Brenda from Port Hardy, B.C. says that her wood burning insert smells of soot when it is not in use.The problem is obviously one of air coming down the chimney. Either the exhaust fans in the house are drawing air when there is no fire to maintain an upward draft, or the wind is twisted around on...
Ted is looking to build his own home and wants to know if he can get a book that will give him the specs for an R-2000 home. He wants to do it right!The answer is Yes and No, Ted. There is a publication that illustrates many of the techniques used in R-2000 homes, in fact there is a new edition...
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds houses. In fact they are one of the largest home builders in North America if you put all their local branches together.Their houses are rather simple and ordinary, but what is not ordinary is the way the houses get built and who owns...
There are a number of appliances around the house that have user or trade adjustable temperatures and it is not always simple to get them right.Hot Water HeatersMost Hot Water heaters for domestic hot water are factory set to 66deg C. ( 150F ). This is actually hot enough to scald someone so legi...
Yes, we actually followed the construction of a house made out of straw bales in downtown Montreal.Straw bale construction is seeing a resurgence, with over 2000 a year being built in the US and 20 to 30 a year in Canada. Originally a dry prairie construction practice, it is spreading across t...
For years we have had factory built homes where the entire home was built in a factory and then trucked to a site and put on a foundation, much like a mobile home. When people wanted larger factory built homes, they started making them in two halves, to fit on the trucks, and stuck them toge...
20 years ago Bob built a geodesic dome in Saskatchewan. As you can see, it was a community effort. After all this time he has finally gotten tired of the snow melting off the roof creating all kinds of ice cycles, so he is asking about the feasibility of putting some Styrofoam right over th...
This article deals with a block wall above grade. For a below grade block wall see Basement Perimeter Drainage and Leaking Foundations.
Bryan is faced with a totally un-insulated cinder block wall with 1x2 strapping and a plaster covering. He is thinking about stripping it back to the block...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Masonry Product: Masonry based weatherproofing coatings
Temperature Limitations: Use above +7 C (+45 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain until hardened -- about 8 hours
Wind Limitations: High wind c...
The field of energy efficient heating systems is advancing rapidly and constantly and I cannot evaluate all the new products here. Remember that it usually takes a company a couple of years to work the bugs out of new products. And some companies try so hard just for novelty that... for example i...
