June 10, 2009 AsktheBuilder News And Tips
What's in This Issue?
Rushed Back to Cincinnati
Air-Conditioning Bids
Noise-Canceling Earmuffs
Composite Deck Feedback
Last-Minute Father's Day Gift
Latest Columns
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Rushed Back to Cincinnati
Last Friday at about 1:30 p.m., I left New Hampshire within three hours of getting a dire phone call about my mom. The hospice nurses said things were not looking good. She was starting to crater, or it sure seemed that way. I was scheduled to be in Washington DC today appearing before members of Congress about Internet Advertising matters. That trip was cancelled as I wanted to be at my mother's bedside.
I drove like a banshee Friday, and Kathy called me on my cell phone and made me stop at Dunkirk, NY after nine hours of driving. After a fitful night of sleep, I was on the road at 7:30 a.m. arriving at the nursing home at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.
I'll cut to the chase. Here it is Wednesday, and mom is still in her jujitsu match with the Grim Reaper. Yesterday, she delivered a kick to the throat that laid the Reaper out on the mat of the cage-fighting ring. She was sitting up in bed, barking orders and otherwise as healthy as she's been for a while. This isn't the first time she's put a choke-hold on the Angel of Death.
All I can say is that I erupted in laughter when I got to her room yesterday. It was like Christmas morning seeing her in good spirits, when just 24 hours before she was hypoxic, delirious, confused, gurgling as she breathed and mumbling. What a fighter she is! Keep her in your prayers as the Grim Reaper is known to hit below the belt and fight dirty. I may have to send mom back to Heaven at any moment.
Air-Conditioning Bids
Yesterday before I went to see mom, I had lunch with my best friend Richard Anderson. Richard, in my opinion, is the best HVAC man within 300 miles of Cincinnati. Heck, he could be in the top ten in the USA for all I know. He was lamenting to me about losing a job or two because of other contractors who were using inferior equipment. I'm not going to name names, but suffice it to say that any equipment that begins with the letter G, you better think long and hard about using it.
It's the same old story that I saw for so many years when I was actively building. There are ALWAYS low-cost products out there. Why? Because a certain portion of the population is always going to buy on price. All of us like to get a great deal, and this mentality fuels this marketplace of substandard products.
However, with HVAC equipment, you can't afford to have junk. This equipment controls the environment where you live, sleep and relax. Think long and hard before you go with a low bidder installing low-quality equipment when installing a new furnace or air conditioner.
For what it's worth, I have York furnaces and air conditioners in my home in Cincinnati. Kathy and I will be selling this home soon as she transitions up to New Hampshire. In fact at the end of summer, I'll be constructing a website to sell the home. You'll see photos of top-of-the-line York units Richard installed in this house just three years ago as my original York equipment was nearing the end of its useful life.
York isn't the only good brand. Use price as a guideline. Get quotes from installers and ask them to break out the cost of the equipment. You'll see fairly quickly that prices can be all over the map.
Noise-Canceling Earmuffs
For the past two weeks, I've been testing some wonderful noise-canceling earmuffs. I need them to help protect my ears from further damage. Many years ago, it was never impressed on us young builders to wear ear protection. I suffer from tinnitus that results from years of screeching circular saws, hammer blows on lumber, gasoline engines, lawn mowers, etc. If you have some way to minimize the ringing in my ears, let me know. I've tried the ginko drug to no effect.
Anyway, the NoiseBuster earmuffs work work really well. An electronic chip in the muffs cancels out much of the harmful noise you'd otherwise hear without them. You need these when you work around your home. Ear damage is CUMULATIVE. Each time you subject your ears to loud noises, you cause damage that can't be easily fixed.
I love the little input port that allows me to connect my iPhone to the muffs. I can listen to my music while I work. Sweet! Pour Some Sugar on Me!
Composite Deck Feedback
Last issue I told about the factory tour I made to see CorrectDeck CX. This is the place in Maine I visited. As you might imagine, I got immediate feedback not only from PR people who represent other brands, but from homeowners with ghoulish nightmare stories.
Barbara Garrity is a subscriber and she shared,
"You are right about composite deck material. It can be a very expensive mistake. ... ours was around $31,000.00. We have composite deck material from AERT out of Arkansas. It is deteriorating after less than 5 years. The company has denied any liability. We can send you pictures of the deterioration. The builder, Archadeck, came out, said he had never seen damage like that and said it must be squirrels and left. We rarely see squirrels on the decks and then they just scamper along and then jump to the trees. They do not stop and do damage. Also, we had really ugly spotting on the deck shortly after it was installed. The builder, Archadeck, when called about the spots just told us to buy some harsh cleaner and clean it. It was much later we found out that the spots are mold and there was a class action law suit against the company."
I asked to see photos and was astonished. The deterioration is profound, and no one would ever convince me it was from squirrels. Come on, what squirrel would want to chew on plastic when there was an abundance of other food around? Sure, a squirrel might chew through plastic to get to food, but that's not the case here.
As I said in my Composite Deck column, you must really be very careful when selecting a composite material. They are by no means equal in quality.
Last-Minute Father's Day Gift - Simple QuickSlide Razor Knife
I believe Father's Day is this Sunday. If you're looking for a simple gift that really will be a hit, go with a tool that's been out for about four years now. It's the Stanley QuickSlide Pocket Utility knife.
I have one, and it's become my FAVORITE razorknife. I love how it works, how it feels in my hand and the fact I can clip it to my belt or put it in my pocket.
It's probably too late to order it online, but I'm sure you can find it on the shelf anywhere Stanley hand tools are sold.
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