Archives: Home Improvement

John Deere Broadcast Spreader

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

Now that I realize that my acre plus of lawn needs so much lime and fertilizer I’ve been looking for larger capacity spreaders that I can tow behind my John Deere mower. My darling wife first said “NO WAY” to my idea of spending $219 on a tow behind spreader. Now that she’s thought about…

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Correcting Lawn pH with Lime

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

In my previous post, Lawn Soil Test Report, I stated that my lawn needs a significant amount of lime to correct the acidic soil that our lawn is growing in. In fact, our lawn tested at an average pH of 5.35! That’s more than 10 times more acidic than the ideal range of 6.0 to…

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Selecting A Lawn Fertilizer

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

In my previous post,Lawn Soil Test Report, I talked about the results of a soil analysis that I had done on our lawns soil. The resulting report recommends that I apply a fertilizer with a ratio of 3:1:3 where 1 lb of Nitrogen is applied to every 1,000 sq. ft. This is where the confusion…

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Lawn Soil Test Report

By Todd Fratzel on Landscaping

As spring finally approaches here in New Hampshire I’ve started thinking about what needs to be done to the lawn. Last fall I had our soil tested so I could take some of the guess work out of diagnosing our mediocre lawn. Three samples were taken and tested by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative…

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Automatic Timer Switch

By Todd Fratzel on Electrical, Energy Conservation

In a previous post,Energy Star Qualified Home, I discussed the importance of good ventilation in a well built, “tight” home. I also pointed out that one of the best ways to make sure you’re ventilating the moist air out of your home was to use some type of automatic timer. I’ve finally decided to install…

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Diagonal Decking Layout

By Todd Fratzel on Decks & Porches

I recently discovered a great way of installing decking on decks to reduce waste and eliminate warping butt joints. Traditionally many decks are built by installing the decking material perpendicular to the floor joists. By using that layout method, decks that are longer than 16 feet will require butt joints over a joist. Typically those…

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Router Dado Guide

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry, Power Tools

I’ve been searching for an easy to build, cheap router dado guide. What I found is a very simple router dado guide that I can build for making the dado’s in the book shelves I’m going go make for the basement storage room. As you can see this router dado guide is really simple. I’m…

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Cutting Dados with a Router

By Todd Fratzel on Cabinetry, Finish Carpentry

I’m getting ready to build some book shelves for the new basement storage room. To build the book shelves I’m going to need to cut dados in the side panels of the shelves. The easiest way to cut the dados is to use a router with a straight plunge cutting bit. I’m going to make…

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