No Pest Dryer Vent

Posted on by Tim Carter

No Pest Dryer Vent | Look at the double doors. This keeps pests out and prevents cold air from backdrafting into your home. CLICK or TAP HERE to have it delivered to your home in just a day or two.

No Pest Dryer Vent - Mine Works Well

I installed a special dryer vent cover about four years ago. It's a no pest dryer vent.

It comes with two flaps, not just one as you find on regular vent covers.

The outer flap has tiny magnets that keep the cover closed so it won't annoy you on windy days.

Clever No Pest Dryer Vent Design Stops Intruders

Look up at that image again and notice the design of the inner flap or door. This is the magic of this dryer vent. Scorpions, spiders, mice, serpents, etc. can't defeat it because of the male/female design of this flap.

The vents come in a few different colors and some are made with an integrated flange for vinyl siding.

Can This Vent Cover Be Used For Bathroom Exhaust Too?

Yes! These no pest dryer vent covers are perfect for bathroom exhaust. The outer doors seal much better than traditional vent covers. This eliminates cold drafts blowing on your wet skin after getting out of the shower or tub!

CLICK or TAP HERE to have one delivered to your home in days.

Related Column

Clothes Dryer Vents

A-Frame House Problems – They Hide at First

Posted on by Tim Carter
A-frame house

A-Frame House Problems | Here’s an eye-catching A-frame house on Mt. Desert Island, Maine. You might not recognize the problems that come with a home like this because you're mesmerized by how unusual it is. You'll need a few roof framing basics when building an A-frame house. (C) Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

A-Frame House Problems - They Can be Aplenty

QUESTION #1: I’d like your honest opinion, Tim. A-frame houses have always appealed to me and I think I want to build one. I’ve done scads of research on these unusual homes and I’m convinced it’s the right decision. I want you to be the devil’s advocate and try to expose any flaws in my thinking before I make this large financial commitment. Feel free to share any pros as well as cons. Leslie S., Silver Spring, MD

Have you ever been faced with a decision like Leslie’s? It’s fairly easy to let emotion rule the day when it comes to large purchases. It’s usually a great idea to get lots of input from friends as well as professionals.

In this case, Leslie should be talking to the top real estate agent in the area where she plans to build this A-frame home. She may discover that an A-frame has a very limited appeal which would directly affect the home’s resale value.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local builders who can build your A-Frame house.

Should I Rent an A-Frame Before Buying One?

The first thought that came to my mind when I read Leslie’s question is, “Have you ever stayed a week in an A-frame home?” A month would be even better, but that could be problematic for a person that doesn’t have lots of vacation time stored up.

The Internet makes it so easy to find any number of A-frame houses you can rent. I’d probably stay in two or three different ones to see how they really work on a day-to-day basis.

What are the Top A-Frame House Problems?

In my opinion, here are the top five problems:

  • massive summer heat gain if the large windows face south (assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere)
  • lack of large amounts of vertical walls to hang things
  • hard to re-roof - staging required
  • acoustic issues with sound bouncing off hard wall surfaces
  • energy loss through huge window walls

Are A-Frame Houses Functional?

I feel a home needs to be functional before you consider its form. That’s a struggle in architecture where form and function tend to tug at one another. As a builder, I can take just about any floor plan and then make the outside look contemporary, Victorian, Tuscan villa, etc.

Are A-Frame Houses Strong?

A-frame houses are very strong because they're a basic geometric shape used by Mother Nature.

From a construction perspective, A-frame homes are simple triangles. Triangles are perhaps the strongest of all things you can build so long as all the connections between the three sides are engineered. Huge bridges employ triangles. Tension cables or steel beams create triangles in large open steel buildings so they don’t collapse in a windstorm.

How Do You Minimize Exterior Maintenance?

If you choose a durable roofing material like steel or virgin polymer roofing shingle, you can end up with minimal exterior maintenance as two of the four walls are also the roof. That’s a big plus in my book.

Do A-Frame Houses Have Open Floor Plans?

Many A-frame homes sport an open floor plan. I’d be very sure this concept works for you. What about visiting guests? Will the A-frame provide enough privacy so the social fabric doesn’t start to fray in a matter of hours or days?

How Can you Hang Things on Sloped Walls?

As silly as this sounds, you even have to consider artwork and other wall-hung things you might take for granted. Yes, you can hang pictures and art on slanted walls, but be sure you’re okay with how they might look.

Should I Hope I'll Like an A-Frame House?

My last piece of advice is to base the final decision on cold hard facts. Don’t hope an A-frame is going to work out. You hope for things you can’t control. You can test-live in an A-frame to see if you really like the day-to-day encounters with the high-angle sloped walls.

Column 1301 A

Unique Shed Designs – Imagine Anything Even Spaceships

Posted on by Tim Carter
unique garden shed

Unique Shed Designs | This is a unique small garden shed with an organic roof! (C) Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

Unique Shed Designs - Dream It & Build It

QUESTION #1: Hello Tim. I’ve put off building a small garden shed for too many years. After the wretched winter I endured, I deserve something that will lift my spirits. I don’t know where to start, but I do know I want it to be an asset to my property.

