Newsletter #1165 (I think...)

My my my. I'm so glad you're here. This might be your first issue. This one is pretty standard, although I've added a few subtle changes.

You, though, might have started our friendship back with issue #874. It doesn't matter. That's a sentence I've been using quite a bit lately on my LIVE video streams! More on that just below.

California Civil Attorney

Are you a CA attorney that specializes in civil lawsuits? I'd like to write a column and need some help. Please reach out to me. Thanks!

Ice In!

Lake (Loch) Winnisquam froze over sometime early Wednesday morning under the cover of darkness. It's epic ice. It's clear as glass and just as smooth. I went down to the lake today and drilled it to see how thick it was. Can you guess? The answer is in a photograph you can see in a moment.

I'm not a big fan of going out on ice. It's one of my phobias. As always, I just ventured out to where I know the water is 30 inches deep. If I were to crash through, I'd discover what penguins feel like when they take a bath.

CLICK or TAP HERE to watch four short videos of me going down to check it out within HOURS of it freezing over on Wednesday morning. I was really curious as to how thick the ice was after just ten, or so, hours of transforming from liquid water to solid ice.

This is the first time I went down to the lake just after the ice formed. Normally, I'd go down a week or two later.

I also uploaded to that album the photos I shot when I went down just hours ago.

It's a damn shame that a monster snow storm will hit here on Sunday night and cover the ice with a foot of snow. When the ice stays uncovered and is SMOOTH like this, the ice sail-boaters show up. I've only seen it happen one winter in the past thirteen. The ice sailboats streak across the ice like jet airplanes!

Phooey!

Not a Good Look On You

Over the past two weeks, I've been giving away eight free items worth over $110.00. The top one is my Roofing Ripoff expose' book.

By the way, if you're on a TIGHT FIXED BUDGET you can get my entire digital library for just $29.99. Seriously, that price is just for people who no longer are earning a living.

Rick took advantage of this offer and wrote to me:

"Tim Thank you oh so very much for offering this bundle for us older folks. I retired just over a year ago and I'm finding it's not as easy as I anticipated. So, your offer sure makes obtaining knowledge a whole lot easier."

That low insane price vaporizes in 13 hours at 6:01 PM Eastern time today January 16, 2022. After that, you'll pay $49.99.

What I'm about to share is a teaching moment. It's NOT an attempt to belittle or shame anyone. The only way I know how to do it is to share what happened.

The 60+ newspapers across the great fruited plain that publish my weekly column are promoting this free giveaway. Three days ago, I received an angry email from a woman. Here's what she wrote:

"Ok Tim,
I followed your instructions to get your free pdf copy of your ebook. Had to sign up for your newsletter first. Ok, but never saw this free pdf or any of the other things you were offering for the new year to help out consumers. Just a 40% deal. Nice Tim, really nice. Never thought you would be a bait and switch kind of guy. Also your website is so full of adds and gimmicks to buy things, it really is kind of horrible. Thanks for nothing really."

Here was my reply:

Dear Named Withheld by Tim Carter,

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm reasonably sure you didn't follow the instructions. You most likely typed in the URL wrong failing to put in the all-important go. before askthebuilder.com in the URL published by your paper.

Had you done that, you would have arrived at the following page and NEVER seen the 40% offer regular people see who stumble on my website by accident.

Tell me, does this page look familiar?

Newspaper Readers Free Digital Files Giveaway

Once you filled out the form and then clicked the Confirmation link in your email you would have been taken to this page as were thousands of others over the past few days:

Thank You Newspaper Reader Free Digital Files

And you can clearly see the link to the free download.

So, tell me, am I the evil bait-and-switch guy or did you do something wrong?"

I have a feeling this woman was having a bad day, might have lots of stress in her life, or ?????.

BOTTOM LINE: Please don't lash out at people like this. She could have written:

"Dear Tim,

Thanks for your offer of the free PDF files. I may have done something wrong because I don't see the link to them. Instead I saw an offer for 40% off. Can I still get the free files? If so, how?

Thanks, Polite Woman"

BTW, the woman never responded to me offering up an apology. When you make a mistake and it's brought to your attention, apologize. This is what used to be taught in schools.

But what do I know????? I used to each lunch sitting on overturned empty drywall mud buckets for 20+ years...

