Installing Large Format Wall Tile – It’s All Finesse

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I’m remodeling a large bathroom in my home. The large shower stall is going to be tile as well as the floors in the room. I cut out some pieces of scrap cardboard to resemble large-format tile and it’s going to look perfect. I’ve never done a job like this. I’ve done my own tile work for years and had decent results, with the largest tile installed 8x8 inches. What tips can you share to ensure success? I want this job to look perfect in every way. Tom B., Charleston, SC

Do you have the drive and passion for tough DIY jobs like Tom does? If so, that’s a remarkable quality. I applaud it. Some pros try to talk you out of things. I will in certain situations if I know something is far too difficult or requires hundreds of hours of practice. Installing tile is not one of these situations, but installing large-format tile is absolutely one that a beginner should not try.

It’s important to realize that almost all tile and natural-stone products are made so the top surfaces are smooth. There are any number of Mexican tiles and some others that have an uneven top surface or slight bullnose edges, but let’s not worry about those for this discussion. I’m going to assume Tom is installing a tile or natural stone that’s got a very flat top surface.

For a finished tile job to look spectacular, the tile need to be in the same plane once installed. This doesn’t necessarily mean level and plumb, although those are two noble goals you should aspire to.

Flat, or in the same plane, means that the surface has no humps or dips in it. Imagine placing a large straightedge on a surface and the bottom of the straightedge on the tile. When the tile is in the same plane, there will be no gaps under the straightedge and it will not rock back and forth on a high spot like a teeter-totter.

When remodeling, you may have to apply thin shims or strips of wood to wall studs to get them all in the same plane. The tile backer board will conform to the studs so if the studs are all cattywampus, that Tim Talk for askew, then the backer board will mimic this unacceptable surface.

Forget about using large-format tile for the shower floor. You need to choose something that’s small because I’d recommend you install tile on top of a preformed shower base kit that has the shape of a very shallow funnel. You want all the water to run to the drain and these preformed shower floor kits achieve this goal. Large-format tile will have voids under them and will eventually crack.

If you’re building a new home, I highly recommend the use of floor trusses to get a perfectly smooth floor surface in wood-framed houses. If building on a concrete slab, ask the concrete masons to take extra time to get the floors flat in the places you’ll have tile. In a remodeling situation, you can use pourable floor-leveling compounds to get a floor nice and flat.

Be sure to install floor tile over a mat made to uncouple the tile from the floor. There are quite a few systems out there and this newer technology is paramount to a long-term crack-free tile floor. Pay very close attention to the stiffness of a wood floor system. If the floor is bouncy, there’s a good chance your large-format tile will crack over time. It’s a major job to try to stiffen an existing floor and that’s the subject of another discussion we may have on another day.

You may want to look into the wedge floor leveling products. These are handy products that allow you to get the top surface of adjacent tiles all in the same plane. The industry standard for allowable offset is 1/16th inch. This is actually quite large and you can almost always have a much tighter tolerance.

But be aware that if the wedge starts to pull one tile up out of the gooey thinset to make it flush with the adjacent one, a void space may develop under the lifted tile and that’s a possible crack location. This is why getting the floor flat in the first place is so important. These problems are minimized with smaller-format tile.

Once you have the tile installed, all your hard work can be ruined if you don’t know how to grout the tile. You need to use the right grout to avoid issues. Unsanded grout can be used on joints up to 1/8-inch in width. Use sanded grout for larger joints.

Water is your friend and enemy when grouting. Too much water when mixing will ruin the grout. Too much water when wiping and striking the grout joints will absolutely ruin it. Please watch my four-part Grouting Floor Tile series on my AsktheBuilder.com website so you don’t ruin your new tile!

Column 1341

February 16, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Tim Carter

I think you may be a brand-new subscriber! Holy watermelon, let's celebrate! Did you know you can eat watermelon in the shower and not worry about dripping the delicious nectar juice on yourself? A friend told me this was possible. Yes, you need to have the water on to make this work, not just stand in the shower sneaking extra melon with your clothes on, silly!

