January 5, 2016 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Tim Carter

Happy New Year!

I feel 2016 is going to be a banner year. I say this because of a major epiphany I had about my Defective Shingles book over the Christmas break.

If things go as I feel they might, this book is going to be the pinnacle of my entire working career.

Why is that?

I discovered something two days after Christmas that will provide complete relief for you, and millions of other homeowners, if you have just installed asphalt shingles that are doomed to fail in just a short amount of time.

What I discovered will allow you to double, maybe triple, the life of your new, or newer, asphalt shingle roof.

I also have news for you if you're going to install a new roof soon. VERY GOOD NEWS!

If all goes well, the book should be ready in about a month. Wait until you see the photographs in the book. Oh my!

Bogus Internet Advice

I want you to be aware that some of the stuff you see on other websites - ones that have to do with home improvement and ones that have a random tip about your home - may be giving you very BAD or SUSPECT advice.

I can't remember now where I saw the link, but I've had a tab open in my browser now for about a week. I saved it for you.

It was a tip that said, "Don't Skip this Winterizing Task".

It talked about making sure you clean your gutters twice a year. Here's one line from the webpage and video:

"Clogged gutter systems overflow with rainwater and can damage the foundation of your home, costing you thousands in repairs."

There was NOTHING in the tip or on the webpage explaining exactly how overflowing gutters can damage a foundation.

Let's apply facts to this statement.

Here in New England and I know it to be the case in the Southeast, many houses do NOT have gutters. The soil is sandy. Snow and ice can rip gutters off houses in heavy snow areas.

Water pours off roofs like it might from a clogged gutter all the time. We don't have damaged foundations here in New England from this.

The same is true in the Southeast and they often have houses with shallow slab foundations!

In the Midwest, the soil is normally a heavy clay. Water just runs off and has a tough time penetrating the dense clay.

What's the water going to do? Is splashing water on the ground going to erode the poured concrete or concrete block? Maybe in a thousand years or so!

Is the water going to erode the soil to the point that the footer under your foundation wall is undermined? Don't you feel you might do something is you started to see a 4-foot-deep hole caused by rainwater cascading from the roof?

Is a clogged gutter one or two times going to cause your foundation to crack? How? Normal rain falling from the sky is going to wet the soil next to the foundation.

Do you see what I'm trying to do?

I'm trying to get you to THINK when you're presented with a statement. Don't assume it's TRUE. Ask for the proof.

Here's an example.

Let's say I state:

"Water leaks around a chimney flashing can cost you thousands in repairs."

But I go on to say this:

"The water will cause the wood framing and the wood roof sheathing to rot. If the rot advances too far, the damaged roof framing can buckle and collapse. The water will cause mold to grow in your attic which costs lots of money to clean up. You might get sick from the mold and have large medical bills. The water, should it make it indoors, can ruin the drywall and any flooring it gets on."

The point is, connect all the dots and make sure they make sense when you see a statement!

MYSTERY LINK! You use vinegar to cook with, right? Guess what I use it for!

Wood Rot DVD

Speaking of wood rot, did you know there's a MIRACLE product to restore rotten wood?

If the wood's not too far gone you don't have to rip it out. You can STABILIZE and RESTORE the wood!

I created a series of videos showing the product and how to use it!

It's an AMAZING wood-restoration product!

I've decided to put the DVD on sale for just this week.

It's normally $30 - because it truly can save you HUNDREDS of dollars.

But for the next week, it's only $22.50 with FREE SHIPPING to any US Postal Address.

You SAVE $7.50 plus the normal shipping cost.

This is a DVD I burn myself and I've decided to personally autograph each one. Maybe it will become a collectors item after my shingle book comes out!

Who knows, I might become famous!

Remember, this DVD is on sale for only the NEXT week.

I've only got a LIMITED supply of autographed copies on hand.

CLICK HERE NOW to get a copy.

It's a great gift idea, I GUARANTEE you that you'll discover something new and you'll be able to SAVE something made from wood instead of having to replace it.

Little Buddy Space Heater Review

I tested an amazing little heater over the past two weeks. It's the Little Buddy.

I've used it both outdoors while doing ham radio and I've used it indoors in my man cave and while I package small bottles of Stain Solver in my garage.

