215 Great Building Tips

25 years of great

CHAPTERS Drywall/ 32 r Repair r lnstallation

Painting| 40 r Strategy r Tidy Application r Prep& Cleanup

)

::j-'--\

Framing/ 48

DRYWALL

2t L,

Z

r Rules r Roofs r Walls

REPAIR

a4 H.MEMADE cLAMPs I I MrrER

r Floors

El

FinishCarpentry / 60 r Rules r Cutting & Coping '. r InstallingTrim

.orrrf,i.tiluoll 74

www.fi nehomebuilding .com

Cabinets/ 7A r Construction r lnstallation r EfficiencyGuidelines

El

Mechanical Systems / 80

DEPARTMENTS

r Electrical r plumbing

6

Editor'sNote

B

Benches & Sawhorses

Exteriors/ 86

lmproved sawhorse, Multipurposecart, Knockdown saw stand

r Roofing r Siding

Doors & Windows

r Trim

Routinghinge mortises, Solo window installation

28 Stairs| 96 Stringers r Treads& Risers r Railings

El

OutdoorSpaces / 102 . becks r Porches r Patios

EnergyEfficiency Cutting rigid insulation, lnsulatedheaders

1 0 8 TilingTechniques Accuratediagonaltile cuts, Removinga broken tile, Applying latex gro.ut

al -{ ^- I

al lf ( r -

DRYWALL-rAPE D|SPENSER

116

Math & Measuring Arch layout,Measuring odd shapes

The ThuntonPress Inspiration for hands-on livingo

editor'snote Editor Kevin lreton ExecutiveArt Director Robert Goodfellow Special-lssues Editor CharlesMiller

Welcometo the tailgate party

ExecutiveEditor.fim Snyder Senior Editor CharlesBickford Associate Editors DanielS. Morrison, Brian Pontolilo

AN OLD-TIMER ONCE TOLD ME that the key to working efficiently on any building project is to avoid stupid mistakes. I think he had the answer to half the equation. Knowing that you should measure a board twice before cutting it once and that you should remove masking tape before the sun bakes it onto the window is important. But it's the clever solutions to common construction

Assistant Editors Justin Fink, Christopher Ermides,John Ross SeniorCopy/ProductionEditor Chris Hoelck Copy/Production Editor Julie Risinit Deputy Art Directors Dan Thornton, Marne A. Mayer

problems that make up the other half of the equation. Builders are a resourceful, gregarious lot. They delight in coming up with ingenious ways to do things faster, with greater accuracy,and typically with tools and materials already on hand. Luckily, builders like to share their ideas, whether standing in the checkout line at the hardware store or sitting on a tailgate with a favorite beverage in hand at the end of the day.

Art Assistant Krysta 5. Doerfler AdministrativeAssistant Maureen Friedman Contributing Editors Scott McBride, Rick Arnold, Mike Guertin, Scott Gibson, Gary M. Katz Indexer Harriet Hodges

For the past 25 years, Fine Homebuilding has Publisher Tim Schreiner

encouraged readers to submit their gems of useful wisdom. The ideas are presented in our "Tips & Techniques" column, where builders offer up their job-site brainstorms, and they're scattered throughout articles and other departments. This special collection brings together some of the best advice we've received addressing both halves of the working-smarter equation. Here,

AdministrativeAssistant Christina Glennon Sr. Marketing Manager Carolyn Turoczi SingleCopy SalesManager Mark Stiekman AdvertisingSalesManager John Dyckman

you willfind professional-grade guidance on

CorporateAccountsManager Judy Caruso

how to avoid mistakes and how to work more efficiently, taken from a variety of feature articles on topics such as framing, drywall, and painting. You also will find a wide range of tips across the entire spectrum of tasks that make up this

SeniorNationalAccount Managers Joel Burger, James Spangenberg NationalAccount Managers. Charles Howe, Wendy Baxter, Michelle Erca

occupation and this passion that we call home building. ff you'd like to find out more about Fine Homebuilding, please turn to p.121 for more information, or check out our Web site

Ad SalesSupport Associate Sharon Zagata

at www.finehomebuilding.com. And if you've got a tip that you'd like to share, send it in. Join the party. -{harles

Miller, special-issues editor

Fine Homebuilding Books & Videos ExecutiveEditor, Home building Steve Culpepper Printed in the USA

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Photo:CharlesMiller

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NO.46 READER SERVICE GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

benches&sawhorses The ThuntonPress Inspiration

for hands-on

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERSSINCE I975

The improvedsawhorse:lt has lips

TAUNTON, INC.

My work as a carpenter who specializesin repairing and replacing exterior trim means that I spend a lot of time fussing with long workpieces that have to be planed to fit. As shown in the drawing below, I made some simple modifications to my sawhorses to make the planing go a little easier. First, I cut the ends of the sawhorse crossbars to create little liplike ledges on their ends that are wide enough to support a piece of 1x stock on edge. Second, I bored f -in.-dia. holes in the sawhorse crossbars to accommodate the stationary jaw of a bar clamp.

Foundtrs, Paul and Jan Roman THE TAUNTON PRESS President & Editor In Chief

Timothy

Executiue Vice President & Publisher, Magazine Group

Jon Miller

MICHAELDAVIS NewOrleans

Chief of Operations

Thomas Luxeder

DIRECTORS

Hurnan ResourcesDirector Technohgy SeruicesDirector

Susan Edehnan Carol Marotti Fdward

Controlbr'Wayne Adaertising Director Marheting Director

2x4 sawhorse crossbars

Rahr

Publisher, Booh Group James Childs

Creatiue Director

-JOHN

Sue Roman

Execatiue Vice Presidznt & Chief Financial Offcer

To use, I simply rest the workpiece on the horse's lips, clamp the stock to the cross' bars, and plane away.

livingo

Fulfrllment Director

David

Kingpton Reynolds Gray

Diana Allwein PatriciaVilliamson

Holes in sawhorse crossbars provide purchase for bar clamps. THE TAUNTON

PRESS

Booksr Marhetizg; MelissaA. Possick,Audrey Locorotondo. Publicity: Nicole Radder,Janel Noblin. Editorial: Helen Albert, Kathryn Benoit, PeterChapman, SteveCulpepper, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Julie Hamilton, PamelaHoenig, Carolyn Mandarano,JenniferPeters,Amy Reilly,Jennifer Russell,Erica Sanders-Foege, Kathleen\flilliams. lrr: Chris Thompson, Nancy Boudreau,Amy Griffin, Karhy Kelley, SandraMahlstedt,\7endi Mijal, Lynne Phillips, Carol Singer.

Lip supports workpiece.

Manufacnring Thomas Greco,Laura Burrone. BusinessOffice HollySmith, Gayle Hammond. Legal: Carolyn Kovdeski. Magazine Print Production: Phllip\an Kirk, Nicole Anastas,JenniferKaczmarryk.

A safer step stool

%-in. plywood sides and top, screwed and glued

I've been a remodeler and a handyman for more than 20 years

Distribution: Paul Seipold,\Talter Aponte, Frank Busino, David DeToto, LeanneFurlong, Deborah Greene,Linnea Ingram, Frank Melbourne, ReinaldoMoreno, Raymond Passaro, Alice Saxton,Nelson W'ade.

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come to appreciate the simple

Judith O'Toole, ShannonMarrs, ElaineYamin, Carol Diehm, Dorothy Blasko,SusanBurke, l,orraine Parsons,Larry Rice,

perfection of my little step stool. Itt made entirely out of scraps rescued from the burn pile. The thing I like best about my little stool is its stability. Because

JamesTweedle,Priscilla'Sflakeman. Fulfillmenc Diane Goulart. Fulfllment Slaems:Jodi Klein, Kim Eads,Nancy Knorr, Dawn Viglione. C*rtomerSmtice: Ellen Grassi,Michelle Amoroso, Bonnie Beardsley,Deborah Ciccio, KatherineClarke,Alfred Dreher,Monica Duhancik, EileenMcNulry PatriciaParks,DeanaParker,PatriciaPineau,

1 4i n .

the sides are tapered, it's a lot harder to tip over rhan a stool with

Berty Stepney.Data Entry: MelissaDugan, Anne Champlin, MaryAnn Colbert, Maureen Pekar,Debra Sennefelder, Andrea Shorrock,Marylou Thompson, BarbaraVilliams, Brian . Wilcox.

straight sides.Its l4-in. height makes the stool narrow enough to passbetween stud walls framed on 16-in.centers,but still tall enough for rne to reach the top of a wall in a room with 8-ft. ceilings. _MIKENIEMEYER Lawrenceburg, Ind. FINE HOMEBUILDING

Human Resources:Linda Ballerini, Christine Lincoln, Dawn Ussery. Information Technolory Servi cex;zApplications Deuehpment: Heidi \Taldkirch, Frank Miller, Robert Nielsen,Linda Reddington, lawrence Sullivan,John Vaccino,Daniel 'Woodhouse. Deshtopand Netutorh Sapport:Kenneth Jones, Michael Colonari, PetreCotofana, Gabriel Dunn, Michael Lewis,JayLigouri.

Rubber shoes Drawings:CharlesMiller

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READER NO.36 SERVICE

NO. 1 READERSERVICE GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

benches&sawhorses

in.

CONTINUED ,81h

u\zF'/----: -

Multipurpose cart To move heavy or awkward items around a iob site, I use this small cart consisting of a l2-in. by l8-in. plywood base,2x2 curbs, and casterwheels.

15in. --->l

-

- - - - - ' > - - ' ; ' ?

. . - . - -

1O1/zin.

As shown in the drawing below,I use the sort of casterswith stems that fit into plastic sleeves.By drilling right through the curb, these sleevescan be slipped in from the top or bottom.

II I

t_

Foam or carpet padding is great when I have ro move items like vanities. The cart also makes a dandy mechanics-style crawler for accessingthe underside of sinks or lavatories,

Padded side

and it'll scoot around for low-level work on outlets

Removable casters fit in plastic sleeyes.

With the recessedside of the cart up, I drag my compressor around,lug paint pails, and move buckets of drywall mud. - P E T E RB L A C K M O R E SaltSpringlsland,B.C.,

.i;r'

1t:l;'

:h.JJS 2x12 base 2-in'-dia'casters-'v Notches for stool legs

T[iple-duty stool

or baseboards.

'6ru"

II

Canada

My little work stool staysput, or scootsaround on wheels, depending on what I need it for. As illustrated in the drawing above, the stool is accompanied by a dolly with 2-in.-dia. swiveltype casters. Most of the time.I use the srool without its dolly. Its l\Vz-in.

of the construction iobs inside the house. It's also useful for small children to reach the sink. I put the stool on its dolly when I want to scoot around close to the floor for nailing or drywall finishing. It's even good for waxing the car. - J O S E P HS . K O W A L E W S K I

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benches&sawhorses

CONTINUED

Double-duty miter-saw bench I upgraded my miter saw recently, and that got me looking at commercially available stands. Then I wondered whether I already had com-

affixed a power strip to one of the sawhorses. I made a pair of supports to hold up the ends

ponents that could be recon-

of long pieces of stock. The supports are mirror

figured into an acceptable saw

images of each other,

stand. I did a little improvising,

and like the chopsaw,

and now I've got what I think is a more adaptable saw stand

the supports are

the edges that contact the lumber with alumi-

The basic stand consistsof an extendable aluminum scaffold

num angle stock reduces

plank held up by a pair of folding sawhorses.I used Werner's PA 208 plank (Werner Ladder Co.; 888-523-3370). It weighs

rig easier to use.

HiltrlllJll

Aluminum angle 2 in.by 4 in.

by 12i n.

friction and makes the

Heightto match miter-sawbase

a movable stop that can be raised above the support when I need to make multiple cuts (top detail), even up to 11 ft.

the stop to the position where its vertical edge can be aligned with the saw's fence (bottom detail).

-LARRYJAcoBSoN

long. For one-off pieces,I lower

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Verticaledge of support/stop in fence-alignment mode

Each support includes

cuttingol varioustile sizes . Variable heightcuttingheadallowsfor plungecutting . Linear-Bearing andchromeplatedguide-bar assembly precise ensure cutting . Bladeshaftlockfor easybladeremoval

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me anything extra.

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Left-side support/sto clampedto plank \.__4

than any commercial unit I reviewed_and it didn,r cosr

401b.,is 14 in. wide, and

Right-side support/stop

Extendable aluminum scaffold plank

Yr'

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benches&sawhorses

CONTINUED

Hurricane ties, both sides

Roof framerrs sawhorse No matter how careful you are, the metal fasteners in sawhorseseventually encounter a spinning sawblade.

sawhorse from a local road crew. The horses can be taken apart for transport and quickly reassembled with a screw gun. The knockdown connec-

require no fasteners.Inter-

tions all are made by way of metal framing

locking plywood piecesstore flat in the back of a truck,

E q u a lt o height of slot in Part A

and the crossbar cutout can be adjusted to accommodate any piece of lumber

connectors.

At the top of the 2x legs,a pair of hurricanetiesacceptsthe

crossbar.Below the crossbar,a rail screwed to joist hangers on the leg brace stiffens the horse. board that gives me the profile of the standard sawhorse.

found that with a load of 2xl0 rafters, I need at least

up a new set from wood scraps $rched bottoms -for stabilityon unevenground

whenever I need a worktable.

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With the pattern,I can whip

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I made a pattern out of hard-

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Sunset, Maine

tt

I stole the idea for this

The inevitable result is aggravation and lost money on a new blade. The drawing Cut slots to shows the kind of sawhorses plywood thickness. I use when I cut roofs. The Slot for --. design is simple, and the crossbar material is scrap plywood. \ Best of all. thesehorses

dozen or more rafters. _ W I L L I A MR A Y N ES

'tt-.

Hurricane-tie sawhorse

E

benches&sawhorses

CONTINUED

'l'ernporary

sat!' stand

The drawing below shows how I improvise a stand for a portable tablesaw from an appliance carton. I begin by cutting the

Knockclown sil\v stand My work as a remodeler

box down to about 24 in. with a utility knife. Then I reinforce the box's upper edgeswith 1x2sscrewed and glued to both inside and outside surfaces.My saw is affixed to a plywood baseover a

requiresthat I carry a wide variety of tools and materials,so

hole that allows dust to evacuate.I place the saw and its baseatop the reinforced box and run screws through the plywood into the

um. That's why I came up with

1x2sto hold everything together. The plyrvood extends well beyond the back of the box, where it is held up by a 2x8 leg.

The stand is constructed of 2x4 legs that have been con-

Don't let the box get too full of sawdust; the saw may overheat or -MARK

even causea trre.

WHITE KodiakA , laska

Benchtoptablesaw" Plywood base;

Use 1x2s inside and out to reinf orce liP.

nected in pairs by way of 2x4 crossbars.Scre'*,sand glue hold them together. The crossbarsare notched in the rniddle where they engage one another. I mounted my portable

middle to evacuatesawdust. The saw is held fast to the stand A 2x8 leg extends above base to become outfeed block.

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of the basecorrespondsto the dowels in the front legs of the saw stand. - R O B E R T C O NR A D

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doors&windows Putting a new window in an old brownstone In Brooklyn, where turn-of-the-century brownstones and bricks are the norm, window replacement often calls for some ingenuity. I have used both Bonneville and Andersen brick-to-brick replacement windows. These units are custom-made to be % in. narrower than the brick opening, with a brick molding already attached. In theory, they drop into the opening and are strapped to the interior-wall framing with vendor-supplied galvanized straps. Caulk the brick moldings to the bricks, and you're done. But with solid-brick walls, what do you strap the new window to? When old windows are removed, the area once occupied by the sash weights is now a large void. Rather than make a mountain of

Strapsmade of 2-in.-widestrips of 3/q-in. plywood attachedwith 172-in.screws

unstable framing in the void, I improve on the strap idea. As shown in the drawing, I screw 2-in.-wide strips of 3A-in.plywood to the sides, bottom, and top of the window. Now I can attach the plywood strips to the stud wall, shimming as necessary to square to the window.

Once they are affixed to framing, cut strapsflush with stud

The strips then are cut flush with the studs. The strips also serve as support for jamb extensions or drywall. Before installing the drywall, I stuff the sash-weight voids with insulation. _MATT HAUSMANN Brooklyn, N.Y.

r\

\ Stud wall

New window

Brickmolding

:'-t::\\

N .\.\.

,\rri.

*s

shim as -/ necessary.

20

FINE HOMEBUILDING

S,ra*"ttj

Vg

Locating a passageset in a door isn't too tough. Heights are standard, and many manufacturers provide a template with the hardware. Locating the latch hole in the jamb can be more difficult. Here's the most accurate way I've found to do it. Close the door, and hold it tight to the stop. Then push a 6d nail through the %-in. pilot hole in the door edge until it pierces the door jamb; a pry bar provides leverage if necessary.Now drill holes for the latch and the strike using arsAr-in. spade bit. (A %-in. bit is

-\,) Spaceformerly occupie'd by sashweights

Use a nail to mark the center of the strike-plate hole

too small for most latch mechanisms, and the trole left by a l-in. bit won't be. covered completely by the latch plate.) -TOM O'BRIEN New Milford,Conn.

plywoodstrap

Drawings,except where noted: CharlesMiller. Photo this page: CharlesBickford.

doors&windows CONTINUED

Screw hinge leaf to door stile, and cut

around its perimeter with a utility knife.

Routing hinge mortises I had a fair number of doorsthat neededhanging, and I wanted to take advantageof my router and my 3/t-in.-dia.straightbit to make quick work of the hinge mortises.I had tried freehandingthe mortises with mixed results.So I decidedto make the hingemortising templateshown in the drawings below. I startedwith a pieceof Vz-in.plywood, to which I attachedthe leaf of a radiusedbutt hinge aligned to the edgeof the plywood asit will be placedon the door or jamb (drawing l). Using the hinge as a guide for the router's base,I routed a shallow groovein the plywood. The insideedgeof this shallow groovebecamethe cutline that I folRouter base

6n t d-rT

Chiseling hinge mortises I typically use a router and a template to cut mortises or to enlarge existing mortises for new door hinges. But for small jobs where it doesn't make senseto cart

f

:v

along a lot of gear, I use a utility knife and a chisel

_..-.1

for the same purpose. First, I screw the hinge to the

(

door stile in the desired position. Then I score around the edges of the hinge with the knife as shown in the

%-in. plywood Attach hinge leaf to plywood.

drawing above. With the hinge removed, I chisel the mortise to the thickness of the hinge. Now I can reattach the hinge using the same screw holes. - D A N I E L E . H I L Ll l l G r i s w o l dC,o n n .

Solo window installation I had to install windows in a new house by myself. First, I cut a couple of 2x4s about 8 in. longer than the widest

Router base follows template's curue as it cuts hinge mortise.

window. Then I measured the distance that the windows projected from the house and cut lowed with my jigsaw as I made a circular cut in the template (drawing 2). Next,I cut the template along the dotted lines (as shown in the drawing) to make it more convenient to maneuver. To cut a hinge mortise,I screwed the template to a

this distance plus %in.l

Crossbarwith blocks holds wind ow during i nstallation.

screwed one block to the end of each2x4. Working from outside,I installed a vinyl window and placed the 2x4s over it, screwing them to the wall on both

iamb and followed the curved edge of the plywood with the router's base (drawing 3). I used the same 3/q-in.straight bit, set at a depth equal to the thick-

sides. Now I was free to go inside and level the bottorir of

nessof a hinge leaf, to make the cuts. By the way,I placed the screws that hold the template to the jamb

from the 2x4s. When the window was centered and

so that their holes will be covered by the doorstop - R A y F R E U DC h e r r y H i l N (drawing 4). l, .J.

22

four blocks equal to

FINE HOMEBUILDING

the window and center it in its opening with shims. The extra Ycin.letme move the window without interference level,I went back out and nailed it in place, beginning with the bottom flange. Then I pulled out the crossbars and moved on.

-SCOTT

B R U C E G r a n d B l a n c ,M i c h .

doors&windows CONTINUED

Hanging heavy doors When I haveto musclea solid-coredoor into or out of its hinges,I let a drywall lift (a tool designedfor placingdrywall on walls)do the heavylifting. Unlike a flat bar,a drywall lift featuresan integral fulcrum (soI don't haveto setit on top of a2x4 to get leverage)and a stirrup that permits hands-freeoperation.As shown in the drawing, when I'm readyto hang the door,I slip a toe through the stirrup, usemy foot to center the lift under the door, and effordesslyraisethe door into position. You can find thesetools at the big drywall-supplyoutletsthat caterto the pros.Expectto spendfrom $15to $20 for one. By the way,the sharpmetal edgesof the lift can scratchwood surfaces,so I usually coverthem with a layer of duct tape.

