Online Courses – How to Get Rid of Mold

Posted on by Tim Carter

How to Get Rid of Mold
A three-part series about Mold in the House and how you can eliminate it.

In this Self-Directed Course, you will learn about:

  • Serious health-concerns caused by mold
  • How mold grows and thrives
  • A powerful solution to eliminate mold
  • Using oxygen bleach to get rid of mold
  • My recommended oxygen bleach product
  • Silane and Siloxane Water Repellents for mold growth on brick and masonry

Fill out the form below to begin your free online course! Your first email is only moments away. Additional course installments will be emailed one per day for the next two days.








 
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Online Courses – Foundation Crack Repair

Posted on by Tim Carter

Foundation Crack Repair

A four-part series on foundation or house settlement and ways to stabilize and prevent cracking.

In this course, you will learn about:

  • How to "lift" a sunken house by using water
  • The process of underpinning a foundation to repair and resupport
  • Common causes of foundation failure
  • Hillside construction and water as sources of foundation cracking

  • Identifying the difference between normal house settlement cracks and severe foundation cracks
  • Five different crack appearances and the problems behind them

Fill out the form below to begin your free online course! Your first email is only moments away. Additional course installments will be emailed one per day for the next three days.








 
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Clothes Dryer Vent Leaks in Ceiling

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I live in a condo on the ground floor. My dryer is located in a closet in my bedroom. My dryer duct is routed from the back of my bedroom out into my living room ceiling where it connects to the dryer vent. Lately I have noticed a leak in my living room ceiling. The plumber found the dryer vent to be leaking at the elbow. What could be causing this? Please help, I'm living with a large hole in my ceiling and am unsure what to do. Alexandra N., Bedminster, NJ

DEAR ALEXANDRA: The leak is being caused by condensation that is forming either inside or outside of the actual clothes dryer vent pipe. That part of the pipe is getting cold and the very moist hot air from the clothes dryer is turning into liquid water as it gets closer to the exterior of the condominium's exterior wall. To stop the leak, you must keep the entire length of dryer vent pipe nice and warm.

To do this job correctly, you may have to enlarge the hole in the living room ceiling to expose the entire length of the dryer vent pipe. This may seem radical, but the drywall repair person can fix a larger hole in just about the same time as it takes to fix the small one created by the plumber who discovered the source of the problem.

I have found that it is often best to vent fans and dryers through the roof. I urge you to watch this video of mine to see how easy it is to install the correct vent-cap flashing on a roof. Have no fear - if done right you will have no leaks.

First, you need to caulk around the hole in the exterior wall where the dryer vent pipe exits your condominium. I'm willing to wager that cold air is leaking in this location and it allows the exhaust pipe to get cold. But only perform the caulking if the correct exhaust pipe is installed.

Clothes dryer vent pipes should be made from smooth, rigid metal dryer duct of at least 4 inches and no longer than 25 feet. Be sure that you have a minimum amount of 90 degree bends in the pipe. Each 90 degree bend produces the same amount of resistance to air flow as ten linear feet of straight pipe. Most clothes dryers limit the total length of vent pipe run, so you must pay attention to this installation requirement. You can find this information in the clothes dryer instruction manual.

If you use either of the metal pipes, tape all seams with real heating and cooling duct tape. This tape is meant to be used on steel or aluminum ducts. Do not confuse it with the common gray duct tape sold in all hardware stores and home centers. Heating and cooling duct tape has special adhesives and often a very shiny outer surface.

The final step it to completely insulate the outside of the clothes dryer vent pipe as it travels across the entire living room ceiling to where it exits your condominium. The insulation must be expertly installed and no part of the metal vent pipe must be exposed. You can use regular fiberglass insulation for this task. If you simply want to fill the entire joist space cavity with insulation, that will work. If you want to just wrap the pipe with thinner insulation, be sure you use the special duct tape to keep the insulation tight around the dryer vent pipe.

Once you have performed all of this work, it is time to repair your ceiling. Be sure there is plenty of insulation in the ceiling joist cavity near the outside wall. If you decide to just insulate the pipe, then be sure to completely fill the cavity with fiberglass insulation extending back four feet from the exterior wall towards the center of the room. This will block the cold from entering the ceiling cavity where the clothes dryer vent pipe is located.

