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Dry lining or drywall is used to describe a technique of covering a structure with a dry product which is attached to the structure. Traditionally surfaces were covered with a wet sand and cement render or plaster. Dry lining now refers mainly to covering internal walls with plasterboard with the plasterboard either stuck on the walls or fixed to a timber or steel frame which is attached to the walls. Dry...

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Finding and sealing a crack on the exterior of a house will help to reduce air infiltration and exfiltration on the inside. Because of the large size of plywood and OSB sheets, there are relatively fewer seams in the sheathing on newer homes. And the use of products like house wrap on new construction has further reduced air infiltration (see Fig.1). Consequently most new homes are more airtight...

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The exterior of a home can be thought of as an "envelope" or "shell." Sealing the envelope or shell against air infiltration (air entering the house from the outside) and air exfiltration (air escaping from inside the house to the outside environment) helps reduce energy costs for central heating and air ventilation. Hence draft is also reduced. To test for leaks which are responsible for high...

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There are certain cases in which either the concrete floor is not level or you want to cover some wires and cable and the best solution is to pour a thick layer of cement screed. Screeding is a technique used in the construction industry in which a concrete floor is laid on the ground to give a strong, durable, level surface. If there is an uneven floor or a new building where a floor is needed, then...

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There are many reasons why property owners would like to renovate their basements, these reasons being: as an extra living space, wine cellar, game room/arcade, children's' play area, home theater etc. However, there are factors that may stop property owners from fully appreciating their basement renovation mentioned below as well as possible solutions. 1) Poor Moisture Control Despite...

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 This article is written to inform people who are new to the field of brick working as well as for anyone who are having their property constructed and/ or repaired using the techniques outlined in this article. Before we get into the main content of brick working, we must first define two key words which apply to bricks, these being: Stretcher = brick in lengthwise Header = brick in widthwise Fig.1...

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Blown-in insulation is a method of inserting insulating material within the gaps of the walls of the property without having to forcibly break open the walls to insert the insulation. Blown-in insulation is a well known technique that is applied to older houses which at the time of their construction had no built in insulation because conserving energy in homes was not an important issue to be taken...

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In comparison to other more established pipe materials for plumbing such as copper or lead, PEX tubing material is the relatively most recent, having been made available in great numbers in the past few decades. PEX tubing material (also known as Cross-linked polyethylene, commonly abbreviated PEX or XLPE) is a variant form of the polymer polyethylene although it has a cross-linking structural...

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According to some observers of the construction industry, steel may be the building material of choice in the near future, quickly replacing traditional wood construction material. The reason for this is because a steel framed property is seen to offer more potential and advantages to builders, architects and prospective owners than properties built on the basis of wood. When comparing steel...

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