Should I just buy a pre-built shed or is it possible to build my own with limited skills and tools? I’m up for a challenge but don’t want to find out I bit off more than I can chew. What would you do if you were me? Andrea T., Blue Earth, MN

Each spring I hear from folks like Andrea. Spring as a magical time of year that unleashes pent-up energy and creativity in many things, including humans! It’s the favorite time of year for my ham radio mentor and I enjoy seeing him soak up all the wonder of the season.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local contractors who will build a unique shed.

Is a Shed a DIY Project?

A shed can be an easy DIY project. For most sheds, you just need very basic building skills. I sell a set of detailed shed plans that gives you all the information you need to build almost any shed.

shed plan section

This is a page showing a cross-section of my own shed. There are 17 pages to the set of plans!! CLICK or TAP HERE or THE IMAGE NOW TO BUY THEM. INSTANT DOWNLOAD

I’m a big fan of addressing challenges. If Andrea would have asked me fifteen years ago, I might have hesitated to have her take the DIY approach. But technology has allowed many to do things they never dreamed of doing. Just two weeks ago, I was approached by a Japanese television show asking permission to use part of one of my past videos. It turns out a 70-year-old Japanese woman built her own home using lots of videos she saw on YouTube and the show producers told me one of mine was key to her success.

What are the Top Five Shed Building Tips?

The top five shed-building tips are:

  • don't make the shed too small
  • use treated-lumber joists and flooring or poured concrete
  • use an overhead 6-foot-wide door - inexpensive!
  • make the walls 9 or 10-feet tall
  • match the style of your home for increased appeal
  • Are There DIY Shed-Building Videos?

Six years ago, I created over 100 videos showing the process of building an outdoor shed. The methods apply to any shed no matter the size or shape. You or Andrea can watch these for free and become empowered so that your dreams become reality.

The first step in the process is to step back and really ponder what’s going to happen in the shed. Is it an actual work shed, is it just for storage or both? The biggest complaint I get from my subscribers and readers is that sheds are almost always too small.

How Do You Size a Shed?

It’s easy to determine the right size for a shed no matter what you intend to do with it. As you might expect, I’ve created a video showing you how to solve this conundrum. Watch it now.

What Do You Need to Size a Shed?

All you need is some string and the things you’re going to store in the shed. I put the things out on the grass next to one another the way I envision them in the shed. I then surround the items with the string creating an outline of the exterior walls. This tells you quickly how big your shed needs to be.

Should Shed Footings Be Below the Frost Level?

Shed footings must be placed below the local frost level. Failure to do this will result in structural issues caused by frost heave.

Andrea is going to have to meet with her local building inspector and get up to speed on the frost depth for her shed foundation. The frost level is very likely 5 or 6-feet deep in that part of Minnesota. It’s important to realize you need to protect all your hard work from frost heaving. Andrea may have to hire out digging the piers as doing that part by hand is mind-numbing and back-breaking work. It’s possible to rent a very small excavator to dig the holes yourself.

Are Pre-Built Sheds Good?

I’m not a huge fan of the pre-built sheds. I’ve looked at many near my home and most, in my opinion, are built to minimum standards. If you decide to buy one, absolutely get one that has treated lumber floor joists and a treated plywood floor. Yes, you can buy treated plywood and it has the same wood-rot prevention chemicals in it as treated lumber.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get FREE BIDS from local contractors who will build a unique shed.

Should I Put Natural Light in my Shed?

Be sure to think about natural light. Simple skylights or light tunnels will bathe the inside of the shed with natural light so you can see what you’re doing on cloudy days.

Should I Install an Overhead Door?

I prefer traditional overhead garage doors for sheds. You might not realize that you can get small overhead doors as narrow as 6 feet and sometimes even smaller. An overhead door won’t blow open on windy days and they seal very well against driving rain and frigid wind.

Do You Need Lots of Tools to Build a Shed?

The good news is you don’t need lots of fancy tools to build your own shed. Yes, fancy tools will allow you to save time, but carpenters from fifty or one-hundred years ago didn’t have them. You’ll have success building with just a simple circular saw, a framing square, a tape measure, a hammer, and a few other tools.

Column 1300 A

Label Electrical Wires

Posted on by Tim Carter
label electrical wires

Label Electrical Wires | You can use a simple Sharpie to label wires. These labels will help you label each circuit breaker correctly. Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

Label Electrical Wires - Have Some Fun Be Reasonable

Read more of this story in Tim's May 5, 2019 Newsletter.

It's a good idea to label electrical wires. Here are a few reasons why you should do it:

  • labels help remind you how to name circuit breakers
  • labels help you know what wire is which in an attic or crawlspace
  • labels help you when you tear into a wall years from now

It's important to realize that you may know where a wire goes the day you installed it, but you may not remember a week, month, or year later. Simple labels at critical locations where a wire is visible may help you trace a circuit saving you lots of time.

Label Wires and Smile

It is possible to have a little fun and lower your stress as you label electrical wires. Here are a few examples. Let's see how smart you are. Place your answers to the questions in the comment section below:

label electric wires

Can you guess what will be powered by this 12/2 wg NMB cable? Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

label electrical wires

This is an easy one. The National Electric Code requires this machine to be on a separate 20-amp circuit. Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

label electrical wires

Yes, here's another no brainer. Once again, you need to put this machine on its own dedicated circuit. Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

label electrical wires

I'm sure you can figure this one out, but don't guess too fast! What does it take to create ice? BONUS POINTS: Do you know what that small spool of orange cable is for? Put your answer in the comments below. Good luck! Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

Fire Foam Sealant For Cables

The building inspector in your city or town may not require you to use a special foam to seal the holes in bottom and top wall plates through which electric cables pass. It's a VERY GOOD idea to use this product to stop the spread of fire in homes. It also stops cold air drafts too.

