Expert Advice on Home Improvement

Straight cuts in cement backer board can be made using a circular saw.

I just remodeled one of our bathrooms, which included tiling the floor with 12”x 12” Turkish tumbled marble. It was a fun project to work on (it’s a small room) and the tiles look terrific, but the most important step of the entire job was prepping the subfloor.

After ripping up the old vinyl flooring, I discovered that the subfloor consisted of two layers of ½” plywood; the minimum recommended subfloor thickness for tile is 1¼” So, I had to cover the plywood with ¼” cement backer board, which was set in a bed of thinset mortar and then screwed to the subfloor.

Cement backer board can be cut with a carbide-tipped scoring tool, just score and snap the sheet, similar to cutting drywall. But since I had several cuts to make, I decided to use power tools.

Now the first thing you need to know when cutting backer board is that its dust contains crystalline silica, which can be extremely irritating to your eyes and lungs. So, be sure to wear eye goggles and a dual-cartridge respirator when cutting backer board. Also, always make the cuts outdoors and well away from open windows and doors.

A jigsaw works best for cutting curves.

For straight cuts, use a circular saw fitted with a carbide-tipped woodcutting blade, but here’s a little secret: use a blade with the fewest number of teeth you can find. Ordinarily a blade with more teeth is desirable because it produces a smoother cut, but in this case many teeth would bog down and create clouds of thick dust. A blade with fewer teeth (mine only had six) cuts quickly and produces less dust.

To make curved cuts or circular cutouts in backer board, you have a couple of options. You could drill a series of holes along the cut line and then tap out the waste with a hammer.

While that technique works, it creates quite a mess and leaves a ragged edge. I prefer another approach that is both cleaner and quicker.

When I had to cut a 7” diameter hole in backer board to fit around the toilet drain flange, I used a jigsaw fitted with a metal-cutting blade and made the cut slowly. To be honest, I wasn’t sure the blade would cut the dense, fibrous sheet, but it did so quite easily with a minimal amount of dust.

However, I should mention that by the end of the cut I noticed that all the teeth on the blade had been worn down to mere nubs, so if you have a lot of circular cuts to make, be sure to have plenty of metal-cutting jigsaw blades on hand.

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As coxswain of the eight-man boat, Chris (in white shirt) sits in the stern and steers and keeps the rowers on pace by shouting instructions into a microphone.

I admit that until very recently I knew little about crew—the sport of rowing—even though it has been practiced for many centuries. However, all that changed a couple of months ago when our son, Christopher, joined the Salisbury School crew team.

The school has six boats and a rich history of rowing. Chris was appointed coxswain of the first novice boat, which is quite an honor for a freshman, especially considering Chris had never even seen a crew race before joining the team.

Chris’ boat is a sleek, sliver of a vessel, measuring just 23” wide and more than 50’ long. The team consists of eight rowers (each with one oar) and a coxswain. The coxswain sits in the stern and has two primary responsibilities: to maintain the rowers’ pace (strokes per minute), and to steer the boat.

Sounds simple enough, until you see the team in action. To propel the boat through the water for 1,500 meters (nearly one mile) requires stamina, concentration, brute strength, unparalleled teamwork, and the precision of a fine Swiss watch.

It has been thrilling to stand on the shore and cheer as the boats fly across the water. The Salisbury boats have done very well this season. Chris’ boat won a few races, and came in second in the New England Championships. We’re proud of Chris’ hard work and dedication to the team, and very grateful to the tireless effort of the Salisbury coaches.

One of the many traditions of the sport is that the coxswain of the winning boat gets tossed into the lake by his teammates. And even though the water was 40 degrees the day Chris’ boat won its first race, Chris couldn’t have been happier, nor I any prouder.

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When I designed our master bath, I knew from the onset that I wanted to use glazed porcelain floor tile that resembled tumbled marble. It has a weathered, old world look that I find more interesting than traditional polished marble. Plus, porcelain tile is much stronger and harder than real marble, so it’s less likely to crack. It’s also less porous and more stain resistant.

In any case, while buying the floor tile I saw a catalog photograph that showed the same tile applied to a bathroom wall, similar to wainscoting. I loved the look and immediately ordered enough tiles to cover the bottom 36” of my bath walls.

The wainscoting is made up of 10”x 10” tiles, a stone bead, 4”x 4” tiles and a stone chair rail. It wraps around the room, visually tying together the entire bath.

Besides the visual appeal of the wainscoting, I also like the fact I didn’t have to install any baseboard molding. The wall tile simply sits right on top of the floor tile.

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I’ve been a home-improvement writer for nearly 25 years, and have visited remodeling jobs and construction sites all over the country. And as a member of the press, I’ve had privileged access to some astonishing projects, including a California hillside home, which had a freeform redwood deck cantilevered over a 100-ft.-deep ravine; a 10,000-sq.-ft. beachfront South Carolina home that was framed entirely out of 2×12s (including all the interior walls!); a French-built tramway over the Mississippi River at the New Orleans World’s Fair; a townhouse development in Helsinki, Finland, where every unit had a cedar-lined sauna and a hand-cut soapstone wood-burning stove; and the rescue renovation of the Statue of Liberty on her 100th birthday.

