Enlarge Opening in Load Bearing Wall

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Tim Carter

"You can make an opening higher in a load-bearing wall much easier than creating a wider opening."

Enlarge Opening in Load Bearing Wall Checklist

Build temporary walls to support the load
Bearing points of columns must be stacked and extend down through the house to a footing
Hire a structural engineer to size the beam
Be sure your insurance will cover collapse if you goof up

Enlarge Opening in Load Bearing Wall - Do It Carefully

What is a Temporary Support Wall?

A temporary support wall is just like a normal wall but the vertical wall studs are placed directly under the ceiling joists above. The wall should have a continuous top plate and bottom plate to help stabilize the temporary wall.

What are Bearing Points?

A bearing point is where an overhead beam rests on a vertical support. Some of the weight resting on the beam is transferred to the bearing point.

How Can I Discover Basic Structural Concepts?

You can discover basic structural concepts like beams, columns, and stresses by browsing through a very easy-to-read ebook called:

Basic Structural Concepts eBook

How Do You Size a Support Beam?

A structural engineer is the best person to use to help size a beam. There are very precise calculations that must be done so the beam is the correct size.

How Many 2x4s Must be Under Each End of a Beam?

Any opening that's 6 feet or less can have just one 2x4 under the beam. This creates a bearing point 1.5 inches wide. Any opening wider than 6 feet should have a minimum of two 2x4s under each end of the beam.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local bearing wall carpenters.

October 5, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter Update

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Tim Carter

Several hours ago I sent out my newsletter and told you about this amazing FREE offer to get a jigsaw blade.

I've been inundated with emails and complaints about how the form at the Lenox website is not working.

There might be ten, or more, reasons why the Lenox website form is borked. No one knows why but the Lenox webmistress/master.

One of the reasons might be that you, yes you, overloaded their server because so many AsktheBuilder subscribers went to the page at once. You could have been the straw that broke the server's back! 😉

I do appreciate you telling me about your frustration.

However, I'm sure you realize I don't own the Lenox website and had nothing to do with the programming that supports the FREE OFFER page.

When you experience difficulties like this when I send you to some other website, you've got a few choices:

1. Accept the frustration and come back the next day to see if they have it fixed.
2. Keep hitting REFRESH on your browser and hope for the best.
3. Forget about the FREE OFFER and watch a funny video on YouTube to lower your blood pressure.

Speaking of funny videos on YouTube, here's one of me. WAIT FOR IT AT THE END!

CLICK HERE to watch it.
chain saw test

October 5, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Tim Carter

New subscriber? You just missed the big party a few days ago. CLICK HERE to see what it was all about!

Distinguished database subscriber? Offer a cannoli or shrimp to our new friends! Be sure to tell each new subscriber about the Ask the Builder podcasts! Don't forget to mention they're FREE!

Ten days ago, I was out West with one of my closest friends, Dan. Dan and I met about fourteen years ago. We were both part of a secret Internet entrepreneur mastermind group that I helped get off the ground.

My college degree is in geology and most of the western USA is a paradise for geologists because you can see the rocks. Dan and I went hiking for four days in southern Utah, and then we played nine-holes of golf at a fantastic small course in Mesquite, NV - Coyote Willows.

Kathy, my wife, loves it when I go away. She's not a big fan of traveling and since I work at home (for the past twenty-five years I might add!) she gets a vacation from me when I travel. It's a win-win for both of us.

I'm back with my shoulder against the millstone and working to revise more and more of my past columns. I did one yesterday morning that I feel you'll really love. It's got two of my hand-drawn illustrations in it. I used to do drawings like that sitting at customers' dining room tables.

Get Your Free Jigsaw Blade NOW!

A couple of issues back I mentioned that you can get a FREE new Lenox jigsaw blade. These are revolutionary and it's RARE that a manufacturer makes this offer to the general public.

The offer is only good for people that live in the USA.

