The Big Chill Movie Open
This might go down in history as perhaps the best opening four minutes of any movie. I remember thinking this when I first saw the movie.
Mortar Recipe Tip
Mortar Recipe Tip
Links to the colored pigments are included!
Mortar Recipe Colored Pigments | Here are just a few of the many many pigments available. You can blend different pigments to get different shades that you don't see here! Go Here TO DISCOVER How To Use them the Right Way.
1450
How to Build a Brick Patio - Detailed How-To Instructions
Go here to get the download how-to instructions to build a patio, sidewalk, or driveway using clay paving bricks.
How to Build a Patio Using Clay Paving Brick
How to Build a Patio Using Clay Paving Brick | This brick plaza has been in service for many decades in harsh New England weather. You can build one similar to this with my help! Copyright 2022 Tim Carter
How to Build a Patio - Use Clay Paving Brick for Best Results
There’s something soothing about brick patios and sidewalks if you ask me, my wife, and my dear mother-in-law who is no longer with us. I was introduced to the magic of brick paving before I married my wife. Back fifty years ago my future mother-in-law wanted a private patio built in her backyard using deep-red paving brick.
This patio was nestled under the shade of two giant maple trees that were up on a lawn supported by a small brick retaining wall her husband had built fifteen years earlier. The patio was the perfect size measuring 10 feet by 16 feet. A 30-inch-wide walkway made using the same brick connected the patio to the driveway apron.
This is the patio I built for my mother-in-law! Yes, it's just a small section. This photo was taken 45 years after I installed the brick. It still was in excellent condition except for the light coat of algae. That can be cleaned using certified organic Stain Solver oxygen bleach. NEVER use chlorine bleach as it will kill all nearby trees and vegetation.
The trouble was that her husband, a traditional general-practice medical doctor, was far too busy going back to medical school at age 55. Medical practice was compartmentalizing in the early 1970s and he knew he needed to be board certified in anesthesia to follow his passion. Thinking that I could help increase the odds of both saying “Yes” to me requesting their daughter’s hand in marriage, I volunteered to do build the patio and sidewalk. My future mother-in-law immediately took me up on the offer.
She had seen an article in a magazine with a photo of what she wanted. In the article, all it said was to install the brick over a bed of compacted sand with some Portland cement in it. That was the extent of my plans and specifications!
Use Hard Clay Paving Brick
My future mother-in-law went to a local brick supplier that had both new and recycled brick. She selected a recycled special paving brick meant to be placed horizontally in the ground. Not all bricks can handle this wear. The issue was there was still some mortar on the brick and I had to hand chisel it all off. The size of the bricks was perfect such that you could create a herringbone pattern. In other words, the brick measured exactly 4 inches wide by 8 inches long. They were 2 and 3/4-inches thick.
This is a close-up shot of the actual solid clay paving brick I used on my mother-in-law's patio. Note how the width of two of the brick equals the length of one brick. This relationship allows you to create all sorts of interesting patterns. She wanted this cross-hatched pattern.
I dug out all the soil, I got help from my future father-in-law one afternoon installing a string to ensure the edge of the walkway and patio would be in a straight line, and two weeks later the patio was finished. My future mother-in-law was beaming with happiness! That patio was still in exceptional shape forty-five years later! It would still be in use today but an investor purchased the house and ripped out the patio only to put in a dark-gray stamped-concrete patio in its place.
The Paving Brick Disaster Sidewalk
My second attempt at a brick paving job ended in disaster. My plan worked and my wish was granted to marry my high-school sweetheart. I was busy building my construction company. We bought a stunning old five-bedroom home and my darling wife wanted a curved brick sidewalk from the front porch to the driveway.
I could only work on it in the evenings and on weekends so I decided to take a shortcut. I simply dug a pathway about 6 inches deep, put some sand down, compacted it, and then laid on the sand a 1-inch-thick paving brick. It looked superb.
