Lone Ranger Story | Composite Decking Info | New Feature

If I could reach through your phone, tablet, or computer monitor, I’d ask to shake your hand or give you a hug for being my newest subscriber! I feel it’s very important to give you a warm welcome.

That said, you may be scratching your head mumbling, “Tim, for Pete’s sake, I’ve been a subscriber for ___ weeks/months/years and you don’t shake my hand or hug me each week. What’s up with that? I take regular showers for goodness sake.”

Hah, I wish I could but if I did that there’d be no time to write the newsletter. Do you know how long it takes to hug tens of thousands of amazing subscribers like you?

Your Spring Deck Project

Are you thinking of a new deck? Are you sick and tired of taking care of your wood deck? Good.

Trust me when I say it will REALLY BE WORTH YOUR WHILE to tell me what you want to know about composite deck and railing systems.

CLICK OR TAP HERE and select three or four things that you want to know more about when it comes to composite decking, railings, and fancy dancy low-voltage mood lighting.

Free Advice & Bids

Are you in need of free advice and BIDS for work from local contractors? CLICK or TAP the following links and let me know how quickly you get contacted. I'll bet it's fast.

Room Addition

New Roof or Repair

Basement Remodel

Bathroom Remodel

Kitchen Remodel

Heat Pump Replacement

Furnace/Boiler Install

Exterior Painting - GREAT TIME to get bids is NOW

Build a Garage

Vinyl Siding

Window Replacement - BRRRR, are yours drafty?

Freak WX = Bad Attitude

You could be one of tens of millions here in the USA who is in misery right now because of a polar blast that happened in the past week. Are you in Texas? Oh my, are you suffering.

Are you dealing with ice dams? I suggest you watch these two videos:

Ice Dam Video #1

Ice Dam Video #2

I was asked to do a LIVE appearance on the mid-day WGN-TV news show earlier this week, giving the folks in Chicago some cold weather advice. If you missed it you can tap the link above.

Please look at this photo I shot of one of my favorite bibelots:

When you get punched in the gut with bad weather (WX), a miserable cold or the flu, or some other challenging hardship, it can be rough. I know this. It’s happened to me.

That’s why I have this lapel pin on the top of my keyboard and I glance down at it at least twenty times a day. I’m a touch typist using the Dvorak keyboard layout baked into all computers so I don’t have to look at the keyboard, but sometimes I do just to adjust my attitude.

The problems you might be having with water, electricity, natural gas, food, gasoline, etc. demonstrate just how fragile our just-in-time inventory system is here in the USA .

What can you do to become more self-reliant and have a positive attitude more often? Maybe we should open up a discussion. What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear them.

Lone Ranger Story

I grew up watching the Lone Ranger on Saturday mornings. How about you? I never got to see him in person though.

CLICK or TAP HERE, watch a short video, and weigh in with your opinion as to whether the story is true, false or laced with mendaciousness. No matter which, it will give you a laugh.

Modulating Furnaces, Boilers, and Water Heaters

Is a new furnace, boiler, or water heater in your immediate future? Do you think it’s a good idea to get one that modulates?

CLICK or TAP HERE and see what I think.

The Spotlight’s on You!

This past week, I got an inspiration injection from Peach. She’s been a subscriber for years. You’ll discover lots about Peach next week.

She watched my live appearance on WGN-TV earlier in the week and we started a back-and-forth email conversation. At the bottom of her email was a link to her personal website.

My curiosity got the better of me and I clicked through. WOW!

Then the 4WD in my head engaged and I heard a voice say, “You dolt. Why haven’t you been helping your subscribers showcase their interesting hobbies or cottage-business websites?”

Here’s an example. This is my hobby website.

The first person I’m going to feature is my very good friend, Marty Hovey. Marty and I go way way back, maybe 45 years. He and his lovely wife Denise once hired me to remodel their bathroom. We lived in the Pleasant Ridge suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. I can’t remember how our paths first crossed, but I’m sure Marty or Denise will remind me.

Marty is a super-talented graphic artist and he’s contributed many of his skills to AsktheBuilder.com over the years. This includes the wonderful Under Construction animated gif file that appeared on pages of the first version of my website when it launched in 1995.

Here it is:

Rather than feature Marty’s personal website, he asked that I show you one he created for a client, Robin Wood. Robin was an on-air radio talent on WEBN-FM back in the 1980s. Her father, Frank Wood, was the founder of WEBN-FM - 102.7 in Cincinnati, OH. Their end-of-summer fireworks shows entertained millions of people including me.

In my teenage bedroom back in the late 1960s, I had a poster promoting the one or two-hour weekend show Robin’s brother did on Friday and Saturday nights - Jelly Pudding. His on-air name was Michael Xanadu, but he was Frank Wood, Jr.

