These are clear glass shower wall panels. This is my own bathroom and they're easy to keep clean. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
"The glass panels can't be trimmed in your home. They come in a specific size. Many panels come with a translucent gasket that can help fill a gap should the walls be slightly out of plumb."
Are Glass Shower Wall Panels Clean & Sleek?
Last year I installed some clear glass shower wall panels and door for my wife. As a result, she's loving our remodeled master bathroom. They are sleek and easy to clean.
The glass panels came as a kit from American Standard. It's important to realize this glass is tempered and is safe. If it breaks, which is very hard to do, it shatters into tiny pieces instead of body-slicing shards the size of swords!
The first thing to remember is the glass panels come in many different patterns and styles. You can get translucent panels so light comes in and you shower in privacy.
Are Glass Shower Walls Easy To Clean?
Glass shower walls are very easy to clean. Just get the right glass.
You may not want glass thinking it's hard to keep clean. Here are the steps to overcome that fear:
Purchase smooth glass, not that with grooves or depressions
Squeegee off water from the glass before exiting the shower
Dry glass in seconds with a microfiber towel
Consider a water softener to prevent hard-water stains
The chrome bracket keeps the top of the glass panel stable so the door doesn't droop. It's important that solid wood is behind the acrylic panel where the bracket screws are found. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Do you Need Glass Panel Brackets?
The glass panels need to be stable so they don't flex and fall. Special L-brackets are used along the walls for this. Pivoting bracket arms are used at the top of the panels to prevent them from moving back and forth.
The brackets also keep the heavy glass shower door panel from drooping.
Do the Glass Shower Walls Need To Be Plumb?
A point often overlooked is the importance of the walls being plumb and the shower base being level.
The glass panels can't be trimmed in your home. They come in a specific size.
Many panels come with a translucent gasket that can help fill a gap should the walls be slightly out of plumb.
Here's a front view of my glass shower walls. I love the glass panels. Note the squeegee hanging from the one wall inside the shower. We use it after each shower to get most of the water off the glass. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Here's the bathroom privacy window film in my home. These windows face my neighbor's house. Look out the top center window. You can imagine the show they'd get standing on their driveway getting into that pickup truck! Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Bathroom Privacy Window Film - Many Styles
I installed bathroom privacy window film for my wife in the past year. As a result, she's happy as a clam!
Many years ago older homes all had actual pressed privacy glass. The actual glass had tiny patterns in it that obscured your vision through the glass.
The glass allowed all the light to pass into the bathroom, but you couldn't see what was in the room if you were outside.
Bathroom window privacy film allows you to transform clear glass in any room in less than an hour. You can have all sorts of light pass into the room, but no one outside who peers through the film can see what's going on!
Privacy Film Comes in Colors, Patterns - Even Stained Glass
I love how the plastic privacy films come in different colors, patterns and degrees of translucency.
My wife decided she wanted a pattern that resembled etched glass.
Here's a closeup shot of my window film. You can see the etched-glass appearance. It was very easy to install this film. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
It's important to realize the films are available in many different colors in case you want to create a mood with your glass.
You may want the windows to cast a blue tone in the room. That might be a very relaxing color.
Aquatic scenes are even possible, but the trouble with these are the scene needs to match the size of your window pane.
Window Film Video
Watch this interesting video to see how a mom cuts up some window film to make a french door fairly private. She skipped a few very important steps, but you'll get the idea:
This is one of HUNDREDS of patterns / styles / colors of bathroom window privacy film. CLICK THE PHOTO NOW to see them and have them delivered to your door in days.
Conclusion - Privacy Window Films Are Fantastic
All things considered, I think you can agree that the privacy window films are gorgeous.
You can transform clear glass to one that's got a stunning film in minutes. The best part is if you don't like the window film you can peel it off and install a new pattern!
An asphalt shingle roof will last for many decades if you install copper roof strips up on the ridge and down any hips.
Tim Carter was the first person in the world to discover that copper ions washing off a copper strip prevent asphalt from oxidizing.
Oxygen that bonds to asphalt up on your roof causes the asphalt molecules to cross link. Too much cross linking causes shingles to:
loose the colored ceramic granules
curl
delaminate
become brittle
Copper Strip Evidence Photo
Look at how the 8-foot-wide strip of asphalt shingles look nearly perfect. The other shingles on either side have lost their granules and are curled as can be. The copper ions washing off the cupola roof STOP the oxidation of the asphalt. When asphalt oxidizes, the molecules cross link and become brittle.
