| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Reflective Foil | 11/6/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I have looked up on the internet the use of reflective foil as a radiant barrier over existing ...
A: Richard, I'd say R-50 is pretty darn good, I have never used this foil, but, I did look into using ...
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| Shutoff valve issue | 11/6/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I am finishing my basement and I have 2 spigot shutoff valves in different locations up between the ...
A: Kevin, My first 2 questions are, 1. what are they for? 2. do they need to be there? 3. are they ...
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| Water infiltration | 11/5/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: We have purchased an apartment that faces the sea ( 4 yrs old) . The apartment has a 1st floor ...
A: It's my understanding that James Hardie company is an Australian company. Is it their siding that ...
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| condensation on windows | 11/4/2009 | Len Kroll |
Q: my mother and i live in northeast Ohio, she has a home that is about 6 yrs old, and when the weather ...
A: Gina, Condensation is the result of high relative humidity in the house; when the moisture laden ...
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| Cracked Floor Joist | 11/4/2009 | Warren Harper |
Q: This house was built in 1962, this cracked floor joist is right underneath of bathroom tub. I am ...
A: Some sort of steel (channel, angle, I-beam) attached either above or below the electrical wires ...
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| Cracked Floor Joist | 11/4/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: This house was built in 1962, this cracked floor joist is right underneath of bathroom tub. I am ...
A: Salem, You can just use a couple pieces of 2x8 (one on either side) and put 3/8 carriage bolts %26 ...
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| Cracked Floor Joist | 11/3/2009 | Len Kroll |
Q: This house was built in 1962, this cracked floor joist is right underneath of bathroom tub. I am ...
A: Salem, There is visible deflection of the joist so you must jack it up and hold it in place while ...
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| bathroom reno | 11/3/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I have alot of problems with water damage to my shower area because someone used a cloth shower ...
A: Simon, I believe that those newer cloth shower curtains have been treated with a waterproofing to ...
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| Mirrors | 11/3/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: How do you remove old mirrors with out damaging walls
A: Eugene, That is a very good question, I would like to know that answer myself. Unfortunately, they ...
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| Therma Tru French Patio Door | 11/2/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: Bill, you stated this statement in a previous response about a Therma Tru French Patio Door : Not ...
A: Therma Tru makes a DP 50 door system that WILL solve your issue. Check them out here: ...
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| Foundatioon and Floors | 11/2/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I have noticed a crack above my bedroom door and there is a crack in the masonry on the back of my ...
A: Miriam, This is most likely a foundation issue and you should have a reputable foundation service ...
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| insulating and vapor barrier | 11/1/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I have a 1954 home with wool insulation in the attic. I remodeled kitchen a few yrs ago and dropped ...
A: Mike, Yes it will cause that to get and stay wet. You know you can just put faced roll insulation ...
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| Water Ingress above double gazed window | 11/1/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: Sir, 3 years ago we had all new windows fitted,after 6 months we had a water leak in the top corner ...
A: I've not witnessed construction techniques used in the UK, but a friend of mine who has carpentered ...
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| cedar painting | 11/1/2009 | Len Kroll |
Q: We have a semitransparent terracota stain over the cedar that mildew keeps showing even though the ...
A: Sonya, The first thing you need to do is address the mildew issue. Washing it off does not kill ...
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| Anderson Window - How to replace broken pane? | 11/1/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: I have a crack on the inside glass of an Anderson thermal pane windows. Can the insulated glass be ...
A: Yes it is certainly possible to replace just the glass. However, Anderson has made numerous types ...
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| shower mount | 11/1/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I am replacing a hand held shower head. My old shower head was mounted on a standard wall arm. A ...
A: Alex, That will work, if you can rethread that successfully, it's pretty thin and may collapse on ...
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| Windows in Showers/Tubs | 10/30/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: Bill, In an answer you gave to Alex about windows in showers and tubs you said "According to the ...
A: No the International Building Code has not been adopted by all the States. However, the various ...
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| rain leak in sunporch | 10/29/2009 | Harvey Chichester |
Q: We are converting our covered porch into a sunroom, building on an existing concrete pad. We built ...
A: It is best to seal along the out side edge of your base plate. If you can not you may be able to do ...
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| replacement window | 10/29/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: I got a quote of $15,000 (before the Energy Tax credit of $1500) for 21 SL 2700 double hung ...
A: I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with "SL2700". Is it a window brand or a line of windows manufactured ...
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| soundproofing | 10/28/2009 | Donald Bosch |
Q: I recently separated a room into two using 2 X 3 for a frame ant sheetrock for the walls on both ...
A: It would work to a point. It would definitely eliminate most of the noise, and if that is not ...