But I noticed that if you stepped on the edge brick they’d tilt and drift into the grass. Then the sugar ants took over. Each day I’d notice small mounds of sand the ants would bring to the surface as they built their underground nests. It was a nightmare and a complete and utter failure. My wife said to rip it out and do it right
I then did some research and discovered that you could build a brick patio or sidewalk that would not only last for many decades, but it would also remain perfectly smooth. My mother-in-law didn’t want the smooth look. She wanted her patio to have very slight undulations in the brick so it looked as if the patio and walkway had been in for 200 years. My new bride wanted a smooth look.
The Old Master Craftsman Mason's Secrets
Fortunately a year earlier I had a conversation with a retired master mason who shared with me how to get cement stucco to bond permanently to new concrete. He had built hundreds of stucco exterior stairs in his career. He told me his method was also the best way to bond brick to horizontal concrete.
To ensure my new front sidewalk would not fail, I removed all the brick pavers and salvaged them. I then dug out the sand and saved it too. I did have to sift it and clean it for use in my second attempt.
I then dug the pathway deeper so I could install a poured concrete pathway with 1/2-inch steel bars in it. The steel rods ensured the concrete would not crack and separate. I then mixed up cement mortar with hydrated lime added to the mix. The old mason told me to use cement paint as an extra adhesive to ensure the mortar would not separate from the concrete slab.
It worked so well, that I built a stunning patio in the back of this house with sloping terraced steps to get to it. I then did the same thing at my last new home constructing two huge patios. All of this work looks as good as the day I installed it and it’s decades-old!
This is the COVER for my step-by-step PDF download file that shares how to build your dream brick patio. It's got photos, illustrations, links to videos, links to top tools, etc. Satisfaction GUARANTEED!
Step-by-Step How-To Instructions with Illustrations & Videos
I’ve prepared detailed how-to instructions with illustrations and photos showing how to do the two time-tested brick installation methods. Included are all the secret recipes for the mortar, cement paint, videos, brick specifications, and lots of tips so you can create stunning brick sidewalks and patios. This instant-download PDF file guarantees professional results. Go here to get the best instructions on the Internet for building a clay paving brick patio, sidewalk, or driveway.
Column 1450
April 3, 2022 AsktheBuilder Newsletter
Issue #1176 (I think...)
Are you a new subscriber? If so, what a treat for your first issue.
There's a good chance this is the most unique newsletter I've ever penned in the 25+ years of producing them. It's one that I'll print out and frame for my office/man cave.
The Future of AsktheBuilder.com
"If you want to see where you're going, it's easy. Turn around and see where you've been.
HISTORY IS A MIRROR-IMAGE ROAD MAP."
Have you ever had an epiphany or a real vision?
I've had several in the past twenty-nine years.
Several months after my dad was sent back to Heaven, I stopped by my childhood home and had lunch with my mom. She had smoked cigarettes for my entire life.
I wasn't looking forward to sitting in the small kitchen trying to avoid the clouds of second-hand smoke that hung in the air like laundry on a line.
The lunch I had brought was a favorite treat of hers - carryout Skyline Chili. I liked it too as I had worked there ever since freshman year of high school and had recently quit because of the fabled Mint Incident. That's a story for another day.
I had become so programmed to her smoking I didn't think about it. Halfway through lunch all of a sudden I realized there was no smoke haze hovering over my head.
"Mom, what's going on? You're not smoking."
"Oh, when I got home from church one morning last week, I threw all of my packs of cigarettes in the trash. At mass that morning, I saw a vision in church that told me to STOP SMOKING."
Without hesitation, she then proceeded to take another bite of her cheese coney. She loved the mustard on them, I detested it and always made my cheese coneys with no mustard and heavy onion.
A Vision? Are You Serious?
I was in my mid-twenties when this happened. I thought I had life figured out and had more testosterone in me than a supertanker filled with Brent Crude.
I was much more brash than I am now. You may find that hard to believe.
One thing's for sure, I sure thought that all those past stories in grade-school religion class about people having visions was pure poppycock.
But since it was my mom and she was still suffering from the loss of her soulmate, I didn't mock her reason for giving up smoking. Let me tell you, it was wonderful to eat and not gag.
There they are. Mom was just two months shy of her 23rd birthday in that photo. That's got to be bright-red lipstick, right? What a goddess! But I digress...
