Tim,
We love the look that the barn wood adds to restaurants like Salt Grass. How can we add this look to our new house we are building at a low cost? Is there something we can do to new wood to give it an aged look?
Thanks,
Cyndi
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Cyndi,
You can distress new wood using chains and blunt metal tools or take a drive out into the country. Driving some back roads you may discover a barn that is falling down. The owner may allow you to buy or take a fuew pieces of lumber that you can have milled into trim. If you decide to use older lumber, you may want to clean it with oxygen bleach to get rid of years of dirt and grime. If left on the wood for 20 - 30 minutes, the oxygen bleach will also kill dormant mold spores that may be embedded in the surface.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hi Tim,
I'm currently collecting bids on a room addition,which also includes a bathroom and screened porch. I would like to know how much profit should a contractor make on a project like this. How do they determine their profit?
Trevia
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Trevia,
First of all you have to define profit. Are you talking about gross or net profit? There is a huge difference. Profit is also a moving target. It can be calculated any number of ways and it can be included in numbers that are part of the breakdown.
Gross profit often is a number that has to be included in bids to cover all of the soft costs that exist to run a business. That list includes, but is not limited to, insurance, estimation costs, replacement tools and vehicles, taxes, accounting, support office staff and net profit.
Every business should make a net profit. This money is often reinvested in the business to ensure it is thriving and alive when you need it down the road. Businesses that charge excessive profits are the ones that typically do not finish the race. The marketplace roots them out and tends to ignore them.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
My husband and I have an evaporative cooler that hangs on the side of
our house approximately 15 feet up. We do not have a lot of money
and every year my husband dreads going up the ladder to get the
cooler ready for the season.
We would like to lower the cooler to ground level but cannot figure out
how to get the cooler down without destroying it and I have been
searching for something on line that might give us advice. I would even
be willing to buy a book on the subject. Can you give us any advice?
Thanks for any help you can give us.
Kathy
- - -
Kathy,
I think I have an easier, cheaper and more straightforward solution. Let's build a simple set of steps and a platform to give your husband the needed access. It will be much safer to work from a platform than standing on a shaking ladder.
All you need to do is build a platform at the same height his feet are at when he stands on the ladder. You then build a simple set of steps from the platform to the ground. Think of this as a miniature deck with a standard set of steps leading to it. I have a Building Simple Steps EBook that shows you step-by-step how to build the steps.
Tim Carter
Ask the Builder
W3ATB
Tim,
My sister and her husband are building a new house and she is worried about the location of the heat registers and cold air returns. In the great room, which is 20 X 20 feet with 14 foot ceilings, there are 2 heat registers next to a 20 foot wide wall of windows, and the cold air return is outside the great room(in the foyer)at the 9 foot level. She is understandably worried about the heat not making it down to the floor and heating thoroughly. What do you have to say about these locations? Thank You,
Sandra
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Sandra,
It sounds as if lots of things are being done right. Supply ducts should be on exterior walls and return ducts located on opposite interior walls so the conditioned air moves across the room.
I would prefer to have supply ducts in the floor so the heat does rise across my body on its way to the return registers.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hi Tim,
We are currently building a house. The brick went up yesterday and today we went to take another look. Everything looked good last night. When we got there we found that on the side of house, the bricklayer had made a cut in the brick from top to bottom of house. I asked him why. He said the purpose of the cut was to prevent future cracks. None of the other houses on the street have this done and I can't find any information on the Internet concerning cutting the brick as a preventative measure. It looks horrible. Do you know anything about this type of thing and is it common?
Thanks,
Kathy
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Kathy,
This is not a typical building practice in residential construction. That being said, you will see expansion joints in commercial brick walls when the walls are a significant length. But these joints are usually the width of a head joint and carefully constructed. Once the building is complete, foam backing rod is placed in the joint and a very special caulk is carefully injected and then smoothed so that it is almost a perfect match to the mortar both in color and form.
A saw cut line is not acceptable in my opinion, especially if there was never any indication of one on the plan. You must complain vigorously to the builder and possibly walk away from this deal. You have very good grounds to do so.
The real proof is finding the last three to five homes this bricklayer has done and see if there are saw cut lines on similar length / height walls! If not, he has lots of explaining to do. Plus ask him for citations in the literature from the Brick Institute of America where it calls out for expansion joints and exactly how they are to be made. If his method is wrong, you know what to do.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
I am looking to re-do wood trim around a large arched window above my front door. This wood has rotted over the years due to someone not taking care of it. I would like to replace it with some sort of composite material, low maintenance but I am unable to find a piece that is arched the way I need it. Do you have any idea or suggestions?
