About the author

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

Schluter-DITRA Tile Underlayment

By Todd Fratzel on Flooring

I tiled our bathroom and mudroom in the new house. One of the issues I needed to figure out was the transition between the 3/8″ thick engineered wood floor and the adjacent rooms with tile. Traditionally I would have installed 1/4″ cement board under the tile. Then the adjacent wood floor would have needed a…

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Painting The Chair Rail

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry, Painting and Finishing

Tonight I started painting the chair rail. I like to use Sherwin Williams Semi-Gloss paint. One tip that I learned from a painter years ago really applies to painting this chair rail. When ever you paint trim work, casing, crown molding, chair rails, etc, it’s best to paint the trim work first. When you paint…

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How To Install A Chair Rail – Part III

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry

Part III of these posts on installing a chair rail involves finishing up the bed molding and filling/caulking all the holes in preparation for painting. You can see my previous two posts on how to install a chair rail at How To Install A Chair Rail – Part I and How To Install A Chair…

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Converting U Values To R Values

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation, Windows

Most people are familiar with the term “R Value” when it comes to insulation. Some people are also familiar with the term “U Value” when it comes to windows. However, most people have no idea how the two terms relate to each other. You can convert U Values to R Values pretty easily. R values…

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How To Install A Chair Rail – Part II

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry

Part II of How To Install A Chair Rail covers installing the top rail and the lower bed moulding between the back rail and top rail. I discussed installing the back rail in How To Install A Chair Rail – Part I For the second part of this task we needed to create at top…

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How To Install A Chair Rail – Part I

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry

In this series of posts I’ll be explaining how to install a chair rail. The design for the chair rail we are using is covered in Final Chair Rail Selection. Installing a chair rail is an intermediate level DIY project. The basic tools you’ll need are:1. Level2. Stud Finder3. Tape Measure4. Miter Saw5. Table Saw6.…

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Final Chair Rail Selection

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry, Interior Decorating

We’ve finally settled on a chair rail for the baby’s nursery. In a previous post I shared a similar chair rail design that we liked. All I did was to make the proportions a little smaller and I changed the lowest moulding to a piece of cove instead of the miny bed moulding that sample…

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How To Install Closet Wire Shelves

By Todd Fratzel on Closets & Storage

One of the tasks that I needed to do for the new baby’s room was to install some closet shelving. I like using Closetmaid shelving. There are many other products out there but Closetmaid stuff works great, it’s really strong, and they have tons of options to customize your project. The first step in any…

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