You could be a subscriber that's eaten celery and peanut butter with me over the past few years while we sat on overturned drywall mud buckets. Yummy! Do you remember that story I told at lunch about Dr. Caster, my historical geology professor?

Building Scars

Please look at this photo. What do you think of the different-colored brick?

HAH! That was a trick question! I shot this photo in Cincinnati, Ohio in Pleasant Ridge about four years ago while I was on a walk. The house was about 457 feet north of Montgomery Road on the east side of the street.

That's a beautiful multi-colored wire-cut brick isn't it? But what's going on with the mortar? CLICK or TAP HERE to understand what's in play and how you can avoid TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS of repairs.

George Washington and Abe Lincoln!

Here's another photo to gaze at:
Metal Pot - Milk Stain

This is a metal pot. The black stain is from milk. How's that possible?

Easy - turn on the burner to heat it up, walk away and get distracted. You can also melt plastic birds on tea pots the same way.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see the metal pot after it soaked in Stain Solver.

What does this have to do with George and Abe? Both former presidents drank lots of milk, and Abe had a glass of chocolate milk each night with two pecan cookies. Don't believe the unfounded and ugly rumors about him and Disaronno. Not for a second.

What's more, how do you think George got his muslin frock clean after splattering it with cherry juice when he cut down his Dad's favorite tree?

He used Stain Solver of course! He also used Stain Solver to get the mud stains off his pants after crossing the Delaware River. The infantry of the Continental Army using Stain Solver to clean their uniforms in hot water pots hanging over campfires is a story oft told at West Point.

Abe wore white shirts when he did his legal work for the Rock Island Railroad. He routinely got black ink on his sleeves because he hated wearing sleeve socks. Abe's wife Mary loved to use Stain Solver to keep her man's work shirts looking like new!

Thomas Jefferson told his admirals to use Stain Solver to get algae off Old Ironsides before they finally switched to copper plates. He wanted the ship to look its best before he dispatched it to kick the Barbary Pirates' butts. But I digress.

Wait, wait ... I worry you think I'm being mendacious. Tsk tsk.

Let's celebrate Presidents Day with the new the Presidents Would Have Loved Stain Solver Sale!

Stain Solver is a multi-purpose certified organic cleaner. CLICK or TAP HERE to see my all-time FAVORITE before/after photos sent in by a customer.

Use the following promo code to get 10% off any purchase greater than $25.00.

PRESIDENT

You also get FREE SHIPPING to the four commonwealths plus the other 44 states that are all bunched up next to one another.

The sale ends in one week. I'll be sending out reminder emails, but realize that quantities of the size you want are LIMITED. We only have so many boxed at the fulfillment center - I'm telling you the truth about this!

CLICK or TAP HERE to place your order.

New Amazing Instant Whiteboard Product

Please use your peepers to peer at this photo:

post it flex write

That white rectangle is a very SMALL sample of a new product.

Can you finish the puzzle??? What were ALL of the WORDS I wrote on it???

CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you were right! There's NO WAY you'll guess right. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

I'd say that's quite enough for a Sunday, what say you?

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Salute to the Presidents! - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Contest Today! - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. How can you prevent cutting through buried electric cables? Call that number? Well, that's a start.

What about roofing nails? Did you know your roofer is almost FOR SURE going to use the WRONG ONES on your new roof?

CLICK or TAP HERE to discover the secrets about both topics.

Ken Caster Historical Geology Professor

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Tim Carter

Dr. Ken Caster - University of Cincinnati

I had the distinct pleasure to meet and be taught by Dr. Kenneth Caster at the University of Cincinnati (UC) between 1972 and 1974. He's one of a small handful of college professors that left an indelible imprint in my brain, fortunately for the better.

This is Dr. Ken Caster. This is a Fair Use of the image as it's owned by a public-funded agency.

The first and only class I took from Dr. Caster was about fossils. Historical geology is a class based on the hundred of thousands, possibly millions, of plant and animal fossils that make up the march through time of the geologic record.

It's a topic deeper than the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, and it gets deeper by the day as more new information about the historical record of animals and plants is discovered.