Here's the fire foam sealant I'm using on my daughter's new home:

fire foam sealant

This is fire foam sealant. It's easy to use and stops the spread of fire between floors. Copyright 2019 DAP CLICK or TAP HERE to have this foam delivered to your home.

May 5, 2019 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

New subscriber? I'm glad you're here and I hope I can save you lots of sweet moola and time moving forward.

Illustrious subscriber in good standing? I've got some goodies for you this issue.

Stain Solver Sale ENDS Tonight

Here's a reminder that the spring Stain Solver sale ends tonight. Kathy and I own the certified organic Stain Solver cleaner.

It's GREAT for any and all spring cleaning. If you can wash it in water, you can use Stain Solver.

Promo code: 19SPRING

CLICK OR TAP HERE to place your order.

An Electric Week

I'm writing this newsletter from Bar Harbor, Maine. It's been a crazy week filled with finishing the electrical wiring in my daughter and son-in-law's new home.

Here are some stats:

  • We used just under 7,000 feet of 12/2 wg NMB cable
  • We used 1,350 feet of 12/3 wg NMB cable for the countless 3 and 4-way switches and switched outlets
  • We used thousands of insulated cable staples
  • I had some fun labeling the circuits

Do you like fun little games? Then go guess what some of the circuits are in the house. Here's a clue:

label electrical wires

CLICK or TAP HERE to see the rest of what's written on the 12/2 wg cable. See if you can guess all the other clever labels.

Ninety minutes ago as I was creating that new page at the website, my incoming email sound went off on my cell phone that's here on the table. It's important to realize it's a Sunday morning and it was about 6:40 am.

The email was from Ms. Angela Chamberlain. That name probably means nothing to you. Angie is the building inspector here in Bar Harbor, Maine. She's also the electrical and plumbing inspector.

I had emailed her three days ago asking if she requires fire foam sealant in the hundreds of holes my son-in-law and I drilled in the top and bottom plates of all the walls. What is fire foam sealant?

fire foam sealant

This is fire foam sealant. It's easy to use and stops the spread of fire between floors. Copyright 2019 DAP

The arrival of spring in Bar Harbor unleashes all the contractors. Angie is super busy and came into the office on a SUNDAY morning to catch up on email. I was STUNNED to hear from her less than two hours ago!

CLICK or TAP HERE and scroll to the bottom of the column to understand WHY I wanted to know the answer.

After all the final inspections are done where I have to deal with Angie on a professional level, I'm going to ask her if she'd agree to an in-depth interview. I feel she's an inspiration to young women all across the USA and the world for that matter. I'd publish the interview on my website and might even create a national story about it.

I've got quite a few interesting questions to ask her. I sure hope she agrees and her boss allows it. It would be fantastic publicity for the town of Bar Harbor and Angie too!

More About Flushable Wipes

Two weeks ago I shared a story in a past newsletter about a subscriber who had a clog in his plumbing building drain caused by flushable wipes.

You might have been one of many who responded back to me sharing your story about these WRETCHED products. The response was so great I decided to dedicate one of my national columns to the topic.

flushable wipes

 

CLICK or TAP HERE to discover WHY you should NOT flush these things down your toilet. Wait until you see the VIDEOS!!!!!!!

It's okay to use flushable wipes, but note in my column a suggestion on what to do with them. It's not hard and it's common sense.

Do You Still Read a Newspaper?

You may still read a newspaper each day. In fact, my syndicated newspaper column may appear in your paper. If it doesn't you might want to reach out to your paper's editor and suggest they consider it. CLICK or TAP HERE and share this link with your paper's editor. Tell her/him how I've helped you in this newsletter and you just might make magic happen in your paper!

Are there other features you like in your local paper? It could be any column, feature, or even a cartoon. Did you know that it's VERY IMPORTANT for you to periodically write a short letter to the editor telling her/him WHY you like the column, cartoon, or feature?

If editors don't get periodic feedback from readers like you, they feel the column might not be useful.

Take a few moments and let the paper know HOW a column or feature helped you if you want to keep seeing it in your paper. Once a column, cartoon, or feature is cancelled, it's rarely re-introduced back into the paper.

That's enough for a Sunday morning. I need to write my 1,300th syndicated column after sending this newsletter to you. It's about unusual outdoor sheds and how to create the perfect one for yourself!

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Clean Man - www.StainSolver.com
Morse Maker - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

April 28, 2019 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

If you're a brand new subscriber, I need you to realize this issue of the newsletter is extraordinarily special.

I've NEVER produced an issue like you're about to read.

So hang in there and don't unsubscribe. You'll see a normal issue next week.

The Story of Stain Solver

Stain Solver Oxygen Bleach
Stain Solver Oxygen Bleach
First and foremost Stain Solver is a certified organic multi-purpose cleaner made here in the USA with USA ingredients. If you can wash the item with water, Stain Solver can be used to clean it.

A special promo code and sale has been set up just for you for this newsletter issue. You'll discover it below.

My wife Kathy and I own Stain Solver. Ellen and Roger are two long-time team members who have been with us through thick and thin. Oh, the stories Ellen and Roger can tell you about how we used to mix, package and carry Stain Solver up from our basement!