I so wish I still had that poster. It was black, white, and purple/magenta (who doesn't like magenta?) featuring a bottle of pills with song titles or budding rock-n-roll artists' names on the pills in the bottle.

Robin is now in the floral design business in Cincinnati.

Now it’s your turn to be in the SPOTLIGHT.

Do you have a hobby or small cottage business website you’d like me to feature?

Remember, it’s got to be about you or the small business you operate. And it’s got to be wholesome.

I’m not going to promote you if you’re a gun runner or sell black market counterfeit bottles of Indecent perfume!

CLICK or TAP HERE, answer a few questions, and share your URL with me. I’m hoping I get enough entries to be able to turn the spotlight on each week!

Don’t Blink

Last up for today is a motivational song. Do you ever feel like you need to recenter yourself?

It’s easy to go off course. Sometimes you don’t even realize you’re lost.

CLICK or TAP HERE and listen CLOSELY to the lyrics of this wonderful Kenny Chesney song.

"...Best start putting first things first..."

That’s plenty for a Sunday.

Thanks for participating in solving the newsletter mystery two weeks ago. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe found some decorating ideas along the way.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Clean Your Stuff - www.StainSolver.com
DX Contest! - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. How do you feel about unethical labels on products? Do they make you grouchy? CLICK or TAP HERE to watch a video to see one that got me so upset I wrote a national column about it. When the column appeared in 60+ newspapers across the nation, the mom of the association that represents many of the unethical companies sent me an email saying I had used my column to hurt her association’s feelings. I decided to double down so I created a VIDEO too!

Minutes ago, I shared that I was going to be on LIVE TV today in Chicago at 12:15 PM Eastern Time.

You may have been one who responded, "That's great, Tim. But I want to see you on MY LOCAL NEWS not WGN in Chicago. How can that happen?"

It's so easy! All you have to do is go to your LOCAL TV news station's website and use the CONTACT US form or NEWS TIP form and let them know about me. You know my email address as it's in the FROM field in this email to you.

Just let the station know why you feel you, and others in your city, would benefit from me sharing both winter-weather tips as well as ANY home improvement information. Who knows, I may become a regular on your news station!

You may not realize this but I was the LIVE TV home improvement expert for the ABC and NBC-TV affiliates in Cincinnati, OH for about six years.

Live TV is a hoot to do. You really don't know what's going to happen and you need to be on top of your game to say the least!

Let me know what your local TV station says if you reach out to them.

Tim Carter

Do It Right, Not Over!

Today - Tuesday - February 16, 2021 - I'm going to be on LIVE TV on WGN-TV in Chicago.

I'll be on approximately at 12:15 PM Eastern Time.

Below is the WGN LIVE segment.

You can watch the LIVE stream on your computer, tablet, or phone. CLICK or TAP HERE to be able to watch the LIVE feed.

The news anchors are going to be asking me about the FRIGID weather and how to best cope with it. You may be suffering at your home now so you don't want to miss this segment.

I plan to have some tips that you rarely hear. You already know what to do to prevent pipes from freezing, so let's hope the anchors stay away from that worn-out question!

You want to know WHY your house is so darned cold and what you can do RIGHT NOW to stay warm, right?

The segment is only 5 minutes so tune in around 12:10 PM and just hang out until they patch me in using ZOOM technology.

I hope to see you in a little over three hours from now.

Want to see Tim on your local TV Stations? Check out his advise in this newsletter.

Tim Carter

Do It Right, Not Over!

Greetings and salutations! This might be your first newsletter! Getting something new is always exciting, isn’t it? This top part of my newsletter is reserved seating for you and every other subscriber who's signed up in the past seven days. By the way, this is an unusual whimsical issue, so give me a week or two before passing judgment.

You, though, might be a valued crusty subscriber who is flummoxed as to why I go out of my way to greet new subscribers. You could be so creaky that you clearly remember when I shared the video about how to drill a hole in 1/4-inch steel plate! Drilling wood is for sissies, right?

Do You Do Pottery?

My youngest daughter’s hobby is pottery. She’s self-taught and is really starting to gain confidence. You may remember when we tried to build a wood-fired kiln last spring. It didn't work and I discovered later the firebox was simply too small. I couldn't get enough fire burning to raise the temperature much above 1,200 F. CLICK or TAP HERE to watch a short video of the kiln really cooking. Yes, the flue liner is cracked and I wired it together to prevent it from collapsing.

After the wood-kiln #Experiment, she bought herself a fancy electric kiln. It gets hotter than Hades! 2,100+ F!! Here’s a photo of it about two hours into a 24-hour firing. The temperature rises slowly to minimize stressing the clay pieces. It's all computer controlled and fires pottery quite well.

Do you create your own glazes?

