May 14, 2017 AsktheBuilder Newsletter

Welcome if you're a new subscriber!

If you're a newer subscriber, hello again! If you're one of my original subscribers from back in the 1990's, well, it's great you're still here!

Happy Mothers Day if you're a mom.

My guess is my mom is up in Heaven having a blast. She's probably got a hot game of poker going on with Aunts Margaret, Juanita, Edna Mae, Thelma and Clara.

This is going to be a fast newsletter for a number of reasons.

Newspaper Editors Change Things

I've got a Google Alert set up on my brand: Ask the Builder

When that string of words appears in a new webpage, I get an email. This morning I got an alert about a column I wrote about three weeks ago.

My Ask the Builder syndicated newspaper column still runs in about seventy papers nationwide. One of them is the Columbus Dispatch. It's a great paper.

A few hours ago, I got an email about my column in their paper. Usually, I never click through to look at it. After all, I already know what's on the page.

But today was different. I decided to look.

WOW!!! What a great lesson in spin, bias and slant.

I've been a syndicated columnist for going on twenty-five years now. I've talked to many of my paper editors and know that sometimes they have space constraints.

Here's what you might not know about how newspapers and magazines are created. The ad departments create the product FIRST.

In other words, the newspaper is laid out with all the ads in it and there are EMPTY HOLES where the words go for stories.

The pages are then delivered to the paper editors and they have but a few hours to FILL THE HOLES. Magazine editors have a few days, maybe a week.

If the space for where my column goes is small for some reason, the editors then start to ELIMINATE words that I've written. Years ago in The Cincinnati Enquirer my editor would, on occasion, leave out about 70 percent of my column.

Important things can be left out that affect you.

But in today's world where there are NO SPACE CONSTRAINTS on a website page, one needs to wonder why an editor would remove lots of content.

I realize the column that appears in the print version is just copied and pasted into the online version, but perhaps that's a mistake for those subscribers who just read their paper ONLINE never seeing the print version.

That's an INCREASING TREND.

I'm telling all this to you because you need to be aware that in certain cases you're only getting PART OF THE STORY.

Want to see an example of this? It's actually somewhat sobering.

CLICK HERE to read the Columbus Dispatch editor's version of my column.

Then CLICK HERE to see the ORIGINAL column as I submitted it to them.

You'll see the difference IMMEDIATELY as you start to read my answer to Shirley.

If you're a subscriber to a local paper, you may want to let the editor know you'd like to see the unfiltered version of syndicated content.

Or, you can just come to AsktheBuilder.com and READ my original!

My Master Bathroom Remodel

I'm just about done with my master bathroom remodel job.

Yesterday, I was on my hands and knees for hours doing very tedious ceramic tile work patching in the floor against the new American Standard shower base.

Fortunately for me, the previous owner of my house SAVED all the extra tile that was used throughout the house.

There was enough tile to patch the floor. I also was able to salvage some large chunks of sanded grout when I did the demolition.

I soaked these chunks of grout in some Stain Solver solution overnight so they'd be perfectly clean. I allowed them to dry and I took them to get a perfect match of the new grout I need.

Before I started to patch the floor, I used the same Stain Solver certified organic oxygen bleach to do a deep clean of the floor close to where I was patching.

I did this because I wanted the existing grout to be super clean so the new grout that touches the existing grout will not stand out looking like I patched the floor.

I'll deep clean the rest of the floor just after finishing the job and when I'm done walking over it. I put down tarps each day while working, but the floor still gets a little dirty.

I also put together two days ago the frameless shower door. Included with the parts were all the different allen hex wrenches one needs to assemble the door.

Guess what? I SAVED all those as well as the installation instructions.

You know where they are? I put them in a zip-lock food storage bag, sealed it and TAPED it to the inside wall of the new vanity that's going in.

I'll also create another zip-lock bag that has the small wrench needed for the shower handle faucet, the shower valve install instructions as well as the new vanity faucet.

Why is this important? Have you ever wanted to replace a valve faucet cartridge or part and WONDERED what model it was???

BOOM, a future owner is going to be thanking me!!!

You should do the same so future homeowners send good karma to you.

Other instructions, photos of important things, manuals, etc. should be put in plastic bags down near your main circuit breaker panel. It's a GREAT place to store helpful things for a future homeowner.

You might even buy a cheap wall-mount mailbox and put everything in there.

But for faucets I always prefer to put the manuals on the inside of a kitchen sink base or the vanity cabinet.

Latest Revised Columns

Here's a list of columns I've revised in the past week or so. There's MORE. I didn't list all of them.

If you want to see ALL REVISED COLUMNS, always click the Q & A icon at the top of any page at AsktheBuilder.com.

CLICK HERE to get to the Q & A page.

Low Shower Head Water Pressure

Best Gutter Guard HANDS DOWN

Arc Fault Circuit Breakers - PREVENT EVIL FIRES!

DIY House Wiring? - Maybe Not A Great Idea

Shower Drain ODOR

Solid Wood Interior Doors