Q&A / 

Decorative Ceramic Tile Creates Happiness I just returned from an eight-day trip to southern California to visit my youngest daughter and several dear friends. I saw some amazing decorative ceramic tile. The weather was excellent, and although I knew about the June gloom, I discovered there was also the May gray. The sun heats the […]

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Exterior Paint Peeling - Water, Water Vapor, Dust, Dirt, and Oil Are you frustrated with peeling exterior paint peeling? Maybe it’s a fence, a picnic table, a bench, your house siding, a shed, outdoor furniture, or a pergola. You might also share Jan’s misfortune. She visited the Ask Tim page of my AsktheBuilder website requesting […]

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Architects Design Flawed Garages Time and Time Again Two weeks ago, on a whim, I recorded a 60-second video that I uploaded instantly to YouTube.com. I wanted to share one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever seen in the common garage. I’m willing to bet you’re a homeowner who suffers from this oversight by architects […]

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Room Addition Foundation - Get it Square and Level Are you feeling pinched by the current economy? I know I am. I shop for materials each week at the grocery store giving my lovely wife a break. She did it for the previous 45 years. Gasoline, food, insurance costs, interest rates, etc. are all way […]

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Algae and Lichens Grow on Composite Decks and Rails - Easy to Clean You might be one of the countless homeowners frustrated with the annual, or every-other-year, task of cleaning and sealing your wood deck. I’m right there with you as I have to deal with my wood dock and the stairs leading to it. […]

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Secret Hiding Places in Your Home are Everywhere I’m in the final stages of writing a book that contains hundreds of hacks that you might want to incorporate into your existing home or a new one you’re building. I got lots of help from many of my newsletter subscribers, who shared some of their best […]

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Wood Shrinks and Swells Unequally - Not Like Fine Leather Gloves Wood is a true gift from God. It’s not much different than tomatoes, wheat, or corn in that wood is really a crop. Any farmer that’s lucky enough to have a stand, or bush, of maple trees on his farm will tell you that […]

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Exterior Ceramic Tile - Best Way to Install It A fellow amateur radio operator reached out to me several days ago. My vanity call sign was coined after my Ask the Builder business. It’s W3ATB. The W3 stands for www for my AsktheBuilder.com website. This operator knew I’d be able to answer his question. He […]

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Water Ponding Against Foundation - It Doesn't Always Cause Wood Rot Two days before writing this column I saved an Ohio homeowner $30,000.00. Fortunately, he stumbled across my website and found out that he could talk to me on the phone. He was suffering from water ponding against his foundation and was considering signing a […]

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