August 31, 2010 AsktheBuilder Tips And News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What’s in This Issue?

Latest News
Grouting Ceramic Tile
Warranty Cards and Secret Paint Sale?
Moving Tip
Special Gray Primers
Roofing Masters Degree
My Fire Pit

I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Friendly Question Reminder!

If you have a question for me, don't hit the Reply button just yet. Go immediately to my web site and type in the keywords about your problem into my Search engine. The search box is at the top of every page of my web site. You could have your answer in seconds if you do this! Please pay attention to all links you see at my web site. The exact products and services you often need are right in front of you, and you might be ignoring them.

Since the last newsletter, I’ve moved my entire family to New Hampshire. This event, by far, is the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life. Well, maybe a few encounters with the one customer from Hell I had comes pretty close. Actually, you have that customer to thank for receiving this newsletter. She drove me out of the day-to-day construction business. AsktheBuilder.com was the offspring of my encounter with Peggy. Thank you Peggy!

The process of using a professional mover and interacting with them was so profound, that I’ve decided to build a website about moving. I want to share what happened to me and what I would do different. I’ll be working on that as soon as the leaves fall from the trees up here in New Hampshire. Fall is my favorite season, and Kathy and I plan to take as many day trips as possible to enjoy our first autumn together up here in God’s country.

As I write this, Hurricane Earl has his eye on the East Coast. Let’s hope he doesn’t cause too much havoc. I hope you aren’t affected adversely by this storm.

I’m slowly digging out from the move. It will take weeks. Did you see the first Indiana Jones movie - Raiders of the Lost Ark? Remember the final scene where the crated Ark of the Covenant was being stored in that unnamed government warehouse? That’s what my garage up here in NH looks like! I have a narrow channel I can walk down from end to end. Hundreds of boxes are stacked floor to ceiling. Accckkkk!

While I was back in Cincinnati closing on the house and doing the final packing with my very good friend Roger, I received a boatload of tools and things to test. That tool testing will be happening soon. One of the most interesting things that came is a very cool tool belt. If all goes well, I’ll be shooting a video of this toolbelt just after Labor Day. That video will be loaded immediately to the website and you’ll be the first to hear about it. Well, not really. If you want to be in the first group to know when my videos go live, you need to subscribe to my YouTube channel.  http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/askthebuilder

After I tape the tool belt video, a certain young lady and the woman who sent me the tool belt are going to be very happy people. You’ll not want to miss this video.

Grouting Ceramic Tile

About sixteen months ago, I taped a series of four videos about how to grout a ceramic tile floor using sanded grout. They were fun videos to tape, and I never suspected that they’d get such positive reviews. Each week I get a comment or two about them.

Here’s one that came in overnight from Ryan Merkley who lives in Toronto, Canada:

Hi Tim,

I don't have a question, just wanted to pass on a word of sincere thanks. Your four videos on how to grout were exactly what I needed to renovate our kitchen floor. The job looks great, and I couldn't have done it without your clear, concise guidance.

Thank you,

Ryan

The first video in the series is:

Mixing Grout Video

Video #2 is Grouting Video

Video #3 is Finish Floor Grout Video

Video #4 is How To Grout Video

If you’re getting ready to install floor grout yourself, or you plan to have it done by someone else, you may want to watch these videos. There are many places where you can make a mistake and the tile or the grout will become a huge mess. Water is both your ally and enemy when grouting. Think of it as a possible double agent.

Warranty Cards and Secret Paint Sale?

You may be one of my subscribers that’s become a friend. David from Florida is one. From time to time he sends me great news items and things he feels would help you. Overnight he sent me two items.

First, it appears that Sears may stop selling paint. He reported that he got tremendous buys on WeatherBeater ULTRA paint. That’s the top-line paint that I used on my own home. It’s made by Sherwin Williams and has urethane resins in it. Stop in your local Sears store to get a great deal.

Dave then told me about a new air conditioner he had installed. After reading the fine print on the warranty card, he discovered that if he delayed sending it in, the parts warranty dropped from 10 years to 5 years. Are you kidding me? That’s not right.

The bottom line is that you NEED to read your warranty information on new products and take action immediately to activate all warranties on all products.

Moving Tip

If you intend to purchase a flat-screen TV and are going to move, SAVE the box and all the Styrofoam inserts. Luckily I thought about that over the past few years and saved two boxes. Professional movers will not guarantee the integrity of the TV unless it’s packed in the original box or a carton made to accept these TVs. Throw that box up in your attic as I did and use it when you get ready to move.

Special Gray Primers

The giant family room in the house up here in New Hampshire was painted a garish color of red courtesy of the previous owners. I tolerated it the two years I lived here, but knew Kathy would hate it.

The morning after Kathy, Kelly, Tristan and I got up here, my oldest daughter Meghan and my videographer Brent pitched in to repaint the room a gorgeous vibrant green. The success of the project rested in covering the red with a few coats as possible. I instructed Meghan and Brent to use a special gray primer that was the same intensity of the color of green Kathy selected,

Read my past column on these little-known special gray primers. You’ll do one of those V-8 forehead slaps after you read this column:

Special Gray Primer

Suffice it to say the new color put Kathy in a great mood. The correct primer made it that we only needed one coat of finish paint.

Roofing Masters Degree

Just after Labor Day, I’m kicking off a massive project that will stretch through the winter months. I gathered research on this about a month ago. Perhaps you took the survey. I discovered what checklists you need the most, and I’m getting ready to do a one-hour telephone crash course on *each* of the topics. Yes, you and I can get on the phone together. It’s going to be just like the 12 years I did a two-hour radio show each week. I’m really looking forward to it.

You’ll have the opportunity to partake in a giant conference call where I answer question after question about a topic. The best part is that you get to submit the questions!

The first conference call is going to be about Roofing. If you have to replace your roof soon or are building a new home and want to make sure the roof is installed correctly, then you absolutely want to be part of this opportunity.

I’ll be announcing the first call in the series next issue for sure. I just need one more week to dig out from all the boxes. Oh, the best part is that if you can’t make the call, you’ll be able to download the entire recording and listen to it when it’s convenient for you! Isn’t that cool?

My Fire Pit

Fall is here and it’s time for many a night by my outdoor fire pit down by the lake. I constructed a separate website about what I think about while sitting around the real fires. You may want to visit my Fire Pit website if you want to discover what’s on my mind other than home-improvement topics. Be sure to sign up for that separate newsletter.

http://www.timcartersfirepit.com

Tim Carter
Founder
AsktheBuilder.com
100 Swain Rd.
Meredith, NH 03253, USA

Floor Radiant Heat

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: My husband and I were out for a walk and saw the strangest thing. A new house under construction had parallel loops of plastic piping in the basement. We asked a contractor who was there and he said it was floor radiant heating. I’ve never seen this before. How does it work? Is infloor radiant heat effective? Are there different floor radiant heat systems? Nicole C., Meredith, NH

DEAR NICOLE: You got a rare glimpse of the innards of a floor radiant heat installation. Had you come a day or so later, all you would have seen would have been a concrete slab that looked just like every other basement floor you’ve probably seen. The plastic tubing you saw gets embedded in the wet concrete. Once the house is completed, the tubing is connected to a hot-water boiler and one or more recirculating pumps that distribute very warm water through the durable pipes.

