Ask the Fine Carpenter

Stuff We Like - Dryers

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Here are two products related to dryer venting.

1. We've installed a couple of dryer boxes. The dryer box saves you from having your dryer duct turn into a kinked up nightmare.

2. The Heartland dryer vent closure is wicked ugly. But it does an excellent job of sealing against air leaks, not to mention gross critters. The good news is that you can paint it. The bad news is that even if you paint it, it's still fairly ugly.

Some Guy Goes Green

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:55:00 +0000

This one's a rant.

Unfortunately for environmentally conscious builders, the rising publicity surrounding 'green' building has coincided with the collapse in building construction across the planet. Usually I don't think that personal experience can really indicate a trend. Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the fact that 2 years ago, 'Some-Guy Construction' was throwing up (almost literally) speculative pseudo-home junk with break-neck speed. Now 'Some-Guy Construction' has re-branded himself as 'Some-Guy Green Construction', and is installing edible paint. Or some guy just got laid off his old job, and started a new company, 'Some-Guy-Could-Use-A-Job Green Building'.

I'm not impressed.

I'm pleased that the public appears to be demanding more environmentally responsible construction. However, most consumers have an unsophisticated understanding of building systems. Consequently, I've seen a tremendous hoopla over eliminating Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from paints, and not much else. In my opinion, low VOC paints are desirable, and are now widely used. But there's bound to be a diminishing return in going from low VOC to no VOC.

Indoor Air Quality is made comparatively worse by low VOC paints (albeit briefly) than with non VOC paints. But put this in the context of most homes in NJ, where open-cavity returns duct-work is the norm - continously sucking soil-gases from the crawlspace or insulation from the attic. What about water in basements and crawlspaces? Most landscaping is graded improperly, and gutters concentrate bulk water in bad spots allowing bulk water to enter basements. The majority of homes have improperly sealed attics, which commonly leads to condensation (and mold or rot) on the roof sheathing. None of these problems are rare. In fact, these are problems that Tay River Homesmiths, Inc. fixes everyday. (All right, I spelled the whole company name because when you google our company name you get a lighting store, and I don't know how to make it stop, but am hoping that this might help.)

But isn't this a red herring? Ok, maybe a little. But if we're concerned with health, shouldn't we place non VOC paints in an appropriate broader context?

And if we're concerned about environmental impact, the overwhelming bulk of evidence suggests that our number 1 priority should be reducing energy consumption. Sure we shouldn't use toxic stuff in homes. But perhaps we should be willing to use a small amount of bad stuff, if the net reduction in energy, or improvement in durability can be justified.

Air-flow Diagnostics for Cavemen

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:30:00 +0000

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation does some pretty fun stuff. Here's an interesting test to measure airflow at registers and exhaust vents. Seems so obvious once you know the 'secret'.

For those who find the myriad of government-funded energy subsidies confusing, here's a link to a state-by-state breakdown of the programs.

Well what about unicorns?

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:39:00 +0000

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 favorable temperature".

Dry is good for buildings. Water is bad for buildings.

Building Codes Made Free and Easy

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:11:00 +0000

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 crackpot. Second, that his website would most likely be shut down shortly after the article's publication.

Looks like I was wrong on both counts. Here's a link to Malamud's wikipedia entry, which describes him as a "technologist, author, and public domain advocate" who was a visiting professor at the MIT Media Laboratory". Furthermore, his website appears to be going strong, with dozens of building codes posted, including New Jersey's.

Energy Efficiency and Taxes

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:39:00 +0000

With the federal stimulus package there's been a lot of talk about government money being used for energy improvements. A lot of builders (including Tay River) have been focused on energy efficiency for a long time. As a teenager, my first construction job was for an insulation contractor in eastern Ontario. We'd occasionally work on R-2000 homes, which were part of a high efficiency program for new construction at the time. It was a really interesting era – dare I say revolutionary. But the advances in knowledge spawned by the R-2000 program (and similar programs that popped up in other northern climates around the world) were probably bitter lessons for folks who had their homes messed up by them. Our current advanced understanding of building science partly stems from flaws in these early programs. To borrow from the language of politicians - mistakes were made.

The problem is compounded by a history of 'energy efficient' products and programs possessing the faintest hint of charlatanism – see my earlier entry on replacement windows, or check out Henry Gifford's analysis of the (absence of) energy efficiency in the heavily marketed LEED certified buildings.

Many top builders are apprehensive about tax money being thrown at a problem as complex as energy efficiency. Using one example, adding insulation to the walls of homes will generally diminish the wall's drying potential, which can cause rot or mold. This is not to say that you shouldn't add insulation to older homes. But, as with many things, competent planning and oversight are important.

Here's a link to the Energy Star's explanation of the new tax credits for energy efficiency. The good news is that the standards themselves look like a step in the right direction. Frankly, they probably wouldn't have caught my attention had it not been for a sales rep at a local lumberyard grumbling to me about how the high standards mean that most windows no longer qualify. (You mean you can't offer tax rebates by selling leaky crap and telling people that it's energy efficient? Waaah!). So if the program is enough of a nudge for homeowners, we could see some pretty positive changes.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

Heat-loss Diagnostics for Cavemen

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Despite my letter to the Journal of Light Construction last year, I think energy audits are tremendously valuable. We've recently started using blower door tests and thermal imaging on some of our work, and so far, the results are excellent. Heat loss in buildings is weirdly unpredictable, so if you have access to a company with these tools, I recommend using them. Fine Homebuilding recently ran a great article on audits, so I won't elaborate too much on this.

Nevertheless, there are a few crude tricks you can use to tell if you're pumping heat into the outdoors. One of the easiest involves donning winter attire and craning your neck skyward.

