Judy Lazo has basement walls that are flaking away in Haddon Township, NJ. She can tell the story better than me; "I own a home that my ex and I bought in 1997. There was never a problem with water in the basement and still isn't. There is a french drain and sump pump. Around 1999, […]
DEAR TIM: What type of stone would be best for filling this cavity that is a planned two-car garage addition? It is approximately 7 feet deep. The local concrete supplier sells recycled concrete for a really good price. It is very similar to crusher run. Due to the design, compacting will be next to impossible. […]
Gary Ennis Jr. lives in what appears to be suburban Woodhaven, Michigan. But when it rains, he's got water in his garage. Here's his story: "I have a two-car detached garage that has water come in at the floor when it rains. I have installed a drain system around the outside but still have water coming […]
Craig Stockman is a little late to the party with his question. He lives in Billings, MT and should have come to me about two weeks before the foundation contractor showed up at his house. Read what Craig wrote: "I had a foundation poured for an addition to our house. What I was wondering was […]
Janis Hatch is building a new home in Lafayette, CO. She thinks she's got a problem with her new foundation. "We are building a home with a national builder. The foundation was poured last week. When the forms were removed there was a pie shaped gap about 15 inches long (vertical) at what will be […]
Dave Keith is working on his home in Syracuse, NY. It's an old one! "I need to know about footers for LALLY COLUMNS. I am fixing an 1870's house, two story, water damage. I will be adding many jack post/lally columns to level up floors and shorten floor joist runs(some 18 foot). Do the footers […]
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: Question a contractor about what he did/did not do Have great plans and specifications Keyways and steel rods in foundation Jonathan Smith is building a new home in Akron, OH. He went to look at the new footers and, well, allow him to tell you: "I'm building a new house, my contractor […]
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 […]
How to Repair a Crumbling Foundation Part 3 Tim demonstrates in this video, the magical cement paint and how to mix up strong and sticky stucco repair mix. It's all magic. This is the last video in the series. [Lynn asks] "How do you get the new stucco to stick to the crumbling stuff?" Okay […]
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