Terrie Baker is building a new home in Adrian, Oregon. She did the right thing to go visit the job site to see what was going on. "My husband and I are building a new house. When I went to check on the progress the other day, I discovered a cobbled up mess on our French […]
DEAR TIM: What type of stone would be best for filling this cavity that is a planned two-car garage addition? It is approximately 7 feet deep. The local concrete supplier sells recycled concrete for a really good price. It is very similar to crusher run. Due to the design, compacting will be next to impossible. […]
Katie Maguire is a woman after my own heart. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida and has some goats. I want a few goats to go hiking with me when I do outdoor ham radio. Read about Katie's new fencing that has loose posts: "Tim, I have a brand new fence on ten acres with sheep and […]
Anthony Biviano moved his family into a quiet home in Merrick, NY. But now everyone is having a tough time sleeping because the radiant baseboards are making NOISE! Here's his story: "Almost a year after we purchased our high ranch in Merrick, each time the heat comes on it sounds like a river is rushing through […]
First, the blizzard was a bust here at my house. At dawn on Wednesday, maybe I had 6 inches of snow. There were parts of New England that got hammered, but not me. Yesterday, I was at the hospital for a pre-surgery appointment. Monday I'm getting scoped again in an effort to try to blast […]
Kathy Parks sent in some photographs of an interesting project that she is undertaking. It is a paper bag floor. She's wallpapering her floor with paper bags to mask an ugly floor. The paper bags, once dry, get coated with clear urethane to make them somewhat durable. We will let Kathy fill us in on […]
Ade lives in cold and snowy Chicago, IL. All of a sudden his plumbing fixtures stopped working correctly. Here's his story: "I had a leak around my plumbing vent repaired last year and the roofer put a cap (see picture) on the vent. I started having problems with my 2nd floor toilet and later with both […]
You may have a textured finish on a wall or ceiling in your home that resembles mesa and butte topography you may see on a grand scale if you travel to the magnificent Southwest part of the USA. I'm a college-trained geologist and marvel at this landscape. This textured finish is quite common in many […]
You've seen them before, right? The silver-dollar-sized concave, or sometimes convex, circles on your drywall ceilings and walls? These are often called nail pops because the drywall nail or screw that fastens the gypsum panel to the wood studs or floor joists has “popped” a hole that you now have to repair. The repair is […]
You never know who you're talking to when you strike up a conversation with a stranger. Last week, I was standing up on the mezzanine looking down on gates A4 - A5 at the Baltimore, MD International Airport. "Do you think it's going to leave on time?" a total stranger asked me. "Well, if you're […]
Subscribe to the FREE Ask the Builder newsletter to receive professional advice for your home. Complete the form below and each week you'll get:
Unsubscribe at any time. We respect your email privacy.