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Joel Graber

Joel Graber

Home remodeler and owner of Graber Custom Remodeling, co-host of the home improvement radio show and podcast "Measure Twice" on 95.3 MNC in Michiana.

Nov 6, 2026

6:13
So what would, okay, Joel, what's fundamentally the difference from the construction standpoint? What's the difference? I mean,
6:23
I don't know that there's fun, a fundamental difference necessarily.
6:27
Like it just, I think it has more to do with the amount of space or aesthetics.
6:32
Yeah.
6:33
Right.
6:33
Like it, you know, when I think about a bump out, I think like, well, like, like if somebody is trying to get more space, like four more feet for a kitchen, right.
6:43
You're bumping that wall out.

22 MINS LATER

28:33
Well, that's not acceptable,
17:41
And then, so in construction on the renovation side, you're seeing that follow that, or are you still making great rooms, knocking walls
17:50
down? There are times, like...
17:56
Well, in remodeling, we're still getting into houses where people want walls removed, but maybe they're not removing as many walls where they're just opening everything up.
18:08
Just because, you know, like kitchens used to be smaller.
18:12
So maybe they're taking a wall out between a dining room and a kitchen, but there's still a wall that... there's still some sort of partition from the kitchen to the next room.

20 MINS LATER

38:01
Now,
38:02
with...
38:03
With the material, the flashing materials and the package, the flashing packages with these, like, that's, a lot of that stuff's been worked out.
3:29
Didn't I say that? I was like, what
3:30
are you making a locker room? They have a shower.
3:35
It's like a 1990s set up.
3:39
Is it that big right now? There's that much room there.
3:43
There is a shower and then right beside it is like a garden tub.
3:47
Oh, so they're taking that garden tub out and extending the shower.
3:50
And they went on.

27 MINS LATER

30:41
Then how do you do that?
3:31
But everything you do is hands-on.
3:36
So if you take a picture and you ask the right prompt, it will find stuff.
3:41
Because I'm sure people have put stuff out on the internet that...
3:46
Yeah, it'll like locate.
3:49
Deals with that.
3:50
But you have to have, you can't just use just any basic AI for that because you'll get a lot of slop with that too.
3:57
Yeah,

31 MINS LATER

35:06
Correct.
18:00
I was like, well, but sometimes I guess you have that, right? Well,
18:03
top of mind, like, it's top of mind because I've got a good friend that is a contractor.
18:11
And actually, he coaches a football team with me.
18:15
And we were talking last night, and he was talking about how they've been in a planning...
18:23
Like, I don't know what you would call it, purgatory for like two years.
18:27
Really? Yeah, because the architect keeps changing things.
18:31
Architects changing things? Yeah.

13 MINS LATER

32:02
And if you have a bank loan or you have a construction, that's
15:56
structural stuff I'm talking about, like not electrical or
16:00
structural.
16:00
Yeah.
16:01
I mean, some walls really aren't weight-bearing at all.
16:04
Right.
16:05
So you're not figuring a whole lot out in that situation other than spacing.
16:13
If you were to walk...

21 MINS LATER

37:19
What limits, is it amps? What is the limiting?
13:10
Right.
13:15
You have your layout part, so it would be your widths and your depths.
13:24
More of a topical view of what you're building.
13:27
Your elevations is a side view so that you can see where does this window start from ground level or ceiling height.
13:41
Some of the elevations on a blueprint will show...
13:46
Like what insulation looks like in the roof.
13:49
Yeah, I mean, it can get really, really detailed.
15:14
yeah which makes sense because on the show i was watching they were doing they're like we have to drop our elevation into a topographical elevation so that we can see that this fits here like like it looks like it's supposed to be there and i think that makes a lot of sense so you're using the elevation though on the job too or is that where the blueprint comes in
12:36
What are they doing to the mortar that makes a tuck
12:39
pointing? Well, because you have these mortar joints, and if you're repairing them, oftentimes you're grinding some of it out, but then you're taking just a little tuck point tool, which is an extremely narrow trowel.
12:58
And you're using that, getting your mortar in the joint, so you're tucking it in there and

22 MINS LATER

34:42
Well,
34:43
so trim is more of a broad, is more really a broad term for all of the different types of trim that will go into your house.
34:53
We'll call like base, like your base trim, we'll call that base molding.
34:58
There's panel moldings.
35:00
Those are different types of trim.
24:45
So do you have to block that and then-
24:46
Well, what we do is we get media filter and cover, cover registers with media filter to try to minimize as much.
24:57
Uh, we have, like, what we...
24:59
They're called air cleaners.
25:00
Like, they're a big HEPA.
25:04
Uh, for...
25:05
It's not necessarily a vac, but, like, it's a big HEPA filter with a tube that you can push, send, set out, you know, take the tube outside.
29:04
I mean, this is stuff that is important.

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