King Caster

One of my most profound memories of Dr. Caster was his royal demeanor. He was a world-renowned geologist by the time I got to UC and he knew it. He had an entourage of graduate students that followed him down the hallways hanging on his every word.

As an undergraduate student, I don't ever recall him saying "Hello" to me while passing in the hallways going to and from class. It's as if I was invisible. That's okay because he was probably contemplating more behavioral discoveries about horseshoe crabs.

Dr. Caster was an authority on these amazing creatures.

Authority & Intimidation

When he'd come to teach each class of mine, he'd have an 8-inch pile of books, papers, and folders in his arms. He'd place them down on the desk next to the lectern.

I now think it was just a clever prop he used to project his power.

He'd immediately begin to teach and completely fill all of the blackboard space with impossible Latin names of the fossils. He'd also draw very detailed illustrations of fossils using colored chalk. Each one was a work of art.

To keep up, you had to know shorthand. I later discovered that a fellow professor, Dr. Bullard, would request the blackboards NOT be erased until such time as he could come in and photograph each one. Oh, how I'd love to have a few prints of Dr. Bullard's photos!

When it came time for a test, Dr. Caster would walk into the room head held high, he straighten the test papers on the lectern, gaze slowly across the entire class, and utter these words, "Today we're here to test the depths of your ignorance."

It was the most intimidating statement I've ever heard from a professor. He wasn't kidding when he said it.

But it was true. We were ignorant.

The Sharp Lens of Time

Years later, I finally understood what he was saying. Here I was, a junior still wringing wet behind the ears, not having a clue about what existed in the written record concerning everything about fossils.

Even if I understood and retained every word of what Dr. Caster taught in the historical geology class for the entire year, I might have only known 0.00001 percent of all there was to know at that time about fossils.

Yes, I was indeed ignorant.

Each time I turned in my test, I knew I had failed it. Dr. Caster made a point to ask lots of questions, most of which there was never time to answer. I'd estimate he had no less than thirty questions on each test. You had 90 minutes to answer thirty questions. Each one was an essay question.

Hah! There's no way you could write a detailed answer in three minutes much less ten.

There was no such thing as a multiple-guess question on a Caster test. You brought several blue books with you and you would fill one or two for sure. At best, I maybe could only answer eight of the thirty questions.

How could I possibly pass the class if I didn't answer most of test questions?

That's the magical side of Dr. Caster. He knew we were Padawans. He knew we had no chance of truly understanding what he knew.

Test Scores

I have no memory of Dr. Caster returning graded tests. I have this sneaking suspicion he threw them in the garbage after skimming through them never lifting a finger to grade them.

Each quarter when my report card came in the mail I was astonished to see I had received an A for the class. Surely he had made a mistake.

No, he didn't.

Dr. Caster was measuring performance based on attendance and attitude. If you gave him your attention in class, watched him add to the air pollution level in Cincinnati by creating chalk dust, and you had the guts to show up for tests, you got an A.

I think Dr. Caster would have given one of these to each of us in his class, but that would expose his softer side. RIP Dr. Caster!

I hope you had the good fortune to be taught by such a magnificent human being. I'm so very grateful to have been in his classroom.

Rest in Peace Dr. Caster. I wonder if you're chasing horseshoe crabs up in Heaven!

Want to know about another UC professor that had a profound impact on my life? Then you need to meet Dr. John Alexander.

Post-it Flex Write Surface

Posted on February 14, 2020 by Tim Carter

Post-it® Flex Write Surface | Here's a very small sample of the magic film you apply to a wall. This is the teaser sample sent by the company so you could play with it. See below for the GIANT sizes you can buy. Alakazam! - instant white board - permanent markers wipe off with WATER! CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to buy it now.

Post-it® Flex Write Surface - Permanent Markers Wipe Off

I tested the Post-it® Flex Write Surface product and it works. It works really well.

You know that permanent markers can ruin a traditional whiteboard - and yes, there is a toxic chemical you can use to restore one should you make a mistake and not use a dry-erase marker.

I'm not a big fan of clear toxic chemicals that can soak into your skin, are you?