In principle, your roof shingles should be approximately the same temperature as the outside air. Why? Because your shingles are on the outside of the house, specifically outside of the insulation. In winter, if the shingles are significantly warmer than the outside air, your home is losing heat. So what diagnostic tool can we use to determine if we have heat loss? Do you really have to carry a thermometer around your icy roof in January? There has to be an easier way!

After a snow-fall, most shallow-pitch roofs should be covered with an even layer of snow. In below freezing temperatures there should be very little snow melting. Pockets of thawed snow are generally indicative of heat loss.

What about roofs where snow doesn't uniformly accumulate such as those with steep pitches, or metal? In this case, you can check your eaves and gutters for large icicles. See wiki's ice-damming article here.

To complicate matters a bit, keep in mind that roof ventilation is designed to lower roof shingle temperature. So while hot patches and ice-damming almost certainly indicate heat loss, the reverse is not always true. A well ventilated roof may mask heat loss problems.

Earlier this week, with the temperatures hovering around freezing, we took a few photos of local roofs. Keep in mind that all of the photos below were taken in the same hour.
In this one you can see a ton of heat loss through the eaves. It's tough to air-seal and insulate above exterior walls, so this is a common leakage point. Notice the garage (which is unconditioned) has fairly uniform snow coverage except directly adjacent the house.

Who knows what the heck is going on here? This is roof should have a lot of snow coverage – it has a really shallow pitch.

This is a commercial building, with a slightly steeper pitch. Here you see how roof penetrations can cause heat loss.

__________________________________________________________________________________

We've had a chilly winter, and partly as a result, our clients are requesting a lot of insulation improvements. Proper insulation upgrades require two strategies. The first is air-sealing. The second is the addition of insulation.

You knew it was going to get self-serving at some point. Here's a place we air-sealed a few weeks ago, and photographed in the same hour as the other homes above. The house is within a few blocks of the *bad* examples. This was only a couple of hours after we added insulation to the attic – strategy 2 for those paying close attention. In other words, these results are largely from the air-sealing part of the job, not the addition of insulation.

Another view from the front of the house.

Rear of the same house. Chimneys are often a major source of heat loss, so this is kind of cool.

So could our results be from proper attic ventilation instead of proper insulation? In my opinion, probably not. I wouldn't say that the house is particularly well ventilated, there are 3 small gable end vents, one of which is pictured above. That's probably less than the attic square footage:vent area ratio of the 'bad' houses pictured above.

Every job is different – different size, different scope, caveat, caveat, caveat! Nevertheless, on this job, the total cost for air-sealing and adding R20 cellulose – essentially doubling the existing R value - was less than $5000.00 for over 1600 square feet of attic space.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

Why Vinyl Replacement Windows Aren't For You

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:55:00 +0000

So your house is getting on in years, and you’re thinking it could use a face-lift. One of the projects you’re considering is replacing all the windows in your house. Where to start? The purpose of this article is to give you the tools you need to make an informed decision.

Ask Yourself Why?

What are you hoping to accomplish by replacing your windows? Are you looking for energy efficiency? Or is the reason principally cosmetic? Are your windows rotting or damaged?

The Technical

In existing homes owners are often given the choice between “replacement” windows, and “new construction” windows. What do these terms mean?

Replacement windows are typically set in an existing window jamb. Most replacement windows are vinyl, both inside and out (although Marvin makes a wood replacement window). Installation requires removing the existing window sashes and operating hardware, installing a track or jamb inside the existing window jamb, and installing new sashes. (see drawing)

New construction style windows are installed within a framed opening. The term “new construction” is misleading as these windows can be installed in older homes. These windows are often fastened through either casing or flanges from the outside of the window opening.

Which One?

Replacement windows are inexpensive and easy to install. Sounds good, right? As with so many things, the harder path usually yields the best results. What’s wrong with replacement windows?

1. Replacement windows often fail to deliver on promised energy savings because they don’t address the most crucial spot for air infiltration, the jamb to framing connection. In NJ, the overwhelming majority of builders do not seal the connection between framing and a window jamb during construction (I may write about this more in the future). Instead, they choose to either stuff this void with scraps of fiberglass, or (gasp) do nothing.

2. Replacement windows do not address most weather-related problems. If you’re trying to address the root cause of your rot problem, replacement windows will most likely be a poor decision. Moisture penetration through compromised (or non-existent) flashing, poor siding/trim details, or ineffective housewrap will not be solved by using replacement windows. To make matters worse, what if the rot has spread or gone undetected in the framing of your home? This will only be detected by removing window trim – not going to happen with replacement windows.

3. Vinyl windows are ugly. You probably thought beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Well you’re wrong. Vinyl might be OK on the outside of your home, but on the inside? That’s like eating Filet Mignon with a plastic fork!

Well what’s so great about new construction windows? I can think of a few things:

1. You’ll have the opportunity to address the causes of moisture.

2. Properly installed new construction windows generally seal both the window trim/flange to the framing and then the jamb to the framing.

3. A myriad of exterior cladding and interior finishes are readily available in new construction windows.

What’s the downside? Well for one, there is the pesky matter of the bill. Expect to pay considerably more for new construction windows. I generally recommend that people install windows while they’re replacing their siding, as it makes for an efficient installation. Also, you’ll be required to replace and paint all window casing. But heck, you probably needed new casing about as much as you needed new windows!

*Builder tip – Window construction, especially sill construction, has changed a lot since the ‘50’s. However, window sizes have largely remained unchanged. Be sure to remove the existing window’s trim so you can accurately measure the opening size. You’ll be surprised how often a ‘stock’ window size fits an old opening.

Thanks for reading,

Jesse

Business and Empiricism

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:00:00 +0000

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 almost all of this advice is premised upon deeply flawed data. All of the popular business/finance books on my shelf - 'Good to Great', 'Built to Last', 'The E-Myth Revisited', 'Raising the Bar', 'The Millionaire Next Door', 'It's Called Work for a Reason' – all of these and many more build their cases on pseudo-scientific methods. This is not to say that they are specifically wrong. Just that their methods are so deeply flawed and pseudo-scientific that it's difficult to tell if acting upon their advice (insofar as they're specific enough to generate an actionable premise) will be beneficial or harmful to one's business. In other words, these books tell stories, some of which might be true.

