Quick Column Summary: Behr Paint is proudly used If you're a professional painter, I'm willing to wager your perception of Behr Paint may be like mine was fifty-seven hours ago. As the wheels of my plane touched down at LAX on February 9, 2014, I thought Behr paint was a tier-two paint company that made […]
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 […]
ChatGPT vs Tim Carter a Real Human Below are two columns. One was written by the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT. The other was written by me, Tim Carter. I was an award-winning builder before I started my syndicated newspaper column Ask the Builder. After reading each one, think about how authoritative each one is. Are […]
Painting Rusty Metal and Steel - Prevent Explosions! Did you see in the recent news the catastrophic gas explosion that killed nine people on the island of Jersey in the English Channel? It’s early in the investigation and the experts may not ever be able to pinpoint the cause, but I have my own idea […]
Paint Walls with Bold Colors - It Might Look Fantastic I’ve had the distinct pleasure to attend numerous editors conferences over the years sponsored by different manufacturers. I’ve toured tool heat-treating hand-tool plants, precision saw-blade factories, small-engine plants, and paint factories to name but a few. Each experience is similar to Christmas morning because I […]
Matching Wood Stain - Add Pigment to the Urethane This past week I helped two 70-year-old newlyweds solve a vexing problem in a home they purchased. In just fifteen minutes using my transcribed phone call service, I saved them perhaps $5,000.00. I shared a time-tested way they could match the stain on a wood-paneled room. […]
Why Exterior Paint Peels Two weeks ago in this column I shared why it’s so hard to preserve exterior wood using any number of products. One of them was paint. You may have been one of the many readers that reached out to me. If I had to boil down all the emails I received […]
A Textured Kitchen Ceiling is Hard to Clean I’ve lost count of the questions I’ve answered. It’s in the tens of thousands over the past twenty-eight years. Most questions are pretty straightforward and the answers are somewhat obvious. However, every now and then I’m blessed with an email from a homeowner that provides an incredible […]
QUESTION: Help me, Tim! I’m so darned frustrated! The paint on the outside of my home and a shed keeps peeling. Both have wood siding on them. Every few years I’m out there scraping and starting over. What am I doing wrong? I follow the directions on the label of the paint can to the […]
Exterior Painting Costs 2021 - Use Urethane Paint & Oxygen Bleach Exterior painting costs are going up with inflation. To save money long-term, you want to purchase the best paint and clean your house well so it's many years before you paint again. What is the Best Exterior House Paint? The best exterior paint hands […]
Painting Wallpaper - If Not Coated, You Must Prime it With Oil Paint QUESTION: Tim, I’ve got decades-old wallpaper in my kitchen I want to paint. It’s in great shape with only two small tears. Can I paint over the wallpaper or must I remove the wallpaper before painting? The paper was applied directly onto […]
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.