minnesota: Frost Heaved Decks and How to Avoid Them - 06/05/13 07:51 PM
One of the most common problems with decks in Minnesota is frost heave. Today I’ll explain how this works, why it matters, and what steps can be taken to help prevent damage from frost heave when building a deck.
How Frost Heave Works When expansive soils freeze and expand, the earth rises. Wikipedia has a nice illustration of how this works, shown below.

How much can soils heave?  It depends.  I once lived in a townhouse in Saint Louis Park with a patio that would heave about 4” during the winter; it got so bad that I could barely open … (15 comments)

minnesota: Spray-foam insulated roofs with no ventilation: Allowed in Minnesota? - 10/16/12 07:58 PM
While most attic spaces in Minnesota are insulated with fiberglass or cellulose insulation, there is a relatively new product that provides superior performance:  spray foam.  On old one-and-one-half story houses, foam insulation can be an especially nice way to cut down on heat loss, air leakage, ice dams, yet maintain nearly the same headroom that already exists.
A common way of re-insulating old one-and-one-half story homes in Minnesota is to have closed-cell (2 lb) spray foam applied directly to the roof sheathing, eliminating any ventilation.  This type of spray foamed roof is commonly referred to as a 'hot roof'.

Why are they … (20 comments)

minnesota: Buying a home with hazardous aluminum wiring? Here's my advice. - 10/02/12 07:55 PM
While the hazards associated with aluminum branch circuit conductors in homes have been known about for the last 40 years, there still seems to be a lot of disagreement about what should be done when aluminum branch circuit conductors are found during a home inspection.  I'm writing this post to give advice to anyone in Minnesota planning to buy a home with aluminum branch circuit conductors.
For the record, "Aluminum branch circuit conductors" refers to wires that provide power to 15 and 20 amp circuits in houses.  It's the wire that connects to outlets, switches, lights, and the like.  For the … (22 comments)