A stronger ioint where the casing meets the stool Common practice is to nail up through the stool into side casings. But biscuits hold better than end-grain nails and

g Y o

c,

-o

_TOM O'BRIEN

won't come out through the exposed sur-

o

- J O S E P H B E A L Sl l l M a r s h f i e lHd i l l sM , ass.

like a Ela your Bas Swim or exerciseagainsta smoothcurrentadjustable to any speedor ability. Ideal for swimming,water aerobics,rehabilitationand fun. No traveling, no crowded pools, no heavy chlorine. The 8'x 15' EndlessPool@is simple

to maintain,economicalto run, and easyto install insideor out. Modular constructionmeansmany sizesand optionsare available. efreaOy own a pool?Ask about.n.

(to

rnsu[arcb wa[[pane[s STLANF

READER SERVICE NO.54 FINE HOMEBUILDING

O) o .,!

New Milford,Conn.

face of the side casing.

ii

from real insulationis the key to a comfortableand basement.OvrX InsulatedSub-FlooringTile and Wall Panels 30 years of proventechnology.The engineeredwood panels, in combinationwith STYROFOAMinsulation, can help protectyour investmentagainstwater and mildew.OvrX will also *"!. r"

5"JlHt""#i ffi #ffiffitffi:i'lriL"T"1**"trT, ft*n READERSERVICE NO.62

doors&windows

CONTINUED

TWo ways to fix a door that won't latch If the door contacts the latch-side stop at the top but not at the bottom (or the other way around) and is difficult to latch, the door is warped, or the jamb is twisted. -SCOTTMcBRIDE

'tl*l ;'i

f'Ti'iil

;l' tl '.1',

'irf{ i

Fix 1: Moving the hinge can cornpensate for warping or twisting. A door can be coaxed into closing smoothly by shifting either the top or bottom hinge outward at the jamb.

Sperryville,Va. Fix 2: lf moving the hinge doesn't fixthe problem entirely, it may be necessary to move the doorstop so that it contacts the entire latch side of the door.

Thimming foam flush to studs I use foam insulation from an aerosoi can when insulating around rough window and door openings. The next day,I trim all the excessfoam away from the wall and the window frame with a mastic trowel (drawing above). Its serrated edges saw through the foam,leaving the foam flush with the wall. - K E I T H M E T I E RH i g h l a n d P a r k l,l l .

NO.8 READER SERVICE FINE HOMEBUILDING

WARPED DOOR

-

E

6

o 'c ! o o o I

o o) G

.9

';

TWISTED JAMB

o

o

NO.12 SERVICE READER

energyefficiency Wall-sheathinginsulationstops When I switched to blown-in cellulose insulation in the attics of new homes, I saw the trouble installers had stapling cardboard insulation stops between the rafters or trusses above the exteriorwall plates to keep insulation from falling into the soffit. I came up with the idea of extending the exterior-wall sheathing above the top plate to become an integral insulation stop. Instead of trimming 1 ft. off the last row of sheathing to end it flush with the top plate, I let it run above the plate. I calculated the height between the bottom and top truss chords at the point above the outside face of the exterior wall. Then I deducted 1!zin. to leave a ventilation slot between the top of the wall sheathing and the underside of the roof sheathing. and cut off the rest. After nailing on the wall sheathing, I marked the roof-truss layout along the top edge of the sheathing and squared down the lines to the top-plate level, Before lifting the walls, I cut 132-in. slots for each truss to drop into. The slots quickly positioned each truss and allowed me to float the walls beneath until they could be tweaked straight; then I could nail down the trusses. Expanding spray foam seals any gaps between the truss and the wall sheathing so that no insulation slips by. The extra work saved me more than it cost me in time because the insulators didn't have to charge for crawling on their bellies to staple cardboard stops.

-MIKE

G U E R T I N E a s tG r e e n w i c h ,R . l .

A 2x6 provides sheathingsupport. 2x4 stud for drywall blocking

Entire corner cavity can be insulated.

1 x 3o r plywood strip

%-in. OSB sheathing

Fiberglass insulation 1/z-in.

drywall

FINE HOMEBUILDING

A hybrid corner that eliminates therrnal bridgrng Contributing editor Mike Guertin long hasbeenconcernedwith exterior corners,which can be notoriouscold cavities.Although thermal bridging is a concernalong the entire wall, framing alternativessuchasdouble-stud walls are not cost-effective. Corners, on the other hand, carry lessload than a typical stud and are structurally more flexible. Guertin is experimenting with a2x6 corner (photo left) that can be insulated completely. He uses

a2x6 on the exterior corner and nails

a2x4 and a lx3, or a strip of plywood, togetherto form the interior corner. Insulationthroughout the corner cavity eliminatesthermal bridging by . breakingcontactbetweenthe sheathing and the drywall. Guertin says that the corner still providesgood supportfor top platesand for nailing. (Although Guertin's building inspector approved the corner, check with your local inspector before trying it.)

Drawings:CharlesMiller.Photo: Scott Phillips.

energyefficiency CONTINUED

Cutting rigtd insulation Foam-insulationboardsare high in R-value, but they alsocan be a nuisanceto cut---{specially foam boardsthat are 2 in. thick. A utility knife won't cut deeplyenough.A kitchen knife works, but not very well becausethe triangular crosssectionof the bladebinds asthe cut deepens.Sawsleave rough edgesand spewstaticallycharged insulationparticlesthat cling to everything. A2-in. putty knife doesa grearjob of cutting foam insulation.The trick is to sharpen one side of

knife

the blade. Teamed

Sharpen with a straightedge, of a sharpened putty Foam insulati knife cuts through foam like butter, and its wide blade keeps the cut from

I've seen a lot of different ways to make built-up headers, from the

i\\ ,t\\

plywood between 2x material until it matches the depth of the wall

['\

Ll . t

N.,)

studs. Unfortunately, this causes two problems. First, the header often isn't the exact thickness of the wall, and when trim time rolls around, you have unhappy carpenters. Second, this kind of header has no insulative value. The drawing at right shows the header that I've been assembling to

is a header precisely the same dimension as the wall and a continuous void

READERSERVICE NO. 16 FINE HOMEBUILDING

Ir\\

traditional to the bizarre.The traditional method sandwiches Vz-in.

toms, and sides made either of 2x or, my favorite, laminated lumber. The result

Brewster,Mass.

8d nails

i\ \\

2x

solve both problems. Ir's essentially a box beam with plywood tops and bot-

wandering. _ C H R I SE L L I S

30

t\"[

Insulated headers for cold climates

the length of the headerfor insulation. My engineerhad no problemswith the structuralcapabilityof this design. The key is to provide adequatenailing through the plywood into the sides.For theseheaders,Iused8d nails spacedon the samecentersasthe perimeternails in our plywood wall sheathing. -BILL

READERSERVICE NO. 15

W E L C H J a c k s o n ,W y o .

Repair and how to racks or holesin drywall, wet o r s ta i n e d drywall, peelingjoint tape, popped nails or screws. Any of these problems means a drywall repair is inevitable. I know that some people grimace when faced with a dreaded chore like fixing a hole in drywall. The framing never seems to be in the right place for attaching a patch, and the quarter-inch layer of joint compound used to fix it looks nearly as obvious as the gaping black hole, except now drywall dust coats the furniture and the wall needs to be repainted. Unlike most people in my business,I love walking into a drywallrepair job. I savor the look on a customer's face when I say, "Sure, no problem. I can fix this in no fime." The more severe the damage, the more gratifying the look. Over the past two decades, I must have faced every possible type of drywall repair, and I have gotten

@^ing

5 commonproblems

fix them

ByMyRoN R.FERGUsoN

poppednailsand screws

Nailsand screwsrear their headswhen the dryrall panel is not fastened firmly againstthe framing, when the framing shrinksor twists, or when the wall or ceiling is struck or moved slightly during remodelingwork. Protruding fastenersare easyto fix. Whatever the causeof the telltale bulge, called a pop, the best remedy is to refasten the panel near the popped nail or screw. I usuallypress on the panel next to the pop and drive a drywall screw into the stud aboutlVzin. away (sometimeson both sides),drawing the panel toward the framing. I remove the popped fastener or drive it back into the framing. Covering the dimples is easy.lf the paper surfaceof the drynvallhas not been damaged, just fill the depres-

sion with three thin coats of joint compound, letting the compound dry between coats, followed by light sandingwith 1SO-gritsandpaper.lf the paper hastorn or if the core of the drywall is damaged, it's best to remove all loose material,fill the hole with joint compound,and then cover the area with fiberglass-mesh tape. (Youcan use paper tape, but I prefer self-adheringmesh tape.) This approach also works for any hole 2 in. wide or less.

good not only at patching holes but also at permanently concealing repairs and doing them as quickly and easily as possible.

Myron R. Ferguson(www.that drywallguy.com), author of Drywall: ProfessionalTechniques for Great Resu/ts(TheTaunton Pre ss2005) , ,liv esand w o rk s in Galway,N.Y.Photosby Zacha r yG a u l k i n .

32

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Refasten drywall to the underlyingframing near the popped nail or screw.

Fill dimples with three thin coats of compound, but use tape if the surtace is damaged.

2 rtllingandtapingcracks Cracks in drywall usually are caused by structural movement, such as the settling that happens in new homes. Most often, cracks occur on a seam, but sometimes they can be found in the middle of panels over doorways or windows. (ln modular homes, cracks in the middle of panels can occur as a result of transportation and placement on a foundation.) In new construction, I recommend waiting at least six months before repairing cracks to give the structure time to settle. Most cracks go completely through the panel, so just repairing the surface is not enough. The first step, as in all repairs, is to remove any loose material with a putty knife or utility knife. Next, cut a V-groove along the crack,opening it up aboutVzin. and going almost completely through the panel to the paper on the back. Fill the void with joint compound (for more about choosing joint compound, see p. 35), and cover it with mesh or paper tape. Then smooth the area with two or three coats of joint compound, blending it into the surrounding area and lightly sanding after the last coat. l'm careful to let the compound dry between coats.

'ffiffi,

Fillthe groove with joint compound,and apply sel{-adheringtape over the crack.

Applv threethin coats of compound, f eathering it into the rest of the wall.

'& Chip away loose material, and cut a V-shaped groove along the length of the crack.

frr #-,

3

t"tching an old electrical-box opening When an outlet or a switch is eliminated,the box may be removed or left in the wall. lf the box is left behind, make sure there are no live electricalwires in it. (Wired boxes should not be coveredwith drywalhthey should be closedwith a cover plate and remainaccessible.) Start by bevelingthe outside edges of the hole with a utility knife to a 45o chamferall around. Next, cut a drywall patch the samesize as the beveled opening, and bevel back the edges to fit the hole. I use a utility knife to adjust the fit of the patch until itt snug. The patch works best when it sinksslightly below the wall plane, leaving room for a thin layer of joint compound. Spreada generouslayer of compound onto the edges of the opening (or the patch),and press the patch in place.Then cover the seamswith mesh or paper tape, and two or three coats of compound.Sandafter the last coat.

Bevelthe edges of the wall opening, then cut a matching patch and bevel its edges.

Add joint compound to the opening or the patch, then press the patch into place.

Repairingwater-damaged .1.

ceilrngs A water leak usuallyruns along the top of drywall until it finds a seam or corner,often looseningthe tape and the joint compoundto create an exit. Damageto the drywall itself is generallynot extensive becausethe water doesn't sit for too long. Seams,however,usuallyneed some work. Once the leak has been repaired,remove loose tape and joint compound.lf the drywall is loose, it can be refastened to the framing with drywall screws. Cover the seamswith paper or meshtape; then apply two or three coats of joint compound. Drywall saturated with water may loosen and sag. lt will have to dry thoroughly before it can be reattached.However,sagging areaswill be difficult to reattach when dry becausethe drywall can take on a new shape.I sometimescan fix sags before the drywall dries by supporting it with a temporary support or with furring strips fastened to the framing. Removingany wet insulationso that it can dry is also a good idea.

After maskingsurroundingareas,remove any loosedrywalland joint tape.

CHOOSETHERIGHTJOINTCOMPOUND There are two broad categories of compound: drying and setting. Within each of those categories,different mixes are availablethat dry faster or slower, softer or harder, depending on your needs.

Drying-typecompound

Cover seams with mesh or paper tape, followed by three coats of compound.

Paint the damaged area with a stainblocking primer to prevent stains from bleeding through repairs.

Apply compoundto taped seams; cover with three coats.

Most drying-type compounds are premixed and ready to use right out of the bucket, but there are different types. Taping compound is used to embed the joint tape for the first coat and to fill for the second coat. lt is strong and doesn't shrink much.Topping compound is a lighter-weight compoundthat is used for the thin finishing coat. lt feathers out nicely,dries quickly,and sands smooth. All-purposecompound can be used for all stages. lt's availablein most lumber or hardware stores. For small repairs, if you don't want to buy more than one bucket, use a topping or an all-purposemix. Whatever varie$r you use, all drying-type compounds require an applicationtemperatureof at least 55"F (this condition applies to surface,compound, and air temperatures).The compound must dry thoroughly between coats; drying times are affected by temperature, humidity, and airflow. Setting'tyPe

compound

setting-typecompounds,whichharden quickly,aregreat for repairwork. While drying-type compounds cure as water evaporates,settingtype compounds harden by chemicalreaction. Setting times vary from 20 minutes to six hours, depending on the type used. Becausethese compounds hardenchemically,humidity and cooler temperatureshave little effect on setting time. Setting-type compounds are great for quick repairs, but they can be difficult to sand. I like to use a lightweight setting compound for the first two coats before finishing with an all-purpose(or a topping) dryingtype compound. The big drawback of setting-Upe compounds, however, is the inconvenience of mixing them yourself. On the plus side, you can mix only what you need and store the rest dry. For all but the smallest batches, I mix the compound in a S-gal. bucket, using a mixing paddle attachment with a Vz-in. electric drill. With setting-type compounds, additives can be mixed into the batch to acceleratedrying time even more.

GREATBUILDING TIPS2006

5

Repairinglargeholes When people have to repair large holesthat fall between wall studs or ceilingjoists, they often cut the drywall back to the framing to create a spot for fastening a patch. The problem is that the repairthen becomes much larger. I try to keep the repair as smallas possibleby not attachingthe patch to the

framingwhen the damage is between studs. For round or squareopenings(suchas those that are created when a light fixture is removed),the patch can be measuredand cut to fit precisely.For oddly shaped holes,I simply cut a patch slightlylargerthan the damaged area, hold it over the hole, and trace around it

with a pencil;then I cut out the damaged area to match the patch. To strengthenthe repair, I use furring strips to hold the patch. I cut the 1x2 stri ps about 6 i n. l onger than the hol e and sl i de each strip into the opening, fastening it on both ends with drywall screws. The patch is fastenedto

the furring strips with drywall screws,making it a firm part of the panel and flush with the surface.This method makesthe patch easyto concealand unlikely to crack or loosen. To tape the patch, first fill any large gaps with joint compound;then cover all the edges with mesh or paper tape. Becausepaper

Make a square or rectangular patch slightly larger than the damaged area.

Hold the patch over the damaged area and trace its outline onto the wall.

::.*\*.*=*ii"

--"t'n--

'---*

t' ,*15

J With a drywall saw, cut along the pencil line, then test the patch until it fits.

FINEHOMEBUILDING

Strengthen the repair by installing 1x2 furring str4rs inside the wall cavity. Strips should be 6 in. longer than the opening and fastened at both ends with drywall suews.

the wall framing. (For cuts

tape is stronger than mesh tape, I recommend it for

perpendicular to framing, I

larger, more difficult repairs

first mark an outline so that

and those that are attached

the patch area will have

directly to wall framing.

square corners.)

Cover the tape and patch

Because I cut along the

THREECOATSOF COMPOUNDMAKE REPAIRS DISAPPEAR The final step in all drywall repairs is to coat the patch with at least three (and sometimes four) layers of joint

with three thin layers of joint compound, making

inside of the framing, I have

compound-letting

each coat dry in

to attach 1x2 furring strips

between-followed

by a light sand-

sure to feather out the

or 2x4s to studs for fasten-

ing. No matter how carefully I patch a section of wall, the tape and joint

edges properly and not to

ing the patch. I make sure

build up the patched areas

that the strips are flush with

compound form a high spot or bump.

too much.

or slightly back from the

A poorly feathered patch can be as

Repairs that span wall

back edge of the drywall

noticeable as the damage it was

framing can be a real test

surface. lf possible, I use

meant to conceal.

because of the large surface area they involve. I start by

one piece of drywall for the repair. I leave about a 1/a-in.

removing the damaged area

gap to avoid damaging the

with a utility saw, cutting to

edges of the patch.

The key to avoiding an unsightly high spot is spreading and feathering the layers of joint compound over a large area without building up excess compound on any high areas. I like to begin each coat by applying a liberal amount of compound to the entire area and then feathering the outside edges first, working the compound smoothly toward the thin layer left in the center. The first coat should be as thin as possible while still hiding the tape. After the first coat of compound is dry, I use my trowel as a straightedge to see how far the high spot projects from the plane of the wall. The bigger and more noticeable the hump, the more area I will need to cover with joint compound to feather it into the rest of the wall. (For small patches, I

Attach the patch to the furring with drywall screws.

just rub my hand over the repair to feel how well the high spot is disap-

Spread a thin layer of compound over the seams, and apply mesh or paper tape.

pearing with each coat.) The second coat is a filler coau I fill in any voids, feathering the outside edges while keeping the compound very thin on any high spots. When the second coat is dry, I check the high spot again (by hand or by trowel) and apply more compound to widen the area further and to fill in voids or unfeathered edges. This third coat of j o i n t c o m p o u n d i n c r e a s e st h e d i a m e ter of the patched area even more.

;

..|,..... .:':'

!

Depending on the size of the repair, each coat will feather out 6 in. to 12 in. from the previous coat.

(; ItF,\T IJUII-I)I\(;

TII)S ]II{It,

lnstallation A self-mudding drywall-tapedispenser Peoplehavegiven me somepretty strangelooks when I carry my drywalltaping machineonto a job site.But the machine'slooks are deceiving.As shown in the drawing at right,I built a the unit out of scrap2x4s,a2x6rand 1-gal.plasticbucket.The bucket is affixed to the 2x6 crossbarwith four short screws. I made two slitsin the sideof the bucket where they engagethe bottom. The slitsare on oppositesides.The rear slit shouldbe iust largeenoughto allow drywall tapeto passthrough it. The front slit shouldbe slightly wider to allow both the tapeand a thin layer of ioint compound to passthrough it. A roll of papertapehangsfrom a2x4 upright toward the back of the rig. I run the tapethrough the slitsin the bucket,and then I fill the bucket with thinned joint compound.Now I'm readyto pull the tapeout to the desired length,lop it off with a razorknife, and apply it directly to the wall-no premudding necessary. Using this setup,two of us tapedan 1100-sq.-ft.housein five hours. -c H R l s M AT IS H AD A l ta.,C anada Kel burne,

2x4 upright Rollof paper tape

Bucketof thinnedjoint compound

2x6

) -/

rF-

ie:,Drywallkicker I hang drywall oncein a while, but not often enoughto iustify investing in a real drywall "kicker," a lever made iust for lifting a piece ofdrywall. Instead,I modified my pry bar by attachinga 3-in. length of l-in.-dia. dowel with a bolt through the nail-pulling hole that is countersunkin the dowel. A little toe pressurelifts a drywall panel2 in. off the floor. _ANDREW KIRK Independence, Calif.

with a thin t***i rape emerses -y' cdatingof-jointcompound.-

Bladesalignedwith

Drywall edge trimmer Our crew uses "in-line" framing for walls to save lumber (weight from above bears directly on studs, and plates are joined with

1x scrap

steel splices).Becausethis style of framing allows a single top plate, our walls are a little lessthan 8 ft. tall. The downside to this technique is that we have to trim about an

;,r.$ 3-in.-longpiece of f -in.-dia.dowel

FINE HOMEBUILDING

inch off the ends of our drywall. This work is tedious with a utility knife, and the $25 edge trimmer I bought didn't work very well. I made my own trimmer by screwing together some piecesof lx scrap to make a cutting guide and attached a couple of "snap-off'utility-knife blades to its top edge.