It's a catalytic heater that runs on propane. It starts up on it's own by pressing a button. If it tips over or falls over, it immediately shuts off.

It has an oxygen-depletion sensor. I didn't notice any odor when using it.

It REALLY puts out the heat and is perfect if you need a TEMPORARY heat source for some task or you need to take the chill off a space.

Let's say you need to work on your car outdoors or in a cold garage and need to warm your hands. The Little Buddy will take care of you.

It attaches to a standard one-pound propane tank.

To save lots of money, you can buy an adapter that allows you to REFILL the one-pound containers from the larger 20-pound container you probably use for your outdoor grill.

CLICK HERE to purchase the Little Buddy!

New Column for You

Here's an interesting column about metal roofing over a patio area.

My guess is you'll discover something new for sure.

Metal Roof Installation

That's enough for today.

GET that Wood Rot DVD now! Don't put it off.

Remember, I can only sign so many as I've got other stuff to do this week like FINISH the Defective Shingles book!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Porch Settling Repair

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: We’re having a problem with the front porch on our home that’s forty-four years old. The outside corner of the poured concrete porch is curving up lifting the post that’s supporting the roof. There’s no tree or roots that could be to blame. The brickwork under the porch that connects back to the house looks fine with no cracks. Gravity should be pulling the concrete down, not going up in the air. Every contractor we have talked with is clueless. What is going on? How did this happen? How could it have been prevented and how do we repair it? Sami B., Toledo, OH

DEAR SAMI: I’m sorry you’re having this problem and it’s a shame you can’t locate a knowledgeable contractor to tell you what’s going on. I was able to determine the cause of your problem in seconds after looking at the excellent photo you provided.

You have to look very closely at this photo for the clue as to what’s happening with this porch slab. Photo Credit: Sami Boraby

You’re so right about gravity’s pull, and that’s exactly what’s in play here. What you didn’t think to add to it is what you discovered in high school physics class about a simple first class lever. These are just like a teeter-totter you see in a play ground that kids go up and down on.

Your front porch slab probably has some reinforcing steel bars in it and this monolithic slab is acting as a giant lever. The low brick wall under the slab is the fulcrum. Gravity is the load that’s causing the slab to move up under the roof-support post.

I was able to tell all of this looking at the photo. You can see clearly that the back of the slab where it touched the front wall of the house has dropped. The edge of the slab is no longer parallel with the brick mortar joint and you can see small amounts of concrete from the slab that got splashed up onto the brick all those years ago when the house was built.

In a nutshell, the ground under the concrete porch has settled. My guess is if we had x-ray vision, we’d see that the builder just put some of the soil that was dug out of the ground to install the foundation back under the porch. The trouble with this practice is that the soil gets fluffed up when you dig it. The digging action introduces all sorts of air into the soil and it’s volume increases.

It’s not easy to compact soil. There are special machines that can be used to do it and on a small scale it’s labor intensive. It’s very common for sub-standard builders to cut corners like this.

It could have been prevented in several ways. I don’t have the luxury of unlimited space here to discuss all of them. Self-compacting fill could have been used, but the builder has to buy this. Rounded pea gravel is a great example of this product. Concrete block piers could have been extended up from the house footer to support the slab. Poured concrete haunches could have been incorporated into the house foundation to support the slab.

You have several options available to you with respect to fixing the problem. I say this assuming you have a specialty contractor in your city that offers one of the options.

The most expensive solution is to tear out the concrete porch and start over. But this method guarantees that the porch slab will never drop a fraction of an inch. If you do this, you have several options how the new slab will be held in place.

You can dig down to the house foundation footer and extend 8-inch-diameter concrete or concrete block piers up to where the bottom of the new slab would be. If you do this every four feet on center, you’ll have created legs that the new slab will rest upon. This is not much different than how your dining room table stays floating in mid air.

You can also carefully remove every other brick under the row of brick that would start at the top of the new slab. The concrete flows into the void were each brick used to be. At this location you also have a 5/8-inch steel bar that extends back into the void and out to the other side of the porch slab where it crosses the low brick wall. This steel rod needs to be surrounded with the new concrete and prevents the new concrete slab from falling again under the influence of gravity.