These bright orange plastic pipes will soon have warm water flowing through them producing luxurious comfort on snowy winter days. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

These bright orange plastic pipes will soon have warm water flowing through them producing luxurious comfort on snowy winter days. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

I have a concrete floor radiant heat system in my own home. It produces the most luxurious heat I’ve ever experienced. Typically floors, especially concrete, can be cold and uncomfortable in the winter months. With radiant heating, the entire floor, or different sections or zones of the concrete, become vast heating pads transmitting the heat from the boiler to you and everything in the room.

The heat is even and the concrete acts like a massive heat sink or storage vessel. The amount of heat is controlled by a standard thermostat as you’d discover in any home. Most homes that employ radiant heat have an added benefit. A room or group of rooms is put into a zone controlled by a separate thermostat. This allows you to use energy wisely as you can easily have different parts of your home different temperatures. I have eight separate heating zones in my own home.

When you’re not in a room or rooms in different parts of the day or night, you or automatic setback thermostats can lower the temperature to save money. The zoning feature allows you to send heat to the rooms only when you’re in them. It’s a very clever system and most radiant heating contractors are very good at setting up zones that make sense to your lifestyle.

You can have subfloor radiant heat in just about any home. If you’re building new with a standard wood-frame home, you absolutely can have a wood-floor radiant heat system. The plastic tubing is affixed to the underside of the wood floor or set very close to the underside of the wood sheathing that covers the floor joists.

Electric floor radiant heat systems have been around for many years, and they continue to be used. Recently, there’s been growth in smaller systems that work well in remodeling situations like bathrooms and kitchens with tile floors. The thin electric mats create tile-floor radiant heat that feels just the same as that created by a whole-house boiler. Be sure to do the math before you think about using electric radiant heat in your entire home. It may be more costly to operate over time.

It’s even possible to have a hardwood-floor radiant heat system. The hardwood-flooring manufacturers over the past few years have worked in conjunction with the radiant-heating industry to develop standards that allow gorgeous hardwood floors to be installed just above the subfloor radiant heat piping. When done correctly, the hardwood floor does not develop unsightly cracks between each piece of flooring from extreme expansion and contraction.

If you decide to use concrete floor radiant heat, it’s very important to insulate the floor so that the heat is blocked from soaking into the earth beneath your home. Rigid foam insulation is typically placed on top of compacted granular fill material. After the foam is in place, it’s covered with a high-performance vapor barrier that prevents soil moisture from invading your basement making it damp and moldy.

You’ll often see the contractors install welded-wire steel reinforcing mats as part of the install. These are a great idea. They not only strengthen the concrete ensuring that cracks don’t grow putting stress on the plastic heating tubes, but they also help hold the plastic tubing in place during the concrete pour. The plastic tubes are attached to the steel fabric often in parallel strips one-foot apart.

Warm-floor radiant heat is nothing new. Archaeological excavation years ago uncovered evidence that Romans used radiant floor heat to keep the stone floors toasty warm in the large Roman hot baths. They discovered that stone retains heat for a long time and that it distributes the heat uniformly. It only makes sense that we’d utilize this time-tested technology with our own artificial stone - concrete!

Column 846

Cable TV Options

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I want to rearrange our furniture in our family room. This requires us to relocate our television set that gets its signal from our cable TV provider. What are my cable TV options with respect to getting the television to work? My husband says it will be very difficult to extend a new cable line behind the walls. The cable company just wants to staple a new line to either the interior wall or our exterior wall. I don’t like that one bit. What’s the best cable TV solution you can come up with in my situation? Valerie H., Salem, MA

DEAR VALERIE: I can tell you that I surely feel your pain. Believe it or not I’m in the same position as you are. My wife just moved into our home in New Hampshire and she wants our family room television on the other side of the room from where the current cable TV outlet is. I’ll be completing my research this morning to see what my cable TV offers with respect to equipment and services to get my flat screen TV to power up.

This digital television will remain black until a new cable is run to it or it’s setup in minutes to receive a wireless digital cable tv signal. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This digital television will remain black until a new cable is run to it or it’s setup in minutes to receive a wireless digital cable tv signal. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

If you have digital cable service now that’s coming into your home, you want to maintain that so you can view high-definition programming. For years this meant that you had to use a traditional cable wire to feed that signal to your television set or multiple sets throughout your home.

Your husband is probably correct. If you have a finished basement or a home on a slab, it can be problematic to extend a cable wire to another part of a room much less some other part of the house. I’m with you in that I don’t want exposed cables defacing either an interior or exterior wall of my home. I love the sleek look of a standard wall outlet that has a cable TV coaxial termination point. Better yet, I’d like to get the cable TV signal wirelessly.

If your family room has wall-to-wall carpeting, you may be able to hide the cable under the carpet along the edges of the wall. A good carpet installer can pull the carpet back off the tackless strips, hide the cable safely near the walls and then re-stretch the carpet. The installer just needs to make sure his tools don’t hurt the cable wire. Just place a piece of furniture along the wall where the cable enters into the carpet and where it exits.

If you don’t have wall-to-wall carpeting, you can accomplish the same thing but with more work. It’s possible to hide a cable wire behind a wooden toe strip molding that’s typically nailed to the bottom of a baseboard. You’d need some fancy woodworking tools or a table saw to create the channel where the cable will nest.

You’ll also need to be very careful when you secure the toe strip to the baseboard so you don’t penetrate the cable with a nail. There are tiny pin nailers that shoot very small fasteners that will attach the toe strip to the baseboard above the cable line.

Fortunately you have at least one other option. You can go wireless. It’s possible to purchase a wireless setup that allows you to place your television anywhere you want in that room. In the future or even now, it may be possible to broadcast the wireless digital signal to other rooms of your home to different TV sets that are equipped to accept the signal.

Cable TV and Internet are starting to merge. It’s been happening for a few years, but now the movement is gaining traction. Just as you have easy wireless connection to the Internet in your home and public places, you’ll be able to enjoy wireless digital television signals with relative ease.

Remember, the television signal is being broadcast from its source wirelessly in a digital format. The cable TV companies get the wireless signal and then put it into the cables you see attached to the miles of utility poles near your home. It only makes sense that you can reconvert the digital signal to a wireless one within the walls of your home once you have the right equipment and setup.

If you’re doing remodeling work or building a new home, it takes very little extra work to extend traditional cables to the various walls in a home that might eventually have a TV on or near them. In my own family room, I know for a fact that there are just three or four locations where the TV can go. It would have taken an electrician just 30 minutes or less to run a separate cable to the extra spots in the room.

Be sure to include into your budget the money needed to extend these cables. If you can’t do that, at least try to install blank conduits to these locations so you can run the cable wire without ruining the finished wall. But before you do that, cost it out. You’ll probably discover you can run the actual cable wire for the same cost and time investment of you installing blank conduit!

