June 13, 2017 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

I'm in the early stages of a huge project I've been putting off.

Decluttering all the storage areas in my house is my new summer project. Besides getting things in order, a secondary positive benefit is that I get to meet interesting people.

Just this past Sunday morning, I was out on my driveway talking with a fascinating woman who responded to an ad I put in Craigslist. She bought a wonderful white flower box I was selling.

We must have chatted for about 45 minutes, maybe an hour! I post all the bigger things that are hard to ship on Craigslist. When I respond to emails from buyers, they see my signature tags in my email and it's obvious I'm the AsktheBuilder.com guy.

I do that on purpose so I come across as a safe person to deal with and the buyers can check me out. Other sellers can be spooky.

This woman spent some time at my website and she found out about my new Roofing Ripoff book.

As we battled the pesky mosquitoes, I answered all sorts of questions she had about the book.

I even showed her my proof copy of the paperback and she was blown away by the quality and the high-resolution COLOR photos in the book.

We talked about my discovery how copper strips allow shingles to last decades longer saving you tens of thousands of dollars. But I digress.

You hear lots of bad things about doing deals on Craigslist, but I've never had one bad thing happen. It's a matter of using common sense and by all means if you decide to meet a stranger and don't feel comfortable going to the buyer's location ask to meet at the local police department or take a friend with you.

Many local police departments are creating zones in the parking lot where you meet a Craigslist buyer / seller. The lighting is great and they have video cameras rolling for your protection.

My goal is to sell hundreds of things I no longer want or need. I can stash that cash or spend it on new toys and things that shine and sparkle and now have my attention.

Speaking of sparkling things that get attention, look below for my oldest daughter Meghan's new high-end jewelry. She gave me permission to tell you about the new website!

Start selling some of your clutter and use that money to treat yourself or that special someone to something that sparkles!

David's Cold Patch

A few days ago, I received an email from David via my Ask Tim page on my website. I get MANY emails.

He send this photo:

You may see nothing wrong with this blacktop patch. Trust me, it's a botch job and it was the WRONG WAY to repair what was wrong.

Here's David's email to me:

"I had a bad section of concrete by the junction of my garage and driveway where the weather, rain, cold, etc. had cracked a portion of it maybe two feet wide.

It finally chipped away nearly down to the ground. Got some guys I'd used for other projects to come out and fix it.

I assumed they were going to use concrete so didn't watch. When they were done this is what they did.

They assured me I could back out of the driveway after they left. I did the next day and got tar and little rocks all on my tires which transferred to 'the inside of the garage, got on my feet and consequently would have made it inside on the carpet had I not seen it.

I thought of taking a shovel and just scraping it up as it has not cured like they said three days later and still tacky. It looks awful, in my opinion. Suggestions are certainly appreciated.

BTW - that section they poured the asphalt over was NOT asphalt - it was concrete"

What went wrong? Where did David make his mistake?

He failed to specify exactly what he wanted
He failed to invest the needed time to research the best repair method for the longest-lasting result
He HOPED everything would work out

You hope for things you can't control like the weather and being rescued from a deserted island.

When it comes to your hard-earned money being spent wisely, it's your job to discover the BEST thing you can get for your money.

It's never been easier. Decades ago, you'd have to go to the library. Now information is available via your smart phone, tablet or computer.

You JUST NEED to really do your due diligence because there's LOTS OF BAD INFORMATION out there about how to do home repairs.

I suggest you start with my Search Engine and see what I have to say about a topic.

CLICK HERE and TRY IT OUT.

Meghan's New Jewelry

A week ago, I shared with you a story about my oldest daughter Meghan. If you're a new or newer subscriber you may not know about her.

CLICK HERE to read that story and look at the hand drawing to appreciate what you're about to see.

But if you're a seasoned subscriber, you know her. I've talked about her journey for well over a decade.

Meghan and her husband Brent have finally latched onto something special. Brent's been out in Silicon Valley in CA for the past three years making a huge splash and he's doing quite well with a huge start up.

But behind the scenes for the past five years, Meghan has been putting all her effort into a new custom jewelry business I feel is going to go to the Moon.

So far she's come up with twelve different pieces that fit most budgets if you're looking at high-quality jewelry.

This is NOT costume jewelry that you find at a big box store.

This is high-end jewelry that will become heirlooms, possibly in your family.

Take a look at these photos and CLICK THEM to go to that exact page. Remember, there are twelve different things you can see at Meghan's website and there are different types of gold, chains, etc. I'm not a jewelry expert so I suggest you spend TIME THERE looking around and seeing all the options.

You can even CALL Meghan if you have a question or need help. How many jewelry designers offer that service???

If you can't see images in your device, here are the links:

Heart Leaf Pendant

Quaternity Pendant

Mini Raindrop Pendant

The website is: Murvica.com.

Once there use the small arrow at the right of the images to see all twelve pieces.

Yes, I'm doting on my daughter. I'm allowed to do that.

Be SURE TO READ the About page and the FAQ page.

Let me know what you think about the pieces. I'm so very proud of what she's done.

P.S. Meghan shared a few stories yesterday about a few of the people who got the first pieces.

She said one woman who opened the special custom wrapping and one-of-a-kind packaging cried for fifteen minutes.

They were tears of JOY.

The woman said it was the BEST PRESENT she's ever received in her entire life.

I've held a few of Meghan's pieces in my hand and I'm here to tell you, you're going to be BLOWN AWAY by the quality.

Way to go Meghan and Brent!

Tool of the Week

I've received a spate of emails and you may be one that sent one of them.

Here's the typical message:

"Tim, would you PLEASE feature a tool each issue of the newsletter that you use and LOVE? I know you only use the best ones and I want to start collecting them."

You may have emailed me saying you want gift ideas for family and friends who are just starting out doing DIY.

Here's one of my favorite go-to tools I used just last night!!! It's a marvelous precision needle-nose pliers that comes with built-in wire strippers.

This Klein Tools All-Purpose Pliers is affordable too.