CLICK HERE to get your FREE Lenox blade. Be SURE to watch the three videos on that page showing the blades in a REAL TEST and a tour of the factory where the blades are made.

Drainage Issues at Your Home

Do you have water drainage issues at your home? Look at this:

standing water around shed

You may not have standing water as you see in the above photo, but how about water leaking into your basement or crawlspace?

Do you have a SOGGY yard?

You can STOP THIS WATER. It's best to stop it outside before it gets to your home.

CLICK HERE to see how to do it. There is a great video in the column for you to watch.

I just revised this column and you'll see at the bottom a link to my Linear French Drain Streaming Video. It's a professionally produced video and shows you all you need to know to stop water from entering your home. You can also use my linear french drain to dry out your SOGGY yard.

For the next four days you can get 25% off that video using the following promo code:

25ATB

That's a fantastic deal and it's going to go away in just a few days.

P.S. That promo code works for 99.78345 percent of the items in my shopping cart. You should really consider getting the PDF Basic Structural Concepts eBook.

The Ask Tim Page

I get the most fascinating questions each week. You may be one that's asked me a question.

CLICK HERE to submit a question.

Overnight, I got a great question from Mike. He wanted to know the best wall anchor to use on exterior walls. He knew that a metal anchor could cause condensation in a cold climate.

I pointed Mike to this column and told him to CLICK the photo at the top of the column to see my favorite plastic wall anchor that really works well.

You should do the same.

Revised Columns

Here are some revised columns did for you the past few days:

Deck Piers - You've Got Choices!

Stay Cool! Get the RIGHT AC Unit!

Cut Ceramic Tile - But Porcelain????

That's enough for a Friday.

Meghan is moving back to the East Coast tomorrow! Big weekend here at the Carter house.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic Man - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Code Man - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

October 2, 2018 AsktheBuilder 25th Anniversary

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Tim Carter

New subscriber? Well, you picked a pretty special issue as your first one!

Distinguished subscriber of old? Pop the corks, pull the tabs, or unscrew the caps. Party time!

25th Ask the Builder Anniversary

It all started twenty-five years ago on a dark Saturday morning. I was waiting outside at the curb for my newspaper carrier. He must have thought I was nuts when he handed me the paper through his car window.

I wanted to see my first Ask the Builder column in print. I was alone and everyone else was asleep at the house as I came inside and opened the paper.

Can you believe it's been twenty-five years? Wow!

CLICK HERE to read a special column I wrote about this special day.

Connections - How it All Started

Here's how Ask the Builder was born. It's important to realize I had always wanted to write a book about how homeowners got the shaft from some builders.

This frustration bubbled to the surface frequently for me. I'd give a quote for a job and often I was the high bidder. I'd explain to homeowners my number was right and that the other bidders might be putting in artificially low allowance numbers or they might be cutting corners.

Sometimes homeowners believed me and sometimes they didn't.

One Saturday in the late fall of 1992, I was in Dayton, OH, with my wife, son and oldest daughter Meghan. She was participating in an Irish dancing fesh or contest.

I was sitting in a folding metal chair and two chairs over was another dad. Somehow we got to talking and he found out I was a builder and remodeling contractor. I'll never forget his name, Biff Roberts.

"Tell me, do you use nail guns?"

"Oh yeah. I LOVE them. They save so much time and increase productivity!"

"Which one(s) do you use?"

"Are you kidding me? There's only one nail gun to use, Senco."

It turns out he was the head of marketing for Senco. Not too long after, he nominated me to Remodeling magazine as one of the Big 50, a huge award and honor. I had NO IDEA this was in the works.

In May of 1993, I got a phone call from Remodeling magazine telling me I was selected as one of the Big 50. I thought it was a prank call from Sister Susan who ran an orphanage in Jamaica. That's a long story for another day.

It was no prank. Several months later Kathy, my wife if you're a new subscriber, said, "You should take your book idea and write a syndicated newspaper column."

