DEAR TIM: My wife and I moved into a new condominium building in March 2009. When it rains and there's heavy wind, we get water leaking through the brick. A gentle rain shower with the rain falling straight down causes no problems. What is causing the problem? There are many older brick buildings on the […]
Mike Flannery is in Denver, CO. But he's perplexed about caulking the trim in a staircase. Here's his full report, albeit abbreviated: "Crack between moulding and top of stair risers indoors. Original caulk cracked. Looked sloppy. Removed caulk. 1/8 in gap. Idea is to put spline in gap as backing prior to re-caulk and then painting. […]
Door Rough Opening Not Square Don Sanders is pulling out his hair in Peculiar, MO. It seems he installed a door in his shed and the rough opening wasn't square. Here's what he sent to me: "I installed an entry door in my shed. The floor was level and the jack and king studs were level. […]
DEAR TIM: My brick house was built in 1921. The brick are a mixture of brown, various shades of red, beige and black. I had some deteriorating mortar replaced and the handyman smeared the mortar on the brick. What do I have to do to clean up my brick mortar making sure I do not […]
Michelle Hill is hot and bothered in her Crosby, Texas home. It does get very hot in Texas in the summer. Here's what she wrote to me: "If my house is a little over 1,700 sq ft including the attached garage, how big should the AC be?" Here's my answer: Michelle, it's not that easy. […]
DEAR TIM: My new house foundation was just poured on a sloping lot. I stopped by just after the forms were stripped from the foundation and I think they poured the foundation too deep. The ground on one side of the house is about 5 feet higher than the top of the foundation. I think […]
Foundation Footing Detail - It's All About Great Soil & Steel "That's what a house footer does. Its job is to provide a nice flat and level surface to set foundation wall panels and to spread out the weight of the entire house onto the ground." Tim Carter - Look below DEAR TIM: I stopped […]
DEAR TIM: My wife and I removed beadboard wainscoating in a house we just bought. In the process, we destroyed the wall. The beadboard was glued on and when it came down so did a thin coat of something. I think it's plaster. Why are there two different materials and why did the wall fall […]
DEAR TIM: Our house has a free-standing decorative brick wall with an iron gate. In various places, the bricks are crumbling. In some places, the entire face of the brick has come off. I do not have enough replacement bricks to replace the damaged bricks. Must I replace the bricks that are merely crumbling or […]
Dianna Morrow has a common problem. She's building a new home in Hardy, VA. Here's what she sent: "The waterproofing spray on my foundation was applied with lots of overspray above grade. The builder has tried grinding it off, painting over it and some other coating that cracked terribly. What options to cover/correct this do […]
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