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Electronic Programmable Thermostat

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: We moved to a house that has a heat pump. There is a selector button on the thermostat that says auxiliary. When temps are below 40 degrees, should we move the selector button to auxiliary? Our heat pump runs constantly at temps below 40 degrees. Paula C., Somerset, KY

DEAR PAULA: The selector button that says auxiliary is a switch that allows you to bypass the heat pump. If you switch the heat pump into this mode, the heat pump creates heat strictly by using the electric resistance coils inside the air handler unit portion of the system. The air handler is often in your basement and sometimes an attic. The duct work connects to this tall rectangular metal box that is about the size of a water heater.

Creating heat in the auxiliary mode is the most expensive way to heat your home. The switch is there in case the heat pump malfunctions and doesn't work well. It allows you to create heat until such time as a service technician can come to your home and fix the heat pump.

Your heat pump is operating constantly below 40F because you are very close to the balance point of a heat pump. Just below 40F, a heat pump is extracting every last ounce of heat that it can get from the outdoor air. It runs constantly to get the small amount of heat that is outdoors. As the temperature drops into the twenties, teens and below there is less and less heat in the outdoor air. This means the electric resistance coils inside the air handler get hotter and hotter to generate the heat your home needs. Think of these coils as a giant electric toaster.

Heat pumps are very efficient machines when the outdoor temperature is in the 50 - 59F range. But in the dead of winter in cold locations, a heat pump just doesn't get much heat from the outdoor air. If you lived further south such as southern Tennessee or northern Georgia, the heat pump would really help keep your energy costs down as the climate is more moderate the further south you go.

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Hurricane Katrina Damaged Hardwood Floor

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I have a problem and I hope you may have some insight. I have undertaken the repair of a home in Mississippi which, during Hurricane Katrina, sustained 5.5 feet of water. Subsequently, the tongue and groove hardwood flooring and the laminate flooring were both removed. This removal was prior to my taking this job. What I found, when I made my initial inspection, was a concrete slab floor that, at one time, had 2x4s laid in a chaotically random fashion all across the slab and hot-mopped tar was then spread thickly between all 2x4s and even under some of the 2x4s. The team that removed the flooring also removed all the 2x4s and now there is tar up to 3/4" thick with spaces of concrete where most of the 2x4s used to be. This is no small problem, we are talking about a 2000 sq. ft. home.

I am receiving reports of how some contractors in this area are dealing with this dilemma. I am not completely certain that the most prevalent solution will stand the test of time. It has been reported to me that some contractors are first laying down a layer of tar paper over the tar, slab and lapping up onto the sole plate. Secondly, they are pouring concrete to a level even with the top of the wall's sole plate.

There is one possible fly in the ointment. I have noticed that when an object of any weight is laying on the tar for an extended period of time, it sinks into the tar. Although the tar appears brittle, and indeed is brittle in some places, this is not consistent over the entire surface. I am not confident that this over coating remedy is a long-term solution.

When I walk away from this job, I want to know it's right. I would appreciate any and all help in finding a definitive solution. What is the "true" step-by-step method to follow in this situation? Paul Early, Pascagoula, MI

DEAR PAUL: First, I want to say it is an honor to meet a contractor who has a stellar attitude about long-lasting quality workmanship. You are to be commended. I subscribe to several fine building and remodeling trade magazines and the first thing I always read are the Letters to the Editor. The reason is simple. Each issue some contractor always takes exception to a construction method described in a past issue of the magazine. Often the solution put forth in the letter is equal to or better than the original article. The longer I am in this business, the more I have come to realize there are many ways to efficiently skin a cat. With this in mind, my method may not be the Holy Grail you are seeking.

The hot mopped asphalt was undoubtedly a crude, yet effective vapor retarder. The water table in the deep South part of the USA is just about as high as it can be and concrete slab houses without any protection would readily wick water and water vapor up into homes.

AsktheBuilder Podcast

CLICK this image and listen to the first call on the podcast. I talked to Jill about how to repair wood kitchen flooring, and possibly installing an inlay border as an option. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter

Today, when great builders like you build new slab homes, high-performance vapor retarders can be installed under concrete slabs. These newer products block a vast majority of water and/or water vapor from moving up into the finished living space.

Your observation of the asphalt is right on target. Asphalt is one of the wacky substances that is neither a solid nor a liquid. It is something in between, because it absolutely will flow in response to the pull of gravity. Some pieces of glass act the same way. Old, vertical panes of glass around the world in some buildings are often thicker at the bottom than at the top as the glass molecules are pulled down by gravity.

