From the editors of Tool Box Buzz, Home Construction Improvement and Concord Carpenter
Volume 118
Hey Guys,
Winter construction can be both hard on the body and hard on a crew's moral. The days are short and everything is cold and slippery. There are many of us that just recognize it as a fact of our geography and keep pushing ahead.
One such man that takes no days off for weather is #tbbcrew Joe Canning, aka Canadian Carpenter. You know that ridiculous cold spell pretty much
all of the US and Canada just went through? Joe and his boys were busy building that beast you see above. That's a 7000 sqft pig with a 14/12 roof that they framed in 3 weeks, in Canada. It was cold. Nice job, Joe! Despite the cold, you found a way to get it done.
If you want your job site featured in an upcoming newsletter, take a photo (landscape please) of your job site and send it to me. Include a little detail about what makes it special or unique. Maybe we'll run
them once or twice a month depending on interest. It can be commercial or residential. It doesn't have to be of the whole project. If you're an electrician, plumber, carpenter, whatever send us a shot of the part of the project you're working on. Email submissions to [email protected] or message us on Facebook or Instagram.
~ JEFF
todd fratzel
Preventing Ice Dams
We include this article in the newsletter at least once a season. Many of you have seen it but many new subscribers haven't. Given all the recent snow and cold temperatures in the US and Canada we figured it was a good time to talk about ice dams.
If you're home has a lot of icicles hanging off of it or worse, you have wet spots near the exterior walls, you may have an ice dam. This article
shows you what to do to prevent an ice dam as well as what to do if you're currently experiencing one.
I don't know about you guys but the middle of winter is when I think about my electricity usage the most. Why? Because that's the time we have the lights on for the most hours. It isn't our peak usage by any means (we heat with natural gas) but light bulbs are always on in the winter.
With
the increased energy costs though, I've got my mind thinking about solar systems. That the celestial kind but solar panel systems. The ones that produce electricity from the sun.
Maybe you have a good size lot or a lot of south facing roof. A grid-tied PV system may be just the ticket. A lot of utilities allow what's called net metering meaning you get to send your extra electricity into the grid in exchange for credits to be
used when the panel system isn't producing enough to meet a home's demand. It's a great way to hit the break-even point faster. But does a PV system make sense for your home? Read on to find out.
Cordless finish nailers seem to be getting most of the virtual ink these days but when it comes to trimming out more than a few pieces I'm still a firm believer in pneumatics.
We recently put the new Makita 15 Ga Angled Finish Nailer through the paces trimming out
a commercial building renovation. It's an elegant design with simple to use controls.
Worm-drive saws have always held a special place in my heart but with recent developments with battery technology, I started disliking my saw's pesky cord. Then came along Dewalt with their rear handled FlexVolt saw.
First grab out of the box had an old familiar feel to that of a
worm drive and with Dewalt's famous ergonomics, it had all the makings to replace my corded saw. Read on for the rest of our thoughts.
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