I saw a vision when she said it, went into my office and proceed to write three columns. The following Monday morning I walked into the newsroom of the Cincinnati Enquirer and found the home editor, Ann Haas.

She loved the columns and said she wanted to buy them and start running me each week. She also encouraged me to sell the column to other papers.

I took her advice and by the end of 1993 I had self-syndicated Ask the Builder into about 30 newspapers. Eventually about 120 papers across the USA were running the column.

It still runs today in about 60 USA papers.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Big Party Promo Code

To help celebrate, Kathy and I decided to have a very big sale on all of the electronic products and consult services at the shopping cart.

Use the following promo code to get a RARE 25% off just about everything at my shopping cart. The sale ends in one week.

25ATB

If you're a seasoned subscriber you know the last time I've had a sale on just about anything in my shopping cart was eons ago.

Now's the time to grab things of all sorts that will help you save time and money and help you find the right contractor.

Do yourself a FAVOR and browse through my cart. You'll be stunned by what you'll find!

How about the Structural Basics Handbook?

How about my PDF copy of my Roofing Ripoff book?

Is water leaking into your basement or crawlspace? You can get my Linear French Drain Stream Video for 25% off!

How about a rocking set of plans for a deluxe shed? Yep, I've got them.

CLICK HERE and start browsing.

The promo code will not work on the Stain Solver you see, most of the other DVDs and maybe one or two other items.

But believe me, it will work on about 98% of what's in the cart.

Concrete Cracks - Why and How to Prevent Them

I just revised this column this morning. I GUARANTEE you'll discover something new that will save you lots of anguish. CLICK HERE to save money.

This is a concrete shrinkage crack. The concrete touched the lighter gray foundation the day it was poured. Over a period of months, even up to a year or more, the concrete slab shrinks in size. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

That's enough for today.

Thanks for hanging with me for twenty-five years. If you've got an Ask the Builder story to share, or I've helped you in any way, PLEASE share it in a comment at the bottom of the anniversary column page. CLICK HERE.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Magic Cleaner Man - www.StainSolver.com
Radio Man - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Smoking Fireplaces and Expanding Cement Patching

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Tim Carter

Smoking Fireplaces

QUESTION #1: Oh Tim, I need your help. I’ve got a masonry fireplace that puffs smoke into the room when a fire is burning. It gets worse as the fire dies down. I’ve spoken with three different bricklayers who build fireplaces and have received three different answers. Confusion reigns at my home and my wife is none too happy. Can you share what might be wrong and if there’s an easy fix to the problem? Gary N., Dayton, OH

When the cold weather starts to descend across the great fruited plain, I start to get quite a few emails like Gary’s. Smoking fireplaces are a nuisance and unfortunately, the solution is not always easy.

The physics that are involved in chimneys, drafting, and smoke prevention is quite complex. The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has tackled this topic in no less than three detailed white papers that show exactly how to build a fireplace that will work perfectly and not smoke. The white papers also help you diagnose why your fireplace might be smoking.

The issue is that most masons that build fireplaces have no clue about these fantastic easy-to-understand documents. A mason that’s been building bad fireplaces for years not realizing it may pass on his faulty knowledge to the young apprentice working for him. The young lad thinks he’s being taught the right way to do the job.

It’s important to realize there’s a very distinct mathematical relationship between the width and height of the fireplace opening for a standard fireplace. All the dimensions and shape of the firebox, the throat, the smoke chamber height, the flue size and the total height of the chimney are determined by just the width and height of the fireplace opening.

Here’s an example. Let’s say your fireplace opening is 32 inches wide. The height of the opening should be 29 inches. The depth of the firebox less the outside facing material of the fireplace should be 16 inches. The width of the rear of the firebox should be 19 inches. The smoke chamber height should be 24 inches and the nominal flue size should be 12 x 12 inches. The height of the chimney using this flue liner should be 19 feet.

