Overhead Garage Storage

Posted on by Tim Carter
overhead garage storage

This overhead storage platform was built in less than a day, and has already saved me thousands of dollars of storage fees. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Garage Storage

DEAR TIM: I think overhead garage storage is the answer to my clutter problem. There is a giant void space over the hood of both cars in our wide garage. I need a diy garage-storage system that will support furniture, boxes, and other normal household items. How would you support a platform like this without any poles or columns that otherwise would get in the way of the cars? Is it safe to consider a project like this? Bill M., Drexel Hill, PA

DEAR BILL: As you probably know, there are many garage storage systems on the market. I have seen many different types at the trade shows I attend. Some use pulleys, ropes, cables, hydraulics, etc. to take advantage of that wonderful space you describe in all garages.

Two years ago, I had the same problem you have. We moved my daughter back from college with all of the stuff she had in a one-bedroom apartment. My outdoor shed had no room, and my attic was full. We decided to price an off-site storage facility, and the annual cost for the needed space was over $1,000.00. I found that to be too much to swallow.

Driving home in shock from the storage business, I thought about my garage. Within a few minutes, I had come to the same conclusion as you did - the space above the hoods of the cars was enormous. Once home, I discovered that I could easily fit a platform that would be 16-feet long, 6-feet wide and have a vertical space of 45 inches. The best part was that because of the height of my garage ceiling, the underside of the platform was still 81 inches off the floor. That is plenty of room for me to walk beneath the platform without hitting my head.

The most-important aspect of my overhead garage storage platform was the suspension system I designed. The platform itself was made from 2x6 lumber and one-half-inch-thick plywood. I spaced the 2x6's 16 inches on center so the platform would be sturdy. This platform is suspended from the ceiling with slotted steel corner irons. This simple hardware item is commonly used to hang garage door tracks and openers from garage ceilings. There is not one pole or column that holds my overhead platform up, although I did use several as temporary supports as the platform was being constructed.

To eliminate sway, I decided to attach one end of the overhead platform to a wall in the garage. I did this by screwing the one end joist to the wall studs. This simple connection made the platform rock solid as I knew that swaying back and forth would not be a good thing.

The connection of the slotted steel irons to the roof structure was done with through bolts, not lag bolts. Furthermore, I made the connection up high on the slanted roof rafters, not the horizontal bottom chord of my roof trusses. The sloped parts of the rafters are in compression while the flat bottom chord is in tension. My engineer friends told me it was a bad idea to add loads directly to the bottom framing member or the chord of the truss, but that adding the load to the sloped rafters acted like weight from shingles or snow above.

My calculations of the weight of the platform as well as the weight of the items being stored indicated that the total added load was less than 1,500 pounds. That is less than the weight of an extra layer of shingles on my garage roof. Since my trusses are approved for the weight of three layers of shingles plus any snow load and I only have one layer of shingles on my roof, I feel very comfortable that my platform will not cause the garage roof to fail.

I highly recommend that you consult with a residential structural engineer before you build your overhead garage storage platform. The engineer will check your garage and draw a simple plan showing you the exact parts you need and how many slotted steel irons are required. The cost of the consult will probably be less than two months fee for a storage facility. It is the best money you will spend on this project.

Close-up of slotted corner iron. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Close-up of slotted corner iron. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

When I decided the storage unit was too expensive, I decided to do some quick math. I quickly discovered I could purchase all of the materials for my overhead garage storage project for less than two-month's rent at the storage business. Since it took only one day to build it, I was really money ahead.

One tip that worked well for me was to treat the platform as if it were an outdoor deck. I mounted the one joist to the wall and worked away from that point. The temporary supports allowed me to make the platform level, and the addition of the plywood allowed me to easily square the platform. Once the plywood was in place, I was able to accurately locate where the slotted irons had to be placed at the ceiling to penetrate the drywall with minimal mess.

The slotted irons also are through bolted to the platform. Through bolts with a proper nut and washers will not pull out as a lag bolt might.

