Q. We need to pour a 24x24-foot concrete slab for an attached garage next to a... More
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. More
Q. How should a garage slab be sloped for drainage toward the overhead door? At 1/4 inch per foot on a 24x26-foot foundation, the height difference from front to back would be more than 6 inches. Do I need to grade the sand and gravel sub-base at the same slope so the slab can have a uniform 4-inch thickness? More
Q. My excavation contractor offered to bury my scrap drywall on site, but I've heard buried gypsum can create a harmful gas. I've also read that it's okay to bury small amounts if you disperse it. Is it okay to bury drywall on site at all, and if so, what More
Q. What’s the most cost-effective way to thaw a site for excavation? We are building a 16x24-foot addition with a crawlspace underneath, and the frost is already 12 inches deep. More
Q: To finish an existing basement, I will be installing 2x4 walls around the... More
Q: We‘ll be building a house on a frost-protected shallow foundation. Are the requirements for sizing the portion of the slab that forms the thickened footing around the perimeter of the slab the same as the requirements for a typical monolithic floating More
Q: Within 60 days of pouring a concrete basement, some vertical cracks appeared. The cracks are between 1/32 inch and 1/16 inch wide, and extend from the top of the foundation wall down about 4 to 5 feet. My subcontractor tells me that the foundation is s More
Q: What glues work best for repairing veneer over particleboard (for example, on a cabinet end panel)? More
Q: What is the best glue for fastening bathroom accessories to ceramic tile walls? More
