Timberlake Builders

26/04/2023

Urgent tool recall from Stanley Black & Decker (DeWalt, Craftsman) Many fiberglass handled hammers, sledgehammers, engineers hammers, drilling hammers, and blacksmith hammers included.

Stanley Black & Decker Recalls 2.2 Million DEWALT, STANLEY and CRAFTSMAN Fiberglass Sledgehammers Due to Impact Injury Hazard Name of Product: DEWALT, STANLEY and CRAFTSMAN Fiberglass Sledgehammers Hazard: The head of the sledgehammers can loosen prematurely and detach unexpectedly during use, posin...

09/03/2023

Matt Risinger explains why you shouldn't live in a cardboard box. Seems obvious.

If you see this on a house, run! Matt talks about possibly the worst product you could build with and how it can actually cost your builds big in the long. P...

17/12/2021

Prices of forest products are rising at an unusual time of year. Find out what’s going on in the market.

16/08/2021

An update on building supplies and short-term outlook for pricing and availability from McCoy's Building supply. (This can be taken to apply to the industry in general not just McCoy's).

After hitting historic highs in late spring and early summer, the prices of forest products are finally coming down. Find out what to expect.

28/06/2021

People often ask me about emerging technology and new products in building products and a popular one is always the "3D printed house". In this video long-time industry leader Dr. Joe Lstiburek discusses industry trends including modular buildings, prefabricated panels, and 3D printed houses.

Building Science Deconstructed is a weekly discussion series by Dörken Systems Inc. featuring some of the industry's most sought-after building science exper...

09/06/2021

On 5/7/21 lumber futures (LBS) hit an all-time high of US$ 1.67/bf. Yesterday it closed down 30% at US$ 1.167/bf. May housing starts will be published in a few days and if they are down you can expect lumber prices to continue to free-fall back into a normal range for this time of year (US$ 0.30 to US$ 0.45/bf). Because these are futures prices it may still be a month or more before we see prices start to fall at the retail level, but this is a good sign for overall economic health and future housing activity.

Get the latest Lumber price (LBS) as well as the latest futures prices and other commodity market news at Nasdaq.

26/08/2020

I have built quite a few post-tensioned slabs. They are not my favorite type of foundation (I like pier-and-beam foundations, more on that later.) However, they are effective and can last a long time if done properly. The key is to protect the foundation from excess moisture (humidity) that will eventually degrade and compromise the cables. This is done by laying a fully sealed moisture barrier under the slab (at least 10mil preferably 15mil) with all seams taped and sealed. Then allowing the slab to fully dry-out (a process that can take up to 4 months) before laying any v***r impermeable coverings (such as vinyl sheet flooring or wood flooring with underlayment. Once again The Journal of Light Construction provides the details.

Expansive soils can wreak havoc on conventional wire-mesh reinforced slabs. A California structural engineer explains why post-tensioned slabs have become a popular solution for building on problem soils.

19/08/2020

This week we are sharing an article from The Journal of Light Construction on how to read construction blueprints. Understanding these documents is important to anyone involved in the building process particularly customers. They are not as intuitive as you might think.

Learning to decipher the details on a set of construction drawings is a key skill for all tradespeople.

12/08/2020

Last week we shared a video from Matt Risinger at Risinger Build about the worst built wall assembly in production today. This week we offer a two for one, a video from Matt about how to build better wall assemblies, what they look like, and rough cost comparison, also an article from Fine Homebuilding Magazine about control layers, how they work, and what the priority is in their use/design.

https://youtu.be/VYqINjqKafY

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2019/01/03/crash-course-in-control-layers

There are four control layers in a building envelope that must be managed to build a durable and comfortable home: water, air, v***r, and temperature. Controlling water is the first priority.

05/08/2020

There are a lot of new houses going up in and around Hunt County. Among them, I have seen some good quality and some really bad quality. I am going to attempt to help potential homeowners learn how to tell the difference. I am going to try to post a vlog or article once a week on some aspect of quality homebuilding.

This week's vlog comes from Matt Risinger at The Build Show. It is all about cardboard sheathing. You can find this stuff used in all kinds of homes, and price does not always equal quality.

In this Build Show, Matt is touring a new home under construction that’s utilizing methods & material’s we’ve been using since the 1970’s. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean we have to accept this poor quality of construction. Matt will show you why this is terrible, and will tee up hi...