One trick to get melamine tape to stick to the edge of a board is to prime the edge with contact cement and let it completely cure overnight or better still for several days before ironing on the tape. This will provide a very good base for the tape adhesive to stick to.When it is time to trim o...
Plastic nails -- now there's an idea to avoid rust marks on fences.A couple of years ago (1979) I stumbled into Raptor Plastic Nails made in Texas and designed for just about every type of project except structural framing. They were all made to be used with pneumatic nailers. I wanted to test ...
I get a lot of questions about choosing and applying a finish to a hardwood floor.First understand that there is no one right answer -- there are a lot of products that each has certain advantages over the others and you need to select the properties that are the most important to you. There are...
Elizabeth from Windsor, Ontario wants to bend some plexiglass. How does she do it? With heat. The pros have special heat cables and knives to deliver just the right heat at the right spot for slow bends, or sharp 90 degree or even 180 degree bends.For amateur work where you don't want to spend...
When you cut Plexiglass with a jig saw, the plastic that?s been cut away often melts and closes the cut line behind the saw. Richard from Guelph, Ontario saw me struggling with this and suggested adding motor oil to the surface to lubricate and cool the scrap -- it does work.Probably most importa...
An earthen crawl space or basement is a terrible source of humidity. The ground under the house, given most soil conditions, will continually feed water up to the surface -- where it will evaporate up into the house. Here vapour diffusion is important because there is nothing stopping this ...
This article deals with a block wall above grade. For a below grade block wall see Basement Perimeter Drainage and Leaking Foundations.
Bryan is faced with a totally un-insulated cinder block wall with 1x2 strapping and a plaster covering. He is thinking about stripping it back to the block...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Adhesives Product: Acoustical Sealant
Temperature Limitations: Product must be above +5 C (+40 F) -- but surface can be below freezing.
Rain Limitations: Apply to a dry surface.
Wind Limitatio...
Almost all of us own at least two outdoor plastic lawn chairs, more properly called resin chairs, if not a whole dining set. Most of us watch them get dirtier and dirtier every year, until we finally scrap them for something cleaner. Sitting out in the weather tends to somehow grind them int...
One viewer wants to protect his parents from flying golf balls because they live alongside a golf course. They have already lost more than one window.
They probably have three choices:
-- subsidize lessons for the golfers,
-- build a barrier in front of their windows, or
-- put 'security film...
