The HTRC – Page 39 – The Homeowners & Trades Resource Center

Common Sense Building: To Tyvek or not to Tyvek, that is the question

Lately there have been numerous questions on the use of WRB’s or Weather Resistive Barriers. For example; do I need it if I am using foam? If I am installing foam, should it be placed over the foam or under it? According to the ZIP system, I don’t need one, is this really a good […]

Wacky Weds: Clothes dryer taking forever to dry?

Amazingly the home inspector missed this… As mentioned in our latest article; Section M1502 in the IRC governs dryer exhausts – the salient points for new or retrofitting work (2009 IRC) are that it must terminate outside & be at least 3’ from any opening (so far so good.) With the exception of the piece […]

A Contractors Oversight Turns Into My First Big Project?

The next two weeks we have a guest blogger joining us for an interesting spin on a DIY project. While we generally don’t do articles like this, he agreed to let us use his project to help draw a few lessons out as it relates to industry standards & codes. The guest blogger is Jay […]

BS4D: Ice Dam’s, Icicles & Attic Condensation, Oh My…

Living in Arizona, I used to love traveling up to Flagstaff especially during the winter months. One of my favorite places was the Little America as not only did they have a huge roaring fire, an awesome buffet, great Christmas light display, but some of the largest icicles I have ever seen. Ahhh if I had […]

Wacky Weds; Deck ledger & post failure

The answer to last weeks issue – posts were only a few inches in the ground & completely unsupported, add a little frost, water &… good thing it was less than 2′ of the ground. For a little shameless self promotion here is how things should be done… Proper Footings & Attachments… Leaves one one […]

Green Ways To Deal With Pest Problems

Many individuals don’t like or simply can’t use chemicals in their houses do to chemical sensitivity issues. While there are numerous ways for cleaning ones house, what happens if despite your best interests some problem pests decides your place looks like a great home? This week we have a guest post from Karen Miller who […]

From the Fiscal Cliff to Commercial RRP – Heads Up

Wow what an interesting start to this New Year – if we didn’t have enough regular mandated changes slated for the start of this year, a few more managed to pop up quite quickly. With that here is a quick recap of some of new & some of the most major impacts that affect almost […]

Wacky Weds; Don’t worry, we put plenty of nails in it

Any guesses on the issues – check back next week

Looking Back, Forward & a call for help?

Sometimes looking back is good for the soul & necessary, but looking forward is how one moves in that direction. With that I thought we would take a quick stroll down memory lane, take a look at where we are headed & ask you all for a little help. Today marks the start of my […]