Column 731

Laundry Room Cabinets

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: It is time for new laundry-room cabinets at my home. But after looking at several laundry-room designs, I am convinced my current laundry-room layout is bad. I don't want to order new cabinets until I am sure the floorplan will work. What is involved in remodeling a laundry room? Do you have any laundry-room decor ideas that would make working in this space more pleasant? What type of cabinets would you consider if this were your home? Cindy S., Kinnelton, NJ

DEAR CINDY: I have to admit that all the years I built, I pretty much neglected the laundry room in the houses I worked on. My guess is that it stems from the fact that as a kid my washer and dryer were in our basement. The process of cleaning laundry seemed pretty insignificant.

But when I built my own home over 20 years ago, I moved the laundry room to the first floor by my garage. My wife and I thought we had the perfect laundry-room design, layout and cabinets. We were wrong. I am in the midst of a laundry-room remodeling job, and I am here to tell you that the cabinets we chose to use were greatly influenced by the mistakes we made in the past.

This laundry room is not yet ready for cabinets. Pipes, ducts and wires had to be moved to create the perfect layout and design. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This laundry room is not yet ready for cabinets. Pipes, ducts and wires had to be moved to create the perfect layout and design. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Our laundry room became the overflow for all sorts of items beyond detergent and fabric softener. Pet supplies, light bulbs, picnic supplies, children's sports equipment are just a few things that you can find in our laundry room. They were all visible on top of the few cabinets we had and some open shelves I built a few years ago in a last-ditch effort to control the accumulation of things.

The new laundry-room wall cabinets are 42-inches tall. Standard cabinets are usually 30-inches high. We decided to take the cabinets to the ceiling so that every square foot of available space is used for storage. These extra-tall cabinets are gorgeous, and do not overpower the room. You should price these out for your job.

As for the layout of your laundry room, you may be able to relocate things with a little bit of work. In my case, we changed the location of the dryer, washing machine and a 48-inch sink base cabinet. The old layout had the washing machine and dryer immediately adjacent to the main pathway leading from the garage to the rest of the house. When laundry was being done, baskets and piles of clothes were in the way as you moved about the house.

If your laundry room is large enough, I feel that you should consider a folding surface for clothes as well as a sink to rinse things before you wash them. We use the deep stainless-steel sink next to our washing machine to clean all sorts of things that would otherwise be a hassle in our regular kitchen sink.

You want to have superior lighting and a bright color scheme in this room. Doing laundry is work, and you should make the environment as pleasant as possible. If you spend lots of time folding clothes in this room, then make sure you have convenient power for a radio or maybe a small television. These things will help take your mind off the mundane chore of folding clothes.

Laundry-room flooring is fairly important. You want a material that is durable and will not show dirt. We have a ceramic-tile floor that is a light mottled brown. It does a magnificent job of hiding dirt, and when it is time to clean it, a mop makes it look like new in minutes.

If you are relocating your dryer-vent pipe, place the top of it 42 inches off the floor directly behind the dryer. This will allow you to easily connect the smooth metal pipe as you slide the dryer into position. The building code requires that smooth metal pipe be used to vent dryers. Avoid using the collapsible plastic piping as it can be easily crushed as you slide the dryer back against the wall. If this happens, your dryer will not work properly causing you to waste lots of energy dollars.

Removing a useless small closet in our laundry room opened up enough space to permit us to install 5 linear feet of additional base cabinets in our laundry room. I installed a second sink here that will come in handy for any number of things. We also were able to install a new wall cabinet in this location where all pet food and supplies will be stored.

We also decided to install laundry-room organizers in a large closet immediately adjacent to the laundry room. This will help keep the clutter under control as the shelves and drawers make use of all the space in the closet.

If you are planning to build a new home and have large dogs, think about installing a rectangular shower basin that can be used to wash off muddy beasts before they come in and shake the brown muck all over your painted walls and wallpaper. You can bet I will have one of these things in my new home that is in the planning stage right now!

Column 730

June 3, 2008 AsktheBuilder News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What's in This Issue

WATER HEATER ADVICE
TRAGIC CARBON-MONOXIDE DEATHS
HOME DESIGN SOFTWARE
RECORD STAIN SOLVER SALES
NEWEST COLUMNS AND VIDEOS

Water Heater Advice

Water Heater Label

I received an email a few days ago Bob Wilks asking about an item in my Water-Heater checklist. Actually, Bob was commenting on something he felt was missing in the checklist.

