How to Lightning Surge Protection

Posted on by Tim Carter

The final line of defense, a battery backup surge protector will keep your electronics safe from damaging power surges. CLICK THE IMAGE to keep your data safe.

Lightning Surge Protection TIPS

  • 50,000 F and 30,000 amps - normal lightning bolt
  • Small induced voltage surges FRY sensitive circuit components on electronics
  • Grounding systems in most homes are inferior
  • Unplug all electronic devices for best protection during storms
  • CLICK HERE to Get Tim's FREE & FUNNY Newsletter!

DEAR TIM: My neighbor's house was struck by lightning. Fortunately, it did not cause a fire. However, the lightning apparently ruined their computer, phone answering machine, and many other electronic devices.

Why didn't their house catch on fire and what, if anything, can be done to prevent my electronic devices from being destroyed? P. F.

DEAR P. F.: Your neighbor was very lucky.

50,000 F - That's HOT

Lightning strikes generate temperatures close to 50,000 degrees F. The most likely reason a fire did not start was due to the fact that the duration of the strike lasted only a few thousandths of a second.

This type of lightning strike is commonly referred to as a "cold bolt." It is also possible that they have an excellent exterior lightning protection system in place.

30,000 Amps

The average lightning bolt has about 30,000 amps of current. To put that into perspective, your electric double oven may draw a whopping 40 amps when it's on as well as all burners are on high. One robust and tall thunderstorm cell can have 100,000,000 volts of potential.

The voltage potential of a lightning bolt varies because of any number of variables including, but not limited to, diameter of the bolt, humidity, dust and other impurities in the air, etc.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians who can protect your home from lightning surges.

Small Current Surges FRY Electronics

Electronic devices such as computers, VCR's, televisions, modems, etc. can be ruined or "short circuited" by relatively small current surges. Because lightning can produce enormous voltage surges, special measures should be undertaken in an attempt to protect this equipment.

Lightning can create havoc in your home even if it does not strike the house directly. The lightning can strike a power line that feeds your house. Telephone lines and power lines can experience voltage surges simply from the electromagnetic energy created by a nearby direct strike.

Best Protection

If you want to protect your important electronic devices like:

  • computers
  • modems
  • routers
  • expensive flat-screen TVs
  • laptops
  • any other valuable plugged-in item

then UNPLUG them from the wall before and DURING a violent thunderstorm. I do this in my own home and I know it's saved my equipment and days of being without equipment while I settle with my insurance company and go out shopping for new stuff.

Be SURE TO UNPLUG your cable TV cable from your TV and modem too! Lightning surges travel down these lines too.

Excellent Grounding

The first line of defense is to have an excellent grounding system with respect to all electrical outlets. The reason is simple.

The voltage surge in the power lines will, in many cases, quickly "bleed off" to the grounding system.

Ground wires need to be large and connected to multiple ground rods driven into a wet clay soil.

This is especially true if the grounding system has a very low resistance. This low resistance means that the electricity will travel extremely rapidly through it into the ground or soil surrounding your home.

The Art and Science of Lightning Protection book cover

Learn how you can protect your home from damage caused by lightning. This book provides plenty of diagrams and photographs to easily understand the topic. CLICK THE IMAGE to get the book now.

Soil Type Means Everything

However, different types of soil have varying capabilities to dissipate electricity quickly. Generally, moist sticky clay soils tend to dissipate electricity rapidly.

Sandy, or rocky soils often dissipate this energy more slowly. Soil types can vary greatly in short distances, so you must be sure of the type you have.

If you live in an area with very little or no soil, you have to install specialized grounding systems.

Grounding Rods & Wires Typically Inferior

Most houses have only one grounding rod attached to their electrical system. The ability of your electrical grounding system to quickly dissipate voltage surges increases dramatically if you install numerous grounding rods.

These rods should be spaced at least ten feet from one another in a series. The solid copper wire connecting these rods should be continuous and welded to these rods if at all possible. A mechanical connection, such as a clamp, is the weak link in a grounding system.