You also create a mat of reinforcing steel within the slab with the steel rods parallel with the house 2 feet on center as they march towards the low brick wall under the porch-support posts.

The concrete slab should be no less than 5 inches thick and be no less than 4,000-pounds-per-square-inch strength. Be sure you put compacted fill on top of all the dirt that has settled under the new slab. Before adding the fill, water the dry dirt for a few days to encourage further settlement before adding the new fill.

Your other option, and this may be cheaper but there’s no guarantee the slab will stay in place, is to find a company that can lift the existing slab back into its original position. This work has been done for years in large industrial settings and at airports where concrete slabs settle like yours for any number of reasons.

These companies drill 2-inch-diameter holes into the slab back near the wall of your home. A slurry of Portland cement and fine sand is injected under significant pressure under the slab. As more and more slurry is pumped under the slab, as if by magic, the concrete slab starts to lift and float back into it’s original position. Once the slab is in place, the slurry under it hardens and all is well.

The only problem is that if the fill under the slurry continues to settle, then the slab starts to drop once again. So you have to ask yourself a question channeling my best Clint Eastwood impersonation: Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?

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December 29, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Tim Carter

Did you have a delightful Christmas celebration?

We did here at the Carter house.

This Christmas was the year of coffee at the Carter house!

If you're a newer subscriber, back about two months ago I asked for help locating parts to make a fancy drip coffee maker for my youngest daughter Kelly.

She works full time at a deluxe coffee shop in Laconia, NH called Wayfarer. She's loving it and is getting ready to become a certified barista.

With your help, and that of my wife and son, we were able to source parts that allowed me to make one. It wasn't exactly like what Kelly had seen in a magazine, but she loves it. Here it is:

I made the round loops that hold the glass funnels using standard 1/4-inch soft copper that you might use to pipe water to a refrigerator ice maker or a furnace humidifier.

The center brass fitting with the thumbscrew is a lamp part as is the tall brass rod and the round brass flange on top of the marble.

Kelly gave me my own personal single-cup coffee brewer machine and I LOVE IT!

Kathy got Kelly a coffee bean roaster, so now we have the absolute freshest coffee in the house. The aroma of the roasted beans is intoxicating.

I want to THANK YOU for helping with this project. I was stunned by the offers of help. One of my subscribers owns a machine shop and offered to make a part or two if I got into a bind.

How blessed am I to have you as a subscriber! Your generosity is one way to help make the world a better place, that's for sure.

Today we finally got real winter weather for the first time here in central New Hampshire where I live. As I type this, I'm looking out my man-cave window down at five inches of new pure-white snow.

But I want you to see what I was doing the day after Christmas. Had you been here with me, we could have had a picnic lunch!!!!

CLICK HERE to see some amazing photos.

One More Favor - Are You a Chemist?

I need another favor and this is pretty important.

Are you a PhD physical chemist? Or do you have a darn good grasp of physical chemistry and whether or not other ions can take the place of oxygen in an oxidation reaction?

Sounds complicated doesn't it? This is all about my upcoming Defective Shingles book project that's MUCH BIGGER than I ever thought it would be.

Wait until you see what I've discovered in the past three weeks. Here's the best part about the book. It appears I've stumbled across a solution for you to help you EXTEND the life of your FAILING asphalt singles.

The solution is SIMPLE and not too expensive.

Also, if you're thinking of replacing your roof soon, STOP.

Do NOT do the job until you read my book. I've discovered the silver bullet when it comes to roofing material and the GOOD NEWS is you can afford it.

If all goes well, the book should be available within 30 days, so hang tight.

Anyway, if you're a chemist and can help me, I'd LOVE to call you ASAP. Please reply to this email and let me know if I can call you today / tonight or anytime soon.

Epic Flooding in the UK

I received a comment on one of my columns overnight from Linda who lives in the Yorkshire region of the UK. She got flooded out of a basement apartment.

I feel it's VERY IMPORTANT for you to read the column and then read my response to her frustrated comment. She was looking for someone to blame about her misfortune.

If you're a seasoned subscriber, you know where this is going, don't you?

