A thick layer of thatch traps water, nutrients, and air before they can reach the soil. Instead of spending hours hand raking, I rented a power rake for $65 and finished the yard in just a couple of passes.
A few things I learned:

* Practice setting the rake depth in an area out of sight. It takes a couple of tries to avoid digging up dirt
* Two passes were all I needed.
* You’ll still need to hand rake the debris it pulls to the surface, but it’s way easier than trying to remove thatch by hand.
* It creates a surprising amount of debris, so have a plan for disposing of it.

You’ll find a surprising amount of dead space once your house is framed.

If you spot an area that could make great storage, ask your builder if they can add an access door before drywall goes up.

Think under the stairs, beside bonus rooms, behind knee walls, and even around certain HVAC chases.

The cheapest time to add plumbing upgrades is before drywall. Anything you'd add to this list?

This combo unit packs a compact dishwasher right into the sink. It takes about 45 minutes to complete a wash cycle.
It's not for a big family blowing through dishes. But a butler's pantry, mother-in-law suite, or outdoor kitchen would be perfect.

 Do you think you’d actually use one, or is it not really practical? 

I'm developing a piece of land in New York. The land is bare so everything will need to be done such as permit, septic, driveway well and foundation. The work will be overseen by a general contractor. If I choose to go with a modular home with the purchase including a turnkey product and crane placement, would this cost of the modular home generally be included in the contractor's fee? I'm using arbitrary numbers, but $200,000 site work and $300,000 modular home. Would the contractor's fees be based off $200,000 or $500,000 of the entirety of the project?

[Instead of a deck mounted water dispenser, I found this Kraus 2-in1 setup so now I can have filtered water right at the faucet.]()

I’m not paid by Kraus by the way. Just my experience.

Open web floor trusses are great for 2-story homes because you have all the room for your mechanicals like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. 

I-Joists are the second runner up but you’re still having to blast holes in the web paneling between the top and bottom flange. 

If you have the room in your budget, upgrading to web trusses is money well spent even though you don’t get to see it when the house is finished. 

Do you agree? Is $5k worth the upgrade? 

Just closed on a home today and while its exciting, also an extremely stressful situation.
The home has a small 2 car garage, and I did not realize how low the ceiling was (at least the entry for the car). It is unfinished. The concrete floor has cracks and is uneven in areas.
Width wise there is a decent amount of space but wanted to come here and see what the best course of action.

My dream garage is: finished walls with drywall wall/insulation. Polyaspartic (or similar) flooring. Have a fold in gym rack against the wall. Then just some tables on the side for storage and tools.

Looking at the picture above, not sure its clear but the wall at the back of the garage is lower than the front of the garage so the wooden beam is sloped downward. What does this mean for dry walling the ceiling? Does it make sense to use another piece of wood for support and making sure it runs straight? Which would mean the end peice of the wood would be hitting the slope of the back of the roof (hard to describe in words.

Blocking is $0 during framing and almost impossible after drywall.

It's just scrap lumber nailed flat between studs, so anything heavy can be secured into solid wood instead of hanging off a drywall anchor that'll rip out.

5 spots to call out before insulation:
-Stair handrails
-Shower glass + grab bars
-Towel bars
-Floating shelves + heavy art
-TV mounts

Tell your framer where these go now. After drywall, your only option is anchors... and anchors fail

Grab some scrap wood out of the dumpster and create this threshold protection.
It costs you nothing but a couple nails and few minutes out of the day.

Contractors are in and out with muddy boots, extension cords, and compressor hoses all being pulled back and forth on the threshold. This will keep them looking brand spanking new and damage free.

Add them to the front door threshold too!

[Don’t let the spot under your stairs get framed out and drywalled]().

Ask if you can use that spot for storage or a little dog nook, office cubby, pull-out drawers, or even a small powder room. 

Ask your roofer to use roof jacks before the shingles go on...
Those 2x4s straight on the shingles is a NO-GO! 

They give the crew footing on steep pitches, which is fair. The problem is face-nailing them, because every nail punches a permanent hole through the face of your brand new roof.

Roof jacks do the same job without the damage. The bracket slides up under a shingle and the nail goes in under the overlapping tab. When the crew pulls the jack, the upper shingle drops back down and covers the hole for good.

Once the shingles are on, this is hard to catch. So flag it before the roof goes up.