplace in the drain line? After all, we did finally elminate the rigid speedways to get those great flexible ones that don't collapse.Well the compan...
On this segment of my TV show we visited the installation of a tumbled marble backsplash. As usual I was most interested in some of the particular working details, like the fact that this material is not perfectly consistent in size, so how do you work out the pattern and the grout lines?First w...
There are times, especially when working with moulding, that you need to divide an angle in half. I learned how to do this with a compass in high school and since then I have fallen in love with the Angle Finder, an impressive little device that uses more geometry than my compass to measure exac...
No. That was simple wasn't it?Actually the contrary is a bit the case -- electrical panels should never be blocked or made inaccessible.Olive from Calgary even showed us the beautiful use of Oak cabinets to hide the panel while leaving the panel still accessible. She even keeps all her important...
Just a few math answers to common renovation questions.How far should steps go up (rise) and how wide should steps be (run)? The rise should not be less than 4 inches or you will stumble on it, nor more than 9 inches or it becomes a ladder. Then within those limits, the rise times the run should...
