Q&A / 

Gordon Doughman is a subscriber to my FREE newsletter. He was kind enough to share a fascinating discovery he made. Allow him to share the story: "Tim, I know in several of your recent newsletters you discussed galvanized nails and the performance difference between hot dipped versus electroplated nails. I recently rebuilt my deck (capped […]

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Door Rough Opening Not Square Don Sanders is pulling out his hair in Peculiar, MO. It seems he installed a door in his shed and the rough opening wasn't square. Here's what he sent to me: "I installed an entry door in my shed. The floor was level and the jack and king studs were level. […]

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I was in Antigua in May of 2015 doing work as an expert witness on a civil construction case. The photos below show what I've come to realize are somewhat standard Antigua construction. From what I've seen driving around, there's a significant lower quality standard than what you'd see in certain parts of the USA. […]

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Helen Jennings wants to create a new door in the exterior wall of an ancient stone home in Holmbridge, West Yorkshire England! Here's what she sent me: "Do you think it would be possible to knock a doorway through this side external wall on the same level as the front door? I'd also want to add a […]

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DEAR TIM: My husband and I are in the initial planning stages of our new home. We have several interior hallways and I'm not able to visualize them looking at the plans. My fear is they'll be like tunnels and resemble the giant bowling alleys I walk down when walking to my room in a […]

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Ron wants to pour a concrete patio and wonders about proper support so it won't crack. He's doing this work in cold Fonthill, Ontario Canada. Here's what he told me: "We had our basement (block) waterproofed from the outside one year ago and have sandy soil. The area we are looking to do is 10 x […]

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Dick Anderson is a motivator who lives in Darlington, WI. He took issue with a past column of mine that discussed the challenges a DIY person faces when building their first log cabin. STOP now and read my past column titled Dream Log Cabin Challenges before you read Dick's comments below. After reading Dick's comments, please […]

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Nadine has a problem with a sagging roof in Atlanta, Michigan. Here's her full report: "My roof is sagging. I never realized my rafters are 27 and one-half inches on center. The roofing material is is made from metal squares. What can I do to make the roof flat? Look at the photo of the underside […]

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Carl King is thinking of buying an historic building in Baltimore, MD that has some brick erosion. Here's what he sent me: "I went to look at a building for sale in a historic district and found a problem with the brick I've never seen before. I wanted to know what you though the cause might […]

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Craig Tiritilli is wondering if his hanging walnut shelves, and this things on them are going to bow the studs in his Dallas, TX home. Here's his situation: "I have 4 pieces of solid walnut board. Each is 40" x 10" x 3".  I want to attach all four of them to a wall as shelves […]

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