"Tim, what's in this for ME? Why should I care about your Stain Solver anyway?"

Oh, that's a great question and I'm about to answer it. Don't bail on this newsletter. I GUARANTEE you'll be able to get something of yours clean that no dry cleaner or other product has been able to do.

It's important to realize if you've never used Stain Solver before, you've never experienced a truly remarkable cleaner that exceeds all the claims we, and happy customers, make about it.

The Column

Stain Solver was born out of research I was doing for a deck cleaning column back in 1994 I believe. It was a long time ago.

I was interviewing an innovative small deck sealer company based in the Midwest. I asked the owner, "I imagine you recommend a 50/50 mix of chlorine bleach and water to clean the deck before using your product."

That was, and to this day, the common advice given to clean decks. Yes, TOXIC chlorine bleach is still promoted by many to clean wood decks! It's a very bad idea to use it.

Many deck-cleaning products sold today at the big box stores you shop at are just chlorine bleach. If it says sodium hypochlorite on the label, it's NASTY chlorine bleach!

The owner of the sealer company replied, "Oh no, never use chlorine bleach. It removes the natural color from wood, it KILLS all the vegetation around the deck, and it's very corrosive to all the metal fasteners that hold the deck together. Chlorine bleach also destroys the lignin that holds the wood together. You want to use OXYGEN BLEACH."

I had never heard of oxygen bleach! The deck sealer company owner said, "Here, call Jef Morgan, the chemist and head of marketing for the chemical company that distributes the BEST oxygen bleach in the USA. He'll tell you all about it."

I called Jef. We had dinner the next week and he told me all about oxygen bleach and how it worked on wood. As we were about to order dessert, I asked, "So Jef, does oxygen bleach work to clean ANYTHING ELSE?"

The floodgates opened. We spent another ninety minutes at Montgomery Inn as Jef went down the list of ALL THE THINGS you can clean with oxygen bleach.

The Sack

Jef wanted me to try it out. He sent me a 100-pound sack of the pure oxygen bleach. "Tim, go ahead and start experimenting with it. Share a bunch with your friends and neighbors. Give them this small booklet to help them understand how to use it. See what kind of feedback you get."

The booklet had a page devoted to each common thing you might try to clean. The instructions were pretty much always the same: Mix 4 tablespoons of the oxygen bleach powder with a quart of warm water and stir until dissolved.

You'd then apply this solution to a dirty object or soak a soiled garment in the solution. The point was to just get the item WET with the bubbling solution and let the oxygen bubbles start to clean.

After the solution would work on its own, you'd then scrub or agitate the item as you might in a washing machine and magic would happen after you rinse away all the grime, dirt and stains!

The Feedback

Kathy and I did what Jef recommended. We shared at least sixty pounds with my friends and neighbors.

Within a week, many were calling us back saying, "Holy crap! Where did you get this stuff? It's AMAZING!"

How amazing you ask? Here's my all-time FAVORITE before and after photo sent in by a customer. These have NOT been photoshopped:

Stain Solver

CLICK or TAP HERE to read Georgia's unbelievable story about her son Curtis' baseball cap.

Our friends and neighbors would share a story of something that was ruined, or they thought was ruined, and how the magic powder had restored it.

A bank teller I saw each week while making deposits used it to clean up the rear seat in her brand new car. She had brought a tupperware container of beets to work and it leaked on the seat.

Beet stains are TOUGH to remove! They're like red wine. (Did I mention that Stain Solver gets out red wine stains?)

"Tim, I mixed up some like it said in the booklet and the beet juice stain DISAPPEARED in just a few minutes! Can you sell me some extra? I want to try it on a bunch of stained blouses of mine."

I just gave her some for free. She later told me Stain Solver restored ALL of her stained blouses that dry cleaners had been UNABLE to clean!

More and more stories came in from my friends and neighbors. I was STUNNED at all the things they were cleaning.

The Library

At that point, Kathy and I decided to start to sell this magic cleaner.

But we needed a name. This was 1995 and I knew it was a great stain remover so I went to the main public library in downtown Cincinnati with a friend, Nick Motz.

At that time, that library was a branch depository - or some other designation - of the US Patent and Trademark Office. They had these giant books of registered trademarks.

Kathy and I had come up with several names and I started to see which ones had already been trademarked.

Stain Solver withstood that challenge, we applied for the trademark and got it.

Shopping Carts

You may feel really comfortable buying things online now. But back in 1995, it was the Wild West. E-commerce was brand new. Shopping carts on websites were basic.

Many people were TERRIFIED to enter their credit card information on a website. Convincing them to buy online was not easy.

But we did it and still do it to this day. CLICK or TAP HERE to see our current shopping cart.

What Does Stain Solver Clean?

You already know it cleans wood decks - and all composite decking material too.

Stain Solver also cleans:

  • patios
  • vinyl or wood siding
  • driveways
  • deck furniture
  • boat hull scum and mildewed cushions
  • patio table umbrellas
  • hammocks
  • deck furniture cushions
  • kayaks
  • canoes
  • oil stains on concrete
  • the list is ENDLESS - if you can wash something with water, you can almost always clean it with Stain Solver

Here's a SHORT LIST of things Stain Solver can clean INSIDE your home:

Stain Solver Cleans Carpet

I could go on and on and on and on.