Column 845

Pack Moving

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I’m moving from one house to another and am overwhelmed. There seems to be so much to pack and I’m not sure how to proceed. I’ve received several bids from moving companies, and the cost for them to pack my possessions took my breath away. I’ve studied the u-pack moving options, and wonder if I’m up to the challenge. What advice do you have for moving and packing services? Have you moved recently and what can you share from the experience? Mandy S., Lima, OH

DEAR MANDY: Oh boy do I feel your pain! Just after finishing this column I’ve got to get back at it and finished packing for my own imminent move. In just two days, the giant moving truck and crew will be here to start loading my 18,000 pounds of possessions. My wife and I have done most of the packing, so we absolutely belong to the growing number of families that belong to the you pack we move clan.

These are just a few of the supplies you’ll need when you start to pack for moving yourself locally or long distance. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

These are just a few of the supplies you’ll need when you start to pack for moving yourself locally or long distance. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

I did the same thing you did and got several quotes from cross-country moving companies. The sticker shock you experienced was the same emotion I felt. It’s expensive to move, and even more so if you decide to do little or no work. You can save thousands of dollars if you pack for your move.

The core cost of the move is for the most part a function of the total weight of your belongings. If you can reduce the overall weight of what you’re transporting from one house to the next, then do it. Sell or donate the things you simply can live without.

I discovered the power of the online classified websites a few months ago. The one I’ve had the best luck with is www.Craigslist.org. I’ve sold many crazy items that I had little or no use for using this method. The cash is going to help pay for the move. Believe it or not, it’s free to use this website.

I was even able to use this same website to advertise, at no cost, a garage sale. This sale was very successful and allowed me to sell off hundreds and thousands of pounds of items. Remember, weight is your enemy come moving day.

When you pack for moving, you have to be prepared. It takes many more hours and days than you might ever imagine. My wife and I have been packing for well over two weeks, even with the help of a friend, and we still have lots to do.

You’ll need abundant supplies to help protect your valuable possessions. Sturdy cardboard boxes, rolls and rolls of tape, rolls of sheets of plastic that have sealed bubbles of air, and some old newspaper or cheap kraft paper will come in very handy.

Many moving companies will supply you with an assortment of boxes to help you pack. The dishpack cartons are the strongest as they commonly are constructed with two layers of cardboard. These will really help protect your most fragile things.

I discovered a business very close to my home that sells shipping supplies to businesses. It just so happens these are the same things you can use to help you in your move. The cost of the supplies is far less than what you’d spend at a big box store. So far I’ve used over five 250-foot rolls of sheets of plastic that have sealed bubbles of air to pack things. These rolls are 4-feet in diameter!

It’s really important to pack things you value carefully. Inside the truck, the items will rub and bump against one another. This can damage the finish on the items, so you need to be sure you wrap valuable things with something that will protect them. It may be paper, sheets of cardboard, sheets of plastic that have sealed bubbles of air, old clothes, etc. Just realize that things will get jostled around, especially if you’re doing a long-distance move as am I.

If you have to pack large items, you may have to build your own boxes. Wooden crates can be used to protect expensive items, but these can be tough to build if you’re not a carpenter. I built a large crate for a chandelier using 1-inch-thick honeycombed cardboard panels. It only took 30 minutes to tape it together with the thick corner supports.

How to pack a moving truck is a true skill and art. Blanket wrapping each piece of furniture is mandatory to prevent damage. The rocking of the truck will cause items to shift and move around if the things inside are not packed correctly and placed tightly against one another.

If you want to discover how to pack a moving van the right way, I suggest you watch a professional. I intend to do just that in a few days. There’s no doubt that all the items being moved, especially those in boxes, are separated by shape and weight. I’m guessing the heavy items most definitely will be placed on the floor of the truck with lighter items stacked on top of them. That’s just common sense, or should I say rare sense!

Column 844

August 13, 2010 AsktheBuilder Tips And News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What's in This Issue?

Latest News
Garage Sale Results
Delta & Brizo Faucet Conference
Electrical Shock Hazard
Latest Columns

I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Friendly Question Reminder!

If you have a question for me, don't hit the Reply button just yet. Go immediately to my web site and type in the keywords about your problem into my Search engine. The search box is at the top of every page of my web site. You could have your answer in seconds if you do this! Please pay attention to all links you see at my web site. The exact products and services you often need are right in front of you, and you might be ignoring them.

This is really an abbreviated newsletter. I know I said that last time, and the darn thing was as long as a summer day!

Two days ago, Kathy and I signed the deed over to the first house I ever built from the ground up for ourselves. At the conclusion of the closing, I shook the hand of the husband and asked the wife for a hug. As I was embracing the wife, I was overcome with emotion and it took everything I had not to cry. The closest emotion I can compare it to is giving your daughter away at the altar steps on her wedding day. I can't begin to describe the amount of effort I put into the house which is now under the care of a new young family. I know they'll love the house as did Kathy and I.

Garage Sale Results

I had my first-ever garage sale last Saturday. I want to thank you for your kind wishes hoping for its success. It was a huge hit. There was a good crowd in the first 90 minutes, and perhaps you came! Many bargains were to be had. I encourage you to have a garage sale of your own to purge things you no longer need. It's fun, especially if you price things right.

I still have three bargains for you if you, a friend or a relative lives in or very close to Cincinnati, OH. Kathy and I would love for you to enjoy our gorgeous wicker furniture set from our Sun Room, our antique mahogany dining room set including buffet and china cabinet and the mint-condition John Deere lawn tractor (now sold) with snow plow and leaf-grass clippings bagging system. I have these priced to sell NOW.

Much of the success of the garage sale was due to CraigsList. They have a special category for garage and yard sales. My advice to you is to take your time and list as many things as you can in the description area. You're allowed to load up to four photos. Upload pictures of some of the best things you have for sale to get people to come to your sale. It's a great way to create cash out of things you're not using any longer. It's also very green. Selling your possessions to someone else is one of the oldest forms of recycling!

Delta and Brizo Faucet Editors Conference

Believe it or not I was walking out of the Delta Faucet headquarters two days ago at Noon in Indianapolis, IN. I was due to be at the house closing 100 miles away in a matter of hours. I went to the quick one-day editors conference to get up to speed on the latest in kitchen and bath faucets. The event allowed me to meet the gracious hosts at Delta Faucets and some very interesting home-improvement bloggers. I plan on keeping in touch with many of them.

You should absolutely give Delta and Brizo a look if you have an upcoming job involving faucets of any type. There's been an explosion of new products in the Delta and Brizo lines in the past two to three years.

It's fascinating to get to see the science behind the faucets. The last thing I got to see before blasting off to drive back to Cincinnati in my Ford Super Duty pickup truck was exactly how the no-touch and touch faucets work. You see these at many public places where you just get your hands near a faucet and it turns on.

The aura of electrical energy surrounding your body can be used for this purpose. It's the same thing that any touchscreen computer or device (think iPhone screen) uses to help you click things. As I drove away from the event I wondered about how many times you have to touch one of these things to run down the *batteries* in your body. Just kidding.

Delta is adding the touch on and off feature to more and more of its line all the time. My neighbor in New Hampshire just installed the Delta Pilar Touch faucet in his kitchen and loves it. I'm thinking about trying it in my kitchen as well. Kathy wants to remodel that space and a new faucet is on the materials list!

