Homeowner Forum / Construction / March 2006

I bought a house about a year ago that had an 'addition' of 17'x31',
this addition was not part of the square footage of the house, it was
defined as a 'covered patio' by the seller agent, I check the building
permits for this area but can't tell what is supposed to be, it only

I wonder if you might give me suggestions as to what is the
lightest/thinnest, least expensive and generally code compliant panel
material that can ultimately be painted and approximate (or be made to
approximate) the look of drywall.  I'd be open to other solutions as

Various threads here about scrap wood. trees, etc from the gulf disaster.
I'm starting to hear rumors (that's all, pure rumors) about cheap mulch
that is/will be showing up. In the southeast, termites, fire ants, etc are
a way of life.

Posted: March 9, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Is nothing sacred in secular society anymore? I read recently
that Madison Avenue is outsourcing high-end creative work to

I am about to have access to some old houses. (2)
I get the lumber -all of it.
How do I handle the tear down? Kids? Pros? Me and the wife?
Whats the best use of this material?

My house is in Roswell, GA - about 15 miles straight north from
Atlanta. I think the latititude is almost dead-on 34 degrees north.
Built 1979. Cedar Lap Siding all around.
A good bit of the siding is in fine and dandy shape.

I ordered some 2x4s the other day to use as sleepers for a hydronic
heat/gypcrete/bamboo floor system in our new house.  I told the salesman
what I was going to use the 2x4s for and he asked if I wanted treated ones.
I asked why and he said that the lime in the gypcrete would eat ...

When the naysayers start yelling that Charlie Sheen isn't qualified to
make the statements he's been making, counter with the fact that the
experts HAVE been speaking -- for years -- but nobody has been listening.
Quickly run through this list:

Being a retired contractor I thought Lowe's would have good products but I'm
spreading the word now about a piece of junk they sell.
Just a heads up on quality.
I bought a leaf blower, new, from Lowe's a couple years ago, used probably

My wife and I will be building a new home in the next year or so.
Rather than just accept whatever the builder recommends for various
components, I'd like to have a lot of input. What I'm really looking
for are resources that list all the things that need to be considered

I am re-roofing my home in Ireland. I'm a DIYer, not a pro!
My span is 20ft, Wall plates are anchor bolted at 48" centres.
The pitch is a weird 36 deg (Had to run to meet the chimeny flashing!!)
I worked out the rafter length (148" 5/16 :)) and put up 4 master

I guss I can buy a old 1970 house for  20% down about 20k with loan
80K, but I prefer to
buy a lot about 20k to build a new house with my budget total 100k, but
I am not sure which way is better because to build a house will take

I just discovered that a simple little toilet leak can use 8,000
gallons of water per month.
Yep.
I had a small trickle (what sounded like a trickle)..i thought ..aaahh

Is it considered above and beyond the norm to ask to see someone's home that
has used a builder you are checking up on? I am going to be contacting
references for a builder we are talking to, and would very much like to see
his work first hand.

Hi.  We have an older style whirlpool/jetted acrylic tub.  The Aqua Flo pump
was installed on the subfloor and at the foot of the tub within the wall
enclosure.  When we are using the feature the roar of the pump is almost
deafening.  Even though there is access to the pump via a ...