I won't get into details about all of the logical mistakes of the authors of the books above – the idea isn't original and a lot of folks have discussed it in depth (Taleb, Shiller, Pfeffer, Sutton). But here are some of my favorite examples:

- None use proper controls (although some use comparison companies, this is largely to illustrate the thesis of the book). A high percentage of millionaires driving domestic or non-luxury cars sounds compelling until we adjust for the fact that high-net worth individuals are generally over the age of 55.

- Many are retrospective and based upon the memories of individuals in companies (hindsight bias). Imagine if the FDA approved drugs on the basis of enough individuals saying they remembered being healed by a certain drug? Sounds like too fine a point? Memory is notoriously unreliable. This has been confirmed in controlled studies of business managers, who consistently overrate the value of their input (see Pfeffer and Sutton's 'Hard Facts...'.)

- Many are persistently nonsensical and avoid saying anything definitive (despite having raced 6 ironmans I can't see how 'rinsing cottage cheese' is a useful analogy). Also note that I wouldn't put 'Who Moved my Cheese' on the list above because it's not even pseudo-scientific – it's really just a rambling false analogy.

- Even if many of the books correctly distinguished characteristics of successful individuals or businesses (and they haven't) the traits may be only correlated with success and not causal. Perhaps people who are motivated enough to write business plans have some other trait that makes their businesses successful. Knowing that successful people have business plans isn't helpful for people who want to know if writing a business plan will help cause their success.

- Few make allowances for the possibility of luck being a strong factor in success.

- Few acknowledge the strength and dynamism of competition. If you want to be successful in business you can't just do things well. You actually have to do things better than your competition. (See Rosenzweig's book, 'The Halo Effect' for more on this.)

- They all fail to acknowledge the possibility that reading success stories might have no effect on one's own prospect for success. (Admittedly, you probably wouldn't read a business book called 'Why Reading This Book Won't Help Your Business.') I know I should return phone calls promptly, yet sometimes I don't. My problem isn't that I failed to read somewhere that I should return calls.

And the problem isn't just with these books. I agree that, on average, construction management consultants/writers seem better than those in other industries (Industry specific books can be quite good – Gerstel & Faller are well worth reading, but definitely leave on your critical thinking cap). But the lack of empiricism is still pretty pervasive. For years I believed I could subjectively pre-qualify and identify good clients based upon subjective factors. It wasn't until I began quantifying my results (tracking the hits and misses) that it became clear how wrong I had been. But none of the management gurus I've read entertain the possibility that subjective pre-qualifying might not work, let alone attempt to study it in a controlled fashion. Ditto subjective job interview questions. Ditto the myriad of approaches to advertising. Ditto Pareto or 80/20 principle.

OK, so I've gone on longer than I intended and you're starting to wonder what my point is. The books aren't empirical, but they still offer valuable lessons and case studies, right? What's the harm in following their principles? I agree that to a large extent the themes of the business genre are sound. Hard work, frugality, focus, and perseverance are all good characteristics, and they will probably make one more likely to succeed. But these are also trivialities that most of us figure out in our first few months (or, in my case, years) of business. Reading business advice can be generally harmful in that it takes precious resources that could be better used on other projects or ideas (if, like me, you suffered through 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' you know exactly what I'm talking about – neither of us will ever get that time back.)

But following pseudo-scientific advice can also be specifically harmful. One example, the Pareto or 80/20 principle, is as ubiquitous as it is fallacious. The theory goes that 20% of causes are responsible for 80% effects. So in business 20% of clients are responsible for 80% of profits. Conversely, another 20% of clients are responsible for 80% of headaches. So the solution – ditch the problematic 20% and find more of the profitable 20%. Sounds easy, right? Well not really. One problem is that the 'principle' is not actually true. Specialized businesses (such as roofing, siding) will probably have a much broader base of clients who account for most profits (the 70/80 principle?). But even if the principle were true, the biggest problem is that nothing logically flows from the principle. Predicting profitable clients or jobs is exceedingly difficult. Being prolific might be the safest way to acquire profitable work – and this exposes us to the possibility that we'll take on some bad jobs along the way. Firing bad clients might prevent us from acquiring good clients in the future.

Another (perhaps fuzzier) example is when simplistic advice becomes entrenched in the industry. A recurring theme is that contractors need to “know their business,” “think like a businessman,” and “get out of the field and focus on business.” But how do we know this is required to be successful? Probably because the people saying it have found that successful contractors are mainly businessmen (again survivor bias). But this doesn't mean that 'learning business' will lead to individual success. What about contractors who lack the interest or aptitude, or those who enjoy carpentry (or plumbing - ha!) too much to give it up? This belief has probably hindered the evolution of an entirely different business model. What about a model in which highly paid builders focus on technical issues and outsource the largely generic and boring work of running a business. If this sounds crazy look no further then the practice of medicine. Here the model is embraced by many of the most successful practices. It takes a lot of energy to build (or doctor) well. Is it possible that focusing on our single passion will yield better results than diverting attention to something many of us find considerably less gratifying?

I don't entirely blame 'experts' for these lapses. I see two parts to our (my) propensity to embrace bad business logic. The first is that most of us come from backgrounds that are somewhat empirical. Our craft is shaped by learning proper building techniques, and these techniques are at least somewhat grounded in science. So when we go from being carpenters (or, heaven help us, plumbers – a trade with only three empirical rules) to general contractors we look for the same prescriptive advice we received when learning proper building techniques. We knew leaky windows were bad, so we used details that prevented window leaks. But in management, the model doesn't exist – the multivariate field of business doesn't lend itself to empirical study in the way buildings do.

