Robyn has a house in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. The corners of her concrete foundation are cracking off and she wants to know how to repair them. Here's her testimony: "The corners of my foundation are slowly falling off. I know I have foundation problems, but I want to put this big chunk back on […]
Caitlin Jenkins and her husband now live in Basel, Switzerland. But the building has a brick floor and she's dealing with efflorescence. Let Caitlin give you the details: "Hi Tim, I saw your YouTube video on efflorescence and I'm wondering if you have any particular recommendations for our situation. My husband and I just moved into […]
Carl King is thinking of buying an historic building in Baltimore, MD that has some brick erosion. Here's what he sent me: "I went to look at a building for sale in a historic district and found a problem with the brick I've never seen before. I wanted to know what you though the cause might […]
Julie has a nice home in Quebec, Canada. But she's got a problem with some sloppy mortar around her metal fireplace. Here's what she has to say: "We have a fire place with stones all around, I am trying to find the best option to hide the cement on the fireplace. I find it really ugly and […]
Eric Sygnatur owns a Hyattsville, MD townhouse located just outside of Washington, DC where it's very humid. He's got a strange stain on the exterior concrete block. "Tim, my townhouse is five years old. There is a stain on some of the masonry that I thought might "wash away" or fade with time, but it hasn't. Any […]
Ines Turpin hails from Allen, Oklahoma. She wants to know about building a full-sized Lego house. Can you guess my answer? "Is it possible to build a house from stackable 2x2x12 or 6 blocks that are designed as Legos? You see this blocks used by concrete companies as retaining blocks for sand and gravel." Here's my […]
DEAR TIM: I purchased an older stucco home that's never been painted. It's got some cracks in the stucco. Most range in width from 1/4 to 3/8-inch wide. The cracks are not getting any bigger and a structural engineer said that all is well and the cracking will not continue. What's the best way to […]
Rick Castelli is doing some remodeling in his Falls Church, VA home. Let him give you the background about the masonry opening. "We have a 1947 Cape Cod with masonry walls. The picture shows the old rear exterior wall where a previous owner removed a back door and window in the kitchen to open up into […]
Troy McWhirter owns a townhouse in Ashburn VA. He's perplexed about what might be under the steps that lead up to his front door. Here's what he sent me: "I own a 1999 Toll Brothers townhouse with a brick second level walk up to front door. I want to know what is under those stairs? I […]
Threasa Brown lives in an Irving, Texas neighborhood that has a perplexing mystery. Many houses have one sole gold brick in the front wall. Here's what Threasa says: "Most of the houses (built in the 1970's) in our neighborhood (including ours) has a single gold brick on the front exterior wall by the porch. I have […]
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