Secondary Sacrificial Arresters

A secondary line of defense is to install a secondary lightning arrester inside of your electrical panel. Some of these arresters can withstand 15,000 amp surges. These products capture voltage surges on the "hot" 120 volt power lines feeding your house.

aPC surge protector

The simplest way to protect your electronics from damage. CLICK THE IMAGE to get a new Surge Protector.

Pro Installation Required

These surges are then directed to the grounding system we just spoke of. These items should not be installed by an amateur, due to the fact that you are working with dangerous house current when installing these devices.

Surge Protectors - Not All Equal

The final line of defense consists of transient voltage surge protection devices. These are the most common surge protectors on the market.

They're available at electric supply houses and stores that sell electronic devices. There are many different varieties of this type of device.


Some even protect telephone lines and electrical outlets at the same time. Remember, all three systems must be employed in order to provide the highest level of protection to your sensitive electronic devices.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians who can protect your home from surges.

Column 021

Find the Best Contractor Video 4 of 4

Posted on by Tim Carter

Avoid Change Orders

Tim Carter, founder of AsktheBuilder.com, shares tips about change orders in this last video of a four-part series.

Change orders are Death on a Stick.

Change orders delay jobs.

Change orders mean your plans were HORRIBLE.

Change orders lead to big arguments.

Tim shares how to AVOID change orders in this video.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from contractors who will help you avoid change orders.

Find the Best Contractor Video 3 of 4

Posted on by Tim Carter

Paying Contractors

Tim Carter, founder of AsktheBuilder.com, discusses MONEY in video number three of a four-part series about finding the best contractor.

Money is the only leverage you have in a job.

You only want to pay for completed work that's done right.

If you pay too much money up front, you can get RIPPED OFF.

A contractor only deserves money up front in RARE OCCASIONS. Can you guess what they are?

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local contractors who will agree to your terms about sweet moola.

Find the Best Contractor Video 2 of 4

Posted on by Tim Carter

Contract & Specifications

This is video number two of a four-part series.

CLICK or TAP HERE for the FIRST video.

CLICK or TAP HERE for video #3.

CLICK or TAP HERE for video #4.

In this video Tim discusses the importance of the contract.

In a perfect world, and it happened only once during Tim's building career, you should be able to hand a contractor a set of plans, specifications and a CONTRACT and not have to talk to him ever again.

In other words, everything the contractor needs to know to complete the job is included in all three of those documents.

If you have great plans and specifications, the contract can be very very simple.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local professional contractors who will NOT BE OFFENDED if you ask to put everything in WRITING in the contract.

If a contractor RESISTS putting things in the contract, it's a WARNING that you are dealing with a possible crook.

Find the Best Contractor Video 1 of 4

Posted on by Tim Carter

Finding the best contractor

This is video number one of a four-part series.

CLICK or TAP HERE for video #2.

CLICK or TAP HERE for video #3.

CLICK or TAP HERE for video #4.

Tim Carter, founder of AsktheBuilder.com and national award-winning builder, discusses how easy it is to locate the true professionals in your town.

Do you need to know who is the best Bar Harbor builder?

This video was shot before the advent of the online contractor-homeowner matching services, but it's relevant because you'll use this system to DOUBLE CHECK to make sure you're about to hire the pro.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE after watching the video to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local contractors.

After you get the bids, then visit the local businesses as Tim does to VERIFY the contractors giving you the bids are the best ones.

Modifying a Load Bearing Wall

Posted on by Tim Carter
load bearing wall

This is a load bearing wall with a large opening and a door.

Modifying a Load Bearing Wall TIPS

I remember the first load bearing wall I modified. I was in my early twenties and had never done it before. It was in a massive old home in Clifton, an inner-city suburb in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I was working as a sub-contractor for a remodeling company and knew just enough to be extremely dangerous. Fast forward . . . The house didn't collapse and in fact the enlarged opening I created has not sagged to this day. But I must tell you I had lots of luck that day. All sorts of things could have gone wrong.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from structural engineers in your city or town.