I was still in a daze from her blase' matter-of-fact statement and was beginning to smell the smoke of the grinding gears in my head. It's important to realize she had been smoking each day for well over 30 years.
"Have you had a craving for a cigarette since you threw them away?"
"No, not at all." Without hesitation she took another bite of the cheese coney and popped a few crisp oyster crackers in her mouth.
I don't know about you, but I found it impossible to doubt my mom. She had always been my touchstone of truth.
I finished the rest of my lunch and we switched subjects talking about how things were going in my first house I had just rehabbed in east Hyde Park. Here it is:
Fast Forward 17 Years
May of 1993 found me in Washington DC for the first time of my life. I was attending a conference where I and forty-nine other contractors were to be honored. We had been selected as the 1993 class of the Big 50. Remodeling magazine was behind the Big 50 award and conference.
Being selected as one of the top remodeling contractors in the USA was a very prestigious award. It was the launching pad for Ask the Builder.
That said, my new upcoming media career wasn't even a glint in my eye when I sprung out of bed in the hotel room before dawn like it was Christmas morning.
I hate being alone in hotel rooms, so I decided to go across the street to the National Mall. It was a balmy morning just moments after sunrise. I was all alone 200 feet away from the base of the Washington Monument.
While admiring the massive obelisk, I noticed the oddest thing. A tight group of joggers was heading straight for me on the wide sidewalk.
President Bill Clinton and his cadre of Secret Service agents jogged within 6 feet of me. As they approached and once I noticed who was in the center of the blob of pumping arms and legs, I kept my hands in plain sight!
What a way to start the day that was to change my life forever.
My First Vision
A few months after receiving the award, I had my first epiphany. I had a vision - a real vision.
My wife Kathy and I were on the phone with her best friend on a Saturday morning. I was in the kitchen and Kathy was upstairs. We were talking about an article that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer that morning. It was highlighting me and my Big 50 award.
"Why don't you take your book idea and turn it into a syndicated newspaper column?" Kathy always had great ideas. Her best friend had gone on a few dates with a Cincinnati-based syndicated columnist and she had mentioned that a few minutes earlier on the call.
I had always wanted to write a book about how people like you get taken to the cleaners by contractors who do sub-standard work. I wanted to share with you how to do it right, not over.
As soon as Kathy said those words, I saw two or three of my future columns floating in the air right in front of my face. It resembled the hologram of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movie.
Time was suspended. I couldn't take my eyes off the fuzzy vision. A pregnant pause was hanging in the air as I saw the columns shimmering in front of me.
"Hello? Hello? Are you there?" Kathy was wondering if I had heard her.
"You're right. That's exactly what I should do."
I hung up the phone, walked to my office, sat down at my aging Texas Instruments PC, and began to write. Two hours later, I had three columns finished.
The following Monday morning, I sauntered into the Cincinnati Enquirer to show them to the Home Editor, Ann Haas. She had interviewed me weeks before about the Big 50 award.
She bought my columns on the spot saying, "In all my thirty years of seeing all of the syndicated and independent home improvement writers out there, I've never seen such great work. You need to start selling these to other papers right away."
I was all in at that point.
Ask the Builder was born that day and within nine months, I had self-syndicated my column to thirty papers among them the Chicago Tribune, The Detroit News, and quite a few other tier-one newspapers.
My Latest Vision
It happened just a few days ago, as I lay in bed at 5 AM. Last Sunday, I announced I was going to produce a new Deck Stain Test video.
As the past week unfolded, I was thinking about the two surveys I had conducted. You may have participated in them.
More than one respondent replied with, "You should be like Consumer Reports."
Many said, "I don't need to pay for anything. I'll go find it for free somewhere on the InterWeb."
As I pondered that conflicting data, I leaned back in my comfy office chair and looked up on my wall. Right there is the framed first dollar of Ask the Builder.
Surely you've seen those in restaurants and bars up on the wall near the cash register. Here's mine:
David Lawrence XVII
While the responses from my two surveys were continuing to come in, I reached out to a very good Hollywood actor friend of mine, David Lawrence XVII. We've known each other for nearly twenty years.
I shared with him what's going on because he's a beacon of some of the best advice when it comes to delivering premium content. He's my North Star when I get lost.
