Every paint is formulated to maximize some special characteristic, and that often means sacrificing other desirable characteristics in that particular paint. No one paint can be everything to everybody.One of the most common trade-offs in making paint is "ease of application" vs. "durability".Pl...
When two apartments share the same heat source and only have one thermometer, someone is always unhappy. If the thermostat is upstairs, the downstairs people are too cold, and if the thermostat is downstairs, the upsatirs people have to open the windows, to keep from getting cooked although thos...
So just how do you get caulking to work outdoors when you have put the job off so long that the cold weather has caught up with you?First, read the caulking tubes to see under what conditions any particular caulking can be used. Polyurethane and most Thermoplastic caulking should be used at temp...
In Canada, other than on the lower mainland of British Columbia and on Sable Island, it is impossible to maintain a comfortable level of humidity in the house and not have frost on single-pane windows most of the winter.Using two panes of glass allows the inner pane to be warmer than the outer on...
The EcoEnergy program of homeowner grants to help retrofit homes has been brought back to life by the federal government in late September of 2011 -- part of the EcoAction initiative. I love this program and the hard workers at NRCan have done a great job of organizing it, explaining it and ma...
Ventilation in a Canadian attic does very little to remove moisture when the temperature in the attic is below freezing. During that time, the moisture is in the form of Ice and the passing air simply won't remove it -- whether you have passive vents or power vents. When things warm up, if the ...
Click here for the BP Class Action Suit relating to failing organic based asphalt shingles. Asphalt shingles should be able to take a lot of heat and cold, over and over again. So why do some suddenly curl up, asks Craig from Point-Claire, Quebec?Cold climate shinglesProbably the first thing to u...
Radiant Heating and Convection Heating are the two primary types of ways we heat our houses. FORCED AIR HEATINGConvection heating means moving hot air -- what we usually call a forced air heating system simply heats air and moves it around the house through a system of fans and ducts. Forced air...