CLICK HERE NOW so you don't become a victim like Linda. Remember, READ the column first, then her comment and my reply.

Repair Concrete Slab Expansion Joints

Jeff, from Simi Valley, CA reached out to me the day after Christmas. He needs to repair an unsightly crack between his patio and his house.

My guess is you might have a similar situation at your home where you want to disguise a crack in concrete.

Here's the crack at Jeff's house:

CLICK HERE to read my answer to Jeff.

In the column, I reveal two things:

the correct sealant or caulk to use
a SECRET method to disguise the repair!

CLICK HERE now and you'll see why you continue to be a subscriber to this newsletter.

Once again, in the column I give you the DIRECT LINK to purchase a SPECIAL CAULK you need to do the job right. Click the link just above and read the column.

Support this Newsletter

A month before Christmas, you may have been the subscriber that said, "Tim, please put a link in each newsletter for your Amazon affiliate link. We NEED TO BE REMINDED to help support you."

Thanks! PLEASE CLICK HERE if you're going to shop at Amazon.com for anything. When you buy, I get a tiny commission. It doesn't cause your price to go up.

The small commissions add up and HELP me to continue to produce this FREE newsletter.

Thanks!

MYSTERY LINK! I'm pretty certain you'll discover something new here!

That's enough for today.

Happy New Year! 2016 is going to be the best yet!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Patio Slab Crack Repair

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Tim Carter

The unsightly gap to the right of the sliding screen door is supposed to be there. Photo Credit: Jeff Hileman

Patio Slab Crack Repair

DEAR TIM: I spent some time at your AsktheBuilder.com website but couldn’t locate the exact video that answers my question. There’s a wide ugly gap between my concrete outdoor patio slab and the slab my house is built on. I’m trying to determine whether to caulk the crack or fill it with some cement-based patching compound. There’s a lip on the patio that’s raised up. My guess is the concrete mix was soupy and the installers didn’t take the time to finish the slab correctly. Should I use a grinder to knock that down? How would you deal with this set of problems? Jeff H., Simi Valley, CA

DEAR JEFF: Thanks Jeff for checking out my videos! I’ve got hundreds there about lots of topics. I sat down one day and made a list of all the videos I’d love to tape. I discovered in a short amount of time that I could tape all day everyday until I die and not get five percent of the videos finished that need to be done. There are simply so many aspects of home building and maintenance that need to be covered in great detail with video.

I do have two videos at the website that got very close to answering your questions, so let’s start there. But before we do, let’s discuss the gap you’re wanting to fill and why it’s important that you do this job right.

In the building world, many of us call that gap an expansion joint. Concrete, like just about any other material, can expand and contract as the temperature goes up and down. Since the patio can receive direct sunlight and get rather hot during the day when the summer sun bakes it and the slab your home sits on is shaded, the two pieces of concrete expand and contract at different rates. If you keep the interior of your home at the same temperature throughout the year, your house slab is quite stable and static with respect to size.

It’s important that the gap between the two slabs be filled with a material that can absorb this motion, as slight as it might be. For this reason, forget about filling the gap with a hard repair compound that’s cement based. You need to fill it with something that’s flexible.

When installing a new slab against an existing one, many concrete masons put expansion joint material between the two slabs. Asphalt-saturated fiberboard was the staple expansion joint material of choice for years.

What I’d do if I were you is to clean out the gap to a depth of about 3 inches. I’d then use the caulk that the pros use on institutional and commercial buildings. These are normally not found at home centers.

Look for a hybrid urethane sealant that incorporates silane and end-capped polymer technology. Do an online search and you’ll discover these in minutes. Or CLICK HERE to buy it now. They come in a variety of colors. Once they cure, they produce a tenacious bond with the two concrete slabs.

CLICK THIS IMAGE NOW to buy this caulk that's PERFECT for caulking concrete expansion joints.

It’s very important that you follow the directions to the letter when working with these caulks and sealants. I beg you to read the instructions on the label as well as any other printed literature that comes with the sealant.

You don’t fill the entire depth of the gap with the sealant or caulk. You’ll use a special foam backer rod that the sealant manufacturer recommends. Once again, use the exact backer rod that they say works best with their sealant. This ensures you’ll never have to do this repair again.