The Post-it® Flex Write Surface is a thin film with a self-adhesive backing. You can apply it to any painted wall. BOOM! You have a whiteboard in seconds in any room!

It's perfect for home use and office use. A very good friend who was a school teacher mentioned it would be ideal for school science-fair projects!

Post-it® Flex Write Surface:

comes in a variety of different sizes up to 4 x 8 sheet and a roll 50-feet long x 4 high - cut and customize it to fit any size - CLICK or TAP HERE to order a giant roll.
has self-adhesive back surface
applies to a painted wall in seconds
remove from the wall with no damage
MAGIC! - permanent markers wipe off with water
NO GHOSTING!

This was done with a Sharpie. You know that once it touches something, the mark doesn't go away.

I waited for 30 minutes to ensure the marker was dry. I tried rubbing it with my finger. It was PERMANENT - or so I thought. Then I wet a clean paper towel and wiped off the marker with NO EFFORT. It's magic! CLICK or TAP HERE to buy this amazing product now.

The Post-it® Flex Write Surface comes in a roll. You can buy it in different sizes. CLICK or TAP HERE to buy the size you need.

Here's an old white board made for my kids by my father-in-law. They ruined it one day using permanent markers. HAH! I'm going to apply a new sheet of Post-it® Flex Write Surface and it's going to look like new! CLICK or TAP HERE to order yours now.

Prevent Cut Electric & Cable Lines and Roofing Nails

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Tim Carter

Those gray plastic pipes in the trenches will soon have electric and cable-TV cables in them. The pipes help prevent future cut lines. The photo should be saved and taped to the electric panel cover! (C) Copyright 2020 Tim Carter

Prevent Cut Electric & Cable Lines

QUESTION #1: Tim, what are your thoughts on burying electric and cable-TV lines? I can buy approved cable and wire that’s rated for direct burial saving the cost of installing it in conduit. What’s been your experience with underground utilities like this? What would you do and why? Glenn A., Columbia, SC

Glenn’s questions are excellent. You may wonder the same thing if you’re building a new home or you might have a remodeling project planned at your home. Heck, it could be just a simple project of adding a new post lamp out on your back patio.

I didn’t build the home I currently live in. It has lots of underground buried cable. Just this past spring, all of a sudden one of my circuit breakers started tripping indicating a dead short. Had I been testing the electric monitoring system I’m now using, I would have been alerted to the dangerous arcing weeks before the breaker started tripping. But that’s a story for another day.

I traced the cause of the dead short to a small place where a buried cable passed through a plastic conduit that was installed under my driveway. The cable was rated for direct burial, but the annual frost heave in the soil here in New Hampshire had caused the cable to rub on the sharp cut edge at the end of the conduit. Eventually the up and down movement severed the insulation and the bare wires shorted out in the soil.

Had the cable been buried in conduit all the way from the house up to the post lamp at the end of my drive, I would not have had to waste a day replacing the cable and installing 70 feet of new conduit. I was shaking my head the entire time digging the new trench thinking, “How could the electrician or builder think saving $30 was a good idea?” That’s all the conduit would have cost when the house was built.

I’m a huge fan of putting all underground cables and wires inside conduit. I’m an even bigger fan of putting these in trenches deeper than the National Electrical Code minimum depth. Take this one step further, I’m a monster fan of taking photos of the open trenches after the conduit is installed and visible. Shoot photos from many angles showing future homeowners where the conduits and cables are buried. I print out these photos, put them in a waterproof plastic bag and tape the bag to the electric panel for safekeeping.

If you’re not a fan of using conduit, you may change your mind when that gardener in your family pierces a buried cable while digging a hole for that new bush or tree. With that in mind, it’s a really good idea to think about where landscaping might be in your yard. You may want to route underground cables and wires away from these digging zones of death. I’ve seen aggressive diggers cut through conduit thinking they were chopping a rock or a root.

Roofing Nails

QUESTION #2: It’s time for a new roof on my house. I’m going to install asphalt shingles. I decided to read the installation instructions before talking with roofers. Galvanized roofing nails are required. Are there different types of galvanized nails and is one better than the other? Is there anything I can do to make sure this is the last asphalt shingle roof I install? Maria P., Kalamazoo, MI

There’s a really good chance you might be in Maria’s shoes soon as more homeowners like you are replacing their asphalt roofs faster than they should have to. I was one myself as my own asphalt shingle roof that was supposed to last 30 years started to fail in just nine years or so.