The second is our natural tendency to have biases and enjoy narratives. For instance, on a broad level, we know that our industry is cyclical. Yet we're almost incapable of applying this knowledge to ourselves. We're far more likely to embrace a new strategy when business is unusually slow (hire a consultant, advertise, revamp website, new signs, change business direction, etc.). As business picks up, we take the cyclical up tick as evidence of our new strategy's effectiveness. Yet the situation may have improved had we done nothing (regression towards the mean). Business gurus famously exploit this weakness in our cognition by holding their expertise accountable for these cyclical improvements. Perhaps doing nothing (or something else) would have yielded the same (or better) results. After choosing to implement an idea, the problem is compounded by our tendency to seek out evidence of it's success and disregard evidence of it's failure (confirmation bias).

My long-winded point? I now know far less about business than I thought I knew 10 years ago.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

Remodeling for Resale and Profit

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:16:00 +0000

With the decline of the US housing market, we're getting far fewer calls from speculators looking to make 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), where realtors and decorators offer their opinions on how to best display one's house to maximize resale potential.

I've been discussing remodeling for resale with clients for over a decade. Here's my Cliffs Notes version: I generally recommend that people avoid remodeling prior to selling. Do the minimum amount of work required to get your home decently presentable for resale (e.g. eliminate clutter, or touch up paint).

How can someone in the contracting business take this view? Isn't your home also your 'biggest investment'? How can a builder sell services that leave a trail of red ink all the way to the mortgage broker's office?

If one accepts that free markets are generally efficient (and most people probably do), the person claiming that certain jobs disproportionately affect resale has an obligation to demonstrate the truth of the claim. However, most of the resale information coming from these folks is nothing more then rumors and wishful thinking, perhaps mixed with a smattering of ideas they made up on the spot.

For instance, one of the most common myths we hear is that granite counter-tops (or hardwood floors, or crown molding, etc, etc, etc.) really enhance a home's value. Like many myths, it contains an element of truth. That is, homes with granite tops probably sell for a bit more then homes without granite tops (all else being equal). However, will installing granite tops increase the value of the home beyond the cost of installing them? Probably not.

The most comprehensive evaluation of how remodeling affects resale of which I'm aware comes from Remodeling Magazine. Here's their most recent report.

The data collection techniques used by the survey company are poor. They ask individuals how much past jobs cost, how much their homes sold for, rely on a non-randomized sample of respondents (many with a vested interest in seeing high resale values), and seemingly fail to adequately account for rising/falling property values.

But heck, let's put aside these reservations for an moment. In evaluating several years of the national report a few things stand out. The first is that it's been historically uncommon for remodeling projects to recoup more then they cost. This isn't really that surprising when one considers it in the context of a free market. If you remodel your own home, chances are that you'll customize it exactly as you want it. Buyers may assign a value to the work you performed, but it won't be as valuable to them as it was to you.

The second point is that it's only with hindsight that we know which upgrade we should have performed or if we should have performed the project at all. For instance, the reports for 2006 and 2007 show that recouped investment for many jobs fell by up to 10%. However, some projects fell by less then 1%. But it's only with hindsight that a trend emerges. We'd like to know the upgrades that will yield the best result in the future, not the past. And one of the problems with the future is that it's really hard to predict.

Another complication is balancing the perceived resale value against the necessity or desirability of certain projects relative to others. For instance, I've never had a client install a new roof before the old one leaked. But in 2007 a midrange roofing replacement returned 10% less then the addition of a composite deck. Should homeowners delay installing their new roof and enjoy outdoor living for the summer? Not if they don't want to pay for water damage inside the house. So to what extent are the results of the study actionable? Does believing there's a 10% resale variation between replacing windows or a bathroom addition help one choose between the two jobs?

Having recently purchased a home, the final, and perhaps most ubiquitous problem I see is the tendency for sellers or speculators to overestimate their intelligence and underestimate the intelligence of prospective buyers. How does this work? A seller might hear that crown molding increases the value of a home. But molding is so expensive! So the DIY house flipper goes to the big box store, buys the cheapest crown molding available, shoddily installs it, then waits for the idiot buyer who doesn't know the difference between a poorly installed piece of garbage molding and the good stuff. But there's a problem. Even though many folks aren't sophisticated enough to know why they don't like something, almost everyone knows ugly when they see it. Our DIY'er may even alienate prospective buyers if they grow suspicious that he or she has improperly installed cheap junk throughout the entire house.

So what approach should you take when evaluating how a remodeling project will effect your home's resale value? First, answer 2 preliminary questions:

1. Is your taste so utterly horrendous that you'll offend the sensibilities of prospective buyers? Be honest with yourself. If necessary consult with someone you know who will give you their honest opinion.

2. Are you a demographic anomaly for the region in which you live? That is, do you live in an area where many of your neighbors, and hence future buyers, are entirely unlike you?

If you answered 'No' to both questions, stop worrying about your project. Chances are good that a prospective buyer will have similar tastes, and find your home at least somewhat desirable.

Regardless of whether you stay or sell, your two main objectives in homeownership should be:

1. To get the highest amount of enjoyment possible out of your home and your remodeling (for the least amount of money).

2. To keep your home's maintenance costs to a minimum. This generally means spending a bit more up front to prevent catastrophic future problems - think tire pressure and oil change.

Make these your guiding principles for any work on your home. And when your friends and neighbors tell you what you should be doing to maximize profit on your investment, tell them to prove it!

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

Selection

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:25:00 +0000

Some readers may know of my passion for endurance sports. And while I don't follow football religiously, I did catch some of this year's awesome Super Bowl. Pretty incredible stuff!

