How can I expand the living space in my house on a tight budget? We are a family of five and my middle child is 9 years old and has a serious illness involving medical equipment and support workers. As…
What’s the best way to insulate the sloped second floor ceilings of my 1949 storey-and-a-half double-brick house? There are three options that I know of: The baffle method is time consuming to create, but good because it allows air movement…
How can I stop a strip of condensation from forming on one wall of my bathroom during cold weather? It always happens after a shower, and I think it’s caused by a cast iron plumbing vent directly behind the wall…
What’s the most economical method of heating a new home I’m planning to build electric infloor heating or an electric boiler of floor mats? Natural gas isn’t available on my lot and I don’t want to burn oil or wood….
What’s the best way to stop drafts from coming in around the new recessed light fixtures I’ve had installed? The electrician was careful to replace the insulation around each ceiling box but it didn’t do much good. Can I apply…
What’s the best product to use for finishing the interior of pine windows? I want to leave the wood its natural colour, and I’m thinking of either waterbased urethane or tung oil. Which do you recommend? The interior surface of…
Are sealed, unventilated attics a good idea? There’s a fair amount of debate on the topic, with some engineering folks claiming the advantages of insulating the underside of the roof deck with spray foam. This is a big change from…
What’s the most efficient kind of plug-in electric heater? We need to heat a 16-foot x 20-foot insulated bunky on our property and want a simple option that’s as inexpensive as possible. When it comes to electric heat, all plug-in…
Structural insulated panels are a foam and wood sandwich that takes the place of a wood frame, and SIP buildings use roughly half the energy required for heating and cooling than the same stick-frame, fibre-insulated building would consume. This is…
What’s the best strategy for insulating the inside surface of the solid brick walls of my 1969 bungalow? I’m planning to strip the interior surface, install 2×4 strapping, then spray the cavities full of foam. Is spray foam safe? Should…
Should I install a plastic vapour barrier on the inside of basement wall frames? They’re made with wood studs, and I removed old, moldy insulation and drywall then replaced it with new batts. I’ve heard some people say you shouldn’t…
How should I prepare a bathroom subfloor before installing snap-together vinyl tiles? My plan is to add 3/8-inch plywood over the 3/4-inch subfloor that’s already there. The existing subfloor has gaps between seams and lots of old glue, but it’s…