Archives: houses

Farmers Porch On Colonial Style House

By Todd Fratzel on Curb Appeal, Decks & Porches, House Plans

Farmers Porch When I designed our new house my wife only had a couple of must haves. The biggest wish on her list was a full length farmers porch. I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t exactly sure how our large colonial style home would look with such a large porch on it. As…

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Blower Door Test Results

By Todd Fratzel on Energy Conservation

Understanding Blower Door Test Results Last year we built an Energy Star Home for a customer and we used a blower door test to evaluate the houses air infiltration performance. Simply put a blower door is a diagnostic tool used to measure how much air infiltration (air leakage) occurs in a house. The blower door…

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Framing Walls – Reference Guides

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

Framing Walls Before I begin please note that my dad (standing on top of that step ladder) is breaking a major ladder safety rule! This photo was taken when my father and I started framing our new home. Lately we’ve had quite a few emails and questions about framing walls and more specifically if we…

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Our Episode On Ask This Old House

By Todd Fratzel on Gardening

Ask This Old House Years ago before I left Boston to start my career in construction my wife and I were fortunate enough to be featured on an episode of Ask This Old House. It’s funny to think about these days because at the time I had no idea that today I would be writing…

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