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.

Router Edge Guide Finished

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools

Today I built my router edge guide and it worked great! Yesterday I posted a picture and drawing I found online of a do-it-yourself guide and today I made it in about an hour. This will work great for putting the rabbit on the edge of the 1×6 for my porch skirt. As you can…

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Making A Router Edge Guide

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools

Finally I’m in the process of building the “skirt” around the base of our large farmers porch. I’ve decided to make the “skirt” with all PVC material so it will last for years to come without painting! The basic design is to create the “frames” with 1×6 material and then install lattice between the rails.…

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John Deere X300 Mulching Mower

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping, Product Reviews

Last Fall I bought this John Deere X300 mower with the mulching deck. Now that I’ve mowed the lawn for 5 or 6 weeks I’m pleased to say this thing is amazing! I’m one of those guys that really does believe you get what you pay for and this machine is certainly a good example…

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Bestselling Bosch Worksite Table Saw Review

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools, Product Reviews

Best Selling Worksite Table Saw A couple of weeks ago I bought a new table saw for my crew at work. We were in dire need of a new one and I asked my job foreman to pick one out. He chose the Bosch 4100-09 10-Inch Worksite Table Saw with Gravity-Rise Stand based on a…

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AdvanTech Sheathing Vs Plywood

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

AdvanTech Sheathing AdvanTech sheathing is an amazing product that I used on my new house. The product is so good that we use it on every new house we build at work. AdvanTech sheathing comes in many thicknesses and edges. I used 3/4″ tongue and groove on my subfloor, nailed and glued. I used 5/8″…

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Mulching Flower Beds

By Todd Fratzel on Gardening

Mulching Flower Beds with Ask This Old House This week we started mulching the flower beds with pine bark mulch. We have quite a few new flower beds that really don’t have many flowers in them yet but getting the mulch down is a start. I guess I’m partial to pine bark mulch from a…

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Exposed Aggregate Concrete Walkway

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

Exposed aggregate concrete makes a great walkway or driveway. Last year when we built the house we had a hard time figuring out what to use for the walkways from the driveway to the front of the house. We used asphalt pavement for the driveway because it’s really cost effective and easy to maintain. However,…

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Garage Workshop – Stair Design

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

The other day I posted about one of my projects for the summer being building stairs up to my new workshop in the garage. This weekend I took some measurements and designed the stairs. As you can see I’m going to have the stairs go in two directions with a small landing part way up.…

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