Winter sewer smell likely frozen stack

A little insulation goes a long way

Question: In a previous winter, when it was -30 C, we had a sewer smell in our house. I am wondering if the vents maybe have ice or snow buildup in them? Is there any way to get rid of . . .

Posted: 2020-12-26

MIKE HOLMES: Don't cry -- weeping windows can be fixed

I get a lot of emails every week. A lot. And what always interests me is seeing what everyone's talking about. What are the important issues for homeowners? What do they want to know about most? And over the last few . . .

Posted: 2012-03-03

Clean slate for this ceiling

Access traded for esthetics in this basement rec room

Although the rule of thumb with basement ceilings is to introduce a suspended ceiling (also known as a drop ceiling) to allow access to services and utility lines, some homeowners do opt to install drywall. When existing ventilation ducts hang . . .

Posted: 2021-02-27

Heat and cool crawl space to keep it dry

Question: I have a sunroom with a crawl space below, attached to our 15-year-old home.The cement stub-walls of the crawl space have foam insulation above grade and the underside of the floor has also been sprayed.During the winter, the sunroom . . .

Posted: 2016-08-20

Can we attach newer ABS pipe to existing one?

May be easier to replace the entire section

QUESTION -- We live in a small one bedroom bungalow built in the 1920s. We would like to renovate the single bathroom and as part of that project change the size of the stack while relocating it. The stack is . . .

Posted: 2008-06-29

Stains in attic not always cause for concern

Question: Last winter I took a look into the attic and noticed black stains and water marks on a portion of the sheathing material. This summer I cleaned the portion of the black stain with a dry mop, as much . . .

Posted: 2016-01-02

Beating the summer heat without burning out your HVAC

Your HVAC system may be the first line of defence against summer heat, but it also burns up quite a bit of energy, so you may wish to turn it off every so often. Or you may simply prefer to turn . . .

Posted: 2019-06-29

Glue, tile dust should do the trick

QUESTION: We live in a 1930s heritage home and there is natural tile in front of the fireplace. Unfortunately, the tile has been scraped by the bottom of a chair. We have tried to fix it but with no luck . . .

Posted: 2014-12-13

ASK THE INSPECTOR: Ventilation needed to cure damp smell

QUESTION: Fifteen years ago we added a bedroom and family room to our 540-square-foot home. The addition is set on piles. The crawl space was insulated with Styrofoam and poly and the floor was covered with poly and sand. All . . .

Posted: 2010-05-29

Fix vinyl floor, then fix why it's curling

Q. The vinyl in my bathroom is curling up at one of the seams. It is quite unsightly and is becoming a real maintenance problem. Is there anything I can do to fix it? A. Yes, but first it's important . . .

Posted: 2008-03-30