Thomas Martinez

There’s one regret you’ll have if you purchase insufficient joint sand: halfway into sweeping the new patio, the broom strikes unadorned pavers and you remember, … Read more

Every time the grout truck rolls up on a masonry job, there’s a critical moment: will you have sufficient mix to get the lift? Filling … Read more

When it comes to bar sizes and slab dimensions, the calculator does the heavy lifting for you; you don’t have to figure out each linear … Read more

Pouring the most expensive concrete mix in the world doesn’t matter, because if you’ve got an inch-deep shifting foundation below it, your slab’s still gonna … Read more

The majority of errors with framing occur long before you touch a piece of lumber with a saw. It begins as a math mistake, then … Read more

Pouring a concrete slab sounds simple: shovel some gray sludge into a hole; hope it hardens flat. If most people thought like that they’d have … Read more

Standing in the void of your former back yard, you look down at two identical shapes filled with soggy gray goo. A team of concrete … Read more

Buying too much stone for the wall is easy; underestimating the mortar, not so much. Seems like simple math, but underestimating setting bed is what … Read more

Because concrete is dense, it’s heavy and stays right where you put it. This means you may think a basement floor is as permanent and … Read more

There you are: You’ve got a heavy-duty wrench in one hand and a torque multiplier in the other. In front of you is this flange … Read more

Most renovations fail because your shopping list appears fine on paper, but when it’s time to pick up materials there are no volume listed. You … Read more