I was so upset at this I wrote a book about why asphalt shingles disintegrated much faster than the shingles I used to install decades ago. My book, Roofing Ripoff, is an easy read and not one shingle manufacturer disputes the claims in the book. That tells you right away that what I say in the book is truth. But I digress.

Here's my Roofing Ripoff book. It's an easy one-hour read. You'll save $5,000 reading it. GUARANTEED. CLICK or TAP HERE to read the first three chapters for free.

There are big differences in galvanized nails. The best ones are hot-dipped galvanized nails. Better yet are ones that are double dipped. In this process, regular steel roofing nails are dropped into a vat of molten zinc. The nails are immediately heated up by the searing molten zinc and this creates a steel/zinc alloy. The zinc coating is relatively thick and it protects the nails from rusting.

The other methods of galvanizing nails are mechanical and chemical. These two methods also attach zinc to the steel nail, but the coating can be quite thin. Chemical galvanizing happens when the steel nails are put into a vat containing a zinc-based chemical solution. Electricity is sent into the vat and the zinc is pulled out of the solution and bonds to the steel nails.

Mechanical galvanizing happens when steel nails are tumbled in a large drum with zinc dust, glass beads, and a chemical. The zinc dust is hammered onto the steel nails. My own asphalt shingle roof had nails that had one of these two galvanizing processes and many of them had rusted after just ten years.

When I was doing research for my Roofing Ripoff book, I was the first person in the world to discover that copper ions bond with sun-damaged asphalt molecules. When the copper locks onto the asphalt the asphalt molecules are unable to bond to nearby ones. This keeps the asphalt supple for many many years preventing the shingles from curling and losing ceramic granules.

I recommend applying a thin 12-inch-wide copper strip up at the top of the roof that’s blind nailed on new roof installations. The ultraviolet rays of the sun split off copper ions and these are washed down the roof with each rainfall where they grab onto the asphalt. Install this affordable thin copper rolls on each side of your roof and it’s quite possible your new asphalt shingles can last forty, or more, years like they used to. Check out my Roofing Ripoff book for photos and more details.

Column 1340

February 9, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Tim Carter

Is this your first real newsletter issue? I'm so glad you're here. I've got quite a few prizes in store for you. If you'd like a chance at winning a $50 Amazon Gift Card, be sure to play my annual Treasure Hunt game below. The game ends in just three weeks. Play now or I'll have you walking the plank, matey!

You might have done one or more rodeos with me here. This issue looks to be like that broncing Brahman bull we rode about two months ago. Remember that rocking newsletter?

Joe's Patio Door Woes

Please peer at this photo:

patio door hinge types

That's a hinge, right? What do you think's going on?

Can you surmise Joe's plight?

CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you were close. I'm very curious as to what you'd do if you were in Joe's shoes. Believe me, Joe always wears clean socks, so there's nothing to worry about.

Guessing Game

Study this photo and think about what it might be:

This is not an easy thing to figure out, you know!

Here's a clue: What goes up into the air when you boil water? Take that image one step further. Is there water in certain things you cook or fry?

CLICK or TAP HERE and tell me if you guessed wisely. You're NOT going to believe the before/after photos.

There's a prize waiting for you once you land on that page. The prize will DISAPPEAR from the page in just a few days!!!!!

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to get FREE quotes for ANY job around your home from LOCAL REPUTABLE contractors, not wandering contractors trolling for their next victim!

Apron and Farmer's Sink Photos/Videos

I'd like you to look at this photo for a second and try to conjure up WHAT I was up to a week ago:
Tim's message to future remodelers

Do you like opening prizes on Christmas morning, on your birthday, or on special-occasion days? Beneath the wrapping paper is something, but you don't yet know what it is.

It could be a kit to build something or it might be some stunning jewelry in your favorite color. What? ... I have to PUT TOGETHER my own present?