Knowing the Loads

Creating archways or openings in bearing walls can almost always be accomplished. It simply becomes a matter of where the loads are going to be concentrated. A typical bearing wall tends to transmit a fairly equal amount of load down to the floor below via the wall studs.

If you decide to create a large opening in the wall, then the loads above the opening must be shifted to the sides of the opening using a properly sized beam. Will a double 2 x 6 be enough? How about a single 2 x 12?

IMPORTANT TIP: The truth is, only experienced carpenters who have successfully installed beams, or structural engineers who are trained to size and specify beams, should make the call. Do not try to conjure up your mystic powers and guess.

They can only do this by visiting your home. During this visit the expert will perform an inspection to look for hidden CONCENTRATED loads above the wall.

Do NOT trust advice from other home improvement websites that have little, or no, information at their About Page as to who's giving the advice.

The cost to hire a registered residential structural engineer is well worth it. Often this person will even draw a small plan showing you how to build the temporary supporting wall.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from structural engineers in your city or town who can size the correct beam and tell you how to support it.

Bearing Wall Removal Video

Temporary Support

If you want to install a beam in an existing bearing wall, there are all sorts of tricks and methods. If it is an interior wall, there is a cool way to install a beam without building any temporary support walls.

You need to have access to both sides of the wall into which the beam is going to be placed. All that you do is simply install half of the beam at a time. You make 1.5 inch deep notches at the top of one side of the wall and slide the beam into this recess. Add the king studs at each end of the beam that run from top plate to bottom plate. You then add the jack studs next to the king studs.

These framing members actually support the load from the beam. If the rough opening of the new beam is 72 inches or less, you generally only need one jack stud at each end. Once all of this is in place and the jack studs are solidly supported from beneath, you can take out the remaining old notched wall studs as the weight of the wall will be carried by the one half of the beam that is secure and in place.

Be sure to have the second half of the beam already cut and ready to slide in place!

Hiding a Beam

Let's say you want to remove a wall in between two rooms but you want the ceiling to be smooth just like in the two rooms. You don't want a beam hanging down a foot where the wall used to be.

You can install the beam up in the same space as the floor joists and just use joist hangers to connect the floor joists to the new beam.

This will only work if the beam height is sufficient to support the weight that's being transferred to it.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from structural engineers in your city or town.

When You Need One

Often you can't do the cool trick I described. Perhaps you are working on an outside wall and want to salvage the wall finish on the exterior side of the new beam. You need to build a temporary wall 3 feet back from the existing bearing wall.

But stop! Before you start to build the wall, you must build the beam and lay it on the floor next to the existing wall. Why? Many a rookie carpenter has built the temporary wall, created the hole in the existing wall only to find out they can't get the beam threaded into the narrow space between the old and temporary walls!

The temporary support wall needs to have a top and bottom plate, and the studs of this wall need to fall as closely as possible under and above the floor and ceiling joists. The studs are cut tight so they have to be tapped in place. I simply add a few toe nails that just penetrate partially into the top and bottom plates. Be careful about ruining finished floors and ceilings!

Masonry Walls

Don't even think about creating an opening in a masonry wall without help from a professional. Masonry walls are very heavy. The weight from steel roof members and floor loads can be enormous.

Often you need to install needles in a masonry block wall to carry the load while you work to install the beam. A structural engineer may also design a temporary beam that bolts to the course(s) of masonry that are just above where the new beam will be installed. You install this temporary beam first, support it well making sure the supports are on solid bearing, then you create your opening.

Remember, always make sure the new beam is in place, it's the correct size and you can easily lift and thread it into place BEFORE you create the opening in the wall. You want to be able to place the new beam with no, or minimal, delay.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from structural engineers in your city or town.

Column B397

Remove a Broken Bulb

Posted on by Tim Carter

light socket brass tab

Remove a Broken Light Bulb TIPS

Lori Ohaco, who lives in stormy Lincoln, Nebraska, has a challenge.

A light bulb broke in an outdoor fixture and she needs to, well how about she tell you:

"I have an outdoor yard light with 40-watt bulb in it. It has started blowing bulbs every two days.

Some of the glass got broken in a storm. How do I clean out the light socket without killing myself?

