The more I inspect, the more I respect the challenge of constructing a home. Products, codes and best practices are constantly changing. Each system requires that the installer understand how it works. The slightest error gets compounded when it's repeated with a thousand parts. Partial knowledge is always dangerous, thus I always try to remain humble and ready to learn more. Cement fiber board is a wonderful invention developed in Australia were wood is dissolved readily

Washington's Building Museum has a feature called LAWN. Built on scaffolding is a turf hill with hammocks and corn hole games. On a blazing Sunday afternoon families were having a wonderful time. Other exhibits include the progression of home building from mortise and tenon, to balloon framing, to platform framing, to high energy efficiency buildings. The display below shows how vinyl siding works. Go visit! #exterior #misc

Just like you can't use your deck in the summer without a 9 foot umbrella, you don't want bugs entering as you go inside repeatedly to get more beer! #exterior

Ok, this is a picture of a polar bear in a snowstorm! NOT! This is the kind of board you want to replace those rotten trim boards on the peak of your roof. WILL NOT ROT. DO NOT NEED PAINTING. CAN SIT IN STANDING WATER. Yes they are more expensive but only need to be installed once by brave people whose ancestors fought off flying monkeys. They are made of PVC, vinyl, yes, plastic. Click on image for link. This is another option: Boral Truexterior trim boards. They han

Door to lovely rooftop deck had interior hinges installed. They are rusting and the pins can be knocked out easily and the door removed by anyone from an adjacent roof. Click on image for stainless steel hinges with fixed pins that will also allow the door to open wider...to get those kegs to the deck more easily! #exterior #maintenance

New Xcluder product to fill gaps and holes. Says it won't rust. Comes in door sweeps too. #exterior #pests

Just takes a very simple tool: Click on image for link. #exterior #maintenance

93,000,000 miles a way, a billionth of it's energy hitting the day side of earth, and yet it's mere glancing reflection off a window can melt vinyl. This will help. Click on image for link. #exterior

Give up on those ugly, plastic dryer vents, that clog easily and rats can chew through (Yes it happened to me... rats died in bathroom wall and maggots poured under the molding... 100's of them!) Click on image for link. Here's another armored choice for kitchens and fan vents...keep the birds out! Armored Vent Cover #plumbing #HVAC #ventilation #exterior

This photo shows security film on a bathroom window. Before the invention of the film the glass within 18 inches of the floor, or over bathtubs had to be tempered. Also any bars on windows need to be able to be opened from the inside. See a lot of this in DC. But this new film is remarkable. Click on image for link. #exterior #safety

Just need a spline tool and utility knife. Click on image for video. #remodel #exterior #maintenance

The plastic ones don't do your older home justice and they are too short for your vintage windows...wooden replacement ones are available at a reasonable price. I replaced mine with these. Used one coat of primer and two coats of paint...they still look new after 7 years. Click on image for custom wood shutter link. #exterior

House wash--gets rid of mold and algae! Wear goggles! Wear old clothes! Just attach it to your garden hose. When empty simply refill with 50/50 bleach/water plus a half cup of laundry detergent and do it again and again...also effective on decks and plastic patio furniture. Pretreat any nearby plants with a coat of fresh water before and after using the bleach spray. Click on image for link. #mold #cleaning #popular #exterior

Sorry, not that much fun! Belly board is used as trim at the bottom of siding and Z-bar is the flashing above it. In the photo above the bottom portion of T-111 siding has been cut away and a belly board flashed with Z-bar above has been added. Often the Z-bar flashing is not sloped away from the house which means water pools near the siding and the flashing will deteriorate sooner. Steel Z-bar can be expected to last about 15 years, even if painted. If a starter strip is

Those vertical gaps between bricks where there is no mortar let the wall breathe. They're called weep holes but mice and other critters can enter through them. Don't caulk them up! Just push these into them. Click on image for link. Here is a beehive created between outer walls where just one weep hole was used for entry! #concrete #exterior

This foam cladding system ran into serious problems before drainage was accommodated. Ask what kind is on your house! Click on image for further details. #concrete #exterior

Think peanut brittle you can walk on! Click on image for a how-to on coating your worn concrete stairs and patios with a slip and maintenance-free, attractive surface that will even out settled and cracked slabs. Naturally, surface prep is crucial... concrete must be clean and dry and cracks must be filled with polyurethane caulk. Call a concrete company near you if you don't want to DIY. #concrete #exterior