When I was still building and remodeling each day, I was blessed to discover prizes wrapped up and hidden inside walls and other mysterious void spaces in homes.

A carpenter might have signed his work. A builder, remodeler, or other subcontractor might have left a beer, soda, or medicine bottle in a wall. Old newspapers were sometimes stuffed into cracks or voids.

It was a delight to discover these things in houses. Looking at the advertisements in a newspaper or magazine that's 50 or 75-years old is eye-opening. Yes, you could buy a gallon of milk for ten cents. New houses sold for, are you sitting down, $7,000 - what you might now pay for a deluxe appliance.

I strive to create wonderful time capsules in all my jobs to pay forward the joy I had peeking into the past. CLICK or TAP HERE to watch a short video of some things I've discovered in walls and what I include in my time capsules.

Never forget that future remodelers LOVE knowing when something was installed. That's why I sign and date my work.

CLICK or TAP HERE to see what I signed last weekend. There are STUNNING PHOTOS there as well as two videos.

Dig for Treasure, Matey!

My LE Johnson Hardware Annual Treasure Hunt started last Sunday!

Annual Treasure Hunt

Five players who answer the silly questions in Step Three of the game are going to each win a $50 Amazon Gift Card.

That could be YOU!!! What can you do with $50 of FREE sweet moola?

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW and spend five or ten minutes looking at STUNNING PHOTOS of how LE Johnson hardware can transform your home into the next cover shot on a Better Homes and Gardens magazine cover.

BE SURE to WATCH me in the VIDEO on the Treasure Hunt page!

I'd say that's enough for a Sunday, what say you?

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
GET CLEAN USING OXYGEN - www.StainSolver.com
Invisible Happiness Waves - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. Do you know what the MINIMUM size is for a deck or patio if you plan to have a table on it for four people? Come on, tell the truth for goodness sake. What size do you think I'd make it? CLICK or TAP HERE to see if you were right!

P.P.S. Did you see the recent news? That silly 'i before e' grammar rule was recently disproved by science!

Apron Sink Photos

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Tim Carter

Apron Sink Photos | This is the apron sink in my own home. It's vitreous china and has a stunning apron design. CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to purchase an apron sink now. I also helped install an apron and scullery sink at my daughter's new home.

Apron Sink Photos - Not For a Beginner DIYr

Here are some photos and videos I've created for you to give you an idea of what apron sinks are and how difficult they can be to install. All of them are quite heavy.

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to get FREE QUOTES from local remodeling plumbers who can install an apron sink for you.

This is the inside of my apron sink. It's a dual-bowl one. Note the bowls are not equal in size. You need to really pay attention when you drill the holes for the faucet so the spout gets water into the smaller sink! CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to purchase an apron sink.

My Daughter's Scullery Apron Sink

The following are photos of my daughter's scullery apron sink being installed in her new home.

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to get FREE QUOTES from local remodeling plumbers who can install an apron sink for you.

This apron sink is going to fit between two cabinets. I had to build a saddle to support the sink. Do you want to buy an apron or farmer's sink? CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to get one in days.

A hole needed to be cut to provide access for the basket strainer under the sink. This allows you to tighten the compression nut on the top of the tailpiece. Oh, did you know I've been a master plumber since age 29? Do you have questions about installing an apron sink? CLICK or TAP HERE to arrange a personal phone call where I can help you!

Just before you install the apron sink, you need to sign the work. Future remodelers LOVE to discover these rare pieces of information. Yes, it's time for the Reign of Terror to begin to get the job done!

It took two people to get it this far. Once some of the weight is on the platform, one man or woman can slide it into place. That assumes you got the width of the opening right, silly! CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to purchase this Kohler apron sink.

This is what an apron sink looks like before the countertop is templated and installed. CLICK or TAP HERE or the photo to have your own apron sink.

I think you understand what you're looking at. CLICK the PHOTO now for magic to happen.

CLICK or TAP HERE NOW to get FREE QUOTES from local remodeling plumbers who can install an apron sink for you.

