April 1, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips

Oh, it's a glorious day here in NH! Finally some sun and warmer temperatures! This past weekend, I worked both days, so I plan to go outdoors after lunch and take the afternoon off.

I'm going to go on a hike with my buddy Jim Cluett, and I'll be on my cool little radio trying to make contact with people in other countries. Wish me luck!

This issue of the newsletter is filled with all sorts of exciting news. Be SURE you read everything and CLICK many of the links - especially the video links near the bottom.

Treasure Hunt Grand Prize Winner!

Who did you vote for? Who do you think won a full-day visit from me to advise them how to fix all the problems around their home?

Was it Art who got battered by Super Storm Sandi on the NJ beach?

Was it Lynn who has a home that needs some TLC?

Was it Stewart who taped a stellar video and knows how to be pithy?

CLICK HERE to discover who WON and what the next steps are!

THANK YOU for voting and for participating in the Treasure Hunt.

Realize that many, many more smaller games like the Treasure Hunt are going to happen soon here in the newsletter. Wait until you see what's going to be given away each time there's a game.

Oh my! You'll KICK YOURSELF IN THE PANTS if you don't start playing to win the prizes!

Speaking of winning prizes, last week I published the list of Secondary Treasure Hunt winners. Be SURE TO CHECK to see if you won!!

The best part for me was receiving excited emails from a number of the winners. Read what Richard Sherlock sent to me just below. Several others sent in similar emails:

"Tim,

"Thank You. I'm 51 years old and never won anything in my life. It's a good feeling. :)"

Yes, Richard, it's a GOOD FEELING to win prizes in the Ask the Builder newsletter.

You may be writing to me soon like Richard. Why? Because YOU may be a winner!

Non-Slip Showers and Steps

Last week I received an email, I get HUNDREDS each week, from a woman asking about creating a handicapped shower.

She wanted to know the best non-slip surface. I told her, in my opinion, the BEST surface for wet areas if you don't want to fall down is RUBBER.

Believe it or not, pure rubber is the best surface if you don't want to slip.

Top restaurant kitchen floors are covered with pure rubber tiles. Your car and truck tires contain pure rubber. The tread in tires is designed to channel away water on the road so the rubber can GRIP the surface. This is why your car doesn't slide on wet roads - unless of course you've let the tread get too thin!

If you don't want to slip in the shower, put down old-fashioned rubber mats.

I gave this advice to my very good friend David Lawrence and his soul-mate Betsy. Betsy owns a rental house in San Francisco and the wood steps to the sidewalk are treacherous in the rainy season there. She LOVES her new rubber mats!

If you don't want to slip on outdoor steps from your porch, or slimy wood deck steps, or slippery algae-covered patio steps, use these fantastic decorative outdoor rubber tread mats.

CLICK HERE to buy the rubber stair treads and other rubber mats.

Cloud Storage of Large Files

Last week a friend of mine, Dan, introduced me to a free service that allows one to store LARGE files - and transfer them to others - in the cloud. It's called MEGA.

This is not new by any means. There are any number of free cloud storage services like Dropbox, etc.

MEGA seems to work best with either the Chrome or Firefox browsers. Just an FYI.

Check it out if you need to transfer monster files - mine was over 300GB - to someone.

Kosher Dill Pickle Recipe

My son has been experimenting trying to make his own pickles. He's trying to get the same flavor as Vlasic Kosher Dill Pickles.

Do you know how to do this? Would you share the recipe?  We already know to use the correct cucumbers to get the crunchiness down.

Would you like me to start an Official Ask the Builder Recipe Exchange?

If so, I'll start with my new and refined guacamole recipe next week. Oh, have my son and I really got it down. Wait until you discover what I tried it on last night!

Dallas, TX Meet Up

More folks are signing up to be at the Dallas, TX meet up next Tuesday, April 8th. Do you want to hang out for a couple of hours and discover all the Ask the Builder secrets?

You better reply NOW and change the subject line to: Dallas Meet Up.

Stain Solver Sale and Special Issue

You may have been one of the countless folks who've emailed me with questions about cleaning this or that with Stain Solver now that spring is here.

In two weeks, I'm going to devote an entire issue of this newsletter to the MANY, MANY things you can clean with Stain Solver.

I'll also have a sale that day on certain sizes. You don't want to miss this issue, seriously.

Why? Just ONE TIP in the issue could save you hundreds of dollars. You may save something from ending up in the landfill. I routinely get emails from customers that are astonished at how well Stain Solver works.

Dan from South Africa has had it with my Stain Solver plugs. Read what he sent me last week:

"Hey Tim,

I'm really tired of reading your boasts about Stain Solver - I believe you, I believe that it is a miracle cleaner.

But WHEN are we going to be able to order it for delivery to South Africa?

We're not a bunch of heathens living in the bush. We also need the power of Stain Solver!!"

Your regular reader,"

Dan

South Africa

I wrote back to Dan telling him I was rolling on the floor laughing about his "heathen" reference. If you know of a way to help me get easy international distribution for Stain Solver, speak up so we can satisfy Dan!

Pocket Door Installation Videos

Would you like to see exactly how to install the magical pocket doors I talk about all the time?

I thought so! CLICK HERE to see many installation videos.

Be SURE you click the small rectangle in the LOWER RIGHT CORNER of each video to enlarge it so you can see better.

Fifty Years of Working

I started to work when I was eight years old. I collected cash money for the Cincinnati Enquirer subscribers on my street. My mom was terrified I'd get robbed.

That was over fifty years ago.

I've worked pretty much since then in all sorts of jobs as I went through grade school, high school and college. My last two years of college, I worked seven days a week at Skyline Chili in Clifton in Cincinnati, OH. I worked 36 hours a week and went to school to pay my tuition. I know others worked MORE hours and more jobs.

I'm telling you all this to let you know I'm tired.....

You may find this video interesting as it tells what's going on in my world now.

More news and tips next week, I think!