Oil stains are almost impossible to get out of concrete. Substances that tend to sit on the top surface of the concrete are much easier to get off. We did some testing with various stain and graffiti removal products. Nothing worked perfectly.Since this show I have been looking for somethin...
Typical of many older homes, two of our listners have large metal grates in the floor of the basement, covering a drain collection box. This box tends to stay wet, grow strange things and smell bad. That was acceptable when the basement was no more than a storage space, but when it is conve...
Catherine in Toronto has asbestos insulation on the hot water pipes that run from her boiler to her radiators. She is changing the boiler and wonders if she has to remove all the old insulation.If the insulation is in good shape and will not be disturbed by the new work, then it can be left a...
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...
This photo shows a one way door, installed right where the squirrels go into the attic. After the squirrels have left, the door will be removed but the solid wire left to keep them from getting right back into this very thin roof vent. You should not install such a one way door in the spring whe...
So your client goes to the home show and sees this new decking material that is either cheaper, or more durable, or more ecological, or fancier or simply exotic and they want you to install it. So you check out the literature on it and they all say that you can work with their material just ...
Paul in Calgary, Alberta has a partially finished basement and wants to complete the job now, but he has one stud covered with black stuff. Is this mould? Is this serious?It is probably mould and it is probably serious. Put a little laundry bleach on it. If it changes colour, it is most li...
Robert from Riverview, N.B. writes:The problem relates to what appears to be mould or mildew on one exterior end of my house, showing up in what appears to be small black spots peeking through the white paint. I have been told that improper ventilation can contribute to such a situation if, i...
Ray from Woodstock, Ontario writes:For 20 years we had no ice problems on the roof. Heating was radiant heating in the ceiling. Then we installed a forced air furnace. The contractor ran all the ducts through the attic and we have had terrible ice dams ever since. The contractor refused to...
There is no simple answer to this one. Let's narrow the field and talk only about exhaust fans that do not use things like the air-to-air heat exchangers for heat recuperation.Government literature from the Prairie provinces do not recommend them if they must be installed in the attic (the st...
