January 4, 2011 AsktheBuilder Tips And Newsletter
What's in This Newsletter?
Latest News
Ordering Ceramic Tile Online
Green Movement Survey
Condensation on Windows and Doors
Boosting Water Pressure
Sewer Gas Smell
Remember, Do it Right, Not Over!
I do product reviews frequently. Please read my Disclosure Policy to understand the relationship between me and the companies that make the products or offer the services I review.
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Latest News
What a crazy several days it's been. Did you open up my Massive Mistake email? Man oh man was that a doozy. I want to thank you for sending me kind words. I've received nearly 1,500 responses, many with the same "No problem, Tim. If that's the biggest mistake you make, you'll be fine the rest of the year." I sincerely appreciate your tolerance of my human nature.
I'm excited about the Washington DC meet up! That happens on Wednesday, January 5, 2011, at Pat Troy's Ireland's Own pub in Alexandria, VA. I'll be there no later than 4 p.m. and intend to stick around until a little after 7 p.m. I hope you come!
Finally, look below for the Green Home-Improvement Products Survey!
Ordering Ceramic Tile Online
The economy is not roaring. I believe we can all agree about that. But I can tell you that the number of people buying things online is absolutely increasing. There are all kind of studies out about that.
I want to tell you what happened to me the past two weeks in case the company you work for has a website that talks about the products or services you offer.
Kathy and I want to redo the tile in our master bathroom shower. We loved the tile I installed 18 months ago in our Cincinnati, OH master bathroom shower.
I went to that company's website, and it was pitiful. They didn't have great photos of all of their products, they didn't have any way to see colors, and they didn't have a dealer locator.
Here I was, with a credit card in hand, ready to place an order for the same tile and they were basically saying to me, "Go away. Leave us alone. We DON'T want your business."
Perhaps you work for a company that doesn't sell direct to consumers. I can understand that. But by gosh, on your company's website be sure there is an easy way for you to turn prospects into customers!
Oh, so you know. I'm convinced you can easily sell ceramic tile online. Looking for a new business? UPS will pick up the boxes of tile you're sending to your customers all day long. I know as they pick up our Stain Solver orders every day, and those can be heavy boxes!
Green Movement Survey
Last issue, I asked for your help to craft a survey about the Green Movement. You really came through. I used your responses to fashion just about every question on the survey. You're not going to believe the questions. I never even thought about some of the things you wanted to know.
Would you do me an enormous favor? Please take the survey. (Survey is now closed.) Share the link with as many as you can. If possible, place the link and a note about it on your Facebook page. I'm trying to get a ton of folks to take the survey so we can see how many feel.
Here's the link for you to paste into Facebook:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/
Remember, I used your input to write the questions and answers. When you click "Done" at the bottom of the last question, I'll going to show you to the best Green cleaner I'm aware of.
I'll share the results of the survey in the next newsletter.
Condensation on Windows and Doors
I get a ton of emails this time of year about condensation. There's an entire Condensation category at my website that explains why it happens and how to avoid it.
Here's the bottom line. If you have chronic condensation on surfaces, you either have to lower the humidity in your home, increase the temperature of the thing that has the condensation on it, and/or increase the amount of air blowing across the thing that's got all the moisture on it.
You can do just one of the above and have success, or a blend of all three.
Boosting Water Pressure
In two weeks, I'm going to have a very cool booster pump installed here at my house to increase the dismal water pressure. I'll tell you more about this when the project starts to happen. Suffice it to say that if you have bad water pressure, you can solve the problem and it's not hard to install the pump.
Sewer Gas Smell
I recently did one of my 15-Minute consults with a young woman who lives in western Long Island. She has a horrible issue with sewer gas odor in the bathroom of a condo she's renting. I'm in the final stages of creating a sweet eBook that helps you diagnose sewer gas smells and then shows how to fix them. But that's not what this is about. You'll know when I finish that eBook, as you'll get a special offer on it.
Based on all the things she told me, I'm confident, the problem is coming from a failed toilet gasket. She had a repair person come out and reset the toilet, but it still has the foul odor. Here's part of an email she sent me overnight:
"I called Roto Rooter and the rep would not reset the toilet ... he was convinced it was not a sewer gas because the toilet was stable and there was no bubbling when he sprayed Windex around the periphery of the toilet."
ACCCKKKKK!!! Spraying water around the base of a toilet with Windex or even a soapy water solution is NOT going to help you detect a sewer gas leak. This service technician didn't pay attention in high school physics class.
You use a soapy solution to test for leaks when the pressure inside a CLOSED system is greater than that of atmospheric pressure. In this case, the air on the other side of the water seal in the bowl is at atmospheric pressure. The air inside your drain pipes is at atmospheric pressure because the vent pipes in the roof and the sewer pipes in the ground are all open to the atmosphere.
This is what my checklists are all about. They show you how, in a few minutes, to find the professional contractor or repair person that KNOWS the right way to install or fix things. If Erica had used my Plumbing repair checklist to find her plumber, I would've not been able to share this with you. Why? Because she would have never had to purchase the 15-minute call from me.
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