You can sometimes solve a smoking fireplace problem by making the chimney higher. But before you go to all this work, you need to be sure all the other dimensions of the entire fireplace are correct. If there are significant design flaws in the firebox and the smoke chamber, it’s quite possible the entire fireplace will have to be rebuilt.

I’ve created a page at my website that has a full table of all the sizes and dimensions for all common fireplaces, links to the BIA white papers and a few videos showing you what you need to know about how to create a fireplace that won’t puff smoke at you! Go to: fireplace

Expanding Cement Patching

QUESTION #2: Tim, I’ve got water leaking through a crack in my foundation. I’ve tried to patch it with regular mortar and the leak is less, but it’s still happening. Is there a magic material I can use to stop the leak permanently? Why do you think my repair failed? Angie P., Tacoma, WA

You might have the same problem as Angie. You could have water coming through your foundation or crawlspace walls. The water may be entering around water pipes, cracks, or other penetrations through the wall.

The good news is there’s an easy-to-use product that’s been around for years that usually solves these leaks within minutes. Commercial contractors use this material as well, so you can rest assured it works if you do the job right.

I’d start with hydraulic cement. Hydraulic cement is a powder that looks just like typical Portland cement but it’s radically different. Once you mix hydraulic cement with water an irreversible chemical reaction occurs and the plastic mix expands in volume. As it hardens it retains this change in volume and exerts pressure against the hole or crack so normal water pressure can’t leak through.

Normal Portland cement mixes do the opposite. They shrink as they harden. This is why Angie’s repair effort failed.

It’s important to realize the surfaces that the hydraulic cement touches should be free of all dust, dirt, oils, etc. For the best bond, just before pressing the cement mixture into the void, you should spritz the surfaces with a little bit of water so they’re damp. This small amount of water helps increase the bond of the cement.

The hydraulic cement hardens rapidly so you want to mix small amounts. You can slow down the hardening rate by mixing the powder with ice-cold water. It’s also not a bad idea to freeze the powder so it’s cold before you mix it.

I’ve got lots of other installation tips at my website as well as three videos showing you easy DIY methods to install hydraulic cement. Go to: cement

September 30, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Tim Carter

New subscriber? Welcome! You get some FREE stuff this issue! WOOT!

Distinguished subscriber of record? You get FREE stuff too! How convenient!

This past Thursday at 12:20 am I walked through the door of my house after a grueling day of travel from Las Vegas. I had been out West for eight days hiking in Utah with a buddy.

My two-leg flight transformed into a four-leg flight zigzagging across the South and Midwest finally getting me back to the Northeast!

We hiked at the following places:

Zion National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Kodachrome State Park
Snow Canyon State Park

It was a little toasty at all of them except for Cedar Breaks. That national monument is at 10,500 feet in elevation so it was in the mid 60s.

CLICK the above park names to see some of my best photos from each of these treasures. If you decide to go, my advice is to visit each place when the daytime high temperature is in the mid 70s, not 98 F like it was in Snow Canyon!

FREE Lenox Blade For You

A week before I left for my trip, I was a guest at the Lenox Saw Blade factory in Springfield, MA. What a delight it was to see how saw blades are made!

The Lenox people were showing off two new jigsaw blades, one for cutting wood and the other for cutting metal.

They did two side-by-side tests of the new blades against the top performing Bosch blade.

I taped a video of each test as well as a video of the parts of the factory I was allowed to show you. Most of the factory is OFF LIMITS to photography and video as the machines and processes are top secret.

Lenox surprised us at the end of the tour by offering you a FREE BLADE of your choice. I've never had a company do this before as it means sending out tens of thousands of blades!!!

The offer EXPIRES soon you need to ACT NOW.

I urge you to get one. The offer is only for one blade per household. This means if you want BOTH blades you need to get creative and have a neighbor, a relative, a co-worker, or friend fill out the form so you can get both blades.

The metal blade has a slight curve to it that enhances the cutting speed. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE VIDEOS!!!