He had seen a television segment that featured what can happen if the flames or pilot light from a natural gas or propane water heater ignite fumes from gasoline, paint thinner or any other flammable vapor.

The building code mandates that the burner of a gas water heater needs to be above the floor at least 18 inches if the heater is in a garage. Note the word garage. You do not need to install the heater on a platform if it is in a basement or inside a home as most people do not store flammable liquids inside a home or basement. Or DO YOU???????? 

The lesson here is to make sure all flammable liquids at your home are in the garage and in a safe cabinet where they can't spill. The fumes of most of these liquids are heavier than air and collect on a floor. If your water heater is in your garage, then I would seriously consider figuring a way to safely store all flammable liquids outdoors in a metal cabinet or outdoor storage shed. Keep these liquids out of your home and away from gas heaters. Read the safety label on your water heater.

Tragic Carbon-Monoxide Deaths

Just two days ago, two sisters, who were in their twenties, passed away from carbon-monoxide poisoning here in Cincinnati. One was a young mom. How did it happen? The newspaper story says that they had a gasoline-powered generator operating in the basement. The electricity was not on as they had just moved into the house.

The two women went into the basement to check on the generator. My best guess is that it stopped operating as it ran out of oxygen. The two women were immediately overcome with the toxic carbon-monoxide gas as they walked down the stairs into the basement.

I have always assumed people knew not to ever turn on a combustion engine inside a home, but you know what happens when you assume. You can even have issues if the generator is outdoors next to your house and the fumes get sucked indoors through an open window, a vent or any other opening. What a sad tragedy.

Home Design Software

If you subscribed to this newsletter of mine, you undoubtedly are using a computer. For well over ten years, there have been different types of software that allow you to draw your own house plans. The original versions were not as robust as one might like, and the learning curve was steep.

Times have changed! You can now purchase software that will allow you to quickly draw plans for the most complex home or a small project like a planter stand for your yard. Any project in between is also possible, such as a room addition, a bathroom or kitchen remodel or a redesign of an existing room. You can even make three-dimensional models of what you plan to build!

I am currently using Better Homes and Gardens Home Designer Suite version 8.0 software to design my new home in New Hampshire. So far I am really pleased with the outcome and how easy it is to use the software. When you see all of the features this software has, you may consider it as you start to plan your next project.

Record Stain Solver Sales

Stain Solver

I don't want to bore you with all of the details, but hundreds and hundreds of people helped break a record here at AsktheBuilder last month. Woo Hoo!!!!!

We had record sales of the all-purpose and 100-percent green cleaner Stain Solver. The craziest thing is that for the first time ever, the 50-pound size was the sales leader. We ran out of the green five-gallon pails not once but twice. My salesman had to rush to our headquarters on two different days with buckets packed into the trunk of his car. His regular delivery trucks were not able to get to us fast enough.

I realize that you might be rolling your eyes about me bringing up Stain Solver, but please understand that each week there are over 1,500 new subscribers to this newsletter. These newsletter newbies don't realize that 13 years ago I discovered the power of oxygen bleach liking it so much I developed my own product to sell. It is my duty to share with them the magic you already know about! You do want to share don't you?

To celebrate the record sales, I am going to give you a 20-percent discount on any size of Stain Solver. Look at the value per pound of that 50-pound size. It's a huge bargain. No wonder it helped break the record last month.

You will need this Promo Code:

Record

Act Quickly! Why? I may run out of the five-gallon pails again, and this Sale ended Friday night (June 6, 2008).

P.S. As a little bonus, I will autograph the sides of the green five-gallon pails that are sold as part of this Sale. Who knows what that pail might be worth in the years to come!

Newest Columns and Videos

Patio Pavers

How to Build a Retaining Wall

Plumbing Vent Pipe Tip Video

Right Angle Drill vs. a Hole Saw Video

Index of past newsletters.

Screened Porch Design

Posted on by Tim Carter
screened-in porch

This screened-in porch needs a paint job, but its design is perfect. I know as the owner still compliments me 20 years after I built it. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: The next project at my home is a screened porch. I have looked at many screened-porch plans, but none of them really excite me. While looking at some pictures of screened-in porches, I have some really good ideas about what I want in my screened porch design. What should I take into consideration in this planning phase so that I end up with the perfect screened-in porch? Caroline M., Belmont, NH

DEAR CAROLINE: Screened-porch designs, and I mean good ones, are often hard to discover. My feeling about this stems from the fact that most of the ones I have seen seem to be mutations of decks that are just thrown onto the rear or side of a home. You have to keep many things in mind when you decide to build a screened porch.