The best way to solve your problem is to remove the asphalt. But, this will be a significant challenge. If you get the asphalt very cold, it will become extremely brittle and can be chipped away. One way to get it cold quickly is to slide a block of dry ice over the asphalt and have a second person immediately chip away before the asphalt heats back up. Even if you remove most of it, but not all of it, you will be miles ahead.

Be sure to keep windows and doors wide open as you work with dry ice inside a home. As the dry ice sublimates, it produces clouds of invisible carbon dioxide which can kill you or any other living thing in the house.

The concrete overlay method will work very well if you can remove most of the asphalt. If you can't remove any of it, it will probably still work well. The asphalt moves now when you put something heavy on it because the asphalt has a place to move to. The concrete overlay will block the sideways movement of the asphalt and only allow it to move up. I doubt this will happen, especially if the minimum thickness of the concrete overlay is 3/4-inch thick.

Instead of laying tar paper over the slab, I would use one of the high-performance vapor retarders that meets the ASTM E standard E 1745. Be sure to tape any seams and take your time installing the concrete overlay. I urge you to use small pea gravel in the concrete mix for maximum strength.

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Electronic Digital Thermostat

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I just brought a programmable thermostat for my home, and I started to program the unit to my own settings. I found out that the unit came with a factory setting such that when I went to sleep, and during the time I went to work the temperature dropped to just 60F.

I scaled this temperature back to 55 degrees, as I did not see any reason why the system would have to run at 60 when I'm not home. But here's my question: Is it better to leave the system at 60 or 55 degrees when I'm not home? Will it take more money for the unit to heat up from 55 degrees, than to heat up from 60 to 68F. Will the cost of the unit continually keeping the temp at 60 outweigh the unit having to pump out heat to go from 55 to 70F? Theresa H, Easton, MD

DEAR THERESA: That is a very common question and the answer might surprise you. As with many things there are some variables that come into play. We need to talk a little physics here so strap yourself in.

There is no doubt that you will save money the lower you set the thermostat. When you are gone from the home for extended amounts of time and/or are sleeping, it makes perfect sense to ratchet the thermostat back to 60 and even 55F. It makes even more sense as the outside temperature begins to plummet.

When the outside temperature is vastly different than the inside temperature, the heat pump or furnace needs to run longer to offset the increased heat loss created by the falling temperatures. But as the outdoor temperature rises and moderates to where it is maybe just 15 or 20 degrees F lower than the inside temperature, the heat pump has a far easier job keeping up.

This happens because the temperature drop of an object over time is not a linear function. As the temperature of an object starts to get closer to the temperature of its surroundings the drop in temperature slows considerably. You can demonstrate this easily with a standard thermometer that you run under hot water. Once the thermometer is removed from the hot water the mercury starts to drop quickly but then slows to a crawl as it tries to get back to room temperature.

When the thermostat calls for heat and you have to go from 55 to 70F, you will use more fuel or energy than if it only had to climb from 60 to 70F. But good heat pumps and furnaces can make up that 5 degree difference fairly quickly.

I can tell you for a fact, I would set back the temperature to 55F to save money. The wild card here is how long you will have the thermostat set to 55F. The longer the heat pump sits idle, the more money you save.

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AsktheBuilder.com Auto-Column Feed

Posted on by Tim Carter

"You got mail - Uhhh - a new AsktheBuilder Column or Video!

 

If you would be kind enough to submit your name and email address below, I will send a simple email announcement to you each time I publish a new column or video clip at AsktheBuilder.com. This allows you to stay up to date with what I am writing and taping.

But be forewarned of how busy we are here at AsktheBuilder.com. I try to write multiple columns and tape up to 15 videos per week. This means I am going to send you lots of sweet links to columns and videos that WILL save you time and moola!. That is a very good thing, wouldn't you say?

Because I know you are busy, I will just send the column or video headline and a quick summary. If the topic interests you, there will be a handy link you click to take you to the full column or video at AsktheBuilder.com.

This service is FREE and the best part is your email address is NEVER shared with anyone for ANY reason.