Believe me, days ago my Boy Scout Pathfinder compass needle was spinning around like a merry-go-round!
Over the years, David has reminded me on a regular basis that he feels I produce the best home improvement content on the Internet.
He's said on numerous occasions that there are tons of FREE garbage out there some of it produced by stay-at-home moms that get paid $10 per article to scrape and plagiarize great content like mine.
These folks, who've never worked an hour in a paying customer's home, visit different websites, steal content, and cobble it together in columns often with conflicting information!
If you make the mistake and follow advice found in some of these articles, it could cost you thousands of dollars once the work fails.
This suspect content created by people who have never done the work or have been doing it wrong their entire career is published on websites where you can't see the face or CV of the author(s) on the About Us page of the website.
I sure hope you don't follow the advice from websites that publish plagiarized content. Do you always click the About Us page of every home improvement or tool-review website you visit to see the credentials of the person creating the content? Tell me you do this each time. If not, God help you!
My conversation with David got me thinking about my roots and that first-dollar check.
David sent me a follow-up email with a simple pithy piece of advice, "...tell people for free on your website or in your videos what they need to do, and charge them for showing them how to do it."
That's exactly what I did twenty-eight years ago when I started Ask the Builder. That check above for $1.25 was payment for a premium piece of content that I sold to readers of my first column.
A' La Carte Premium Content
One of the things that brought a grin to my face as I was reading the responses to the one survey was the undeniable insatiable appetite for free content some have. You may be one!
I wondered how many times you might have received and followed bogus advice. I pondered how many thousands of dollars you've squandered following bad advice.
I thought about how many hours you might have spent trying to find the correct answer never realizing you were being led astray.
I then did some math. Over 99.98% of the content I've produced is currently free:
- thousands of pages of content on the website
- nearly 800 videos on YouTube
- almost 90 podcasts
Realize that well over 1000 pages of content on my website used to be paid premium content. I called them Builder Bulletins.
If you've been with me for decades, you may remember the Builder Bulletins. That's how I met my friend Chuck. Our friendship started twenty-six years ago when he sent me $2 for a Builder Bulletin he read about one Saturday morning in The Detroit News. I used to sell the collection of them on 3.5-inch floppy diskettes!
What did I see in my vision two days ago?
I saw the past and my takeaway was to do what Consumer Reports, Fine Homebuilding, the Washington Post, Epoch Times, and a plethora of other publishers do.
These websites deliver a fantastic user experience. They allow YOU to choose how to get the content you want and need in the format you desire.
It was crystal clear in my vision laying in bed that I need to change things so you want to come to Ask the Builder anytime you need help or want to save money.
Changes are coming to AsktheBuilder.com. I'm not entirely certain at this moment what's about to happen, but in the end I can guarantee you a far better user experience than what you have now.
You're going to be in control of how you use AsktheBuilder.com.
For example, you'll be able to purchase premium extra how-to-do-something content one tiny morsel at a time if that's all you need. Here's an example of this new format.
You'll see in that column I'm sharing for free what you need to do. If you then want me to show you how to do it, you'll need to drink one less latte per week. Click the link at the bottom of this column to view the premium how-to content.
Other Possible Options
How would you like to pay a very small modest monthly fee and have an ad-free version of the website?
How would you like an ad-free version of my website and free access to some or all my existing digital products and ALL NEW ones I create for each new column I write?
I'm in the process of exploring the mechanics of how this would work, and once I have my head around that, I intend to ask for your assistance. I want YOU to help create the best user experience for you via a survey or two.
I know you have other choices. You can spend hours and wander aimlessly around the InterWeb hoping you find the right way to do a job on websites where you have no idea who created the content.
If that's your plan, keep in mind you should only hope for things you can't control like the weather or what team is going to win a baseball game.
Never forget you can control the outcome of the work done on your home by following my time-tested advice.
As I've told my children for years, life is full of decisions, make great ones.
Bottom Line: I'm back in the business of being a purveyor of paid premium content just like the good old days.
Thanks for waking me up this past week!
I hope you feel as energized about the future of Ask the Builder as I do.
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Do It Right, Not Over!
P.S. Accipe morsum tuum malum antequam profecta est.
