Q: I have been called to inspect a shower with ceramic tile walls. The substrate is cementitious backerboard, and as far as I can tell, the tile was installed with thinset. There are hairline cracks running through the tiles on all three walls, both vertical and horizontal. There is a ceramic soap dish in the corner, and even it is cracked. It doesn’t appear that there has been any movement in the floor or the walls. What could be causing the cracking? More
A veteran stucco contractor and industry expert describes the ingredients that... More
If you make certain common mistakes during placement, you can end up with a weak... More
Q: We have had good luck using the old-fashioned technique for exterior stucco: 1/2-inch plywood, felt paper, wire mesh, then 1 inch of plaster in three coats. Last year our luck ran out. We built a house on a hill where the wind just didn’t stop. A year later, one face — the gable end of a two-story two-car garage — has many hairline cracks. The stucco sub wants to put a heavy fiberglass tape over the cracks and re-stucco that face. Is this a good solution? More
Patch kit for oversized receptacle holes, new anti-scald shower valve, terrazzo tiles, premixed structural-anchor cement, comfortable safety harness, drywall crack repair mesh More
Q: A client wants a portion of a basement slab to have radiant heat to take the chill off the floor of a planned playroom (there will be supplemental heat). The hvac contractor wants the radiant tubing, which will be attached to wire mesh, to be lifted into the middle of the slab during the pour to put the heat closer to the surface. The concrete contractor doesn’t want to do this because he insists that cracks will show up along the tubing. He wants to leave the tubing at the bottom, and says the insulation board will drive the heat up anyway. He recommends at least 3 inches of concrete-above the tubing. Which is correct? More
Q: When making a patch in stucco, is it possible to use hydraulic cement or a fast-setting cement for the first couple of layers so that the patch can be completed in one day? More
Most chimney problems stem from a few root causes, such as improperly mixed mortar and poorly constructed crowns. Unfortunately, once done, the resulting damage can be expensive to repair. A chimney expert shows how to recognize and prevent More
Q: Which is better at preventing cracks in concrete slabs: fiber reinforcement or... More