Q&A / 

Tipping a builder is not a bad idea, especially if he does superb work and you might use him again for different projects. But what to tip and how much can be a perplexing problem. You might be surprised at what could be the perfect tip.

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A pilot light is an endangered species. Some gas appliances still have them, but more and more electronic ignition is how a furnace, water heater or gas cooktop starts up. Finding a pilot light is easy.

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Noise cancelling headphones do a great job of stopping noise pollution in your ears. Noise control is important, because you can damage your hearing if you do not use noise control products as part of your safety equipment when working.

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Plywood is very strong. You can use it even make plywood hurricane shutters. There are different plywood grades and plywood types such as CDX plywood and marine plywood. If you are building a home in an area raked by hurricanes, plywood is a great material to use, better then OSB.

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Construction quality control is important to people building new homes. They want to avoid bad home builders. Quality construction and construction quality inspections are two things that are very important to people buying new homes. The trouble is, most builders do not take the time to actually define quality.

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Imagine if roof trusses installed on your new home don't match the roof of the model home you were shown. Whose fault is it and what can be done to get the roof and ceiling you thought you were buying?

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A concrete or blacktop driveway always begins at the street or roadway. This portion of the driveway must be very strong to resist damage from heavy trucks that might use the driveway to turn around.

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Roof trusses can be heavy, especially those covered with sheets of oriented strand board (OSB). Cranes must be used to lift them up. But carpenters don't have to smash holes in the OSB with hammers to make this possible.

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Foundation drain tile is a critical component in new construction. This pipe and the clean gravel that surrounds it quickly moves water away from your foundation. If water is not drawn away from a foundation, it can leak into a basement or crawlspace.

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