What You've Been Missing

It's a shame you've not been tuning into my LIVE video streams each M-F at 4 PM Eastern Time on my YouTube channel.

Here's what Will, Steve, Shannon, Lorene, Andrew, Jack, Nala, Jason, and a bunch of others discovered during my wide-ranging discussions in just the past few days:

• my hat size
• my top three phobias
• photos of our two great cats
• a favorite liquid-refreshment of mine
• a possible AsktheBuilder parachute drop
• a spring golf outing with a LIVE streaming fan
• a recent food craving

The point is, the LIVE streams are NOT some long-winded boring LECTURE about a home improvement topic! I bloviate about a bunch of things that have NOTHING to do with home improvement.

It's TONS of fun!

You get to send me chat messages during the stream. Your comments and questions chart the course of what we talk about!

WE GO to Town!

This past week it's been very cold in NH. A week ago on Monday morning, it was a bone-chilling -6F. My giant F-250 Super Duty Ford truck sat unused and lonely for about five days during this bitter-cold spell.

The big V8 engine was damn cold. The oil was probably the consistency of dehydrated maple syrup.

On Thursday, it was time to go to town to run a bunch of errands. I opened the creaking cold door, jumped onto the block-of-ice seat, turned the key and then: (slow) RRR RRR rrr rr r (rapid clicking noise)

Darn it! (I actually said something else. :-O )

CLICK or TAP HERE to read the rest of the short saga.

I GUARANTEE you'll laugh out loud.

That's enough for a Sunday.

Remember, mind your manners. Don't lash out at people.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Hilton Hotels is BUYING! - www.StainSolver.com
Morse-Muff Time - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. How much heat is your home LOSING? It's easy to calculate!! CLICK or TAP HERE to discover how.

Special Announcement - Last Call

This is REALLY FAST. If you subscribed after 4 AM this past Sunday, this is not going to make sense. Hang in there with me.

This message to you is what I call at the Ask the Builder world headquarters a Shot-Across-the-Bow email alert.

This coming Sunday, January 16, 2022, at 6:01 PM Eastern Time the low price of $29.99 for my entire Digital Library is going to disappear forever.

CLICK or TAP HERE and you'll see something unusual. SCROLL DOWN to see the huge list of topics in my digital library.

You'll see FIVE different prices for the same product! The prices range from $29.99 up to $149.99.

As crazy as this sounds, I allow you to decide what to pay. Your clicking one of the radio buttons tells me what YOU think my stuff is worth to you.

Here's what's in store moving forward beyond this Sunday.

On Sunday January 23rd, the $49.99 price will vaporize.

On Sunday January 30th, the $99.99 price will vaporize.

And so on and so forth until the price stays at $149.99 or I RAISE the price.

It's important to realize the retail price of the entire digital library, should you buy each one right now separately in the shopping cart, would be about $1,450.00.

So even at $149.99 it's a tremendous bargain.

BOTTOM LINE: If you feel my entire library is only worth $29.99 to you, you better act on it in the next five days.

CLICK or TAP HERE now to get it before I never let you have it again for that price.

I'm serious. You'll never ever again see it for that price. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Peace out. (in my best Kip voice)

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

P.S. I will send out two LAST CALL reminders on Sunday in case you're a chronic procrastinator. But under NO CIRCUMSTANCES will I honor the current $29.99 price after 6:01 PM this coming Sunday. Peace out a second time. 🙂

Issue #1164 (I think)

You could be one of the hundreds of new subscribers in the past seven days. If I was a betting man, or had access to my newsletter subscription software :-> , I'd say you probably hail from Chicagoland and read my column each week in the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago is my favorite big city. I used to love walking up and down Michigan Avenue marveling at the stunning architecture and size of the older buildings. Welcome and get ready for some powerhouse newsletters in the near future!

One thing I'm working on right now is the announcement I just saw about GAF's new solar panel roof shingles. In fact, I'm devoting my LIVE video stream tomorrow (01-10-2022) to this very topic. I now LIVE stream each M-F at 4 PM Eastern Time on my YouTube channel.

On Monday, I'm going to share during the LIVE stream a laundry list of questions I'm putting forth to GAF. You need to know these because they're the same questions you should be asking your roofer!!!! BTW, you don't need a YouTube account to watch my LIVE stream each day.