Electrical Shock Hazard

I had lunch yesterday with two of my closest friends here in Cincinnati - Richard Anderson and Roger Henthorn. Tristan, my son, also joined us. Tristan loves to be around Richard. Many a summer's day was spent in Mr. Anserhan's pool. When Tristan was a little guy, he used to call Mr. Anderson - Mr. Anserhan. Richard happens to be one of the best HVAC technicians in Cincinnati, OH.

Richard shared a story about he almost got electrocuted working on an outdoor air conditioning unit. In a nutshell, the code requires a disconnect switch adjacent to the outdoor compressor. There are different types, but this particular one had a spade setup.

This disconnect is very similar to the old-fashioned Frankenstein switches you see in the movies where a metal blade touches a metal receptor prong to complete the electrical circuit. You pull out the spade connectors and in theory there should be no electricity going to the appliance.

Well, that's what happens when both spades come out when you pull the handle. In this case, the one spade stayed inside the switch box buried inside the prongs. Since the unit runs on 240 volts, it STOPPED running because one 120 volt leg was disconnected, but the other one was still energized inside the outdoor unit.

One would never think that there was still electricity inside the unit since it stopped and the plastic housing with the spade connectors was in your hand. But you'd have to look very closely to see that the one spade never made it out of the disconnect box.

The bottom line is you need to use a voltmeter or other testing device to ensure the electricity is OFF when you go to work on something. I discovered this about 30 years ago when I thought that the white wires in a circuit - the neutral wires - were never *hot*. I touched a few that were braided together and was quickly knocked off a ladder! If a circuit is still energized the white wires in a 120 circuit are completing the alternating current circuit! DUH!!!

If you don't understand any of this, that means you need to hire a professional to work with your electric. Be careful out there!

Latest Columns

I'll bet you thought I stopped writing columns this summer since I haven't listed any in a while. No way! I'm a word machine.

You may want to discover some information about Asphalt Shingles.

Think of the possibilities in your home when you use Lighting Wall Sconces.

Do you really know how to Stain a Deck?

I wonder if you need tips on How to Paint.

Discover some Shower Faucet tips.

AsktheBuilder.com
100 Swain Rd.
Meredith, NH 03253, USA

August 3, 2010 AsktheBuilder Tips And News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What's in This Issue?

Latest News
New Lighter USG Drywall
Dishwasher Detergent Warning
Tim's Garage Sale
High-Pressure Sales Tactics
Checklists
Update on DC Metro Card
Future Tool Reviews

I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Friendly Question Reminder

If you have a question for me, don't hit the Reply button just yet. Go immediately to my web site and type in the keywords about your problem into my Search engine. The search box is at the top of every page of my web site. You could have your answer in seconds if you do this! Please pay attention to all links you see at my web site. The exact products and services you often need are right in front of you, and you might be ignoring them.

Latest News

Two weeks from today, the moving van will be here at my Cincinnati, OH house. The tempo is picking up with respect to the move. I made it back safely my last drive from New Hampshire thanks to the New York State DOT. It's a good thing they ground those rumble grooves into the side of the road that wake drivers who fall asleep. I can tell you they work.

This is a somewhat abbreviated newsletter because of all I have going on surrounding the move. I'll have much to share very soon. Next week, I'll be at the Delta Faucet headquarters in Indianapolis, IN for a one-day editors conference. I should come away with tons of new information about Delta faucets.

This is the first editors conference I've attended since shivering down in Florida 19 months ago. A Sears Lawn and Garden event was planned for a respite from cold weather in sunny, warm Florida, but a massive cold front swept all the way down from the Arctic to Miami and it was COLD at the central Florida location, believe me.

If you're in the public relations business, I can tell you these editors conferences get results. You should convince your clients to do them. I learn so much in such a short time and then can share it with all who I come into contact with.

New Lighter USG Drywall

USG, long considered the leader in gypsum panel technology, recently announced a new light drywall. They say it's 30 percent lighter but has all the strength of traditional drywall. I've not yet tested it, but could have used this just last week when I was carrying three sheets of drywall down the outdoor steps at my New Hampshire house. USG has always made great products in my opinion. Plus, they're made here in the USA - you've got to love that.

Dishwasher Detergent WARNING

In our Cincinnati house, Kathy showed me some discoloration that was happening inside our Viking dishwasher. It has a stainless-steel interior. I said that it had to be the dishwasher detergent. Sure enough, when you looked very closely at the back label, you could see it contained chlorine bleach.

Chlorine bleach and stainless steel don't play well together. She had switched detergents because she saw new labeling that promised it had Shine-Shield formulation.

The brand was Cascade. There was nothing on the front of the bottle stating that it had chlorine bleach. If you have a septic system, you don't want to use anything that contains chlorine bleach as this chemical kills the beneficial bacteria in the septic tank.

Cascade makes another blend that is chlorine-bleach free that we had been using. We switched back today.

Tim's Garage Sale

I'm having a blow out garage sale this Saturday, August 7, 2010, from 8:00 until Noon. I'm selling all sorts of tools, supplies, an awesome new never-used Rheem water heater (a model you can't get anymore), antique wood TV cabinets that have those two doors that open to the tube, an antique gas space heater, etc.

A *partial* list of what's for sale is in this pdf document. Bring cash. If you live within 75 miles, it might be worth showing up.

Please don't come early. I'll open up at 8:00 am sharp. The sale happens rain or shine.

High-Pressure Sales Tactics

This morning I received an email from Randolph. Here's what was on his mind:

Tim,
 
I wonder if I am the only subscriber that feels very frustrated by the contractor closing technique of incrementally significantly discounting the price if you decide on the spot to sign with them at the first meeting. Siding job price went from $34K to $19K over course of 20 minutes of me trying to get him out of house at 10:30 PM after 3-hour pitch. Such a discount seems to mean he was really trying to rip me off with first price. Am I wrong to feel this way about this apparently common practice?
 
Many thanks.
R. B. Wehner

Randolph, it's a very common tactic. And I have to tell you it gets results. The sad thing is that some consumers succumb to the initial price and indeed pay too much.

The best defense, when faced with this situation, is to take control of the sales situation. In my opinion, you made the biggest mistake by allowing this person to be in your home longer than 45 minutes. In the future, you tell any in-house salesperson that you can only devote 45 minutes to the presentation because you're a BUSY person. If they can't deliver the message in that time, it's too complex. After all, how long does it take to talk about siding, roofing or whatever?

At the beginning of the conversation, you take control by telling the salesperson that the first price out of their mouth must be their lowest price. If they lower the price at the end of the meeting, you'll consider them dishonest and absolutely will not do business with them. You also tell them that you'll NOT sign that night as you want to think about it. Remember, do this at the beginning of the presentation.

You can also take control of a sales situation like this by using one of my checklists. Let's talk about an exciting new project you're going to love.

Checklists

For years, I've sold checklists that allow you to spot the professional contractor that's going to give you the best Value for each dollar you spend. I had a massive sale on these back in March.

I've decided to expand the checklists and customize them for you. How you might ask? Well, here's what I'm going to start doing in September.

I'm going to feature either a new or revised checklist every two weeks. If it happens to be a checklist you want, after you purchase it, I'm going to do a FREE LIVE telephone seminar on the topic. Using feedback from you, I'm assembling and answering the top questions submitted to me about that checklist. Your question(s) may be among those I talk about on the phone!

