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- References are King – and a Must!
- How Painters Tape Can Save You $1000′s
- Vinyl Tub Surrounds – Expensive May Not Be Better!
- The Best Router – Period!
- Tint Your Plaster For Touch Ups on Primed Walls & Trim
- Do Not Use Pens, Felt Pens or Chalk Lines!
- Hard To Find Reproduction Antique Hardware
- WCB Coverage – It’s a Must…Sometimes Even as a Homeowner
- Cutting a Hole In The Ceiling? How To Keep Drywall Dust Contained!
- The Secret To Buying Name Brand Power Tools Dirt Cheap!
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Tint Your Plaster For Touch Ups on Primed Walls & Trim
If you are patching or filling holes, scratches or dents on primed white walls or trim it is a good idea to mix a little colour (paint tint) into the filler you are using. If you don’t, it is very easy to miss some of these spots when you are sanding and spot priming afterward.
Why is this important? Any areas that you have filled must be spot primed before you apply a finish coat of paint, if you do not prime these spots, they will show up as flat, dull spots on your finished walls and trim (even on low sheen finishes like eggshell). by adding colour to your filler you will be able to see all the spots you filled, sand them and spot prime them all – this applies to mouldings and any built-in woodwork as well.
Most lumber yards carry small tubes of paint tint that you can use. You won’t need much so just get a small tube. You can also buy coloured fillers at some stores but is much more expensive. If you are in a bind and cannot get the paint store, a very small amount of a deep coloured latex paint will work – paint tint is better though.
Do Not Use Pens, Felt Pens or Chalk Lines!
When you are doing your next drywall project, moulding installation, or any other project that will be visible in your home and painted… do not use any ink based marker (felt pens or ink pens) or chalk lines on any surface that will be visible on completion. These types of markers will bleed through latex primer and paint. Considering that 90% of paint used in homes today is latex, it is a safe bet you will be using latex paint as well.
Play it safe and only use pencils for marking out cut lines, holes and so on. Pencil marks will not bleed through latex paints
Cutting a Hole In The Ceiling? How To Keep Drywall Dust Contained!
If you have to cut a hole in a standard 8′ high ceiling for a skylight, pot lights or anything else, there is an easy way to keep all the drywall dust from covering everything in the room – or rooms if you have a slight draft in the room (and when you cut open in attic space you will get air movement). Instead of trying to cover everything in the room as I have seen many contractors and homeowners do, it is much easier to contain dust within the area you are working.
This can be done in less than five minutes and cleanup afterwards only takes a few minutes. All you need is a small roll of thin plastic 10′ wide and a few feet longer than the perimeter of the work area (see diagram below) , a package of regular sized push pins and a tarp (plastic or cloth) that is larger than the area you will be working in (see diagram below).
Standard Wall Framing for Drywall
In a typical home standard wall heights are 96 3/4″ to 97″ depending on the moisture content of the framing material. In most construction wall framing you will have a single base plate and double top plate with 92 1/4″ pre-cut studs. As with all things in construction, there is a very good reason for these dimensions and the resulting total wall height. If you are using 1/2″ drywall you will have 1/2″ on the ceiling and 2 – 48″ wide horizontal sheets on the wall for a total of 96 1/2″. This leaves 1/4″ t0 1/2″ of space below the drywall board at the floor.
This spacing is critical and must be allowed for. On average, walls shrink in height about 1/4″ and if you do not allow for this space and fit your drywall boards tight from ceiling to floor, the pressure on the horizontal joint will likely cause unsightly problems, possibly causing plaster to crack, tape to separate and bulging, or all three problems. When properly installed, with the top board tight to the ceiling and the lower board tight to upper board the two sheets can move down with the wall framing as it shrinks – this will ensure the drywall joints remain free from pressure as the wall shrinks preventing any bulges and related problems at the joints.
See the image below for details on this required spacing:
Should You Use Aqua-Board & Durock Cement Board in Your Bathroom?
The picture on your left shows the correct areas to use Aqua-Board drywall (green) and Durock NextGen Concrete Backboards (gray). The open framing above and below the tub will also get covered with Durock. Ceramic tile will go over the Durock panels and the Aqua-Board is to be painted.
If you are planning a complete bathroom renovation and looking for ways to save money, the one area you do not want to skimp on is the drywall and concrete backer boards (for tub and shower areas to be tiled). Considering that the average 5′ x 8′ bathroom will only require about 8 sheets of drywall (4′ x 8′) the extra cost to use Aqua-Guard drywall throughout the entire bathroom will only be an additional $80. The cost to tape and finish the Aqua-Baord is the same as regular drywall.
With bathroom renovations costing upwards of $5000, does it make sense to go cheap on drywall and save the $80? Absolutely not! Get the good stuff and do it right. Areas with ceramic tile, marble or granite should have Durock NextGen Concrete board installed (or equal type of concrete board if Durock is not available in your area).
What are these products? See below for more information…
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My Favorite Magazines!
When it comes to woodworking and home repairs, two magazines stand out from all the others, Fine Woodworking and Fine Homebuilding. I have collected these for years and always enjoy going back to old issues and checking out various projects and tips. The quality is high and you'll find these magazines feel more like book quality.
Turning the pages of Fine Woodworking or Fine Homebuilding is like a kid in a candy store - so much cool stuff you just have to try. Over all I give these magazines a rating of 10/10 - some issues 9/10.
Don't buy these in the store, you can save over 30% using my links above (images) to grab a subscription. -
NEW! Holmes Magazine
If there is one guy who's opinion you can trust for construction and renovation advice it is Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes. Now you can get his advice delivered right to your door with the launch of his new magazine!
If you've been wondering where you can subscribe to his new magazine? Look no further, you can get a subscription right now for only $18.95 Cdn and save up to 52% off the newsstand price (6 issues). I got mine and am looking forward to the first issue. Visit HolmesMagazine.com to get yours today!