Assuming you're not a new subscriber, you might be one that's been with me since 1996 and still have deep in your email records issue #1. Good for you, because I don't have it!

Forest for the Trees

I'm sure you've heard that old idiom, "You can't see the forest for the trees."

Boy, that sure describes me! I was so focused putting together your gifts over the past weeks, investing countless hours with my nose inches from the grindstone, that I didn't look up and out into the forest.

In last week's issue, #1163 (I think...), I shared how you could get for free all of the following:

• My Roofing Ripoff expose' eBook where I reveal how you can make shingles LAST for 40 or 50 years!
• My Linear French Drain 90-minute streaming video - No more WET BASEMENTS, crawlspaces, or soggy yards!
• My Bath Remodeling Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide
• My Water Heater Replacement Checklist and Plumber Hiring Guide
• My Concrete Sidewalk, Driveway, Patio Specifications, and Drawing
• My Kitchen Remodeling Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide
• My Chimney Crown Repair Specifications - 99.99% of masons do it WRONG!!!
• My Roofing Replacement Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide - An amazing 3-page PDF file

While you might be one that did take advantage and downloaded all the free goodies, an astonishing number just shrugged their shoulders and went about their daily business. There are probably twenty, or more, valid reasons for not picking up your gifts.

One of them could have been the timing. You may have been exhausted from the Christmas mayhem. I get it. It's a tough time of year.

Here's your second chance to get over $110.00 of my digital files that you see above at no cost.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get your gifts. But don't shrug it off this time.

When you click that link, you're going to discover a second gift for you. A gift worth well over $1,000.00. That's not a typo.

Ed reached out to me last Tuesday asking me if was a trick. He was hesitant to CLICK the link saying:

"Your offer is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. I'm afraid your stuff is filled with malware, spyware, and other bad jujumagumbo."

No, Ed, there's no bad stuff in my products. It's SAFE to download everything.

What's the second gift? You can now, for a very short time, get my ENTIRE digital library of over 112 products for as low as $29.99 if you're on a very tight FIXED INCOME. CLICK or TAP HERE to see how.

Trust me, this opportunity is going to disappear.

Modulating Boilers - True Savings

Two years ago, I installed an amazing Noritz modulating boiler in my daughter's new home. Understand this boiler not only heats her home, but it also is a tankless water heater. She and her family can take a hot shower for as long as there's water in the well and propane feeding the boiler.

What's more, the boiler is about the size of a piece of luggage you might check on an airplane. Much smaller than conventional boilers. Here it is:

Modulating boilers are wonderful for many reasons. That said, my favorite one is:

The burner only produces enough flame to satisfy the DEMAND at that moment. In other words, it works like a typical burner on your stove. You can set that burner on your stove to HIGH or all the way down to simmer.

When a modulating boiler is running with a LOW flame to satisfy just one zone requiring heat, even thought it's a high-efficiency appliance, far less fuel is going up the chimney.

It's important to realize these boilers are not that expensive. I just priced the one I put in my daughter's home days ago. You can buy it now for $2,600 and change online at supplyhouse.com.

Go get one or two before inflation raises the price to $3,000.00. CLICK or TAP HERE to see more photos and to read my story about how EASY it is to install a modulating boiler the size of a piece of checked luggage.

Relaxing Maine Wildlife Video

Things were so busy during Christmas I believe I failed to share a wonderful video created by Paul Cyr who lives in Presque Isle, Maine. His brother is a subscriber to this newsletter.

CLICK or TAP HERE and get ready to smile. If this is a repeat mention, it's worth watching a second time.

Install a NEW Concrete Foundation

Is your house's foundation falling apart? You can have a new foundation installed as is being done in the photo below. Look at this:

CLICK or TAP HERE to see other stunning photographs of just how the house is supported and HOW IT'S ACCOMPLISHED.

That's quite enough for a Sunday in cold January. Well, not cold for my fellow parishioners Paul and Rita. They're on the beach in Aruba!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic Cleaner - www.StainSolver.com
Ham Radio Tales - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. You'd do well to get your FREE copy of my Roofing Ripoff book. Look:

CLICK or TAP HERE to get it NOW.

This FREE offer is GOING TO EXPIRE for goodness sake!!!