Let's say you can't make it on the call for any number of reasons. No problem. Because you purchased the checklist during the special promotion, you'll be able to download the audio seminar. It's all part of the deal and it's going to be tons of fun, just like the 12 years I did my two-hour call-in radio show. Imagine how much ground I can cover in an hour of conversation. From past experience, I can tell you it's miles and miles.

Here's where I need your help now. Can you please go to the following page and look at the list of my current checklists. Select just one of all of my checklists that's most important to you NOW. You only get to pick one. After you select one, then tell me in the box at the bottom of the survey page the TOP THREE questions you have about that topic. Write short questions please.

When I see what the top checklists are, I'll start revising those immediately.

This survey has closed. Thank you to those who participated.

Update on DC Metro Card

Last issue, I gave away a DC Metro card to a subscriber. I thought that I'd get maybe ten requests for the card. WRONG!

First, the winner claimed the card four minutes after the newsletter was sent. That's FOUR minutes, not forty. I then went on to receive over 159 other requests! WOW!

Here's what the winner send back to me after I sent it to him in the mail:

Dear Tim,
 
The DC Metro card arrived in the mail. THANKS! I will use it Monday.
 
I was invited to the unveiling of the "All New" Ford Explorer. Will be having b'fast & lunch with the CEO of Ford. Lucky me - I am merely a peon whom the local Ford dealership appreciates and invited me to attend. The new Explorer will be based on a "car" chassis - vs its current "truck" chassis and supposedly get 30% better gas mileage. We own three Fords: F-150, minivan, Escape Hybrid.
 
I respect Ford for their "thumbing their nose" to the O'Bama admin's attempt to take over the US auto industry.
 
I read the "about me" info on your website. Impressive.
 
I was elated to see your comments regarding your support of the 2nd amendment. Please keep it up. Are you an NRA member? I hope so.
 
A little about me: Married, 2 kids/college grads. I am a Virginia Class B Licensed contractor and a retired US Army aviator.
 
Thanks again for the card and have a great summer. I am sure you will enjoy your new digs in New Hampshire. If you return to DC, maybe we can link up for a cup of Joe.
 
Mac

Mac, congratulations for winning once again and Thank You for your service to this great nation!

Future Tool Reviews

As insane as this sounds, Christmas is not that far away. I'm starting to get press releases about new tools and will be testing many in September and October. You want to open all future newsletters so you don't miss these reviews. Some of the tools are going to be fantastic. I can already tell by the description I get from the PR folks.

Wish me luck on the move. I'll get plenty of sleep the night before we drive to NH. No need to repeat what happened to me two days ago.

AsktheBuilder.com
100 Swain Rd.
Meredith, NH 03253, USA

Cheap Shelving

Posted on by Tim Carter
cheap shelving

Cheap shelving is easy to create. These strong wood shelves were built in less than an hour for less than $45.00 (2018 prices). Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

"The cheap wood shelves I constructed were made from just 2x3’s and inexpensive one-half-inch-thick CDX plywood."

Cheap Shelving Tips

  • Use CDX plywood or OSB and 2x material
  • Screws are better than nails
  • Cut plywood 11 and 7/8 wide
  • Design with no material waste

DEAR TIM: I just moved and need to build some cheap shelving. Money is tight because of the economy and the move drained most of my cash.

Some of the things I need to store are heavy so the cheap shelves need to be strong. What’s the best way to make use of the limited space I have in my new home? Maureen S., Salem, MA

Related Links

Clever Miniature Garage or Shed Shelves

Garage Shelve Building Tips


DEAR MAUREEN: I surely can relate to moving and the weight of accumulated possessions. I’m stunned by what a cubic foot of books weighs.It seems close to 30 pounds or more.

Recently I moved a long distance and had the same problem as you now have. After looking around, I decided that I could create my own cheap shelving units with a few standard tools and very little time.

Free and Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local carpenters who can build shelves.

How Do You Make Cheap Shelving?

The cheap wood shelves I constructed were made from just 2x3’s and inexpensive one-half-inch-thick CDX plywood or OSB. I only needed two pieces of plywood, or OSB, and thirteen 2x3x8’s to make 256 cubic feet of storage space. The best part is that I only spent $65.00 and it took one hour of my time.

Are There Other Cheap Shelving Ideas?

If you look around, you’ll discover all sorts of cheap shelving ideas. You may discover industrial shelving for sale on a classified-ad website or you may discover cheap storage shelves at a home center.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to do the calculation as to what the shelving costing you per cubic foot. In my case, it was only a little over 25 cents per cubic foot.

How Do You Calculate Cubic Feet?

You determine cubic feet of shelving by multiplying the length times the width times the height of the shelving. I can only store up to 8 feet high in my garage attic, so I used that number.

You may have a taller space in your new home, but realize that if you stack things higher than 30 inches on a shelf, they can become unstable and fall. This is why my cheap wood shelving is only 60-inches tall. That leaves me with 30 inches of space to stack things and still have 6 inches of space between my possessions and the ceiling.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local carpenters who can build shelves.

What Tools Are Required to Build Shelving?

I built my shelves using a drill, miter box saw and a screw gun. You can use a regular circular saw and a drill if you don’t have these specialized tools. The drill is used to bore pilot holes for the screws, but you can also insert a Phillips driver bit into the drill transforming it into a crude screw gun sans a clutch.

How Long Should the 2X Material Be?

The first step was to cut five of the 2x3’s creating ten pieces of lumber 45 inches long. Using these five pieces of lumber in between two full-length 2x3’s, I was able to build a frame that was 4-feet by 8-feet in size.

The smaller 2x3’s were placed at 2-foot centers in the middle of the frame. Each of the 2x3’s acts like a small I-beam to support the plywood. I built two of these frames using 2.5-inch-long drywall screws to fasten all the lumber together.

I then cut the remaining four 2x3’s 60-inches long. These became the legs of the shelving system. I placed one shelf up 30 inches off the floor and the top one was flush with the top of the legs. The shelves were attached to the legs with 3-inch-long drywall screws. I used four screws where each leg touches the sides of the shelf frame.

How Do You Prevent Shelving Collapse?

To ensure the shelves don’t collapse, you have to stiffen them up with bracing material. I happened to have some 1-foot wide pieces of scrap plywood. I screwed these 30-inch-long pieces to the corners of the shelves. This extra wood makes it so the shelves don’t rock back and forth or side to side.

What is a Generous Space Between Shelves?

The vertical distance of 30 inches provides you with a generous amount of space between each shelf and the floor or the ceiling. Just about every box I have to store fits in or on the shelves. In many instances, smaller boxes are stacked on top of other boxes so no space is wasted.

Where Should Heavy Items Be Stored?

I suggest you be very careful with the heavy items you want to store. Place those on the floor under the first shelf. If you have access to old pallets, consider using them to keep any of your possessions up off the floor. This is very important if you’re storing things where water might contact your valuables.

Where Can I Get Free Shelving Material?

You can often get free shelving material at construction sites.

If you frequent construction sites, you may be able to build your cheap wooden shelves for next to nothing. Instead of using one large sheet of plywood for each shelf, you can often find scraps of plywood discarded by the carpenters. With a little bit of time, you can cut these to fit onto your 4x8 frame.