Patio Door Hinge Types

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Tim Carter

Patio Door Hinge Types | This is a very odd patio door hinge. Note how it has an uneven thickness to the two hinge halves.

Patio Door Hinge Types - There are Many

Joe S. from Osage Beach, MO reached out to me about his odd patio door hinge. His story appeared in the February 9, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter.

Here's what he wrote:

"I have an odd sized hinge that is for my patio doors. They need replacing and since I've never seen them before I would really appreciate your help. What are they and where in the world would I find them to purchase.

They appear to be adjustable and 3 of the 6 have failed. One side of the hinge is half inch thick and the other side is the usual thickness. The doors don’t close properly. Have you ever seen these before?"

My advice to Joe was to:

look at all surfaces on the hinge for any identification logos or printing that may shed light on who made the hinge
look at the edges of the patio doors and frames for identification markings as to who made the actual door
visit local exterior replacement door businesses taking the hinge with you. Ask for the manager or anyone who's at least 50 years old who has seen hundreds of different patio doors over their career.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local patio door companies to get your doors working perfectly.

What advice would you have given Joe? Add it in the comments below.

Your Takeaway: Let's say you're building your dream home and intend to live it in for decades. Perhaps you should buy some extra hinges for those doors that seem to have odd-shaped ones like Joe has so you don't find yourself in a conundrum.

Kitchen or Scullery Apron Sink Tutorial

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Tim Carter

DEAR TIM: I’m almost certain I want an apron sink in my new kitchen. You’ve got one last chance to talk me out of it. Have you installed one? Do you own one? What are the pros and cons of an apron sink? Are there special things you have to do to install one? I can sometimes be a person more concerned about looks than how something functions, so if you feel I’ll regret my decision, I need to know now. I trust what you have to say after reading your column week in and week out. Thanks. Lori T., Riverside, CA

Are you like Lori? I hope so! I hope before you make a big decision about a major fixture that you really do all your due diligence. Lori has asked all the right questions about apron or farmer’s sinks.

It’s important to realize I’ve been a master plumber since age 29. Over the years, I’ve installed my fair share of apron or farmer’s sinks. They’re really not that hard to install and it helps to have fine carpentry skills to make the install go perfectly. Another key point is that I have an apron sink in my own kitchen! What’s more, I just installed two of them in my daughter’s new custom home, one in her kitchen and the second one in her scullery.

I’ve always loved doing plumbing work and an apron sink connects to your household plumbing sink just as a normal one might. You might not give a second thought about the water and food particles that leave your kitchen sink, but they travel through a network of pipes that must be sized correctly and vented properly. While on the subject of vents, be sure your plumber installs a traditional loop vent if your apron sink will be in an island. Mechanical vents can fail and allow foul sewer gas into your nice new kitchen.

In my opinion, there are many many more pros than cons when it comes to apron sinks. Let’s talk about looks first, then functionality. There are many different designs when it comes to these sinks. The apron sink almost always projects past the front face of the kitchen sink base cabinet. This extra relief helps draw your eye to the sink, especially if the sink is a different color than the cabinetry.

One of the positive aspects of an apron sink is if you drip water down the front of the sink, it doesn’t harm the sink. With a normal sink, the water might flow onto the wood cabinet below. Some apron sinks have gorgeous designs that are part of the front of the sink, so this helps add character and beauty to the kitchen. Keep in mind you can get both single and double-bowl apron sinks. My own sink is a double-bowl design with one sink much larger than the smaller veggie-rinse sink on the right side of my sink.

The only negative thing I can think of is that it’s not always easy to replace an apron sink should it need to be done. Your countertop will overhang the top edge of the sink. This means if you need to remove the sink, it needs to slide out of the opening. This is not too easy to accomplish. What’s more, sink the cutout in the sink base cabinet is very exact, you need to replace the old sink with one that has the exact same measurements.

Let’s say you decide to go with a traditional over-the-counter drop in kitchen sink. These are quite easy to replace. A talented craftsman might be able to take out an existing sink and replace it with a new one in a couple of hours if everything goes according to plan. Most of these sinks all are about the same size so the cut out in the countertop will work with many sinks.