Depthof score When I slidethis tool along the edgeof a pieceof drywall, the bladescut from both sides,making it quick and easyto remove uniform stripsfrom a sheetof drywall. -B R IANBUSHDaf t erM, ich. Drawings; CharlesMillcr. Photo: Mike Gucrtin and Randy O'Rourke'

%o-in.-thick poster-board strips

I REMoDELT NGTrP Patching holes in textured drywall

Ceilingjoists

Screws, 5 in. on center

Drywall dips over posterboard strips, creatinga recessfor tape and joint

Invisibledrywall butt joints During 40 years in the trades,I've had a number of highend drywall jobs that required dead-flat ceilings-no bulges allowed where the ends of the drywall sheetsabut one another. This method is our crew's solution to the problem. I've inspectedjobs that we did 25 yearsago using this

From time to time, my work includespatching holes in drywall. And if the holes are in textured walls, either orange-peel or knockdown texture, I have to set up my commercialsprayer to retexture the patch. Between setup and cleanup,that's a lot of work for a small.job. As shown in the drawings, l've found a better way. I begin a patch by applying meshtape over the hole (1).Then I cover the meshwith all-purposedrlnrall compound (don't use setting-typecompound)applied with a 4-in. taping knife. This processpatchesthe hole but also clogs the crevicesthat create the texture (21. Once the drywall compound has dried, I sand smooth the center of the patch. Then I feather the edges of the patch with an old toothbrush dipped in warm water and a dry cloth. I work my way around the patch (3), leaving a tapered surfacethat makes a gradual transition to the smoothly sanded center of the patch. To finish, I prepare a mixture of water and all-purposecompound thin enough to produce a splatter. Next, I suck some of the mix into a turkey baster and practice splattering on a piece of scrap until I get the effect I'm looking for. This step is important: Trial and error is the key to making this techniquework. When l've got the right consistency, l'm ready to texture the patch (4). -D A V ID A . R OJA SLasVegas

method, and you still can't seewhere the butt ioints occur. This trick starts with a sheet of plywood the same thickness as the drywall. First, trim an inch off the width of the sheet, then crosscut it into 10 equal strips. They will be 9%in. wide by 47 in.long. Next, staple strips of Vrc-in.thick poster board to the long edges of the plywood strip. Before raising a drywall panel for installation, screw one of the plywood strips to the end of the panel. The posterboard strip goes between the plywood and the drywall. As the drywall goes up, the butt ends are arranged to fall between the ceiling joists.When the adjacent drywall panel is screwed to the plywood strip, a shallow dip is created where the drywall bends over the poster board. This shallow dip createsa hollow for the tape. We tape our joints in the usual manner, beginning with the butt joints. Once that joint compound has dried, we tape the long edges. Incidentally, a 20-in.-long piece of IVz-in. aluminum angle is a handy tool for leveling the finish coats of joint compound over rhe butt ends. Using this technique, we never had a joint show up on a punch list at the completion of a job. - T l M H A N S O NI n d i a n a p o l i s

Gently scrub perimeter of patch with a moistened toothbrush.

Apply new splatter texture with a turkey baster,

G R E A TB U I L D I N G T I P S 2 0 0 6

Strategy 7 stepsto a professional p.int job

ost peoplethink that painting the interior of a houseis a iob that requires

BY FRANK SINICROPE

just a couple of tools, a high tolerance for boredom, and very little experience. Only after they've come to the end of their messy first job do they begin to wonder about that old guy in painter's whites they once saw working at someone else'shouse. How could he paint an e n t i r e r o o m i n a s e a m l e s s l yc h o r e o graphed sequence of brush and roller strokes before his second cup of coffee

1. PRorEcrrHE FLooR

and not spill even a drop of paintl I'm not that old guy yet, but I am a painting contractor. People always ask me how they can improve their painting techniques. If you consider the act of

ffi

re ffi rcF

painting on par with a trip to the dentist, the answers ahead will provide some Novocain to easethe pain of your next painting project.

F r ankS inic r o p e i s a p a i n ti n gc o n tra c tor in Hawthorne,N.J. Photosby CharlesBickford.

LongJasting, low-tack tape is best (3M Corp.; 888-364-3577; www.3m.com). FINE HOMEBUILDING

AND PREPTHE WALLS

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I like to move all furnitureout or to the center of the room and cover it with plastic.To protect the floor, I roll out 4-mil plasticand tape it to the baseboard.Unlessl'm paintingthe ceiling,it's necessaryto cover only the first 3 ft. or 4 ft. of floor from the wall. Bluemaskingtape is besUit adheresto most surfacesand peelsoff cleanlyfor up to 14 days.The greentape can stay on even longer. Next, I make sure wallsand trim are clean,stain-free,and smooth.Nail holes,bumps,and crackscan be patched;if they're lessthan % in. deep, I use lightweightjoint compound, which dries quickly.(Fortips on drywallrepair,see p. 32).

Essential patching tools. Use a 6-in. taping knife and a 5-in-1 tool for wall prep.

2 . D o N ' T F o R G E TT H E P R T M E R

-J/

It's a good idea to start anyjob with a quality primer.Stains includingink, crayon,water,and smokesoot can be blocked by a stain-killingprimer suchas BIN (ZinsserCo. Inc.;www 732-469-81 00) or BenjaminMoore's FreshStart .zinsser.com; nmoore.com;800-344-0400). acrylicprimer (www.benjami After coveringthe stains,be sureto spot-primethe same areawith the finishpaint before applyingthe final coat. Otherwise,the spot will appear shinywhen the wall is viewed at an angl e.

Cover a multitude of sins. Hide stains and repairs with a stain-killing primer.

3 . P A I N TT H E WALLSFIRST Pro paintershave different preferences,but I like to paint the wallsfirst, then the trim. I can roll out the wallsquicklyand not worry about any spraylandingon the trim. Oncethe wallsare finished,I wipe down the trim with a damp rag and start on it. I don't mask off the trim when I cut in the walls,but maskingis certainlya good option if you'd rather not worry about getting wall paint on the trim. Any one of the low-tacktapes works well. Don't sweat it. Use tape. Prosrely on a steadystroketo avoidusing maskingtape in manysituations.But tape ensuresclean,straightlineswhile yoLt'restill improvingyour skill. 06

41

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5. steRTwtNDows tN THE

The proper order for an even coat. To avoid lap marks, paint the muntins first, then the window frame, and finish with the casing.

CENTERAND WORK OUTWARD I paint the muntinsof a window first, then move to the frame. With a 21/z-in.sashbrush, I angle the tip into the muntin'sedge and draw the paint along the muntin with one smooth stroke. (lf you're unsure of your technique or don't want to bother, you can maskthe glasswith blue tape or scrapethe glass once the paint has dried.) Don't apply too much paint to the window frame; also, open and close the window while it's drying so that it doesn't dry shut. lf the window is painted shut, carefullyrun a razor blade between the window sashand casingto break the seal.

DooRs Ar rHE ToP AND woRK DowN 6. BEcrNpANELED Paneleddoors should be primed with a high-quality primer to eliminatebleed-throughstains.Multiple finish coats (usuallytwo) may be necessaryto get good coverage. Ask your paint supplierto tint the color of the primer as close as possibleto the color of the paint you've chosen. Again, the secret to stopping lap marks is to use a smooth last stroke with little paint and light pressure. r Start by painting at the top of the doot panelsfirst, then rails,then stiles. Here, less paint is better to prevent drips; two coats lightly applied are better than one heavy coat that drips or sags. r Be sure to keep the paint's leading edge wet to prevent brush marks.A final light stroke acrossthe panel faces and along the intersectionsof the railsand stiles will eliminatesagsand brush marks. r When you reachthe doorknob, use even less paint to get a seamlessstroke pattern. The trick is to brush around the knob with continuousstrokesand avoid stops-.Maskingis also an option, as is removingthe hardware, which allowsyou to follow the grain. o Be sure to checkyour work for drips, particularlyin recessedareasand along door edges.As long as the paint is *illfairly wet, drips can be erasedwhh a light brushstroke.

A ftnal brush stroke defines joinery. No matter how you apply the paint, finish with a stroke in the diredion of the wood grain.

7. CLEANuP wtrH PLENwoF wATER For latex paint, I first flood the bristleswith water, working out the majority of the paint. I use a wire brush gently to scrapeout all remnants of dried paint. lf not cleanedthoroughly,the brush will lose flexibility.I usea little dish soapto removethe tracesof oilsthat are in latex paint, rinseagain,then shakeor spin the brushdry. For a video tip on cleaningoil paint from brushes,go to www.finehomebuilding.com. Rollersare certainlyworth cleaning.lf washedthoroughly,they can be used repeatedly.Scrapeexcesspaint out of them with a 5-in-1tool, then washthem usingthe sametechniqueas the brushes, without the wire brush, of course. GREATBUILDING TIPS 2006 43

Tidy Application Paint down the left sides and across the bottoms of the muntins.

Painting window sash

Paintcaddy I paint houses for a living, and there are three things about painting with a roller that really annoy me. One is masking the baseboard and spreading out a tarp to

Painting the muntins on a divided-lite sash or door is a pain, and it

catch drips and speckles.Another is moving the paint bucket from station to station, and the third is moving

takes forever. Here's a tip from a friend whose

the tarp again, which inevitably results in drops of wet paint smearing the carpet or floor.

father was a painter. First, don't paint a win-

Instead of this sequence,I now use a plywood platform on wheels both to carry the paint bucket and to

dow when it's lying flat. Stand it up on a

protect the baseboard and floor from paint splatters. A plastic blade on one end of the platform butts up

pair of sawhorses,as shown in the drawings. Now paint only two sides of the rectangles formed by the muntins.

Paint down the left sides and acrossthe bottoms again.

If you're right-handed, you probably want to paint down the left sides and across the bottoms of the muntins.

1 x 1c u r b

When you're done, flip the sash over and start again. This way you'll never have to paint acrossthe top and down the right, which is awkward for righties. Lefties do just the opposite. _ J E F F E R S OK NO L L E

Plasticblade Offset casters

Ridgefield,Conn.

against the wall to catch drips, as shown in the drawing above. To make the blade, I used a section cut out of an old plastic garbage can, and I attached it to the caddy so that the curve points upward. This position directs paint away from the wall and accommodates higher -STAN LUCASRedmond,Wash.

baseboards.

Painting bifold doors

Spring clampssupport bifold

While painting colonialbifold doors,I discoveredthat I could paint both the edgesand the facesof a pair of doorsif I proppedthem openon a pair of sawhorses. As shown in the drawing at right, spring clampsmake good props. -JEFF

44

FINE HOMEBUILDING

N O V I T S K I S w e e t V a l l e yP , a.

Drawings: Charlcs Miller

KEEPTHE EDGESCLEAN Clean edges where paint meets wood Paint stilts A drywall screw through a small square of plywood makes a handy stilt to prop up work while finish is applied. When I paint a door, for instance,I place a pair of stilts on the floor to support the door, and another one against the wall near the top of the door, as shown below. _ M I C H A E LR . S W E E M Downey,Calif.

Use paint stilts to support work while finish

When a painted surface butts up to unpainted wood, frustration lurks. Masking tape alone isn't enough to block the paint completely. lt flows into the minute irregularities under the tapet edge, leaving a fuzzy line when the tape is peeled away. We recently solved this problem in an entertainment center that my company built. As shown in the drawing, Easythe cabinetry has painted uprighr and lacqueredshelves. release To get the clean line we were looking for, we first masking applied a strip of low-tack blue maskingtape to the shelf. Then we ran a thin bead of latex painter's caulk along the intersection and wiped it with a moistened finger a couple of times to remove virtually all the caulk. We weren't concernedabout leaving a bit of caulk on the parts to be painted, only on sealingthe edge of the tape. After we finished painting the uprights, we carefully Lacquered removed the tape while the caulk and paint were still shelf wet. Result:A clean paint line without a master'shand. A word of caution: lf the caulk and the paint are dry by the time you remove the maskingtape, run a sharp utility knife down the intersection first. -C H U C KGR E E N Mass. A shl and,

Paintedupright

Thin b e a do f ' painier's caulk

Painting next to carpet Cutting in a baseboard that borders a carpet can be a bit messy.I use 2-in.-wide, low-tack masking tape to hold the carpet tufts away from the baseboard so that the paint can be applied below the top of the carpet line. First, I lay the tape so that it runs about 7s in. up the baseboard (1). Take care not to pressthe tape against the baseboard. Next, press the tape onto the carpet about 1 in. away from the baseboard,and use a putty knife to work the folded side of the tape into the corner where the carpet and baseboard meet (2). This makesthe tape stick to all the carpet tufts right up to the edge of the baseboard. Now when I tug the tape toward the middle of the room, the tufts are pulled away from the baseboard,and the baseboard side of the tape can be worked down (3). This wraps the edge of the carp€t and protests it from the paint. Pulling the tape more from the room edge exposes more of the baseboardfor painting! then pressingthe room edge of the tape to the top of the carpet attachesthe tape so that the gap between the carpet and baseboard remainsopen (4). -AL

LEMKE HopewellJunction,N.Y.

Work tape into corner with putty knife.

a Keep tension on the room edge of the tape as you press the knife into the corner.

g Pull out the knife and press the tape securely to the carpet.

E GREAT BUILDING

TIPS 2006

Prep& Cleanup Strainingpaint for touch-ups By the time a gallon of paint or varnish has been around long enough to have been opened a half-dozen times and still not completely consumed, you can be sure it has collected enough dried gunk to leave an unsightly surface. It's time to strain the paint. However, straining the entire contents of the can is messy

The problem of latex over oil paint

Cheesecloth strainersecured with rubber band

I'm amazed by how often contractors and homeowners alike ap-

and time-consuming if you're doing just touch-up work. As shown in the drawing,I take a different approach. Instead of pouring the paint through the strainer, I put the

ply latex paint directly over a semigloss oil fin-

strainer in the paint. I stretch the cheesecloth sffainer over the can and secure it with a rubber band. The cloth hangs in the paint or varnish, and the finish that accumulates above the cloth is free of contaminants; itt just right for touch-ups.

or applying a primer. Before long, the slight-

ish without first roughing up the old surface

est ding can result in a large chip, exposing the

- D O N M A T H I Sv i ae m a i l

Centrifugal force spinspaint and water off roller.

old oil-based finish.

{W

\ \ G a l l o nof varn ish

I've owned two homes with this problem, and I've spent hours sanding off the latex layer on more doors than I care to remember. Recently,I

Direct water jet along edge of roller.

Centrifugalroller cleaner Cleaning water-soluble paint from a paint roller used to be a tedious chore until I came up with this idea. Now after I've finished painting, I simply attach an extension handle to the roller, step outside, and use a garden hose to do the work. Directing a stream of water along the

Paintbrushgarage Real painters clean their brushes every day. I am not a real painter. But I often seal end-grain cuts and back-prime siding and exterior trim with an oil-based primer. To save cleanup time at the end of the day,I keep my brush in the rig shown in the drawing below. My brush garage consists of a 1-gal. paint parl, a lx4 crossbar nailed to a doughnut-shaped plywood base,and a5-gal.drywall bucket with a lid. To use it,I put several inches of paint thinner in the paint pail and suspend the brush from the nail hanger so rhat the bristles are immersed in the thinner. Then I cover the drywall bucket to keep the thinner from evaporating. This setup allows me ro go weeks without cleaning my brush. And at the end of a long day of running siding and trim, it sure is nice not to have to deal with paint-thinner fumes and drips. - J O H N C A R R O L LD u r h a mN, . C . 1x4 crossbar nailed to base Nail hanger

edge of the roller revs it up to a good speed, so the paint and water spin off the roller. Be sure to perform this operation well away from anything that might be damaged by the paint and watery overspray. _MEL WOLPERT

1-gal. paintthinner pail Plywood base

Drywall bucket

\_--z

Weatogue, Conn.

Brushsuspendedin paint thinner 46

FINE HOMEBUILDING

stumbled upon a great stripping aid: water. I've found that if the latex surface is dampened with water a few minutes prior to sanding, the topcoat will lift easily off the oil-based undercoat with gende prodding from 8O-grit sandpaper. A wet rag is all you need. fust make sure the paint stays wet for a few minutes prior to sanding. I've often had entire sections peel away from a door. Once you've removed the latex, rough up the basecoat with sandpaper and give it a coat of ' primer. Now you're ready for a new topcoat. -JONATHAN A P P L E B AMU Westfield,N.J.

TOOLSFROMTHE RECYCLING BIN Paintbrush carrier When I paint trimwork, I hate to waste time climbing up and down the ladder to get the right brush. I could leave variousbrushesin the paint bucket, but they soon would become a dripping mess. My solution is to cut the top off a 1-gal.plasticantifreezejug with flat

Combo paint bucket/funnel Plasticjug with bottom removed Instead of working directly out acts as paint can of a gallon can of paint or a or funnel. smaller

but hard-to-hold coffee can, I use a chopped-down milk jug. Not only is the buih-in handlea plus, but the container also does double duty. When l'm finishedpainting,ljust remove the cap and set the jug on top of the paint can. Any leftover paint drains back where it belongs. -R.8. HIMES Vienna, Ohio

:

Low-budget paint mixer

sides. I then cut two slits in one of the sidesand thread a nylon belt through them, as shownin the drawing.lslide the loose belt ends through the loops of my painter's pants, creating a paintbrush carrierthat rides easilyon my hip. I now have several brushesclose at hand. The carriercleansup easilywith water or paint thinner. *MIKE

ELLIS Seattle

The next time you need to stir some paint and can't find a mixer for your drill, make your own. As shown in the drawing at right, I cut the rim of a metal peanut-butter-jarlid into a series of segmentsthat can be bent into an effective mixer. Drill a hole in the center of the lid, and affix it to a 3/e-in.-dia.by 6-in.-longtoggle bolt. Now use a pair of metal shearsto cut the lid into equal segments,and bend up every other section. Mixing even old paint is a snap with this rig. _MICHAEL JUPPE Hudson, Ohio

Cut rim into equal portions, and bend upward every other segment.

Scrapercleanup Paint stripper combined with old paint or varnish makes a sticky goo that can be tough to remove from a scraper or a putgr knife. To make an easyjob of it, I cut a straight slit about 2 in. long in a large tin can.Then I slide the blade of the knife into the slit close to where it joins the handle.When I pull the blade out, the old finish falls into the can, ready for disposal. -ROY VIKENBoise, ldaho

GREAT BUILDING

TIPS 2006

47

Rules10 waysto work efficientlyand to know how good is good enough BY LARRYHAUN

I

-f

t was a coincidencethat another contractor and I beganframing I housesnext door to one another I -Ion the same day. By the time his housewas framed, mine was shingled, wired, and plumbed. It was no coincidencethat the other contractor ran out of money and had to turn over the unfinished houseto the lending company, while I sold mine for a profit. Both houseswere structurally sound, plumb,level, and square,but every2x4 in the other housewas cut to perfection. Every joint looked like finish carpentry. The other contractor was building furniture, and I was framing a house. Unlike finish carpentry, framing doesn't have to look perfect or satisfy your desireto fit together two piecesof wood precisely.Whether you're building a house,an addition, or a simple wall, t he goals w h e n fra m i n g a re strength, efficiency, and accuracy.Following the building codesand the blueprints should take careof the strength; efficiency and accuracy are trickier. During 50 yearsof framing houses, I've come up with the following rules to help me do good work quickly and with a minimum of effort. LarryHaun,author of The VeryEffiiient Carpenter(TheTauntonPress, 1999)and Habitat for Humanity: How to Build a House(TheTaunton Press,2002),has been framing hous esf or m or e th a n 5 0 y e a rs .H e lives in Coos Bay,Ore.

Don't move materials any more than you haveto Hauling lumber from place to place is time-consuming and hard on your body.

