Free Ask the Builder Gifts – Part 2 of 2

Posted on by Tim Carter
New house construction

Building new or remodeling is complex. My checklists relieve anxiety. Each one can save you thousands of dollars. You're about to get a bunch of FREE ones from me. Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

This is part two of a two-part column series. In last week’s column, I shared how a huge tsunami inflation wave is cresting and about to wash over you. You can’t afford to waste a penny on home improvement projects. I decided to gift you some helpful products that ensure you preserve as much of your money as possible.

About eighteen years ago, my future son-in-law was in my office. He and I were going through the many incoming email questions I receive each day. You need to understand I had yet to fully grasp his level of intelligence. After about fifteen minutes he said, “Mr. Carter, you’re in the life-preserver business. Each one of the people emailing you is asking for help about a job gone wrong.”

His description of what I do each day, flinging flat doughnut-shaped flotation devices to people flailing in the frigid waters of failure, was spot on. I knew this from years of building and remodeling as I was often called in to fix something another builder goofed up or sometimes asked to finish a project started by a wet-behind-the-ears overly enthusiastic DIYr.

That’s why early in my Ask the Builder career I decided to create helpful digital PDF checklists, videos, and eBooks to empower you to do one or two things:

  1. Use them to easily understand at least one way to do the job right so you can spot the pro contractor.
  2. Glean information that would allow you to do simple repairs yourself.

In both instances, the end result is that the job would be done right, not over. That Do It Right, Not Over! has become the motto that I place at the bottom of my newsletter each week.

Over the years, I’ve created over 100 of these helpful checklists, videos, and eBooks. My most popular one is my Roofing Ripoff expose’ book where I uncovered why your asphalt shingles don’t last as they used to and what you can do to make sure your new or newer roof lasts for 40 or 50 years. Think of that - the last roof of your life and maybe that of the next owner of your home!

In a few moments, you’re going to have in your possession a free PDF copy of this eBook. I’m also giving you the following at no cost:

  • 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

All of the above products can save you thousands of dollars, perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. For example, if you have water leaking into your basement or crawlspace, you might get bids for many thousands of dollars to stop the leaks. What if I told you in most cases it can be done for just hundreds of dollars and if you’re a DIYr, you can do it yourself.

How many nightmares have you heard from friends or neighbors about poor-quality roofing work? How would you like to find out quickly who the best roofer is in your city or town? My Roofing Replacement Checklist helps you spot the pro. The same is true for all the checklists I have.

Just about every homeowner has concrete outside in a sidewalk, driveway, or patio. Did you know in many cases the contractor installs it wrong? The Concrete Specifications you’re about to receive will ensure your new concrete lasts for generations.

Bath and kitchen remodeling is expensive. My checklists will help prevent nothing is overlooked as you plan. They also help you discover the best contractor. Would you think to stuff insulation around all the void space surrounding your new tub so the bathwater stays hot as you soak? Those are the kind of tips you discover in my checklists.

It’s time for you to get all of the above at no cost. Go to the following AsktheBuilder page - and follow the simple instructions. Feel free to share the page with all you know, especially on your social media channels. Let’s help as many as possible save big money in 2022.

Free Digital Files Giveaway

Column 1437

January 2, 2022 AsktheBuilder Very Special Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

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!

FREE AsktheBuilder Gifts – Part 1 of 2

Posted on by Tim Carter
House Under Construction

FREE Gifts from Ask the Builder: I can spot at least two errors in this photo. How about you? What will it cost to repair the defects five years from now when they crop up and the builder's warranty is no longer in effect? Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

Author's Note: This is part one of a two-part column series. It’s quite possible these two columns will have a more positive impact on your life than the sum total of the 1,435 columns I’ve written in the past twenty-eight years. Part 2 is now posted on this website as of January 3, 2022 Here is the link for Part 2 of 2.

Surely you’ve been paying attention to the prices of just about everything you buy. They’re up, way up. The price increases of many of the things I buy are up easily double digits, some triple digits. If you happen to follow some building material prices, then you know that lumber pricing is still up about 150% over it’s normal price that hovered around $400 per thousand board feet for quite some time.

At 5:00 AM one morning about three weeks before the run-up to Christmas, I was laying in bed wide awake looking out the glass door next to my bed. I was worried about a large laundry list of things, including the deeply troubling economic news about inflation.

While gazing out into the inky blackness, I thought, “I'm sure many others, including those who read my weekly column, are feeling similar pressure and stress - especially around Christmas. What in the world can I do to help?”