Getting the color to match is step one of making the gap look great. In two of my videos that you didn’t see I show a trick or two how to make cracks in blacktop and concrete disappear. It takes a little work, but it’s so worth it.

When I look at the photo of your patio slab that you sent me, I can clearly see some coarse sand particles in the concrete. You need to locate sand that’s got this same colored rock in it. Realize sand is just small tiny pieces of rock. Go to local sand suppliers and get a small bucket of sand that matches what you see in your slab.

I’d probably not grind off the high spot at the edge of the patio slab. I’d first try to use a wider cold chisel and knock off the highest points. This will make less dust and achieve the same goal.

Start filling the gap at the farthest corner where you don’t look so much at the gap. I want you to fill the gap as the sealant instructions say and only do about a foot of the gap. As soon as you get the sealant to the correct height, I want you to cover the caulk with a 1/8-inch layer of the dry sand. Carefully pat the sand into the caulk.

Stop working and allow the caulk or sealant to dry or cure. It could take 24 hours or more. Once you’re sure the sealant has hardened, then carefully brush off the excess sand and save it. Look to see if the joint is aesthetically pleasing. I can guarantee you it will look better than had you not put the sand onto the wet sealant. Adjust the amount of sand you apply to get the look you like.

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Metal Roof Installation

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I’m in the process of installing a metal roof over an outside deck. My rafters are in place and now I’m getting ready to purchase and install my flashing and sheathing. I was planning on putting plywood over the rafters and cross the rafters with a 2"x4" every 16" to secure the metal roof to. In reading online, it seems wise to install a vapor barrier over the plywood to prevent condensation from getting adsorbed into the plywood from the steel roof. But it seems the condensation will affect the 2x4" strapping. Am I on the right track here? Mitch P., Hood River, OR

DEAR MITCH: The super short answer to your questions often lies inside the written installation instructions that come with the metal roofing. You can sometimes locate these on the website of the manufacturer. While it would be nice if these instructions were the silver bullet answering all questions for all situations, I’ve often discovered that for many products the instructions are incomplete and lacking important details that can make or break a job.

The photo you sent was excellent. It really helps understand what you’re trying to accomplish. The biggest unknown, because you failed to mention it, is whether or not this roof is going to cover just the outdoor patio or is it going to be over a finished room that is now your outdoor patio. This makes a huge difference on how you might construct the roof.

This fancy framing will soon have a metal roof over it. The detailing of what goes under the metal roof is important. Photo Credit: Mitch Bender

This fancy framing will soon have a metal roof over it. The detailing of what goes under the metal roof is important. Photo Credit: Mitch Panzer

You’re correct that condensation can be a huge problem with metal roofing. Over the years, I’ve answered many an email from people that feel they have a roof leak, but the problem is traced to condensation forming on the underside of their metal roof. This liquid water eventually runs down the underside of the roof and finds its way inside the home.

When you install a metal roof over a finished living space in just about any place other than the Atacama Desert where it’s not rained for decades, water vapor can and will float up through the ceiling and find its way to the underside of the metal roof.

When the metal roof cools down at night and its temperature falls below the dew point of the air that’s contacting it, the water in the air turns to liquid. You see this happen on just about any warm day, or even inside your home in the winter, when you have a cold beverage glass or can sitting out. Within minutes, beads of water form on the cold vessel and begin to drip down to the table or countertop.

Most metal roof companies recommend installing felt paper on roof sheathing before you install the metal roofing. The asphalt in the felt paper is waterproof and does a great job of protecting the untreated wood roof sheathing. I’d not install plastic on the sheathing because it’s a vapor barrier.

If the temperature of the plastic drops below the dew point, then water can form on the underside of the plastic and cause the wood sheathing to rot. Felt paper, because of the way it overlaps, tends to be able to provide a pathway for water vapor to pass between the overlap joints. Giant sheets of plastic don’t offer this escape route.

If you’re just trying to cover the patio from sun and rain and the underside of this new roof will be open to the weather much like a cabana in the Caribbean, then I’d not be too concerned at all with condensation. Usually in these cases the condensation that forms on the roofing only happens on the top side and it drips off harmlessly to the ground just like any rain that hits the roofing.

