Q&A / 

Renovating an Old Building - Think Outside the Box Not a week goes by that I don’t receive an email asking me about what’s involved in renovating an old building. Most who reach out to me realize it can be an expensive endeavor, but the allure of restoring a sound old building to either its […]

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Bad New Home Builder - On My Own Street! Over the past five months I’ve watched the dream of a neighbor I’ve yet to meet start to come true on my own street. It started just after the snow melted when two men arrived with a giant machine that wrestles logs and chain saws. Their […]

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Oxalic Acid Cleaner - It's a Great Rust Remover Not a week goes by that you, or another reader or two or three or twenty, might reach out to me with a fantastic question about the column of mine you’re reading. Often you might ask why I failed to dive deeper into the topic. You […]

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Avoid High-Pressure Sales Tactics - It's All Psychology Published September 26, 2022 It’s possible this is the most unique column I’ve written in the thirty years since Ask the Builder came to be. I think it’s important for you to know why I switched careers from being a full-time builder, remodeler, and master plumber to […]

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How to Find the Best Home Builder Over the past five months I’ve watched the dream of a neighbor I’ve yet to meet start to come true on my own street. It started just after the snow melted when two men arrived with a giant machine that wrestles logs and chain saws. Their job was […]

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New House Build Meredith NH Video Playlist You should be able to see all the videos below from the new house being built just down the street from my house. Look in the UPPER RIGHT corner of the video. see the three horizontal lines? CLICK those and you should get a menu that appears showing […]

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Rust Stains in Toilet - Remove with Ease Do you remember that day in high school chemistry class when you grumbled under your breath saying something like, “This is NUTS. When will I ever use this information in my lifetime?” Well, get out a fork and plate and start eating your giant piece of humble […]

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How Tall Should a Wall Be? It Makes a Difference Did you know the safest and most comfortable steps to go up or down have 7.5-inch risers and 10-inch treads? Knowing this, how tall should a wall be in a house with a staircase? How do you calculate wall height? Make some room in your […]

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Color Slide and Color and B&W Negative Scanners In August of 2022, I started a massive project of scanning at least 2,000 color slides and well over 10,000 color and black and white 35mm negatives. Years before I had purchased an affordable miniature scanner, but I had let it languish. It was a Wolverine F2D […]

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Solar Panels Return on Investment - Moving Target In August of 2022, Robert reached out to me after receiving last week's newsletter. Here's part of what he said: "Along the line of conservation of resources, what are your thoughts on solar panels on one’s home? I live in North Richland Hills, Texas and have been […]

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