Maryann Mosca had an unfortunate loss in her life and now she's trying to finish a stone job and needs to change the mortar color. She lives in Branchburg, NJ. Here's what she sent me: "Let me start by saying my husband was a carpenter and put on a 2nd floor and front porch on our […]
Klein NCVT-3 Voltage Pen Tester Review Tim Carter demonstrates the NCVT-3 voltage tester pen by Klein Tools.
The Santa Fe Advance 2 is a great dehumidifier. How do you judge such things? Easy. The first thing to look at is how much water will it remove from the air in a 24-hour period. The Advance 2 by Santa Fe is rated at 90 pints of water. If you remember your grade school […]
DEAR TIM: My new house is full of defects. The builder will not fix them. Fortunately, I was able to hold back lots of money and now he's suing me. I've never had to hire an attorney nor have I ever been involved in any litigation, much less one about construction defects. The defects are […]
Robyn has a house in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. The corners of her concrete foundation are cracking off and she wants to know how to repair them. Here's her testimony: "The corners of my foundation are slowly falling off. I know I have foundation problems, but I want to put this big chunk back on […]
I was in Antigua in May of 2015 doing work as an expert witness on a civil construction case. The photos below show what I've come to realize are somewhat standard Antigua construction. From what I've seen driving around, there's a significant lower quality standard than what you'd see in certain parts of the USA. […]
Tommy Cummings is perplexed in Fife Lake, MI. Here's one of the shortest questions I've ever received. "I'm using 2x6 studs. How is the correct way to build my window headers?" Well here's my answer: Two Or More Methods Tommy, there's two parts to this answer, the method and the engineering solution. Different carpenters will do this […]
Helen Jennings wants to create a new door in the exterior wall of an ancient stone home in Holmbridge, West Yorkshire England! Here's what she sent me: "Do you think it would be possible to knock a doorway through this side external wall on the same level as the front door? I'd also want to add a […]
Do you live where hurricanes come ashore? How about tornados or flooding? What happens if your house burns down? Do you have insurance to cover yourself in case your home is damaged? Are you SURE you have enough coverage and what exactly is covered? Do you think it's possible to be out of your home […]
Caitlin Jenkins and her husband now live in Basel, Switzerland. But the building has a brick floor and she's dealing with efflorescence. Let Caitlin give you the details: "Hi Tim, I saw your YouTube video on efflorescence and I'm wondering if you have any particular recommendations for our situation. My husband and I just moved into […]
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