The first thing you need to consider is the size of the screened porch. One really effective way to create the floor plan is to buy the furniture you intend to use on the porch before you build the structure. Set the furniture up in your yard spacing it exactly as you intend to place it on the finished screened porch. Be sure you have the spacing correct so people can walk freely around the chairs, tables and any decorative items you may have.

Use string to create the outline of the porch so you can see the shape and get fairly accurate measurements. My guess is that you will discover that you need a screened porch that measures at least 15 feet by 15 feet to seat at least eight or more people comfortably.

The outside design should match the style and character of your home. This means you should copy the roof pitch as well as the exterior trim details. The overhang of the screened-in porch needs to match your existing one or be in scale if your home is a two story.

Be very aware of interior hallways or pathways within the floor plan of the porch if you plan to have a door leading from the porch to your yard. A doorway will often consume 15 or 20 square feet of floor space inside the screened porch, especially if it is placed in a corner.

I urge you to give serious consideration to a vaulted ceiling inside the screened porch. This design detail is magical as it creates a feeling of immense spaciousness. A vaulted ceiling also helps keep the porch slightly cooler as hot air can easily rise up to the highest point of the roof and exit through ventilation devices installed with the roofing.

Your outdoor screened-in porch design should include soft indirect lighting that bounces off the ceiling as well as task lighting over a table. You want to be able to see what you are eating or what cards you were dealt as that poker game extends into the night.

Be sure to plan for adequate electric outlets in key locations where you might place a television, sound system or any other appliance than needs electricity. You must avoid extension cords at all costs, as they can be very dangerous.

You are going to get many pleasant benefits from your new screened porch, but be aware there are undesirable secondary effects that catch people off guard. These structures are almost always added to a home. The natural light entering the finished room that abuts the screened porch is always significantly diminished. That room will be dark and gloomy, so it may need additional artificial lighting to compensate. You can add skylights in the screened porch to help get additional light into the house.

Be sure the walls of the screened porch are tall enough so that views are not blocked by the roof overhang, any beams that are supporting the roof and the actual finished framing around the screens. You may discover that you need a wall height of at least 9 feet to ensure the views from the porch are only obscured by the screening itself.

The flooring of the screened porch is important. It needs to be weatherproof and good looking at the same time. Be aware that tiny bugs can come up through any cracks or gaps in the flooring unless you have screening that extends all the way to the ground around the structure. The roof will protect the flooring from much of the sunlight, but driving rain will get the floor wet on many occasions.

Be sure to include a powerful ceiling fan in your design. You may need the air movement on evenings or days that are hot and devoid of wind or breezes. A high-quality ceiling fan will be whisper quiet or completely silent so you can hear nothing but the pleasant sounds of nature just the other side of the screening.

Related Column:

Create a Utility Screened Porch

Column 729

How to Pressure Wash Your Roof Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Free & Fast Bids

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from companies who will clean your roof for you.

Roof cleaning may sound crazy, but cleaning roof shingles is a task many homeowners must do. Check the video for the moss, lichen and algae on Tim’s own roof. You can use a pressure washer to safely clean your asphalt shingles.

A pressure washer can damage roof shingles. You must use the correct spray wand tip when cleaning your roof. The 25 degree spray nozzle is generally the best choice. It will provide a fantastic stream of water to dislodge the moss and algae without damaging the shingles.

Try to stand on a dry portion of the roof when you work. Wet shingles can be really slippery. Always aim the pressure washer down the roof. Never aim it up the roof, as it can blast water under your shingles and cause leaks in your home.

Keep the tip of the pressure washer wand at least 12" away from the shingle surface when you begin cleaning. Clean off one shingle and check to see if the pressure washer is stripping away any of the colored granules off the shingles. Adjust the distance between the spray nozzle tip and the roof shingles to get maximum cleaning without damaging the shingles. Constantly stop and inspect the shingles to ensure no damage.