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Energy Savings Payback

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: The forecast of stratospheric heating bills for this winter has me numb. I wonder if it makes good sense to install new replacement windows and doors to save energy on my natural gas heating bills. Some companies have tempting ads that say I will save lots of money. Is it true? How do you make a sound decision on when you upgrade windows and doors? Are there easier ways to save money on heating bills? Linda, B., New Haven, CT

DEAR LINDA: You and thousands of other people are facing this decision if the recent statistics from the American Gas Association are accurate. They say natural gas prices will rise 41 percent, propane will jump 21 percent and heating oil will go up 27 percent for the 2005-2006 heating season.

Get out a calculator and study your past utility bills. Once you see what you are really paying for fuel to heat your home, you can begin to calculate payback periods on energy-savings upgrades to your home. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

Get out a calculator and study your past utility bills. Once you see what you are really paying for fuel to heat your home, you can begin to calculate payback periods on energy-savings upgrades to your home. PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Carter

You should save money on your heating bills with new windows and doors, but the question is how much will you save and when will you at least break even? Remember, you never save one penny until such time as you have recaptured the money you spent to derive the energy savings.

To make sound financial decisions when spending money on energy-savings upgrades, you need to know what you have spent for fuel in the past. If you keep your utility bills, you can do this very quickly. If you throw them away, my guess is your local utility company can provide you with past records.

Look at one year's worth of utility bills. If you get your natural gas from the same company that supplies your electricity, the two components are usually split on the bill. Add up your total natural gas cost for the entire year. Since you don't have a separate gas meter that is connected to your furnace, we are going to have to extrapolate what you are probably spending on natural gas to heat your home.

It is my guess your furnace does not operate for 6 months out of the year. If you are like many people, your furnace is probably off from the middle of April until the middle of October. Look at your May, June, July, August and September bills. Add up the natural gas cost for these months and divide it by five. This is the average monthly cost for natural gas to operate everything else in your house such as a stove, clothes dryer, water heater, outdoor gas grill, etc.

Multiply this monthly natural gas cost by 12 and then subtract that sum from the total annual gas bill. The remainder is a fairly accurate cost of what you spent last year to heat your home. I ran this calculation with a neighbor's bills and discovered she spent about $1,435.00 last year to heat her home. That number is significantly above the national average last year of $742.00 to heat with natural gas. The US Energy Information Administration projects the national average natural-gas heating cost this winter to be $1,048.

Installing new windows and doors is going to cut down on air infiltration and direct radiant heat loss. But even with the best windows on the market, I doubt you could really save more than 30% of your total heating cost. Remember, you will still have heat loss through your walls and attic and all other places that are leaking air.

Using my neighbor's past bills, she would save $430.00 in the upcoming year if gas costs remain level and we have an identical winter as last year. But if your heating cost is closer to the projected national average, you would only save about $314.00.

Let's assume my neighbor is considering new windows and doors as are you and that the estimate to install them is $9,500.00. Without factoring in inflation, the rise in energy costs or the amount of interest she could get if she left the $9,500 in the bank, it would take over 22 years just to break even. Once she gets past the break even point, she would finally start to reap the real financial energy savings.

You can save money on your heating bills this winter without spending money. Turn your thermostat down right now to 64 F. Then go up to your bedroom and put on some long underwear, an extra pair of socks, a long sleeve tee shirt, a sweater and/or a hooded sweatshirt. At night, sleep in flannel pajamas and throw one or two extra blankets on the bed. This may seem extreme, but think back to what our forefathers and mothers did when they lived and slept in drafty log cabins in the wilderness. If they survived bitter, cold winters, surely you can.

It is important to differentiate between energy savings and saving real money. Most energy-savings home improvements will produce instant energy savings once the improvement is completed and installed. You will spend less to heat your home. But you personally will not see the real financial savings for some length of time since you had to spend extra money to be able to produce the energy savings.

Programmable thermostats will save money if you program them accurately and really let the thermostat set back the house temperature when you are away and sleeping. You can buy a great one for just about $100.00.

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Door Fit is Poor

Posted on by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I have just had a new steel door installed which goes from my garage into my house. Everything looks fine, except the door does not fit properly on the upper left corner opposite the hinges. It appears that it should go in about a quarter of an inch. You can push it with your hand, in about a quarter of an inch. What is wrong and how can it be fixed? Bob Gile

DEAR BOB: The carpenter that hung the door has twisted the frame to fit both the rough framed and the finished drywall opening. In the perfect world, all wall surfaces and stud walls are in the same plane. This means if you stretched a string from any point on the wall to another point, there would be no high or lows spots whatsoever. But your wall is slightly twisted in our imperfect world.

