When you're thinking about changing the windows in a house, you need to make one fundamental choice: whether to slide the new window into the old window frame (the first photo), or whether to remove the old window right down to the structure of the house (the second photo) and replace the whole t...
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...
If a 6x6 or 4x4 wants to twist, it will do so and you can do little to stop it. However you can decide which end will twist!Buried pillarsIf you bury the 6x6 into a concrete pillar, the bottom will be fixed and the top will move, perhaps before you get around to locking in the rest of the deck f...
Peggy is moving from Calgary to Vancouver and in her new province she says she can't locate the SuperSpacer windows that she loved in Calgary. That brings up the whole question of what are different window spacers, and why some are available in some areas of the country and not others.Thermal pa...
Wagish from Brampton, Ontario is worried about the ongoing construction of his new home as they have not put a wooden sheathing on the outside of the house. He asks: "Is the insulation value and strength of the wall compromised by not using the chipboard?".First things first. "Chipboard" should...
Boris lives in a 45 year old bungalow that has no insulation at all. It has a brick outside, an air space, a concrete block wall for structure inside and then drywall. Is it possible to blow foam into the space between the brick and the block?NO. As long as the brick is the weather shield for ...
All washing machines vibrate when they go into the spin cycles. Top loading machines have the tubs suspended on springs that create a primary bad vibration as they build up to speed. If the load is too unbalanced, they bang around and the machine stops. If the load is only a bit unbalanced, th...
Karen wants more open space in her basement. It is possible to move and/or remove support posts, but it is not at all simple to do.First, the size of the beam above the posts is calculated by the weight above and the distance between the supports for the beam. If you move a post, you will most ...
Judy, the true answer is NO, but you can make it look like you have not put in a beam. Do you like that?Take a look at the photo. Here they show using joist hangers and a "flush beam" that is up in the attic and not taking up headroom in the room below.Whenever changing the structure in your ho...
Kevin from Thunder Bay, Ontario has a sag in his roof that he wants to shore up.First Kevin you need to inspect inside to be sure it is not sagging because of rot in the roof joists. If they are sound, but just not properly supported from below you can guild a knee wall half way up the roof, jus...