My suggestion, since the roof is so small, is to just invest in treated 2x4 material. This way, no matter what happens, you don’t have to worry about the water rotting out the horizontal strapping.

Be sure you create a gap of at least one quarter inch in at least two places as you install the pieces of strapping on each row. I know you’ll be tempted to use one long 2x4 as you march up the roof since the roof is not that wide.

The trouble with this is where does any condensate flow should it get trapped on the uphill side of the 2x4? If the 2x4 is solid, it can only flow left or right and that could be very problematic where the roof is touching up against that one side wall I see in the photo.

I want to also caution you about what you read out on the Internet. Yes, my advice is there too, but I’ve walked the walk. Just today I received an email from a man who had read something online about the integrity of concrete. Suffice it to say the written passage he copied from the website and sent me was complete balderdash.

I suggest that when you land at a webpage that has home improvement advice, you immediately look for the About Us page. Go there first and read who is providing the information. If you can’t see a photo of the author and a list of her/his credentials where she/he can prove to you they worked in the homes of paying customers for over twenty years or more, then I’d be very skeptical of the information at that website.

Column 1123

December 18, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Tim Carter

Well, we're just a week away from Christmas.

Are you ready? If not click to these recent issues of the newsletter for some GREAT last-minute gift ideas that can be brought to your home, or the gift recipient, by Christmas morning!

The gift ideas are at the end of each issue.

CLICK HERE FIRST

CLICK HERE SECOND

If you're like me, you're running at a higher RPM right now with us closing in on the holiday.

I'm not going to waste great tips in this issue because your time is valuable.

But I've got two VERY IMPORTANT things to share that require your immediate attention.

Your Defective Shingles Book

I'm in the final days of completing a blockbuster book that's going to expose the shocking untold story most of the asphalt shingles manufacturers don't want you to know about your FAILING shingles?

What would you say if I told you that several major asphalt shingle manufacturers are refusing to answer additional questions I put to them?

Yes, they've erected the proverbial stonewall.

Would that get your attention?

I thought so.

Would it interest you that representatives of the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association are also continuing to refuse to answer my questions?

Yeah, I knew that would put you over the top.

Can you spell coverup, conspiracy, unethical and a few other choice words?

I've heard through a secret backchannel of mine that at least one top asphalt roofing management person is very concerned about my book.

I'm convinced the membership of the above association has seen an internal memo alerting all about what I'm up to and that cooperation with me might be akin to treason.

You're not going to believe what I reveal in the book. I can say without a doubt it's going to shake the entire home building, remodeling and repair/relpacement industry to the core.

How does this looming deadline of mine affect you?

I hope to have this book complete in less than five weeks.

If you take the time to send me great photos of your FAILING asphalt shingle roof AND fill out my Defective Shingles Survey, you're going to get a huge discount offer on the book.

This offer EXPIRES in just days because after that I won't be able to include your story in the book.

So you NEED TO ACT NOW.

If you decide not to fill out the survey, then you'll get a discount via this newsletter, but it won't be nearly as generous.

PLEASE TAKE a few great photos of your wretched shingles and CLICK HERE to send them to me.

I'll have some great new information for you after Christmas so enjoy the next week leading up to this magical day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours!

Remember, if you celebrate some other holiday this time of year, my festive greeting translates to you too.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Yard Drainage Solutions

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I’m building a new home and am quite concerned about possible flooding that could happen. I built on a hill and the land slopes towards my home. The builder didn’t put in much of a ditch at all and it seems like bad things could happen with a very bad storm or extended period of heavy rain. Please look at the photo and tell me what you think. How do you correct a problem like this? What would you do if you were me? Theresa P., White River Junction, VT

DEAR THERESA: Congratulations on your new home! I remember the excitement my customers would exude as I transformed their dreams into reality. But I don’t want any water to ruin your new home and your possessions, so we need to solve the problem I see in the photo you sent. What I see is nearly identical to what’s happening at a new home construction site in my own neighborhood!

My college degree was in geology and I had a particular interest in hydrogeology and geomorphology. Hydrogeology is the study of ground water and geomorphology is the study of surface features of our Earth. The knowledge I gained allowed me to build bone-dry homes for myself and every customer.

