Looking for opinions from carpenters/builders here. I was looking at a property today, 1980s build. Went down into the crawlspace and it was pretty clean, but noticed this as one area of concern with ground moisture seepage. I see the one set of pier posts has been set on concrete blocks on the footer and there's some moisture being pulled into them, and a confined area of dampness adjacent: PXL_20240322_170220604.jpg Compare another area, dry, with a bottom plate right on on footer, no blocks: PXL_20240322_170338683.jpg ​​​​​ Issue or no issue? Or major issue? Appreciate any experience ..read more

Hey all, I built this bed frame a few years ago (video / image #1 below). Eventually it started getting creeky and I figured, maybe it's because the weight is carried by screws instead of the wood itself. So in my infinite wisdom I basically built Put the two 2x4s together for the sides, used a router and chisels to make a whole for my 2x4's to slot in. Screwed a piece of wood into the side rail so that slats can sit on top of that. Left a gap of a few mm so the wood slats wouldn't rub against the side rail. ​​​ ​​​ The problem is this bed is creeky as anything. My goal isn't just to fix ..read more

We have an older Inglis model clothes dryer. A real old mechanical work horse, nothing digital in it. It stopped producing heat this morning. Not wanting to give up on it without a fight, i took the back off and started looking at it. The heating element has two heavy red wires connected to it. One of them is connected to some sort of switch, and the switch is then connected to the other connection on the element. The switch itself has a smaller gauge orange wire going into it. When i take the red wire off the switch and connect it directly to the element, it fires right up, so i believe the ..read more

So I bought an LED integrated fixture for the stairwell. I followed the instruction manual faithfully (paraphrased): 1) Thread mounting screws into the outlet box 2) Connect white wire to white wire 3) Connect black wire to black wire 4) Connect green to ground 5) Tuck wires into box 6) Align the base with the box and tighten screws 7) Attach the shade. And within minutes I'm done. Turn the page and VOILA!! 1) Read these instructions 2) Connections must be to code(s) WAIT FOR IT. WAIT FOR IT. 3) Before starting, turn off power, not just the switch. WHAT?! You're supposed to turn off the p ..read more

When our house was built there was a switch at the top of the basement stairs, but not the bottom. When we moved in, I put a motion sensor light in. Been replaced a couple of times. Now, it goes off, and within a second comes back on again. Originally it was 4 times. Now it's been going on and off for 10 minutes or so. Resetting at the breaker has no effect. Yes I've checked for spiders, webs, paranormal activities, and extraterrestrials. I presume it's time for a new one. No I have not taken it down and checked connections. (And no, I'm not going to rip out drywall on the walls, nor the popc ..read more

I am moving a ceramic toilet paper holder to a better place on the wall. The holder has a flat back and was originally attached to the surface of the drywall with silicone. I have scrubbed the silicone off with a Scotchbrite and mineral spirits. I'm ready to re-attach it and I'm wondering if it would be better to use ceramic tile cement (mastic) this time or to use silicone again. I'm also wondering how to hold it in place while the "glue" sets as it weighs about 1.2Kg. 14 - After.jpg ..read more

I will be replacing a stand alone shower enclosure for a larger unit and have been trying to research the different wall materials so I'm looking for any guidance that can be offered based on experiences gained doing this type of project. As this will be a DYI undertaking on a limited budget I am looking at ease of installation, something that won't break the bank and has aesthetic appeal. We will be selling the house within a couple years. Looking forward to your suggestions given those parameters Paul ..read more

Hi everyone! Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I've been obsessively making 3D plans in Sketchup and spending hours reading through Ontario's 769 page building code in prep for eventually building my dream 12x20' workshop in our backyard. I'm based in Ottawa and plan to go through the proper permitting channels to do this. I've tried inquiring with the city's building department with some questions, but they must be crazy busy and I've received no responses yet. So, I thought I would check with the community here on something that's been stumping me. At this point, I'm pretty satisfied wi ..read more

So far all of the laminates I've looked at have 4 types of edges. Call then L1 and L2, and W1 and W2. L1 will lock only with L2 and W1 will lock only with W2 Does anyone make laminate flooring that uses only two types of edges so that an end can be locked to a side? In particular what I would like to find is a laminate line that had both wood-look planks and stone-look tiles. I'd like to do a basketweave of planks surrounding square tiles. I figure that due to a larger number of short edges, I'd glue all the edges in addition. I want to do things like this, but in laminate. Possible withou ..read more

Hi everyone, looking for some input on how to approach a renovation problem. As part of a renovation, a section of an old bedroom has become a hallway. This hallway in joined onto the main living space of the house, however while the living space floor (hardwood) is level, the new hallway floor is not level (sloping down the length of the hallway away from the living space). I want a seamless transition from the open living space and into the hallway so that you can't tell it was a renovation, however the current hallway slope makes this difficult. Of importance is that the hall has an extrem ..read more