To install laminate wood floors, mark a reference point for the flooring, do a dry layout, apply the glue with a trowel, and install the flooring with a tongue-and-groove system. Use a rubber mallet and spacers to get laminate wood flooring in place with instructions from a home repair specialist in this free video on laminate wood floors.
Radon, Termites and Moisture
This sheer, which should be at least 8mls thick, not only blocks the naturally occurring radioactive gas from entering the house, but also keep moisture from wicking into the finished slab, where it can cause cracking. An inexpensive plastic pipe set in the slab prior to the pour can save you hundreds of dollars down the road if you detect elevated radon levels in your finished home.
Insulated Foundations
For example, adding 1 inch of expanded polystyrene (E.P.S.) foam to the exterior of a standard concrete basement wall can raise the wall’s resistance to heat flow from R-2 (about the same as insulated glass) to almost R-7. Adding another inch of foam brings the R-value to R-12, similar to an insulated 2x4 frame wall.
Brighter Basements
Award-winning builder Robert Rhoads, for example, has turned the traditional American home upside down, expanding the lower level’s size and improving design details.
“Our secret has been to keep the ceilings high—9 or 10 feet,” Rhoads says. “Then we add dramatic impact so that your eyes are directed toward entertainment centers and custom detailing.” Rhoads also makes certain that the stairway leading downstairs feels open, like a stairway in any other part of the house, not a passageway into a cavern.
Excavating & Foundations
Foundation walls built with concrete block offer an economical alternative to poured concrete and have many of the same strength and load-bearing characteristics. Held together with mortar, concrete-block walls must rest on a level, solid footing. Reinforcing bars (rebar) are inserted vertically through the blocks’ hollow cores, which are then filled with concrete; this increase resistance to wind and soil shifting. Some of the newest block systems have built-in compartments for foam insulation, making them highly effective insulators.
Excavating and Foundations
Excavation is the first phase of actual construction, followed quickly by foundation building. With things happening so fast once excavation starts, it’s important to be thoroughly familiar with the plans and siting specifications when ground is first broken. A good contractor is comfortable with special requests; if you want certain trees or shrubs to be protected, for example, make it the excavator’s job to move or work around them.
Building Good Foundations
There is no perfect foundation for every situation or every climate. Poured-concrete strips, slabs, block and post-type foundations each have benefits. If plans specify a slab-on-grade foundation, for example, instead of the more traditional full foundation, you will save on excavation and material costs. A slab can also make the home more energy efficient and supply a thermal storage mass for passive solar and radiant heating systems.
The Excavating Phase
If you're enlarging the footprint of a home, excavation is the first phase of actual construction, followed quickly by foundation building. With things happening so fast once excavation starts, it’s important to be thoroughly familiar with the plans and siting specifications when ground is first broken.