April 1, 2022 AsktheBuilder Flash Announcement
YouTube LIVE Video Streaming
I've been doing LIVE video streaming on my YouTube channel for over four months now. It's really started to gain traction.
A regular viewer said two days ago, "Tim, you should really start to mix it up. For starters, try doing a LIVE stream on a Saturday morning to see if you can catch more Europeans. You should also think about sharing what's going on behind the magic curtain at Ask the Builder. For example, think about sharing what the future holds for AsktheBuilder.com followers."
DUH!!!! (V8 forehead-slap moment)
What great advice!
Thus, tomorrow morning, April 2, 2022 at 8:15 AM Eastern Time, I'm going to do a live stream. Go here to watch the LIVE STREAM.
The topic is going to be:
The Future of AsktheBuilder.com
If you were one who responded to the survey on Tuesday about Why Should my Deck Stain Video Be Free, you might not realize it but your hand was on the tiller the past 24 hours!
Hopefully you'll tune in tomorrow. Oh, the LIVE Stream is FREE to watch!
I GUARANTEE you'll be STUNNED at what you'll discover during the LIVE stream. I've got a very big surprise for you!
If you can't tune in, the LIVE stream will become a curated video on my YouTube channel.
Sunday's regular newsletter, delivered to you in just two days, will be devoted to the same topic.
It's a fun time to be alive, I can tell you that!
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Do It Right, Not Over!
P.S. I don't know about you, but I love, love, love surprise prizes!
Concrete Gray Color
Concrete Gray Color - Many don't like the bland gray color of standard concrete. There’s a better way to revitalize these steps and add color to concrete. Beware of painting concrete as it presents a dangerous slip hazard. Copyright 2022 Tim Carter
Concrete Gray Color Can Be Any Color!
Each day during the spring, I receive quite a few emails via the Ask Tim page on my website. One of the common themes, believe it or not, is to add color to concrete. You may be like many that dislike the drab gray color of concrete. A majority of homeowners want to paint garage floors, steps, patios, and even sidewalks.
Painting Concrete Steps - Easy to Do - Can Be Problematic
Paint, in my opinion, is not the best way to achieve the goal. First, paint can be slippery as just about all people want a shiny high-gloss finish. I believe our brains have been programmed such that glossy things of any type are appealing. This is why I think deck stain manufacturers have drank from the poison chalice of film-forming deck sealers that peel. They feel the glossy look makes you happy until such time as your deck sealer peels!
Paint is A Film Former - It WILL PEEL
Paints will peel from concrete. This happens both indoors and outdoors. I remember as a child my mom and I painted our basement floor. It had been painted before, but it was peeling in places. The house was built prior to WW II and there was no vapor barrier under the concrete. The water working up through the soil under the concrete created a vapor pressure that caused the paint to fail. This almost always happens outdoors should you decide to paint your concrete.
Silica Sand Prevents Slips
You can minimize slips with painted concrete by broadcasting a very fine amount of pure silica sand into the paint just after you apply it. If you hesitate even a few moments, the paint can skin over and the sand will not adhere well. You need to practice your technique to get the sand even in the paint.
Use Urethane-Resin Paint
If you’re bound and determined to paint your concrete to add color, be sure you use a paint with a urethane resin. Porch paint is the best. I have a few articles on my AsktheBuilder.com website that go into great detail about painting porches and exactly why urethane paints are superb. You may want to check them out.
This is a urethane house paint that will stick to concrete better than any other paint. Look at the label. CLICK ON THE IMAGE to order it now.
I feel the better way to add any color to existing concrete you’re trying to freshen up is to simply add a thin 1/8-inch coat of cement stucco to the concrete. You’d be stunned at how easy it is to do this and achieve professional results. What’s more, you can get really creative and use multiple colors to create distinctive patterns on your concrete. You can make an American flag with little effort or imagine steps looking like a slanted piano keyboard.
You add color to cement stucco by blending dry-shake pigments into the mix. These pigments are readily available and come in a rainbow of colors. You can experiment and blend two different pigments to create a custom color. Concrete masons that install stamped concrete use these pigments to make their work stand out.