Storm water is going to rush down the hill on the right and overwhelm this home!. Photo Credit: Tim Carter

If you watch the local and national news shows, you’ll see from time to time video of water pouring down hillsides at homes. What you’re worried about is very real and the quantity of water depends on how much land is above you and if that water is aimed at your home because of the natural funnel shape of the land near your home.

Click here to order Tim's Streaming Video with the step-by-step procedure for installing a Linear French Drain and keeping your basement dry.

The first thing you might reference is the building code. However, realize that it’s a set of minimum standards. What that means is that if your home meets the building code it’s like getting seventy percent on a test. In other words, you passed by the skin of your teeth. In almost all cases it’s easy and not too much work to exceed code standards.

The last time I checked the building code said the ground surrounding a home must have 6 inches of vertical fall in the first 10 feet of horizontal distance away from the foundation. I can tell you that I see many homes that do not meet this and based on your photo I know for a fact yours doesn’t.

For an extreme example of how to handle water around your home, just look at the ditches you often see along country roads. The ditch might be 24 or 30 inches deep, often more. The drop off from the road shoulder can be steep. I’m not recommending you do this in your yard, but there’s surely a compromise.

What I always tried to do on the houses I built was to have the soil around the house come no closer than one foot from the top of the foundation. Then I’d slope the ground at least 1 foot down from the house in the first 10 feet of horizontal distance.

That might sound extreme to you, but believe it or not it’s a fairly gradual slope. Since you’ve not yet landscaped, now’s the time to get a small bulldozer in or an excavator to remove the soil to create the small swale in your yard.

This swale needs to have a slope in it so any water on the surface continue on around the house and flow to the lowest part of your lot where it would have flowed naturally before your home was built. Remember, it’s often illegal to divert water onto adjacent land that didn’t receive that amount of natural runoff before you built your home.

Often on my jobs, I’d install a hidden linear french drain in the bottom of the swale to capture underground water flowing through the soil. This water you can’t see can cause chronic seepage into basements and crawlspaces.

Once the yard is graded and you have this gentle channel that captures and redirects the water around your home, you put a narrow slit trench in the bottom of the swale. This trench only needs to be about 6 inches wide and usually 2 feet deep. The trench continues around the house and once the ground starts to slope away, the bottom of the trench gets shallower and shallower until it eventually breaks through to the surface.

I’d put a perforated drain pipe in this trench and fill the trench with washed gravel about the size of walnuts or pecans. You don’t want any sand in this gravel. The larger gravel allows water to flow rapidly down and into the perforated pipe. Once in the pipe, the water quickly goes around your home and exits in your yard where it won’t cause any harm to you or your possessions.

Remember to pipe all your roof water using solid 4-inch pipe to the lowest spot on your land. Don’t allow your builder to install useless splash blocks that just stop the dirt from eroding at the bottom of the downspout. If you allow all that roof water to just discharge around your home into your grass, you’ll add to the possibility of severe flooding in periods of heavy rain.

This column answers Linda's question with her flooded basement. This was in the December 29, 2015 Newsletter.

Column 1122

December 13, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Tim Carter

FAST REMINDER:

If you shop at Amazon.com, you can help support this FREE newsletter by using THIS LINK to start your shopping.

In years past, I've talked about WX. That's the acronym us Morse code operators use to say 'weather'. Weather and home improvement go hand in hand.

Did you know that Morse operators were the first modern-day people to use word shortcuts like "u" instead of "you" and "c" instead of "see" when sending messages via radio waves or telegraph wires?

And here you thought it was your kids while they texted! In fact, did you know Morse operators can send messages much faster than the best texters?

WATCH THIS VIDEO for proof.

Right now those of us on the East Coast of the USA are basking in above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. It's because of Mother Nature's decision to hang out with her buddy El Nino'.

This means that you have extra days to paint, pour concrete and do other exterior work that freezing WX might hinder.

The point I'm trying to make is two-fold:

1. As winter nears, don't dilly-dally around with tasks or products that could #FAIL if they don't cure before the temperature drops below 32 F.

