Daily Book Recommendation – The Great Railway Bazaar

Here is another strong recommendation for the author Paul Theroux. This non-fiction title, “The Great Railway Bazaar“, is an incredible account of a true traveling man. It contains one of my all time favorite metaphors: swallowing the toad of death. You will be immediately immersed in his travel adventures through Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, etc. Theroux has an honesty in his writing that makes him seem so human, vulnerable, but ultimately redeemed.

Daily Tip for Owner/Builders – Electrical: Media, Phone, PC

Run your cable for computer, TV, phone, security, intercom, etc. and leave it behind the outlets for later use. Take photos of the layout and label the cables for patching later. Wireless will probably replace Ethernet cable some day, but there’s not enough bandwidth for video yet. Run CAT5e (1 gigabit) Ethernet cable. Buy it in bulk for Home Depot. Don’t run it parallel to any other wire and only cross other wires at 90° angles. Allow space between adjacent wires of at least 6”. Don’t bend or crush cable because the signal will be weakened. Use only plastic clips that won’t put pressure on the cable. Make all runs “home runs” for easy control at your patch panel. Leave an extra foot of cable behind the wall in case it needs to be punched down multiple times. Consider redundant runs to critical areas. Your patch panel should be in a ventilated closet with media center PC.

Daily Book Recommendation – Beach Music

Here is my hearty recommendation for a novel by the southern writer, Pat Conroy. This fictional tale of a lovable but truly dysfunctional family is titled Beach Music, and is my selection for today. Conroy is known for exorcising his own demons through his novels; remember his “Prince of Tides” and “The Great Santini”? Beach Music is every bit as frantic, but it is equally charming. Enjoy!

Daily Tip for Owner/Builders – French Drains:

The recent flooding in the East has a lot of people concerned about water-proofing. When building french drains, your PVC pipe must slope at least 1 inch per 20 feet and run to daylight. Lay the pipe in a gravel bed and add gravel around the pipe. Use landscape fabric buried in the swale to keep small soil particles from clogging the holes in the PVC drain pipe. French drains must be below walls and slabs and block walls should have plastic barrier leading down to drain. Don’t drain the gutters into french drains; instead use buried PVC pipe to a culvert. To waterproof your CMU concrete block wall: First apply coat of cement – then tar – then 4 to 8 mil plastic applied after first coat of tar is still tacky. Overlap seams of plastic by 6”- 12”. Then another coat of tar.

Daily Book Recommendation – A House for Mr. Biswas

Have you ever read anything by the Nobel Prize winning author, V. S. Naipaul? This fictional novel, “A House for Mr. Biswas“, is my selection for today. It is certainly appropriate for all you would-be home owners – especially those of you longing to escape from your extended families. I found it both a humorous and a touching portrayal of an ethnic household. Apparently it is based upon the early life of Mr. Naipauls’s father.

Daily Tip for Owner/Builders – Framing: The Carpenter’s Trinity

The Carpenters Holy Trinity: Level, Plumb, and Square. If your framers do not observe this truth, their inept structure will form a parallelogram, a “moment” waiting to be resolved, a weakness in the structure with unequal stresses and strains. It is a good idea to discretely check their work with your own tools – a level, a square and a plumb bob. Using a plumb line on a windy day can be problematic. You’ll need to use your heaviest plumb bob and then steady the swinging of the bob by connecting the thumb and forefinger in to a circle (the ‘O’) around the base of the line.

Daily Book Recommendation – The Fountainhead

For all you lovers of great architecture, have you ever read this most incredible novel, The Fountainhead? Howard Roark (the hero of this monumental work by Ayn Rand) will be forever etched in your mind as the hero of all idealists. Some would say that Rand’s philosophy and story are a bit dated, but having read this novel recently, I found it refreshing. Just as good architecture is timeless, so is a good novel.

Daily Tip for Owner/Builders: Add a flashlight to your tool box

Add a flashlight to the tool box. Use it to detect imperfections in drywall seams, the surface of wood floors, concrete slabs, and any flat or level surface. Just lay the flashlight level with the surface and let the light show the true story. The peaks, valleys, bumps and chips will be glaring in the light. Also, use a laser pointer or laser level for projecting straight lines onto a surface. It is much easier to be a nit-picking perfectionist when equipped with the proper tools!

Daily Book Recommendation – House of the Spirits

Have you ever read anything by the author Isabelle Allende? The novel, House of the Spirits, is my selection for today. I was reminded of this book recently while I watched the video, Motorcycle Diaries. The scenes of the high desert in the Andes and the struggles of the poor indians are themes common to both this novel and the unrelated movie. And, I heartily recommend both to you today.

Daily Tip for Owner/Builders – Dealing with the Building Trades

Nothing is worse than poor performance from a sub-contractor. Here are some tips that I’ve developed over the years: Get recommendations from builders, architects, building inspectors, suppliers (Home Depot, Lowes) and neighbors. Check their references and inspect some prior work. Be sure to  Check license, bonding, insurance. Review payment schedule (usual for electrical is 2/3 paid after rough-in final third at completion) and always hold back at least 10%. Look for stability in their life. Ask questions that they should know the answer to like how to build a set of stairs.