CLICK HERE for the link to the FREE BLADES, the three videos AND my story about the factory tour.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have friends or anyone you know who wants one of these free blades, SHARE THE FOLLOWING URL. Send all you know to the page at my website with the LINK to the Lenox page as well as the three videos. Here's the actual URL:

Lenox Saw Blade Factory Tour

You can share the above ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ URL on your social media accounts, your personal email list, etc. I want to show Lenox that I can create a buzz, so SHARE this URL far and wide:

Lenox Saw Blade Factory Tour

BIG Announcement on Tuesday

I've got a huge announcement on Tuesday. You'll NOT WANT to miss this, so watch for a fast newsletter on Tuesday.

It's really big news and I've got a special offer for you to help celebrate the announcement!

Smoking Fireplaces

Does your fireplace smoke? Do you want to know WHY it smokes?

Are you building a new home with a fireplace and want it to function perfectly? Are you adding a room addition with a masonry fireplace?

CLICK HERE to read a column I revised yesterday that shares how you PREVENT smoking fireplaces.

The physics of fire, heated air, cold air in chimneys, etc. is complex. You can't just lay some brick and stone and hope it all works out.

When you get to the column, you'll discover a handy table that gives you the all-important DIMENSIONS of the fireplace opening, the size of the firebox, the size of the flue, the smoke chamber, the height of the chimney, etc.

It's important to realize that you can mix and match chimney height and flue liners!!

CLICK HERE so there's no smoke in your home!

P.S. Don't let your mason use regular mortar in between the special high-temperature firebrick! It should be fire clay. I've got a link in the above column that allows you to buy this special powder you mix with water to the consistency of gravy.

New Podcasts For You!

I've got three new podcasts for you. One is about some cool new levels, another is about a dangerous concrete porch stoop, and the final one is about how to STOP paint odor, or any odor on a wall or ceiling.

You can listen to the podcasts for FREE. It's just old-fashioned radio, but you can listen when you want to.

There are helpful PHOTOS at all of the following links that allow you to see what I was talking about.

Click the following links:

New Cool Levels Podcast

Replace Concrete Porch Stoop Podcast

Paint Odor Blocker Podcast

If you have smoke odor, cat urine, or any other ODOR on your walls and ceilings, you absolutely want to listen to the Paint Odor Blocker podcast!

CLICK HERE to see/listen to all my past podcasts.

That's enough for a Sunday morning.

Remember, WATCH for the announcement on Tuesday! You don't want to miss it.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Clean Stuff Man - www.StainSolver.com
Radio Waves - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Lenox Wood Jigsaw Blade Test vs Bosch Blade

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Tim Carter

Tim Carter attends a factory tour where the new Lenox wood jigsaw blade is shown.

September 22, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on September 22, 2018 by Tim Carter

New subscriber? I'm glad you're here. Get ready for lots of tips.

Distinguished subscriber of digital record? Mahalo for continuing to open these newsletters.

Mukuntuweap - It's Where I Am

Do you know the Paiute language? If so, you're a wise person. If you're not fluent in the ancient and beautiful language, here are two clues:

Zion Canyon

That wonderful word means straight-up land or straight canyon. You might use the words Zion National Park, the third most-visited National Park in the USA, to pinpoint my current location.

Believe me, I can attest to the number of humans who want to come here! That's why I'm leaving in a few hours, a day early, to go to the less-crowded Cedar Breaks National Monument. Let's see how my East Coast body performs at 10,500 feet above sea level!

Lenox Saw Blade Factory Tour

A week before I left for vacation, I toured the Lenox Saw Blade factory just east of downtown Springfield, MA. It was an amazing experience.

Lenox wanted to share the news about two new jigsaw blades they've spent lots of time and money developing. One's for metal and one's for cutting wood.

The Lenox engineers did two side-by-side demonstrations with the blades against the top Bosch blades. The results were unbelievable. I recorded videos of the demonstrations.

