Hollow Core Vs Solid Core Door Debate

By Todd Fratzel on Doors

Hollow Core Vs Solid Core Doors It seems as though every time we build a house for a customer they have a hard time choosing between traditional solid wood doors (typically a solid MDF core with a finish veneer) and hollow core doors. The question always seems to be: Which are better? Solid Wood Doors…

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Turning The Heat On For The First Time This Season

By Todd Fratzel on Air Conditioning

Heating Season Has Begun It’s official folks….the heating season has begun here in New England and I reluctantly turned on the furnace this weekend. The temperatures have been dipping down into the 30’s over night recently and the house has been in the low 60’s, just too chilly for young children. Furnace Maintenance Before you…

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What You Should Know When Remodeling Your Basement

By Todd Fratzel on Basements

Guest post written by Adrienne Carlson who writes for Construction Management Degrees. Remodeling Basements Basements are at the bottom rung of a house, but when done up the right way, they are more than just basements; rather, they become rooms that the entire family wants to hang out it. When people remodel their basements, they…

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Ready Wrench Review

By Todd Fratzel on Hand Tools, Product Reviews

Ready Wrench by Black & Decker Black & Decker continues to role out innovative tools for home owners and DIY’ers. The Ready Wrench is another example of their innovative tools. The Ready Wrench is a single hand tool that combines 16 popular standard and metric socket sizes in one handy easy to use tool. This…

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DEWALT Impact Ready Review | Impact Driver Accessories

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools, Product Reviews

DEWALT Impact Ready Accessories Every job that I’m on these days has every trade using some type of impact driver. They have become popular with the electricians, plumbers, HVAC guys and our carpenters can’t survive without them. We use them for driving screws, lags and truss locks into the engineered lumber. Impact drivers are capable…

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Insulating A Finished Basement

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Insulation

Insulating Basement Walls Insulating basement walls properly is extremely important if you want to enjoy your finished basement investment. Every year thousands of basements are finished with poor insulation details that lead to mold, mildew and moisture problems that render the newly finished space un-usable. One of the most popular topics on this site has…

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Cabinet Trim Makes All The Difference

By Todd Fratzel on Cabinetry

Cabinet Accessory Trim Anyone can install cabinets in their home and save money. But ultimately the difference between a professional looking kitchen and an amature looking kitchen are the trim details. Our new kitchen includes matching wood soffit that completes the top of cabinetry up to the finished ceiling. The original cabinet design used a…

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Loam Driveway Shoulders Extend Pavement Life

By Todd Fratzel on Driveways

Driveway Tip – Maintain Your Shoulders This summer we had a new layer of asphalt pavement installed on our asphalt driveway which raised the height just over an inch. Leaving the pavement higher than the surrounding landscaping (our lawn) or shoulder means our driveway is susceptible to premature failure from wheel loads. Driveway Shoulders Driveway…

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