Post-game analysis often seems like so much hot air. Nevertheless, I found Ross Tucker and Jonathan Dugas's article from the 'Science of Sport's' website interesting. In it, they note the odd spectacle of NFL player's eating bananas to ward off cramping:

“...in spite of all of the technology the NFL teams and coaches have at their disposal, all the high-tech strategies they employ, their wealth of human resources... they rely on techniques that are entirely unproven and which no scientific evidence supports.”

The full article is available here.

This isn't an isolated example of pseudo-science in the world of sports. In cycling, the longstanding myth that athletes should apply equal force throughout the pedal-stroke has spawned a variety of free-spinning cranks. Many elite cyclists and triathletes train (or even race) on these cranks, despite almost no evidence of their efficacy, and some evidence that they compromise performance.

In the world of basketball, the concept of hot hand (the belief that players are more likely to make a shot if they've just made a successful shot) still shapes game strategy, despite studies debunking this myth (See Gilovich below, and Robert Carroll's clustering illusion entry.)

Finally, a huge number of elite endurance athletes use antioxidant supplements despite evidence that supplementation either has no effect, or is detrimental to performance. Also, given that the US supplement industry is largely unregulated, shouldn't athletes be concerned about the risk of supplements being contaminated by performance enhancing drugs?

The reality is that very few individuals have the ability, time, or inclination to sift through reams of data in making decisions. We must rely on others to do so for us. Despite the rise of google, athletes rely on coaches and trainers, and – you saw it coming – homeowners rely on builders for house advice. Here enters the problem of selection criteria. What selection criteria should we use in determining the best individual to perform these services?

Selecting a Builder

The beauty of hiring a full service construction company is that you have to make one good decision. Pick the right builder! Choose wisely, and everything falls into place. But, as any episode of 'Holmes on Homes' can attest, poor decisions can be catastrophic.

Just like Mike Holmes, we've bailed out many homeowners from construction nightmares. In almost every instance, the clients used a flawed approach in selecting their initial contractor. Let's start by looking at the common judgment errors I see homeowners making.

People tend to like it when others around them have their same values and physical characteristics. These commonalities put us at ease. But your builder doesn't have to share your ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or favorite sport team in order to do a good job. In fact, these characteristics are totally irrelevant. Yet many of the homeowners we've rescued fell into the trap of choosing a builder who shared some superficial commonality. How can we avoid discriminating based upon the superfluous? Ending discrimination falls outside the scope of this blog entry. However, my advice is to be conscious of your own preferences, and whether you're gravitating towards an individual based upon an irrelevant bond.

Another common form of bias is holding preconceived ideas of what individuals in certain occupations should look like. Clients often select builders because they fulfill their expectation of what a builder should look like. Although I think highly of Mike Holmes' work, I've long suspected that his popularity partly stems from his appearance. He precisely fits our notion of how a carpenter should appear! He's a strapping guy, wears Carhartt's, and has a gruff voice. Yet these traits are wholly irrelevant to his merits as a builder. And what about the iconic craftsman Norm Abrams? Will someone please get him a shirt that isn't flannel? In my experience, many cases of contracting fraud are built upon confirming the victim's notions of what a builder should look like.

People frequently engage in wishful thinking with regards to the scope of work or their budget. Several years ago I bid on an architecturally designed job in Princeton. After submitting my bid, I learned that the job had already been estimated by almost 10 contractors. According to the clients, the prices were 'much too high'. Both the owners and architect felt the problem was contractor greed! They clung fast to the belief that the job could reasonably be built for within their budget. Perhaps most remarkable is that one of the clients is a philosophy professor! In another instance of outright fraud, a homeowner we spoke with had a contractor submit a very low estimate on a big painting job, but requested that the owner provide the paint. At the job start, the contractor disappeared with the deposit check and all of the paint and never returned. Perhaps most bizarrely, the clients expected subsequent estimates to be roughly the same as the estimate from the person who robbed them. Psychologists would probably describe this as anchoring.

People also tend to seek out opinions that they agree with, or selectively remember opinions they like. For instance, the popular media often advises medical patients to solicit second opinions. Of course, patients aren't likely to seek a second opinion unless there's something disagreeable about the first one. Given the highly technical nature of medicine, on what basis should a patient choose between two (or three, or four) prescribed treatments? Most patients are ill equipped to scientifically evaluate the merits of several courses of action. So how do they choose between competing strategies? In the past year, I've overhead several conversations in the supplement aisle of my local health food store where clerks dispense all kinds of medical advice. In one case, my wife and I overheard a store clerk recommend that a cancer patient go to Mexico where people are 'open-minded' about the efficacy of crystal therapy. It's not difficult to see how desperation might drive a terminally ill patient from Doctor #4 to the vitamin aisle.

In building construction this can manifest itself as something I refer to as the 'caste phenomenon.' This is the tendency of individuals to overvalue the opinions of well-intended but ignorant people from the same social class, and disregard valuable input from experts from a lower social class. Builders are asked to defer to interior designers, friends of clients, and dog-owners despite the worthlessness of their input. One interior designer told us that 'once a species of flooring had been installed in a house, that species was the only one that could be used.' Ever. Many clients hire architecture firms that block builders from meeting with them prior to estimating a job, and curtail builder/client contact during their jobs. This environment tends to artificially constrain contractors from freely expressing their opinions. For instance, many energy efficient electrical fixtures cost slightly more then regular fixtures, but are sound investments . Yet electricians who know this frequently bite their tongue for fear that their product recommendations will be construed as an attempt to part clients from their hard-earned cash.

Solutions

Builders primarily sell technical expertise. All work flows from this expertise. While clients should have a lot of control over the design of a project, they should have almost no control over technical standards. My previous entry on best practice outlines the standards I feel are most important. My recommendation is to ensure that your builder is aware of and embrace these technical standards. To that end, you should ask what magazines and books they read.

Evaluate the depth and relevance of their experience. Don't use age (an irrelevant characteristic) as a means of judging experience (a relevant characteristic). A lot of people choose carpentry as a second career, so they enter the building trades in their mid to late-thirties. So a fifty year old building contractors might have less experience then your thirty-four year old author.