I don't know which fuse shuts off the power to this light."

Turn Off The Switch

For starters, you want to turn off the switch that operates this outdoor light. If this light is operated by a 3 or 4-way switch that's problematic because the orientation of the switch - up or down - tells you nothing.

Turn Off All Power

Lori, the safest way to do this is to turn off all the power to your home. There should be a huge master breaker at the top of your electrical panel.

Some homes have the main disconnect in another part of the house or garage. My main disconnect is in my garage on the other side of the wall from the outdoor electrical meter, while my electrical panels are in my basement.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE right now to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians if you terrified of getting ZAPPED doing any of this.

Needle-Nose Pliers

You then have to use a needle-nose pliers to remove the aluminum bulb socket from the lamp base. Watch the following video to see what the aluminum threaded base looks like on a bulb. You'll see me point to it at 1:07 in this video:

You may have to break some glass with the pliers and then bend the aluminum bulb base a little bit to get a good purchase on the base with the plier tips.

Needle-Nose Pliers

Here are the pliers I'd use for this job:

These are fantastic needle nose pliers. I own this exact one. They're also amazing wire strippers too. Well worth the price. CLICK HERE TO HAVE THESE PLIERS DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME IN DAYS.

Pull Up Brass Tab

Once you have the bulb base out of the socket, you need to pull up the brass tab at the base of the socket. (Shown in the photo at the beginning of this column.)

If the brass tab gets depressed by screwing in the bulb too tightly, it can lead to arcing that eats a hole in the bottom of the bulb. This could be why you're burning through so many bulbs.

Once you have all this work done and a new bulb in the socket, turn back on the electricity, locate the fuse or circuit breaker to this outdoor lamp and LABEL it.

CLICK HERE right now to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians if you terrified of getting ZAPPED doing any of this.

Portable Electric Generators 101

Posted on by Tim Carter
electric generator

This easy-to-carry electric generator can get you out of a bind in a power outage or make a camping trip or picnic more enjoyable. CLICK THIS PHOTO TO HAVE THIS GREAT GENERATOR DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME NOW. Copyright 2017 - Tim Carter

Portable Electric Generator TIPS

DEAR TIM: I've had it with power outages here at my home and I've decided to get an electric generator. I've got several complicating issues.

For starters, my budget is tight. Second, I want this generator to be multi-purpose and take it on family picnics and camping trips.

The generator needs to be quiet. What are my options? Can I satisfy all of my wishes and have clean power that won't hurt my sensitive electronic devices?

What can you tell me about these small generators? Kathleen K., Boulder, CO

DEAR KATHLEEN: I've got great news for you.

Small Generators = Big Benefits

You can get a new portable generator that will satisfy all your requirements! What's more, if you lug in multiple bags of groceries on a routine basis, I believe you'll be able to carry one of the generators a short distance with moderate effort on your part.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians that can put in the proper sized generator for your emergency!

Tiny Computer Chips

As with many things, advancements in technology and micro computers have allowed electric generator manufacturers to produce small generators that produce stable and clean alternating current using an inverter inside the machine. Most new portable generators have an onboard computer that converts the direct current from the generator to a very stable alternating current that will not harm your sensitive electronics and appliances.

My Own Testing

I know this for a fact because in the past two weeks I tested two different portable generators using a sophisticated oscilloscope to measure the quality of the electricity being produced by the generators. Guess what?

Both machines created a more perfect sine wave on the scope than the electricity coming into my home from my local utility!

Size Matters

Here's the scoop on the portable generators. Size does matter.

The bigger the generator, and all it's combined parts, the more power it can produce. If you want portability, meaning a generator you can carry like a five-gallon pail of drywall compound, then you sacrifice total power output.

Hand-Carry = 2,000 Watts

The generators I tested weigh about the same as a pail of drywall compound and produce 2000 watts of power. That may seem like a lot of power, but it's not when you think about the giant standby generator I have next to my garage.

This automatic standby generator comes on automatically if the power fails at my house and will produce 17,000 watts. You can purchase generators that produce far more power than that if you desire. My standby generator weighs hundreds and hundreds of pounds. It's the size of an outside air-conditioning unit.

