Chad Ewald, who lives in Stillwater, MN - a place mentioned in Roger Stelljes' Deadly Stillwater book, has paint pigment stains on his brick. Great read by the way! Here's what Chad sent me: "How do I remove paint from brick? The white medallion elements on my home appear to have bled white paint onto the brick […]
Quick Column Summary: Tar paper or 6 mil plastic vapor barrier Leave an air gap to avoid mold Video link Charles Gregoire is perplexed up in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. "Confusion on whether to use tar paper or 6 mil plastic. In repairing a 64" section of an existing basement interior wood framed dry […]
Quick Column Summary: Garage sided with no sheathing material How to stop water from entering No easy fixes Remove siding and add sheathing, tar paper or house wrap Judy Saulle, who lives in a cedar-sided house in Earlysville, VA, has an interesting problem with her house. "Our garage does not have any sheathing just cedar […]
Quick Column Summary: Soundproofing windows High quality storm windows might help Sound leaks into any air gap in your home Link to sound control information Arlene Vargus, who lives on a race track street in Lynn, MA has a problem. "I live on a noisy street and want to soundproof my three double-hung windows. Would […]
Quick Column Summary: Is dust in house coming from ductwork What is creating the dust Most dust gets in through air cracks near doors/windows Denis has a dusty house in California's Central Valley. He lives in Merced, CA. That's a clue by the way. Here's what Denis sent me: "Hey Tim, I have the dustiest […]
Quick Column Summary: Screwing cabinets to concrete wall Attach wood 2x4s to concrete Attach cabinets to 2x4s Video link James Toth, who has his hammer out in Bridgeport, CT, is itching to install wood cabinets on a poured concrete wall. Here's what he wrote after watching the video below. Be sure to read MY REPLY […]
Glue Rocks Together - Use Magic Epoxy Below Quick Column Summary: Stacked rock sculpture What is the bonding material Use a rock/masonry epoxy Maurizio Magnani was perplexed after visiting a public park in Duarte, CA. Here's what he wrote to me: "I would like to build a river rocks assembly I saw at a nearby […]
Quick Column Summary: Walkout basement being built One wall will be framed and the others poured concrete The framed wall will be fine Better insulation and no structural issues Zhou (Joe) Yuan emailed me today with a fascinating question about his new home under construction that has a walkout basement: "I'm building a new house […]
Quick Column Summary: Can you vault roof rafters Standard trusses won't modify easily Common framed house can create vaulted ceiling Work with structural engineer Roof rafters, unless the roof is flat, by their very nature are vaulted. Vaulted means installed at a slope. If your house is built with standard trusses, you can't modify the […]
Quick Column Summary: Cut an arch in a doorway framed in brick Creating Arched Openings Make arched form to hold brick in place Steve Clake, who lives in England, emailed me on May 26, 2014 with this: "Tim, I would like to make an opening for a new door and round off the corners to […]
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