Barb Havens and her husband are building a house in Eldora, Iowa. He's just finished installing the tile in a cozy sunroom and Barb wants to know how much to grout at one time. Can the entire floor be done the same day? Here's what she sent to me. Look at the photo above too. "How Read More »
James C. Cooks lives in hot and steamy Plantation, FL. This is the land of mildew and mold and no snow or frost. He wants to build a deck on top of an old concrete patio that's covered in mildew. When the concrete was wet, someone walked in it. Look at the footprints in the slab. Read More »
Mike Flannery is in Denver, CO. But he's perplexed about caulking the trim in a staircase. Here's his full report, albeit abbreviated: "Crack between moulding and top of stair risers indoors. Original caulk cracked. Looked sloppy. Removed caulk. 1/8 in gap. Idea is to put spline in gap as backing prior to re-caulk and then painting. Read More »
Door Rough Opening Not Square Don Sanders is pulling out his hair in Peculiar, MO. It seems he installed a door in his shed and the rough opening wasn't square. Here's what he sent to me: "I installed an entry door in my shed. The floor was level and the jack and king studs were level. Read More »
Deb Teitelbaum lives in Phoenix, AZ. Her daughter, who I assume also lives in the Valley of the Sun, had a contractor get grout all over her new cabinets. Read about the saga: "My daughter had new travertine tile installed in her home in February, 2015. The contractor's sub got grout on the base of a Read More »
A dry Christmas tree in your home is more dangerous than you think. If the tree catches on fire, and does so low in the tree near the floor, it burns HOT, rapidly and with great intensity. Watch the video below and then come back here in the fall of 2015. This fall there will be Read More »
DEAR TIM: My brick house was built in 1921. The brick are a mixture of brown, various shades of red, beige and black. I had some deteriorating mortar replaced and the handyman smeared the mortar on the brick. What do I have to do to clean up my brick mortar making sure I do not Read More »
That word AsktheBuilder.com above (just to the left in this article) is a SECRET link to a column at my website that will save you time and money. It's different each newsletter issue. Go back up and CLICK IT. I've been making great progress on re-roofing my house. I can only work a few days Read More »
The labor contract to build the Hoover Dam was huge in its day. Read Tim's August 4, 2015 AsktheBuilder Newsletter to see why this column came about. This was back in the 1930's. They started to build the dam in 1931 and it was completed more than two years ahead of schedule in 1936. Are Read More »
Michelle Hill is hot and bothered in her Crosby, Texas home. It does get very hot in Texas in the summer. Here's what she wrote to me: "If my house is a little over 1,700 sq ft including the attached garage, how big should the AC be?" Here's my answer: Michelle, it's not that easy. Read More »
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