Thank you to all of our readers for another great year! We’ve written about innovations, new techniques and the science that goes into building better. We’ve shared inspiring stories from builders and contractors, toured some amazing projects and have been challenged by your comments and questions – and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.
We are ready for another year full on new ideas to explore, code changes to dig into, and material innovations to share but before we say goodbye to 2018 we wanted to look back at some of your favorite posts from the year.
Favorite Advice for Homeowners:
How to Find Mold Behind the Wall
While this post was originally shared in 2017, a very wet spring, summer and fall for much of the country made mold a top concern for many readers in 2018. We share a lot of tips, but this simple trick from the CertainTeed Building Science team was a big help and big hit with readers. So we’re sharing it again.
Blog: Warning Signs: How to Tell if You Have Mold Behind the Walls
Favorite Tip for the Pros from the Pros:
When to Hang Drywall Vertically
“The direction of the drywall can mean the difference between a beautiful finished home and one with sagging ceilings,” Myron Ferguson, That Drywall Guy
Sometimes the best advice is the most straightforward, as is the case with this post from drywall professional and author Myron Ferguson. Professional and amateur installers alike sought out his easy-to-follow recommendations, making this the most visited professional post of the year.
Blog: Horizontal or Vertical – The Proper Direction to Hang Drywall
Favorite Energy Hack:
Insulated Siding
According to research from the North American Insulation Manufacturers’ Association, 90 percent of homes in the United States are under insulated. Unfortunately unless you are renovating, it is hard to add insulation to the walls of an existing home. This may explain why this article from our Siding team on how to use insulated siding to insulate your home from the outside resonated with so many readers.
Blog: Insulate from the Outside In
Favorite Innovation in Roofing Design:
Metal Roofs That Look Like Shake, Tile and Slate
There are a lot of exciting new developments in roofing products but it’s really hard to compete with the beauty of these metal roofs. Readers thoughts so too, making this one of our most viewed roofing posts of the year.
Blog: Metal Roofs That Look Like Shake, Tile and Slate
Favorite Contract Advice:
“Before signing a contract, read it — all of it, every word.”
Staring at a home remodeling contract for the first time can be a little intimidating. Having a few questions at the ready makes it a whole lot easier — which may be why readers go back to this post again and again.
Blog: 8 Important Questions a Remodeling Contract Should Answer
Favorite reader advice for those entering the trades:
Editor’s note: There was so much great advice coming from the contractors profiled in our Keep Craft Alive My Story series, we couldn’t pick just one quote.
“It doesn’t matter how shiny the truck a salesman drives, our industry survives on the back of our installers,” Michele Doning, Owner KMN Construction
Blog: It Doesn’t Matter How Shiny Their Truck is
“You have to know when to take a job and when to turn one down, too. You learn that the hard way. Some jobs are better off for your competition,” Brent Dudgeon, President North Central Insulation, Inc.
Blog: 3 Keys to Success: Work Hard, Work Smart, and Work Now
“First thing, go to trade school. There are 100,000 things you need to know. Take classes in the fall and winter, and work as hard as you can in the spring and summer. But it’s also very important to get a mentor, find someone who can teach you the other 80,000 things that you can’t learn from a book,” Eric Kjelshus, owner Kjelshus Energy.
Blog: The 2-Part Foundation to Success in the Skilled Trades
What was your favorite post of 2018? What would you like to see more of in 2019? Leave us a comment below. Plus, if you are in the trades and want to be profiled as part of our Keep Craft Alive series, share your story here.
Thanks again for a spending time with us, and we hope to see you next year!
