September 29, 2009 AsktheBuilder News And Tips
What’s in This Issue?
Ron Goens and the VacuFlo 566Q
Portable Heaters
Molly Malone’s Get Together
AsktheBuilder Contest Finalist
Shower Door
Standby Generator
Paint Simulator
Stain Solver Sale
One Last Task
New Pegboard
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The last two weeks have been a blur. Just over a week ago, I got my mother's will successfully filed with the Probate Court. It's not that hard to do, but then again it's not easy. An attorney friend of mine helped explain to me the forms I had to file. The rest of the week was spent in a cage fight with Mother Nature. I was on a tight deadline trying to get a large list of things done on the exterior of my Cincinnati, OH home. High on the list was washing the exterior of the frame house. The biggest mistake I made, and it was a HUGE one, was not taking a video of the process. There simply was no time. As I was finishing the job with my good buddy Dave Buescher, the roofing company supervisor Vern walked around the corner and said, "Wow, the house looks like it was just painted. What is that you're spraying on the siding?" My reply: "Stain Solver". I painted my house about nine years ago with Sears WeatherBeater ULTRA. I can tell you that the house, after cleaning off the diesel soot, grime and mildew that's eating the aerosol sugars from all the trees around my house, looks like I painted it a few days ago. You may be able to save yourself thousands of dollars on a paint job, by just thoroughly washing your house instead. More on Stain Solver later in this newsletter. In fact, the huge sale I mentioned two weeks ago started the instant I sent this newsletter to you.
I also supervised the roofers who are at the house. The first week was glorious weather and they worked every day. But last week 4.75 days were rain-outs. They were able to get some work done on Thursday morning, but it started to rain again at 10 a.m. The GAF Slateline shingles are looking spectacular. I'll have a photo of the completed roof for you in November. Why so long? Because I want to wait until the leaves fall from the oak trees so that you can really see the roof. These special shingles really give the appearance my Queen Anne Victorian home looks like it has a real slate roof from the street.
Ron Goens and the VacuFlo 566Q
I had to make an emergency repair last week on our central vacuum unit in the garage. The motor in the existing one gave up the ghost. Fortunately, I had a new Vacuflo 566Q sitting in a box waiting to be tested. It only took me about 30 minutes to get the new vacuum installed and operating. It was a breeze to hook up, the instructions were clear and it works like a champ. I decided to change how I vent this unit to the outdoors, so I visited a real craftsman Ron Goens. Ron and his wife Donna have operated a true mom-and-pop business for years. Ron has installed hundreds of central vacuums, intercoms, bathroom and kitchen fans, basically anything you see in a Nutone / Broan catalog. Ron had the plastic fittings I needed to complete the job. The PVC pipe used for central vacuums is a different type than that used for plumbing work.
While there, I discovered that Ron is now doing all sorts of service work on Nutone and Broan products. If memory serves me right, he said he was an authorized repairman for all their products. Ron does work in the Greater Cincinnati area only, so if you have a bathroom fan that doesn't work, an intercom, a central vac unit, etc. give him a call. He's a real pro. I love telling you about the real pros I work with and know about from my own personal experience. Call Ron at 513-458-5555.
If you don't have a central vacuum in your home, you can almost always add one. They are FANTASTIC. I have one in my NH home as well. Ask Ron about what it takes to install one in an existing home.
Portable Heaters
Winter is fast approaching. I was surfing the ConstructionComplete website and came across some sweet heaters that can take the chill off a garage or other cold workspace. There are two sizes of these portable propane heaters: 35,000 Btus and 125,000. They both operate on propane, but the larger one can be purchased if you want to direct connect it to a natural gas fuel source. The smaller heater will work great with one of the propane canisters you already own for your outdoor grill. I'm absolutely going to get the 35,000 Btu one for my garage here in NH. Last winter there were times I wanted to work out in the garage, but it was too cold to work in just light work clothes. If you decide to buy one, be sure to pay attention to any venting recommendations.