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| soundproofing | 10/28/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I recently separated a room into two using 2 X 3 for a frame ant sheetrock for the walls on both ...
A: David, That will reduce the noise to some extent and is probably your quickest cheapest way out at ...
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| Garage Stucco Repair | 10/28/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: I have posted questions before on this project and thank you for the help. I removed the bottom 24" ...
A: It's only important that the new wire lath lap the old lath. Under or over is not important. I would ...
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| cellar door | 10/27/2009 | Donald Bosch |
Q: This weekend, my son and I will be installing a steel door in my home at the bottom of the stairs at ...
A: Installing a steel door with a steel frame can easily be done with tapcon screws if you are ...
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| garage insulation/baseboard questions | 10/26/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: I saw an older post here that you responded to with a similar situation as we have, and I have some ...
A: Your situation is really best dealt with "on site." I understand the need to save money - especially ...
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| Sagging window frames | 10/25/2009 | Donald Bosch |
Q: I have a very old house that the state put vinyl siding on and replaced the windows with plastic ...
A: Sorry for the delay, I was setting up a new computer and things got out of hand. Having said that, ...
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| Front Door - replacing | 10/23/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: We have a front door, that has an oval-shaped glass in the center. We want to replace it, and have ...
A: Lew, you start by removing the interior and exterior trim, if this comes off right, there shouldn't ...
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| Gable vent | 10/22/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: My home builder was kind enough to side over where there is supposed to be a gable vent in my garage ...
A: Tim, I checked and found several at Home Depot that were 24"x30", you want the hole to be a little ...
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| Roof venting for a natural gas furnace | 10/21/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: I live in the Bitterroot Valley in Hamilton, Montana. I bought a 57 year old wood framed home ...
A: Marypat I would check your local building codes before I got started with this, Here in Indiana you ...
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| Water Proofing Cement floor edges | 10/21/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: We have a small wood cottage built on the Terrace of our building, after building the wood house we ...
A: I would use a product called Hydrostop. Here is the information: ...
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| Cracks in home | 10/20/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: and recently found a vertical crack near the garage door. The door is set in a narrow wall that's ...
A: Mark, This happens alot; The mud probably wasn't thoroughly dried when the second or third coat is ...
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| Window caulk | 10/20/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: The home inspection was fine, but now we are finding virtually every single window in our home has ...
A: Denise, Since this is every window and not one particular room, and, since you purchased in ...
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| renovating bathroom | 10/20/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: We live in a house that was built cheaply in the 70s and are upgrading and renovating little by ...
A: 1. I'm pretty sure it is a rust stain. Do you have well water or are you on city water? The only ...
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| leaking door | 10/19/2009 | Donald Bosch |
Q: Bosch, We have had a very wet month and we had noticed that our front door was leaking on the ...
A: Did you see the water come in on the sill under the weatherstripping or did someone assume that's ...
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| Caulking Preparation for Acrylic Stucco Finish | 10/19/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: We just got a 1922 pueblo bungalow, and are preparing the old stucco for an acrylic parex finish (as ...
A: I'm not sure that acrylic means anything more than water based. I've applied elastomeric paint to ...
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| Water Proofing Cement floor edges | 10/19/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: We have a small wood cottage built on the Terrace of our building, after building the wood house we ...
A: First of all, I love Greece!! We spent our honeymoon on the island of Patmos and it is one of the ...
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| walkway | 10/18/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: I have a concrete walkway that slants down from our front stairs to the sidewalk. In the winter it ...
A: The only other way that I know of is to install a radiant heat system under the walkway - obviously ...
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| bathroom exhaust fan | 10/17/2009 | Steve Young |
Q: This question may seem involved, but is mostly backgroun info. home is about 50 years old with ...
A: I have considered everything and I really think that you need a larger (CFM) fan. The opening size ...
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| bathroom tub and tiles | 10/17/2009 | Bill Hutson |
Q: Can you kindly comment on the success of bathtub re-glazing? I do have the option of replacing the ...
A: Liz, I have never done any reglazing myself, but, I have a friend who did his own, just to change ...
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| Water leaks between threshold and sweep (shoe) | 10/16/2009 | Bill Rodgers |
Q: I too have been struggling with water leaking through a couple inswing exterior doors. I am in N ...
A: I've not had much luck finding replacement vinyl inserts unless you're sure, in advance, which door ...
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| Wet floor and joists | 10/16/2009 | Len Kroll |
Q: I have discover that I have a crawl space moisture problem and it is a big one. Our home was build ...
A: Robin, I can't be sure why some particle board buckled and some didn't. It is possible, as you ...
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