Archives: building engineering

Prefabricated Wall Panels Save Time

By Todd Fratzel on Framing, Green Building

Using Prefabricated Wall Panels I’ve written about using prefabricated wall panels before and how they can save time on a job. Today I wanted to show an example of a job that really benefited from the use of prefabricated wall panels. Today one of our crews set wall panels on the 2nd floor of a…

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DIY Foam Insulation

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

DIY Foam Insulation for Basements Basement Insulation is one of the toughest things to accomplish correctly for a reasonable price. The best approach for insulating basements is having a professional install spray foam. However, it can be quite expensive and it’s a project best left to professionals which flies in the face of many of…

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Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews

Black & Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector With all the talk about saving energy these days we wanted test a tool that helps you located potentially hidden problems with your buildings insulation. So we contacted Black & Decker and asked if we could test their TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector. The Black & Decker Thermal Leak…

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Basement Ceilings

By Todd Fratzel on Basements

Recommended Basement Ceiling Types Basement remodeling / finishing seems to be one of the hottest DIY projects right now. We get tons of emails about how to insulate  basement walls, how to insulate basement floors and what type of basement ceilings are best. Finishing or remodeling a basement requires lots of planning. The basement ceiling…

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Basement Flooring Options | Finished Basements

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Flooring

Finished Basement Flooring Finished basements are very popular today for a good reason. Properly finished basements can significantly increase the amount of living space in your home without the need for an addition. The key is the proper selection of techniques and materials to ensure a mold free, dry, healthy space for you and your…

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How To Insulate A Concrete Floor

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Foundations, Insulation

Insulating Concrete Floors If you live in a cold climate then you’re no stranger to cold concrete floors in the winter. If you’re planning on finishing a basement or portion of your home that has a concrete floor then it may be a good idea to insulate it before installing basement flooring. Concrete floors are…

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Free Stair Stringer Calculator

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry, Framing

Stair Stringer Calculator – Spreadsheet Recently I wrote an article about how to build stairs. Since then I’ve had inquiries about some type of calculator or spreadsheet to quickly calculate the rise and run measurements for the stringers. So I sat down and put together a quick Excel spreadsheet that helps you calculate the total…

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Foam Board Insulation R Values

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Foam Board Insulation Types I’ve written several posts about how to insulation basement walls in which I promote the use of foam board insulation as the first line of defense against moisture and mold. Because of this I often get questions about which type of foam board insulation to use and what R values these…

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