If done properly, you can remove years of algae growth, moss and lichen off your roof. And with no damage to the roof or to yourself. Just take your time.

This very controversial video was shared in Tim's July 11, 2014 Newsletter.

CLICK HERE to get FREE & FAST BIDS from companies who will clean your roof for you.

Drilling Holes for PVC Pipe Fittings Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Here is a tip to remember when drilling holes for PVC pipe fittings. If your job requires that a PVC fitting be partial inside a stud, be sure to drill the right size hole. In a prior job, Tim was working with 1-1/2" PVC, so he knew that he needed to drill a 2-1/8" diameter hole for the pipe. But he soon discovered a little problem.

Looking at the sample holes, the PVC pipe fitting hub will not fit into a 2-1/8" diameter hole. It is large than the opening. Instead of having to spend time enlarging the hole you just drilled, be sure to drill a 2-9/16" diameter hole. This size will accommodate the PVC pipe fitting hub.

So before you start drilling holes in your studs for your plumbing project, think it through. Figure out if any fittings will be inside studs. If so, drill the right hole, the first time.

Right Angle Drill Versus a Hole Saw Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Tim is getting ready to install a new sink drain. The drain requires a 2-1/8" diameter hole drilled through a 2x4 bottom plate and a 3/4" thick subfloor. Or about 2-1/4" wood thickness. Normally, a hole for a drain would be done with a hole saw. However, hole saws are only good for drilling through material about an inch thick.

As an alternative, try a half inch, right angle drill. These drills delivery incredible power to the drill bit on the end of the shaft. The right angle drill turns at a slower speed than a regular drill, but has a high power output. This drill will allow you to drill through that bottom plate and subfloor quickly. It also drills a very precise hole.

As Tim states, "There is nothing like the smell of pine shavings in the morning."

This set up will drill a hole through all the wood and allows the PVC pipe to be run to the basement. To do the job correctly, you have to have the right tool and drill bit. Even if you have visit your local tool rental store. It will save you time and money.

Plumbing Vent Pipe Tip Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Plumbing Vent Pipe Tip

What do you do when you are installing a sink and there is an obstacle in the way for the vent pipe? The code requires a cross vent pipe to be installed and connected to the existing vent pipe. If there is a copper water supply line in your way, you could cut the copper supply line, redirect it and solder it back together. There has to be an easier way.

There might be - look up! The code does not state where the cross vent pipe goes. You might be able to run the cross pipe above the copper supply line. In the video, the cross vent pipe can be installed above the copper line supplying water to the shower head. Just drill through some studs to run it to the existing vent line.

So if you run into what might at first appear to be an obstacle, stop and think it through. Look for alternatives that will work. You might have to talk to a local inspector to see if there is an alternative that will work on your project.

May 23, 2008 AsktheBuilder News

Posted on by Tim Carter

What's in This Issue

MY LAUNDRY ROOM
HOME DEPOT AND LOWES COMMENTS
MEMORIAL DAY WORK WARNING
OXYGEN BLEACH

My Laundry Room

This weekend I am switching out all of the cabinets in my laundry room. This room is not in my basement where many washers and dryers are located. I am also adding a few extra cabinets that should have been installed when I built my house. It is going to be a fun little project that I hope produces one or two informative videos. You will see before and after photos as well as videos.

I wanted to mention that the new cabinets are not the normal 30-inch high ones. The bad boys that were just delivered yesterday are 42-inches high, so we will gain about 15 extra cubic feet of storage space than we currently have. The plan is to put things up high that are not used that often.

Many people forget about these taller wall cabinets when remodeling a bathroom, kitchen or a laundry room. They usually are pretty affordable, so I urge you to consider them when looking at wall cabinets.

One of the videos I plan to tape is about my dryer-vent pipe. Years ago, I was an idiot and installed the outlet for the dryer down low at floor height since that is where the outlet is on the dryer. Let me tell you that is a mistake. Wait until you see what I am doing to make it super easy to get my dryer in and out of the space at any time. It will take only 30 seconds to disconnect the vent pipe from the wall.

