Is radiant infloor heating a good idea for a cottage? We’re planning our design right now and need help understanding this option. Everyone likes radiant floor heating because everyone likes warm feet. But the real issue in cottage country is how…
Most vinyl windows are white, and the reason has largely to do with the way vinyl expands and contracts with changes in temperature. Light colours reduce heat build up in the window frames, eliminating the bowing, bending and cracking that…
I live in a six year-old two story home, and when the shower or bath faucets are turned on in the bathroom, the cold water pipe vibrates and makes a knocking noise. I’ve located the spot in the basement where…
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….
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…