Defective Asphalt Shingle Book - Roofing Ripoff
This is the cover of my Roofing Ripoff book. CLICK THE IMAGE NOW TO ORDER IT.
Tim Carter published this book in 2017. The book explains why you need copper roof strips. CLICK HERE to order it.
The book highlights how asphalt shingle roofs all across the USA are failing in as little as eight years.
Decades ago, asphalt shingle roofs used to last 30, or more, years.
Tim Carter sent direct questions to the asphalt shingle manufactures about these defects and none would provide answers to the pointed questions.
If you install copper strips like this on your ridge and hips the roof algae and moss will disappear if you get periodic rain.
The mad rush is on. Christmas is less than three weeks away.
You may celebrate some other holiday this time of year and if so, I hope it's grand.
We celebrate Christmas at the Carter house. Mother Nature's got about 18 days to bring us some serious snow so it's a nice white Christmas with the snow blobs on the tall evergreens here at the house!
New Columns Project
It's a long story, but you're the beneficiary. Eleven months ago, I started to revise all of my old columns.
It's an enormous project. There are well over 4,000 columns at my website for you to immerse yourself in.
It's come to my attention that it's BETTER to create new shorter columns that are far easier for you to consume. Ones that have lots of nice colorful photos!!!
That's the new focus and I need your HELP.
Can you do me two big favors each time you see links in this newsletter to new columns?
Click through and scan the column looking at the photos and scanning the text
What you think of the new format? I already know it's impossible to satisfy everyone.
It's my intention to create SERIES of these shorter columns to completely cover a topic. Instead of one LONG column, there might be three or four short ones.
Stain Solver Update
It's very easy to get lost in the Fog of Complacency.
You start to think everyone knows what you know and forget that you don't know what THEY know!
That's what makes the world a wonderful place because you know so many things others don't know.
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
Fiber Cement Siding Panels Are Man-Made Rock
Fiber cement siding panels are excellent materials to cover the exterior of a home. There are thousands and thousands of homes and businesses that have this magic siding on their exterior walls.
The panels are so weather resistant for many many years special ones were made as roofing shingles! The panels used to be made with:
Portland cement
fine silica sand
asbestos
It's important to realize all three of those ingredients are rock or derivatives of rock and water causes no harm to any of them.
Modern fiber cement siding panels contain wood fiber in place of the asbestos. Wood fibers in fiber cement siding absorb water. A point often overlooked is this water can freeze and expand in cold climates.
The red piece of siding is made with fiber cement that contains wood fibers. It was installed too close to a porch deck, got wet, absorbed water and delaminated. If this siding had contained asbestos or fiberglass instead of wood fiber, the damage would have never happened. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Another key point is fiberglass strands have been used for decades to reinforce concrete slabs. It's an inexpensive building material and it's waterproof.
It would be easy to substitute small fiberglass strands in modern fiber cement siding panels. The new cement siding would then last as long as the original product that contained asbestos.
At the present time my opinion is wood fiber is used as a form of planned obsolescence. If pieces of siding go bad, then you need to buy new to replace it.
Old Fiber Cement Siding On Historic Buildings
You can find durable fiber cement siding on tens of thousands of buildings in the USA. There are no less than ten buildings within a one-mile radius of Meredith, NH where I live.
This is an historic house in Meredith, NH that is covered with original fiber cement panels. They are in excellent shape except for a few places where the siding has been bumped. This house was probably built in the late 1800s and covered with the fiber cement in the 1920s or 1930s. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
You can find hundreds and hundreds of old historic homes in just one day if you walk around an old East-Coast city!
Repairing Old Fiber Cement Siding Video
Watch this quick video to see how to replace a piece of older fiber cement siding. It's not hard to do.
These stone steps are on Rockland Place in Montrose, CA. The stones come out of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains each time there's a heavy rain. These treads would be horrible in a climate that gets snow. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Stone Step Treads Tough and Colorful
Stone step treads are strong, long-lasting and gorgeous depending on the stone material you use. I've got a set of stone steps at my own home here in central New Hampshire.
It's important to realize I love stone as a building material. Not only do certain stones look gorgeous, but they're also the strongest material you can use.
Fine-grained granite that contains a high percentage of quartz can last thousands of years with no measurable wear! All of the Wonders of the World have one thing in common. They're all made from stone.
Paving brick, slate, limestone and basalt are all very good stones to use for step treads.