But do you know the very best thing about being a home improvement writer? No, not the limos or groupies (unfortunately), it’s that I get to meet some really talented tradesmen, designers and architects. Most of the time I’m working on projects here in New England, so over the years I’ve developed relationships with dozens of local carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, roofers, landscapers, and cabinetmakers.

A few weeks ago I was trying to find a floor tiling project for a new book that I’m writing. The job had to include tearing out an old ceramic tile floor, installing new cement backerboard, and then setting glazed porcelain tile. So, I called my buddy Jimmy Tiganella who owns Classic Tile in Oakville, Connecticut.

Jimmy and I have worked together on more than a dozen projects over the years, and he’s always willing to let me photograph and write about one of his projects. (That’s me with Jimmy, who’s kneeling beside his grouting bucket. The other photo shows Jimmy spreading thin-set mortar with a notched trowel.)

I’ve learned a lot from Jimmy about how to set and grout tile, but also how to properly prepare the subfloor to ensure a long-lasting tile job. We’ve installed tile on floors, walls, countertops, shower pans and kitchen backsplashes. It’s a pleasure watching Jimmy work. He takes no shortcuts and always has a good reason for everything he does.

On the job, I’m always asking questions and having Jimmy explain each step of the process. As you can imagine, this could drive someone mad. But Jimmy is always very patient and takes the time to answer each question with both sound advice and good humor.

So, thanks to Jimmy for putting up with me all these years. He has made me a better writer, and I’ve come to appreciate how much hard work and talent it takes to properly install tile.

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I’m always looking around the house for extra storage space. From the basement to the attic, I’ve scoured every square inch searching for spaces that I could convert to storage. However, I learned that sometimes the answer is right in front of you.

A few years ago, my son Chris had run out of shelves for his growing book collection. But his 10’x 12’ room already housed a bunk bed, computer desk, stereo cabinet, two large windows and a closet, so there wasn’t any room for a freestanding bookcase or wall-mounted shelving. Then I stumbled upon a novel idea:

I cut a hole through the end wall of his closet and installed a built-in bookcase. The bookcase is only about 9” deep x 18” wide x 40” high, but its four shelves hold an impressive number of books. And best of all, it doesn’t take up a single square inch of floor space.

I built the bookcase from 1”x 10” pine and used 1/4” plywood for the back. The shelves are set into dadoes routed into the sides. After screwing the bookcase into the hole in the closet wall, I trimmed around it with Colonial casing to give the project a clean, built-in look.

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Me and the Gray Ghost, my dad’s ‘89 Dodge Ram truck.

I’ve got an old pickup truck that I use whenever I need to haul material that’s too big or too dirty to put in my car. It’s a 1989 Dodge Ram with a fiberglass cap and only 53,262 miles on it. It doesn’t have a fancy sound system, or automatic windows or heated seats. Heck, I don’t even think it has a cup holder. But I can lay a full 4×8-ft. sheet of plywood flat in its bed, and the bench seat is only slightly smaller than the sofa in our family room. They don’t make vehicles like that anymore. I love that old Dodge.

I’ve only had the truck for about two years, and although I use it rarely, nearly every time I drive it, someone asked me if I was in the Navy, which I wasn’t. At first I didn’t know why anyone would ask me such an odd question, until I remembered the U.S. Navy license plate bolted to the tailgate.

A simple, understated remembrance of my dad’s service, which still draws interest.

My dad was in the Navy; he enlisted as a 17-year-old high-school student, and was immediately shipped off—quite literally—to the Sea of China aboard the heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Columbus. He spent his entire four-year tour of duty in the Pacific Theatre, and saw things he never talked about to me, or anyone else that I know of. I got the truck when my dad died a couple of years ago.

He had been a remodeling contractor, and never owned anything other than pickup trucks. He bought the ’89 Dodge after retiring; it was the only brand-new truck he ever purchased.

When I think back, I remember how proud my Dad was of his Naval service, and how he loved that truck better than any of the others he had owned. Now, when I climb into that cavernous cab, which still carries the lingering smell of his Camels, I, too, feel proud, especially when asked if I was in the Navy.

Like most sons, I could never pay back all that my dad had given me, but I think he’d be pleased to know that the old Dodge is still serving a useful purpose long after his service has ceased.

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Paint chemists are always hard at work trying to develop the next latest, greatest coating. And the goal is always the same: make a paint that lasts longer, is more stain resistant, goes on smoother, and dries to a tough, impenetrable film.

High-quality 100% latex acrylic paints have performed beyond expectations, but there’s a new kid in town: ceramic paints. These aren’t used to paint pottery and china plates, but instead, are latex paints that contain something called, ceramic microspheres.

