-
Q: I have customers who want me to build a log home that will be used seasonally, for about two months of the summer and another two months in the winter. During the rest of the year they want to leave the house closed up and unheated. We're at the edge of the Rocky Mountain Front Range in eastern...
-
Q: Do so-called "double-cell" insulating window shades perform as advertised? One salesperson claims R-3 if they are installed with an airtight edge seal. But what if they are installed without the perimeter track?
-
Q: Although code inspections are not routinely done in the rural area where I work, I want to make sure a winder stair I am building to access the upstairs of a storage building meets residential code - just in case the space is ever used as a living area. According to the IRC, you need a minimum...
-
Q: I recently purchased a DeWalt 18-volt cordless tool with lithium-ion batteries and noticed that the new batteries also fit my old DeWalt tools. Is it okay to use lithium-ion batteries in tools that came with nickel-cadmium (nicad) batteries?
-
Q: A homeowner has asked me how to repair what looks to me like a botched job, where new entry doors were installed in a brick home covered with stucco or some kind of cement parging. The home is in New Jersey and dates to 1905. The stucco was crudely chipped away, leaving 1/2-inch gaps between the...
-
Q: Last year we completed a SIP roof deck using two kinds of panels. Some were the standard OSB-foam sandwich panels, and some had prefinished T & G pine ceiling boards attached to the bottom. During installation, we noticed a small gap between the panels with the attached T & G ceiling, because...
-
Q: Is it okay to fish electrical wiring through the wood-framed chases built around hvac ducts and chimneys?
-
Q: I am about to start a basement remodel project in a cold climate. I plan to apply a waterproofing product to the inside of the basement wall, then stick a sheet of polyethylene directly to the basement wall over the waterproof coating. Once that is in place, I'll frame a 2x4 wood-frame wall on...
-
Q: I occasionally receive framing lumber that has some mold on it. Will this mold continue to grow and cause rot once the wood is in the dry? Do I have to clean it off? I'm also concerned about customer perception.
-
Q: I've come across a product that was created to combat the anthrax spore and was later found to be effective against mold as well. It's fogged throughout the job for 24 hours, with no access allowed. The product is said to eradicate mold, not just put it in a dormant state. Does this work?