This is the top surface of a fine-grained granite step tread. The white crystals are quartz. This step can withstand centuries of freezing weather with little wear. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
These stone step treads work well in southern California where it never snows. Don't use uneven stones like this for your step treads if you have to shovel snow! Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
A point often overlooked is the design of the tread. The first thing to remember is the climate.
Cold climates where there is ice and snow require treads that are flat and easy to shovel snow. The bumpy treads in the photo above would be a poor design choice for outdoor stair treads.
It must be remembered that step treads need to have a slight pitch to them so water never ponds on the tread. Water must flow across each tread and eventually end up at the bottom of the set of steps.
Ponding water can lead to slips and falls on steps.
Here's a single granite stone step at my own home at my front porch. It's got a 10-inch tread. You can stack these pieces of granite like Legos to make long sets of steps. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
10 Inches is Ideal Tread Size
Another key point is the size of the stone step tread. A depth of 10 inches is best. In this case you'd have a 7.5-inch riser.
As an illustration many years ago the national building code for steps said this about tread and riser sizing:
"The sum of two risers and one tread shall be no less than 24 inches and no greater than 26 inches."
This wording allowed for an infinite number of tread / riser combinations if you remember your grade school math.
However, the sweet spot between those two code numbers is 25 inches.
Two 7.5-inch risers and one 10-inch tread equal 25 inches. I can tell you from years of building stone, brick and wood steps this tread and riser combination is the safest and most comfortable to go up and down.
Strong Portland Cement
Another key point is to use Portland cement to lock the stones together. Do NOT use bricklayer's mortar mix. The strongest mixture for stone steps is:
This is the best gutter guard I've ever tested. A stainless steel micro mesh prevents any pine needles from getting into the gutter. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Gutter guards for pine needles are available and they work. I have them on my own home.
The best gutter guards are ones that have a fine micro mesh covering. This mesh stops pine needles of every variety.
For one thing, I've been using a micro mesh gutter guard on my past two homes for over ten years. Not one pine needle has entered my gutters.
Most gutter guards have large holes, slits or other openings that get clogged with small tree debris and the needles. Watch this video to see how ineffective the poor-performing gutter guards are.
It's important to realize a gutter guard should be installed so the top surface is sloped. The slanted surface of the gutter guard allows gravity, wind and rain to clear needles and debris off the gutter guard.
You may have to lower your gutters to be sure the front lip of your gutter is in the same plane of the roofing material.
Here's a quick cross section showing how the gutter guard - in green - is in the same plane as the roofing material. The drawing is not to scale. I used to make drawings like this sitting at customers' kitchen tables. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Gutter Guards That #FAIL
Many gutter guards failed in the testing I conducted over the years. I placed small pieces of paper on gutter guard displays at home and garden shows. The paper represented small pieces of leaves, needles and bits of bark. The flowing water carried the pieces of paper into the gutter or clogged the gutter guard.
Watch the following videos. They demonstrate why it's so important to have a micro mesh guard and why the guard needs to be in the same plane as the roofing material.
This giant apartment building in Newport, NH is covered with Inselbric panels. It's possible they were installed before 1940. This wall faces south and the sun has damaged some of the surface. But the other three sides of the building look brand new! Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Inselbric Asphalt Panel Siding
Inselbric is a discontinued siding product. You can no longer buy it.It was made in a similar manner as today's asphalt shingles. Click to see pictures of a house in Cincinnati, OH, that has withstood the test of time.
The product name is often misspelled. A few other common misspellings are:
Insulbrick
Inselbrick
Insulbric
It's important to realize this fascinating product still protects tens of thousands of homes, sheds, barns and business all over the USA and possibly Canada.
It must be remembered it first came to market in October of 1931 and soon dominated the marketplace because it was easy to install, attractive, and was truly maintenance-free. Gone were the days of scraping peeling alkyd paint from wood siding.
Here's the official US Patent and Trademark Office record of the Inselbric trademark.
For this reason, homeowners and businessmen bought millions of square feet of this magic material.
This asphalt siding is an ingenious product. It's about 1/2-inch thick wood fiber panels with interlocking male and female grooves an tongues.
Here's a closeup shot of the side of an Inselbric panel. You can see it's about 1/2-inch thick. Note the asphalt and ceramic granules. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Another key point is it goes together exactly like traditional hardwood flooring interlocks. This interlock feature stopped wind-driven rain from harming the structure.