Apron sinks require a platform to sit on inside the base cabinet. In my daughter’s case, she had custom cabinets made and the cabinet maker was able to create the perfect platform inside the cabinet and do the required cutout on the face of the cabinet going off dimensions provided by the sink manufacturer. Her sink fit perfectly into the cabinet. I only had to make a simple circle cut in the platform for the drain hole.

Standard kitchen sink base cabinets can be used with apron sinks and you just have to build your own platform. A simple piece of 3/4-inch-thick A/C fir plywood will provide plenty of support and a 1x2 cleat screwed into each side of the cabinet will support the platform. Just be sure that the top of the apron sink sits 1/8 inch below the top of the cabinets so you can put a bead of caulk between the countertop and the top of the sink.

Keep in mind the platform for the sink doesn’t extend all the way to the back of the cabinet. Keep it away from the back of the cabinet about 5 inches so you can have access to the underside of the countertop. You’ll need this to be able to install the sink faucet.

Be prepared to shim the underside of the apron sink, especially if it’s a cast iron one. The sinks are not always cast perfectly and when sitting on the platform they may rock back and forth a little bit. You’ll need to shim the sink so it doesn’t move.

I have a few videos showing how apron sinks are installed and some dramatic photos of the support platform of my daughter’s scullery sink on my AsktheBuilder website. If you’re thinking of having one of these wonderful sinks in your kitchen, I urge you to take a look at the photos and videos. Simply type: “apron sink photos” in my search engine and you’ll find all you’re looking for.

Column 1339

February 2, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter Treasure Hunt Game

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Tim Carter

Today is the biggest event of the year for AsktheBuilder.com. I look forward to this newsletter issue ALL YEAR!

It's time for the annual LE Johnson Treasure Hunt Game.

I know, I know! I promised you the nutty video this past Thursday.

You probably want to watch it first. You mean this one? CLICK or TAP HERE or my nose and be prepared to laugh.

Tim, what is the Treasure Hunt Game?

My Treasure Hunt game is a fun, simple game where you'll look at several stunning photos and then answer five easy questions!

Think Where's Waldo.

What's in it for ME? Why should I play?

Here's why you should play:

the stunning LE Johnson photos will inspire you and you could win a $50 Amazon Gift Card
you'll have fun in five minutes of Treasure Hunting fun!
playing the game ensures this newsletter will continue to show up in your inbox

Tim, I don't want to play the game BUT I sure want to see all the new gorgeous photos of the LE Johnson interior doors. Where are those links?

I put all the links to the stunning room photos just below. You'll see the most gorgeous doors, some with glass, and interior decorating ideas that will take your breath away.

How do I play the game, Tim?

It's EASY!

select one of the clue images
look at all the photos and find the photo where the clue image is located
answer five easy questions to have a chance at winning one of FIVE $50 Amazon gift cards

REMEMBER, you can go back and look at the photos as often as needed to help you answer the questions.

Will it Take Much Time to Play?

Five or ten minutes start to finish - Pirate's Pledge!

Will I get any SPAM or unwanted emails from LE Johnson?

NO! You'll not get any SPAM. I NEVER share any of your personal information with anyone. The only thing you'll get is lots of laughs and maybe, just maybe, a $50 Amazon gift card!

Tim, I want to play the Treasure Hunt game. It sounds like FUN! How do I get started?

I thought you'd never ask! CLICK or TAP HERE to play the 2020 Treasure Hunt game!

Thanks so much for playing. This newsletter, each and every issue all year long, is made possible by LE Johnson. In my opinion, they make the absolute BEST moving-door hardware in the USA.

I've used this hardware for decades in my own home, my daughter's new home, and in countless jobs of mine. It's NEVER FAILED me.

Captain Tim Carter
SS Ask the Builder

Here are the links to the stunning interior door photos from LE Johnson:

Walk-the-Plank Cove

Rum Runners Den

Skull Rock Graves

Lucy's Forsaken Lagoon

Deadman's Hill

Buckaneer Bounty Paper Towels

Feather Thee Jib Before the Wind

Walk the Plank or Ponder

Swab the Deck or Dust