Homeowner Forum / Construction / May 2007

My son and I are building him a house, framing the walls with 2x6
studs and sheathing with 1/2" Advantec. The house is in a cold region
and we're insulating the walls with 5 1/2" R21 fiberglass batts and 1"
styrofoam bridging the studding on the inside walls (with  1/2"

I saw an ad a few days ago on ebay for a modular home, and the company
was based in Concord, Ontario.  Dangit, I forgot to bookmark the
company's website, and now I can't find anything about the company in
the yellowpages, or with google, or anything.  Does anyone know of a

What is the correct temperture setting for a power roof vent for a home in
northeast Ohio.

  I am building a log sided home (stick built).  On the interior I am using
matched pine so as to give the inside a log look.  I am in a kind of weird
situation with some firecode sheetrock, a window header, and matched pine.
The problem is that I had put up firecode sheet rock ...

I'm laying out the framing for an exterior corner in a 1-story, wood
light frame slab-on-grade residential addition.  I would like to have
two openings on either side of the corner, very close.  Is there any
problem with using a studs of a standard 3-stud corner as the king

I am putting up insulation and I have a knee wall of sorts in my attic.
There will be insulation on the partial cathedral ceiling.  My question is
on the backside of the kneewall... on the opposite side of the vapor
barrier... this will be the cold side but will also be an attic. ...

Does anyone know the book price for m2 plasterboarding on a new build on
metal lathe?

I saw on tv every day, some country in this world was constructing and
build a place, in other side the destruction also happen.
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Howdy,
Why some hardwood floors have the designation "gunstock" after the
wood type?   Is it some type of treatment they undergo during
manufacturing?   Does it imply higher/lower quality or something else?

We have a large Creative Playthings playset in the yard for the kids.  It
was put in last year.  Looks like it was stained with something ochre-red
semi-opaque.
The wood is starting to crack in places.  They claim it is redwood/cedar.

Looking for a cheap way to paint a wood shed without rollers or brushes.
Looking at Harbor Freight's offerings I see this for $20:
<http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43760>
But when I checked with my local paint shop where I'm buying the paint and

For grading around a building according to BOCA 1996 according to my
reading the slope needs to be 1 inch per foot for a minimum of 8 feet.
This sounds pretty aggressive. I was wondering whether more recent
codes have modified this requirement for a house with a basement. I am

I have just received planning permission to rebuild my house (UK Surrey)
One of the conditions is to include renewable energy technology that will
provide 10% of the predicted energy use.
This was quite a surprise to me and I have no idea what it might imply..

Wondering if there are any ideas on how to determine the condition of
old ceiling tiles.  The tiles in question appear to be bowing in some
areas--Is there a way to assess the liklihood that they will loosen
and come crashing down?

We are currently building our home and the sheetrock guys have just
finish up. I was wondering if it is typical for the vinyl bullnose to
remain exposed (no mud on them except to blend the edges into the
wall)? Since we have a skip trowel/Spanish knife finish, should this