A point often overlooked is the wood fibers were saturated with hot asphalt and colored mineral granules were carefully placed on the panels. This asphalt made it waterproof.
Using lost technology it could be made to look like brick, stone or even wood.
Inselbric Styles and Types
There were five primary styles:
3D-INSELUM
INSELSTONE
INSELSYDE
INSELBRIC
INSELWOOD
By far the most popular was the INSELBRIC and INSELSTONE.
Aluminum Siding Kicked It To The Curb
Most building products have their day in the sun. Sunset for this magic siding product happened in the 1960s. Aluminum siding took the marketplace by storm and the returning veterans from WWII didn't want their new houses covered with the material they grew up with.
The demand for all the Insel products dropped off quickly and it was all over.
I wish I could go back in time to see how they distributed the colored ceramic granules as they made the INSELSTONE panels. The 3D effect created by the shadow lines is unbelievable.
Here's an advertisement for Inselbric from a May 1954 edition of LIFE magazine. The product was pushed aside in the 1960s by the insane aluminum siding craze. Inselbric had a great 30-year run. Copyright LIFE magazine - Fair Use Doctrine usage
This is a detached one-car garage covered with INSELSTONE. There's a good chance this material was put on in the 1930s based on its location on Parade Road in Laconia, NH. The material up away from the splatter zone is in brand new condition. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
This is a close up of the INSELSTONE on the Parade Road garage. Pay attention to the striking detail that create shadows as if the panel is 3D. Wouldn't you love to see the manufacturing process that so carefully scattered the colored ceramic granules? I know I would. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Here's some of the magic material on a tired home in Meredith, NH on Dow Road. This is a unique photo because the small entryway is covered in the brick pattern yet the main house is covered with a different asphalt siding product. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
Here's my own Trex Transcend deck. There's lots of railing. It didn't take long to understand how to do it with professional results. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
I completed a somewhat complex Trex Transcend railing installation the summer of 2016. This railing system is well engineered and a pleasure to work with. This column was SO GOOD that I shared with the 31,000 subscribers who read my June 21, 2020 newsletter.
Trex Transcend Railing Installation - #WOOT!
It's important to note the Trex Railing Installation manual is a great document. To begin with, you need to read it cover to cover.
I'm just going to share some extra tips here that made my installation go faster. I'm also going to share a few things I wish I would have done differently.
I used the post sleeves that are engineered to slide down over 4x4 posts. The pre-cut railings are made for 8-foot-on-center and 6-foot-on-center spacing.
For this reason I laid out most of my deck posts for the 8-foot spacing. If I could do this over, I would have put them at 95 and 1/2-inch or even 95-inch spacing.
On the negative side, you'll have difficulty getting perfect fits of the railing sections if your posts are even slightly out of plumb. A point often overlooked is if the 4x4s have the slightest amount of twist. The 96-inch center-to-center post spacing will have you cursing for sure.
Another key point is be sure the 4x4 posts you use are carefully selected. To avoid warping and twisting, only use posts that have been cut from the center of the tree. You want to see the sapling core in the center of the post for ultimate long-term stability.
My precut post sleeves were 40 inches tall. It's a perfect height.
I installed my rough 4x4 posts so they were 40 inches above the treated floor joists. This created a 1-inch dead space on top of the post after the sleeve was installed.
You can see the dead space on top of the 4x4 post. You'll be glad it's there if you're putting in post caps that have the soft low-voltage lights. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
As a result this dead space was perfect to house the extra low-voltage wire tail that comes with the lighted post caps.
The post sleeves have friction ribs on the inside so they fit snug on a 4x4. I wish I would have taken the time to create a 1/4 x 1/4-inch routed recess groove on the post for the low-voltage cable to fit inside.
Instead I just put the cable near one of the corners to completely avoid the friction ribs.
Cutting Railings - Go Sloooooooow
The railings seem to be made from fiberglass. This gives them great strength. The Vintage Lantern brown color is some sort of coating on top of the fiberglass.
The red arrows point to small chips in the dark brown coating on the railings. Cut slowly to avoid this. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
I noticed chips on some of the cut edges. These happened because I cut too fast.
Code Compliant Stair Railings
The building code is a dynamic document. It changes every three years.
You need to be very precise with your post placement on stairs for the railing height to meet the code minimum.
This placement, in my opinion, conflicts with the BEST place to put the posts for maximum strength and stability.
