Archives: Home Improvement

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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Framed Bearing Wall

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

Basement Bearing Walls Last year at this time we began framing the house. Looking at the pictures reminds me of one thing I chose to do in our new home that is a bit different. I chose to frame a bearing wall down the center of the basement instead of using lolly columns and a…

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Cambara Decking

By Todd Fratzel on Decks & Porches

When we built our new home I really struggled with what type of material to use for the decking on the front porch and the rear deck. There are so many choices between pressure treated, cedar, mahogany and composites. Then there is the issue of price vs. aesthetics. One of my carpenters suggested that I…

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Proper Window Flashing

By Todd Fratzel on Windows

How To Properly Flash Windows Recently I’ve had several questions about leaking windows. Most window leaks can be traced back to poor installation. Today there are many self adhesive flashing products available to make weather proofing much easier. Grace Construction Products has a whole line of Window, Door and Deck Flashings for every construction task.…

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Engineered Lumber

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

Engineered Lumber Framing Today I was looking at some old photos from last year when we started framing the new house. One of the things that caught my eye was this photo of the floor framing. Engineered lumber products have drastically changed the residential home market. As you can see in the photo I used…

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