We provide new clients with a sheet of referrals. Strikingly, only a small minority of clients calls any of our referrals. Pose tough questions to your builder and his or her referrals. Get satisfactory answers, and don't tolerate pseudo-answers. “We've been doing this for years” isn't an acceptable answer, it's an appeal to authority, which is a logical fallacy.

Clients should aggressively shoulder certain responsibilities to improve their prospects for success. At your project's inception, outline a clear vision for what constitutes success. Anyone can muddle their way through a kitchen remodel. What would you like your new kitchen to do for you? Is better access to storage your criteria, or would you like to have several cooks be able to efficiently use the space at once? How long would you like your new kitchen to last? If durability is paramount, then embracing high technical standards will be crucial. Setting explicit goals is critical to achieving them.

When I first sat down to write this entry, I thought that I'd be able to provide a few easy tips, and steer people clear of some bad outcomes. However, in performing just the small amount of research that I did for this entry, I realized that decision-making is an incredibly complex and difficult topic. I hope that you've found this article helpful or at least entertaining. I recommend perusing the links and books that I provide below.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse Smith.

References, Interesting Books and Websites:

Carroll, Robert Todd. The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, & Dangerous Delusions (John Wiley and Sons 2003).

Gilovich, Thomas. How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life (The Free Press 1991).

Levine, Robert. The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold (John Wiley and Sons 2003).

Sutton, Robert. Weird Ideas That Work: 11 ½ Practices for Promoting, Managing and Sustaining Innovation (The Free Press 2002).

Robert Carroll's website.

Wikipedia's cognitive bias entry and list of cognitive biases.

Best Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Selecting a builder is tough, particularly for the quality conscious homeowner. Most builders know the right things to say, so initial meetings are about as awkward as slow dancing with your high school ex. If you're interviewing builders, you'll probably hear a lot of this classic, “we're not cheap, but we do quality work.” Yeah thanks, I haven't heard that one in at least 20 minutes. But what does 'quality' mean, and how can you be assured of getting quality construction?

For years, I was a quality parrot during sales meetings. But then I realized just how ridiculous this must sound to prospective clients. More recently I've taken to describing our techniques as “best practices”.

Over the course of several entries, I'll be discussing the role of quality in construction. In this entry, we'll examine the publications and standards that are most important to successful building.

Building Codes

I know, you saw the heading and you thought, “well duh!” Yet the majority of people I speak with still shudder when they hear that they'll need permits for their work. “But it's just a bathroom/kitchen/basement/roof/deck/addition” they protest. If you've read this far, you probably recognize that construction trades are both highly specialized, and at least somewhat outside your sphere of knowledge. Building codes are principally geared to keeping home occupants safe, and are usually a minimum standard for safe occupancy. Yet code violations committed by others provide me with tens of thousands of dollars in work every year.

If you recoiled at the term 'building department', consider your position. Given that codes are a minimum standard, ask yourself if you're capable of identifying code compliance. Do you have the skills or technical knowledge? Will you be available to evaluate critical periods of construction such as ensuring there's adequate insulation prior to the installation of drywall? What about proper waterproofing prior to the installation of shower tile? If you've answered 'no' to these questions then guess what? Your local building department could be the only thing between you and a mighty cold January, or 6 inches of rain in your family room!

Building codes and their enforcers have their shortcomings, but they do an excellent job of providing the nation with safe housing. If you have any doubts about whether your job requires permits, call your local building department and ask. If permits are required, then get them.

Manufacturers Instructions

Many people, including some contractors, don't realize that almost every product that goes into your home has highly specific installation instructions. In most cases these instructions must be followed or the product warranty will be voided! As with building codes, ensure that your contractor view installation instructions as sacrosanct.

Journal of Light Construction Field Guide to Residential Construction: A Manual of Best Practice

Now we're going to move beyond the code-based notion that you're house shouldn't be the cause of sickness, injury, or death. If you're a homeowner with even the slightest technical inclination, I highly recommend that you pick up the JLC Field Guide. Then ensure that every contractor who sets foot in your home follows the instructions and guidelines, or provides you with a clear rationale for not doing so. (I add the caveat because of the classic problem of the written word being outdated in short order - e.g. My copy of the guide doesn't address new rules specific to lumber treated after 2005.) This guide is probably the most comprehensive guide to construction details available. It's got a bit of everything, and it's all geared around the highest possible home performance. A 'quality' builder should have no trouble conforming with JLC guidelines.

Tile Council of North America: TCA Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation

As a second generation tile-setter, I know that proper tile installation is fundamental to tile longevity. The TCNA is the premiere industry overseer, it sets standards for the installation of tile, tests tile performance, and has a training division. Most US tile manufacturers refer to TCNA details for installation and warranty. Yet the vast majority of tile installations I've seen do not conform to TCNA standards. (hint: here's a simple conformance check – does your tile tub surround have caulking at every corner? If not, then guess what? No warranty for you!) Ensure that your tile-setter is aware of and conforms to TCNA standards for all of their installations.

Energy Star

For household appliances ensure that your product is blessed with an Energy Star. This means that the appliance has met a high standard for energy efficiency.

You should also insulate to Energy Star standards. The guidelines are available on the web:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home.index

If you're building a new home, peruse the 'New Construction' section of the Energy Star website, then speak with your builder about meeting the standard and/or becoming certified. Because our chief focus has been remodeling, we're not an Energy Star certified builder. But if you've got $5mil and are thinking about building your dream home, I'm a phone call away. I promise to be Energy Star certified by the time we start digging.

