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 […]
Christie is remodeling her bathroom in Monroe, CT. She's conflicted about how to attach the toe strip on top of her laminate flooring. "I recently painted my ceramic wall tile with a tub and tile paint by Rustoleum, and installed vinyl plank flooring in my bathroom. I have quarter round to match the flooring for the […]
Terrie Baker is building a new home in Adrian, Oregon. She did the right thing to go visit the job site to see what was going on. "My husband and I are building a new house. When I went to check on the progress the other day, I discovered a cobbled up mess on our French […]
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. […]
Anthony Biviano moved his family into a quiet home in Merrick, NY. But now everyone is having a tough time sleeping because the radiant baseboards are making NOISE! Here's his story: "Almost a year after we purchased our high ranch in Merrick, each time the heat comes on it sounds like a river is rushing through […]
DEAR TIM: We have a L-shaped basement storage area under our front porch. There's a metal ceiling in this space that supports the concrete porch slab above. There are no cracks in the concrete porch. This space has no ventilation and everything stored in this area becomes damp and then moldy. We installed a small […]
Andrew Binosa lives in Duluth, GA. The photo he sent me made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! Read Andy's question, look at the photo and see if you don't chuckle! "Hi Tim, I built a deck at the rear and below it is a concrete patio. Is there a minimum anchor type that I need to anchor […]
David Cox has a drone with a GoPro camera on it. He's also got a leak in his wood-framed chimney. Even though the shot could have been a little closer in this video below, it only took me about three seconds to locate the problem. This is an EXCELLENT example of how technology can help […]