I’ll just give it to you straight. Dry rot is a myth. Excessive dryness doesn’t cause it’s own special kind of rot. While this might seem intuitive for the layperson, it’s a pervasive misconception among those working in the building industry. From Paul Fisette’s article on wood myths, ” Wood needs 4 things to decay: water, oxygen, food (wood) and […]
All posts in Construction
Building Codes Made Free and Easy
Last September the San Francisco Chronicle published this brief but fascinating article about Carl Malamud. Apparently Malamud had been putting building codes on his website, and allowing anyone to download them, entirely free of charge. At the time it seemed like an interesting story. However, I felt pretty certain of two things. First, that Malamud was probably some sort of […]
Category Construction, News
Tags Code
Business and Empiricism
This might ruffle some feathers, so please don’t take this personally. I love reading. So I’ve read a lot of business management books, business magazine articles (many specific to the building industry). Furthermore, I receive quite a few emails offering seminars, webinars, and magazine subscriptions all offering to help me improve my business. It’s taken me years to notice that […]
Category Construction, News
Tags Builders
Remodeling for Resale and Profit
With the decline of the US housing market, we’re getting far fewer calls from speculators looking to make the easy money by flipping houses. Instead, the phone calls we receive tend to be from desperate sellers eager to unload their property through upgrades. In fact, a cottage industry has developed around real estate ‘staging’ (and TV shows of the same), […]
Category Construction, News
Tags Remodel, Renovation
Sources
This week I thought I would post our “sources” sheet: Welcome to Tay River Homesmiths, Inc. The purpose of this pamphlet is to introduce our customers to some of the suppliers and retailers we use. We have received very positive feedback on the companies below. Feel free to use other suppliers if you like. Also, please tell us about your […]
