John in Scarborough wanted to put a ceiling fan above his stairwell, but the existing electrical outlet was not in the middle. He tore the whole ceiling up (attic insulation and all) to manage to move the box over to the middle.We talked about his project and then I showed him the new light weigh...
Robert from Winnipeg Manitoba asks about the safety of walking around in his attic.First let's be sure not to fall into the room below. If you were to remove all the insulation, you would see the drywall or plaster of the ceiling below, nothing more. It is held in place by the ceiling joists,...
For years we have had factory built homes where the entire home was built in a factory and then trucked to a site and put on a foundation, much like a mobile home. When people wanted larger factory built homes, they started making them in two halves, to fit on the trucks, and stuck them toge...
20 years ago Bob built a geodesic dome in Saskatchewan. As you can see, it was a community effort. After all this time he has finally gotten tired of the snow melting off the roof creating all kinds of ice cycles, so he is asking about the feasibility of putting some Styrofoam right over th...
"A few years ago a contractor installed ceiling grills typically used on the floor for forced air heating in the ceilings of my bathroom and living room. The grills are connected with a "Y" insulated conduit in the attic leading to a 20 liter pail connected to a turbine vent installed on the ...
When there is morning frost or light snow on a roof, you can learn a lot about a heat losses from the house and how to eliminate ice dams and icicles.
What causes problems
Melting the bottom of a snow pack or melting off all snow at the crown of the roof sends water down under the snow to ...
Last year we visited a home to replace a "bathroom fan" but when we arrived, we found that it was vented directly into the attic. If you've been watching my show, you know that should never be! That was in the middle of the winter with ice on a steep roof, so we promised to go back and do it righ...
Sealing air drafts, both inside warm air escaping out and outside cold air sneaking in, is one of the most important things you can do to your house. It will both save you heating dollars and protect the structure of your house. This animation gives you a quick and visual overview of the task at ...
The smoke test described in the previous answer should be used to verify the presence of typical leaks and discover those peculiar to your own house. Before sealing, read the section on Ventilation to avoid any future condensation problems.
The leaks high in the house are not necessarily the lar...
Many government or crown corporation publications are afraid to ask too much of homeowners both in terms of work and comprehension. They prefer that homeowners do things half-way rather than not at all. When compromises seem to work some of the time, these publications (and many contractors) are ...