Trade Publications

We currently subscribe to about half a dozen magazines and journals (all of which are available on loan to our construction clients). Of these, the best two are Fine Homebuilding, and The Journal of Light Constructions. Of the two, Fine Homebuilding is the most appropriate for homeowners, while the JLC is geared towards contractors. This Old House magazine is the next best, and standards drop precipitously from there. (Yes I've read the magazine whose title rhymes with Shmarchitectural Shmigest). These magazines are most relevant to best practices when they discuss techniques in fields where there's still room for debate.

We also have a pretty decent library of building books. Again the standout publisher is Taunton, which is the Fine Homebuilding publisher.

Television Shows

I'll admit to taking a pretty dim view of most remodeling shows. Nevertheless, there are a couple of standouts. Anything with Norm Abrams is worth watching (New Yankee Workshop, This Old House). Holmes on Homes is also pretty good. But, while I'm sure that Mike Holmes is fundamentally a decent carpenter and human being, I disapprove of a small number of his practices. However, as my wife often reminds me when I'm screaming profanities at some hair-gel wearing slickster in a shiny new tool-belt, it's only television.

In the next entry we'll be discussing why quality matters.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:54:00 +0000

Speed Cleaning

For months I've been raving about a book that has changed my life and given me back hours of precious time. The book is called 'Speed Cleaning', and is available from http://www.thecleanteam.com/

Now what does a cleaning book have to do with building construction? Well a few things:

1/ After construction, people are often left wondering how to clean and maintain their remodeled home. One of our goals for 2008 is to provide people with a clear picture of what to do to their home and when.

2/ Proper cleaning will improve the longevity of most things in your home.

3/ Proper remodeling makes for easy cleaning, maintenance and storage.

4/ A clean and well-maintained home makes for happier occupants. (OK, this has nothing to do with construction, but isn't it nice to know we care?)

So what is 'Speed Cleaning'? In his book, Jeff Campbell distills years of cleaning wisdom into 13 rules, which are also available on his website. The second chapter covers the use of a cleaning apron stocked with appropriate cleaning tools and products. The remainder of the book is largely devoted to the cleaning of specific rooms or household items.

To be clear, this is not a book for folks who want a few tips or a smattering of advice. Campbell uses a systematic approach for all aspects of house cleaning. In other words, a single, correct approach. While some find may find the approach stifling, it can be liberating to learn a methodical, best approach. For instance, if you've ever wondered what the correct sequence was for applying cleaner to your toilet, 'Speed Cleaning' has a written numeric sequence and a helpful drawing. No argument or dissent, just do what Campbell says, and get it done quickly.

My advice for homeowners – pick up the 3 book deal from the website along with 'The Home Owner's Journal'. Also pick up the 'Complete Home Care Kit with DVD', which includes a huge volume of cleaning supplies. Watch the DVD, read the book, and get crackin'. If you're a Tay River client who is performing major remodeling, you'll be receiving 'The Home Owner's Journal' as a gift to help you track many of your selections and stay on top of home maintenance.

Another item for Tay River customers - we're going to defer to Jeff Campbell's book and website to answer all of your cleaning and maintenance questions. Of course one should always follow a manufacturer's directions, but within that framework Campbell's books provide far better guidance then we can.

Looking towards the projects we have slated for 2008, we'll be trying to facilitate better cleaning generally, and 'Speed Cleaning' specifically through our designs and construction. For example, we'll be looking to store cleaning products in accessible cabinets or drawers, and moving clients away from the 'shove-the-cleaners-under-the-kitchen-sink' paradigm.

One final note, with the rising popularity of under-mount sinks, homeowners may want to spray a little bleach solution (4:1 water:bleach) under the counter top lip to prevent nasty things from growing under there. Be sure to follow his guidelines for the proper handling of bleach.

Thanks for reading,
Jesse

Sources

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:19:00 +0000

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 experiences with any of the companies below, or a company that you feel deserves mentioning and is not listed.

Tile

We use Daltile for much of our tile and stone. Their website is:
http://daltile.com/
Click on any of the available links. We can get Ahnzu and Daltile products through our Daltile distributor, and American Olean products through an American Olean distributor. All three of these companies are owned by Mohawk Industries, which supplies a significant portion of the US market for tile.

Daltile’s local warehouse/showroom is located at:

5 Corporate Dr,
Cranbury, NJ
08512
Ph: 609-655-0333.

American Olean's local warehouse showroom is located at:

181 Herrod Blvd,
Dayton, NJ
08810
Ph: 609 409-7687

Google maps provides accurate directions to both of these locations.

A final note, neither of these distributors make retail sales. This means that the showroom will not discuss pricing with homeowners. They release prices to us, and we then quote this price, exactly as it is provided to us, in the information we provide to you. Tile along with other material is subject to our standard markup, which is clearly indicated in any contract that we sign with you.

Countertops

We use Stone Surfaces of NJ for most of our stone countertops for kitchens and bathrooms. Their website is:

http://www.stonesurfacescj.com/index.asp

Getting to Stone Surfaces is difficult, and made worse by their website, which shows an incorrect address. The real address is:

625 Jersey Avenue, Unit 13New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Ph: 732-745-1727

They are located behind a warehouse. Their sign is posted in front of this warehouse. Pull in to the driveway keeping the warehouse on your right. Turn right at the end of the warehouse.
Call their showroom in advance to set up a meeting. Talk to Mark, their #1 showroom guy. Use google maps for general directions to this location.

If you’re coming from afar, consider having lunch at Makeda’s restaurant:

http://www.makedas.com/

This is my (Jesse’s) wife’s absolute favorite place to eat. Initially I was skeptical about Ethiopian food, but it is really very good.
Stone Surfaces’ New Brunswick office has plenty of samples of countertops for vanities. However, if you’re looking to select a slab for kitchens you’ll want to skip the New Brunswick trip and head straight to their fabricator:

European Granite and Marble

24 Forge StJamesburg, NJ 08831
(732) 605-7800

Again, I would suggest calling Mark (at Stone Surfaces) in advance to set up an appointment with the countertop fabricator.