Floor sheathing

Floorframingon top

EJ

Make it easier on yourself every chanceyou get, and start by having the folks

Wall framing in middle

-/

at the lumberyard do their part. Make sure lumber Roof framingon bottom

arrives on the truck stacked in the order it will be used. You don't want to move hundreds of wall studs to get to your plate stock, for instance.And floor joists

Wall and roof sheathing

are stacked on top of floor sheathing, not the other way around. When it's time for the delivery unload the building materials as close as possible to where they will be used. Often, lumber can be delivered on a boom truck, so stacks of lumber can be placed right on the deck or on a simple structure built flush alongsidethe deck.

Cut 2x4s right on the stack.

Once the material is delivered, don't move it any more than you need to. Cut studs, plywood, and anything else you can right on the stack. lf you do have to move wood, plan so that you have to move it only once.

Drawings: Christopher Clapp. Photo: Bnan Pontolilo.

Cut top plate to exad Iength.

your lumber counts

Cap or double plate canbe up to 1/tin. short (not long).

Builda hous€, not furniture In other words, know your tolerances. Rafters don't have to fit like the parts of a cabinet. Nothing in frame carpentry is perfect, so the question is: What's acceptable? You need to get started right, and that meansthe mudsills.Whether they're going on a foundation or on a slab, they need to be level, straight, parallel,and square. But there's no harm done if they're cutlh in. short. A rim joist, on the other hand, needs to be cut to the right length (within tho in.) before being nailed to the mudsill. When it comes to wall framing, the bottom plate also can be th in. or so short, but the top plate needs to be cut to exast length (again within the in.) because it establishesthe buildingt dimensionat the top of the walls. But the plate that sits on top of that, the cap or double plate, should be cut % in. short so that intersectingwalls tie together easily. Once you've raisedthe walls, how plumb or straight is good enough? In my opinion, 1/rin, out of plumb in 8 ft. is acceptable, and a Tq-in.bow in a 50-ft. wall won't cause harm to the structure or problems for subcontractors. Take special care by framing as accurately as possible in kitchens and bathrooms. These rooms require more attention partly becauseof their tighter tolerances,but also becausethe

These days, if you cull every bowed or crooked stud, you may need to own a lumber mill to get enough wood to frame a house. How do you make the most of the lumber that you get? Use the straightest stock where it's absolutely necessary:where it's going to make problems for you later on if it's not straight. Walls, especially in baths and kitchens,need to be straight. Itt not easyto install cabinetsor tile on a wall that bows in and out. Straight stock is also necessaryat corners and at rough openings for doors. The two top plates need to be straight as well, but the bottom plate doesn't. You can bend it right to the chalkline and nail it home. lf you save straight stock for the top plates, you'll have an easy

lots of short stock for

No more than % in. out of plumb in 8 ft. Rim joist cut to exact length (within l/rcin.) Cutting the mudsill up to 1A in. short (not long) is OK.

i ,, ' ,'

blocking; take bowed material and cut it into the cripples,headers, and blocks.

i .. ,' "t

f

I

work of so many trades comes together here.

Bottom plate

l

time aligningthe walls. And every project needs

f Use straightstuds for corners,for rough openings, for top plates,and in kitchensand baths. Usebowed stock for bottom plates,blocking, cripples,and \\ \=-__/, headers.

\ /

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

7l Work in a EJ logicalorder Establishan efficient routine for each phase of work, do it the same way every time, and tackle each phase in its logicalorder. In the long run, having standard procedures will savetime and minimize mistakes.Let's take wall framing as an example. First,I snap all the wall lines

is nailed completely,I pry up the bottom plate and repeat the processon the bottom. It's worth sayingthat I didn't just make up these steps; they evolved over time. Recognizing inefficiencyis an important part of framing. 1. Snap wall lines.

on the floor; then I cut the top and bottom plates and tack all of them in place on the lines.Next, I lay out the plates, detailing the location of every window, door, stud, and intersectingwall. I pry up the top plate and move it about I ft. away from the bottom plate, which I leave tacked to the deck. I scatter studs

3. Detailplatesfor studs, doors, windows, and intersectingwalls. 2. Tack top and bottom plates in place.

|

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\ -----

,/' yin' '\ --.

. ..t'"

-r+"

every 16 in. for the length of the wall. I nail the top plate to the studs and keep the bottom of the studs snug against the bottom plate. This helps to keep the

,:.r. ,r1..,

wall square,straight,and in position to be raised. I try to establisha rhythm and work

4. Pry up top plate. Bottom plate remains.

consistentlyfrom one end to the other. Once the top plate

5. Scatter studs every 16 in. for the length of wall. Nai/ studs to top plate.

50

FINE HOMEBUILDING

6. Pry up bottom plate and nail to studs.

tf Keepthe other El tradesin mind

Center studs behind tub for mixing valve.

When nailing together the double top plate, align the nails with the studs.

Behind the lavatory, center the open areabetween studs for the medicine cabinet.

lnclude backing for drywall.

lf you want to waste time and money when framing, don't think about the eleqtrical work, the plumbing, the heat ducts, the drywall, or the finish carpentry. Whether you do them yourself or hire subcontractors,these trades come next. And unlessyou're working with them in mind every step of the way, your framing can be in the way. For example, when you nail on the double top plate, keep the nails located over the studs. This placement leavesthe area between the studs free for the elestrician or plumber to drill holes without hitting the nails.

When installing extrawide trim, include blocking for eledrical switches.

Don't measure unlessyou haveto The best way to save time when you're framing a house is by keeping your tape measure,your pencil, and your square in your nail pouch as much as possible. I have to use a tape measureto lay out the wall lines accurately on the deck, but after that, I cut all of the wall plates to length by cutting to the snapped wall lines. I position the plate on the line, eyeball it, and then make the cuts at the intersect-

-

e G €

Trimming 1/tin.

ing chalkline.

from a board's length

Another time-saver is to make square crosstuts on 2x4s or 2x6s without using a square. Experience

shouldn't require measuring. Ripping (lengthwise cuts) longer

has shown me that with a little practice, anyone can make these square cuts by aligning the leading edge of the sawt base, which is perpendicular to

pieces also cin be done by eye if you use the edge of the saw's base as a guide. Train your eye. lt'll save time cutting, and as you develop, you'll also be able to straighten walls as

the blade, with the far side of the lumber before making the cut.

With pradice, you can make square cuts by aligning the froni edge of the sawt base with the far edge of the board.

easily by eye as with a string. GREATBUILDING TIPS2006

51

gl Finishone task ft before going on to the next My first framing job was with a crew that would lay out, frame, and raise one wall at a time before moving on to the next. Sometimes crew members would even straighten and brace the one wall before proceeding. We wasted a lot of time constantly switching gears. lf you're installingjoists, roll them all into place, and nail them before sheathing the floor. Snap all layout lines on the floor before cutting any wall plates, then cut every wall plate in the house before framing. lf you're cutting studs or headers and cripples, make a

cutlist for the entire proiect, and cut them all at once. Tie all the intersecting walls together before starting to straighten and brace the walls. Finishing before moving on is just as important when it comes to nailing and blocking. You might be tempted to skip these smalljobs and do them later, but don't. Close out each part of the job as well as you can before moving on to the next. Working this way helps to maintain momentum, and it prevents tasks from being forgotten or overlooked.

Ef,il:H:ff?s*,e You don't need a mathematician to know that it takes less time to cut two boards at once than it does to cut each one individually. lf you have a stack of studs that all need to be cut to the same length, align one end of the top row, snap a chalklineall the way across,and cut the studs to length right on the pile. Or you can spread them out on the

them to length, snap a line, and cut the joists all at once. Also, don't forget to make repetitive cuts with a radial-arm or chop/miter saw outfitted with a stop block, which is more accurate and faster than measuringand marking one board at a time.

floor, shoving one end againstthe floor plate, snap a chalkline,and cut them all at once. Joists can be cut to length in a similar way by spreading them out across the foundation and shoving one end up against the rim joist on the far side. Mark

52

FINE HOMEBUILDING

First, spread studs on the plywood floor with one end against the floor plate.

Don't climb a ladder unlessyou have to I don't use a ladder much on a framingjob except to get to the second floor before stairs are built. Walls can be sheathedand nailedwhile they're lying flat on the deck. Waiting until the walls are raised to nail on plywood sheathing meansyou have to work from a ladder or a scaffold.Both are time-consuming. With a little foresight, you can do the rafter layout on a double top plate while it's

Attach the sheathing while the wallis stil/ on ..''t the plywood floor.

still on the floor. Otherwise, you'll have to move the ladder around the job or climb on the walls to mark the

Mark rafter layout on top of the wall plate.

top plate.

Knowthe buildingcode Building codes exist to create safe structures. Because building inspectorsare not capable of monitoring all parts of every project, your responsibilityis to know the building code and to build to it. For instance,the code actually specifieshow to nail a stud to a wall plate. You need two 16d nailsif you're nailing Roof sheathing is nailed every 6 in. along the edges and every 12 in. elsewhere. ln high-wind areas, sheathing along the eaves, rakes, and ridges is nailed every 6 in.

through a plate into the end of the stud, or four 8d nails if you're toenailing.When you nail plywood or oriented strand board (OSB)roof sheathing,you need a nail every 6 in. along the edge of the sheathingand every 12 in. elsewhere.And if you're usinga nail gun, be careful not to overdrive the nailsinto the sheathing.

A final word: lf specialsituations arise,consultthe building inspector.He or she is your ally, not your enemy. Get to know the building code for your area. Get your own copy of the IRC(lnternational ResidentialCode) and build well, but build efficiently,with the understanding that perfection isn't what is required.

The American Plywood Association says there's no reduction in strength for nails overdriven by thc in. or less. lf more than 20% of the fasteners exceed 1/ein., add one nail for each two overdriven nails.

Work safely whatever the rule Working safelyshould be at the top of your priority list. Safety glasses, hearingprotection,and a dust maskshould be the norm, as shouldattention around coworkersor dangerousdebris. Safety devicesand good intentions,however, won't help if your mind isn't on the work. Pay attention,approachthe work with a clear head, listento that inner voice that says,"This is too dangerous,"and be extra careful toward the end of the day.

7 a - i n .s h e a t h i n g

2x8 rafter

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Roofs Framingjig I havea rapid, accuratemethod for assemblingany wall, flooq or roof that usesstandarddimensions.My method usesa jig, which is simply aZx4 notchedon 16-in.or 24-in.centerlinesto receive the framing members.Two suchjigs are handy,and for largescalework, four can help. To use,just slip one member at a time into the jig until everythingis in place,then nail. No measuringis required exceptfor cutting piecesto length.The jigs really help on long runs that needto be coveredwith drywall, plywood, etc.For trusses,everythingcan be assembledwith the jigs, the plywood started,and then the jigs pulled up. No nailsto pull. I put togethera 1000-sq.-ft.workshop with this methodmostly by myself and on eveningsand weekends.It really works.

Notches 24 in. or 1 6 i n . o n c e n t e r F--_------*l 7:::: : -1:- :_: :::=l

+ __v_

j- - - *-i

+

C*tt/zin.l V* *l '.-T;

Eli7, in.

Notch detail

Jigs for truss assembly

M . R . H A V E t T I SS t . A l b a n s , W . V a .

A double-bevelplumb cut for valley rafters Mark two plumb linesthe samedistanceapart asthe thicknessof the valley rafter(1).Setthe sawto 45o,and make the first cut so that the outside line becomesthe long point (2).Cut the inside line in the other direction but with the - R I C K A R N O L D W i c k f o r d ,R . l . same bevel (3).

Roof-sheathingjig When I'm nailing down the first row of plywood sheathing on a roof that will have soffits, I use a pair of jigs shown in the drawing to -position the panels.Using thesejigs,I can adjust the amount of overhang to suit the fascia detail by moving the blocks in relation to the lip that supports the edge of the plywood. I've found the jigs to be especially helpful when I am working alone and in need of a third hand. _JOHN SHEPHERD Charlottesville, Va.

Hanger notch When I have to attach a rafter to a beam with a joist hanger,I find it helpful to kerf the rafter's plumb cut with a Skilsaw. Then I can insert the hanger into the kerf, as shown in

lnsert hanger.

the drawing, and nail it in place. The kerf depth coincides with the full cutting depth of my 7Yc-in.saw, so I don't have to mess with adjustments. I also can stack the rafters and make one cut to kerf them all at the same time. This method is a lot easier than notching the rafter, and it provides a continuous plane up the rafter to attach drywall. _ G R E GH A L V E R S O N %-in. plywood

54

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Portland,Ore.

Drawings, exceptwhere noted:Charles Millcr. Drawing center right: Toby Welles/DesignCorc. Photosthis page;Brian Pontolilo.

Splicingridge boards As a framing carpenter, I frequently come acrossa ridge span longer than the overall length of the material I'm using for the ridge. To extend the material to the correct length,I splice ridge boards with a V-shaped joint as shown in the drawing below. My crew and I call this technique "penciling the ridges," after the big pencilshaped piece of wood that results when the cuts are made. To begin the cuts, overlap the ridge material with the crowns pointing in the same direction. The overlap should be at least equal to the rafter spacing (usually 16 in. around here). Now take your tape and mark the rafter layout lines as shown in the drawing. Draw cutlines from the center of the top ridge board to its end, and make these cuts with the sawblade set % in. deeper rhan the cut. This depth will put saw tracks in the bottom piece, showing you where to finish the cuts. Now you cdn put the pieces together with a couple of 8d nails near the end of the splice.

Equal

Depending on how long the pieces are, you either can assemble them on the

/,

/

Rafterlayout

ground and carry them to the ridge, or put them together in place. I like this detail because it's clean and because it holds together bet-

Cutlines

ter than a couple of toenailed, butt-ioined boards. It's also simpler than scabbing on a plywood gusset or a2x splice. _RYAN HAWKS

I REMoDELT NGTrP Steppingup I recently added three dormers on a 12-in-12 root, using a toe-board and roof-stair system that saved me a lot of time, risk, and effort. As shown in the drawing below, the stairs are made of hvo 2x12 stringers with 16-in.-long, 3/c-in.plywood treads. The uphill end of each stringer was cut in a curved pattern to keep the front edge from damaging the shingleswhen it slid onto the roof. The downhill end should be notched on the undersidefor a flat 2x4 toe board. I placed one ladder on each side of the dormer layout and hooked each over the 2x4 toe board that was nailed at the eave parallel to the ridge. A 2x12 plank then could be laid acrossthe treads of the turo stairs, and moved up and down the pitch of the roof. Framing,siding, trimming, painting, and shinglingthe dormers and surrounding area were relatively easy, and the system causeda minimum of damage to the existing roof. -WAYDE MILLANYDillon,Colo.

Flagstaff,Ariz. Curved stringer prevents damage to shingles.

Use8d nailsto secureassembledridge boards. 1 0 - i n .r i s e 1 O - i nr.u n

Sheathing steep roofs When the pitch of a roof is 10 or more, we like to sheathe from the top down. This method requires a litde more staging, but it is much safer and savestime. Set the staging so that you're standing up between the rafters about 6 ft.

*q-.

2 x 1 2p l a n k

y./ Yt

from the ridge. From the center of the ridge at each gable end, measure down 4 ft.r/q in., and snap a line acrossthe rafters. Begin the layout with a full sheet on the line as you would if starting at the eaves.After you finish a row, nail it off completely, and lower the staging toward the outside of the building. Continue with the process, completing the last course from the outside staging. _ M I K EG U E R T IA N N D R I C KA R N O L D

%-in. plywood treads

2x4 toe board

16in.

EastGreenwich,R.l.

Photos, except whe re noted: Mike

Guertin

and Randy O'Rourke

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

55

Wall The hooter stick Plumbing and aligning stud walls can be quite a chore,sometimesinvolving the better part of a five- or six-member crew. On a recentjob,I becameacquainted with the tool shown in the drawing below. Here in Austin, Texas,it's calleda hooter stick, and I haven't found anything that's bettersuitedfor adjustinglong, tall, or just plain awkward walls. Basically,it is nothing more than two studs,a2x4 block 20 in. to 30 in. long, and an old hinge.To assemblethe stick, first cut a 45"V-notch in the end of one stud, and scabthe block flush to the bottom end of the other stud. Then fastenthe two partswith the hinge. To usethe hooter stick, placethe notchedend againstthe undersideof the top plate,near a corner or an intersection with another wall. To bracethe bottom of the stick,you can useeither your foot or a block that is tacked to the subfloor.Now you're readyto push in the direction that you want the wall to move. The hooter is an awkward pieceof equipment to manipulate at first, but onceyou get used to it, you will be surprisedat what you can do to an outside wall full of offsets _PAUL WILSON

and headers.

The easiestway to keep the bottom plate of a framed wall from walking when it is being raisedis to toenail it into the subfloor.The nails bend easilyasyou lift the wall, and the bottom plate usuallyremainsin the immediateneighborhoodof its intendedlayout. A more securesystemusesthe strappingthat binds lumber loads.Cut it into l2-in. pieces,and nail one end to the undersideof the bottom plate.The other end should run under the wall and be Toenail nailed into the subfloor. Concretenails will pierce Stud the stuff; or you can abuse zhz-in your nailsetand start Subfloor -/ a hole.The strappingcan be left in placeand covered by the finished flooring. ,. ,* ;: -*-j_>

_ F E L I XM A R T I Ridgway,Colo.

Austin, Texas

V-notch

20-in.to 30-in.

Sheathingwalls solo For thoselonerswho put up their own sheathing, here is a method that makes it simple for one person to control a 4x8 sheetof plywood or OSB. The key is to put up the framed walls before the top platesare doubled.As shown in the drawing at left, make a coupleof short 2x blocks,and clamp them to the tgp edgeof the sheathing.Make sure the blocks are flush with the edge. No*, using the blocks as hooks, hang the sheathing on the top of the wall and nail it home. The blocks will ensure that the sheathing ends up flush with the finished height of the top plate. _ J A M E SH U R L E Y

-

,\"

FINE HOMEBUILDING

NevadaCity,Calif.

12-in.to 18-in.scab with 45' bevel

Straighteningstuds It's not unusual for a stud wall to have some sticks in it that bow in or out of the wall plane, making it tough to do a decent job on the drywall or paneling. Here's how I fix both situations. After identifying the bowed-in studs, I work on the worst one first. Using a straightedge held vertically against the side of the stud,I find the high point

2 ft.

of the bow and measure acrossit for a notch that will accept a2x4 cross member. Then I set the saw depth to make a cut iust a little deeper than the thickness of the

and wallto subfloor.

1% in. Now I nail the cross member to the bowed stud, flush one end of it to the adjacent stud and nail it, and toenail the opposite end as deep as needed to remove the bow (drawing left). To fix a bowed-out stud (drawing right),

2x4 cross member-about

Wall-liftprop poles With three or four site-built wall jacks like the one shown in the drawing above, a twomember crew can lift 30-ft.- to 40-ft.-long stud walls. The jack

I make a notch l3/cin. to l% in. deep at the point of the stud that is bowed out the most. Then I drive a pair of 16d nails--one angled up and one angled d6q7n-1e anchor the cross member to the stud. When the cross member is flush and nailed with the adjacent studs, the bow is gone. This second method works well when the opposite side of the wall is inaccessible--rovered with a shear wall, for example. _JOHN RIEDHART Ventura,Calif.

is made of a2x4 about 7 ft. long with three nailed-on scabs2 ft. apart. The scabsform ledges to support the wall as it is lifted. With the stud wall lying flat on the subfloor and toenailed to it, toenail each jack to the

Toenail cross member as deep as needed to remove bow. Bowed -out stud

\__=r

Notch no deeper than

Angle nail down.

floor so that its base is tight to the wall's top plate. Now begin at one end of the wall, and lift it to the first notch. Move back and forth along the wall,lifting one notch at each station until

(l

you've reached the third level.

\,,.l,,,

From there, it's an easy push to

Notch 13/r in. to 1% in. deep

get the wall upright. _ED WILSON Seattle

NGTrP I REMoDELT Header retrofit Next time you put a built-up header into an existing wall, use a reciprocating saw to sever the nails at the top and bottom of all the studs to be removed. Rotate the freed studs 90", and align them to one side of the bottom and top plates. Next, place trimmers (cut to their finished length) at an angle on each side of the open-

ing. Raiseone half of the header into place, and tap the trimmers into their vertical position (dependingon the span,a midsupport for the first half of the header may be required). Removethe original studs, add the other half of the headen and spike the halvestogether. -FELIX MARTIRidgway, Colo.

