March 23, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips

Old Man Winter here in central New Hampshire is like that guest at one of your parties. You know, the one who follows you around with a drink in his hand as you clean up. He's oblivious that everyone else has long since pulled out of your driveway.

GO BACK HOME OLD MAN!

Look at this video showing you what the conditions were here at my house the day after St. Patrick's Day - March 18th! At this rate the snow is still going to be here the middle of April! Ice out on the lake might be in July, as it's still at least 18 inches thick!

WX UPDATE: We received 8 inches of white CONCRETE (wet snow) two days after St. Patrick's Day - and a day after the video below was shot. A possible big storm is forecast for Wednesday, March 26th. Jeeeesh!

Dallas, TX MeetUp

I was invited last week to a cool Klein Tools factory tour on April 9th in Mansfield, TX. I looked it up and it's south of Dallas. My plane lands at 6:30 pm on April 8th and I can do a meetup involving FOOD around 8 pm at or near my hotel. I'll have an appetite getting off the plane - that's for sure.

If you live in the Dallas, TX area and want to get together, reply and change the Subject Line to: Dallas Meetup. I suspect I'll be staying at a hotel near Mansfield. I'll get back with details the first week of April.

OLD BOOK LOVERS

If you frequent old bookshops and bookstores specializing in old college textbooks, I'm looking to get my hands on some geology books.

I need ones that deal with glacial geology and most importantly Continental Glaciation. If you see them, buy them and I'll take them off your hands.

Hello to my Canuck Friends!

If you live in Canada, can you do me a favor? Would you CLICK HERE and tell me if this window company is close to where you live.

Thank you!

TIP OF THE WEEK - SOLDERING COPPER TUBING

I've always been fascinated with plumbing. When I was in my 30's, I passed the Master Plumber license exam in the City of Cincinnati. Suffice it to say, I've soldered more than my fair share of copper tubing joints!

Guess what? You can successfully solder copper too. It's not that hard, and you may save yourself LOTS OF MONEY.

Watch this quick video that shows you a few of the key steps. I urge you to test solder a few joints before trying to do this with a real pipe in a stressful situation!

Interesting White Noise Website

My daughter Meghan sent me a URL to a website that generates different background noises. You can click several at once creating creating an overlay situation. Use the slide levers to adjust the volume so some are louder than others. If you like hooting barred owls, click the moon icon!

New Product Survey News

Thank you for taking the new product survey announced in the last newsletter. week. Just under 1,700 folks participated and the results shocked me. Your answers to the survey will drive this newsletter bus moving forward. I intend to show you lots of what you want to see!

I offered six prizes to get you to participate in the survey.

Congratulations to the winners!

Todd Ferguson won the RotoZip RotoSaw.

Small Sample bottles of Stain Solver go to:

• Yvonne Martinez
• Sharon Lewis
• Mike Daily
• Karen Serunian
• Frank Kaminsky

I'm reaching out now to the companies that make what you want to see. Hang in there, as it's my intention to WOW you each and every week!

Treasure Hunt Winners

I'm also going through all of the Treasure Hunt submissions this week and will announce winners of all the prizes SOON.

You'll be able to start VOTING on Tuesday for the Grand Prize winner!

The judges have selected the three finalists and right now we're building the page where you can see the entries and VOTE FOR THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER!

Ham Radio Adventure

I had a grand time a few days ago. It was a crystal-clear day, the sun was warm and a fire was involved.

Read about my low-power radio adventure along the Pemi - as we call it up here.

DaVinci Roofscapes "Shake-it-Up" Contest

I've got two things here. First, would you take a short survey for me? I'm trying to determine how people use Facebook. Even if you don't have a Facebook Account, you should take the survey.

Five people chosen RANDOMLY who take the survey will each win a small sample bottle of Stain Solver. Please take my Facebook Survey.

Now, if you're a Facebook user, you may be interested in the DaVinci Roofscapes contest.

To enter the contest, homeowners must visit the DaVinci Facebook page.

After "Liking" the page, a person can enter by submitting a digital photo of their home's exterior along with up to a 250-word description stating how they wish to "shake up" the exterior of their home with color and colorful products. Good luck to you!

Pothole Repair Video

I'll be working on my asphalt driveway this spring, how about you? This winter really beat my drive up. I've got two potholes to repair.

Most potholes you encounter on a roadway are not repaired correctly. How many times have you seen the same pothole reappear? The reasons for failure are many, but almost always it's because the new fill material does NOT interlock permanently with the existing pavement.

There are several ways to ensure your patch never comes out. You should watch ALL of my asphalt videos on this page - especially the LAST TWO at the bottom, but be sure to watch this new one below I discovered a few days ago.

It really shows you the best way to repair potholes. I doubt you'll ever get a machine like this to your home, but it's possible for me as the company that makes this magical pothole-repair machine is in New Hampshire of all places.

When you see what this truck can do, you'll probably utter, "Of course, that make PERFECT SENSE!"

There will be a short newsletter on Tuesday with the three finalists from the Treasure Hunt!