Even the framing lumber can be scavenged. You may not find 2x3’s, but you can always substitute the heavier 2x4’s which you’ll discover are abundant in and around construction sites. Always ask a supervisor at the site if you can have the material.

How Do I Locate Free Construction Materials?

You can also use the online classified-ad websites to discover inexpensive or free building materials that can be used to build the shelves. I actually gave away free material at the house I moved from because it was too expensive to take it with me 1,000 miles. Be patient and you may be able to build your shelves for less than $10.00!

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from local carpenters who can build shelves.

Column 841

July 20, 2010 AsktheBuilder Tips And News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What’s in This Issue?

Summer in NH
The Move
Deck Stain Test
Washington DC Metro Moola
Round Area LED Light
Frost Damage
Deck Checklist News
Moving Sale
Smoke Remediation
Craigslist Scam
Collectors Items

Remember, Do it Right, Not Over!

I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Friendly Question Reminder!

If you have a question for me, don't hit the Reply button just yet. Go immediately to my web site and type in the keywords about your problem into my Search engine. The search box is at the top of every page of my web site. You could have your answer in seconds if you do this! Please pay attention to all links you see at my web site. The exact products and services you often need are right in front of you, and you might be ignoring them.

Summer is in its full glory here in New Hampshire. We had a recent heat wave last week that was pretty uncomfortable, but now we're back to regular temperatures in the 80's. The past few days I've spent hours floating and playing in the warm lake waters with friends. If you've not vacationed up here, you should. If you do, stay at Fred and Sandi's bed and breakfast, The Maria Atwood Inn. It's close to many great places up here in New Hampshire. Wait until you taste Sandi's scones and the maple butter. WOW! Watch the video at the bottom of their home page of me eating one of those bad boys. We had to do multiple takes of the ending of that video, but I wasn't complaining!

One month from today it will be all over. Kathy, Kelly, Tristan and I will have made the two-day journey from Cincinnati, OH with the animals and the moving van. If the drive goes as planned, Kathy will wake up for the first time exactly one month from today in our temporary home here in the Granite State. I'm anxious for that day for a host of reasons. I say temporary as we're hoping to break ground on the new home next spring.

I'll be leaving to go back to Cincinnati in just 12 days, so there is much to do here to get ready for the transition. One of the biggest tasks is installing the missing flashing at the rear deck. I'll be documenting that for an eBook for you in case you have a similar situation.

Deck Stain Test

I've been getting scads of emails about the status of the deck stain test I started back at the end of April. I'm taping a video today so you can see the results, but I'll share them now. Here's the original video shot as I was applying the stain and clear sealers:

The first sealer I applied was the Extreme Defy that's tinted brown. They call it Cedartone. It looks fantastic. I can't see any color fade and I see no discoloration at all. It looks magnificent.

The stripe next to it in the original video was supposed to be a clear product. It was Extreme Defy in clear. Well, it's not clear in my opinion. If you remember in the original video, it dried slightly gray. It's now slightly more gray. You can see some of the original cedar color, but not too much.

The third stripe was a Sherwin Williams product called Deckscapes in clear. It went on handsomely, but in less than three months, it's failed miserably. You'll see it in the video.

Finally, the fourth stripe of wood was cedar that I cleaned but didn't add any sealer. That wood is now completely gray and matches the planks of cedar perfectly that have Extreme Defy clear on them that's 13 months old.

It's important to note that all three sealers are still doing an EXCELLENT job with respect to repelling water. Water is STILL beading up on the wood. The failure so far has just been the color.

I've decided to do an extensive test next spring, featuring at least six to ten sealers that you see in the home centers as well as other top products like Defy. I'll be doing it in a more controlled manner using both cedar and treated lumber. I'll also be coating TWO samples of each wood with each sealer. One of the samples will stay outdoors but the other one is being taken inside and put in a box in my garage out of the sun. At different times of the year we'll be able to take the samples outdoors to video them against the ones in the weather. That's going to be an amazing test!

Washington DC Metro Moola

Do you live in the Washington DC area? Do you ride the Metro subway regularly? I was in DC about five weeks ago and in a rush got a ticket I thought was going to be a single fare. Instead the machine gobbled my entire $20 bill. I have a ticket with $16.65 worth of travel on it. I'll mail it to the FIRST person that contacts me and provides me with a DC area mailing address. If you DON'T get a reply email from me after sending your address, that means you were an also ran and reacted too slowly. Better luck next time!

Round Area LED Light

In the craziness of my life this past two months, I've been able to test an interesting product. It's a small LED light that looks much like a hockey puck. It's made by the Energizer folks and produces 50 lumens of bright white light. This little light is meant to act like an overhead light and is equipped with tiny magnets. If you want to mount it to a wood or drywall surface to use it, it comes with a handy plate you screw to a non-magnetic surface.

The only trouble I had with it was the non-intuitive (for me!) method of turning it on and off. I was looking for a button or a switch on the sides of it. There were none. You simply push the clear lens to make it go on and off. Duh!! They say it runs for 31 hours on it's two AA batteries. I don't know if that's true as it's still working great for me!

This is the fourth LED lite from Energizer I've tested. I LOVE them, especially the headlamp one and swivel-head flashlight - both of which have red and green LED bulbs in them in addition to the white ones. The red light is perfect at night when I walk to and from my Fire Pit. The red light lets you see, but doesn't ruin your night vision.

Frost Damage in Wisconsin

Molly Nordin of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin emailed me with a distressing situation:

"We put cultured stone on our smooth foundation 5 years ago. After the frost left the ground this spring, the stone came off the foundation in one huge chunk. It is an area 3 ft high by 32 ft long. For the most part it is still standing on its own, no longer attached to the house. Can this be put back on, or do we need to start over?"

Molly, I can't imagine trying to manhandle that massive chunk of masonry. You're going to have to start over unfortunately.

To prevent this delamination from happening again, I'm going to suggest you use my cement-paint methodology and do some digging. Please read this column of mine to get a great grasp of how and why cement paint works to help bond two masonry layers together.

In your case, you apply the cement paint just before you trowel on the mortar that bonds the cultured stone to the foundation.

After you install the new faux stone, I want you do dig a trench alongside the foundation that's about 2-feet deep and 6-inches wide. Remove all the clay soil. In its place, pour in small rounded pea gravel. Make sure there is a 4-inch or more gap between the bottom of any of the cultured stone and the gravel.

My guess is that your problem happened because the soil may have been in contact with the bottom of the stone. When the soil froze and then lifted up against the bottom of the stone, it sheared off the mortar bond between the stone and the foundation.

This loose pea gravel, along with the space, will create a buffer zone. Even if the stone raises up that distance, because it's free-draining, it should roll up and over the faux stone. Your clay soil does the exact opposite. It's like a massive bulldozer pushing up against the stone.

Deck Checklist News

Several weeks ago, I talked about my revised Deck Checklist. The impending move is really wreaking havoc with my schedule. I'm going to try this week to put together that special deal I mentioned last issue. It will be a 60-percent-off promotion with a BONUS. The bonus is a one-hour phone seminar where I answer the top questions you have about installing, repairing or maintaining a deck. Watch for this extra promotion email in a few days. You don't want to miss this.

