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Q: I know that some framers are using lumber treated with SBX (sodium borate) as a substitute for ACQ because it is less corrosive to fasteners, but I'm concerned about short-term exposure to rain and the longevity of the borate treatment itself, which co
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Q. Because it's a lot cheaper than most primed stock, I'd like to use MDF for running trim. But that means I'll have a lot more butt joints, especially if I use 8-foot sheets, which I find to be more manageable on site than 10- or 12-foot sheets, which we can also get. What's a good way to make...
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Q. Recently I discovered that an inexperienced member of my crew mistakenly used finish paint instead of an actual primer to prime a fir exterior door. Now the door has two coats of a 100 percent acrylic house paint, but no primer underneath. Since it leads to a covered porch, the door is protected...
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Q. Fixing a Noisy Condo I'm renovating a condominium that shares a wall with the adjoining unit. Sound from the neighboring unit the ringing telephone, the dishwasher, and especially the TV travels right through the double 2x4 common wall, which has fire-rated drywall sheathing on one of the...
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Q. My son's house has been sitting in 10 feet of water since the levee between Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River broke following Hurricane Katrina. He's considering tearing the two-story home down to the studs. I'm wondering if wooden studs sta
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Q. I'm building a house that has an attached 24-by-24-foot garage with a master suite above. The owner is concerned about fumes getting into the living spaces next to and above the garage. What's the best way to seal out the fumes?
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Q. As a remodeler, I've hung and taped my share of drywall on small jobs, but knee walls and sloped ceilings always give me a problem. I'm never able to get a really straight joint on these irregular inside corners. How do the pros do it?
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Q: I'm planning on installing laminate flooring on the first floor of my North Carolina house, which is built on a ventilated crawlspace. But I'm concerned that the laminate finish will trap moisture and eventually lead to rot damage in the subfloor and f
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Q. I'm finishing a basement room for customers who want to put carpet over the radiant slab. I'm concerned the carpet will insulate off some of the heat, but I can't talk them out of it. The slab is 4 to 5 inches thick, and the 1/2-inch PEX tubing is laid out on 12-inch centers, with 11/2 inches of...
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I'm about to pour a slab on a site where several stumps were removed, leaving 2- and 3-foot-deep holes about 4 feet across. The backhoe operator went ahead and filled in the holes with dirt from the site (sandy loam, pretty good stuff), drove over them a