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Craftsman NEXTEC 12V Lithium-Ion 4 Piece DIY Combo Kit Review

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools, Product Reviews

Craftsman 12 Volt Lithium-Ion 4 Piece DIY Combo Kit The folks at Craftsman recently sent us their 12V Lithium-Ion 4 Piece Combo Kit to test. We’ve previously tested the Auto-Hammer and Multi-Tool which are all part of the Craftsman NEXTEC 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless System. The entire line of NEXTEC tools is designed around their 12-volt…

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Pump Jacks For Siding Installation

By Todd Fratzel on Safety, Siding & Trim

Pump Jacks Make Siding Installation Safer Pump jacks make siding installation much safer and productive. One of our crews recently installed James HardiPlank Lap Siding on a three story addition for a private school with the assistance of pump jacks. You can buy pump jacks from most building supply companies and some online specialty stores.…

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Lead Paint Certification

By Todd Fratzel on Painting and Finishing, Safety

Update: This article ran several months ago but we’re running it again because several states have now adopted their own training and certification programs. See the last paragraph of this article for additional information. Lead Paint Certification If you’re a contractor that performs renovations and remodeling you’re running out of time to get certified with…

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HardiPlank Lap Siding Butt Joint Flashing

By Todd Fratzel on Siding & Trim

HardiPlank Lap Siding Field Butt Joint Treatment HardiPlank Lap Siding is a fantastic siding material that we’ve been using for years on both residential and light commercial building projects. HardiPlank Lap Siding is a fiber cement siding product that looks like wood clapboards but outperforms it when it comes to weather resistance and finish performance.…

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Porch Skirt for Farmers Porch

By Todd Fratzel on Decks & Porches, Finish Carpentry, Siding & Trim

Farmers Porch With Lattice Skirt The farmer’s porch in the adjacent photo has a complete pvc lattice skirt around the bottom of the porch framing. Raised porches look best with some sort of skirt to hide the framing and keep small animals and children out of the space. Materials The entire porch skirt is built…

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Home Depot Specials 7/29/10 to 8/4/10

By Todd Fratzel on Coupons

10% Off All Appliances at Home Depot Online Are you in the market for a new appliance? Already spent some time in the stores searching out the model you want? If so you can get 10% Off All Appliances $398 or More. Online Only at homedepot.com. Hurry up as this deal will only last from…

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Armstrong Introduces Custom Creations™

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Interior Decorating

StyleStix Moldings Suspended Ceilings Just Took A Leap Forward Over the last couple of years we’ve written quite a few articles on finishing basements to increase the livable space in your home. The articles have ranged on every topic from basement insulation to basement ceilings. So when I recently learned of a new line of…

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Blower Door Test Results

By Todd Fratzel on Energy Conservation

Understanding Blower Door Test Results Last year we built an Energy Star Home for a customer and we used a blower door test to evaluate the houses air infiltration performance. Simply put a blower door is a diagnostic tool used to measure how much air infiltration (air leakage) occurs in a house. The blower door…

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