About the author

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

Durgin and Crowell Enhance™ Pre-Coated Pine

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry

Enhance™ by Durgin & Crowell We’re very fortunate to build homes in an area of New Hampshire filled with local wood mills producing flooring, paneling, and even timbers for timber frame homes. Just down the road about 10 miles from my office is Durgin and Crowell, a family owned fully integrated lumber company producing up…

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How To Build Sliding Barn Door

By Todd Fratzel on Doors

How To Build Rustic Sliding Barn Door Sliding barn doors are very popular inside home today. These doors add a great aesthetic impact to any room, and they offer a functional solution where traditional swinging doors might be a problem. I recently built a rustic sliding barn door for our finished basement and wanted write…

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GP ForceField® Sheathing Review

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

ForceField® Air and Water Barrier System from Georgia-Pacific Over the last ten years I’ve seen a wave of development, advancement, and improvement in building materials used in the construction buildings. Some of the biggest advancements and improvements include products focused on improving the building envelope while also helping builders become more efficient and profitable. Georgia-Pacific…

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Bernzomatic Premium Torch Kit Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews

Bernzomatic Premium Torch Kit – TS8000KC Whether you’re a DIY’er or a contractor one of the tools that everyone should have is a quality torch. A torch can be used for soldering copper pipes, thawing a frozen lock, flaming the surface of a piece of wood, and endless other tasks. Bernzomatic has been around since…

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Foam Subfloor Adhesive – Getting Sticky!

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

TYTAN Subfloor High Yield Adhesive For years carpenters have been building great grip strength from squeezing miles of subfloor adhesive from large caulking gun tubes when framing subfloors. Not only has traditional subfloor adhesives been a pain to install they didn’t always work to prevent floor squeaks and often left a heck of a mess…

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Advantages of Metal Roofing

By Todd Fratzel on Roofing

Metal Roofing – Long Term Investment and Performance As a general contractor we deal with roofing materials on a regular basis and homeowners are constantly asking for advice on roof selection, costs, and benefits. Here in the Northeast with an extreme climate shift from -20F in the winter to over 100F at times in the…

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Clopay CANYON RIDGE® Garage Door Review

By Todd Fratzel on Doors

Canyon Ridge® Limited Edition Series Carriage House Doors Years ago there were very few options when it came to garage doors. You either bought a steel door that looked rather commercial or you went with a wood door that required lots of maintenance. Sure there were many different styles to choose from (especially in the…

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ClipStone Mortarless Stone Veneer Review

By Todd Fratzel on Masonry, Product Reviews

ClipStone Mortarless Stone Veneer Stone accents on the exterior and interior of a home add a great architectural upgrade and increased home value. However, hiring a mason can prove frustrating and extremely expensive today. Often times I have a hard time finding an available mason when we build homes for a client that wants real…

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