While curled up under the warm covers, I reflected on the many email requests for help that flow through the Ask Tim page on my website. I’ve noticed an increasing trend of those who mention right away they’re on a fixed income. It’s too late in the game for them to start over making more money each week.

Another slew of emails have a common theme of fear and frustration. You may fit into this group wondering about if the work you’re about to have done on your home will be done right. Will your money get wasted if you discover flaws months after the contractor has cashed your check?

I then thought about a young mom I talked to on the phone a few days earlier. She had invested in one of my phone-coaching calls. She’s tasked with building a new dormer on her house and can’t get contractors to even bid the work. This brave woman is going to build it herself with my help and that of many great videos and books that I shared with her. She’s going to succeed.

At that moment, I came up with a rough idea about what I could give you that might solve many of the above problems. There were details to work out, but I was sure I could make it happen.

Often I refine ideas in the shower. You may be like me. I think the warm water tickles my tiny gray cells stimulating them so ideas become reality. I decided to jump into the shower at that moment to see if I couldn’t figure out how to save you thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of dollars. My hope was to conjure up a plan that would empower you to make correct decisions about any project in and around your home and in certain instances, get you to actually use some tools yourself.

After exiting the shower, one of the last thoughts that was swirling in my head like the last bit of water spiraling around the shower drain was a short clip from the epic movie Field of Dreams. In this scene, the young Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella, had traveled back in time to have a face-to-face conversation with a small-town physician Dr. Archibald ‘Moonlight’ Graham.

Prior to his decades-long career as a medical doctor, Dr. Graham had a very brief on-field half-inning career as a major-league baseball player in the last game of the season. His lifetime batting average was .000, he had 0 at-bats, and 0 hits. At the end of that particular game, he retired from baseball to become a physician.

The young farmer in the movie asks Dr. Graham about not getting to bat in the major league and he responds, “It was like coming this close to your dreams and then watch them brush past you like a stranger in the crowd. At the time, you don’t think much of it. You know we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening. Back then I thought, ‘Well, there’ll be other days.’ I didn’t realize that that was the only day.”

Unlike the young Archie Graham all those many years ago, I do recognize this is perhaps one of the most significant moments of my life and possibly yours. That’s why next week I’m going to give you, all your friends, relatives, co-workers, neighbors, social-media followers, etc. at NO COST something that will save you vast amounts of money and relieve lots of the anxiety you might be feeling about all the things that need to be done around your home.

Be sure that you read my column next week. In the meantime, watch Dr. Graham in the short video clip just below.

Column 1436

Christmas Eve Morning 2021

Posted on by Tim Carter

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.
Christmas Tree 2021
Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

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

Maine Wildlife Christmas Video

Posted on by Tim Carter

Maine Wildlife Christmas Video

Paul Cyr, a gifted photographer, captured all of the images you see in this short peaceful video.

These photos transformed into a video display much of what's good in our nation. Go to northern Maine if you want to experience much of what's best in life.

Amish children ice skating

Pre-Christmas 2021 Humor

Posted on by Tim Carter

I know, it's a Wednesday. Normally, you find me in your Inbox early on Sunday morning.

The needle on your stress meter might be pinning. What you're about to read can change that.

Today's goal is twofold:

  • make you smile, maybe even laugh out loud
  • let you shake the box of my Christmas gifts I'm giving you

Was it TA-DA or Not?

I was so fortunate to attend a Catholic grade and high school. Maybe you did too. Those of us who attended these schools in the 1950s through the early 1970s will tell you it was a character-building experience. A fantastic one.

Each of us has stories to tell about the nuns and priests. I've got countless ones.

About seven years ago, my youngest daughter asked me to write all of them down as well as all the other stories about me growing up. This project is ongoing and I'm about to finish Volume Two of her four-volume Adventures & Advice book set.

Most of the stories are private and the book is only being shared with family and a few very close friends.

That said, Donna reached out to me on Sunday morning because my quotation of Scripture at the bottom of the last newsletter (linked to the left) produced a humorous flashback for her. It's just below.

After reading Donna's true tale, I decided that I'd share one of my grade school stories with you.

CLICK or TAP HERE to read it. It's one of the upcoming chapters in Volume Two of my daughter's Adventures & Advice book.

Now for Donna's story. To get the full effect of Donna's hilarious anecdote, allow me to share one other Christmas Catholic grade-school conundrum.