Plumbing Fixtures

We use two plumbing showrooms. Our man Rick works the Grove Supply showroom floor in Hightstown. No need to set up an appointment, but do call in advance to confirm that he’s working:

http://www.grovesupplyinc.com/
Grove Supply
135 W. Ward Street,
Hightstown, NJ
08520
609-448-0507

* A note on the operation of plumbing supply stores. While you will generally be able to purchase a variety of brands from a given showroom, they might only display one brand on the showroom floor. Save yourself some time. If you’re just browsing, pick showrooms that display different brands.
Grove Supply principally displays Toto fixtures. If you’re looking for American Standard fixtures, consider Baths Etc in Princeton Junction. Baths Etc recommends setting up an appointment in advance of visiting their showroom. Their website and address is:

http://www.bathsetc.com/bathshome.htm
33 Princeton Hightstown RdPrinceton Jct, NJ 08550(609) 799-5777
Almost all of the major plumbing suppliers have their own websites. Some of these sites also contain list pricing on their fixtures:
American Standard’s website is: http://www.americanstandard-us.com/
Kohler’s kitchen and bath site is: http://www.us.kohler.com/index.jsp
Toto’s website is: http://www.totousa.com/consumer_landing.asp

Shower Glass

For glass doors, or any other glass requirements, check out Glass Castle in Lawrenceville. Their website is: http://www.glasscastleinc.com/
Call Stuart in advance of visiting their show room: 609-530-1115. Keep in mind that Glass Castle repairs broken windows.

Electrical Fixtures

We generally use Panasonic ceiling fans. Examples are on Panasonic’s website:
http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vOverview?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&catGroupId=25050&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

For local electrical showrooms, consider using the Light Gallery in Princeton:

http://www.lightgalleryprinceton.com/

301 N Harrison St # 50Princeton, NJ 08540(609) 924-6878
Make an appointment with either Gloria or TJ in advance of visiting their showroom.

Cabinetry and Doors

Cabinetry tends to be expensive. Most plumbing supply stores offer their own line of vanities for bathrooms. Some other possibilities:
With a list of reservations that would take up this handout and then some, you might try one of the fearsome triad of Ikea, Lowes, or Home Depot cabinetry. The most expensive cabinets from these places will still be much less expensive then virtually anything else on the market. Ikea even has a design program for laying out cabinetry.

We wholeheartedly recommend our custom cabinetmaker, Don Marshall. You will not find Don on a website but we can tell you that his cabinets are exceptionally well made and that his prices are low. “Low” comes with the proviso that custom cabinetry is always towards the high end of the price range …. but the tradeoff is worthwhile. For a look at door and panel options visit:

http://caronindustries.com/

Caron is the chief supplier of doors and drawer fronts for Don. Tay River carries a wide range of door and panel samples in a variety of species from Caron. Ask one of our salespeople about these.
[Incidentally, if you are looking for unique features such as a custom
entryway, or a built-in breakfast nook, Don is the source and for custom
work his prices are a bargain. We can design these things for you and
draft the plans from which Don builds.]

Custom Windows

If you’re considering buying custom windows we strongly recommend another fantastic craftsman, John Inglis of Lothlorien Woodworking. His website is:

http://www.lwl.ca/

* A tip for ordering custom windows. Have John apply the paint on the inside and outside of the doors and windows. This is less expensive than finishing them in place, and is better quality than most applied-in-place paint jobs.
_______________________________________________________________
While the internet can be a useful tool, we encourage you to view all of your selections in person. There’s no substitute for seeing and touching the things you’ll be living with for years to come. Finally, while you’re shopping, don’t forget to take your “selection sheet” and record your fixture and finish decisions as you make them.
We look forward to working with you.

Thanks for reading

Blog Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Jesse Smith) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:47:00 +0000

Tay River has a blog! A couple of quick notes on why we’re doing this, and what readers should expect.

What We’ll be Discussing

We’re builders, so our principle goal is to help clients get through the building process. To that end we’ll be focusing a lot on the proper execution of building projects. We’ll try to steer homeowners clear of the worst mistakes common to building projects. Keep in mind that many of the mistakes we poke fun at are ones that we’ve made (a really long time ago of course!) Finally, take everything here with a grain of salt – we’re still learning, and having a lot of fun along the way.

Some other issues that we’ll touch on –

General business lessons. If you’re a building contractor some of our entries will touch on issues that you’ll likely to encounter. Perhaps you’ll gain something by checking in with us. If you’re not a builder, but interested in business, perhaps there will be some general knowledge that you’ll find helpful. I feel that our most hilarious mistakes are behind us, but there may be some entertainment value to reading our entries.

Triathlon. We’re pretty passionate about endurance sports, but the web is already packed with elite triathlete blogs. Furthermore, many of these athletes are faster than we are. We might touch on sports specifically as it affects people with physically demanding jobs. We’ll try to resist putting up the minutiae of every workout, or race we run, but I can’t promise that the occasional entry won’t spiral into self-absorbed garbage – c’mon, it’s a blog!

Advancing Building Knowledge.

There are really two parts to this.

One, we hope to help stem the decline of skilled construction labor by helping educate individual’s who are interested in pursuing a career in the building trades. We occasionally hold employee seminars which are open to those interested. We’ll be posting seminar topics on this blog just in advance of the presentations. If you see something that might interest you – send us an email to discuss location.

Two, we would like to help folks gain some good general knowledge about their home. We’ll be covering often overlooked maintenance issues, home inspections, and tips on home upkeep.
Client Resources. We’ll be posting all of our client resources as we develop and revise them. If you’re a contractor I think you’ll find some of these helpful. If you’re remodeling in or near Princeton, I know you’ll find these helpful! Here it’s worth pointing out that it’s impossible to recreate the magic of Tay River without Tay River.

Thanks for reading!