I also plan to show you in a video the way I bring water to my washing machine so it is easy to turn off and on. You really need to be able to easily and quickly turn the water on and off to the washing machine in case you leave your home at any time. About five years ago, one of the supply hoses to my washer burst. Luckily, we were eating dinner at the time and I heard it leaking. Since then I installed burst-proof hoses. But the key is to have handy valves you can turn in case of a problem or to ensure the water is only on when the washing machine needs water.

As for dryer venting, I want to hear from you with any and all questions you have about dryer vents. I will do my best to get answers to you as fast as possible.

Home Depot and Lowes Comments

In last week's newsletter, I had a minor rant about Home Depot and Lowes. As expected, I received other comments.

Martin Brummel took the opportunity to let off some steam. He wrote:

"On your statement about the big box stores, I could not agree with you more. The public does not realize that the box store's pricing on a lot of their items are more than if you search out your local lumber or supply houses. Also, your local suppliers are usually home-grown businesses, and they will almost certainly go the extra step for you, and will work even more diligently with you if there are any problems with the products that they sell. You can talk to almost anyone, and they will have a story about a big-box store that had ordered and / or installed products, for them or their friends, and the disasters that followed. I am a contractor and have been so for over 20 years, and I almost always use the local suppliers because the service and quality is  always better. I always wonder why a professional contractor would ever exclusively use the big-box stores. Bigger isn't always better. Thanks for letting me vent."

A few hours later I got this email from Tim Chapin in Macedonia, OH:

"Hey, you are right about prices at Home Depot and Lowe's.  Another item that I've found huge mark ups is on HVAC sheet metal parts. Go to your local HVAC contractor supply houses and you can save a fortune, and have a way-better selection. I'll never buy a pipe or boot from either Home Depot or Lowe's again.
I think the worst thing they do though is put a lot of materials in people's hands that, if not used properly, can lead them to kill themselves. Some jobs should be left to the professionals. And, just so you know, I'm not a contractor!"

I share these wonderful comments in an effort to help. So you know, I did not get any emails taking me to the woodshed. When I get emails or calls putting me in a bad light for crossing the line or making a mistake, I absolutely publish those as well. I try to be like Fox News - Fair and Balanced. (Ouch, I can hear the emails on that one now!)

Memorial Day Work Warning!!!

Cleaning with Oxygen BleachMany people do larger outdoor projects on the first real weekend of summer. One of them is wood deck cleaning and sealing.  I have a huge category at AsktheBuilder.com all about Deck Maintenance.

But here is the bottom line:

  • Avoid cleaning your deck with a pressure washer. They can cause severe damage by eroding the soft spring wood that is in between the darker bands of summer wood
  • Avoid using Chlorine Bleach as a cleaning solution. The chemical name for this product is Sodium Hypochlorite. Look for that on the label of anything you are thinking of buying. Chlorine bleach is highly toxic to all nearby vegetation, including trees. It takes the color out of the wood. It can accelerate the corrosion of all fasteners and metal framing components. It is better to use Oxygen Bleach. Read the next item in this newsletter for a special offer.
  • Be sure to seal the deck with a sealer that is made from synthetic resins. These products are not food for mildew and algae. I talk about these in great detail in many of my past Deck Sealer columns that can be found in the Deck Maintenance category.

Over the years I have received countless emails and calls from people who have either ruined their decks or had a professional ruin it with a pressure washer. Be careful with those machines around wood!

Oxygen Bleach

I sell oxygen bleach, and have done so for about 13 years. The name of my product is called Stain Solver. Years ago, I was exposed to the product when doing research for a deck-cleaning column. When I heard about it, it was one of those classic Too-Good-To-Be-True products. Well, guess what? It was and is that good. So good in fact, that my wife and I decided to start to sell the product. Go here to see what else it cleans.

For all of you deck-cleaning warriors, I am offering you this weekend off. How would you like a Super Sale price on the 12 and 50-pound sizes of Stain Solver? This is an amazing offer I will extend until next Wednesday (expired on May 28, 2008) since you may not get this email until next week when you get back to work.

Since the prices of so many other things are going up, I am calling this the Neutralizer Sale. My prices are going down as others go up.

Use this Promo Code for the discount:

20ssdeck (Sorry, the sales has expired.)

Remember, no spaces and lower case. Go here to get some.