I created a total of three videos, a column about the experience and a special page at my website that contains a once-in-a-lifetime offer for you.

Lenox is going to be giving you one or two FREE jigsaw blades.

As soon as they create the page at their website you can visit to get the FREE blade(s), then I'll share it with you. The link to the secret Lenox page will be at the TOP of the page at my website where you'll also be able to see the THREE videos, my column and lots of photos of the factory.

Why is this such big news?

I can tell you I've rarely ever had a company make such an offer to the public. You'll absolutely want to fill out the form to get one, or more, of the blades.

You can use them or give them to someone you know who can benefit from the blades. They'll make great Christmas stocking stuffers!

Kwikset SmartKey Technology

One Key to Rule Them All!

If you're a J.R.R. Tolkien fan, then you get that.

How would you like to have one key to unlock ALL of the door and other locks at your home? Imagine if you could re-key the locks yourself without having an expensive locksmith come to your home!

How would you like to see a DELUXE stainless-steel tool chest that has the same locks as my front door?

WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!

Connecting Old to New

How do you connect an old foundation to a new one?

CLICK HERE to discover the magic of how to ensure the new foundation stays put!

Magic Blacktop Crack Filler Secrets!

Can you see the crack in the photo below? Would you have known it was there had I not pointed it out? Doesn't it look better than any crack repair you've ever done?

CLICK HERE to see how to do it!

That's enough for a Saturday. Dawn is breaking here at Mukuntuweap.

I'll be back home late Wednesday and will have a link to MANY great photos of my trip out West for you.

Let's hope I survive the thin air today at Cedar Breaks National Monument!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Magic Powder Man - www.StainSolver.com
Radio Waves of Happiness - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

25th Ask the Builder Anniversary

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Tim Carter

bi-directional wood grain insulated steel garage door

25th AsktheBuilder Anniversary

October 2, 2018 is the 25th anniversary of my Ask the Builder syndicated newspaper column. I’m very proud of surviving this long as a writer and publisher and thought I’d share some of the good and the bad I’ve seen since that morning I waited outside in the dark for the newspaper carrier to hand me my copy of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Look at that mug shot! You'd think I'd be happy, but that's the photo the Cincinnati Enquirer wanted. I finally got my editor, Ann Haas, to accept a smiling photo of me in a flannel shirt! Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

It’s funny, but it doesn’t seem that long ago that I made the transition from a full-time custom home builder and remodeler to writer then publisher. I’m often asked by readers like you and subscribers to my newsletter how I made the successful transition.

The simple answer is I took failure off the table. I was determined to make this new career blossom because I knew that if I continued to work with my hands, back and knees, as I loved to do, I’d be crippled or fully disabled by now. As it turns out, I’m still building, but using electrons instead of concrete, wood, and steel.

I’ve seen many good things happen over the past twenty-five years with respect to building products and I’ve seed disturbing trends emerge with respect to product longevity and the quality produced by tradespeople who build your new home, add that room addition, or install a new roof.

One thing I’ve discovered is it sometimes pays to wait before you buy a brand new product that hits the marketplace. An example is composite decking. I’ll never forget when the first composite decking product made its debut. Homeowners swooned over it. However, it took nearly twenty years for the composite deck industry to finally figure out how to make a fantastic product that will last and looks great.

I witnessed the painful growing pains of low-flush toilets. Government regulations forced manufacturers to create toilets that used far less water than ones that had worked so well for decades and decades. Most of the new toilets wouldn’t flush right. It took years for some engineers in the industry to finally figure out how to get less than two gallons of water to create a powerful flush.

Technology has also overtaken the home building and remodeling industry like an army of steamrollers. Some argue for the better, and some like my wife, despise it. I constantly test new products around my own home and Kathy hates the recessed LED light over our kitchen island that has a speaker in it. The speaker can play music from my smartphone via Bluetooth radio waves. Kathy feels the speaker is also snooping in our conversations.

