Since today is Independence Day, I thought I'd take a break from my usual blog posts and share four of the reasons we're celebrating today, above and beyond our usual Fourth of July festivities. We have so much to be thankful for! Two All-American Craftsmen I'm grateful to have more calls for work than one man can answer, and this year I've started referring some of my customers to local handymen whom I trust to do a great job. Recently Jesse Scott, who's already one of the craftsmen in our network, introduced me to two more extremely talented handymen, who are both very friendly and easy to work with. I'm thrilled to introduce them here.
Click here if you'd like to work with Allan or Ricardo... or keep reading for another reason to celebrate. Good News on the Home Front
Many of you have sent your thoughts and prayers to us during her illness, so I'd like to send a big "thank you" to all of you. Your good wishes have been very encouraging, and your prayers must have worked! Now I'm going to turn the blog over to Faith for another piece of awesome news which she picked up from the local community and which seems perfect for sharing today. The Eagles Are Back! Faith writes: Thank you Arthur, and I second that motion: thank you to all of our customers and craftsmen and other members of our community that have prayed for me and sent their good wishes. It means a lot to me. One of the first things I did when my health started to recover was to spend more time getting out and reconnecting with my friends and acquaintances. Recently I had the chance to visit our county library, where I saw something amazing: Avian expert Mike Skinner of Balsam Mountain Trust held a "Birds of Prey" demonstration which included this lovely young eagle named "Hope." "Hope" received her name because the conservation program for American Bald Eagles has been working. If you live in the Asheville area, you might even have noticed this in person. I myself have seen eagles flying up and down the French Broad River valley. It's a wonderful piece of good news, and proof that conservation really works. If you live out in the countryside like I do, you might have also spotted one of these, especially at night: Isn't she lovely? She's a barn owl. Sadly, although barn owls are not endangered in general, her handler said that our local population has been dwindling as people replace old wooden barns with steel buildings. The good news is that you can help replenish the local population of these beautiful birds. Locals have discovered that barn owls will move into owl boxes, so if you have the right kind of terrain, you might be able to give your local birds a new home. Or if you have an old barn on your property, consider keeping it maintained for our feathered friends. We hope that you and your family are having a safe and happy holiday. We'll be back from vacation tomorrow, and we're looking forward to hearing from you about your next project.
If you're trying to find a good local Asheville carpenter, you have definitely come to the right place. Mark Anderson, one of the craftsmen in our network, showed off some projects recently on Facebook. I thought I'd share them with you to demonstrate the high level of craftsmanship which he brings to his work. Take a look. Let's start with an updated photo of Mark's Goat Shed which he built a few weeks ago for this fella: Shelter and dry hay! Phase one complete: However, I didn't know that Mark planned to add a few grace notes: Check out this sculptural metal molding which decorates the edges of the shed! The top picture is really an optical illusion that makes the metal look huge... it's more like trim to keep the goats from jumping out. Here's another view, which also shows off those curved rafter tails. Mark really has an eye for the grace notes: He also does finer carpentry, like this scrap lumber "quilt..." ...and this new porch gate and railing: If you need a carpenter in Asheville, whether for fine work like custom cabinetry or larger projects like a garden shed, we can make it happen. Get in touch today!
Once the spring was cleared, I read up about some simple low cost methods to cultivate a spring and found a system that looked like it might work. Here's how the spring looks with the first layer of gravel on it, with the overflow valves laid down and ready for more gravel. My first attempts at an earthen dam tended to leak, so this dam is made from a cut-out section of a plastic trash can. So far, so good. The spring measures the same output that I gathered before damming it up, and it seems to be picking up in flow as a couple of weeks have passed. This photo is showing about a 1/4 gallon per minute. It doesn't look like much, but it adds up with a continuous flow. It comes out to 15 gallons per hour or 360 gallons in 24 hours. And as long as I'm making work for myself, I've been thinking of making a pond in this field, with a rock water feature using the stones from the old cabin foundation. On second thought, maybe later. Anyway, this should help with keeping the old spring flowing and unclogged. All in all, this has been an enjoyable project, and I've learned a lot.
Do you have a special project in mind for your home? I can help you enjoy your outdoor space with porch repairs and deck maintenance. Today we're doing SCIENCE. Not long ago, I was standing in the hardware store staring at the bewildering array of paintbrushes and wondering whether the expensive ones are worth the extra five bucks. So in the interest of handymankind, I did an experiment: I bought brushes from the two most popular brands and compared them. The Purdy cost about $15 and the Wooster cost about $10. Here they are in almost-new condition: Now when it comes to paintbrushes, I am a cruel master. It comes with the territory. As a handyman, one of my top priorities is keeping your home clean during the job, and the last thing I want to do is rinse my brushes in your sink. So paintbrushes get tossed into paint cans or brush keepers or plastic bags, then taken home and rinsed out later. This is basically the worst thing you can do to a brush, but that's the handyman life. Here's the same brushes after a month of misuse. So far, so good. The brush keepers (those plastic boxes on the right) have kept the paint from drying on the brush, so I've been able to get most of the paint out after each use. At first glance, the Purdy (the expensive brush with the dark bristles) looks like it's performing poorly. As you can see, it's not holding its shape as well compared to the Wooster: However, at this point I really prefer the Purdy, because it's great in action. That curly little tip holds a nice bead of paint, and it's much easier to cut in and make neat lines with it. The Wooster is stiffer. It can be harder to control it, and I can't get into to corners with it as well as I can with the Purdy. The Purdy just feels better to paint with. So I was all set to recommend the Purdy, until this happened: One of my "brush keepers" popped open when I wasn't looking, the brush dried out, and I discovered just how unreliable these fancy plastic gadgets can be. (I should have stuck with my trusty Ziploc bags.) As I've said, the handyman life is hard on brushes, and this was a timely reminder that dead brushes are a real problem for me.
So which brush is better? The Wooster is the most cost-effective. Use it as your "beater" brush. The Purdy paints better. Use it if you really need to cut in a straight line and/or you have the time to clean your brush. Or you could just hire me to paint your house. I'm good at it! We usually post pictures of important house repairs (when I take the pictures) or pretty pictures of pretty houses (when my wife takes the pictures) but this time we're sharing something entirely different: goats! goats in every direction! And a goat shed. Mark Anderson, one of the handymen in our network of craftsmen, recently shared photos of a winter project on his mountain homestead. They were so interesting that we asked him to let us share them here. Like any frugal farmer, Mark used as much reclaimed and inexpensive lumber as possible, including these old logs. He used a winch to drag the logs in place, then hand-chiseled the ends where the beam will rest on the log post. Trust me, this is hard work! Fortunately he had a few helpers. ("Here, let me hold that post up for you.") "No, a little to the left." Even though he was just building a goat shed, Mark made everything plumb and level, and braced it well against the goatly onslaught. The goats seem happy... ...but Mark's even happier.
Do you have a building project in mind? Mark is an experienced carpenter and is available to build small deck additions and similar projects. He can also install interior trim and custom built-in shelving and cabinets... and goat sheds! Click the button to request an estimate, and we'll be glad to put you in touch with him. |
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