Here are just a few of the many many pigments available. You can blend different pigments to get different shades that you don't see here! GO HERE TO BUY ANY COLOR PIGMENT YOU WANT.
What is Cement Stucco?
The cement stucco I’m talking about is just a mixture of fine sand, Portland cement, a dash of hydrated lime, and clear water. I’ve had the best success blending the cement and sand together first, then add the dry pigment mixing until the dry ingredients have the same color. It’s then time to add clear clean water. Your goal is to create a stucco mix that is the consistency of cool, not warm, applesauce. I offer you a secret time-tested recipe here.
It’s mission-critical for the concrete you’re going to colorize to be sound, clean, and very slightly damp. This is one of the few times I’m okay using a pressure washer on concrete. You want to blast any old paint, mildew, mold, algae, oil, and loose crumbling concrete away. Any of the above things will interfere with the bonding of the new stucco to the old concrete.
Secret Cement Paint - Ancient Formula
The secret step that you rarely hear from any other home improvement guru is cement paint. I discovered this age-old secret from a very old mason when I was just starting into the business. He described how they used cement paint to ensure the cement stucco they applied to new concrete steps would stay adhered for over 100 years. He was right as each time I visit my home town Cincinnati, I drive past exterior concrete steps with this stucco and it looks as good as it did when applied in the early 1900s.
How To Mix Cement Paint and Apply the Colorized Stucco
I created a special six-page downloadable PDF document that gives you:
- my secret time-tested recipe for the stucco mix
- instructions and videos showing how to mix the cement paint
- easy step-by-step instructions for installing the cement stucco
- links to supplies and great tools
Go here to get the Mortar Recipe Tip PDF document and save yourself hours of frustration. You'll get professional results.
Column 1449
Deck Stain Test Results Follow-Up
Deck Stain Follow-Up Question
Yesterday, I asked my LIVE Stream video audience if I should ask you a second question about my upcoming 2022 Deck Stain Test Results Video.
Nearly 80% of my LIVE Stream audience said YES. They were extremely curious as to why such a large percentage, 38.4%, thought I should share my video results for free.
Look at the pie chart below representing the input from hundreds of subscribers, you may be one, that responded to the survey I shared two days ago.
If you want to weigh in on why you feel my test results video should be free, go here.
The new survey is ANONYMOUS. I have no idea who you are should you decide to respond. Don't hold back - share your innermost thoughts.
I'm trying to get my head around why you feel data like this should be free. It will help me as I develop future video content.
Thanks!
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Do It Right, Not Over!
Why Should 2022 Deck Stain Video Test Be Free
Why Should Tim's 2022 Deck Stain Test Video be Free?
You might have been one of the 38.4% that feels I should give away my 2022 Deck Stain video test for free.
Why do you feel that way? This is an ANONYMOUS survey.
Be HONEST and don't hold back your feelings. I have NO IDEA who is responding.
March 27, 2022 AsktheBuilder Newsletter
Issue 1175 (I think ...)
It's exciting to get something new, isn't it? For example, this could be your first issue! It's an interesting one, that's for sure. If you're about to clean and re-seal your wood deck, I've got some good news for you!
But what about you? It's possible you signed on with Issue #691. Do you recall this photo?
Have you ever wondered how professional painters paint a room or hallway that has at least two different colors and two different paint types?
I share a few time and money-saving tips in this past column.
STOP Wet Basements
& Crawlspaces
Are spring rains flooding your basement, creating a river delta in your crawlspace, or making your yard a miniature Okefenokee Swamp?
My college degree, with a focus in hydrogeology, makes me an EXPERT when it comes to ground water. I know exactly how to STOP water from entering in or under your home. I know how to DRY OUT soggy yards. I've solved water issues in THOUSANDS of homes.
Instead of paying a company thousands and thousands of dollars to put in an inferior interior drain system, why not just spend $500.00 on a better system that creates no indoor mess?
How is this possible? Watch my Linear French Drain STREAMING video!!!
Vantage Point Makes a Difference!
Do us both a favor and look at this image. I drew it with a black Sharpie pen. Tell me what you see:
Now, imagine a middle-school teacher asking a student in her 8th-grade class to draw what you see above on the playground blacktop using a fat piece of chalk.