Moving Sale

I know that you may be a subscriber that lives in or near Cincinnati, OH. I've decided to have an exclusive Garage Sale for just you on Saturday August 7th! It will not be advertised to the general public. I'll be selling my sweet John Deere lawn tractor and plow, some great lumber, tools (many in original boxes), hardware, a great Kohler 3.5-gallon flush toilet (you CAN'T get these any longer) and other assorted stuff. I'll put together a full list early that week and send it out to you. There will be some great deals to be had. I can deliver the John Deere mower and plow, in case you can't transport it.

Smoke Remediation

Very dear friends of mine, Veronica and Jason Hill almost lost their home due to a home next door to theirs that burned to the ground. Veronica and Jason's house suffered significant smoke, water, heat and some fire damage. Photos of their house can be seen in and at the bottom of this column at my website.

If you're a smoke remediation specialist, they need advice. Better yet, if you're located in Southern CA, you may get the job. But at this point, I'm trying to make sure Veronica and Jason don't get taken. Can you email me and I'll put you in touch with them?

Follow Up on Craigslist Scam

As I knew would happen, I got hundreds of emails about my Craigslist Scam-Alert newsletter. The scam I was pointing out was not, by any means, the only one out there. What's more, you may have been one of the several subscribers that sent me a link to a story where a man was shot to death by thieves that expressed an interest in a diamond ring he was selling on Craigslist. That's precisely why I mentioned that being an avid supporter of the Second Amendment is not such a bad idea.

There is yet another scam that's surfaced and come to my personal attention. I've had the exact same email sent to me on two different products where the person wants me to watch a video to make sure the item I'm selling matches what they want to buy. If you get an email asking you to watch a video or a link to a website where you should go to look at something, DON'T do it. Don't try to watch a video or go to that website. There's a very high probability you'll be a victim of malware, spyware or some other evil virus that will wreak havoc in your financial and personal life.

That being said, I'm continuing to have a GREAT experience on Craigslist. I'm selling things all the time. I'm happy, the buyers seem happy and people are getting things they need. Remember, if you have a project coming up, you may find a fantastic deal on materials right around the corner from your house. You never know who's selling what.

Collectors Items

Are you a serious collector of old beer bottles? How about a serious sports memorabilia collector? I have two beer bottles from Cincinnati breweries that are at least 100 years old. I also have a 16 oz bottle of Pepsi - unopened! - that's a commemorative issue of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds World Series Win. It was a special Bicentennial July 4, 1976 commemorative bottle. I'm offering them to you first, then the general public if there's not any interest here on my list. Make me an offer. Yes, I realize you need to see photos. I'll send them to you if you're interested.

AsktheBuilder.com

Garage Door Opener

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: The house I moved into doesn’t have a garage door opener. I’m wondering if these machines are really practical or just a gimmick. The price difference between models has me seriously considering a discount garage door opener. Do you have any experience with these contraptions, and what should I take into consideration when purchasing one? I’ve been told they’ll help keep my garage more secure. Samantha R., Providence, RI

DEAR SAMANTHA: As you might expect, I do have lots of experience with garage door openers. Not only do I have them at my own home, but over the years, I also installed many different models in the houses I built and remodeled. One thing I’ll tell you is that I’ll never ever install a cheap garage door opener for anyone. They just don’t last long, and you’ll end up replacing the opener long before you would had you invested in quality. If your goal is to save money, watch for a garage-door-opener sale or special promotion.

This garage door opener can last for many years if most of the lifting of the door is performed by the springs attached to the door. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This garage door opener can last for many years if most of the lifting of the door is performed by the springs attached to the door. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Let’s talk about how useful these wonderful inventions are by conjuring up a few scenarios. Imagine you having to go out to a fancy dress party and you’re in your finest clothes. Just as you’re getting ready to pull out of your garage in your car a fierce rainstorm starts to dump torrential rain. With a handy electric garage door opener in place, you don’t have to jump out of your car while sheets of rain drench you as you struggle with the door. A touch of a button while you’re in your dry car activates the opener which closes the door for you.

Automatic garage door openers can also provide you with a certain degree of safety. Let’s say that some bad people want to harm you or take your possessions. Without a garage door opener, when you arrive back home from a night out, you have to exit your car to open the garage door. You’re pretty vulnerable to being attacked. With an opener, you can stay locked inside your car until such time as you pull into the garage and command the door to close while you remain in your locked car. While this is a rare possibility, it can happen.

I've installed and owned several different brands over the years. I've had good luck with a Stanley garage door opener. At my current home, I have two Liftmaster garage door openers. I know of people that have used the Allister garage door opener, but I've not ever had the opportunity to see one in action.

If you’ve now decided to purchase one, you should consider several things before making your final decision. There are three primary drive mechanisms that you’ll come across in your shopping foray. I’m sure you’ll see a chain drive, a screw drive and undoubtedly a belt drive garage door opener.

All of these do the same thing, but there are significant differences. The chain-drive openers usually are the least quiet and over time the chains can lose a little bit of their tension. The screw-drive openers in my experience operate smoothly for years with little or no maintenance issues.

The belt-drive garage-door openers demand close scrutiny on your part if you want an opener that’s quiet. Because the belt minimizes metal-to-metal contact between moving parts, you end up with a nearly silent garage door opener. This can be a significant advantage if you or another family member sleeps in a room above or adjacent to the garage or if someone in your family works odd hours that has them coming and going while others in the house are counting sheep.

I would absolutely think about garage door opener service as part of your buying decision. In the event of a problem or warranty issue, who will assist you? While these machines are not too complicated, you don’t want to be up on a ladder yourself trying to wrestle with one if you don’t have to.

Be sure the springs that are attached to your garage door have been adjusted correctly before you install an opener. Understand that the springs actually lift the door, not the opener. The electric opener you intend to purchase is not built to lift, on its own, the enormous weight of garage doors.

I’ve installed many an opener in my career and if you have the chance to install the necessary wiring for the opener before wall finishes are attached to the wall, do so. Safety features on the doors require low-voltage wires to be run to optical sensors at the lower ends of the door track. It’s nice to have these wires hidden behind the walls where they are out of the way from being snagged by garden tools or anything else that may nick them.

Don’t assume that a garage door opener will make your garage immune from unwanted entry in your absence. Just about every garage door opener is equipped with a safety release handle where the door connects to the track. When your door is in the closed position, this handle dangles from the track just behind the top of the door.

An undesirable person can bow in the top of some garage doors with ease allowing them to slide a metal hook that grabs the handle. Within seconds they can disengage the garage door from the track allowing them to manually lift the door. Once inside your garage they can quickly close the door giving the appearance to all who pass by your home that all is well and nothing is happening.

Column 840

July 6, 2010 AsktheBuilder News And Tips

Posted on by Tim Carter

What’s in This Issue?

Latest News
Metabo Cordless Drill
Pocket Door Photo Could Be Worth $100
Paslode Tools and Breast Cancer
Ceramic Tile Over a Stained Concrete Floor
Deck Construction & Maintenance Checklist

Remember, Do It Right, Not Over!