2. READ all product labels or columns like mine that talk about temperature extremes and pay attention to them to get the best performance.

MYSTERY LINK: So you think you know everything about Concrete and Cold. Are you willing to make a bet? CLICK HERE to c how smart u r

Phone Help Success Stories

Speaking of electronics - cell phones - and home improvement here are the top two people I saved this week.

Mark is a spinal surgeon in NJ. He had me call him on the phone to verify if his blacktop driveway had been installed correctly.

He should have had me talk to him BEFORE the blacktop was installed, but I digress.

It was a WX issue! His contractor waited a little too long and the WX got cold down in NJ. Mark wanted my advice on what to do with an ugly seam the contractor created right at the circular drive parking spot by his front door.

Wesley is a rental property owner in VA. He had a pesky sewer-gas odor that he couldn't solve.

In less than 15 minutes I coached him through the process of what to do to find the leak saving him about $500 over what a plumber would charge.

That's pretty cool, wouldn't you say? Here's what BOTH Mark and Wesley said to me as soon as I said "Hello, this is Tim Carter calling."

"Tim, I want to THANK YOU for offering this unique service."

I'm not kidding, that's what they both said.

BTW (By the way), both Mark and Wesley could have found what I told them on my website for FREE, but they didn't want to spend the time hunting for it.

They both said their time was more valuable AND they wanted to be able to ask me questions.

If you get into a bind and need to talk with me, you can. Just CLICK HERE to see how easy it is.

Tankless Water Heater Question

A very very good friend of mine, Mike Collins, reached out to me last week. When I first got into the construction business, I used to buy brick from Mike's dad Paul Collins.

Mike wanted to know if it was a smart idea to put in a tankless water heater in the new home he's building.

Guess what? It's not an easy question to answer.

I was the first person on the Internet over seventeen years ago to go up against the slick marketing campaigns of the manufacturers trying to sell these appliances.

Back then, and still today, they ply their wares using Jedi mind tricks containing the magical words "Save MONEY and ENERGY".

You're smart, right? You tell me when you *really* start to save energy when you buy and use one.

If you want to know how I feel, CLICK HERE to read just one of a FEW columns I have about tankless water heaters and the REAL TRUTH about them.

CLICK HERE to read ALL of my columns about Tankless Water Heaters

More Gift Ideas

Here are some additional Christmas gift ideas for you:

My absolute FAVORITE pocket knife.

Everyone needs a small bottle of Stain Solver in their stocking!!! Buy a CASE of 12 to save BIG MONEY.

Here's the Coffee Mug I use each day to keep my coffee STEAMING HOT. It's awesome.

Here's the backup hard drives I use to store all my data. I LOVE these. Be SURE to get the right one if you're a Mac or PC person.

My FAVORITE kid's or grandkid's Book of all time.

ULTRA-Powerful Milwaukee Spot Light.

Everyone needs a Dremel tool with tons of accessories.

That's enough for today.

MERRY CHRISTMAS - just 12 days away!!!!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Morse Code vs Text Contest

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Tim Carter

The above is a classic test to see if Morse code operators can beat young kids texting.

Here's what you don't realize unless you're a Morse operator.

The guys sending Morse on Jay Leno's show were doing it probably at only 20 words per minute (WPM).

It's not unusual for good operators to be up at 30, 35 and even 40 WPM. Military operators who sent encrypted sets of five letters in a group routinely sent and received at 50 WPM.

Morse operators can be much much faster than texting.

Glue Pennies to Roof

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Tim Carter

Did you hear a myth or two here on the Internet that gluing pennies to the top of your roof will stop the black roof algae?

I've got bad news for you.

It doesn't work.

I do know what works, and works well.

Keep reading.

I want you to go now to these few pages here at my website and see how to STOP forever that ugly black algae staining.

CLICK HERE and watch this video to understand the magic of copper first and pay attention to how much copper.

After watching that video, I want you to read this column. I tell you in the column WHY using pennies doesn't work and exactly how much copper to use.

To clean your roof, you should use my Stain Solver oxygen bleach. It's Certified organic and will not hurt you, your roof, or the plants below.

WATCH this video to see how to use it.

Patio Slab Crack Repair

Expert Advice For Your Home