Then visualize two students standing across from one another one at the bottom of that image above and one at the top. Are you with me?
What does the student at the bottom say when the teacher asks what he/she sees?
"I see the number 6."
What does the student at the top say when asked?
"That's easy, I see the number 9."
Realize both students are looking at the same graphic.
I received a little bit of blow-back from a few subscribers from last's week's informative section on inflation. They took umbrage with my reference to the US Civil War. I referred to it as the War of Northern Aggression.
One man was so upset, he unsubscribed. Another subscriber, John W., switched on his passive-aggressive voice asking, "What exactly is the 'War of Northern Aggression'?".
John, the War of Northern Aggression is what happened between 1861 and 1865 here in the USA if you happened to live south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Ask someone who lives in the Deep South who had relatives wear a gray uniform in the conflict, and you'll probably hear them call it the War of Northern Aggression. That was their vantage point.
Often when talking about past or current events, you might be looking at the same thing as another person, but see something different from what they see.
There's a compounding issue as well. You and the person you're talking with may not be able to have a productive discussion because both of you are basing your talking points on different data sets.
When that happens, it's impossible to have a fruitful discussion.
This is why expert witnesses like me have to swear an oath at depositions and on the witness stand in courtrooms. We say, "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God."
If you don't have the whole truth, it's impossible to make the correct decision about any matter. Period.
Deck Stain Test!
Are you about to clean and seal your wood deck? I can't imagine you looking forward to this drudgery.
It's an enormous amount of work. Have you seen the cost of deck sealers? They're now at $50 a gallon and going UP!
You can't afford to make a mistake this year and use a crap sealer!
Are you frustrated with the deck sealer you've been using watching it fade, possibly peel, and otherwise look bad in one or two seasons?
I was sick of being frustrated too and decided to hunt over two years ago for the Holy Grail of penetrating wood sealers. I believe I may have found it!
Look at this board:
You're looking at a piece of new cedar decking. It was a very light brown before I stained it. As you can see, I coated it with a rich medium-reddish-brown penetrating stain. I did this mid-May 2020.
The board I'm holding was a scrap piece leftover from cutting longer lengths down to size. The day after I stained this cedar, I brought it inside my garage and put it on a shelf under my workbench.
It was important to keep it shielded from the sun's destructive UV rays and weather. My intention was to pull it out this year and hold it next to the cedar boards that were coated with the exact same stain and have been out in the weather for two years. This way you and I can see how the stain held up as the scrap piece above was the control sample.
I'm going to record a video in less than a month to show you the results. I'm convinced you're going to be BLOWN AWAY by how well this particular stain has held up.
Would you like to see the video once it's uploaded? I thought so.
I need you to take this ANONYMOUS one-question survey first.
Sell Your Lesney Matchbox Trucks
Do you have any 60-year-old diecast metal Lesney Matchbox trucks in your attic/basement? Something like the ones below. That ruler is marked out in red/white centimeters. The ruler is 6 inches long in case you can't read the numbers:
If you own some of these trucks and no longer want them, please reach out to me. I'd be interested in trading you chickens, pork bellies, or money for them.
I've decided to try to collect every construction-themed vehicle they made. I'm NOT interested in the newer plastic toys that have taken their place.
I'm looking for the ones made in the 1960s. I purchased what you see above on ebay.com. If you know of a website that lists ALL of the trucks Lesney made back in the 1960s, please send that to me. TNX in advance.
Old House Stuff
I toured an old home in Nashua, NH eight days ago. It was an epic teaching moment. Here's part of what I saw:
What are those small boards creating the letter X?
Are you sure you know the answer?
What about the piece of subfloor just above them? Why is it that color?
Read my recent column about Old House Construction and my guess is you're going to discover a thing or two you didn't know.
That's enough for a Sunday.
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
HILTON HOTELS Uses - www.StainSolver.com
POTA Activator - www.W3ATB.com
Do It Right, Not Over!
P.S. What's the BEST cleaner for a wood deck? Oh, wait, you were about to say chlorine bleach. Listen, you and I need to have a little talk. Let's go here and sit down.