Courtesy of the Paint Quality Institute

Ceramic microspheres are very tiny, round particles that get distributed throughout the dried paint film. The result, according to exhaustive lab tests, is a paint that outperforms all other house and wall paints.

Here are just of few of the benefits of ceramic paints:

• A smoother, more continuous paint film that resists cracking.
• Superior stain resistance—stains don’t get absorbed, so they can be wiped off.
• The ceramics produce a less tacky paint surface, which reduces dirt accumulation.
• Round spheres roll past each other in the paint, greatly enhancing flow and leveling.
• And microspheres help hide the underlying substrate and reduce the luster of the paint.

You can learn more about ceramic paint at the Paint Quality Institute website.

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I’m writing a new book on flooring, which is plodding along at glacial speed, and I recently installed a product I had never worked with before, or even ever seen for that matter: prefinished planks of solid bamboo flooring.

The 5/8” thick tongue-and-groove planks are about 3¾” wide x 6’ long, and are installed similarly to traditional hardwood strip floors; they can be glued, nailed or stapled down. For this installation, I glued and stapled the planks to the plywood subfloor.

The interesting thing about solid bamboo flooring is that while it is 100% bamboo, the planks aren’t milled from individual bamboo boards. Instead, each plank is composed of 15 thin bamboo strips laminated together. The result is a floor that’s very dimensionally stable, so it’s not likely to crack or splinter, and very hard.

In fact, tests have shown that bamboo is denser than oak or maple, which is pretty amazing when you consider that bamboo is a grass. And because bamboo is a grass, it grows incredibly fast and can be harvested in about four years. By comparison, hardwood trees reach maturity somewhere between 30 and 60 years.

More information about bamboo flooring is available at Sustainable Flooring: Bamboo and Cork.

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Danny and me at Hank Aaron Stadium.

During my most recent visit to Mobile, Danny and I and the crew had a very productive time shooting video for the upcoming season of Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford. We shot some new Simple Solutions, as well as segments on DIY flooring options and attic insulation.

On our last day of taping, we went out to the home ballpark of the Mobile BayBears, a Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. There, we got to don BayBear uniforms and run around the field throwing and—occasionally—catching baseballs and acting like a bunch of 12-year olds. It was great! (I’m hoping to regain full use of my right arm within a month or two.)

However, the real reason we visited the ballpark was to see the childhood home of baseball’s true home-run king, Henry Aaron. Hammering Hank is from Mobile and the house he grew up in was recently saved from demolition and moved to the stadium where it’s being renovated and transformed into a museum to honor his remarkable life and career.

In 1942, Aaron’s dad built the 24×30-ft. home out of salvaged lumber. And, believe it or not, he and Mrs. Aaron raised eight kids in that tiny home. It was remodeled and expanded in the late ’50s, and again in the ’60s, long after Henry had left to play baseball. (He made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1954.)

Henry Aaron’s childhood home waiting to be lowered to its new foundation. The roof was removed to make the 7-mile journey from the original site to the ballpark.

As Danny and I stepped inside the home, which is up on blocks awaiting a new foundation, I was in awe to think that Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron once walked these floors, ate in this kitchen, and slept in this room while dreaming of being a major leaguer. It’s all the more poignant when you consider that Aaron was only eight years old when his family moved into the home, and Jackie Robinson didn’t break baseball’s color barrier for another five years.

To learn more, check out the article Hank Aaron’s Home Moved to Ballpark, and stay tuned for the upcoming episode of Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford where Danny will cover the entire transformation from salvage to salvation.

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On our way up the chair lift to the summit.

My son, Christopher, and I just returned from a four-day skiing trip to Mount Snow, Vermont. Mount Snow is a majestic 3,600-foot-tall peak that has 102 trails spread across 588 acres and four mountain faces. Its 20 chair lifts are capable of transporting more than 30,000 skiers per hour. How’s that for mass transit!

The first couple of days were pretty chilly: 10° F with sustained 25-mph winds for a wind-chill factor of minus 29°, but it warmed up a bit after that to a balmy 25°. Surprisingly the only time you’re cold when skiing in those conditions is while seated on the chair lift, dangling a 100 feet off the ground as the wind whips you silly. Once you’re on the mountain skiing, you warm right up.

Chris about to head down the mountain.

The skiing conditions on Mount Snow were terrific—packed powder over a 52-inch-deep base—and we had a blast. But the best part was just being with Chris, who’s a freshman at the Salisbury School, an all-boys boarding school in Salisbury, Connecticut.

With Chris away at school now, we don’t get a chance to spend much time together. I find solace in the fact that Chris loves Salisbury and his teachers, is doing well in class, and has adjusted to life away from home. He’s also a member of the Salisbury Ski Team, where he races both slalom and giant slalom. So, not surprisingly, he easily beat me down the mountain each and every time. But I don’t mind—too much—as long as he waits for me at the bottom so we can share the ride back to the top together.

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