Realize there was no sex education back when I was in school. You either got the awkward talk from your parents - I didn't - or you got bits and pieces from the older kids and what you could glean from glossy pictures in certain magazines.

One thing that really confused me was the Immaculate Conception feast day. What the heck was THAT all about?

Using a bunch of confusing words like womb, virgin, and "with child" the priests and nuns were trying to explain how in the world Mary got pregnant. Believe me, it's a lot to comprehend for an 8-year-old! I have to tell you it took me years to figure it out.

Go nine months down Mary's timeline and you get to Donna's moment in the classroom. Here it is:

I was in 3rd grade, and it was right before Christmas vacation. The parish priest would visit each classroom and give us the pep talk about being good, thanking our family for the gifts we receive at Christmas, go to Mass, don't fight with our brothers and sisters, etc. And then he asked us if we had any questions. So I, the PITA kid who ALWAYS had questions, asked "When Jesus was born, was it like when we were born, or was it like "TA-DA" and he was in the manger?"

Father looked like he swallowed a fish - whole - and said he needed to consult with Sister. They both turned their backs on us, and there was a lot of shoulder shaking and eye wiping. Father turned back to the class and solemnly announced "There was no TA-DA!" and left very quickly.

When I got home that day, my mother wanted to kill me. Wonder why?

Thanks, Donna for sharing that. It made me laugh out loud!

Shake Time

Did you used to do what I did? My Mom and Dad would put presents under our Christmas tree days before they were to be opened. Looking back, I think it was a form of torture.

I'd often shake the wrapped boxes and sometimes I'd even carefully try to peek under the seam of the overlapping paper for a clue. When Mom saw that, she started fully taping the seams. Drat!

Now it's your turn. Here's a clue about what I've got in store for you days from now:
Fancy Egg with Building Inside
I hope you have a very very Merry Christmas.

It's going to be a white one here as we got lots of snow days ago and more is on the way.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Install A New Concrete Foundation

Posted on by Tim Carter
Installing New Concrete Foundation

Install a New Concrete Foundation | This house was temporarily lifted up about 8 feet in the air allowing a new concrete foundation to be poured. A new dry crawlspace is in the owner’s future. Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

Install a New Concrete Foundation - Going Up!

Recently my daughter purchased an old camp summer house on a lake. The house is about eighty years old and was built on crude cinder blocks that just rested on stony soil. Frost heave over the years has caused the doors and windows to not fit well. Otherwise, the house, because it was built using old-growth timber, is in remarkable shape.

She wondered, “Dad, can a house like this be salvaged? Can a new poured concrete foundation be poured under it? Can a full basement be put under the house? Will the doors and windows work well again? How’s that accomplished?” These are all great questions and the answers vary depending on where the house is located and what lies just inches below the soil.

New Concrete Foundation in Meredith, NH

Just months before she made this new real estate investment, I saw in my own town in central New Hampshire an owner do the same thing. Based on what I witnessed, the house was about the same age as my daughter’s. It’s possible the house in my town was well over 100 years old based on its location and proximity to the town center and railroad tracks. The style and frame construction of the two houses were almost identical.

If you’ve never seen a house moved before, you might think it’s impossible to install a new concrete foundation under an existing house. Not only is it possible, but it’s probably more common than you might think. This process happens out of sight and often on back roads that you might not travel.

New Concrete Foundation in Sanbornton, NH

Two years ago, another house near me got a new concrete foundation. The house movers had to dig pits in the existing crawlspace to place their cribbing. You can tell they did this looking just to the left and down of the white window to the left of the red front door in the photo below. It's not easy to see because it's in the shadows but you can see the old concrete slab the water heaters used to sit on. Look at how the slab is 4 feet in the air now. It's amazing what house movers can do.

house on cribbing

This house on Lower Bay Road in Sanbornton, NH looks to be in bad shape, but it's now got a new lease on life. With that metal roof and its soon-to-be new foundation, it can last another 100 years.

Who Installs a New Concrete Foundation on an Existing Home?

The companies that specialize in constructing a new foundation under an existing house are house movers. The process of lifting a house up to move it is the first step in building a new foundation. If the house is not moving off the lot, it’s just a matter of lifting it up high enough so the foundation crew can work comfortably and safely. This often means the house might be lifted 6, 8, or 10 feet in the air.

Do You Need Cribbing?