She also wishes she could take a hammer to my doorbell and floodlight. I can see and hear what’s happening around my home from anywhere in the world with these devices so long as they’re connected to the Internet. Kathy hates that I can spy on her as she walks around the yard enjoying her flowers and plants.

I’m upset at the alarming and growing trend of lower quality with some building products. Hybridized framing lumber engineered to grow faster has vast amounts of less-dense spring wood growth in it. This makes the lumber more susceptible to rot, bowing, and twisting.

Fiber cement siding, a product that’s been around for over one-hundred years, has wood fiber in it now instead of waterproof fibers. Old fiber cement sided houses look as good as the day they were built, while my newer fiber cement siding is crumbling. Why the manufacturers don’t incorporate inexpensive fiberglass fibers like we do in concrete baffles me.

These fiber cement siding panels could be eighty, or more, years old. They're on an old house in Meredith, NH. When installed there was no need to paint them. For some reason, people decide to go down that road of no return. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter

The straw that broke the camel’s back at my house was asphalt shingles. My 30-year-warranty asphalt shingles started to go bad in just ten years and I had to replace them a few years later. I was so upset by this I wrote my Roofing Ripoff expose’ book that explains why your roof and mine are falling apart long before they should and most importantly how to avoid premature shingle failure. It’s my opinion that ethics seem to be in short supply, or missing, in the boardrooms of certain manufacturers.

Perhaps the most disturbing trend of all is workmanship quality. One could write a book on all the possible causes, but first and foremost is the removal of the incentive in high school for young people to choose a trade as a rewarding career path. That’s a grave mistake in my opinion, and you and millions of others are paying for it by dealing with more and more low-quality, uninspired workmanship that seems to be the new normal.

If I could wave a magic wand right now, I’d make two things happen. I’d bring back and expand all of the vocational school programs. Home building, as well as all trades, would be encouraged as a career in grade schools.

Young women and men would be encouraged to fill the ranks of every trade.

I’d also make ethics a mandatory course in high school, college, and a core topic at all business schools. The quest for higher and higher profits seems to put far too much pressure on the ethical aspects of business.

I want you to know that you’re responsible for the overall success of Ask the Builder. You continue to read my column and write letters to your paper editors sharing how I’ve helped you. You visit my website each day to find all of my past columns and videos that are filled with money and time-saving tips. I say we keep on going for another twenty-five years! What say you? PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.

Column 1266

Lenox Saw Blade Factory Tour

Posted on September 16, 2018 by Tim Carter

"Watching all the blades being made in just hours, I marveled at the demand. If all those blades are not bought each day, they start to stack up somewhere!"

Lenox Saw Blade Factory Tour - What a Fantastic Place!

I was invited to do a spectacular factory tour where they make Lenox saw blades of all types. The tour was on September 13, 2018. The full story of my visit is below. Be sure to read it. In the October 5, 2018 AsktheBuilder Newsletter and Update, Tim featured these saw blades and how you could get a free blade.

I taped three videos while there, two of them side-by-side comparisons of the new jigsaw blades Lenox was debuting at the tour. The videos are all below.

Watching all the blades being made in just hours, I marveled at the demand. If all those blades are not bought each day, they start to stack up somewhere!

Watch this video of some of what I saw. Unfortunately, much of what I saw on the tour was so secret, they don't allow photos or video to be shot. But there's some great stuff in the following video to give you an idea of what it's like in a factory.

Here are some photos you may like:

When I checked in at the hotel, a very nice backpack was waiting for me. Look at all that was inside: polo shirt, t-shirt, hat, insulated mug, expensive pen and tablet with cover, fig & cherry coffee beans, snack bars, water, and drink can sleeves. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

Lenox timeline 1915 - 2004

Lenox timeline 1985 - 2014

This is the typical floor in much of the 13-acre factory. The wood blocks are 1 and 1/4-inch thick. They protect the saw blades from damage should they fall to the floor. The workers also appreciate it as it's easier to stand on than concrete. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

Full Factory Tour Story

Recently I was invited to tour the Lenox saw blade factory in Springfield, MA. As I drove home from the tour I decided you’d like to know what it’s like to be inside a plant where products come off the line stamped Made in the USA.

