May 21, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips
Did you have a great weekend? You may have helped make mine special.
As I was getting ready on Friday afternoon to volunteer to do emergency communications for the Breathe NH non-profit seacoast bike ride, I received HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of Thank You emails.
It was impossible for me to reply to you personally, so please know each email brought a monster smile to my face as they came in all weekend long. Some of them created monster belly laughs.
It all started with my latest video about deck railing post connection defects. Did you watch it? If not, do it now.
Believe it or not, I received another astonishing email from yet another subscriber, Jim, about the video. When you read Jim's email, you'll shake your head for sure.
But GOOD NEWS! Jim's email to me provided an excellent teaching moment when combined with the other email I received last Friday that pushed my Rant Button.
CLICK HERE if you consume LOTS of free information from the Internet and want to read what Jim and Shaun sent to me and WHY it's important to YOU.
After reading Jim's email to me, I'd deeply appreciate it if you would leave a comment at the bottom of the above page explaining how you feel about the whole situation. Thanks!
Tip of the Week - Pathway to Dry Basements and Crawlspaces
I've been in countless damp, leaking and musty basements. I've finished countless basements over the years.
Guess what? You can build new homes with basements that will be drier than the Atacama Desert. You can take existing wet basements and make them dry too.
Do you want a DRY basement? Do you think it's possible?
Do you want a DRY crawl space? Did you know it's possible to have an elegant picnic with Grey Poupon mustard in a crawlspace? I'm serious.
This Tip of the Week is wrapped up inside a fun game sponsored by Basement Systems.
Play this new game. Wait until you see some of the FUNNY answers. Bwhahahahahahahaahahhaha!
I GUARANTEE you that you'll discover some new products that you never knew existed.
There are going to be TWELVE Winners chosen from all the correct entries in the game. Here they are:
- $150 COLD CASH to one winner
- 9.2 pounds of Stain Solver to one winner
- Ten Winners of the small sample size of Stain Solver
- Five Winners of a Magic Glue!
CLICK HERE to play the amazing Basement Systems game!
The game ENDS in one week, so play it NOW.
Pressure Washing DANGER!
Moments ago, I had to go up to my ham shack to help a fellow ham operator with his first on-air Morse code transmission. It was fun!
As I walked up the steps to my garage attic, I saw a workman at my neighbor's house using a pressure washer to clean the outside of the house.
He was on a ladder aiming the pressure washer wand UP washing ABOVE him.
He was squirting HIGH PRESSURE water under the fiber cement siding and squirting HIGH PRESSURE water into the soffits and overhangs of the roof.
Why is this WRONG?
Houses are built to have water go DOWN not UP. Shingles, siding, flashings, etc. are designed and installed to work with GRAVITY that pulls water DOWN to the ground.
NEVER aim a pressure washer UP when spraying a house, a roof, etc. Always aim it at an angle towards the ground.
How to Repair Chipped Stucco, Concrete Block or Concrete
Did you ever see the movie series Lord of the Rings?
In the beginning of that movie is a fascinating quote taken from J.R.R. Tolkien's book:
"And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge."
I'm trying to prevent a valuable piece of home improvement knowledge from passing out of knowledge. I do that with many things at AsktheBuilder.com.
There's a part of cement and stucco history that's TRYING to become myth because so few know about it.
It's a method used by OLD cement masons to ensure a layer of stucco bonds PERMANENTLY to a concrete base. You can use this magic when you try to repair stucco, concrete block or concrete. What is the magic knowledge??????
CLICK HERE so you help pass this part of building history to a future generation!
Sandpaper Factoids
Did you know that there are different sandpapers and how they can help you get great results?
Are you wise in sanding ways that you know why you should use red garnet sandpaper instead of aluminum oxide?
If not, you'll discover how to get PRO results by reading these two short pieces of mine.
Overview of Different Sandpapers