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Q. I'm doing a basement remodel and am thinking of finishing the block foundation walls by painting the masonry with Drylok, then adhering 4-mil poly over that. Next, I plan to fur the walls with Z-studs, put 2 inches of foil-faced polyiso board between t
A Massachusetts building mover details the process of lifting a 1772 post-and-beam house completely intact, transporting it over land and water, and setting it to rest at its new home.
Storm surge can exert pressures against pilings in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds per square foot. Post-storm analysis may result in new design standards for oceanfront homes.
Q. I'm planning to form a simple 4-foot stem wall foundation for a single-story garage using plywood, snap ties, and walers. It needs to have a brick ledge for the top 10 to 12 inches, which will show above grade. What's a simple, effective way to do this
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Q. Is there a spray-on waterproofing that's compatible with ICF foundations ? that won't "melt" the polystyrene?
Q. While I was removing the old tile from a concrete shower pan in a slab foundation, a portion of the 1x5-inch raised concrete lip separated from the slab below. It appears that the lip was formed and placed on top of the slab, and there is nothing tying
Where space is tight or soils are unstable, building on helical piers can save time and money. A Colorado remodeler who specializes in room additions explains.
A veteran contractor shares his method of repairing damaged foundations with tension rods and concrete deadmen.
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Q. I need to pour a thickened-edge slab foundation for a two-story garage apartment across a recently dug 2-foot-wide utility trench. The backfill over the trench has subsided, and I'm concerned that the foundation may sag and crack at that point. Can I add rebar to the slab to span this area, or...
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Q. I'd like to finish the above-grade portion of a poured-concrete foundation with a color coat of stucco. The broken-off snap-ties are visible and are slightly rusty. Do I need to treat these with anything before I apply the stucco to prevent a rust stai
Q. I have a client who wants me to build a 30x40-foot unheated barn-garage with a slab floor. The area where the building will sit is very flat, with no lower terrain nearby, so it's not feasible to build a typical 4-foot stem wall with a daylight drain. Frost depth is 48 inches around here...
No one likes waiting for the mason, but manufactured zero-clearance fireplaces aren't the only alternative. A Connecticut manufacturer describes his innovative precast chimney system
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Q. We are building a new home on a slab foundation that is already poured. The customer uses a wheelchair and wants a curbless shower in a bathroom with a tiled floor. Is it possible to keep the bathroom floor level with the finish floors in the other roo
Q. We need to pour a 24x24-foot concrete slab for an attached garage next to a precast foundation. The precast walls are 9 feet and 4 feet tall (see photo). Unfortunately, the trench overdig is 7 feet deep and as much as 4 feet wide in some places. We would prefer to avoid backfilling and tamping...
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Q. I'm looking at a wood frame house with a block foundation that is settling. The basement wall sits on a 20-inch-wide concrete footing, but someone later poured a concrete brick shelf from footing to grade and then put brick veneer siding on the house.
Building modular homes speeds production, increases quality control, and reduces paperwork, according to this stick builder who made the switch.
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Q. To turn a small outbuilding into a living space, I plan to pour a slab floor within the existing 4-foot frostwall foundation. How much and what kind of insulation should I use for the foundation, and where should I place it -- under the slab or next to
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When the soil moves, your foundation had better not. A Colorado builder shares his approach for building on difficult soils.
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Building roads * Retaining walls * Footings * Walkout foundations * Stem walls * Slabs * Frost-protected foundations * Foundation repair * Half wall foundations * Tying-in to existing foundations * Foundation details
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Preventing frost action * Perimeter drain design * Details for removing roof runoff * Placing drain tile