Homeowner Forum / Construction / July 2009

Ok, so I think we're ready to go this weekend. I've picked out my tile
and the grout is on order! A few questions before I get started.
First, cement backer board. I haven't stripped out the old tile/
flooring yet so I'm not sure what I'll find, but assuming everything

I'm planning a deck for my new house.  I think I've got pretty much
everything figured out, but I'm concerned about one thing.  My county
requires 18" round, 24" deep footings with 8" of concrete.  If I only
use 8" of concrete, the post bases will be 16" down in an 18" hole.

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I have a in ground Well. I have a 4"  submersible pump Does this pump have a filter on it anywhere?
. From the Well to the house first there is a stand up hydrant. The kind you pull up the lever what shoots out.
Then it travels to a off on switch about 3' down in the ground.  Then ...

Is there any reason NOT to place 2 inch thick rigid foam insulation
horizontally 2 feet wide, buried 12 inches deep, all around the
perimeter of my 7 foot cement block foundation?
3 feet of the foundation is above grade and will be covered with rigid

I want to build an L-shaped wall in our home to create another small
bedroom for a few years (until I ship the kids off to college) then
tear it down later.
I've seen several sites online that specialize in so-called

Residential application with wood windows and wood shingle siding.
For the usual condition where a window has siding above it, and the
head trim projects out beyond the siding, I understand that a head
flashing is required between the head trim and the siding, to direct

Just interested to know what kind of materia for big buildings main columns
is safe/safest. I read a surprising article saying that using (thick) timber
is good. It is known that steel structure does not hold if there is bigger
fire: There is a risk of building collapsing (say ...

I need to cut a bunch of kraft backed fiberglass insulation to length.  My box cutter is
making a mess of this.
Any tips on how to get a nice clean cut?
Thanks,

I'm in the planning stages of redoing the bathroom, the major project
to be putting porcelain tile on the floor. The existing floor is vinyl
tile - you know those industrial looking things you find in every
supermarket, convenience store and school!). The tile was there at

I am designing a connection in a warren girder timber truss. The local
authority require it in metric units. I'm too old for that and need a
bit of help. The load is 3.9KN at 45 degrees. The horizontal is 4" x
2" and the diagonal is 4" x 1". Is a 2" toothed connection with 1/2"

I will be installing the siding on my in-laws remodel in coming weeks, but
I'm wondering about the installation of the Corner trim.
Currently, their cedar siding runs to the corners of the building, then 1x6
corner trim boards are applied on top of the siding to cover the corners. ...

What is the smallest thickness size of standard plywood  ?  Is it  1/4  inch
?
Thanks
James

Maybe I've been lucky, I don't know. I have never had to can a sub until
now. This guy is so full of himself, it'd fool anyone. He has licenses,
insurance, bonding, etc. so all looks legit, but what a hassle. All was good
until we hit some delays caused by the homeowner. Hey, the ...

I've been checking into solar panel installations.  Apparently, in the long
run of time, it may be more prudent to have a building or other structure to
hold the solar panels etc.  Especially if you have composition shingles that
need more frequent replacement on the home or ...