Yes, you need cribbing to support the house. Each moving company might tackle the job differently. The first step I’ve witnessed is the placement of four or more, concrete footing pads under the house where cribbing will be placed. Cribbing is comprised of giant square 6x6 pieces of oak timbers typically about 42 inches long. Two pieces are placed parallel with one another on the smooth and level concrete and then two more pieces are placed at a 90-degree angle on top of the ends of the first two. This process is repeated until the house is lifted to the desired height.

cribbing lifting building

This is an excellent photo of the cribbing used to support a house while the new concrete foundation is being constructed. Note the steel I-beams that support the house and then rest on the cribbing. The giant jacks are hidden inside the cribbing.

The top of these concrete footings is normally placed at the future top of the concrete slab that will be poured in the new crawlspace or basement. It’s critical these footings are at the same height and perfectly level. This makes it easy to place the cribbing with a minimum of shimming.

How Many I-beams are Required?

Two, or more, steel I-beams are then slid under the house and centered on the cribbing. Giant house-lifting jacks are placed inside the cribbing. The jack pistons are centered under the I-beams. The professionals start to lift the house making sure to keep it as level as possible. As it goes up in the air, more cribbing is stacked to support the house.

Once the house is high enough in the air, the foundation crews start to work. If the soil is deep enough, they can dig it out using small machinery that can get under the house. Skilled operators are required so they don’t touch the cribbing.

Will Bedrock Limit the Crawlspace Height?

If bedrock is close to the surface, it may not be possible to place a tall crawlspace or full basement under the house. The house movers in the area almost always know the soil conditions and can manage this expectation before they start to work. You can also dig test pits around the outside of the house to determine the depth of bedrock prior to the house movers showing up.

It doesn’t matter if the house was built square as the foundation crews use plumb bobs and other tools to ensure the new foundation will match the exact shape of the outer walls of the house that’s suspended above them.

How are the I-beams Removed?

The foundation crews have to install U-shaped notches at the top of at least one wall of the new foundation. These notches are aligned with the steel I-beams that the house floor joists are resting on. Once the new foundation is complete and the house can be lowered onto the new poured concrete foundation, the I-beams need to be pulled out from under the house through these notches.

The notches can then be filled in with concrete blocks or new windows might be placed in these locations. Discuss your options with the house-moving company.

Don’t forget to install excellent foundation waterproofing and drain tile on the outside of the new foundation. It’s also wise to consider radon collection piping. This needs to be placed under the new slab below the house. Consult one, or more, of the radon maps that can be found with ease on the Internet to see if radon is an issue in your area.

Related Column:

Foundation Choices Are Many

Column 1435

Land Buying Checklist

Posted on by Tim Carter
Lot for sale

Land Buying Checklist | This lot in central New Hampshire might be appealing. The truth is it may have two or three deal-breaker flaws.

Land Buying Checklist - Use My Checklist to Save You Lots of Money

Are you one of many who are thinking of fleeing bigger cities to get away from crime, pollution, higher taxes, never-ending traffic jams, and a laundry list of other pesky problems? You’re not alone.

You might be one of the millions like my son-in-law and my own son who now can work from anywhere there’s an Internet connection. The paradigm of having to drive to work or take public transportation has shifted farther than the ground does in an 8.0 earthquake. That dream you’ve nurtured for decades about living in the countryside is within your grasp.

How Many Things Might Be on a Land Buying Checklist?

That said, you need to proceed slowly when buying raw land or a developed vacant building lot. I maintain there are no less than 20, maybe 30, important things you need to consider. In the limited space I have here, I’m going to share some of the major dealbreakers that would make me walk away from what appears to be a dream lot. The other checklist items are in a document I created years ago. The link for that is at the end of this column.

CLICK or TAP HERE to download my Land Buying Checklist

Just a few years ago, I helped my daughter make a decision about buying a vacant lot in a small subdivision on Mt. Desert Island (MDI). My daughter unknowingly enlisted a realtor who had virtually no clue about the pros and cons of vacant land. Don’t ever do this. We looked at no less than fifteen lots. At least five hours and gallons of gasoline were wasted looking at lots that should have never been considered.

What are Your Personal Deal Breakers?

The first thing you need to do when considering a building lot is to make your own personal list of deal-breakers. In my daughter’s case, she wanted privacy and quiet. This means you don’t want to have a lot that’s on a main road where giant trucks with diesel engines pass by every three minutes. The same goes for tourist locations like MDI that are overrun in good weather with tourists riding loud motorcycles. The wet-behind-the-ears realtor should have never even considered five of the lots she took us to.