Large Standby Generator Video

Watch a video about my standby generator.

Tight Budget Means Small Power

Since your budget is tight, you'll probably be able to get one of the 2,000-watt machines. Even though it's power output is not the highest, you can still power many things with it. For example, here's the running wattage of some common tools or appliances:

  • cell phone battery charger - 25 watts
  • furnace fan blower - 700 watts
  • electric crock pot - 240 watts
  • video game device - 40 watts
  • refrigerator - 550 watts
  • water well pump - 575 watts

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians that can put in the proper sized generator for your emergency!

Auto Adjust Fuel Rate

What I love about the new portable generators is how they automatically adjust the gasoline motor speed in relationship to the power being requested by the devices you have connected. If the generator senses little need for power, then the gasoline motor runs at a lower speed using less fuel and making less noise.

Quite Quiet

The new generators are also very quiet, even when running at full speed. When you take them on a camping trip or a picnic, you'll not have to scream to be heard in a conversation.

Start-Up Power Draw

The issue with small generators is what's called startup power. Certain appliances and tools have a very high starting wattage.

You may have seen this in your home on occasion when a refrigerator, washing machine or air conditioner turns on. The lights in your house may momentarily dim when the electric motors in these things draw lots of power to start spinning.

A portable generator putting out only 2,000 watts can't handle the start-up demand of many things, so you'll have to check into that to see what you can and can't power when your house power goes off.

Frequent Monitoring & Feeding

You'll discover you can use a portable generator at your home in a power outage, but you'll be busy. You'll only be able to power a few things at a time, so you'll be switching out extension cords as you produce your own rolling brown outs within your home.

The portable generators, by default, have smaller fuel tanks so if you have an extended power outage, you'll be refueling on a more frequent basis.

Follow all safety guidelines when refueling a generator and NEVER EVER operate a portable generator indoors, in a garage, near an open window, etc. The carbon monoxide produced by the gasoline engines can and will kill you. Be CAREFUL and read all safety instructions.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians that can put in the proper sized generator for your emergency!

Column 1050

Backup Battery For Home

Posted on by Tim Carter

Backup Battery For Home TIPS

  • Standby generators create power for days if you keep them fueled
  • Massive amounts of batteries required to deliver tens of thousands of kilowatts per hour
  • Battery production is messy and causes pollution
  • Batteries can be enormously expensive
  • CLICK HERE to Get Tim's FREE & FUNNY Newsletter!

Malcom's Assault

Malcom O'Dell, who lives in the land of rainbows and unicorns in Washington, DC, came to my website, saw a column I wrote about portable electric generators - and possibly one about standby generators - and proceeded to take me to the woodshed to bust my chops. Read for yourself:

"Why do you recommend environmentally unfriendly electric generators when for no more money homeowners can buy battery back-up systems that--like the ubiquitous computer UPS backup--instantly restores power with no delay, and can keep basic systems going for hours, even days?

Our family has used these systems in our homes and even large offices for years in developing countries where power goes down routinely. They are simple, cost-effective, and cost no more than a generator.. and they eliminate all the noise and toxic fume pollution of generators.

The batteries charge with a simple trickle charger when power is available from the lines and can be supplemented, for even more environmentally performance, by solar panels.  And, with a sizable array of solar panels, the homeowner or office can become substantially or even completely off the grid, never dependent on failing public power utilities.

Time for Tim, Ask the Builder, to look at modern environmentally friendly technology.. and address climate change at the same time.

Can do?"

Home Runs At The Pit

Malcom's soapbox statement reminded me of when I used to play softball with my buddies back in the late 1960's. We played at "The Pit" - the playground behind Clifton School in Cincinnati, OH. I routinely hit pitches over the fence out onto McAlpin Avenue.

Malcom, you just served up a juicy ball that's I'm going to turn into a frozen rope.

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local contractors that will install a standby generator like mine. Demand that you get a Kohler one.

