ArcaMax

Are you planning a new deck or patio soon? There’s a very good chance you’re going to make it too small. I know this based on the thousands of complaints I’ve received over the years from homeowners just like you.

Most people don’t have the ability to look at a plan drawn by an architect or design contractor and then visualize that ...Read more

I installed an attractive concrete paver patio for my wife seven years ago. I knew it would fail, but I didn’t know when. She wanted the patio completed as soon as possible. This tight deadline dictated that I had to set the patio stones on sand instead of mortaring them to a steel-reinforced concrete slab.

My new flat patio soon was not so ...Read more

You probably give little thought to why the stairs in your home are built the way they are. I’m talking about how high you need to lift your foot to get up to the next step and how deep the flat tread is when your foot falls. The vertical face of a stair is called a riser and the flat step is a tread.

I’ve built many staircases in my career...Read more

Are you aware how expensive it is to hire a professional to do simple jobs around your home? I know they’re worth the price in many cases because I used to do that work day-in day-out. You may be on a fixed income and simply can’t afford to hire a pro. Thank your lucky stars there are thousands of great videos to help you, and keep in mind I...Read more

Are you about to install a new roof on your home or small business? The odds are you’ll be giving serious consideration to asphalt shingles. This building material has dominated the U.S. residential roofing market for just about 100 years. Go back farther in time and other, more durable materials were the standard. Tin, slate, fiber cement and...Read more

You may have had the good fortune to live and work inside old homes. I’m talking about houses that were built over 100 years ago. The architects who designed them and the builders who built them were wise.

I started my building career in Cincinnati. My good friend John and I started a small handyman business in college. One day, while hanging...Read more

I’m helping my son on the weekends to finish the basement in his 3-year-old house. He’ll be adding 1,300 square feet of finished living space. A few days ago, we met with the local building inspector. Donna gave us the thumbs up on the framing, plumbing and all the electrical rough installations. She’s been doing inspections in Nashua, New...Read more

I was blessed by God to learn my craft of building and remodeling in Cincinnati. The first few years of my career had me working on houses that were close to 100 years old. I have no recollection of seeing rusty roofing nails on any of the jobs where we had to strip off roofs. I had to spackle exposed nail heads on house siding and trim, but ...Read more

Roy subscribes to my free newsletter. He reached out to me about a month ago for one of my phone consultations. He needed help engineering a drainage system around his house to stop water from infiltrating his basement. My college degree is in geology with a focus on hydrogeology and geomorphology. Hydrogeology is the study of groundwater ...Read more

Paula asked me a question about shrinkage cracks affecting her new deck. She sent me three photos showing all sorts of cracks in the handrails, railing posts, and the decking. The cracks were in brand new treated lumber installed in April of 2023. The wood has not been sealed since the day it was installed.

Paula asked, “I’m wondering ...Read more

Are you a serious DIYer? If so, you know that the quality and type of tools you use will not only determine when the project gets done, but also play a major part in the quality level of the job.

One of the biggest time savers, in my opinion, happens to be nail guns. These tools have a rich heritage dating back to the late 1700s. A nail gun ...Read more

How many times have you hired contractors in your life? My guess is quite a few. If you had to rate each experience much like you might a meal how many five-star ratings would you have doled out? While I’m not a betting man, I’d say fewer than 5%.

I’d wager most of your ratings would be in the two- to three-star range. Remember the ...Read more