I put my stair railing posts on the inside corner of the rough stair stringer and riser. Recessed through bolts through the stringer lock the post in place.
This concrete driveway is in good shape albeit the cracks. The owners are debating whether to redo it with concrete or match the paver sidewalk. (C) Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
DEAR TIM:We'd like to replace our driveway. My wife and are debating whether to replace the concrete driveway with another concrete driveway or a concrete paver driveway. I've concerns about the concrete pavers heaving and moving about due to the winter weather in central Ohio.
I also think shoveling the snow on a paver driveway could be frustrating given the number of spaces between pavers. We’ve talked to local contractors and received different opinions. Some say pavers are a problematic choice for our climate. Others say the pitch of our driveway makes concrete a poor option.
What’s your advice to get a great long-lasting job no matter which choice we make? Scott J., Westerville, OH
Concrete Drive vs Pavers Half Truths
DEAR SCOTT: I’m not a betting man, but let me guess. The concrete paver contractor said that the pitch of your driveway would make poured concrete fail. The poured concrete contractor said that pavers are problematic even though he walked across your concrete paver sidewalk to your front door. Am I close?
It’s hard to make an informed choice when you’re doled out biased information, isn’t it? Your simple driveway decision reminds me of a meeting I attended years ago. It’s relevant and I feel you’ll enjoy it.
I was elected as a councilman in my small village fifteen years ago. Three other new members were swept into office one of them a brilliant attorney I became friends with. He was an expert litigator and somehow we began discussing a situation at a committee meeting.
“A half truth is a whole lie,” he said at one point. That simple statement hit me like a bucket of ice water. The contractors you’re talking to are telling you half truths. I’ve done expert witness work for over fifteen years in construction lawsuits and have been sworn in countless times. When you take an oath before a deposition or in a courtroom there’s a reason you swear to “ ... tell the truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth.”
For this reason let’s talk about the whole truth concerning poured concrete vs concrete pavers when used as a driveway. It’s important to realize both systems are relying on Portland cement. That’s a good thing. Portland cement is the glue that holds together the sand and gravel in the poured concrete and the concrete pavers. I’ve walked across concrete sidewalks and driveways in Cincinnati, Ohio that look fantastic after seventy, or more, years of exposure to the elements
Another key point is the concrete pavers are made in a controlled environment where they gain maximum strength. Poured concrete ordered from a ready mix plant might not have enough cement in the mix because the contractor wants to save money.
Easy To Ruin Poured Concrete
A point often overlooked is poured concrete can be ruined not only as it’s being installed, but also after the contractor drives away. He may add water to the mix as he’s finishing it and he may not apply a curing compound to slow or stop the evaporation of water from the mix.
The surface of the existing concrete is not that bad. There are some pop outs, but this drive might last another 30 years! (C) Copyright 2017 Tim Carter
In other words, if you decide to install poured concrete, you need to make sure the contractor knows exactly how to order, place, finish and cure it. If you want a super-strong poured driveway I’d order it with a 5,000 pound-per-square-inch (PSI) compressive strength. This exceeds the minimum standard of 4,000 PSI.
Be sure the slump is no more than 5 inches, don’t allow any water to be added at the job site and apply a curing compound after the concrete is finished. I’d also pour the slab 6 inches thick and have 1/2-inch reinforcing steel in the slab 2 feet on center both directions. Before the pour the steel would look like an empty sheet of graph paper.
Concrete Paver Must-Do List
Concrete pavers can be installed with ease and will not be a problem at all with your cold weather. The most compelling evidence is your front sidewalk. The photo you sent me shows it’s made with concrete pavers and they look in excellent shape. They’re smooth from what I can tell.
On the negative side precast concrete paving bricks fade over time. The ultra-thin coating of colored cement paste wears off exposing the true gray and white color of the sand and stone used to make the pavers. Many homeowners are distressed when this happens.
Compacted Gravel Base Is Key
The key to a smooth strong driveway made with concrete pavers is the compacted gravel base under the pavers. Not only does the soil beneath the drive need to be solid and compacted, but the crushed gravel under the pavers also needs to be well compacted. The gravel is what prevents the pavers from sinking when concentrated loads are placed on the driveway.
Shoveling snow from the driveway will never be an issue if the pavers are installed according to all the written guidelines produced by the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute.
Given these points I’d also reach out to the Portland Cement Association. They’re the touchstone for trustworthy information about how concrete driveways should be installed that can last for well over seventy years.
Column 1224
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