Thomas Martinez

Cantilever design have more to do with balancing rigidity vs failure than anything else. It’s why a canopy can hold snow without sagging, or why … Read more

Landscape material ordering is an exercise in regret. You almost always regret it within an hour or two of the dump truck’s arrival. This happens … Read more

Most DIYers simply guess how many studs each wall needs based off its length. This lead to extra trips to the yard for more lumber … Read more

Chip seal jobs has a tell-tale aroma. The unmistakable stench of hot asphalt binder bubbling up through the pavement lets you know that road work’s … Read more

For driveways, many people like polyurethane aggregate surfacing: It’s stable like concrete, but drains like gravel. But this stuff has to be mixed just right. … Read more

You don’t know what the ground beneath your feet is like, and you need to pave a driveway or patio. Meet your new best friend, … Read more

It all began by drawing out your ideas on the back of a napkin. Maybe there’s a big hot tub right smack dab in the … Read more

In terms of the floors, it isn’t all about joist thickness. The stiffness of the floors relate to the joists. It also depends on their … Read more

I’m pretty sure everyone who has ever stood with a bag of cement in their hand about to plaster some sort of brick surface will … Read more

A lot of times, it seems like you have this great idea for a weekend project. It’s a simple line of blocks making flower bed … Read more

The space between the blocks is how you make a wall. You see the bricks or concrete block, but it’s the mortar that ties everything … Read more

Imagine this: You envision a flagstone patio as a rustic, elegant space where all stones is irregularly shaped and fit together like a puzzle. Hardly … Read more

There you are with a trowel in your hand, faced by a crumbling Victorian garden wall, and wondering if there’s enough mortar left for the … Read more

When most homeowners stare at their gravel, all they see is volume. So they measure the space, divide by target thickness, and calculate how many … Read more