DEAR TIM: I have a house wrap installed on my house over plywood sheathing. No clapboards are in place yet. I'm getting moisture behind the house wrap that is of concern to me. The product was installed at about 55 F, last October. The moisture appears in varying temperatures and also whether or not exposed […]
Tim Carter in this video explains why houses feel cold even when the furnace is operating properly. Tim explains some of the reasons for heat loss in his December 28, 2017 AsktheBuilder Newsletter. In his February 21, 2016 AsktheBuilder Announcement, he explains the perspective differences in temperatures. He has a 47 degree swing in one […]
Tim Carter demonstrates in this second video of a four-part series how to create the actual rough window opening. Tim has removed the drywall and starts to install the king studs that run from the wall top plate to the bottom plate. Then he shows how to install the header across the top of the […]
Tim Carter shows in this first of four videos how to install a new window in an existing wall. This first video covers the planning and important tips to consider before demolition begins. Installing a new window is not as simple as you might think. There's much involved, even for a simple wall with wood […]
Tim Carter shows a nifty trick when framing walls for a house. Don't allow an interior wall to touch an exterior wall. Leave a 3/4-inch gap so you can slide drywall in one giant piece instead of having to cut it at the corners. This wall framing trick also helps prevent air infiltration because the […]
DEAR TIM: I’m in the planning stages for building a new home and I don’t want bounce in my floors. My last home felt like a trampoline yet it was built to code. My new home is going to have a massive kitchen with a giant island that will have a 10-foot by 5-foot solid […]
DEAR TIM: I’ve got a real mess on my hands. I removed ivy from my brick home and the brick is now splotchy. The brick had a slight sanded texture that was lighter in color than where the the ivy was growing. When I removed the ivy, the sand came off and exposed a darker […]
DEAR TIM: I have a large painted brick fireplace that we want to resurface with real river rock or something similar. My husband and I are not interested in veneer or ledge panels. Will the mortar be strong enough to hold the stones? Do we need to use a special mortar or is an additive […]
Last night while helping my wife Kathy get dinner ready she said, "I saw one of your peers on a national news morning show today." (This was from my December 8, 2015 Newsletter.) "Really? What was he showing?" "He was talking about these caulks where you can actually caulk your window to the frame to […]
DEAR TIM: My wife and I wanted to remodel the dated fireplace in our living room. We recently put down hardwood floor around a raised brick hearth. I’ve since removed the raised hearth and we’re putting down ceramic tile. The trouble is there’s now a recess in the floor where the hearth was and how […]
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