What About Zoning Set Back Lines?

The size of a lot is much more important than you might think. If you’ve never built before, you may not be aware of zoning laws that create an unbuildable border of land within your lot. This no-build zone is created by the front, rear, and side-yard setback lines. They differ widely from town to town and neighborhood. For example, a vacant urban lot may have setback distances of just a few feet. A rural lot may have a front and rear-yard setback of 60, or more, feet. In my daughter’s case, the modest home she ended up building had to be shoehorned into the leftover buildable area within her lot. The house had to be built at an angle to the road and even then two small wetland areas were dangerously close to the house.

Wetlands you say? Imagine looking at my daughter’s lot in the dead of winter when you can’t even see them because they’re frozen and under a foot or two of snow! You’d hope all the wetlands are clearly marked on the plat map, but my suggestion is for you to only hope for things you can’t control like the weather and international conflict.

Is Compass Direction Important?

What about something as simple as compass direction? You might not think it matters much. Are you excited about the prospect of installing solar panels on your roof? Will the largest part of your roof that you can’t see from the road face south? That’s what you want to happen if you live in the northern hemisphere.

Take my house for example. I happen to thoroughly enjoy sunrises. I wanted the rear of my home to face east so I could enjoy them sitting out on my deck. The other advantage of this orientation is when I’m on the deck on a hot summer’s day, my deck is in the shade. Other neighbors of mine are sweltering in direct sunlight on their decks that face west.

What About Garbage Pickup or Snow Plowing?

What about city or town services? When I moved to rural New Hampshire thirteen years ago, I didn’t much think about trash pickup. After all, for five decades I just rolled my cans to the curb and the refuse magically disappeared. You can pay extra for that service in my town or you can drive your own stinking and leaking plastic trash bags to the town dump yourself. It’s a good thing I can hose out my pickup truck bed each time I get back home in the summer.

Is Mud Season an Issue?

Have you heard about mud season? It’s the harbinger of black flies. I’ll never forget my first spring in New Hampshire. Fortunately, my house and the roads leading to my house from at least one direction are all paved. One early spring day, I went for a walk to the end of my street. When you turned south on the intersecting road, it was paved for about 100 feet. Then it turned to gravel.

There in the middle of the road was a warning sign: ROAD IMPASSABLE. The ruts in the road were about 12 inches deep. My beefy Super Duty 3/4-ton 4x4 truck has only 8 inches of clearance. All the locals knew that if you were to venture onto the road and get stuck, only a farm tractor might get you out. No tow-truck company would ever venture into mud that deep. If you lived on that road, how would you get food for weeks at a time during mud season?

You’ll discover all sorts of other things to consider when you peruse my Land Buying Checklist.

Column 1434

AsktheBuilder Christmas 2021

Posted on by Tim Carter

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the land every creature was astir doing its best to spread peace, joy, and maybe a few dark chocolate pecandes.

Last-minute shopping trips, baking, cooking, and wrapping gifts might have you scurrying and skittering about marking each passing minute as we march towards Christmas morning.

I was busy this past week on a number of things. I had to put the finishing touches on a pink unicorn barn for my granddaughter and I was hard at work on your Christmas gift too.
unicorn barn
I still have more to do. Thank goodness there are still a few more days before Christmas.

If you subscribed after 5:00 AM last Sunday, I urge you to look over last week's issue. Without this context, what you're about to read will make little sense.

I was able to decide exactly what to give you and am working diligently to get it all wrapped up. I even intend to put red and green grosgrain ribbon on the box.

However, it's looking like my gift to you might not be under your Christmas tree, but instead covered with New Year's confetti.
Christmas Tree On Porch

Two Thumbs Up

When I was in the shower ten days or so ago pondering the idea for your prizes, I decided to pass the concept by two of my friends.

I trust my judgment, but as you'll soon discover I only get one chance with this.

There are no do-overs.

Both of my friends were enthusiastic about what I have in store. One said, "I think it's a great idea! And very generous, really."

That said, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. If you celebrate some other holiday at this time of year, I wish you the best.

"...So they went with haste, and they found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in the manger. And when they had seen, they understood what had been told them concerning this Child."

Just like the humble shepherds that night who were the first to see Jesus, the Christ Child, you'll soon be the first to behold something I've never done before.

It's my hope you enjoy it as much as I'm enjoying creating it for you.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com

Do It Right, Not Over!