Rotate studs to allow room for the first half of a two-piece header.

Planview

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Floors Rubberband 7 a - i n .h o l e for nozzle

%-in.pine body

Bent 8d nai l s

\

I

'1,

Rubberband hooks

Blockingor headersupported betweenjoists

Solo framing A carpenter working alone can hold a header, blocking, or similar framing member in place for final nailing with a few bent nails. I use 8d nails, driven about a third of their length into the top edge of the work

G l u es l e d

and then bent 90". These ears will support the piece until the first nail is set. _ C R A I GS A V A G E Carpinteria, Calif. Call me persnickety, but I like to place a nice full bead of consrruction adhesive down the center of the floor joists before I lay down a sheet of plywood subflooring. Too many rimes, I've been on a job site where the glue was applied carelessly,resulting in an erratic line with skips and unacceptably thin smears. If it's worth the expense and effort of gluing a subfloor in the first place (and I think it is), then itt worth taking the time to do it right. The device shown above is my solution to the problem. I think the best part is that using this gadget, I center the glue bead on the joist every time without having to go back. The glue sled, as I call it, is nothing more than a I%-in.-wide block of 3/q-in.pine with a hole in it. The block is sandwiched between Vc-in.-thick plywood sides.The hole accepts rhe nozzle of the glue cartridge, and the rubber band loops over the caulk-gun frame, holding the sled in place. In use, the plywood sides ride along the sides of the joist, keeping the nozzlecentered. -I think a3Ae-dia.bead ofglue is the ideal amount. And although I don't obsessover this detail, I can tell you that cutting the nozzle3/ain.

from its tip yieldsalrt-in. opening for the glue to exit. If your joistsare on 16-in.centers,figure on using about three-quarters of a 10.5-oz.tube per sheetof plywood. Where sheetscome togetheron one joist,you can get a fairly even off-center bead of glue by lifting up the sledand angling the glue gun to the side. _ H E R R I C K I MB A L L Moravia,N.Y.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

The twister One of the first things we do on a new framing site is to build a "twister" to help straighten corkscrewed lumber. Our twisters are made of two 3-ft. 2x4s and one 2-ft. 2x4. As shown in the drawing above, the long 2x4s sandwich the short one, crearing a slot at one end. To use the twister, we nail the twisted piece of stock at one end. Then we slip rhe2x4lever over the other end and move the twister until the stock comes flush with its nailing surface. The twister usually provides enough leverage that it takes only one hand,leaving the othei fre.e to swing a hammer or fire a nailer. - S E A N S H E E H A NB a s i nM, o n t .

NGTtPs I REMoDELT Beam stair In the courseof building a family-roomaddition, we had to place a 22-ft, glulam atop an old stud wall to carry the weight of a couple of rooms above. The glulam weighed almost 500 lb., and we had no accessfor a crane, a boom truck, or a forklift. After easingthe beast insidewith rollersand a ramp, we made a "beam stair" for making short lifts, one end at a time. Once the ceiling ioists were shored up temporarily, we removedthe old wall and nailed in three crippleson each side. As we framed adjacent walls, we left out a stud on each side for maneuveringroom. In front of the double-width stud sPaces, we built two temporary stairstep arrangements,dividing the height of the lift into four intervals of about 22 in. each. The stringer was a 2x8 affixed to the crippleswith duplex nails and tacked securelyat the bottom to the subfloor.The "steps" were 2x6 blocks,each about 18 in. long, securedto the stringer with four duplex nails apiece.They were canted toward the stringer a bit so that the beam wouldn't tilt forward onto us. We lifted one end of the beam at a time onto a step until the beam sat on the cripples.After more jacking,prying, and shimming, we nailed it in place and added joist hangersfor the second-floorjoists. _ROBERT GAY SCAIIIE

Joist lowerthan header Upside-down joist hanger

Joist lift

Adding new joists

During a recent remodeling project, we had to put a new floor over an old ceiling.The crampedquarters made it impossibleto swing a hammerfrom below to bring the joists flush with newly added headersand beams.The drawing showshow we used a temporary upside-downjoist hanger and a crowbar to bring a joist flush, allowing its hangerto be installedin the right position.

I strengthenedthe originaljoists in my houseby sistering on some new ones.The typical problem is trying to get the ends of the joists to fit between the mudsillsand the subfloor. When tilted, the joist is a bit too big to fit without serious persuasion.To avoid this, I cut a wedge from each end of a new joist, allowing me to tip the joist into position easily.Then I tapped in the wedges and nailed them in place for full bearing.

-JIM

_ROG ERWESTERBERG Verndale, Minn.

LOCKWOOD

Brookline, Mass.

Wedge is driven under new joist after installation.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

: Rules

Usethese10 tips to get started BY WILL BEEMER

y first construction job was as a trim carpenter's helper during school summer vacation. All I did that first summer was fetch and carry; I wasn't allowed to measure, cut, or nail. I was told to observe.In doing so, I learned that finish carpenrry is essentially a visual exercise. Even if the framer couldn't read a level, the finish carpenter's job is to make the doors, windows, and cabinets work, and to make the house look good. Finish carpenrry is more than interior trim. It includes roofing, siding, decking: anything the owner will seeafter moving in. Rough carpenters evolve into finish carpenrers by learning how to measure, mark, and cut more accurately. With practice, split-

ting the pencil line with a sawcut and working to closer tolerances become second nature. Perfect miters are only part of finish carpenrry. Finish carpenters must develop an eye for proportion and detail. They must learn to visualize the stepsthat lead to the finished product. Now,I teach these skills to novice carpenters.To help make learning these skills easier, I've organized the following ten rules of thumb. Will Beemer is director of the Heartwood School in Washi n g t o n , M a s s . ,a n d c o - e x e c u t i v ed i r e c t o r o f t h e T i m b e r F r a m e r sG u i l d .

AVOIDUSINGNUMBERS It is usually more accurate to hold a board in place to mark its length (drawing left) rather than to use a tape measure and involve numbers. Sometimes, using a ruler or a tape is unavoidable. I use a tape measure on a long piece that's too difficult to mark in place, but generally, I don't like tapes. A tape can flex and change shape,and the movable end hook bends easily,affecting accuracy. A rigid rule is better than a tape for measuring lengths under 6 ft.; hence, the 6-ft. folding wooden rule takes over during trim and cab-

Don't measure. It is more accurate to mark trim in place than to measure and then transfer numbers. It's easy to misread a ruler or to confuse numbers while walking to the saw.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

inet work. The best folding rules come with a sliding brass extension that makes taking inside measurements easy. Open th.e rule

tu *

to the greatest length that fits berween fJre points to be measured, and slide out the brass extension the rest of the distance. Hold it at that length, and carry it to the board to be cut (top drawing, facing page). No need for numbers; just mark the board from the extended ruler. A combination square or a wood block of known dimension is the best way to lay out Drawings: Dan Thornton. Photo:Charles Bickford.

the small measurements needed for reveals and other spacings (drawing bottom right). Learn what dimensions are built in ro the tools you use. A carpenter's pencil is Yc in. thick; you can use it as a spacer for decking.

l

The pencil lead rsVrc in. from the edge of the pencil, so it can scribe ha-in. increments. The body of a folding rule ist/sin.wide. The blade of a standard combination square is

t,

Transfer rneasurements diredly. Many folding rules have a brass end that extends to measure inside dimensions. Carry the extended ruler to the workpiece, and transfer the measurernent directly whenever possible.

I in. wide, and its body is % in. thick. A door or window should be casedwithout the use of a tape. Lightly mark the reveal on the jamb with a pencil. Square-cut the bottoms of the casing legs, hold them up to rhe jamb, and mark the top cuts from the reveal lines. Cut the legs, and tack them in place. Miter one end of the head, and holding it

Combination square Use a combination square as a marking gauge for consistent . me asu reme nts {or thi ngs such as casing reveals, handrail centers, and window-stool notches.

upside down over its final position, mark the other end to length (drawing facing page).

Pencil line indicates where to place the trim.

USEREVEALS, AND AVOIDFLUSHEDGES Wood moves-as

it dries out, as the house settles,as you cut it, and as you're nailing it up. It's almost impossible ro ger flush edges

Head-casing overhang

to stay that way. That's why, for example, carpenters usually step casing back from the edge of door and window jambs. Stepping trim back to form reveals causesshadowlines and createsdifferent planes that make it harder for the eye to pick up discrepancies. If a casing is installed flush to rhe inside of a jamb, it may not stay that way. The eye will easily pick up even a Vrc-in.variation from top to bottom. If the casing is stepped back% in. or 3/sin., this variation will not be nearly as evident and will be hidden in shadow much of the time. Separate discrepancies,and they become lessevident. In years past, carpenters by necessityused trim materials of different rhicknesses;planers were not in widespread use. You rarely see mitered casings in older houses because differences in material thickness are obvious

Varied thicknesses create a reveal.

Casing 1"9

to the head, which runs over and past the legs by %in. or so. This way, the carpenter didn't worry about the length of the head casing being exact or the side casings noticeably changing width with changes in humidity. The head casing is usually the thicker piece so

Offset everyfthing. Wood moves, so it's practically impossible to keep flush edges flush. lnstead, offset edges from each other, such as the casing from the jamb. And use boards of different thicknessesas with the head casingand the leg shown here. This way, they can swell and shrink unnoticed.

that the shadow it castsmakes it appear to be a cap. Rosettes often were placed at the upper corners and plinth blocks at the bottoms of door jambs. The casings and baseboards butted to them. The variations in thickness of these boards were lost in the overwhelming presenceof the thicker plinths and rosettes. G R E A TB U I L D I N G T I P S 2 0 0 6

51

Diverging lines are obvious mistakes. With shingles or lapped siding, diverging starting and ending points can be hidden a little at a time by slightly tapering the course widths. But this technique doesn't work with other materials,such as tongue-and-groove flooring, whose course can't be varied easily.

SPLITTHE DIFFERENCE If you're running coursesof material between two diverging surfaces, and you start out working parallel to one, you won't be parallel to the other. With decking, roofing, or siding, you can adjust the

Out-of-parallel walls

gap or coverage slightly at each course so that the coursesare parallel to the other surface when they reach it. T h i s a d j u s t m e n t i s f i g u r e d e a s i l y .S " y that you're shingling an old house, and the roof measures 135 in. from ridge to eave on one end and 138 in. on the other. Divide one of these figures by the ideal exposure per course, 5 in. for normal three-tab shingles. Thus, 135 in. divided by 5 equals 27; t h i s i s t h e n u m b e r o f c o u r s e sa t 5 i n . p e r c o u r s e . A t t h e o t h e r en d o f t h e b u i l d i n g , 138 in. divided by 27 yields 5Vatn. Lay out each side of the roof using the two

-I

different increments, and snap chalklines

I

I

between them. With these adjustments,

I

I

I I

the chalklines start out parallel to the

I

eaves and end up parallel to the ridge. I n c a s e sw h e r e t h e g a p o r c o v e r a g e i s not adjustable, as in tongue-and-groove flooring, you have to make up part of the discrepancy at the start and the re st at the end. Say you're installing flooring between t w o w a l l s t h a t a r e I i n . o u t o f p a r a l l el , and you're leaving a minimum expansion g a p o f V z i n . b et w e e n t h e f l o o r i n g a n d the wall. Make the expansion gap I in. at each side of the wide end of the room and Vzin. at eachsideof the narrow end. Shoe molding and baseboardscover the gap. If Floorboards laid to split the difference

you're using a one-piece thin baseboard, you'll have to rip tapered floorboards at the start and finish to keep the expansion gap narrow and parallel to the wall.

Baseboar

*)

Moldings hide the gap. Floorboards don't have to be a uniform distance from the wall. As long as the base/shoe molding covers it, the gap can vary.

Use boards as wide as possible as your s t a r t i n g a n d e n d i n g c o u r s e st o k e e p c o n verging lines as far apart as possible.Measure the room width at both the wide and narrow ends, and subtract the expansion gaps. Divide these measurementsby the floorboard width. Multiply the remainders by half the board width. These will be the widths of the starting and ending strips at the wide and narrow ends of the room. If these strips are narrow, try adding half a board width. As long as these sums are less than full board widths, use

H i d d e ng a p 62

FINE HOMEBUILDING

them for the starting and ending strips.

AVOIDEXPOSING END GRAIN End grain absorbs stain and paint differently from face or side grain; even if left natural,

Mitered return

end grain reflects light differently. Unless you want to emphasize this difference, plan your installation to hide end grain or cut mitered returns to cover it up. A return is a small piece of trim, often triangular in section,that ends a run of molding. Tiaditionally, returns are used on stair treads, window stools and aprons, butted head casings-anywhere

a piece of molding doesn't

end in a corner. On a power miter saw, the blade often throws small returns to some dimly lit, inaccessiblecorner of the room. I cut them with a small miter box and a backsaw.

Don't show end grain. lt absorbs paint and especially stains differently from flat grain. If a piece of molding must end abruptly, cut a return for it.

t

FITTHEJOINTBEFORE CUTTINGTO LENGTH

Fit the more difficult end before cutting to length. ln this case, the left side is coped and the fit is checked before the miter is marked.

If you're coping or mitering a joint on a piece of base, chair rail, or crown, make sure that joint fits well before you cut the other end to length. You may need the extra length if you make a mistake and have to recut the cope or miter. If you had cut the piece to length before miscutting the cope or miter, you'd be grumbling on your way back to the lumberyard instead of calmly recutting the piece.

DON'T BE FUSSY WHEREYOU D ON'T HAVETO BE Learn to think ahead to see if what you're working on will be covered later, which is

Coped joint

Some joints don't need to be perfect, Baseboardwill hide the ugliness where the drywall meets the floor.

Base-cap molding Baseboard

often the function of moldings. If the floor or wall undulates, you might be tempted to scribe or fill behind the baseboard to follow the contours. In older houses,where walls and floors always undulated, you often see three-piece baseboards,with the thin basecap molding attached to the wall and following its contour while the shoe does the same on the floor. The thicker baseboard installs quickly and easily becauseit doesn't have to conform; that's what the shoe and cap do.

The baseboard spans hollows in the wall and floor. The cap and shoe are flexible and confonn to ins and outs, hiding them.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

PLANTHESEOUENCE TO AVOIDPERFECT CUTSAT BOTHENDS

Trimming a room with baseboard and a minimum of perfed cuts. By following the numericalseguence in the drawing below, only pieces 2 and 3 require pertect cuts on both ends. The chanceof error is reduced by first coping them and then holding them in place to mark their lengths. rhe copes are planned so that any crackswill be less obvious to people entering the room. ll

Butt this end to the wall.

There is usually a sequenceof trim installation that requires the fewest perfect cuts. For example, with my method of casing doors and windows, only the last cut on the head need be perfect. Cut this end slightly long, and shave it with a chopsaw unril it fits just right. One neat trick here: Push the casing up to the lowered, idie chopsaw blade. Raise the blade without moving the casing, then make the cut. The teeth are ser slightly wider than the body of the blade, so the

\ I Miter

cut will take off Vtz in.If you had installed the head first, you then would have had to make an exact miter cut on each casing leg to make the joint turn out right. The sequenceof installation also is important when running trim around a room, whether it's baseboard,chair rail, or crown molding. I prefer to work from right to left around a room becauseI'm right-handed and generally do a faster, nearer job of coping the right end of a board. Working my way around a room, I often end up with a piece that needs to be coped on both ends, a challenge for even the best car-

,r-al{

8 '^

penters. I try to plan my installation so that this last piece of trim is in the least conspicuous place. If a coped joint isn't perfect or if

",/ Lines of sight

coped ioints. The first piece is butted to the wall. The second piece is mitered as for an inside corner, but the mitered end is cut off where it meets the molding face, leaving a negative of the profile that fits perfealy over the butted piece.

Butt this end to wall.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Gaps show along coped end.

it opens up over time, the crack is most visible when viewed at right angles ro rhe coped piece. Wherever possible,I orient the coped piecesso that people entering or using the room won't have right-angle views of them. Coped joints look different from different angles. lf a coped joint opens up, the crack will be obvious when viewed parallel to the uncoped piece and nearly invisible viewed parallelto the coped piece. Plan the coping seguence so that crackswill be less obvious along likely lines of sight. Cracks also will be lessobvious if the uncoped piece is stained or painted before installation; raw wood sticks out.

PARALLEL IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN L EVELOR SQUARE Some rules of carpentry change from framing to finish work. Instead of keeping track of plumb, level, and square, you now must keep finish materials parallel to the walls and floors. The eye seesdiverging lines more readily than it seesplumb and level. The only exceptions are cabinets and doors, which must hang plumb to work properly. If the floor isn't level, trim the door bottoms

iiriiili

But I hung it plumb. A level door bottom over an out-of-level floor has a tapered, eye-catchinggap at the bottom. Trim the door bottom so that it's parallel to the floor. It won't be level, but it'll look good.

I .=,1,,[ ti, k I

Scrib e the door bottom parallelto the floor.

/:

Unfevel floo,--/

parallel to the floor rather than leave them level with a tapered gap. If the deck framing is out of squaie, run the decking parallel to the house wall. If for some reason two lines

Trimmed paralle to the floor, the door looks right

must diverge, separatethem as widely as possible so that the difference is harder to see.

NOTHINGIS RANDOM

Nothing is random. Even something as simple as decking benefits from thoughtful layout. The randomness(left) looks sloppy compared with careful layout (right).

Whenever I find myself saying, "It doesn't matter," the red flag goes up. Which end of the board you cut first, which face is out, where you put the nails-this

I !

all matters,

t

and the care you put into the details shows up as craftsmanship in the entire job. "God lives in the details," said architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and this is especially true in finish carpentry. Occasionally, it won't matter, but you first should consider whether it does.As your experienceincreases

f I

rl

II

I

t'

I I

t

I

i

ii lt

\ i

. t

t1

ri l t I

i-

and your eye becomes more efficient, it will becorne second nature to line up nails in an attractive pattern and to look critically at each board as you carry it to the saw.

F I NI S H T HE J O B A contractor usually has to complete a punch list before finalpayment is issued,but some-

will be easier to do when it's close at hand. After a while , they don't notice the lack of trim, and it becomes harder and messier

times, getting all the details wrapped up is like pulling teeth. The clean-slateattraction of starting a new job can overpower the

obstacles.It can be a strain on a marriage if

drudgery of completing the old. This temptation can sour good clients and lose referrals.

the bathroom doors aren't hung after a few years of residence.I advise owner-builders

Owner-builders doing their own work often are tempted to move in to a house before the finish work is done, thinking it

and contractors to finish all work before they move on. They'll be glad they did.

to set up the tools and work around the

to get everything done before they move in,

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Cutting& Coping Coping table Molding stock extends through slots in coping table.

As much as I appreciate the delicate craft of coping moldings by hand, a jigsaw is faster. To hold the foot of the saw in plane with the 45o bevel on the end of the workpiece while following the lines of the molding profile,I use the coping table shown in the drawing at right. The table is a pyramidal box with slots

-<==l*1i-,r;-_7_

cut into both sides for the molding stock. After beveling a piece of molding on the miter saw,I slide the stock into the coping table. The box's dimensions allow ample hand room for holding the work steady, while my fingers remain clear of the blade. The saw rides on the angled side of the coping table. I made the table out of the sink cutout from a plasticlaminate countertop, so the saw glides easily over the surface. The jigsaw should

Jigsaw base rides on angled table. - ' J - - - -

have a roller guide and a fine-tooth scrollcutting blade. - G R A F T O N H . C O O K D o w a g i a cM, i c h .

Height of miter-saw table

Easiercoping with the jigsaw Next,I drilled a couple of r/e-in.holes in the saw's base,on opposite

Coping crown molding with an electric jigsaw is much easier when you attach a radiused auxiliary base to the jigsawt standard flat base.

sides of the blade, for a pair of screws. I positioned the slotted golf

I was stumped about making this modification until I spotted a golf

ball as shown in the right-hand drawing and affixed it to the base

ball on my shop bench.

with a couple of small screws. This jig provides a pivot point right where the blade enters the

As shown in the drawing below,I started by cutting the ball into unequal parts. I did the cutting on my bandsaw after driving a

back side of the molding. As a result,I have the control to make

couple of 3-in. drywall screws into opposite sides of the ball to act as

exact relief cuts. I have found that longer blades are useful for cut-

handles. The screws kept my fingers a safe distance from the blade.

ting big crowns. Different configurations could be obtained by

Then I made a perpendicular cut in the larger portion of the ball. Still at the bandsaw,I cut a slot to accommodate the jigsaw's blade.

cutting the ball into segments of various sizes. - J l M D E L V I ND e sM o i n e sW , ash.

