July 5, 2011 AsktheBuilder Tips And Newsletter

What's in This Newsletter?

Latest News
Bad, Bad Contractor(s)
Los Angeles and Montreal Meet Up
Flooded Patio and Mold
Peeling Liquid Ceramic Siding
Remove Floor Grout Project Guide

Two weekends have past since the last newsletter. Just nine days ago I was standing above the tree line on the fabled Mt. Washington here in New Hampshire.It was surreal. I was a ham radio operator volunteering to work as a part of the public service team at a car race at the famed Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. Read all about my opens in a new windowClimb to the Clouds Auto Race story.

I was just 10 feet away from David Higgins Subaru Impreza WRX STI as he roared up the mountain. Watch opens in a new windowthis video I shot of him making his record-breaking run as the last car up the hill for the day!

If you're a subscriber that's been on the list for longer than 72 hours or so, then you know how I spent this past weekend. I was cleaning up the mess I made with my opens in a new windowDeadwood Debacle fiasco.

As luck would have it, once again I made lemonade out of lemons. I now have well over 2,000 new close friends. Perhaps you're one of them, as I read your gracious email reply, but there were just too many to reply to personally. Please forgive me for not doing that.

Oh, and yes I deserved all those, "Hey Tim, what about your motto 'Do it Right, Not Over'? Yes, hand me that fork so I can eat this piece of humble pie.

Finally, I'm hard at work on exciting new DIY Project Guides for you. I just finished the photos for the fourth one. My daughter Meghan completed for me last week a fancy new template to drop them into so that the Guides are easy to follow and look good.

A new friend of mine is also doing the same thing, and I have his new Project Guide available now in my Store. You'll see that below.

Bad, Bad Contractor(s)

Last week I had a consult call. A consult call is where I call you and answer questions about your problems. They last 15 minutes. It's an item in my shopping cart.

Anyway, my client had a very unfortunate situation with a contractor that was doing a big job. To make a very long story short, the contractor got way ahead of the homeowner on the payments.

What does this mean? It's simple. The contractor got more money from the homeowner than he deserved for work that was complete and satisfactory at the time of payment.

But it got worse. this homeowner thought the suppliers and subcontractors on the job were getting paid. Some were not. Guess what? This homeowner may be on the hook for that assuming the lien rights for the suppliers and subs have not yet expired.

Here's the solution. First, I cover all of this in very great detail in all my Project Checklists. I show you there, first of all, how to find a pro that won't screw you.

But here's the bottom line. When you use my project checklists, you know going in, because I make the contractor provide the information, how much money is going to go to each supplier and each sub. You need to know that BEFORE the job starts.

When it's time to make a payment, you MUST get notarized affidavits from each sub and supplier and then you make out the check to them, not the contractor. The contractor should only get money for the work he's done himself, and any profit and overhead. The homeowner trusted the contractor to pay the suppliers and subs. The contractor made off with the money.

You have to really protect yourself in today's business world. Once again, I cover this in great detail in all my Project Checklists.

Los Angeles and Montreal Meet Up

I'll be in LA next Tuesday and Wednesday (July 12 - 13, 2011). Would you like to meet up again? If so, email me ASAP with LA Meet Up in the subject line. I propose we meet again in downtown Montrose and have an ice cream or a beer.

I met a new friend over the weekend and out of it was born my first Canadian Meet Up. Would you like to get together in Montreal on September 10, 2011? If so, send me an email with Montreal Meet Up in the subject line. Good thing I just got my passport! Now I'll be able to get back home.

Flooded Patio and Mold

Jennifer, from Maryland, wrote to me:

"My brick patio has been flooding when it rains since April. I was finally able to get someone out to fix it in June. The property manager really delayed the process. My question to you is about how long do you think it will be before the ground isn't saturated. Will it be safe for my four year old son to play in that area?"

Jennifer, there are two issues. I hope the repair included installing one of my Linear French Drains. Be sure that any roof water is not being dumped on the ground near the patio. That water should be piped far away from the structure.

The soil type and amount of rainfall you get really controls the amount of saturation you have. A sandy soil will drain much faster than a heavy clay soil.

If there's no standing water on the patio, it should be totally safe for your little tyke. If there is mold on the brick, you can wash it with my opens in a new windowStain Solver. It will make the brick look like new and remove the mold.

Peeling Liquid Ceramic Siding

Pam, from Knoxville, TN wrote:

"We had liquid ceramic siding applied to our cedar siding in 2003. It has been peeling for several years and the company that did the work is no longer in business (surprise). We would like to REMOVE the liquid ceramic paint from the cedar but are afraid of completely ruining it by scraping or using chemicals not meant for this type of product. Also, our home was built in 1984 and the cedar used was not of very good quality.

We used all of our savings to have this done and have not been able to replace the money yet, so we cannot afford regular siding. Is there anything you can suggest for us to do as our home is becoming a real eye-sore in our neighborhood? We would appreciate any input you can give us."

Pam, I'm really sorry to hear about this. I wrote about these products many years ago. It's possible the columns were at my website before you signed the contract to have the coating applied.

Next time you ever think about getting work done, always go to my www.AsktheBuilder.com website and read up on the topic. Had you done this, you would have never had that product applied to your home.

You should be able to scrape it off wherever it's peeling. It's just a very thick paint. My suggestion is to just prime the areas where the coating has peeled and touch up paint the siding to match the coating.

Take a piece of the peeled coating to a paint store to get an exact color match. This is the best solution for now until such time as you can replace the siding.

Stain Solver Sale

It's time for a opens in a new windowStain Solver sale! This is in honor of Uncle Sam's birthday. Woo Hoo! Stain Solver is really a patriotic product. Why?

It's made in the USA with American products! Many other oxygen bleaches out there come from China. You know, that place that makes tainted dog food, children's toys with lead paint, and the infamous Chinese Drywall that's the bane of thousands of homeowners here in the USA.

With summer here, Stain Solver is perfect to clean things outdoors like camping gear, boats, kayaks, decks, etc. It will remove those mustard and barbecue stains from your clothes in case there was an accident at a party this past weekend.

The sale lasts until July 9, 2011. You need to ACT NOW. You know I don't have these sales often.

You can get 20% off by using this promo code:

REDWHITEBLUE

Remove Floor Grout Project Guide!

Removing Floor Grout

My new friend, and contractor, Todd Fratzel, just finished a great project guide that I'm selling. It shows you the different methods and tools to use to opens in a new windowRemove Floor Tile Grout without ruining the tile, your knees, or your back!

It's got great color photos and two secret videos in it. You can't beat it for $3. Yes, three bucks! Isn't it worth that to discover the best tools and methods to make sure all goes well? Of course it is!

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