The Molly Malone's Get Together
While I was in Cincinnati, OH for the two weeks, I announced I'd love to get together with you - that is if you live in or near Cincinnati. Well, I discovered that you might come a long way for such an event! Philip Bender drove from Canada to be there. Wow! Truth be told, he was on his way to Lexington, KY, but all the same he made the effort to show up. Mike Kegley, Fred Sandborn, Janent Dieman, Clyde Wearner, Laurie Bozych, Joe Siefert and Joel Suggs all showed up. The three hours we spent together seemed like 15 minutes to me. It was a fun time! I'll be heading out to Southern CA the last week of October, should you want to have a get together. Let me know if you live in the LA area.
AsktheBuilder Contest Finalist!
I just discovered I'm a finalist in a huge contest. An ad network named Chitika has named me as one of the top four web sites that creatively mixes their ads in with other ad networks. They told me I could announce this to my friends, and you're one! I would appreciate it if you could vote for me. You must act FAST. The voting ends on September 30th. That's tomorrow!! Please hurry and vote now.
Shower Door
Just before I got back to Cincinnati, OH, the top-flight installers from Basco were there installing the fantastic shower door in the master bathroom. It was the last remaining item to complete the job. They did a superb job with the neo-angle shower frameless shower door. You can see the exact shower door and read all about what Kathy picked out in my Shower Door column.
We love the frameless look. If you go visit the Basco shower-door photo gallery, you can see that the possibilities of how you can modernize your bathroom are almost endless. I've used Basco products on my jobs for years, and never did I get a complaint from any of my customers.
Standby Generator
Just before I got back to NH, there was a pretty bad storm. The electric power to the area was down for a while. But at my house, the power outage lasted about eight seconds as our Kohler standby generator kicked in. Recently, I uploaded the video we shot about its installation. If you've never seen a standby generator, you should watch the video. They are totally different from the tiny portable generators that you connect extension cords to. You may want to consider a standby generator if you want to power lots of things at the same time at your home. That's the other big difference. Standby generators can produce much more electricity than the smaller portable generators. Please watch my video!
Paint Simulator
Overnight, I got a press release about an online tool that allows you to see what a room in your house might look like before you paint it. There are similar tools out there like this, but I thought you might want to have some fun with this one.
CRAZY Stain Solver Sale
I talked about the roof on my Cincinnati, OH house last issue. Before I rushed out the door to drive back the 15 hours to NH, I ran out of time to scan the quotation from Joel Cornelius Roofing. Suffice it to say it was over five figures. Ouch!!! And remember, I had to supply the shingles and felt paper. To raise the money to pay for the roofers, I need to convert the bags of powder in the warehouse into cash. It's that simple. To get you to react, I'm having the biggest sale I've ever had. The sale ends in three days. That's when I have to write the check to Joel. You and Joel win.
If you're a previous Stain Solver customer, you know all the things it cleans: clothes, ceramic tile grout, decks, roofs, patios, ANYTHING that's water washable. It's the most natural cleaner out there - just dried hydrogen peroxide and soda ash. That's it - no harmful or toxic chemicals like chlorine bleach.
Anyway, if you buy NOW, I'll take 30 percent off the 50 and 16-pound sizes. If you buy less, you get less of a discount- 20 percent on the 8 and 4-pound sizes. I can guarantee your satisfaction and I GUARANTEE you'll not see a sale like this for many moons. The sale ended at 5:00 PM Eastern time on Friday, October 2, 2009.
One Last Task
I do have one final thing to do in the master bathroom in Cincinnati, OH. The day before I came back to NH, Kathy picked up the edge pull hardware and the face pulls for the pocket door that gives you access to her walk-in closet that's inside the master bathroom. That pocket door will be trouble-free for years because I used the correct frame in the wall and it has bulletproof trolleys that the door hangs from. They simply can't come off the track. If you're going to install one or more pocket doors, use the frame I use all the time.
New Pegboard
In a few days, I'll be installing new pegboard in the garage in my NH house. Right now it has traditional wood pegboard. The previous owner of the house installed it. I wanted the metal pegboard that has the hooks and hangers that simply will NOT come out when you pull a tool away from the wall. That's why I use the pegboard from Wall Control. I met Rick, the owner, at a national products show probably five years ago as I was wandering the aisles. His product really caught my eye as I wanted a smart-looking product that had hooks that don't move. Rick's got what you need. Go see for yourself!
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