Tiernan O'Rourke was painting a window at his home in Athy, Ireland. The trouble is he proceeded to get paint on the window's weather stripping and then closed the window. Here's his full report: "Hey Tim, It's great service you have here and even better if you can help 😉 I've made an annoying mess of […]
DEAR TIM: My husband and I are in the initial planning stages of our new home. We have several interior hallways and I'm not able to visualize them looking at the plans. My fear is they'll be like tunnels and resemble the giant bowling alleys I walk down when walking to my room in a […]
Ron wants to pour a concrete patio and wonders about proper support so it won't crack. He's doing this work in cold Fonthill, Ontario Canada. Here's what he told me: "We had our basement (block) waterproofed from the outside one year ago and have sandy soil. The area we are looking to do is 10 x […]
Dick Anderson is a motivator who lives in Darlington, WI. He took issue with a past column of mine that discussed the challenges a DIY person faces when building their first log cabin. STOP now and read my past column titled Dream Log Cabin Challenges before you read Dick's comments below. After reading Dick's comments, please […]
Nadine has a problem with a sagging roof in Atlanta, Michigan. Here's her full report: "My roof is sagging. I never realized my rafters are 27 and one-half inches on center. The roofing material is is made from metal squares. What can I do to make the roof flat? Look at the photo of the underside […]
Carl King is thinking of buying an historic building in Baltimore, MD that has some brick erosion. Here's what he sent me: "I went to look at a building for sale in a historic district and found a problem with the brick I've never seen before. I wanted to know what you though the cause might […]
Kristen almost got hit by a chunk of ice from her furnace exhaust pipe in Milford, CT. She's still alive to tell her story. Here it is: "Hi, Tim. I have a large ice pillar on my 3rd story/attic siding. I only noticed it when an arm-sized chunk of ice fell and nearly hit me. At […]
Craig Tiritilli is wondering if his hanging walnut shelves, and this things on them are going to bow the studs in his Dallas, TX home. Here's his situation: "I have 4 pieces of solid walnut board. Each is 40" x 10" x 3". I want to attach all four of them to a wall as shelves […]
Judy Lazo has basement walls that are flaking away in Haddon Township, NJ. She can tell the story better than me; "I own a home that my ex and I bought in 1997. There was never a problem with water in the basement and still isn't. There is a french drain and sump pump. Around 1999, […]
Sharon's bathroom floor tile grout is cracking in her Anchorage, AK home. You're not going to believe the photos. Here's her story: "My master bath floor has cracked and chipping grout in more than 50 percent of the tiled area. Some tiles sound hollow underneath. The sub-flooring is 3/4 in OSB with 3/8 inch interior plywood […]
Subscribe to the FREE Ask the Builder newsletter to receive professional advice for your home. Complete the form below and each week you'll get:
Unsubscribe at any time. We respect your email privacy.