There are HUNDREDS of things in your home you can clean with Stain Solver.

Once again, if you have a TOUGH STAIN on something and have tried other cleaners that delivered disappointing results, Stain Solver very likely will restore it.

CLICK or TAP HERE to watch my favorite cleaning videos.

CLICK or TAP HERE for the full Stain Solver Use Instructions.

Are You Still Skeptical?

Are you a subscriber who's been with me for years? You've seen all the past Stain Solver mentions and sales and ignored me, right?

You've never bought Stain Solver because you feel I'm making insane claims or it's too good to be true, right?

Tens of thousands of customers have trusted Kathy and I and are now REPEAT CUSTOMERS.

A very good customer in California buys Stain Solver in 50-pound buckets. Due to a serious and complex illness, she can't be around any toxic cleaners. Stain Solver is just about the ONLY THING she can use that doesn't bother her or make her sick. She is a big fan of Stain Solver and I'm a big fan of her!

Here's a proposition for you. Go ahead and buy some now. Use the following promo code below.

Ellen or I will personally answer any questions you have about how to use it. I will GLADLY call you on the phone and answer any questions you have if you are on the fence about buying.

If Stain Solver was a crap product, do you think in this day and age with social media we'd be able to survive? Bad products are beat to death with complaints and bad reviews.

This is why Stain Solver has SURVIVED. It's a fantastic product that really works so long as you follow our use instructions.

Schools, Motels & Office Buildings

Here's where Kathy and I need your help.

Do you work in a school, motel, an office building, an auto repair business, a daycare center, a restaurant, etc.?

We've sold Stain Solver to the above businesses for YEARS and want to grow the B2B business.

A school in California buys SEVEN 50-pound buckets at a time from us to clean their school floors. CLICK or TAP HERE to see the order form.

A giant company in Cincinnati uses it in their tall office towers to clean up coffee spills in cubicles each night. They also use it on their bathroom tile floors.

A motel in West Virginia uses it to clean oil-stained carpeting in rooms from contract workers who work in the field on oil rigs.

Restaurants buy Stain Solver to deep clean greasy kitchen floors and to deep clean all the cutlery overnight so it's like brand new for the customers the next day.

I could go on and on and on about all the businesses that buy Stain Solver.

Can you help get the word out? Can your business try it?

Do you have QUESTIONS about how to use it at your business?

The Promo Code

Okay, go ahead and try some Stain Solver now.

CLICK or TAP HERE to order Stain Solver.

Here's a promo code for 10% off and FREE SHIPPING to the lower 48 states here in the USA.

19SPRING

The promo code works on any purchase GREATER than $25.00.

This sale will last just ONE WEEK. Don't worry, I'll remind you in a few days.

If you've not used Stain Solver before, I GUARANTEE you'll be blown away. I WILL CALL YOU if need be to help you get the best results. Ellen or I will answer your questions.

Call this number M-F between 9 and 2 pm ET to get in touch with us: 513-407-8727.

That's quite enough for a Sunday morning.

Do you have questions about Stain Solver?

Reply to this email and I'll do my best to get back to you right away.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Co-Founder - www.StainSolver.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

Flushable Wipes Clog Sewer

Posted on by Tim Carter
flushable wipes clog sewer

Flushable wipes | These are standard flushable wipes you'll find at any grocery store. Do NOT flush them down your toilet! Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

Flushable Wipes Clog Drain Lines and Sewers

This subject was still getting attraction months after Tim published this column. Check out the May 19, 2019 and the August 4, 2019 Newsletter!

DEAR TIM: I’m really upset. I’m retired and have limited resources. I just had to spend $3,300 on a new sewage pump that was ruined by flushable wipes. What can you tell me about these flushable wipes? The label says they’re “sewer and septic safe” whatever that means. Would you use them at your home? Other neighbors are complaining of more frequent clogs at their homes. What’s the best way to protect a home’s sewer pipes so there’s no damage or expensive surprises like I had happen to me? Ed P., Hendersonville, SC

DEAR ED: You have every right to be upset. Based on the emails I receive from the subscribers to my newsletter and other incoming requests at my website for help, you’re not alone. In fact, if you do a simple Internet search on the topic, you’ll discover that thousands of homeowners like you and sewage treatment plant managers are up in arms about these products.

WATCH this video where I TESTED Flushable Wipes:

Are Flushable Wipes Labeled Correctly?

The labeling on the product is accurate if you want to split hairs. You can flush these wretched wipes down a toilet. They make it through the curved colon in your toilet and enter the 3-inch drain pipe in your home. You can also flush plastic army men, plastic dinosaurs, golf balls, keys, sand, gravel, cell phones, underwear, cosmetic bottles, pill bottles, etc. down toilets too.

The question is:  Are the wipes truly sewer and septic safe and is it a good idea to flush all those things above down a toilet? In my opinion, absolutely positively NO!

flushable wipes label

This label is very contradictory. If they're SAFE to flush, why do they only want you to flush one, or possibly two of them at a time? Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

I’ve been a master plumber since age 29 and I can tell you the only thing that should go down a toilet is liquid and solid waste from your body and toilet paper. It’s important to realize the less toilet paper you use each trip to the bathroom, the happier your plumbing system will be.

Why is Toilet Paper Safe to Flush?