Cut along dotted lines.

Cut slot for blade. Jigsaw

Screwgolf ballto jigsaw basefor copingangled cuts.

Drilllh-in. hole in saw base, both sides. FINE HOMEBUILDING

Drawings: CharlesMiller

220-grit sandpaper contactcementedto identicalmolding

Acute angles on the chopsaw A couple of years ago, I was doing some trim with my friend Marcos Bradley. He was running base around a seriesof odd angles-2ngles he couldn't readily cut with his chopsaw. After some thought, he assembled a jig similar to the one shown in the drawing below. Use clamps or screws to secure one of the jig's fences to the saw's fence. Clamp the workpiece to the jig (block under the far end of the long

Jig clamped or screwed to saw's fence

pieces),and you're all set to cut accurare

Molding with coped joint

acute angles. _ F E L I XM A R T I Ridgway,Colo.

Touchingup coped joints The drawing above shows a trick that I teach my students for making perfect coped joints. We use water-based contact cement to glue a sheet of 220-grit sandpaper to a piece of molding that has the same profile as the work-

1x2 fences

piece. Result: a custom-made, contoured sanding block. Using the block to make a few back-and-forth strokes on the coped end of the workpiece smooths out unsightly irregularities. - D A V I D J O H N S O NC l i n t o nl,o w a

PLANVIEW OFJIG

Coping quarter-roundtrim I recently had to install alot of 3/+-in.quarter-round trim. I prefer coped corners to mitered corners, but given the amount of trim required by this job, I had to find an expedient

1|/z-in.-dia. hole saw

way to cut the stuff. As shown in the drawing,I devised a fixture that yields 1 x 4 o a k g u i d eb l o c k accurate results with a minimum of effort. ( I started with a scrap piece of 2x6 about 14 in. long. Using my tablesaw, 3/+-in.by 3/a-in. \ I plowed a3/q-in.by 3/+-in.groove the length of the 2x6 to accommodate quarter-round trim. This groove holds the trim as it is cur by a lr/z-in.-dia. hole saw from above. As shown in the drawing, the

groove

hole saw is guided by a 1x4 guide block. I made this block out of oak becauseit holds up well after repetitive cuts. Using this rig makes coping quarter-round trim a breeze. For quarter-rounds of a different radius, simply cut a groove to fit the trim, and use a hole saw that is twice the radius of the trim. - M . P . W H I P P L EA f t o n ,N . Y .

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

lnstallingTrim

// /t

t t t

Protecting stain-gradetrim Every carpenter knows that it pays to have the painters in a position of feeling happily indebted to you. To that end, here's

t:"

my tip. Whenever you are applying window casing, base,or any other woodwork that is not going to be painted, staple strips of

Crown molding

plastic sheeting to the surface that will end up behind the trim, as shown in the drawing below. Thin plastic is fine for this;I

Finger-grip notch at inside corner

use 1-mil or Z-rr'il drop cloths from the paint store. The plastic should extend a foot or so beyond the trim. The painter now can wrap the plastic over the trim and fasten any additional masking tape to it. This step eliminates the painter's need to mask the trim painstakingly. Having saved a lot

Staple plasticto wall prior to installingtrim.

Finger-gripnotch for fine-tuning crown molding in place When I install crown molding,I

of time, said painter will

cope the inside corners. Consequently, most pieces have one end that butts into a corner. I like nice, tight joints, so I generally cut the

likely seeto it that your job looks its very best. When the paint has

crown a little long. Becauseof this tight fit, the butt end sometimes jams into the corner, which means I need a pry

dried, the painter simply runs a sharp utility-knife

bar to move it around when the time comes to fit the nexr piece'scoped end to the butt end. Even if I have a pry bar

blade along the crease between the wall and the casing to cut away the plastic. _JEFFREY S.HILL

Stain-grade window casing

North Bend,Wash.

on hand, wielding it without marring the wall is difficult. A better way is to nip the upper corner off the butt end before putting the piece on the wall. You gain a handy finger-grip notch, which the coped end of the next piece covers, as shown in the drawing above. - A N D Y E N G E LR o x b u r yC o n n .

Wrap plastic around casing,then trim away after painting walls.

Baseboardshims

Drywall screw works as adjustable shim.

It can be frustrating to install precisely fit baseboardsover an uneven substrate like drywall. Baseboards often sit atop tapered drywall edges, causing the wood to tilt a bit out of plane with the wall. This can cause an unsightly gap at a corner where a coped baseboard intersects a square-cut baseboard. I avoid this problem by driving |3/s-in.drywall screws into the bottom plates at each inside corner. The screws need to be installed only under the square-cut pieces of baseboard. As shown in the drawing, the screws work as adjustable shims, allowing me to run them in or back them out as needed to put the baseboard into plane with the wall. I use a short piece of baseboard with a coped end on it to test the corner joints for fit as I install the square-cut pieces. That way, I don't have to keep running back to my saw to adjust the coped cut. For outside corners, I put a screw on each wall. - R A L P H W . B R O M E G r e e n s b o r o ,M d .

68

FINE HOMEBUILDING

baseboard

A base hook for tight baseboards A homemadetool called a basehook eliminates the need for a bevel square in some applications.Similar in conceptto a siding gauge, it's simply an L-shaped piece of a stable, split-resistantwood usedprimarily for laying out the end cut of baseboardwhere it butts againststanding moldings such asdoor casings.To usethe hook, lap it over the baseboard and hold it hard againstthe standing molding while scribing a cutline acrossthe baseboard.Be sure the facesof your base hook are perfgcdy squareto ttre edges,or you'll introduce a margin of error. _JIM TOLPIN Port Townsend,Wash.

Baseboardangle blocks I do the finish trimwork for a small builder of moderately priced homesin Norfolk, Va. He hasfound that it is actually lessexpensiveto have the walls plasteredthan to have drywall hung, hped, sanded,and painted. Becauseplasteris a hand-tooled product, the walls are a litde uneven,and the basemoldings rarely end up plumb. As a consequence,I'velearned that to keep the coped ioints tight, the 45" bevelneedsto be cut at a small angle off square,usually between88oand 92". When I first startedcoping thesejoints, I useda bevelgauge to measureeachangle,and then I'd adiust the compound-miter saw accordingly.That iust took too long. I now cut five testblocks of basemolding with miter anglesranging Basemolding between88oand 92",in1" increments.As shown in the drEwing to the right,I test-fit a couple of blocks to get the correct angle.Then I read the angle marked on the block, setthe saw to that number, and I'm ready to cut. No more Gap caused by uneven fussyfiddling. wall surface -D EN NI SS M I T HS uf f o lV k ,a . Test blocks

8s Photo: Patrick Cudahy

Two hardwood blocks, 2 in. by 2in. by thin.

Casing-revealgauge When I install door or window casings, I usethe jig shown aboveto fnake sure that I get an accurater/+-in. reveal.It's made of two squarepieces of hardwood,rAin. thick, that are glued together with a Yc-in.offset. This jig has so many cornersthat half the time I grab it out of my nail bag,

it'sin therightt':l:lf'rl'*'"r,*o" Tight fit indicates the proper angle.

Fort Dodge, lowa

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Construction This dimension is equalto the width of the block minus the thickness of the blade.

Trimmingcabinet doors Here's a useful tablesaw setup for trimming the horns off small frame-and-panel doors. First, cut a piece of stock that fits between the horns, then rip the stock to about 2 in. wide. This piece is the alignment block. Now move the saw fence toward the blade a distance equal to the thickness of the blade, about % in. With the saw running, just barely put the block into the blade to make sure the fence has been moved a distance exactly equal to the blade's thickness. Now put the block between the horns, and hold the door and block against the fence as you cut off the horn. If you've set it up correctly, the cut will be exactly flush with the stile. Lift the door up and away as soon as you've cut through the horn, and repeat the process for all the other corners of the door. Be sure to clear the horn offcuts from the blade as you proceed. -BRIAN EVEREST N e l s o n8, . C . ,C a n a d a

gnment block, /

,/

crosscutto fit between horns

F r a m e - a n d - p a n e ld o o r

Routertemplate

II

Affixing a router template to a finished surface

I

Hot-melt g l u eg u n

I've seesome carpenters use double-face foam tape to hold a template in place for routing. However, itb so sticky that I've found it to be a do-or-die situation when positioning the template. Plus, double-face

)

FINE HOMEBUILDING

nets; it beats trying to run a sabersaw on a lacquered surface right at the edge of a raised panel.

holding templates, I use ordinary hot glue and masking tape (drawing left).

I have used this method on all kinds of materials, finished and unfinished, vertical, horizontal, and upside down. The tape pre-

I cover the area under the template with a layer of 3M blue masking tape. Then I squeeze a line of hot glue around the

vents damage to finishes, and on raw wood, it keeps the glue out of the grain. If the template isn't positioned correctly, I simply pull

perimeter of the template and stick it to the tape. The router template in the drawing

it off, scrape off the glue, then try again. - G R E G GR O O SS a nF r a n c i s c o

tape can damage finished surfaces.For

M a s k i n gt a p e

is made for outlet boxes that frequently need to be installed in kitchen-island cabi-

Drawings:

Charles Miller.

Photo this page: Daniel

S. Morrison.

Raisingpanels with a router Raising cabinet-door panels with a traditional undermount router table can produce wavy cuts becauseit's difficult to hold the panel absolutely flat ro a vertical fence. To regain the advantage of a horizontal worksurface, I mounted my router at 90o to the conventional setup. As shown in the drawing,

l/z-in. plywood mounting plate

Accurate stapling for drawer assembly

Adjustment knob

I had a stack of melamine drawer bortoms and sides that had to be stapled together, and if the stapler's nosepiece

Verticalpanelraisingbit

was slightly off-center or out of plumb, I ran the risk of a staple blowing out

I affixed the router to a piece of Yz-in. hardwood plywood. The base of the router rests in a shallow recessrouted

the face of a drawer side. To ensure perfect alignment,I tacked together a wooden sole with a regis-

into the plywood. The plywood mounting plate attaches to a 2-in.-thick top by way of two Yc-in.-dia.machine screws driven into threaded inserts embedded in

Direction of feed 1/a-in.-dia.

the top. One screw acts as a pivot point. The other projects through

threadedinserts

a slot in the mounting plate. A washer and a large knob on rhis screw allow the mounting plate to be clamped at the desired height relative to the worksurface.

Wood nosepiece registers againstdrawer side.

With the router bit below the work as the panel is passed over it, raise the panel with a seriesof shallow passes. Notice that the locking point is twice as far from the pivot point as the center of the router bit. At this relationship, raising the plate r/+in. atthe locking point lifts the bit % in. - D O N A L D C . B R O W NR u c k e r s v i l l e , V a .

Drawerside Blocksscrewedto worksurface

Miter clamps Miter clamps (known as pinchdogs in our part of the

permits the clamp to reach a bit farther and

Southwest) are mighty useful for putting pressure on a mitered frame during a

to grab the work at odd angles. The offset placement also allows

glue-up or nailing session. But miter clamps are not

#6 drywall screw

me to use a couple of clamps at the same time if I need to apply

always easy to locate. As shown in the drawing,I

extra pressure.

make my own pinchdogs out of two components that can be obtained easily:

screw into the holes in the spring-clamp

spring clampsand drywall screws. I first center-punchand drrllVa-in. holesin the jaws of a spring clamp.I put the holesa bit off-center.This placement

I run a #6 drywall

iaws.The sharppointsof the drywall screwswill bite into almostany material.

_SVEN HANSON Albuquerque,N.M.

Opposing wedges hold drawer side snug to blocks.

tration nosepiecefor the stapler. The sole, made of 3/q-in.plywood, envelops the stapler's magazine. A piece of solid stock planed ro rhe width of the magazine fits between rhe plywood sides,creating a flat, stable base for the stapler. At the businessend of the tool, I put a wood nosepiece that extends an inch below the sole. This nosepiece registers against the drawer side and the edge of the drawer bottom, holding them flush as the staple is driven. - R I C H V A N R H E E NW e s tL i n n O , re.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

lnstallation Low-budget water level An inexpensivewater level can be made out of a clear plastic l-gal. jug, a tubeless-tirevalve stem (with guts and cap removed), and an appropriate length of clear vinyl tubing, as shown in the drawing below. First, drill a hole that is sized to acceptthe valve stem approximately 2 in. up from the bottom of the jug. Insert the valve stem in the hole, fit one end of the tubing over the stem, and tape a ruler to the free end of the tubing to be used as a referencestick. Finally, fill the jug with water, and add a few drops of food coloring to make the level easier to read, as shown in the photo. Before using the level, be sure to bleed any air bubbles out of

Jug Clear vinyl tape

the tubing. And during use, keep the free end of the tubing above the level of the water in the jug to keep water from draining out the free end of the

\

Ruler

z

er level-\

tube. Water levels are very accurate, and this one can be just the ticket for someone who doesn't need a water level often enough to justify buying a commercially manufactured one. _JEFF JORGENSEN Tonopah, Nev.

Aligning cup hinges

Multipurposedoor-pulljig The drawing below shows a jig I use for quickly locating the screw holes for cabinet pulls. In the application illustrated here, the jig is being used on a drawer front. The notch at the top of the jig is aligned with a pencil mark on a piece of tape that indicates the center of the drawer. Drawers of different depths require their pulls to be placed at different distances from their top edges-hence the series of holes.

Centering notch -

with the door's top edge or some molded detail in the door. The jig is laid out with

Holesfor door pulls

Fence

Holesfor d r a w e rp u l l s

European cup hinges can be adjusted in three different directions to get a professional fit on a cabinet door, but the hinge arm must be exactly 90o to the door's edge. Fortunately, the shape of the hinge makes it easyeven if you have only a handheld drill. Simply pressa straightedge against the backs of the hinges. As

To use the jig for locating pulls on cabinet doors, I rotate the jig 90" and align its edge

Vinyltubing

shown in the drawing, they will rotate

))lrlly,i

in their mortises and become perfectly aligned to the door edge. -DAVID BORcRttl Seattle

Straightedge

equal distances from its sides to the pull holes, allowing it to be flipped to do right-hand or left-hand doors. -MARK HALLOCK Capitola,Calif.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Cuphinges I prior to I alignment i

Photo this pagc: Andv

Engel

CABINETJACKS,3 WAYS 1 ll Scissors

2 // Legs

lnstallingwall cabinets by yourself can be a dangerousjuggling act. To keep them plumb and level long enough to install them, use a scissorsjack. A scrap of plywood atop the base cabinets provides a surfacefor cranking the cabinet into position. A 12-in.-sq.piece of 3/+-in.plyrood covered with carpet and attached to the bottom and top of the jack protects the casework. | fitted my jack sleeve with an old hole-sawarbor to raise and lower it with my electric drill. RONDeLAURENTIS NorthAurora, lll.

I use these jacks to install 2x3 legs upper cabinets by myself. The jacks have a 2x2 frame covered with %-in. plywood and are ->l Zx2 frame K- t O in. braced with 2x3 legs. I line the backs and tops of the jacks with carpet to keep them from scratchingthe walls. Rubber feet keep the legs from slipping as I adjust cabinet height. To use the jacks, I mark a level line on the wall to show the bottom of the cabinet. I place the jacks about 6 in. inside each end of the cabinet and set the cabinet on them. Moving the legs in or out adjuststhe height. When itt right, lfasten the cabinet to the wallthrough holesin the hang-rail.

ilI

Wall cabinet

JI

i

jack Scissors \ Hole-saw arbor

- D A R R Y L B . W E I S E R D a h l o n e g a ,G a .

-a-.........c

- _ UPPe,cabinet

'"'1

':-- *

%-in.pipe clamp \._-4 %-in. pipe n i p p l e ,1 0 i n . long

3 // Pipe clamps As shown in the drawing to the right, my rig consists of trryo5-ft. pieces of 7c-in.iron pipe attached to a 2x4 frame by way of threaded pipe flanges. The movable part of a pipe clamp rides on each pipe, working side up, to support the arm assemblies.I place the frame on the floor, butt it up to a wall, and slide a cabinet onto the arms. I raise the cabinet either by grabbing the clamps and pulling upward while standing on the frame or by raising the cabinet by hand and holding it up with one arm while raisingthe clampsone at a time. This may sound a little awhrard, but it's not in practice. ROY L. SAMUELSON Alameda, Calif.

1 - i n .T 1 - i n .b y 1/z-in. bushing

tz-,n. p,p" %-in.pipe clamp

nipple

ARM ASSEMBLY DETAIL

G R E A TB U I L D I N G T I P S 2 0 0 6

73

Efficienc Guidelines

B Y S V E NH A N S O N

74

FINE HON4EBUILDING

n my yearsas a cabinetmaker, I've found that it's rarely the big srroke of genius that makes the difference; rather, it's the

expensive router bits and stock preparation. Follow these guidelines, and you'll be able to go from

avoidance of dumb mistakes. Simplifying cabinet designs and standardizrngconstruction

shop drawings to finished cabinetsquickly and a c c u r a t e l y ,w i t h a m i n i m a l n u m b e r o f e x p e n s i v e tools and mistakes.

have made me feel a whole lot smarter. By making frameless cabinets, ordering the doors and drawer fronts from an outside vendor, and using production-oriented jigs, I've eliminated a lot of

S v e n H a n s o n i s a c a b i n e t m a k e ri n M a r i e t t a ,G a . , a n d A l b u q u e r q u e ,N . M . P h o t o sb y D a n i e l S . M o r r i s o n ,e x c e p t w h e r e n o t e d . Photo this page; Robert Rcck

cabinet doorsdoubles BUILD THE BOXES, BUT BUY THE DOORS Makins th e a mo u n to f ti m e n e e dedto bui l d a ki tchen,so I l et someoneel sedo i t. B eforeI st ar t buildi n g c a b i n e tsI, o rd e r d oors and draw erfrontsfrom an outsi desuppl i er.They' reusuallyr eady (i n c l u d i n gs a n d i n ga n d fi ni shi ng,i f speci fi ed)by the ti me l ' ve bui l t the cabi netcases.lt 's har d for me to meet the quality/priceratio that a shop delivers;two suchsuppliersare www.scherrs are show nbelow. S omeother smartcharacteri sti cs .c o ma n d w w w .l a k e s i demoul di ng.com.

U p p e rc a b i n e t

Doors and drawer fronts can be ordered in any size and in a wide variety of styles. Factory-appliedfinishesare an option, but may be hard to match to cabinet boxes.

Use concealedhinges.They are complex-lookingand more expensivethan other types of hinges, but they're adjustablein three directions, makingthe doors easierto install.

'l-"' .1 :&oiqa; ^: tr,i ;i.. *

Simplifythe joinery.Cabinet casesare made from 3/c-in.veneered plywood. Assemblyis done with glue and 17a-in.trim screws. Use %-in. plywood backs to squarethe cases.

Base cabinet

Eliminatefixed shelvesin base cabinets.Drawers and roll-out shelvesmake base cabinets more useful. With a drillingjig, drawer-slidehardware is easyto install.

fl

Use applied end panels. Exposed screwsin case sides will be hidden when cabinets are joined together. For end-of-run cabinet sides, use finishedplywood panels.

The toe kick isn't part of the cabinet. Simplify case construction (and cabinet installation)by setting the cabinet box on a platform framed in 2x material.

ONLINE EXTRA To see a video of Sven Hanson making story poles for a kitchen-cabinet job, go to www.finehomebuilding.com.

Use full-extensiondrawer slides,For sticky drawers,trim the drawer width where the slidesattach by moving the drawer box through a tablesaw with the blade height set at about 2 in.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

FINISH BEFORE YOU START

Edgebandia nn g da p p l y i nagf i n i s ha r eb e s td o n e

t o b i g p i e c e s ,b u t n o t t o o b i g . M y u s u a ls t r a t e g y i s t o r i p 4 x 8 s h e e t s o f p l y w o o d i n t o 2 x 8 p i e c e s ,a s i z et h a t ' s e a s y t o f i n i s h a n d m o v e . Y o u ' l l h a v e t o g o b a c k a n d a d d a l i t t l e e d g e b a n d ing after all the parts are cut, but working on 2x8 sheetsfirst will get the work done faster.

