How can I fix a new door that has an uneven gap at the top?
How can I fix a new door that has an uneven gap at the top? I know that the proper thing to do is to take out the door jamb and square it up, but I hope there’s another way….
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How can I boost the energy efficiency of the floor-to-ceiling windows in my high-rise condo?
How can I boost the energy efficiency of the floor-to-ceiling windows in my high-rise condo? Heating costs are very high here, and I’m thinking of trying window blankets this winter. Any coverings I choose will also need to keep early…
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What can I do to protect a laminate floor in case of a water heater leak?
What can I do to protect a laminate floor in case of a water heater leak? It’s in our cottage, and at times no one’s around to deal with trouble, should it arise. Everything is located on the same level,…
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How can we stop water from seeping through the walls of the cold room?
How can we stop water from seeping through the walls of the cold room built in a basement underneath our front steps? We’ve parged and painted inside several times with concrete oil-based paint, but nothing works. The room has become…
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Help me Steve, my new wood floors aren’t level!
We’re having problems with the hardwood floor in our house and I hope you can help. Our place was built last summer, and the floor was site-finished with three coats of varnish after sanding. For the first two months the…
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How do I get rid of recurring ceiling mold near an exterior wall?
How can my hubby and I get rid of recurring mold that appears in a corner of our bedroom ceiling? It’s the place where the ceiling meets an outside wall. I’ve seen this sort of thing before, and the cause…
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What are my options for fixing flaking brick on the front of my house?
What are my options for fixing flaking brick on the front of my house? The place was built in 1980, and the bricks were failing noticeably by the late 80’s. I’ve had repair work done over the years, but the…
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How can I tell if the central air conditioner in our new house is working properly?
How can I tell if the central air conditioner in our new house is working properly? On hot days this past summer it would take three hours to go from 25C to 22C. I’ve never lived with an air conditioner…
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What should I use for dust control in a basement woodworking shop I’m creating?
What should I use for dust control in a basement woodworking shop I’m creating? I’ll be using a tablesaw, router table, bandsaw and sanding equipment. That’s a great question because dust control is often overlooked when setting up a shop….
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Is foam injection insulation a good way to boost the energy efficiency of my brick house?
Is foam injection insulation a good way to boost the energy efficiency of my brick house? It’s about 60 years old, and the outer walls are double brick with nothing but an open air space between them. A lot of…
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I live in a 50-year old bungalow and have just discovered there’s not a single bit of insulation in the place. How can I fix this?
The first step is to get some loose-fill insulation blown into your attic. This is the easiest and least expensive initial option. There are two choices: cellulose or fiberglass, with a slight quality advantage going to the fiberglass, according to…
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ASK STEVE: Frost jacking causes heaving, help!
About 5 years ago I installed two posts under a porch and now one seems to be rising out of the ground. I set the bottoms 50 inches below the surface, in bell-shaped holes, to prevent heaving. I also put…
