February 9, 2009 AsktheBuilder News and Tips
What’s in This Issue?
MARY JANE
TREATED LUMBER ALERT
POCKET DOORS
BOGUS PRODUCT REVIEWS
BOGUS DRYWALL - SIGH!
LATEST COLUMNS AND VIDEOS
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
MARY JANE
If you're a new subscriber in the past two weeks, you're unaware that I've not published recently because we had to send my amazing and wonderful mother-in-law back to Heaven on very short notice. I'm still collecting my thoughts about the 39 years I was fortunate to know Mary Jane. What I can tell you at this point is that I was very lucky. Many people complain about their in-laws. Not me, as Mary Jane was as great a mother-in-law you could ask for, and her husband, Dan, who is still with us, is a fantastic father-in-law. I hope to have my blog post about Mary Jane finished this week. When it's complete, I'll share the link so you can discover the boundless energy, optimism and endless love she had for her family and me.
You may be one of the thousands of subscribers that sent warm thoughts to Kathy and me. It's impossible for me to repay that debt of gratitude. It was truly overwhelming. Thousands and thousands of emails and real cards were sent to us. As you know, it's impossible to reply to all of those, so please accept our humble thanks. Kathy told me to tell you that you're very thoughtful, and the sentiments meant very much to her.
TREATED LUMBER ALERT
As you might expect, I get press releases sent to me about all sorts of home-improvement topics. The vast majority are about new products. Every now and then I get one that's about an important news alert. I just got one overnight that meets this criterion.
Let me preface this piece by telling you a story. About 20 years ago, I built a treated-lumber play set for my kids. At the time, I used traditional CCA treated lumber. The chemicals in the CCA treatment were primarily copper, chromium and arsenic. That treatment method was outlawed for residential use after December 31, 2003, as the chromium and arsenic in the treatment chemicals were deemed a significant health risk. Copper is an excellent biocide, as evidenced in my roof-moss video.
New treated-lumber chemicals that contained micronized copper were developed to replace the more toxic ones containing chromium and arsenic. A new study that was just released, shows that some of these treatments may not be very good at all.
This is really troubling. Why? Three years ago, I took apart the play set to build a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian Garden Shed in its place. Several of the buried 4x4s of the playset had significant termite damage. Check out this column that has a photo of one of the posts.
These posts, when originally purchased, were guaranteed against termite decay for life, and this was CCA, the hallmark preservative! I clearly remember at the time of the CCA ban that many felt the newer chemicals would not be as robust as the CCA. The bottom line is that tens of thousands of outdoor structures could be in trouble as some of the newer micronized copper treatment chemicals are now suspect.
Here is one snippet of the press release I just got stated:
This report and study was produced and funded by Viance LLC. The last paragraph of the press release states:
Go here tto read the report and see photos.
POCKET DOORS
This past Friday night I was invited to a friend's house up here in New Hampshire for darts and pizza. It was great to get out, and I violated a social skill by winning at darts. Shame on me, and I sure hope this couple forgives me and invites me back. I love darts and have these 30-year-old cherished titanium darts that weigh 21 grams. Oh do they fly straight and true.
One of the features in this comfortable, cozy newer house was an often overlooked item. A simple pocket door. The first-floor powder room had a space-saving pocket door. I have installed many over the years, and the frame, track and suspension hardware are mission critical if you don't want hassles down the road. I don't know what brand was used in the home I was at, but I've used this one for years on my jobs and my own home:
BOGUS PRODUCT REVIEWS
Have you ever bought things online, including home-improvement products, and used the positive reviews to assist your decision? Well, unfortunately you can't believe them all of the time. Here's an article that will probably make you a little upset. My advice in the future is to do what I try to do. Always do negative searches. I do Google searches looking for bad reviews: cordless drill nightmares or cordless drill complaints, etc. Of course it helps to insert in your search string the actual name of the product you're thinking of buying. Granted, companies can hire people to write bogus negative reviews as well as positive ones. Take the time to read this column about bogus positive reviews:
BOGUS DRYWALL - SIGH!
Sorry about all the depressing news, but I'll share a ton of positive columns and a video in just a moment. Dave, a long-time subscriber from Largo, Florida, sent me news about bad drywall. This is pretty distressing, and something you should be aware of if you own a newer home. Note that this problem is being reported in Florida, but MAY BE happening in other parts of the USA and you could have this in your home:
LATEST COLUMNS AND VIDEOS
I want to give you a heads up. Each week you're going to see many new columns. I've decided to write about topics that I've overlooked and ones that people are requesting. These winter days up here in New Hampshire are perfect for writing, so I'm taking advantage of the situation. Here's a video we taped and some recent columns:
Click here to read past copies of my newsletters.
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