If you're a new subscriber, what a first issue to receive! In the 25+ years I've published this newsletter, I've NEVER done one like this.

PLEASE READ it closely. If you've subscribed after December 12, 2021, you should really read that past issue first.

The inflation I talked about three weeks ago is worse. Much worse. You just need a fifth-grade math education to know this to be true.

When you see double and triple-digit price increases in many of the things you buy each week or month, how is it that the experts in an Associated Press story say the annual rate was just around 6%?

Anyone who's been in the Navy knows that's a smoke screen or those compiling the numbers have been getting herb'd up smoking something.

The inflation tsunami that's about to wash over you is what prompted me to do something I've never ever done before.

The Ask the Builder Egg Prize

Remember days ago when I shared the photo of the stunning Faberge' egg? The outer shell of each of the eggs is one-of-a-kind and more than special.

But I believe each one opens and INSIDE the egg there's an even better prize.

That was the inspiration for what I'm about to do.

You're about to receive at NO COST with no strings attached my top seven PDF digital files and free unlimited access to my one-of-a-kind 90-minute streaming video about how to save thousands of dollars if you have a wet basement, wet crawlspace, or soggy yard.

You may not need each present you're about to get right now, but believe me they'll come in handy one day soon.

Here's the outer shell of my egg prize:

• My Roofing Ripoff expose' eBook where I reveal how you can make asphalt shingles LAST for 40 or 50 years!
• My Linear French Drain 90-minute streaming video - No more WET BASEMENTS, crawlspaces, or soggy yards!
• My Bath Remodeling Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide
• My Water Heater Replacement Checklist and Plumber Hiring Guide
• My Concrete Sidewalk, Driveway, Patio Specifications, and Drawing
• My Kitchen Remodeling Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide
• My Chimney Crown Repair Specifications - 99.99% of masons do it WRONG!!!
• My Roofing Replacement Checklist and Contractor Hiring Guide - An amazing 3-page PDF file

But there's a much better SECOND gift for you inside the egg. It's in the same document you're about to download.

All I ask is that you CLOSELY READ the first page of what you're about to receive. What you'll see there is not a typo.

Some of my friends think I'm insane for doing what you're about to see. My friend Mike, however, said "...it's very very generous."

In reality, I just took a big swig of Abundance Juice.

CLICK or TAP HERE for your belated Christmas gift from Kathy and me. We hope you like it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the file doesn't download right away, RELAX. My server could be overloaded with thousands of simultaneous requests. Go do something else, come back in 15 minutes, and try again. Thanks for your patience.

Happy New Year, by the way. It's our hope that our gift to you will help make it an excellent one. We hope that you'll be able to save thousands, and maybe tens of thousands, of dollars using our gifts.

Tim and Kathy Carter
www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Christmas Eve Morning 2021

I have a very personal Christmas tradition. I work each Christmas Eve until Noon. So did Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.

It's an odd tradition, but one I do cherish.

Years ago, I was the only one on the job site on Christmas Eve. It was so peaceful. The pace was slow. I enjoyed the solitude.

I remember Christmas Eve 1984. Don Cornett, a commercial architect I knew, stopped by the house I was building. He was on his way home from the office. Maybe he liked working on Christmas Eve too.

We chatted and he marveled at the unique house design created by one of his peers, Hans Nuetzel. I did lots of work for Hans.

So here I am just about ready to wrap things up for the day. I'm listening to one of my very favorite Christmas songs as I type this. CLICK or TAP HERE to listen too.

I Tried So Hard

Do you have any idea how hard it is to carve a few Matryoshka dolls? You may know them as Russian nesting dolls. The trick is to whittle away anything that's not one of the dolls.

Easier said than done.

My Christmas gift to you is just like them. That's why you got the clue two days ago about the Faberge' egg that had a second prize inside the stunning outer egg shell.

Unfortunately, I'm not finished carving. But as God is my witness, you'll have my gifts to you in nine days on January 2nd.

You'll have to brush off some New Year's confetti from the box and maybe move an empty champagne glass that's leaning against the box.

Merry Christmas to you!

I'll be back on January 2nd.

Here's our Christmas Tree for this year. Kathy outdid herself once more. It's a fresh-cut tree I keep watered using this method.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over! (including getting the star straight dummy!)