BeforeBefore & After Stain Solver is perhaps one of the greenest cleaners out there. My raw materials are made in the USA and the ingredients used to make the active cleaning agent are food-grade approved by the FDA! You can't get much purer and greener than that!

Keep in mind my Stain Solver safely cleans hundreds of other things. For example, I just hung up the phone with June Hunter. She purchased eight pounds of Stain Solver to clean the grout in her kitchen floor. Wow, does it do a good job of cleaning floor grout. I know this first hand as I used it for years on my own kitchen floor grout that would go from light gray to black around the refrigerator. Gray was the original grout color, but my kids would drop food and drinks, and soon enough, Yuck!

Index of past newsletters.

How to Build a Retaining Wall

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: Can you tell me how to build a retaining wall? Are retaining-wall blocks a good choice when building a retaining wall? What mission-critical things do I need to know about these walls so that I do not have a collapse or other failure in the years to come? I have access to lots of large stone. Can I just stack them to make a retaining wall from stone? Janine W., Fort St. John, British Columbia, CA

DEAR JANINE: Retaining wall construction is an art that has been around for thousands of years. You can see them in just about any archaeological photo of ancient building sites. In almost all cases, these long-gone builders used stacked stone to build walls that still are in good shape today. All you have to do is understand what they perfected through trial and error.

Since you live in a cold climate, you have two primary forces of nature that try to make retaining walls fail. The one is gravity, and this affects all retaining walls. The second one is frost in the soil. Natural erosion is working at all retaining walls, but it can be very slow acting, so it is often not a factor.

This retaining wall was built with lots of care and skill. It is still perfect after 20 years of harsh weather. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

This retaining wall was built with lots of care and skill. It is still perfect after 20 years of harsh weather. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

The soil that you are trying to hold back is being pulled towards the center of the Earth, but there's also a down-slope component as well. You can readily demonstrate this with a small pile of dry sand. Build a small hill using dry sand, and if you take some away at the bottom or the middle the entire face of the hill moves down.

The retaining wall you construct has to be strong enough to offset the pushing force of the soil. Do not underestimate this force as a cubic foot of moist soil can often weigh up to 100 pounds.

Large stones that have lots of surface area touching one another can often do the job. The friction of the stones rubbing against one another works against the pushing force exerted by the soil.

Tall retaining walls are at the greatest risk of failure. As the retaining-wall height increases, the force trying to topple the wall increases by a large factor. For example, if you double the height of a wall, the tipping force may increase by a factor of three or four times!

My advice to you is to take a little road trip around your area to see if you can discover some old retaining walls made from stacked stone. See what kind of condition they are in, and study those that appear to be very old and in great condition. Measure the size of the stones, the height of the wall, what is above the wall and the construction method. Take lots of photographs as they will help you as you start to construct your wall.

Try to keep your retaining wall under 3-feet high. These small walls are fairly easy to construct, and the force of gravity against them is not too great. You may want to construct the wall so it leans back a bit and is not perfectly plumb. This technique offsets the center of gravity of the wall making it harder to tip over.

Frost damage to retaining walls can be sinister. As soil freezes it expands. On a normal flat area, this expansion force is normally in the up and down direction. Builders know this as frost heave, and water-works employees know that this pressure cracks water mains underground.

But the frost can push sideways when it is adjacent to a retaining wall. Frost will relieve its expansion pressure using the path of least resistance. Since the ground freezes from the top down, it pushes sideways against the top of the retaining wall where the leverage force against the wall is greatest. One way to minimize frost damage to retaining walls is to backfill the wall with a well-drained material. Rounded gravel is ideal. The soil itself needs to be well drained so that water can't build up behind the retaining wall.

Retaining walls can be constructed with many materials: wood, poured concrete, concrete block, decorative stackable concrete block, etc. The science and engineering of retaining walls is very complex, so do not try to do a tall wall without an engineered solution.

Loads on top of a retaining wall also must be considered. If you have a flat area adjacent to the top of a retaining wall and park a heavy vehicle on the surface, the weight of the vehicle also pushes against the wall.

Be sure the base of the retaining wall is set down in solid soil. Do not just install the first row of stone on the top soil. The organic material in the soil is not a sound foundation for the wall. Be aware of soil creep. The soil itself is being pulled down slope each year by gravity and frost.

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