Q: I recently bought a benchtop wood planer and have been happily generating bags and bags of sawdust in my workshop. Trouble is, I just found out that my municipality doesn’t accept sawdust as garbage. How can I dispose of […]
Continue ReadingSUMMERTIME MUSTINESS: Concrete Floors Often the Culprit
Q: What can I do about sky-high summertime humidity in our house? The building is 35 years old and sits entirely on a concrete pad. Humidity is fine in winter, but in the warm months we smell mildew in the […]
Continue ReadingWHITE LIES: Good Contractors Never Tell Them
Back in June 2018, I got an email from a woman wondering about roof shingles, and it reminded me how easy it is for contractors to destroy their own credibility with white lies. As a homeowner, you need to watch […]
Continue ReadingQ&A of the Week: What Replacement Skylight Do You Recommend?
Q: My current skylight is damaged and needs to be replaced. Can you recommend a reliable brand and installer? A: There are many brands of skylights out there, but I’ve never seen any that match the quality of VELUX. I’ve installed […]
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Q&A of the Week: “How Can I Shorten a Door to Allow for New Flooring?”
Q: What’s the best way to shorten two wooden doors as part of a laminate floor job I’m planning? I need advice for marking and cutting the bottom of these doors accurately. A: This job is actually trickier than it […]
Continue ReadingQ&A: Can you help me make sense of options for potlights? I’m confused.
Q: Can you help me make sense of all the options for potlights? I’m confused by all the choices, sizes and types. A: Potlights are also called recessed lighting in the industry, and they’re a terrific feature when used properly. But […]
Continue ReadingNEW WINDOWS: Will They Reduce Street Noise & Condensation?
Q: We bought our home in 1995, when it was 2 1/2 years old, and the windows have not been changed since then. The original crank-style wood-frame windows seem to be letting more street noise into the house than before. […]
Continue ReadingQ&A: How Can I Shingle a Roof From The Top Down?
Q: How can I install asphalt shingles on a roof from the top down? I’ve heard this is better since you never walk on the shingles as they’re being installed, but how is this possible? Shingles need to overlap correctly […]
Continue ReadingQ&A: How Can I Fix the Cracked Parging on My Foundation Wall?
Q: What’s the best way to fix the cracked parging on my house foundation? I live in a 13-year-old brick bungalow, with about 6 feet of parged concrete block foundation visible above ground. Over the years this parging has become […]
Continue ReadingQ&A of the Week: How’s SeptiCleanse septic system treatment working out for you?
Q: I’m writing to ask for the follow-up to a Toronto Star column you wrote a number of years ago regarding a septic system product called SeptiCleanse. Does this product continue to work well for you? I’ve got a septic system […]
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