Iron on the edging. Using the plywood as a ruler, I snapoff a bunch of 97-in.long strips. With the help of a spring clamp, I balancea strip on the top edge of the plywood sheet so that it overhangseach end. With the iron on a hot (linen) setting, I tack down one end of the edgeband, then iron toward the other end. To ensuregood adhesion,scuff the plywood edge bef orehand with 9)-grit sandpaper, i then c/ean the dust from the surface.

Trim one edge at a time. Edge trimmers normally trim both sides at once. That's fine for vinyl edging, but you'll get smoother resu/ts with wood if you show some respect for the grain. Pull the tool apart, and work one side at a time to avoid sp/its (www.vir utex.com; 800-8 689663).

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When the varnish has dried, I knock down the bumps before applying a second coat. Sandpaperworks fine, but I like to smooth the finish with a cabinet scraper.

Tip: Singte-edge razor bladesmakegreat scrapersfor the edgebanding.

Cut plywood efficiently. To avoid making crosscuts in full-size sheets of plywood,l rrp sheets lengthwise, then turn to crosscutting. My shopmade crosscut sled rides in the tablesaw's mitergauge slots, making precise crosscutting easy to do.

STICK WITH BASIC DIMENSIONStbesin the processby making a cutlis t of all t he pa rts l ' l l n e e d (sides,tops, bottoms, backs, etc.) and note the dimensions both on the cutlist and on an unfinishedend of the part ( ballpointink w i l l l a s t).I u s e bas icdim ens io n sth a t d i v i d e well into a plywood panel. To account for the sawkerf, subtract 1/ain. from the following s iz es :6 in. a n d 9 i n . w o rk well for drawers and toe-kick s t o c k ;1 2 i n . , 1 6 i n . ,a n d 1 8 i n . work well for varying depths of upper-cabinetsides,tops, and bottoms; 24 in. is good for base cabinets.

S P E E DA S S E M B L YW I T H S I M P L EJ O I N E R YA N D A L O W T A B L E I rarelyrabbet cabinetbacksor dado drawer bottoms. Instead,I fasten backsand bottoms directly to the edge of the plywood with polyurethaneconstructionadhesiveand nailsor screws.When assembling,I use homemadecorner blocksand a low assemblytable to keep things squareand at a comfortableworking height. The bottom is structural. With the drawer sides assembled,use the drawer bottoms to rack and hold the boxes square. I prefer plywood over hardboard or medium-density fiberboard for the bottoms (and cabinet backs)because of its light weight, durability, and ability to hold fasteners.

Corner blocks are made with shop scraps. Plywood cutoffs with square corners and lipped sides work well for clamping cabinet sides together or, as shown, for drawer assembly. I use a drawer side as a gauge to space the blocks properly.Then, with front and back standing, I wedge a side between to keep them steady while fastening the other side. Cornerblocks

",ll/

Tip: Sandoff the finr'shthat will be glued. A rabbeted sanding block allows me to do this quickly and neatly. With a piece of A0-grit sandpaper glued in the rabbet, I rough up the varnished surtace that receives the butt joint.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

U S E D R I L L I N G T E M P L A T E S B e c a uIs e t h i n k t h a t b a s e c a b i n e t s w i t h f i x e d s h e l v e sa r e a s i n against common sense,I fill them with drawers or r o l l - o u t u p g r a d e s . B u t i n s t a l l i n ga l l t h a t d r a w e r h a r d w a r e c a n b e f i n i c k y b u s i n e s s .I a v o i d a l o t o f

7 a - i n .n o t c h for face f rames

N o t c h f o r 3 / t - i n .f a s t e n i n g s t r i p ,i,^.,1 T.p -I" r,Je-

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m i s t a k e s b y u s i n g a f u l l - s i z et e m p l a t e m a d e f r o m l/q-in.plywood or melamine. My template defines the

113/d in.

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positionsof the holes for drawer slidesin kitchen base cabinets (three- and four-drawer type), van-

i ty c a b i n e tsa, n d fi l e d ra w e rs too. , I si mpl ycol orc o d e th e h o l e sto m i n i m i z em i stakes.

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ooo Don't crawl into a cabinet to install drawer hardware. Do it on a bench instead. With the cabineton its side and the template wedged in place,I drillthe holesfor the drawer slides with a cordlessdrill. Flip over the cabinet and template, align the {ront edge, and drillholesin the other side.

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A 20-in.width allows the templar. ._-------->l to be used for a vanity cabinet, too. Place the template so that it is flush with the front of the cabinet.

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F o r u p p e r c a b i n e t s w i t h a d j u s t a b l e s h e l v e s ,I ensure accuratehole spacing by using a drilling template, which I made with a piece of melamine o n a f r i e n d ' s l i n e - b o r i n g m a c h i n e .Y o u a l s o c a n buy a template from most woodworking stores for around $25. This template's spacing ensures consistency and lets you take advantage of the European cabinetmaking system, with holes every 1 6 m m ( % i n . ) t h a t a l i g n s h e l v e sa n d h a r d w a r e . Use a cordless drill to place shelf holes accurately. Set this template againstthe bottom of the cabinet, and work your way up. The template is symmetrical, but working from the bottom up avoids any problems causedby a cabinetside that may have been cut a bit shorter than the other.

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Off-center holes allow the template to be used for f rameless or facef rame cabinets.

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78

FINE HOMETJUILDING

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Tip: lnstall the cabinet backs last after drilling holes and installing'the hardware.This approach boosts your screw-driving comfort zone by allowing accessfrom front or back.

INSHLL DOORS WITH A HINGE STICK European-styte hinses come in two piecesia cup and a baseplate.The cup mounts to the door, and the baseplatemounts to the cabinet side. The two parts then snap or screw together. Becausethey're two-part hinges,it's crucialthat the correspondingpiecesline up, or they wont snap together. My hinge stick keeps the distance between baseplatesand the setback from cabinet front consistent.To use it, insert cup hinges into the holes,and with hinges in the closed position, screwthe baseplatesto the cabinet side. Testthe operation of the hinge stick. lf all'swell, adjust the bumpered screwsto the distancebetween the open door and the cabinet. Now you can installall the baseplateswith the stick in the open position. The cup hole must be close to the edge of the dool or the door will rub against the cabinet when opened and closed. You almost can't be too close, but you certainly can be too far. About Vein. will allow the door to overlay the cabinet frame fully without rubbing.With the cup hinge squarely in the hole, set one screw. Ihis will ensure that all hinges are installed consistently.

Baseplate rnounts to cabinet.

Adjustment screws

Align the hinge stick with the top of the cabinet, drill pilot holes, and drive the baseplate screws. The bumpers ensure consistent setback on all the hinges.

Set the adjustable bumpers after the first set of hinges is in place and working well.

Drill holes all the way through so that the stfck can be used for leftor right-hinging and as a drilling guide. Cup holes are drilled an equal distance from the end so that the stick can be flipped top or bottom.

The best way to bore the cup holes is to use d 13h-in. Forstner bit with a depth stop in a benchtop drillpress. Set up a fence with reference marks to ensure consistent alignment. Without a benchtop drill press, the hinge stick can make a good drilling template if clamped to the door. GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Electrical Site-builtwire spinner Workmanlike wiring is easierto achievewith a wire spinner.The sitebuilt versionshown below was whipped up by electricianPhil Clements in 15minutes,usinga handful of wire staples,a few l6d nails,a fender washer,assorted2x4 offcuts,and short lengthsof Romex cable.Phil first nailed together a pair of 2x4sto make a post about 24 in. tall, then attachedthe 24-in.-long basepieces.He stapledshort lengths of Romex to createa loosecradle that holds a coil of wire asit comes from the box. Hung from a nail in a ceiling joist or door header,Philb wire spinner rotateson the washer ashe pulls and uncoils flat lengths of wire without twists or kinks. M. S C OT T W A T KINA Srl i ngton,V a.

Bent 16d nail hanger

Wire-nut wrench

1

When wiring the 800sq.-ft.addition to my home,I had to install 1/z-in.-dia. hole about 100duplex outletsand switches. Halfway through the job, my fingerswere blistered from twisting wire nuts.That's Bottom vtew \ when I got the idea Sawkerfslot for wire-nut wings for this device. I made my little wrench out of lxl maple scraps.The hole in its businessend hasslotson both sidesto accommodatethe wings on the sidesof the wire nuts.The wrench'swide handle letsme get a firm grip to apply plenty of torque to the wire nuts.

5\

-RICHARD

N E L S O N S a n L e a n d r o ,C a l i f .

Clamp-nailing Sometimesan elecffic oudet or switch box hasto go between a couple of studsthat are so closetogether,there'sno room for a hammer or a drill bit. In this case,Ireachfor a C-clamp. As shown in the drawing, a clamp can be usedto squeezea nail into the stud. For good bearing,I useroofing nails during this operation.Occali,l sionally,I haveto drill holes in the sideof the box for \\/, the nails.

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2x4 base

_ D A V E K O HL E R

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Clarks Summit, Pa.

When space is tight, pull nail into stud with a C-clamp.

80

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Drawings: Charles Miller. Photo this page:Charles Bickford

Electrician's stick

Planningfor unknown wiring alterations

The next time you have to affix electricalboxesto stud framing for switchesor outlets,try using the jig shown in the drawing at right to position the boxes consistendy.I make the jig out of a strip of 3/+-in.by 3/+-in. pine. Two pairsof 4d nailsdriven through the stick correspondto the threaded holesin the boxes. To usethe stick, position the boxesover the nails and placethe stick on the floor adjacentto the stud. Now you can nail the box to the stud, and the height will be right everytime. -SANTO

Adding a new electrical oudet, a switch, computer-qetwork wiring, or a cable-TV jack is pretty simple in single-story homes. You have attack points from the basement and./or the Outlet box

attic to route wires through 4d nails

walls. But I build and remodel

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A . I N S E R R AJ a m e s t o w n ,N . Y .

a lot of two-story homes. Running wires from a basement

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service panel to the second floor means punching holes in walls and ceilings. As a result,I've gotten into the habit of installing at least two 2-in. conduits from the basement or service panel up 3/+-in.by %-in. pine

to the attic when I build a new house. In houses that I remodel,

1/z-in.

I try to incorporate conduits for

galvanized

future alterations while I have

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ElectricianMel Minor installsa lot of recessed light fixtures in ceilings.In some cases,he hasto cut a hole in the drywall aswell asmount a fixture in the ceiling joists.To keep the messto a minimum, he makesthe circular cutoutswith the clever contraption in the drawing at left. Although it looks like a harpoon,this tool is actually a jumbo hole saw affixed to a pipe extension.Mel made the rig out of sectionsof Yz-in.galvanizedpipe, joined with couplings,and a threaded shaft at one end that fits into the chuck of his %-in.drill. Beneathhis hand is a hefty sectionfrom a plastic5-gal.water botde.The water botde is glued to a sleevemade of PVC pipe. When the shaft turns, the botde remainsstationaryasit catchesthe dust. _GARY M. KATZ Reseda, Calif.

walls open. Two conduits are important because householdcurrent wires aren't supposed to commingle with cable-TV, phone, network, or other lowvoltage/communications wiring. I flag the conduits in the attic with fluorescent orange surveyors'tape so that future installers can locate them. I also label the conduits at the service panel so that the homeowners know what they are for. And if I'm feeling especially generous,I pull a few strings through the conduits to make wire-pulling easier.My electri- : cian has even had to use the conduits right away while installing the finish on a project when he forgot a home run for a lighting circuit. _MIKEGUERTIN EastGreenwich,R.l.

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

81

EleCtriCal (continued)

bulb sockets Adjusting recessed-can were casualtiesof this awkward handling. By the time I On a recentjob, I installeda row of recessed-lightfixtures in a finished, I was convinced that there had to be a better way kitchen ceiling.Thesefixtures haveadjustablebulb sockets. Generally,by the time a fixture is installedand the trim is attached, to do this job. The solution was simple. As shown in the drawing at left,I made the socketis almost alwaysout of position.If the bulb positions a Tlshapeddepth gaugethat registerson the are not the same,the whole installationlooks light-fixture'strim ring. The verticalleg of the sloppy,so it's important to get them uniform. light fixture Recessed-can T is equal to the distancefrom the socketto The first time I did this, I spent a lot of time the faceof the lightbulb. installingthe first bulb, removing it to adjust Socket adjustsup To setthe depth of a socket,Iloosenits the position of the socketto my bestguess, and down. R-40bulb bracket'swing nut enough sothat the socket reinstalling the bulb, and so forth. None of face will slideup and down, yet will stayput withthis was helped by the fact that the R-40 out support.Then I hold the gaugeagainstthe flood-lamp bulbs requestedby -y client trim ring and either raiseor lower the socket virtually filled the light-fixture's cavity, Ceiling Tighten the wing nut, and you're asnecessary. making it necessaryto useonly my fingertips gauge Hold against Cardboard in business. to screw the bulbs in and out. As you might gau9e trim ring to set -B E R T D A WKI NS Nor t hporN. t , Y. imagine, severalof theseexpensivebulbs

I

socket depth.

TrP I neMoDELTNG

Rotaryfishingrod When fishing a wire for a doorbell, I ran into a seemingly impossiblesituation. I'd drilled the hole for the bell push, and an angled hole through the wall plate into the proper stud bay from the eellar. But try as I might I couldn't get a wire from one to the other. Itried fish tape, a weighted string, bell wire, bead chain, profanitlr, hooks, and probes. I couldn't find any obstruction, but I couldn't find the wire either. As my last attempt before ripping off clapboards, I made the fishing rod shown at left. Starting with a piece of l/r-in. dowel about a foot long. I drilled a %e-in.hole acrqssthe diameter about 7a in. from one end. Through this hole I inserted a 15-in. piece of bell wire that I secured with a squaneknot, leaving the trro ends equal. I then chucked the other end of the dowel into an electric drill. Folding the ends of the wite so that they stuck out ahead of the dowel like antennae, I shoved the contraption into the hole in the plate as far as it would go, and turned on the drill. At 1200 rpm, the ends of the wire whipped out centrifugally,. lashing around inside the wall and entangling the weighted string left dangling from the bell-push hole. When I pulled the drill back through the hole in the

prate' rfound ":'J::il'::::f[Ti'H":::*".

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Plumbing Cookiesheet rests on brackets,

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discarded galvanizedsteel ducts, both sides

'.\ i

Caulkingan undermount sink in place I needed to affix a stainless-steelundermount sink to a granite counter that was already installed on its cabinet bases.One of the problems presented by the situation was how to get a good silicone-caulk seal between the underside of the counter and the rim of the sink. Rather than rely on a bunch of braces and shims to wedge the sink in place, I used rope and a couple of wood blocks. As shown in the drawing below,I placed a wood cross brace over each bowl of the sink. Then I threaded a length of small-diameter rope through a hole in each brace and

Pipe-solderingblast shield Anybody who has ever sweat-soldered copper

through the drain holes. On the underside of the sink, the rope runs through a wood block under each drain tailpiece.

pipes at close quarters in a wooden house knows the feeling: The torch flame dances around the fitting, glancing off an old floor joist, and some wood

After running a bead of silicone around the rim of the sink, I rotated each block, short-

smoke fills the air. Will this solder ever meltl I don't take any chances when it comes to solder-

ening the ropes and drawing the sink upward with even

ing in a wooden building. I keep an extinguisher on hand, and even more important,I don't let the flame get anywhere near something flammable.

pressure exerted around the entire rim. The resulting joint is so strong it almost makes the mechanical fasteners redundant. _ A N D R E WS H E P P A R D

As shown in the drawing above, I use a pair of brackets to support an old cookie sheet when I'm working overhead. The cookie sheetshields the

Wood crossbraces

ceiling, the brackets protect the joists, and the solder can melt whenever it wants without me wor-

Madison,Conn.

rying about it. _JOHN CARROLL

s i l ,( i

Durham,N.C.

cRoss

Wood block

SECTION Rotate blocks to raise sink.

Through-wallpipe couplings Running pipe or conduit through a poured-concrete foundation wall with no gaps to patch and without cutring holes in the forms sounds too good to be true, until you've tried this trick. Cut a piece of the pipe you need, and attach couplings to both ends so that the total length of pipe plus couplings exactly matches the thickness of your wall, as shown in the drawing. Photo this page:Tom O'Brien

Couplingsat both ends This unit will fit snugly between the forms, and it can be wired to the rebar and spreaders at the top of the forms to stay in place during the pour. When the forms are pulled awa\tyou have a coupling embedded on each side, flush with the wall and ready for another length of pipe. - D . A . F L E U R yC u r l e wW , ash. GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Plumbing

(continued)

Trimming pipes in place Seal a drain penetration in a foundation wall I've been searching for a better way to seal the gap around a drainpipe where it exits a foundation wall. The standard technique that most builders in my area use is to pack the gap with mortar or hydraulic cement. But lately, plumbing inspectors have been frowning on this practice becauseany shift in the soil during frost cycles can crack a rigidly installed pipe. Instead of mortar,I now use lowexpansion urethane foam to fill the gap around the pipe. This is the Foundationwall Hole in foundation

S o i ll i n e

Roof ventstackflashing

Urethane foam

tar

same stuff I use to seal cracks and crevices throughout the house to reduce air leaks. Once the foam has cured,I apply a layer of roof cement to the outside of the wall. This is the thick stuff, the kind of roof cement that you spread with a trowel. Then I slip a roof ventstack flashing over the pipe and bed the flashing in a %-in.-thick layer of roof tar.I lap the tar over the edges of the flashing to promote a better seal. At backfill time, care must be taken to prevent damage to the flashing. This extra care has presented no problems, and I've had great luck with the results. _ M I K EG U E R T I N EastGreenwich,R.l.

84

FINE HOMEBUILDING

A3A-in.by %-in. handle alsofundions asa.depthstop. ^

As I setthe plasticshowerpan into its mortar bed,I sawthe problem.The drainpipewas% in. too long, the pipe wasglued in place,and the plumber was long gone.Becausethe clearance around the drainpipeamountedto no more than about % in. on eachside,no saw of mine would be ableto trim the drain below the surfaceof the showerpan. To solvethe problem of cutting the pipe,I madea tubing cutter that works from the insideof the pipe.For a cutter,I useda drywall screw.As shown in the drawing above,I ran a 2-in. drvwall screw through a small block of wood. To this pieceof wood,I affixed a small handle,which alsofunctioned asa depth stop.In use,the handle rests atop the end of the pipe.Then I turned the device with the point of the drywall screwbearing againstthe insidesurfaceof the pipe. After a few turns, I pulled out the cutter and setthe screwa little deeper.In no time,I'd cut through the pipe. -WALTERGORRPittsburgh, Pa.

2-in. drywall-screwcutter Twist handleto cut pipe from inside.

erYr \ ) Drainpipe

Cutting plastic pipe While on one of my daily inspectiontours of the job site,I saw out of the cornerof my eyea plumber doing what looked like an aerobicexercisewhile standingshoulder deepin a narrow ditch. With sweatrunning down his face,he was rapidly pulling back and forth on a pieceof nylon mason'sline. When I askedhim what he was doing, he gaveme one of thoseyou-ignorant-dweeblooks and repliedthat he was cutting a piece of 4-in. ABS plasticdrainpipe. Sureenough,he just had made a perfectlystraightcut through the pieceof pipe.The pipe was almosttotally buried in the narrow ditch, in a positionthat would havebeen tough to reachwith evena reciprocalsaw.The plumber had threadedthe line under the pipe,asshown in the drawing. Then he useda quick sawing motion to cut-maybe burn is a better lsyrn-ths pipe in half. The trick to doing it right is to useenoughline so that you can make long passes, pumping back and forth, or up and down asthe casemay be.Don't stop,or the line will seizein the melted kerf. 4I ' ) A It turns out that mason'sline will cut ABS Plast \ and PVC pipe,schedule40 or 80.The method Nylon Pipe. mason's is equally usefulfor flush-cuttinga pipe line where it emergesfrom a wall or a slab. _ C R A I GS A V A G E Carpinteria,Calif.