If so, my daughter would LOVE to know the best online sources where you purchase the ingredients to make your own custom glazes. TNX in advance for this help. You can just reply to this newsletter and give me the URL you buy from.

My goal is to occasionally share some of her work with you, Yep, I’m a proud Papa.

Nancy in Toledo

About two weeks ago, Nancy was having a low water-pressure issue in her home. I suggested she read these columns:

Solving Low Water Pressure Problems

Low Water Pressure in Faucets

Low Shower Head Pressure

Nancy did and then she got back with me. She decided that she could save a ton of money having me call her rather than hiring a plumber. She was right.

Are you sitting down?

While she and I were ON THE PHONE, she used a wrench and SOLVED THE PROBLEM RIGHT THEN AND THERE.

It was so much fun for me to hear the happiness in her voice when the water pressure jumped!

Oh, I forgot an important part of the story! Nancy is 90 years YOUNG! Talk about valued and crusty!

I don’t want to hear excuses about why you can’t fix something yourself. If Nancy can do it, so can you for goodness sake.

Don’t forget, I can COACH YOU ON THE PHONE!

Karen and Mary Gene

You may be one who asked how in the world last week’s fun Ask the Builder Clue Mystery game came to be and where in the world I found the woman who did the sultry voice recording on the last page? It all starts with Johnson Hardware and the great folks at Walt Denny, Inc.

Johnson Hardware is the biggest sponsor of this newsletter. One of my jobs is to make sure you see stunning photos demonstrating how you can benefit from using their marvelous door hardware.

I got a huge assist from two wonderful and talented women. Karen-Eileen Gordon, Mary Gene, and I teamed up to create a new mystery game where you see these stunning Johnson Hardware photos.

It was my idea to create a virtual game of Clue. I came up with a list of 30 possible words that could be used in a mystery story.

I shared the list with Mary Gene, she’s the editor of this newsletter, and said, “I know you enjoy creative challenges. Please take fifteen of these random words and see if you can create a fun and interesting mystery story.”

Three hours later, it was done. I modified Mary Gene’s story just a bit and I knew I needed the voice of a professional actress to help you solve the mystery.

I called my very good friend and Hollywood actor David Lawrence. He immediately suggested Karen.

I hired her to read the script I’d written, allowing you to SOLVE the mystery and decode a fun message. Karen is a professional Hollywood actress. There’s a very good chance you’ve seen her work.

I want to thank Karen and Mary Gene for all they did to make this fun diversion possible.

What? Wait a minute! You might not have solved the fun mystery yet!

I believe you’ll want to do it after reading what Wayne sent me:

“Dear Tim:

My wife and I just finished doing your mystery puzzle. It was a fun and interesting diversion for a Sunday morning. The story-line was great and it was fun to decrypt the coded message. We laughed when we read it! The clip of Ralphie decoding his secret message was the icing on the cake.

I am glad that I signed up for your newsletter and just like Ralphie waiting for his secret decoder badge to arrive, I look forward to receiving the Ask The Builder newsletter each week. Usually, I hate reading advertisements, but you always present your tips in a manner that is interesting and entices me to read about products I would otherwise not have known about. Keep those newsletters coming.

Sincerely,"

Wayne Reetz

That Tiny Island!

Remember three weeks ago when I shared with you a small country you might have never heard about before?

I’m blessed to know quite a few friends, all virtual, who live in other countries. I’ve come to know Phil and Patricia in Australia, Johan in Belgium, Jonathan in the UK, and lots more.

Jonathan sent me a photo of the tiny island! CLICK or TAP HERE to see that photo as well as a few from his own yard. Wait until you read the story about his chestnut tree!

Japanese Chocolate

Do you enjoy dark chocolate? I confess it’s one of my sins of pleasure. I try to lead a pure and simple life, but dark chocolate can cause me to go off the rails.

Would you look at a few labels of Japanese chocolate and tell me which ones you find to be the most attractive? CLICK or TAP HERE to see these distinctive candy wrappers! Can you guess which one I can’t wait to taste?

Thanks for your help.

That’s quite enough for a Sunday.

Next week I’ll have a boatload of home improvement stuff for you including a review of two new Bosch heated jackets, one’s a hoodie. You’ll see INFRARED PHOTOS of the heating elements hidden inside the jackets!!

Until then, stay warm.

Oh, one more thing. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Be sure to give your sweetheart a twirl in a romantic kitchen dance and maybe go out for dinner. I’d order halibut and a Japanese sweet potato in case you’re wondering. If they had a wedge salad, I’d get that too.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic Clean - www.StainSolver.com
Chief of Comms NEFR - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. Winter is when potholes bloom in the USA. Do you know the BEST WAY to patch a pothole? Click to see if you’re right.