I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Friendly Question Reminder!

If you have a question for me, don't hit the Reply button just yet. Go immediately to my web site and type in the keywords about your problem into my Search engine. The search box is at the top of every page of my web site. You could have your answer in seconds if you do this! Please pay attention to all links you see at my web site. The exact products and services you often need are right in front of you, and you might be ignoring them.

Latest News   

I started to write this newsletter on June 22nd. Then life got in the way. My daily life is starting to seem like one of those spinning rides you see at county fairs. All the details in and about the upcoming move, I'm moving my wife and daughter up from Cincinnati, OH to NH, are consuming me. Each day the mental vertigo seems to get worse.

Tomorrow I drive back from NH to Cincinnati the second-last time to load up the truck and trailer with many special outdoor plants that Kathy wants up at the new house. The moving company has clearly communicated no guarantees with moving plants. This means I move them as Kathy treats many of them as if they were her babies. In many respects they are, as she's nurtured them for years.   

I'm only in Cincinnati for a week, back to NH for perhaps 12 days then drive back to Cincinnati to attend the closing on the house sale and the final packing. The moving van arrives at the Cincinnati house on August 17th.    

As I type this, it's July 5th and I can see Provincetown off in the distance as I look across Cape Cod Bay. It's my first time ever to this magical place. I've always wanted to come here, but never made it.   

I'm on the beach a guest of some great friends of mine who have inherited a legacy 104-year-old beach house up on top of a dune in Truro, MA. The breeze is amazing, but it's hot as Hades in the sun today. I just scorched my feet walking up the wood steps from the beach. Earlier today, I was at a house two doors down doing a wood-deck consult. More on that later in this newsletter.   

Here's the original open for the newsletter I wrote over two weeks ago:   

Last week I was in Washington DC for a two-day event about Internet Advertising. On the second day I met with the Senior Policy Advisors of five US Senators. It was a fascinating civics lesson to be sure. The meetings were an attempt to convey to the advisors how a proposed bill might affect you and small businesses like me.   

There's a draft bill in the House about Internet Privacy. If passed in its current form, it could potentially shut down websites similar to AsktheBuilder.com that allow you free access to information. If you haven't already figured it out, I'm only able to give away this newsletter, all my columns, and videos to you for free because of the advertising revenue I'm able to generate.   

The privacy issue is complex and one aspect deals with information you pass on to third-party networks such as the IP (Internet protocol) address of your computer. Each computer has an IP address much like your social security number. When you visit a site like mine I'm able to use your IP address to serve you with highly relevant ads.   

Here's an example. Let's say you have a clogged sewer line any you live in Scranton, PA. You come to my website and read my columns about clogs. Lo and behold, in that column are ads for drain-cleaning companies and plumbers who are based in Scranton PA! That's exactly what you need, not ads for tennis rackets, shampoo, or plumbers in Sacramento, CA.   

Can you see how targeted ads help you solve problems around your home? I thought so. Make sure you contact your representatives telling them that you feel the Internet works just fine right now and they should concern themselves with creating jobs, lowering our budget deficits and our national debt, etc. Right now the Internet and technology sectors are one of the few things in our economy hitting on all eight cylinders and some politicians are trying to muck it up.   

Metabo Cordless Drill   

I just tested another cordless drill while constructing a storage loft in my garage here in New Hampshire. It was the Metabo BS 18 LTX cordless 18-volt cordless drill. This powerful tool comes with two batteries, an air-cooled charger and swivel handle.    

It was comfortable to use and didn't disappoint me with respect to power and torque. For a full list of features and a great photo of the drill, you can visit the Metabo website. Run your mouse over the photo of the drill and watch what happens. That's a clever use of Javascript!   

Your Pocket-Door Photo Could be Worth $100   

If you've been a subscriber to this newsletter for any length of time, you know I love pocket doors. These are the doors that disappear into walls when you open them instead of swinging on hinges. Pocket doors take up less floor space and open up interior design options in your home.   

L.E. Johnson, the manufacturer of the pocket-door hardware I use, is willing to pay you $100 if they decide to feature a photo of your pocket door in their online gallery. If you'd rather have a credit to purchase more hardware from them, they'll give you a $200 product credit. All the details are at their website. Be sure to take a great photo. You'll see examples at the website.     

Paslode Tools and Breast Cancer   

If you own a Paslode framing nailgun tool, you can trick it out and help Nail the Cure by purchasing stickers that go on the gun. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds are given to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure organization. More details are here:   

Paslode Breast Cancer

Ceramic Tile Over a Stained Concrete Floor   

Tameka Jones from Kilgore, TX wrote to me asking:   

"I am about to install a tile floor in my living room, but my current concrete floor has a solid color concrete stain on it. Do I have to remove that before installing tile, or can I install the tile on top? If I do, how do I remove it? Paint thinner definitely does not work!"

Tameka, great news for you young lady. You don't have to do anything to the floor other than make sure it's in the same plane. This means fill in any low spots so that the floor has no humps or dips in it.   

To get the best results, you should install a crack-isolation material over the concrete and then apply your thinset mastic on top of that. This eliminates the bonding issue between the stained concrete and the thinset you're concerned with.   

Deck Construction and Maintenance Checklist    

As I said earlier, about three hours ago I was consulting with an older woman who has a gorgeous beach house on the dune just south of where I'm staying. I met this woman at dinner last night. Somehow she discovered I was the Ask the Builder guy and we got to talking about her worn deck.   

She's got rusted nails that are protruding from the deck and wondered what her options were. I went over and showed her how easy it is to hammer the nails back in and set them below the wood surface with a nail set. I also presented her with more costly options that would make it so she never had to get a hammer out again.   

On top of that, I'm getting ready to paint the exterior of my home in NH. The builder who constructed my home did a pretty good job on the entire house, but he totally fell down when constructing the huge deck on the back of the house and the small one at the front door. He didn't flash them correctly, and this is causing some rot problems with the wood trim around the windows and doors below the deck.   

Maybe you're getting ready to build a new deck soon or in the future. Are you sure you know many of the pitfalls? To help you prevent problems like I have plus avoid all sorts of other deck nightmares, including sealing and maintaining wood decks, I recently did a massive revision to my Deck Checklist. If the older woman I just visited had this checklist years ago, I wouldn't have had to go see her. There would be no protruding nails. Had the builder of my NH house had my deck checklist, there'd be no wood rot at my house and he wouldn't have a list of angry customers.   

The revised checklist has 50 percent more questions than the original. I've included links to all my existing deck construction and maintenance columns and videos, and photos of my existing deck connections. I've also included an illustration and a detail I've drawn that will show you how I'm going to install flashing to solve my deck problem. In other words, this checklist is a pretty good roadmap that will help you construct the deck you want, or it will help you find the pro who will end up doing it the right way.   

In a couple of weeks when I'm back in NH, I'm going to do a first-ever promotion with this checklist. Not only are you going to be able to get this checklist for an enormous discount, there is going to be an added bonus I've NEVER done before. Wait until you discover what it is. The sad part is that only 1,000 people are going to be able to take advantage of this special live event.   

Watch for more details about this in the newsletter next week. Yes, I promise to have a newsletter next week - even with the insanity going on in my life right now.

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