January 5, 2020 AsktheBuilder Newsletter 🎁

Are you as new here as the New Year? Welcome! I see you're still wearing your party hat. Next issue I suggest you don your adventure hat. Why? CLICK or TAP HERE to discover why.

You might be a subscriber that's well aware of my impish behavior. If so, then let the 2020 AsktheBuilder Games begin!

New Year Prizes

Did you see the wrapped gift box in the headline of this newsletter? It's supposed to represent a prize.

🎁

My goal for the new year is to shower you with surprises, tips, and special offers throughout the upcoming year. Consider each one a special prize as if you won a competition.

For example, you're going to start seeing at least once a month, special offers on my Stain Solver. Stain Solver is a certified organic oxygen bleach that cleans anything water washable.

I'm guilty of being lax at showering you with all the ways you can save your things using magic Stain Solver.

CLICK or TAP HERE now to watch a few videos that will inspire you on how to save lots of money and be organic at the same time.

If you like what you see in those videos and want to try out my Stain Solver, use this promo code now to get 10% off and FREE SHIPPING to the four commonwealths and forty-four states in the USA that are all glued together.

2020

The promo code only works on the 2.2-pound size for now and it EXPIRES TONIGHT.

Mike's Open Cell Insulation

Yesterday afternoon, I did a short consult phone call with Mike. He lives in Indiana. Mike had invested in another call back in the spring and needed more advice. I can record these calls and send you a link to the recording so you don't have to take notes, but I digress.

Mike decided to convert a bonus room on the top level of his house made with attic trusses (click that link - WATCH the video!) as you see in this photo:

This is an attic space in a new home. Most builders would have used standard trusses and wasted all this space. (C) Copyright 2019 Tim Carter

Insulating these spaces is critical. Do it wrong and you can have serious wood-rot problems.

Mike told me how he had used the best insulation team in the area for the job. When I heard this I chortled and said, "Mike, you need to listen to this true story."

I then shared the encounter I had with an experienced insulation contractor last spring in Bar Harbor, Maine. CLICK or TAP HERE to read the story and be prepared to be DEPRESSED.

It's important to realize Mike made a grievous error. He had me call him AFTER the insulation job was complete.

You see, Mike's top-rated insulation crew sprayed open-cell foam DIRECTLY to the underside of the roof sheathing. They also sprayed it so it completely clogged the gap at the peak of the roof where the ridge vent is.

They said, "The air will go through the foam and get to the exterior. It's open cell."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHA

Mike should stop trusting contractors. Many are ill-informed.

Mike should have taken the time to READ these columns on my website BEFORE he even talked to a contractor:

Attic Ventilation Facts - Great Infrared PHOTO Here

Truth About Ridge Vents - The Incense TEST

PAVs - What Are They, Tim? Well, They're Just About...

Mike should have had me CALL HIM BEFORE he hired the contractors.

It's possible Mike could be replacing his entire roof structure at some point in the future. Isn't that crazy?

Don't be Mike.

WARNING!

Insurance Product and Scarcity

Last week I saw a commercial on TV. It featured Mike Rowe, the guy from Dirty Jobs, popping up out of a trench in a front yard.

He was talking about an insurance product for your home's plumbing lines sold by HomeServe dot com. The person who wrote Mike's script for the commercial was using the most powerful psychological button of all: scarcity.

I've been a master plumber since age 29 and this commercial put my head on a swivel. I sent myself a quick email from the couch to remind me to check into it the next day.

I went to the company's website and it has a soft and fuzzy feel. Being the inquisitive guy I am, I started to peel back the layers of the onion to discover exactly what this company is selling, or better yet, what they're NOT SELLING.

After peeling back multiple layers, I discovered this language:

"Not Covered: Appliances; repair or replacement of fittings or fixtures, e.g., water tanks, water heaters, radiators, bathroom fittings, faucets, toilets, baths, shower pans, shower/bath diverters and sinks, pressure reducing valves and backflow prevention devices, pumps or grinders; any non-conforming drain line, such as a basement or storm drain; thawing of frozen pipes; and damage from accidents, negligence or otherwise caused by you, others or unusual circumstances."

Being a professional writer that deals in words, lots of them each week, as well as an expert witness in building construction lawsuits for decades, the last part of that text really got my antenna up.

If you have a failure in your "basement building drain" - that's the primary drain pipe all others flow into - who pays to fix it? Seems to me they don't cover that.

And WTH is a "non-conforming drain line"? You better get them to define that before you invest in their policy!

What about "damage from ... negligence or otherwise caused by you..."

If you have a grease clog in your drain lines that YOU caused because you put grease down your drains do they pay or do you pay?

Well, if you get into a dispute, you have to go to binding arbitration. You know what arbitration is about don't you? It's about splitting the loaf.

Here's what you need to do before you EVER look at supplemental insurance.

STOP and call your regular house insurance agent and ask if you already have some sort of plumbing failure coverage. There's a possibility you MAY have some relief from your current policy about plumbing issues. You can also take the time to read your policy.

Second, stop and really read the fine print you see in the policies offered by companies like HomeServe. Be sure you understand the language.

Third, consult with a plumber and ask what are the odds of certain failures. In other words, what are the chances that a pipe behind your wall suddenly fails? Is it 2 percent, 0.05 percent, or 50%?

Finally, understand that in the case of HomeServe if you find you have a problem and try to buy the coverage to take advantage of it, good luck with that! There's a 30-day wait period after you buy before the coverage kicks in!

Can you imagine buying house or car insurance where the agent says, "I'm sorry but your car and house have NO COVERAGE for the first month. I hope nothing happens!"

That's laughable. Think about that. Why would HomeServe not want to cover you immediately like most other policies?

Why is Your House Cold as a Cucumber?

Dave reached out to me two nights ago because he was quite observant and saw the P.S. I put at the bottom of each issue of this newsletter. Last issue I shared a link to a topical column this time of year.

You simply can't believe how many houses are uncomfortable and HOW EASY it is to ensure it doesn't happen.

CLICK or TAP HERE to discover how you can be warmer in your home.

This is an absolute MUST READ if you're thinking of building a new home or a room addition.

WATCH THE VIDEO in the column for sure.

That's quite enough for a Sunday morning.

Remember, the Stain Solver 2.2 offer expires in HOURS. CLICK or TAP HERE to get some.

I'm permitting you to purchase multiple bottles, but not too many. SAVE some for the other customers for goodness sake.

Promo code: 2020

Tim Carter
Founder - www.AsktheBuilder.com
Clean Everything - Including Dentures! - www.StainSolver.com
Send KELP! www.W3ATB.com

Do It Right, Not Over!

P.S. What about circuit breakers? What about a house sentry that tells you if DANGEROUS arcing is happening while you snuggle under the covers or are away? CLICK or TAP HERE for secret info.