If you want perfectly flat walls, you need to plan ahead when building. You can achieve this easily with steel studs that are almost always perfectly straight or use engineered lumber studs that look like super-thick pieces of plywood. Standard solid-wood studs can have crowns in them that cause all sorts of problems. A crown is a hump along the thin edge of a stud or any piece of dimensional lumber. A good analogy of the crown in lumber is the shape of almost every suspension bridge. The center of the bridge is always higher than the ends. The deck of the bridge is not flat but a gentle arch.

The carpenter who installed your door wanted the woodwork trim around the door to fit correctly so he forced the door jambs and frame to be flush with the adjacent wall surfaces. Doing this caused the door frame to twist while the flat door itself stays in the same plane.

You can fix it by enlarging both the mortise of the top and middle door hinge as well as tapping the frame out to meet the door ever so slightly. The hinge mortise needs to be enlarged so each hinge moves towards the center of the door jamb about 1/16th of an inch.

I would like to see the frame come out away from the wall only 1/8th inch where the door projects out from the frame. By making both of these adjustments, the door will once again be flush with the jamb at that upper corner. But realize that moving the hinge position in will cause the door edge to not be flush with the jamb once the door is closed. You have to decide which adjustment provides the desired result with the least amount of visual discomfort.

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Cement Mud Floor DVD

Posted on by Tim Carter
Cement Mud Floor DVD
Order Now for Just $19.97 + $5.25 S&H
Total Cost: $25.22

Click Here to Order the DVD!
 

1. Are you positive you can create the perfect slope for your ceramic tile shower?
Yes
No

2. Do you want your spouse to talk to you after the shower tile floor is installed?
Heck Yes!
She Stopped Talking to Me Years Ago

3. Do you really know the right way to mix the mud and smooth it?
Yes
No

4. Do you understand how to prevent clogging the drain assembly weep holes?
Yes
No

If you answered No in two or more of the questions above, you need my Cement Mud Floor DVD.

 
Listen to what Gary Kinnett has to say about the way I explain things:

"Your instructions are so thorough it is amazing. You account for every question & issue possible. One can't fail following your instructions. Thanks so much!"

Here is Bob Fogarty, a satisfied customer:

"I just wanted to let you know my wife and I installed the shower pan this weekend and everything went fine. As you stated, by taking our time and not trying to rush through this, everything fell into place. We have not yet started tiling however that should be later on this week. All four sides are perfectly level and it appears we have achieved the 1/16" pitch we set our goal for. The information from Askthebuilder.com was of great benefit as both the plumber and tile company recommended to us claimed they did not do shower pans. We had no choice but to rely upon instructions from an outside party. I will continue to utilize you on future projects."

Kim Amster has this to say:

"We own both of your DVDs on Shower Liners. Thank you so much for making such a wonderful and clear DVD. It's out first house and we are very excited to be putting your concepts to work."

Minutes after watching this DVD you will be getting out your tools and mixing the sand and mortar for your mud floor. Your in-laws, spouse, friends, neighbors and co-workers will be amazed at your newfangled master ceramic tile skills.

This DVD was shot with High Definition television equipment by a professional film and video company. It is fast-paced and will show you step-by-step how I install a CPE shower pan liner in a standard shower stall with a seat. If you are considering another DVD product, be sure it is shot with high-definition camera equipment. It makes all the difference in the world.

Let me Teach You How I Install a Cement Mud Floor
$19.97 plus $5.25 S+H

Click Here to Order the DVD!

My action-packed DVD is totally interactive and covers the following topics:

  • Required Tools and Safety
  • Details on How to Get the Right Mud Mix
  • What to Do if your Mix is Too Wet!
  • How to Set the Prefect Drain Assembly Height
  • Techniques to get the Right Slope to the Drain
  • How To Install a Marble Shower Seat
  • When to Install the Cement Board for the Walls
  • How to Install the Cement Board to Keep it Dry
  • Preventing Hidden Condensation and Mold Growth in Walls

 

Shipping and Handling Info: The DVD is shipped Priority Mail with the US Postal Service. We have been getting superb 3-day service to the West Coast and 2-day service to the East Coast. Orders received by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time ship the same business day!

Return Policy: This product has a money-back guarantee. Please read our Return Policy here.

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