By Colin A.M. Duncan
I frequently use WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy to make exterior repairs on our very old house, which is part stone and part wood. The stone sections date from 1842 and the “newer” wooden parts from 1908. Continue reading
Category Archives: Home Repair
Cherry Basin
by Steve Alguire
This cherry basin is a project I did for a bathroom in our home. I turned the 17.25-inch wide basin from black cherry. The top of the cabinet is cherry as well, with a natural edge. I applied three coats of 105 Resin/207 Special Clear Hardener epoxy to each, sanding the cured epoxy between coats. The final finish was three coats of polyurethane.
Black cherry basin with epoxy and polyurethane.
Simple, Effective Home Repairs and Projects
Including interior and exterior door repairs
By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor
I often get calls from a customer asking if his leftover epoxy can be used for some small project around the house. The answer is yes, of course! Here are three projects, including a couple of different door repairs, that are perfect examples of what you can do with those partial cans of WEST SYSTEM® resin and hardener.
Repairing a Cracked Plaster Ceiling
by Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor
Above: Tom’s approach to repairing cracked plaster involves Drilling into the lath and injecting thickened WEST SYSTEM Epoxy.
A 100-year-old friend called in tears because her living room ceiling had cracked and she was afraid that the plaster was going to fall. I did my best to calm her and offered to come over and take a quick look. Continue reading
A Quick Architectural Fix
Wood Trim Repair
by Mike Barker
Last summer I used WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy to repair a small section of rot in a rough sawn cedar trim board on my house. Before gutter was installed, the trim board was wet frequently, but well ventilated. Only a narrow center section of the #2 grade, 1″×12″ board seemed to be vulnerable. Continue reading
Stabilizing a Concrete Block Foundation Wall
by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor
I was in my basement applying some 2×4 furring to a concrete block wall in preparation for insulating and hanging drywall. I noticed a crack in a horizontal mortar joint about half way between the floor and the ceiling running nearly the length of the wall. I realized that this crack was an indication that the block wall was bowing inward. I don’t know how long this had been going on, or how much pressure it took to cause the problem. What I did know was that I had to take some steps to stop the wall from bowing more. Continue reading
Garbage Disposal Repair with Epoxy
By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor
If your kids are like mine, they manage to break stuff you didn’t even think could be broken—constantly. As parents, we can either get inventive at repairing things we know little or nothing about, or we can get second jobs and pay someone else to fix everything. I like the first option better. Continue reading
Repairing Cracks in Concrete
by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor
Cracks in poured concrete floors and foundation walls allow water to leak into basements and cause damage. With WEST SYSTEM® epoxy, you can, in many instances, fill the cracks from the inside and stop the water penetration without digging up your yard. WEST SYSTEM epoxy’s adhesion to concrete is excellent. It is very resistant to moisture penetration, and the tensile and compressive strength of the epoxy (about 8500 psi and 10,000 psi respectively) easily exceeds that of concrete. The following process is one method of epoxy injection that effectively seals cracks without requiring excavation outside the walls. The actual filling process takes some time, so use a slow hardener if the temperature is above 60°F. Continue reading
Patching Cracks in Concrete Blocks
by Brian Knight—GBI Technical Advisor
Someone I know patched the cracks in the concrete block walls of her house using a different technique than the one I described in Repairing Cracks in Concrete. When it rained hard, her basement took on a lot of water through cracks in the walls. The cracks ranged in size from 1/16″ wide to some so large she could see daylight through them. Since concrete blocks are hollow, injecting WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy into the cracks would be unacceptable. So she decided to fill the cracks using epoxy thickened to a mortar-like consistency. Continue reading
Threshold Repair
by Jim Derck—GBI Technical Advisor
After living in our house for eight years and watching the ends of the threshold slowly deteriorate away and a few cracks and checks develop, I decided to replace the storm door, and figured now was a good time to restore the threshold. Continue reading