Archives: Home Improvement

Radiant Heat for Wood Sub-Floors

By Todd Fratzel on Heating

Radiant Heat – Current Details for Wood Framed Floor Systems Radiant heat is so popular in today’s new homes that it’s being used in a majority of the new homes we build. Over the last 5 years I’ve seen an industry that changed details about as often as the seasons change here in New England.…

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Stain Solver Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews

Stain Solver – Amazing Stain Remover, Cleaner and Deoderizer One year ago I was on my way to the International Builder’s Show in Orlando, FL and I met Tim Carter, Founder of AskTheBuilder.com at the airport. The quick bump in at the airport has since turned into a great friendship as we both publish home…

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Timberland PRO® Helix® Collection Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Information, Product Reviews

Lightweight Comfortable Work Boots….REALLY! So I’ve been a long time user and fan of the New England based Timberland boots. I’ve owned a dozen or more of their boots of the years because they made incredibly durable boots at an affordable price. However, work boots have never been all that comfortable…..until now! Building on the…

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American Standard Culinaire Bridge Kitchen Faucet Review

By Todd Fratzel on Plumbing, Product Reviews

The Back Story Over the last six months we’ve been using/testing/abusing a new kitchen faucet from American Standard. Before I go into the particulars on this faucet I wanted to give you a quick back-story on why we have this new faucet. We built our new home just over 5 years ago. Like many homeowners…

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Installing Programmable Thermostats

By Todd Fratzel on Air Conditioning, Electrical, Energy Conservation

Programmable Thermostats Save Money Installing a programmable thermostat is a very easy home improvement project and one that could save you quite a bit of money. Installing a programmable thermostat helps save energy by automatically turning down your heat or turning up your cooling when you’re asleep or away from home. The savings from using…

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Cold Roof

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation, Roofing

Ventilated Cold Roof Ventilated roofs are nothing new, however ventilated cold roof are used on SIP roofs in order to prevent ice dams, damage from trapped moisture and a second layer of defense for roof leaks. In this article I’ll show you how we use ventilated cold roofs on timber framed homes that have SIP’s…

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Frozen Pipes – How To Prevent and Repair

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation, Plumbing

Frozen Water Pipes With temperatures dropping below zero here in the Northeast I thought it was fitting to write about Frozen Pipes. Each year thousands of homes are damaged by frozen water pipes. As ice expands inside of a water pipe it acts like an incredibly strong jack that causes most water pipes to burst…

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Stepped Footings

By Todd Fratzel on Foundations

Stepped Concrete Footings Footings are the most basic structural support for buildings in contact with the earth. For houses on a level building lot the footings are very simple and end up all at one elevation. However, for more complicated designs the footings end up changing elevations and therefore require a “step” in the grade.…

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