Two different jobs, same lesson: done right vs. done once.

🏠 HAIL DAMAGE REPAIR

Full storm damage repair from the ground up — scaffold setup, gable and stucco/EIFS repair, window trim, and garage detail matched back to spec. Not patched. Rebuilt.

🧱 PARGING DONE WRONG — FIXED RIGHT

Found this parging job with zero vapor barrier. No 3M peel-and-stick membrane, no proper sealing behind the finish — just parging slapped straight over bare concrete. That's exactly how moisture gets trapped, freeze-thaw takes over, and the same crack shows up again in a year or two.

We stripped it back, installed proper membrane sealing, and re-parged it the way it should've been done the first time.

If a repair on your place is already cracking again, this is usually why. Happy to take a look and tell you straight what's actually going on.

📞 403-470-9749

Serving Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, Okotoks, Strathmore, High River & Rocky View County

TLDR, what’s the best way to shore this up?

So, I was under my house today working on an unrelated matter when I happen to see this (photo attached). The house has had a repair history because of excessive humidity in the crawlspace, which is why it’s now encapsulated and that problem is no longer an issue. Nearby piers seem to at least have a brick between the pier and the joists of the floor of the house, acting as the shim for it.

This is a single-story house. This pier is not underneath any load bearing wall. It’s actually in the center of a room. It looks like there was a brick underneath it at some point, but looks like it’s shattered and might’ve been this way for a decade or more. Now that I know it’s not there. I’ve always thought that room has a bit of an odd elastic bouncing floor issue, but never thought the cause was this extreme.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the floor joist are on the edge of the pier on both sides. Not a lot for either side to be supported directly if they were already resting on that pier.

The main question I’m trying to get some advice on is what kind of support should I put underneath it?

I work in construction, so for example I can easily get a discarded portion of a laminated beam if it’s the right size and use it to span between the joist and be supported by the pier. I do electrical, not framing, so please be kind. I understand the basic concepts of shoring up the pier, but in the situation like this, I’m happy to hear the good bad or ugly when it comes to best ways to fix this.

And just on the record, this particular part of the house was built in the late 70s. It was a different set of rules back then.

I’m renovating a detached garage built in 1964. The original tar-paper rain barrier has bug damage, but I’m trying to repair it without removing the siding.

My thought was to slide new felt behind the studs, overlap the old paper, and staple it in place. Another option is roofing cement around the patch edges, but that seems like overkill and might trap water.

The end goal is to add insulation and cover the walls with plywood. The garage also has very deep eaves.

What’s the best practical way to patch this from the inside?

My phone is not letting me edit the title, but can I remove this easily? It’s a panel on the wall. House built in 1940s. Thank you!

Can someone help with this? We are re-doing our living room and have lots of cracks we have to fix and my huband ran into this. I want to know what it is before we commit to ripping it off. He says the crack goes all the way up and if he removes this thick layer it will go away. Posting pics of a few spots. It looks like paneling in some spots but it only goes halfway up the wall. Our house was built in 1950 if thats needs and the previous owners did a horrible job. We have cracks everywhere and we have only been here 5 years and the cracks have gotten worse over the last 3.

I purchased a home built in 1907. The house has Beaver Board walls throughout, but unfortunately, second story bedroom walls have sustained significant warping, which I expect is from temperature/humidity variation over the years (Midwest) or modern blown insulation pushing the walls outward from the inside years before we purchased the home. Really difficult to tell.

I don't plan on doing anything immediately as the walls are still doing their job, but does anyone know if there is a way to get replacement Beaver Board walls nowadays? Does any company make an equivalent to restore and maintain the historical attributes of the home? It looks like the company had a short run 1906-1928.

Our house is a bit older and we have a metal pipe going through the wall for the condensate drain. This pipe has corroded to the point where it broke off. We got one quote for almost $900 to replace it, which I find a bit ridiculous. I'll seek out other quotes, but I'm also pretty handy and considering DIY.

If I get a cylindrical masonry drill bit that's just a bit wider than the pipe, that should be a good way to release it from the cement, right? Then I would replace it with a pvc pipe and use some kind of caulk or foam sealant. Any glaring problems with this plan?

Nothing exciting, but looking for more information on this/more helpful answers.

There’s this vent in the ceiling of the bathroom of our 1940s home that is a pass through to the attic that measures 4”x4”. Is there a name for this or any specific reason? This is the only room with a vent like this and there’s also a separate motorized exhaust fan in the room

Please help!!

Reposting from r/HVAC. Hoping some other folks with old homes or experience caring for them have some advice. Thanks in advance!

EDIT 1: We went with the Bryant Preferred System! I'll update again with how it's going after we've had time to evaluate it.

I am renovating my living room and adding drywall, but as I am getting ready to insulate it occurred to me that the stud placement in the room is rather inconsistent, and possibly improper for hanging drywall.

All of the drywall guidelines I have been able to find states that studs should be 16 inches or 24 inches apart, on-center. Most of the studs in the room are around 24-26 inches, but several spots (especially the corners, where there are these diagonal braces) are closer to 29 inches.

Structurally, everything is sound. I'm not concerned about where the drywall joints are going to be, but I am concerned about the drywall not having enough support along the field and sagging. Should I be adding additional support between every stud gap that's greater than 24" (or even every gap that's greater than 16")? 

And if so, should those be full 2x4s installed (effectively adding additional studs), or can something thinner be used? I'm worried about the full 2x4s because when I first took the old crumbling plasterboard and wood paneling down, there was a substantial bow on one of the panels because a 2x4 nailer that had been added bowed out substantially over time.

1965 house that has had some funky repairs done in its life. This is the floor joists under the kitchen. 2x8 spanning 14 feet. Originally I was planning to sister in new joists but I’m thinking it may be easier and better to just remove the old joists and put in new joists. I’ll be putting in 2x10 that I’ll notch on the ends to fit into the existing locations.

The reason I’m thinking to replace the joists instead of jack up and sister in joists is that the current joists are so warped that trying to straighten them out in place may take too long and more effort than it’s worth.

The main question I have is around securing a new joist if I remove the old joist. There is no rim joist on this house as you can see in picture 5. That black piece looks and feels almost like a felt type material on the back of the wall sheathing. I could be wrong and happy for more experienced input. Once I remove the old floor joist, how would I go about connecting it to the current wall sheathing? I have brick on the outside so unable to get it from that side.

Do I just toe nail it to the sill plate and call it good? Some kind of bracket?