Homeowner Forum / Construction / September 2004

Re. Excess Furnace/AC Capacity
Even though we have only one finished room (a guest room) on the
second floor of this new house, looking ahead to the time when the
rest of the 2nd floor may be finished, our HVAC subcontractor put in a

Anyone have any experience with Hardi Plank?  Would appreciate some
feedback.
Thanks,
Carol

I need some opinions on a project I have going on.
I am a single female homeowner with little construction knowledge.
I live in Maryland.
I am in the process of getting everything started for a new detached

Hi, all-
Awhile back someone posted an ad on this forum (!) for a platform that
you can use to work on a roof without damaging the tiles (concrete in
this case).

Is gravel usually used under the garage slab or just compacted dirt then slab ?

I am going to build a house that will be on a spit of land jutting
into the ocean in Maine.  I would like the roof to be bright red and
metallic looking.  But I am worried that it being surrounded by the
ocean, constanly exposed to salt air would corrode any kind of metal

Been about 10 yrs. since I've done a install...The situation would be, to
install the attic stairs in a hallway, where there isn't any access in
place..This is in so. calif...as prices do vary..There may be some
relocating of electrical..any help is much appreciated.

I think a stitch in time is needed on my flat roof or before too long a leak
will develop. I have a basic flat roof with good access.
The question is :  do I have the flat roof re-felted or as I have some
skills in carpentry do I have a go at building a pitched roof?

Were just finishing up some basement reno's and after new paint for the
walls the next thing will be the floor, which currently is plain
unpainted concrete. My pref would be laminate or hardwood, but I'm
already way over budget on this and I've also heard that wood or

i am installing milgard classic vinyl windows (nail fins).
to make sure that the window is level, i might have to add
shims before nailing the bottom fin.
can i place space shims between rough sill and the bottom of the

I would like to have a load-bearing wall removed on the first floor of my
house. The resulting span will be about 16 feet, so I figured this would
require a header and at least two columns.
An interior designer friend telle me he has a carpenter who can place steel

Why are these recycled products not permitted to be used in any concrete for
residential construction projects  - but MUST be used in civil engineering
projects along. This is a UK based situation, I am not aware of any US legal
specifications over the use of recycled glass fines in ...

on a foundation that may not be level. Can I use steel plates as shims and
small pieces of rebar and add concrete around it to get it level or should I
bust up the foundation under the wall and redo it? The wall is only going to
be 4' high.

I have a basement that is susceptible to flooding.  The previous
owners of the house finished the basement with standard drywall and a
chair rail.  We recently had 12 inches in our basement and I had to
rip out the drywall-luckily it was seamed behind the chair rail.

I am in the market for a new 6' carpenter's level.  Some of those box ones look
pretty nice, but I'm wondering, since so many new laser products are coming
out every day, if any of the levels incorporating lasers are worth investing
in.