The flushable wipes controversy is really a common sense exercise. If you moisten a single sheet of toilet paper and rub it on your skin or a hard surface you’ll discover it rapidly falls apart. This is by design. You want toilet paper to disintegrate as fast as possible into the tiny cellulose fibers used to create it.

Try the same experiment with a decent quality paper towel. You’ll notice that the paper towel tends to hold up and not fall apart. Once again, this is by design. The paper towel manufacturer wants you to be able to use them to clean up spills and do light-duty cleaning. Never flush paper towels down a toilet.

Finally, do the same test with a flushable wipe. You’ll quickly discover they often hold together better than paper towels. Can you imagine what happens if there’s not enough water to transport these through your in-house building drain and outside buried sewer line out to your city sewer? At some point, you’ll get a clog. In your case, they didn’t disintegrate and they burned up your sewage pump!

Do Flushable Wipes End Up in Sewer Plants?

These wipes survive the long and tortuous journey from homes through miles of sewer pipes ending up at municipal sewage treatment plants. They clog up giant pumps at the plants. The Internet is littered with stories about massive clogs in sewers and treatment plants caused by these wipes. Flushable wipes are the scourge of sewers and septic systems.

I’d never use them at my house. If you must use them in your home, I suggest you dispose of them in a sanitary way in a special garbage can much like you’d store a soiled baby’s diaper until trash day.

Do 1.6-Gallon Toilets Cause Clogs?

Clogs in residential plumbing systems can also be traced to the low-flow requirements forced upon us by government officials. Years ago, the standard toilet used 3.5 gallons of water per flush. Toilets now use 1.6 gallons of water per flush.

water consumption plumbing fixtures

This shows you the intrusive reach of the government in your life. Do you realize that for every gallon of water that comes out of your faucet a gallon of water flows back into the ground or the closest river near you? The only people that have a water issue are those that live in the desert. I don't see why I have to suffer because they choose to live in a dry climate. How do you feel about it? Comment below. Table and data courtesy of the Plumbing Efficiency Research Coalition.

There are tens of millions of people like me that have private water wells that don’t have water shortage issues and shouldn’t be forced to use these fixtures. There are tens of millions of people that are connected to municipal water systems that pull water from large rivers that have no chance of running dry. They shouldn’t have to suffer either.

This small amount of water, in some plumbing systems, often doesn’t have the energy to transport the flushable wipes or ordinary wastes out to the city sewer. Remember your high school physics class when the simple formula Force = Mass x Acceleration was discussed? Three and one-half gallons of water has much more mass than 1.6 gallons of water.

How Do You Flush Out a Drain Line?

I routinely protect my home’s plumbing system by filling up two five-gallon buckets of water. This water is poured into a toilet on the second story of my home. My wife assists me as we flush the toilet. As soon as the water from the tank enters the bowl we both pour in our buckets of water at the same time. 

We pour as fast as possible making sure the water doesn’t overflow in the bowl. This massive slug of water entering the pipes from up high acts like a giant internal pressure washer to keep my main building drain clear.

Does Grease Clog Drain Lines?

We also only allow body waste into our toilets. The other best practice is to keep as much grease as possible out of your plumbing. I save paper towels used to dry hands and these are used to sop up liquid grease from pans and pots. I throw these grease-soaked towels in the garbage. Solidified grease is a major cause of clogs in residential plumbing systems.

April 26, 2019 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Posted on by Tim Carter

Are you a new subscriber? Howdy! Strap yourself in.

Are you a subscriber of record in good standing? You should be quite happy with this issue.

What's in This Issue:

  • Free Color Scheme eBook
  • Flushable Wipes DANGER
  • High-Strength DIY Concrete
  • and Much More

New House Update

I'm up in my office here in New Hampshire as I compose this newsletter today. I got back on Monday night after spending about 34 straight days up in Bar Harbor, Maine.

I've been helping my daughter and son-in-law build their new home. My contributions center around general advice and installing all the plumbing, radiant heat, and electrical. NOTE: I'm not the builder - that's some other guy.

I worked 28.5 days out of the first 30 averaging about 9 hours a day. I did take off Easter weekend but found myself doing planning paperwork for the next phase of work.

My son-in-law and I got a tremendous amount of work done during those twenty-eight+ days enduring bitter cold and 8 inches of new snow about two weeks ago. The day-in day-out work beat us to death physically and mentally. I needed a mental-health respite as did he. That explains why I came back home. I'll be going back up on Sunday afternoon.

This past Monday morning I had a great meeting with Paul Tibbits at the new house. He's the New England factory rep for Noritz. I'm installing a fantastic Noritz modulating combi boiler in the house. Paul and I went over all the details to ensure the combi boiler performs with maximum efficiency.
Noritz modulating combi boiler

A modulating boiler is one that has a burner that operates much like a burner on your stove. You can adjust the burner to simmer foods or you can turn the knob to get a full flame to boil water fast. Modulating combi boilers do the same. The burner puts out just enough flame to satisfy the demand. This technology saves energy and fuel.

A combi boiler is one that heats the entire house AND it also acts as the domestic water heater. In other words, it's an on-demand tankless water heater as well as a boiler.

My daughter, son-in-law, and new granddaughter will have endless hot water so long as they have propane in the outdoor tank.

I installed a combi boiler here at my own home back in the early winter. CLICK or TAP HERE to watch a quick video showing you what they look like.

CLICK or TAP HERE to get more information about this sensational boiler/hot water heater.

