ArcaMax

A few days ago I drove through Franconia Notch on the west side of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. I was on my way to do an in-person consultation for a retired gentleman. I left an hour early to treat myself to a full stack of blueberry pancakes drenched in real maple syrup. It turns out this man’s house was just a few miles from Polly’s Pancakes, a treasured New Hampshire restaurant with a rich heritage of delicious breakfast comfort food. I wasn’t disappointed!

The purpose of the consultation was twofold. The homeowner was concerned about cracks that had appeared in some 10-foot tall 6x6 vertical wood deck posts. He was relieved when I shared that the cracks did not affect the structural integrity of the deck.

The posts were just squared-off sections of the actual tree trunk. Think of a tree trunk as a mass of very tiny cocktail straws packed tightly together. Imagine if the post had been created by stacking four separate 2x6s next to one another. The strength would be identical even though the four 2x6s are not glued or screwed together. If these 6x6s had been horizontal beams supporting significant concentrated loads, he would have had a serious structural issue.

The cracks were normal shrinkage cracks. I recommended that he fill them to prevent future water infiltration. Water entering the cracks would just make them worse over time. I suggested he fill them with a high-quality wood epoxy that I’ve used for years. The epoxy will do a marvelous job of filling the crack and staying put.

Summer is the driest part of the year in New Hampshire. The cracks are their widest at this point. I recommended he fill the cracks now so rain can’t get into the wood and cause the wood to swell. Wood is hygroscopic and swells and shrinks in response to its moisture content. I have a video on my AsktheBuilder.com showing how I used this magic epoxy to fill cracks in a decorative roof wood beam.

Go here to watch the video: https://go.askthe builder.com/woodrot Don’t forget to type the word go followed by a period before askthebuilder.com.

The homeowner then walked me back to a large garden shed. He wanted my opinion on how it was built. Everything was perfect. In fact, besides the shed I built for myself 12 years ago, it was the best one I’ve ever seen. All the framing members were stacked on top of one another, and the carpenter had even installed metal connectors to ensure the roof rafters would not get pulled up and off the walls in a windstorm.

The man wanted my opinion because he was thinking about using this same contractor to finish off a huge unfinished space above his massive garage. The finished space could be rented out, or a future caregiver could live there. I told the homeowner the contractor could be counted on to do a great job.

The last thing the homeowner did was hand me a three-page proposal put together by the contractor. It described what he intended to do to finish the space. My job was to read the proposal and report to the homeowner if it was safe to sign it.

I read the proposal and felt there were too many things left to chance. Nowhere in the document had any materials or products been described or mentioned. I feel an oversight like this is what leads to cost overruns, arguments, and missed deadlines. Understand there had yet to be a plan drawn up as to what the space would look like once complete.

I suggested to the homeowner that he start to take the time right now to select each and every finish item that would be used in the project. For example, think of all the finish items in just the bathroom! What kind of towel bar? How many? Where exactly will they be so solid blocking can be put in the walls?

What kind of toilet would go in? What brand and model? Would it be a low-quality one from a home center, or a high-quality brand name you can count on? What about the shower and vanity faucets? What type of shower stall will go in? Your contractor needs to know all of these things, and more, so he can order them on time and bid the correct amount to install them. This avoids delays, possible change orders, and arguments.

Here’s a story from my past to drive home why this is important. Years ago, I built a room addition for a client. I bid on installing a standard tubular lockset in the exterior door. This standard knob is a stock item at most stores. It could be installed in about 20 minutes. I sent the customer to a specialty hardware store to pick out the lockset.

She didn’t come back with one. She instead purchased a special-order mortise-type lockset. The lockset would take a month to arrive. A mortise lockset requires hours of time to install if you don’t own a special tool to create the deep and precise rectangular mortise in the edge of the door. The homeowner refused to pay me for all the extra time it took to install it.

I decided to create a helpful spreadsheet of most everything you need to select when you decide to build a home, a room addition, or remodel a kitchen or bath. You can purchase this very thorough checklist from me for only $9.95. It forces you to make all selections early in the planning process. Go here to get it:

http://go.askthebuilder.com/products

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©2026 Tim Carter. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.