Solar Power Is The Answer

The first thing I want to say is I'm in complete agreement with Malcom about the promise of solar. I think the future is extracting clean energy using photovoltaic (PV) panels.

There's going to be some yet-to-be-discovered technology advancement that will cause PV panels to become mainstream. Right now, the average person simply can't make the numbers work to get a payback in a short amount of time.

PV Degradation

The other issue with PV panels is the active photons in sunlight destroy the current panels at a slow rate. Hopefully some future affordable technology will address this issue.

As the panels degrade, they put out less electricity.

Residential Generators

Malcom, the portable generators I wrote about cost less than $1,000 in 2014. The standby generators average about $10,000 installed.

Standby Generator Video

Here's a video showing you the fantastic and reliable Kohler standby generator at my own home.

Massive Batteries For Normal Power

Where in the world can you get a battery backup system that will deliver electricity to a home for " ... hours, even days." as you said for $10,000 or LESS? I'm not talking about a few hundred watts of electricity for hours or days. I'm talking about 2,000 or even 5,000 watts of clean power per hour for hours and hours and hours.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local contractors that will install a standby generator like mine. Demand that you get a Kohler one.

Source of USA Electricity

Malcom, are you aware how the power that comes through the lines and enters the batteries' trickle charger is made?

Most commercial power in the USA is made with FOSSIL FUELS. I believe that's your complaint with regular generators - that they use "Unfriendly" environmental liquids.

My guess is you use them - as many of us do - each day when you drive to work, the grocery store, etc.

Possibly More Efficient

Now granted, the massive power plants are probably more efficient at producing a kilowatt of electricity per Btu of fossil fuel than the portable or standby generators, but then there's that pesky voltage loss over the power lines that extend from the power plants to your home and office.

Toxic Mining Tailings

Oh, don't forget the mine tailings from all the mines in the third-world countries where the elements are clawed from the Earth to make the magical batteries you so love. My guess is all the rivers in the area of the mines are poisoned with heavy metals that leach from the mine tailings.

Air Pollution From Smelting!

I almost forgot the air pollution from the smelting process! Once the rocks have been mined for the batteries, they have to be smelted - melted - to extract the lithium, nickel, cadmium, etc.

I doubt those smelters in those third-world countries have all the scrubbers on them that are mandated by our EPA. I guess Mother Nature removes all the pollution out of the air via rain before they'd ever float over us here in the USA.

Time To Help Others

I'm sure I've forgotten something or other major points, but I need to scoot to answer other questions from other AsktheBuilder.com visitors.

If you want to continue the discussion, feel free to do it in the comments below.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local contractors that will install a standby generator like mine. Demand that you get a Kohler one.

Connect Wires Light Fixture Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

What Happens if You Wire a Light Fixture WRONG!

Did you discover something in this video that prevented you from getting ELECTROCUTED? How about buying me a mocha-chip ice cream cone as a favor?

Tim Carter demonstrates how to connect wires to a simple light fixture. Tim received an email on this video FIVE years after it first was published. Read the latest in the September 2, 2019 AsktheBuilder Newsletter. The first mention of this column was in the September 19, 2014 AsktheBuilder Weekend Warrior.

Brass Screw = HOT Wire

Simple light fixtures that you find in basements and garages usually have different colored screws where you attach the wires.

You want to put the HOT black wire on the brass screw and the neutral white wire on the silver screw.

If you do it backwards, you'll energize the threads inside the socket and if you touch the threads on the bulb as you screw it in, you could get ZAPPED!

Silver Screw = White Neutral Wire

Put the white neutral wire on the silver screw.

Ground Wire = Green Screw

Put the bare ground wire on the green screw. If no green screw, attach it to the box if it's metal. If it's a plastic box, just tuck it back into the box away from the fixture screws to prevent a short.

Free & Fast Bids

Get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians if you're TERRIFIED of getting electrocuted. It can happen.

Fixtures With Wire Leads

If you have a light fixture that has short wires that are part of it, connect them this way:

  • Black to black
  • White to white
  • Green to bare copper ground wire

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local electricians if you're TERRIFIED of getting electrocuted. It can happen.