You may have been a subscriber here for ages and know that in past columns at my website I've cautioned against buying tankless water heaters. CLICK or TAP HERE to read why switching out your existing storage tank water heater might not be such a great idea if you're looking to SAVE MONEY right away.

But if you're building a NEW HOME, a tankless water heater may be a brilliant idea. It's all about recapturing your investment when you switch out an existing water heater.

Free Color Scheme eBook

Have you struggled with exterior colors on your brick or stone home? Suffer no more!

CLICK or TAP HERE to download a FREE Ebook from Davinci Roofscapes.

Flushable Wipes Sewer Clog DANGER

One of my subscribers - he's been getting this newsletter for almost twenty years! - emailed me about a problem at his house. He had asked me for some advice on wax gaskets for toilets. About a week after I had given his some help, I emailed him asking what happened. Here's his response:

"After doing a great job on the wax rings, the toilet was still clogged. No surprise since I'd never done anything to fix it. When I tried to plunge it water backed up into the nearby bath tub, so I assumed the clog was deeper than I could get with a short toilet snake. I had too much work to do so I called a plumber. He was able to snake the line through the tub. It took awhile because the clog was 25 FEET AWAY, which I estimate may be where the line makes it to the slab.

The culprit was "Flushable" wipes. They're apparently all the rage, even Howard Stern raves about them. Well, the plumber pulled out a large pile of them.

They are flushable only in the sense that they make it past your toilet, but the plumber says they do not decompose and tend to float so he's seen them make it partway through a house's system and then float back up toward the kitchen to cause a problem there!"

This is a great story because I feel the manufacturers of these products are only telling a half-truth.

Yes, you can flush the wipes. You can also flush small plastic army men, plastic dinosaurs, golf balls, sand, gravel, underwear, cell phones, etc. down a toilet.

Is it a GOOD IDEA to flush all those things? NO!!!!!!!

Have you ever noticed what happens if you take a piece of toilet paper, get it wet and try to rub a counter or anything else with it? It rapidly disintegrates. It's designed that way for a reason.

Do the same with a high-quality paper towel. The paper towel holds together. Flushable wipes are stronger than great paper towels.

Only flush toilet paper and body waste down toilets. PERIOD.

Great DIY High-Strength Concrete

CLICK or TAP HERE if you're about to do some concrete repair work at your home. I've got a ton of tips for you in many past columns. Scroll down PAST the ads you'll first see to get to all the wonderful money and time-saving tips.

When you get ready to mix up some new concrete, check out Quikrete's new/newer Q-Max Concrete in a bag.

Quikrete Q-Max Pro
Q-MAX Concrete has:

  • one-hour working time
  • three-hour walk-on time
  • fiber-reinforced
  • 6,500 PSI strength

That LAST bullet point should get your attention. 6,500 PSI is very high strength and that amount of Portland cement in the mix allows the concrete to resist damage from ice, snow and deicing salts.

BE SURE to READ a few of my columns about the best way to finish the concrete so you maintain that high strength. CLICK or TAP HERE.

Massive Stain Solver Newsletter

This Sunday as I'm driving back up to Bar Harbor, you'll be receiving the next issue of this newsletter.

It's going to be devoted entirely to Stain Solver - a magic Certified Organic multi-purpose cleaner.

Kathy and I own Stain Solver. We've owned it for twenty-four years. We started the company.

You may be one of our tens of thousands of satisfied REPEAT customers.

If you've not yet tried Stain Solver, we're having our huge spring sale starting Sunday. You'll be stunned by all the things Stain Solver can clean.

Kathy and I also NEED YOUR HELP.

You'll discover why on Sunday.

I need to go get a haircut. More good stuff on Sunday.

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Certified Organic CLEAN MAN - www.StainSolver.com
Happiness Comes in Waves - www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

3 and 4 Way Switch Wiring – A Caveman Can Do It

Posted on by Tim Carter
3 and 4way switch wiring

3 and 4 Way Switch Wiring | Six different three and four-way switches will be installed here once the house is complete. The wiring looks complex, but it’s not. That's 12-gauge wire serving all switches. Don't use crap 14-gauge wire when 12-gauge costs just pennies more per foot, silly! (C) Copyright 2021 Tim Carter

3 and 4 Way Switch Wiring for Dummies - You're Not One!

QUESTION #1: Tim, I need you to mediate a dispute between my husband and me. We’re building a new home and there are quite a few places where two, or more, switches can be used to control lights. I like the convenience but my husband has had nothing but problems trying to troubleshoot these three and four-way switches. He wants nothing to do with these ‘wretched switches’ as he refers to them. Your vote will decide the issue. I have to add that pecan pie and moist pumpkin bread are two of the favorite things I like to bake. Veronica B., Lakeland, FL

CLICK or TAP HERE for FREE BIDS from local electricians if you're deathly afraid of electricity.

There’s no need for Veronica to bribe me with two of my favorite desserts as I’m a huge fan of three and four-way switches. I wish I could meet the engineer who many years ago figured out how to make these magnificent switches that allow you to control a light, or group of lights, from multiple locations.

Wire a 3 Way Switch - Watch

Where Do You Find 3 Way Switches?

The most common uses for these switches are at the top and bottom of staircases or at the ends of a long hallway. When you use one in a finished home, you might think it’s magic that’s making it all work. In reality, you just need special switches that are readily available. You also need to have a special cable with one extra wire that runs between the two switches.