Factory tours are often coupled with a new product announcement. Manufacturers are excited to share the news about innovation and feel that if folks like me get to see how things are made that I’ll be more inclined to share the news. Factories, for any number of reasons, are often closed to the general public. This is your chance to experience what I was lucky to see.

Lenox employees have worked for the past two years improving the ubiquitous jigsaw blade. You may own a jigsaw that allows you to cut both straight and curved lines in wood, metal and some other materials. You may also be frustrated like me by blades that dull fast or snap off at the tang up where the blade connects to the saw.

You can kick your frustration to the curb because the new blades I saw solve these problems.

Many factories are filled with the noise of production. Machines can start up without notice, things that look harmless can burn you, and you need to have your head on a swivel to ensure you don’t get hurt. You’re required to wear earplugs, safety glasses and steel-toed boots or covers to protect you from harm.

My first impression of this factory was how big it was. I’m nearly certain they said that it covered 13 acres. The plant employs approximately seven hundred humans and quite a few precision robots that help produce saw blades of unparalleled quality.

I couldn’t help but notice the floor in many parts of the factory was made up of wood blocks that were cut ends of dimensional lumber. The wood was 1 and 1/4-inches thick. It protects saw blades that might somehow touch the floor. The wood is also easier to stand on all day.

It’s important to realize that great products are derived from the hard work of all in the factory including the engineering team that works in the research and development (R&D) department. I toured the R&D section and got to see all sorts of machines that test blades and evaluate blade materials and processes. Tests are run on competitors’ blades as well as the blades Lenox is developing.

The factory floor layout reminded me of a giant real-life child’s maze. There were yellow painted lines on the floors that created corridors of safety where one walked. Some were long, others ended in a work area. Intersections often had overhead LED light fixtures that functioned much like traffic lights you encounter when driving.

Giant racks of raw materials and semi-processed materials were everywhere. Large 3 and 4-foot diameter coils of metal that looked just like reels filled with colored ribbon were everywhere. These thin strips of metal would hours later be transformed into saw blades of all types and sizes. Machines milled stacks of saw blades at once. I couldn’t believe in one eight-hour shift how many blades might be produced!

Rows of heat-treating furnaces extended down below the factory floor. The reels of thin steel bake in these giant sealed chambers for hours on end. The heating and cooling process is very complex and needs to be done with great precision so the steel has a finished quality to hold an edge yet be supple enough so it doesn’t snap under normal use.

Another key point is this factory produces giant blades for industrial users all over the world. Those were being created in parts of the plant far away from where I was. I did get to see one of these giant blades cutting its way through a 12-inch-diameter piece of solid steel in a testing chamber. It was astonishing to see a thin blade saw through a giant piece of metal.

Most of the machines and layout I saw were secret and we were not allowed to take photographs or videos in many parts of the factory. Some machines are made by workers in the factory. The machinery and the way the machines work to make things is often more valuable than a patent that covers the finished product.

One of the new processes I got to see was a micro-peening method that treats the one small edge of a jigsaw blade tang end where the blade is inserted into the jigsaw. Small pieces of ceramic are blasted at the edges of lots of blades at one time. This helps make the steel blade far less susceptible to cracking under tension. When cracks develop at the tang, the blade snaps off and you and I often spew bad language from our mouths.

At the conclusion of the tour, I discovered that Lenox had a surprise gift for you. They want to give you one of these new blades for free. All you have to do is visit the following page of my website for the direct link. You’ll also see many more photos and videos I was allowed to shoot inside the factory. Go to: http://go.askthebuilder.com/lenoxtour

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