Q. I saw that the decks that you can build this way are cheaper and I'm interested. Any advice?

A. 1. Go to Lowe's or Home Depot. 2. Buy a book on decks.

Q. We are planning on moving to Vegas this summer. My husband is a licensed General Contractor here where we live. However, he doesn't think he is going to get his contractors license in Nevada. At least not right away til he gets a feel for the industry there first. In the meantime, he would want to work for someone else. He is an excellent contractor with over 25+ years in the industry, but, he wants to get away from framing and go into more finish work, cabinet construction and install, remodeling, decks, patios, add ons, etc. Is there a market for these skills without a license. And what kind of pay could he realistically expect with these skills and years of experience? Are there plenty of good paying jobs around? Or is the money mostly in being a licensed person in this trade. Right now he is earning only around $25K - $30K. He wants to make more money without the hassles of licensing. Is this possible?

A. The biz is Booming! Come on down!

Q. I'm going to Jackson Rancheria in Jackson, California in a couple of days, and I was wondering if anybody knew how many decks are in a shoe of the $5 minimum tables. Please and Thanks ^_^

A. Probably 4-6, more likely 6 if it's 5 dollar. Either way the basic strategy nearly is the same on 4-6 decks

Q. We completely remodeled our living room, new paint on the walls, new carpet and ceramic tile in the entry way. Well, before the guys came out and installed the carpet, my husband put a little bit of a water sealer down over the wood because we have an indoor cat that had used certain spots on our old carpet and the lumber store told us we better seal those areas so the smell is no longer there. Well, the sealer they recommended is supposed to be outdoor use only, like for decks and patios, but my husband put it in a few spots on the hard floor inside. I mean, there is padding and carpet over those spots now and to be honest if I hadn't seen the can sitting there and read the labels on it, I would have never known otherwise...but now I'm concerned about my 8 month old crawling on the carpet...I called the number on the can and they said it is intended for outdoor use only and really couldn't tell me anything else other than it contains some harsh chemical....the gentlemen recommended possibly trying to sand it out or getting a paint stripper, but my husband said it would be fine, he barely used any, like maybe an 1/8th of a cup. I'm just really nervous...it was also supposed to dry for 24 hrs and it was only on there about 6 hours before the carpet installers showed up. What do you think?? Would you be really worried and concerned? I even called poison control and the woman there was very nice and said that unless the baby actually drank some of it, there is nothing to worry about once it's dry.....especially since she'll never have direct contact with it. By the way, it was Thompson's Water Seal that he used...

A. It's underneath the carpet which means your child isn't even touching the chemical. the smell of the chemical is no longer there which means it's not getting to the lungs. I wouldn't worry about it in the least.

Q. I am looking for a good portfolio website of those plastic-type all-weather decks (that are very high quality). Does anyone know of some?

A. Http://www.allweatherdecks.net/

Q. We are moving to Vegas this summer. My husband is a licensed general contractor where we live. He will not have his license in Nevada for a while, but wants to stay in the industry. He has over 25+ years in the business. He has good work ethics, is quality oriented, has great people skills and is hard working. But, we all know that it's who you know when it comes to being successful at gaining employement. Is there anyone out there who has first hand knowledge of the industry in Vegas? Someone who is willing to talk to us about connections and possibilities? People with first hand knowledge, please. He wants to work for someone at first, and if it works out, he may not even get his contractors license, just stay an employee. He does all aspects of Construction. But, his preference is in remodeling, custom cabinets, finish work, patios, decks, fences, the lighter side. Even though he has had extensive experience in framing, he has a bad back. So because of his back, he prefers the lighter side of the business. However, he will do framing if that is all there is. What is his potential to find employment and what kinds of wages can he expect? Please be specific. If you know of outfits that are hiring, the names and contact information would be also very helpful. And we would be most thankful for it. Thanks in advance for your help. Please go to my profile and send me emails if you are willing to pursue this further than this forum. We would appreciate any help. Thanks Again!!!

A. I've been watching to see if you get an answer,, I guess you know the building has slowed a great deal in the Vegas area and will continue to do so for awhile,, house prices are forecast to fall as much as 40% from highs BTW, it's honest of you to tell about his bad back, but nobody would hire him if you say that,, good luck to you,, hope you find a great job in the area..

Q. March 2011 banlist has banned cold wave, limited book of moon, and has hurt many top tier decks. Infernities were left unscratched. So in your opinion, how will they hold up come March 2011 in the tcg?

A. With gold sarc at 3, skill drain at 3 and snipe hunter at 3 plus you could make a chaos build is the side deck like i do and add 3 chaos sorcerer plus other light stuff like 3 thunder king rai-oh, cyber dragon and effect veiler, and rykos so they will probably be tier 2 but will be the same, maybe better.

Q. Me and my father want to start a small business installing decks and fences. He has extensive work in the construction field as he has been doing it for about 30 years. But we are unsure if we would need to obtain a contracting license to do non-structural exterior work. We know that you need permits for each job. Any help would be great. We are in Canada.

A. I would contact someone at the local level of government to see what is required. In some locations, a license is required in order to obtain the permit for construction on the job.