What is the Simplest Wiring Diagram?

The simplest setup is to have just two three-way switches control one light. A three-way switch has three screws on it plus the green grounding screw. A standard single-pole switch only has two screws on it plus the green grounding screw.

What Wire Connects to the Third Screw?

That extra screw on a three-way switch confounds almost all homeowners and apprentice electricians as I get their emails each and every week asking for help. There are a few ways to connect two three-way switches together, but I prefer the method where you use a cable that has an extra red wire in it. It’s called three wire with a ground.

When Do You Need a 4 Way Switch?

The real fun and magic of these switches is when you have a situation where you want to control some lights or an appliance from three, or more, points. My daughter is building a new home right now and she’s got at least five sets of lights in here home that are controlled by four different switches.

Wire a 4 Way Switch

To achieve this higher level of electrical wizardry, you install four-way switches in between the two three-way switches in the circuit. A four-way switch has four screws on it plus the green grounding screw.

Should I Use 3 Wire Between the Switches?

To make the wiring work flawlessly so your husband becomes a lover of these switches you install the same special three-wire cable in between all the three and four-way switches in the circuit. That lovely red wire along with the black wire in the cable will do all the heavy lifting and your husband will think that all the switches in your new home were sprinkled with pixie dust.

I have three helpful videos here on my AsktheBuilder.com website showing you how fast and easy it is to wire up and troubleshoot three and four-way switches. Just type 3 way switch or 4-way switch into the search engine at my website to find them. Collectively these videos have been watched by over 2,400,000 (2019 Total - More Since Then) people saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars on electrician and divorce attorney fees!

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PEX vs Copper – PEX is Much Faster

Posted on by Tim Carter
Running AquaPEX

PEX vs Copper | The red and blue pipes will supply hot and cold water to each plumbing fixture in this new home as soon as they’re connected to a distribution manifold inside this closet. Part of the problem of comparing pex vs copper is the fluctuating price of copper on the world market. (C) Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

PEX vs Copper - And the Winner Is!

QUESTION #1: Can you help me make a decision, Tim? I’m building a new home and have the option of using PEX piping for my hot and cold water in the house as opposed to traditional copper. Do you have an opinion about both materials? Have you used both? What do you have in your own home? Linda P., Rocky Point, NC

You may be building a new home or planning a large room addition that will have a new bathroom, kitchen, or some other plumbing fixtures that require hot and cold water. Your builder or plumber may lay at your feet the same decision Linda has to make. I can help you as I’ve been a master plumber since age 29.

When Was PEX Introduced?

Plastic PEX piping was first introduced in the late 1960s and its use as radiant floor heating exploded in Europe in the 1970s. The PEX plastic water piping for drinking water has been around for almost three decades now.

When Did You Use Copper?

During the early part of my plumbing career, I only installed traditional copper water lines. It was a mainstay in the Midwest. However, the plumbing codes started to permit the use of PEX and once plumbers became comfortable using it, its use started to grow like dandelions in the spring.

Do You Have PEX in Your Home?

I have PEX piping in my own home for both the radiant heating system and all of the hot and cold water that’s supplied to each faucet. It’s important to realize there are different brands of PEX. While the piping chemistry may be the same or very similar, the method you connect the pipe to fittings is different.

What Brand of PEX Do you Trust?

The one that I’ve come to trust and use is AquaPEX by Wirsbo or Uponor. It  employs an ingenious expanding compression collar at each end of the tubing to create a leak-proof connection. Watch this video showing this expansion collar.

Is Copper Installation Complex and Time-Consuming?

Installing traditional copper can be a complex and time-consuming process if you solder the tubing to the fittings. In the past decade, there’s been a shift to connecting copper tubing and fittings with a pressing tool that crimps the fittings onto the end of the tubing without using molten solder.  Watch this video to see how to solder copper.

An inner rubber o-ring in a raised collar on each fitting along with the crimping creates a leak-proof joint. I have these press fittings in my own home where the copper water lines connect my modulating boiler to the heating distribution manifolds.

Watch this video to see how to do press copper fittings:

The copper press fitting system saves enormous amounts of time. It only takes seconds to create a leak-proof connection. However, you may have to install quite a few of these press fittings to supply water to just one fixture. PEX piping eliminates all these fittings.

How Do You Install PEX Tubing?

PEX water piping installs just like electrical wiring. It’s flexible and you can run long lengths of it from a central distribution manifold all the way to the plumbing fixture without any joints. These long runs of tubing from a fixture to a manifold are called home runs. You can install one PEX pipe in just minutes if your home is framed using open floor trusses. The home run system allows you to turn off the hot or cold water to just one fixture and still have water working at all other fixtures.

What is Faster? PEX or Copper?

The fastest way to install hot and cold water lines in a home or room addition hands down is the PEX piping employing an uninterrupted single pipe between each fixture and the central manifold. To put this in perspective, my son-in-law and I installed all of the hot and cold water lines to his new four-bathroom home in less than three hours. You could never accomplish this feat using copper, even with the wonderful press fittings.

I have a video here on my AsktheBuilder.com website showing you how fast and easy it is to create one of these PEX connections using the simple expansion compression collars. I suggest you go there and type Connect Pex Pipe into my search engine and watch it. You’ll be astonished at how simple it is to work with PEX water lines.

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