Ben Demonte
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Ben,
This is a no-brainer if you have a local woodworking mill near you. Open the Yellow Pages and look under Woodworking. Have them make the trim out of redwood.
Then follow my instructions on Exterior Painting at my website for how to completely prime and topcoat the wood *before* it is installed. If you do this and three coat all end grain, that wood will be perfect 200 years from now so long as the exposed wood is properly painted every 15 years. It is also vital that the piece of wood is flashed properly so water can't get behind the wood trim.
Tim Carter
askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
We are currently being relocated and what I am finding, even in higher end homes and those of good builders, is the use of 'Plastic' type interior doors. Some of the lesser priced homes we have looked at actually have 'wood' doors. (Not solid but better looking than the plastic with the pressed wood grain look).
Is there an advantage to the synthetic doors over wood? (more durable, won't swell and stick, cheaper)? Is it only a cost saving decision by the builder?
I really like the look of wood /6 or 5 panel raised panel. Am I out of line to ask the builder to replace the plastic doors with wood/paint quality doors in this new construction spec home?
Can you give me an idea of the cost difference between the plastic doors and wood doors/paint quality?
Thanks,
Dawn
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Dawn,
One advantage may be the stability of the synthetic doors. They will rarely warp or twist. I would absolutely think it is a cost savings measure on the builder in an attempt to either be competitive in the marketplace and/or make a higher profit.
If the house is a spec home, I would think you are out of line to ask for wood doors especially if the other doors are installed. But if the market is slow there, you may be able to bargain for new doors to make the deal happen.
If you were having the home built and had an opportunity to specify doors and pay an upcharge fee for the more expensive doors, then you should absolutely be able to get what you want.
I can't quote cost differences as there are too many variables.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
How can I correct my blotchy glazed textuure walls? I base coated with a satin white paint, then I glazed over it with a darker beige glaze and wiped it back off. But some of the texture isn't as deep in some areas and the glaze hardly collected in these areas and gave me these blotches. Any suggestoin what to do with these spots would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Lucy
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I think you need to start over. It sounds to me as if you have not yet perfected your glazing technique. It is not as easy as it looks on all of those home improvement TV shows!
Go buy a 4' x 8' sheet of drywall and stand it up in your garage. Prime it with a primer/sealer paint and then apply your base coat. Start to practice your glaze application and removal techinque. Use a glaze extender additive to keep the glaze wetter longer. Most glazes flash dry - meaning they dry within 60 - 90 seconds - and look horrible if there is double coverage. The extenders are sold at any really good paint store.
Continue to practice on this drywall until you get the exact look you want. Be sure to stand back 8 to 10 feet to look at the wall. It always looks better wen you stand back.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Hey Tim,
Can I hook up a GFI outlet to an old two wire system?
Russ
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Not successfully. You need to introduce a good ground wire into the electrical box. A GFCI *needs* a solid ground wire in addition to thw white neutral wire and the black line feed wire. The GFCI has internal components that measure the resistance between the actual ground wire and the neutral. If your body starts to act as a ground wire, then the GFCI senses this and shuts down. Always remember that the white neutral wire is not the same thing as a true ground wire. They are vastly different from one another.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a double wide trailer, (1990) we had it inspected today and found that one of the walls is "soft" and needs to be water -proofed. What is the easiest way to do this? Will it be necessary to build another wall behind the soft wall in order to protect it from futher damage? Thank you in advance for your help with this matter.
Jemmy D.
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Jemmy,
If you are talking about one of the walls that supports the roof and forms the outside wall of the structure, not a foundation wall (I have never seen a foundation under a traditional manufactured home), waterproofing will not solve your problem. It sounds to me as if this wall needs to be rebuilt so long as the source of water infiltration is uncovered and that problem solved.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
I am going to put a patio in my backyard that is 12x21. I am debating on whether to do a concrete slab or using red key shape bricks. I live in Southern California therefore, cold is not a factor. I plan on owning this house for only a few more years and I am curious which will appraise higher and help my resale value? Thanks for your help,
Carl
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Carl,
That is a good question. I am a real estate broker here in Ohio and would say the brick one would probably be more appealing than a concrete patio. That said, you can have stamped concrete put in that will resemble all sorts of brick, stone, slate and cobblestone surfaces. I would try to get bids on stamped concrete as well as mortarless bricks. My guess is that the prices will be quite close.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
My garden is full of paving slabs, I cannot afford to go and buy new tiles etc, but maybe interested in painting them a terracotta color. What treatment would you recommend? I will have to take them up anyway so can pressure hose them clean and let them dry. Is there a special treatment that I should do before, during or after? The finish must be strong as I have two dogs and frost in the winter!
