My kitchen will be renovated soon and I’d like to expose the bricks on one interior wall. The kitchen has a breakfast room adjoining it, with its own separate roof and lower walls — sort of like a shed tacked…
I’ve seen a few articles written about whole house fans, mostly in US magazines and on web sites. Why aren’t they more popular here in Canada? They seem like an economical way to cool a house each evening. Yes, whole…
We’ve moved into a brand new home and we’re having trouble with a section of the basement we requested be built into a storage area. Liquid water seeps into the room and fuzzy growths are appearing on stored items and…
The paint beneath our south facing windows is peeling on the inside walls, but I don’t know why. Some of it’s coming off in large, wide pieces with plenty of plaster attached. The paint that’s still firm on the wall…
A friend owns a cottage and would like to insulate the roof. The problem is the limited amount of space underneath the ceiling, and the view of the exposed rafters he’d like to preserve. That’s what got us thinking about…
What kind of subfloor products do you recommend for a basement renovation? I don’t know what to make of the different brands. Basement subfloor tiles appeared on the scene about 10 years ago. I’ve worked with all brands and I…
Can I use spray foam to insulate the underside of the open roof on my 600 sq. ft. cottage? I understand that roof ventilation isn’t necessary in this case. Is this correct? Yes, is the short answer to your question….
Sinking patio stones and paving bricks are a common problem in Canada because the freezing and thawing temperatures we get cause more soil settling than experienced in frost-free regions. Regardless of the cause, the solution is the same: It’s a…
Why is condensation forming behind the fiberglass insulation in my basement? I glued 1 1/2″-thick white styrofoam boards to all the exterior walls and in between the floor joists where they meet the outside walls. I sealed all joints with…
Yes, you can build a non-load bearing wall on top of any basement subfloor product on the market today. Since these walls don’t exert much downward force, there’s no problem. Once you’ve built your wall and moved it into final…
What do you think about slicing brick so it’s 1-inch thick, then gluing it to the outside walls of a garage I’m planning to build myself? I’d like this garage to match the brick on our house. What are the…
How should I insulate the floor of a sunroom I’ll be building over a raised deck? It’s about 9 feet off the ground, with a hot tub underneath. The easiest, neatest and least expensive option is to apply 2 inches…