October 11, 2011 AsktheBuilder Tips And Newsletter

What's in This Newsletter?

Latest News
Chicago Meet Up
Strange Odors In Your Home
Outdoor Repairs and Cold
Lisa from London
Facebook Report

I've been crazy busy the past two weeks. How about you? Lots of great things are on the AsktheBuilder.com horizon. The biggest thing is a radical new website design. It's finished and we're getting ready to turn the design into CSS and HTML. I believe you're going to love it. I know I do.First, I finally tackled a major project here at my New Hampshire house. The builder who built this home I live in totally messed up the front porch. The Executive Summary is that his carpenters nailed the treated lumber ledger boards directly to the OSB sheathing.

Suffice it to say it was a mess. I fixed all the issues and now the fiber cement siding extends down over the foundation as it should have from the get go.

I disconnected the porch structure from the house using some clever 4x6 heavy angle irons that are bolted to the house foundation. I taped a series of videos that I hope to have uploaded for you next week. You're going to love that series of videos.

Ten days ago, I volunteered to help with communications for the NH Marathon. It was a nonevent radio-wise which means good things for the runners. No one was injured, so that means success. When a health emergency arises, radio traffic can get busy indeed.

I also finally located my missing ham radios. Now I've got a second handheld and will be installing my sweet mobile radio in my truck.

Last-Minute Chicago Meet Up

I'm leaving for Chicago in the morning to attend the Remodelers Show. I have tomorrow night open if you want to have a quick meet up. I'll be staying very close to the Hyatt on East Wacker next to the Chicago River if that helps orient you.

Please email me ASAP and let's see if we can get something together. I'm open to suggestions. Be sure to include your cell phone number. Change the Subject Line of your reply to: Chicago Meet Up.

I'll NOT be able to respond to you until tomorrow afternoon because of travel and a meeting I have just after getting from Midway to downtown. As soon as I can check email after lunch I will. Just leave tomorrow night or late afternoon open if you can. Be flexible if possible.

I hope to come back from the show with plenty of videos for you about new products.

Strange Odors in Your Home

In the past few days, I've received several emails from subscribers like you about strange odors. The commonality in all cases is the people lived in condominiums or apartment buildings.

In one case, a tenant traced the odor to spider spray and mothballs another tenant's exterminator used to eradicate the eight-legged creatures.

Another case was a lazy homeowner that allowed his dog to urinate in the basement of his condo. The pungent odor wafted through air leaks between the condos. With some caulk, the next door neighbor was able to stop the infiltration of the odor.

The takeaway should be that when living in close quarters with other humans, think about how you'll deal with offensive odors that may come your way.

Outdoor Repairs and Cold

Old Man Winter is just around the corner. You may live in a place where it's already snowed.

Suffice it to say you might only have a few weeks of decent weather to make repairs that will last.

Keep in mind that some materials - just about any with water in them - can become problematic as the temperature drops. You don't want latex paint or caulk freezing at night before it's had a chance to cure.

Realize that things dry somewhat slower as the sun gets lower in the sky.

Okay, I don't need to hear from you braggarts who live in Southern California, Arizona and Florida who get glorious weather most of the winter. Blah blah. :->

Lisa from London

Lisa from London, not London, Kentucky, the London in England, emailed me yesterday.

Lisa, if you can still see the grout in the bottom of the bowl, you can probably remove most of it very carefully with a sharp stick.

First clean and sanitize the bowl. Then pour a bucket of clean water quickly into the bowl to remove most of the water.

Use a sponge to get rid of any remaining water. Sharpen a dowel stick and tap it gently with a hammer to see if you can chunk up the grout.

Be careful not to hit the grout too hard. You don't want to break the china, nor scratch it.

Try to work from the edges into the center of the mass of grout.

Save all the debris and mail it to the idiot builder.

You can use muriatic acid to soften the grout and clean off any residue from the china. Be careful as the acid fumes are very powerful. Open the windows and wear gloves and goggles.

Facebook Report

Are you a opens in a new windowFacebook fan of mine? If not, why not?

Today I loaded a few photos I took over the past 24 hours. You may want to see them.

I also solved a few problems for other homeowners like you. Remember, if you're on Facebook, PLEASE leave a comment at the bottom of the column telling others what you discovered when reading my column. You'll see the Facebook comment widget at the bottom of the column. Thanks in advance!