String Seymour
London SW11 3LY England
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String,
I have got a much better solution than painting. Paint will fail no matter how well you clean the pads. The vapor pressure from water vapor coming up through the soil will push the paint off in short order.
I would simply clean the slabs in place in place and then cover them with a 1/8 inch thick layer of colored stucco. You can add permanent dry shake pigments to the stucco and develop just about any earthtone colour.
The trick is to purchase one or two extra pads and practice on those until you achieve the texture and colour you desire. Be sure to wait 30 days for the stucco to dry to the final color. The trick to making the stucco stick is applying a coat of cement paint to the stones before you apply the stucco. Read my Concrete Overlay column for tips on how to do this.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
My contractor is going to enlarge my patio. My old patio was build without base rock and still pretty good. He insist that the new concrete area does not need base rock, just rebar. What do you think? We live in San francisco bay area.
Thanks,
Angeline
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Angeline,
You can successfully pour concrete on compacted soil without using base rock. The contractor's idea of installing reinforcing steel is an excellent one. I would pour the slab five inches thick and make sure the steel ends up in the center of the slab. Space the bars two feet on center both directions. If I were you, I would spend an hour or so reading many, if not all, of my past concrete columns.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
I am having a new home built in northern PA. The contractor poured the concrete floor in the basement and it looked great for a week or so. Now the floor looks all blueish and blotchy. What went wrong?
Archie
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Archie,
There may or may not be anything wrong. The two things that come to mind would have been the addition of any chemical accelerators added at the jobsite to hasten the hydration of the mix. This is often done in cold weather so the finishers don't have to hang around all night waiting for the concrete to set.
The second thing may be the addition of water as they finished the slab. This is not a good idea and can lead to coloration differences. The color usually will turn a light gray or white over time. Sunlight hastens this but once the subfloor goes on, the slab will never get direct sunlight again. Just hang loose and see what happens over time. My biggest concern would be dusting - a condition where the cement paste at the surface wears off easily because of the water added to help finish the slab.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Dear Tim,
I have had a couple of companies come to give me an estimate for siding on my home. They both told me that the type of insulation they use is the best and that the other guy's is the worst. I'm not sure who to believe. It has been a struggle to find any information about these insulations on the internet, so I hope that you can help me. The one contractor showed me 3/8" double foil foam insulation and the other showed me Dow/Tenneco (SuperGuard +) insulation with perforations. They told me that those perforations were what would keep the vinyl siding from buckling. Can you help me out and give me some information on these types of insulation?
Thank you,
Bonnie Layman
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Bonnie,
Why not consider the vinyl sidings that come with the insulation built into them? I wrote a column about them two years ago. The first one to the marketplace was CraneBoard made by Crane Plastics. Crane was the first company to make vinyl siding so they have a proven track record. This same company also has a full line of realistic trim pieces that are foam filled. I would give it a serious look if I were you.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB
Tim,
We have cracked tile in our kitchen floor. I know this is very common with tile. But, we've discovered this crack runs underneath the tile in the cocrete slab thru the kitchen to our living room. The crack is 1/4" wide. Is this a MAJOR problem? The house is 10 years old and we are in the process of negotiating with a buyer. Any thoughts?
John
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John,
This is a tough question. I would want to know if the crack is growing in size. If the crack just happened and is getting bigger, it is serious. If the crack has been there for years, it may just be a standard concrete shrinkage crack. You may be able to fix the defect with a simple injection of a special concrete epoxy.
The bottom line is a professional structural engineer should be called in to render an opinion. In the future be sure to have 1/2 inch concrete steel rods installed in all concrete slabs to prevent wide cracks such as these. Make sure the steel is placed on two foot centers in both directions. The concrete slabs may develop a hairline crack, but the steel will prevent them from growing.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
Hey Tim,
I was interested in installing slate on our back patio. The area is not covered by anything to protect it from the elements. What is the best material to use for this project? Is there another option to slate tiles? Please send me as much information as you can. Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Kim Gray
Kim,
Slate is an excellent outdoor material for this project. You can also install weather-resistant clay paving brick. The slate itself with withstand anything Mother Nature will throw at it. The key is creating an excellent bond with the existing patio. I cover that in a past column at my website.
Tim Carter
www.askthebuilder.com
W3ATB