\

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H O U S ES I D E

UNHEATEDGARAGE

Z-12-in.frostproof sill cocks

Freezeproofinga garage sink

Sharedwall

Every shop needs a slop sink, so I decided to install one in my attached garage workshop. BecauseI live in a cold climate and wanted to use the sink year-round, frost protection was mandatory.My solution was to locate a plastic laundry sink on the wall shared with the house and to use frostproof sill cocks for the hot and cold water supplies. These valves normally are used for outdoor faucets and are available in both 8-in.

Hot and cold supplylines

and l2-in. lengths. The supply lines run up from the basement inside the shared wall, protected from the cold by the warm interior of the house and its insulation. The tailpiece from the sinkt drain takes a 90o turn by way of a lVz-in. horizontal PVC drainpipe, which penetrates the rim joist before joining a P-trap in the basement. Putting the P-trap in the basement keeps its

Trap

contents frorn fr eezing. Whether it be for washing paintbrushes or just for scrubbing my dirty hands, the slop sink has been a satisfying addition to the workshop. - K A R L J U U L G l e n m o n tN, . Y .

To building drain Garage floor

I REMoDELTNG TrP LeakingPVCwater pipe

1. Cut coupling in half.

y' 2. Cutsection away from halved coupling. 3. Coat with glue, then snap modified coupling onto pipe and slide against leak.

PVC-pipepatch To fix a leaking joint in a PVCwater-supplyline, I start by cutting a coupling in half, making sure to remove the stop in the middle. I then cut one of the halvesin two. The ratio should be about 600loto 40o/o,with the larger piece just big enough not to break as it is pushed onto the pipe like a C-clip. I shut off the water and drain the line to let the joint dry out. Then I apply multipurpose glue, made for ABS and PVCpipe, to both the pipe joint and the patch. With the factory-edge side of the modified coupling toward the leak, I snap the patch over the pipe and slide it hard against the leaky joint. Some glue should squeezeout. Let it dry overnight, and the water line is readyfor use. -BRUCECALDERWOOD viaemail

Drilling holes in EPS I neededto drill an 8-ft.-longhole in the EPS (foam) coreof a stress-skinpanelin order to installa vent pipe for a kitchen sink. I don't know of any off-the-shelfbits or hole sawsdesignedfor a task like this, so I made my own, using a pieceof the samepipe that would end up in the hole.With my coping saw,I cut teethin the end of a pieceof ABS pipe. A coworker useda Surform planeto sharpenthe teeth. I mounted the other end of the 2-in. pipe in a 2%-in.-dia.hole saw.It fit perfectly.Three drywall screwsthrough the slotsin the sideof the hole saw securedthe ABS. Presto!I had a holesaw 8 ft.long attachedto my Yz-in.Hole Hawg drill. It easilycut a hole in the foam that was the exact sizel needed. -JlM

Hole saw

FRANDEENSoquelC , alif.

Screws

cutting teeth

( \

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

85

I

Roofing Shinglecut table

Roof sheathing

On a recent roofing job, my brother askedme to cut severalbundlesof shinglesinto starterstrips to usealong the eaveand rake edges.As shown in the drawing below,I made a simplecut tableby nailing a lx3 along the bottom edgeof a 2-ft.by 3-ft. scrapof 3A-in.orientedstrandboard (OSB).By settingthe cut tableon a pair of sawhorses,Icould work with it at a comfortableheight. A lx4 prop on the undersidetilted the table to a better position, and I cut a 3-ft.-long by 7-in.-widestrip of %-in. OSB asa rip guide for cutting shingles. I seta pile of inverted shinglesagainstthe lx3 stop.Then I adjusted the blade on my utiliry knife so that it just scribedthe surfaceof one shingle when I ran it along the 7-in. guide. I was done cutting the startersin half the time it ordinarily takesme. -I found other shingle-cutting uses for the table,too. By resting al2-in. triangular framing square (sometimescalleda Starter SpeedSquare)against strips the stop,I could make accurate 3-ft.by 7-in. repetitivecrosscuts rip guide for rake startersor 1x3 stop trim shinglesfor ending coursesat walls. 1x4 prop _ B R U C EG U E R T I N Coventry,R.l.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Z-ft. by 3-ft. scrap of plywood or OSB

Waterproof membrane Drip edge

Membrane covers gaP.

tt', \..

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Fascia

lce-dam prevention The drawing aboveshowshow to modify the typical roof-edgedetail to sealthe gap betweenthe fasciaand the roof sheathingfrom ice , dams. I run waterproof membrane a couple of inchesdown the fascia to a point below the top of the gutters. Becausewaterproof membranes aren't rated for exposureto sunlight,I coverthe membrane'with a pieceof flashing that runs from the edgeof the roof sheathingto the middle of the fascia.With this detail, ice buildups forming up from the gutter might get under the drip edge,but they can't get through the gap. C H U C KG R E E NA s h l a n dM , ass. Drawings, cxccpt whcre notcd: Charlcs Millcr. Photo this page: Roe A. Osborn.

Start first course with nailsonly

I nEMoDELTNG TrP Asphalt-shing le reroofing Tucklower course under this row.

)

Shinglingfrom the top down

Second starting coursebegins an equal numberof exposures below the first row of shingles.

A lot of people think I'm kidding when I sing the praises of shingling a house

courses from the eave, as defined by the shingle exposure. Now nail your first

from the ridge down. Quite to the contrary, shingling a roof from the top down (we're talking asphalt shingles here) can be faster than going from the

course of shingles with the lower edges following the line, but tacked along the top only. Shingle upward from this

eavesup, and it always gives a better roof. For example, starting at the ridge and working down savesyou from walking over the materials you just applied. On a hot day, the wear and tear on an asphalt roof can be considerable. On roofs requiring staging, you can fasten the duckboards and scaffold supports directly to the deck without special brackets. They'll also be convenient ro remove on your way down, without fear of damaging the roof. In reroofing, there is an additional advantage: Becausedebris slides down over only the old roof, you can redo only as many courses at a time as you feel comfortable removing. The trick is to have several starter courses and initially to nail these shingles at the top only. As shown in the drawing abbve, snap a line below the ridge that gives you a comfortable reach. The line should be an exact number of

Photo this page:Bill Phillips

course to the ridge in normal fashion. Move your staging down, if need be, and snap another line an exact number of courses below your first one, again within a comfortable reach. As you prepare to nail down this second srarter course, don't forget to start with a full tab or a half tab at the rake, depending on whether you have an odd or even number of courses to lay. Shingle upward to the initial starting course, which you will lift out of your way to

Have you ever noticed the wavy pattern on a roof with two layers of asphalt or fiberglassshingles?This is due to the uneventhicknessof the shingleswhere they overlap,which can create as many as six thicknesses. To prevent shinglebuildup on the typical 5-in. exposure roof, trim the first row of new shinglesto 5 in. and the second row to 10 in., and butt them againstthe bottom edge of the old coursesabove. Theseshingleswill work as spacersthat allow the new roof to start a different overlap pattern that missesthe old bumps,with a 3-in. exposureon the first row and a normal 5-in. exposurefrom there on. This method lets you butt the new shinglesagainstthe bottoms of the old. First,though, make sure the courses on the old roof are straight. Your new roof now will lie flat. -JACK

McGHIE TucsonA , riz.

Originalroof

\

-

nias"r@

==F THE WRONG WAY

allow the lower course to tuck under it. With the lower course safely nailed in place, you can nail the initial srarter course of shingles in the normal fashion. Repeat this sequenceas often as necessary to reach the eave. This technique is simpler to do than it is to describe, and in my experience, this method becomes part of the permanent repertoire of all who try it. E M A N U E JLA N N A S C H Halifax,N.S.,Canada

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

ROOfing

(continued)

Removinga damaged shingle Someroof repairs-nail pops,for example-require replacing singleshingles.Removing the damagedshingle without damaging the surrounding shinglesis the tricky part. This processis bestdone while shinglesare cool enough not to melt underfoot and warm enough not to crack. In the summer,I handlethis part of the repair before8 a.m. In the winter, I do only emergencyrepairs. 1 First, break the bond createdby the seal-downstrips below and on the two coursesabove the shingleyou want to remove.This stepmay'bedifficult with somenewer laminatedshingles:A 5O-yearshingle with a 110-mphwind warranty has an aggressiveadhesivebond. In these cases,Icut the adhesivestrip with a pry bar. 2 With the bondsbroken,I can removethe four nails holding the damagedshingle. 3 Before I remove the shingle, though,I haveto removefour more nails driven through the courseabove. 4 Now I can pull out the damagedshingle,slip in a new shingle,and renail all the loosenedshingles. When refasteningshingles,don't pur new nails in the old nail holes;they'll pop right out. Insread,nail nexr ro the holes,and put a dab of sealantover the old holes.While your caulk gun is handy, sealdown all the loosenedshingle tabswith a dab of sealant.

Cedar-roofshinglingguide

- S T E P H E N H A Z L E T TA k r o n O , hio

Exposureplus 1 in.

Markingguide

1 - i n . - w i d se t o p b l o c k , 4 i n . long by % in. thick 88

FINE HOMEBUILDING

A few yearsago at a cedar-shinglemanufacturer'sseminar,the local rep showeda film of a real professionalinstallingshingles.This guy was nailing so fast that the entire room burst out laughing.Roofing is only part of my repertoire, and that levelof skill isn't in the cardsfor me. When I do install wood shingles,Isetthe coursesto a pencil line that I mark using a simple guide made out of a 4-ft. to 5-ft. length of %-in. plywood. To make the guide,I rip the plywood to a width equal to the exposureof the shingles, plus I in. I affix l-in.-wide,4-in.Jong,Vz-in.thick stopblocksto the undersideof the plywood at eachend asshown in the drawing at left. I positionthe guide so that the stopblockscatch the butts of the previouscourseof shingles,and I draw a line along the top of the guide to locate the butts of the next course.Next,I move the . guide up,lay its bottom edgealong this line, and mark anotherline along the top of the guide. Of course,the shinglescoverthis line asthey'relaid down, but the guide providesa referenceline for nailing on the leadingedge.As a control,I snapa chalkline everyfew courses. -ARNE WALDSTETN GreatBarrington, Mass. Photos this page: Daniel S. Morrison

S h i n g l eh o l d e r Roofswith a 5-in-12to a 7-in-12pitch can be walked, but shingles awaiting installationtend to slide.To keep shingleswithin reachasthey are installed,I usea shingleholder made up of a strip of lx4 about 8 ft. long and a2x4 block and two 4x4blocks,3r/zin.long. Attach the blocksto the strip by nails driven through the back of the either 36-in.or lx4. A 40-in. spacebetweenthe blocksaccommodates lm shingles.At the top of the 1x4,I drilled aVz-in.-dia.hole,which I thread over a roofing nail driven halfway into the roof. I placethis nail just abovethe top of the groove of the shingleI've already Holder is installedin the previous securedby a Shinglesrest on partially driven course.When I move 4x4 blocks. roofing nail. the shingleholder,I --\.:i just pound in that nail all the way, and the next courseoverlapsit, ,.... -JOHN rr':..

:

"'

Wire hook Centerline of holes Exposureplus half of double covera9e

CARROLL

Durham,N.C.

'(/.

TIPS I REMoDELTNG

-- ,/' a-'

a

--

.-/ -

Shinglecleanup Stripping the old shinglesoff a houseis a messyjob by anybody's standards.The accumulatedpiecesof cedar or asphalt tend to rain down around the house,often damagingfragile landscaping.To prevent this problem, I use a sheet of 6-mil poly to act as a combinationprotective barrier and tarpaulin,as shown in the drawing below. I staple the poly to the top piece of a 2x4 frame, making sure that the top edge of the poly is doubled and wrapped around the horizontal 2x4. This arrangement savesa lot of cleanuptime and leavesmy clientssmiling. -CHAR LIE WOODHOUSE Kensington, Calif.

Wire hook made of 1O-ga. copper wire

Length equals half of double coverage.

Slate-roof repair The drawing above showsmy method for replacinga broken roof slatewithout exposed wire. After removingthe broken slate, drill a pair of holes in the new slate.The distancefrom the bottom edge of the slate to the centerline of the holes equalsthe exposureof the slate plus half its double coverage(that portion of the course where three slates overlap one another).The bent ends of a 1O-ga. copper-wirehook passthrough the holes. The rest of the wire hook passesunder the replacementslate and hangson the top edge of the slate directly beneath it. -R A N D Y E . ME D LINLaurinburN. g,C.

G R E A TB U I L D I N G T I P S 2 0 0 6

Siding A site-madesaw guide for cutting vinyl 1 x s h i p l a ps i d i n g

Cutting vinyl soffit and siding marerial can be done quickly and accurately with a saw

2

Kert marks cutline.

guide.I usually have a commercially available guide on site. Once in a while, though, it goes missing, and I have to improvise.

)

a--

-'.,7---V.inylsoffit or sidingmaterial

-/

-----? 7

In one such instance,I noticed a few scraps of 1x6 shiplap siding on the burn pile. As shown in the drawingr l cut two pieces 33 in. long and, with their rabbeted edges facing one another,laid them upside down atop a couple of 2x6s. With the 1x6 pieces set at a distance equal to the width of my saw's base,I screwed them to the 2x6s. This setup made a nifty little slide guide for cutting vinyl siding or squaring lx or 2x stock. The sawkerf in the far 2x6 indicares rhe cutline. In the near 2x6,a nail acts as a safety stop to keep the saw from acciden-

S5w base rides siding rabbets. Nail as safety stop

tally backing out of the guide. _WILL RUTTENCUTTER Valdosta,Ga.

Clean cornersfor manufacturedsiding

ShingleTLC

I've been installing a lot of nonwood siding over the past few years, such as cementbased and hardboard lap siding. To complement their clean look, I've taken to installing custom-made steel corners. As shown in the drawing below, the corners

I had to replace windows in a 30-year-old house that was covered with cedar shingles, and try as I might,I found it impossible not

have flanges that are nailed to the wall and act as integral flashings in caseany moisture gets behind the siding. The siding abuts the projecting corner of the metal

to scar some of the shingles with my ladder. Also,I had to remove some shingles to trim them, which further damaged their faces.

trim details. A local metal shop makes the corners from steel gutter stock. This material is i-nexpensiveand comes in brown, white, or primer. The steel corners hold paint beautifully. Before I started using these corners,I used cedar corner boards. They would shrink eventually,leaving a cracked caulk joint. With steel corners, rhar problem is a thing of the past. R I C H A R DD A R B YM e r l i nO , re. 1 in.

rr,

rr

t

After thinking about the problem,I decided to try reviving the shingles with a very soft wire brush. I brushed with the grain, starting at the top and working down. I first tried a small spot in an unobtrusive place and found that the shingles had a nap like suede or velvet. Brushing with the grain pushed all the fibers back into the grain lines that emerge as the shingles weather with age.I brushed all the shingles around each window about a foot out from the casings,and then I spraysd them lightly with a hose to clean the wall. of fine particles. When everything dried, evidence that any work had been done was

barelynoticeable.

1 - i n .f o l d s 2Vzin:

_RICHARDE. REED

Outside corner

90

Insidecorner

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Insidecorner at bay window

Outside corner at bay window

Doylestown, Pa.

CLAPBOARD SIDING Scribing curved clapboard ends I had to apply clapboardsto the side of a garage that has arched doors, which meant that I had to cut the ends of the clapboardsto match the changingarc of the trim around the doors. I think the method I came up with to mark the curve worked out better than the typical scribing technique. As shown in the drawing, I cut a piece of scrap sheet metal into a strip about 8 in. long and % in. wider than the curvedtrim. I laid the metal tight against Finishingnails the trim and held it with a few finishingnails.Then I rubbed a pencil along the edge of the metal, held a clapboardagainst it, and pressedfirmly. The back of the clapboardnow had a perfectly curved cutline to follow with my jigsaw. _RICK BOISVERT North Dartmouth, Mass.

Tar-papersplinesensure a leakproof joint Placedunder each butt joint and at the windows,the splineslap the lower course by th in. and guide any water that enters the joint to the outside of the clapboards. -MIK E GU E R TIN E astGreenwich, R. l.

Gang-cuttingangled clapboards

4-in' exPosure

The next time you're cutting clapboardsthat run from a vertical window or sidewallto a rake board, try this trick. Cut the roof angle on one end of five clapboards(l stack them and cut them all at once with an 8%-in. circularsaw). While the points of the clapboardsstill are lined up, slide a squarealong the bottom edge of the top clapboard.As shown in the drawing, align the -exposuremark (in this case4 in.) with the edge of the clapboardend. Now, mark the edge of the top clapboard,flip the square,and extend the mark acrossall the clapboards.Slide the boards so that the pointed ends line up with the marksabove them, as shown in the drawing. Measurethe first clapboard,and you're ready to make the cut (l Problem:Lay out and suggesta 1O-in.power gang-cut the clapboards miter saw for this). between the window Rake board and the rake board. After about 15 clapboards, it's a good idea to remeasure becauseerrors have a tendency to accumulate. _RANDALL SMITH Barrington, N.H.

Photo this page: Andy Engel

/-

First, find the exposure with a square.

p-Roof

angle

Markthe bottom edge of the top clapboard.

Next, extend the mark across all the clapboards.

-*t4fif

\.. 'l

4t:.-47-'z'Z::V

,

/ Now, spread the boards so

GREAT BUILDING

TIPS 2006

Siding

(continued)

Shingleshelf When wood-shinglinga roof or a sidewall,keepinga readysupplyof shingles closeat hand can be a problem.The simple shelfshown herecan be secured by tucking the taperedtab under an alreadynailed courseof shingles.In this way, shinglescan be kept convenientlyclose to the height at which you are working, 2 i n .t o 3 i n . insteadof down by your feeton the staging. A bunch of theseshelvescan be made from rejectedshinglesand scrapsof lx6s or Taper shinglefor lx8s. Cutting the top cornersoff the shingle easy insertion under installed shelfmakesit easyto slip under courses. nr",""jl. -K EN D A L LGtF F o R DP u tn eV y ,t.

3d shinglenails

WORKING ALONE Solo housewrapping

Hanging clapboardsby yourself

Carpentersend up doing a lot of four-handed operations with only two hands. Here's how I use a stick and a C-clampto install housewrap by myself. Typically,one person staples the housewrapto the wall while another penion stays out front, unrolling the roll and keeping the housewrapsmooth and level. In this case,the other person is a 1x3 with a small crossbarto act as a shelf for the roll of housewrap. I clamp the shelf at a point that correspondsto the bottom of the housewrapwith the 1x3 resting on the ground and leaning againstthe wall. To use the setup, I unroll a couple of feet to staft. Then lstaple it in place,unroll about 15 ft., and lean the rig against the wall. I use lumber offcuts to prop up the thing when I hit some low spots. The 54-in. rolls of housewrapare ideal for solo work.

With several site-made Deck screws hangerslike the one in with finishing washers the drawing at right, I can handle unwieldylengthsof clapboard by myself. Check I attach the hangersverti- joint l6talled here. clapboard cally on the wall, aligning the marks with the bottom edges of the last course of clapboards.Two short deck screwsrun through finishing Z-in. washerswill keep a hanger overlap jamming from pivoting and as I position a clapboard on Cedarshingles with 1-in. offset the house. Alignmentmark I install a clapboard from below, lifting it until the bottom of the clapboard reaches the lip formed by the butt of the bottom shingle. At that point, the springinessof the shinglepops the hanger '. under the clapboard,holding it in place. Now l'm free to slide the clapboardas needed to determine cut marks.To remove a clapboard, ljust give it an outward twist at the top edge. This springsthe shingleaway from the wall, allowing me to drop the clapboardout of the hangerfrom any distanceon the wall.

_LAWRENCE E. PRYKAN Garfield Heights, Ohio

1x shelfset to appropriateheight

FINE HOMEBUILDING

-CHRIS

E L L I S B r e w s t e r ,M a s s .

Photo this page:Randy O'Rourke

S p l i n e ds i d i n g

Birdhousevent box

I sheathedmy workshop with 1x6boardsjoined with galvanizedsplines.This method gets the most out of the width of a board. For the splines,Iused2-in.-widegalvanizedsteel,commonly usedto strap togethershipmentsof bulky goods(thin stripsof nylon or plasticalsocould be used).My wall framing consistsof 4x4son

I often remodel or add on to older wood-clapboardhouses. When I'm facedwith unsightly holesin the walls,suchasthe dryer vent pictured here,I offer to concealthem with this simplebit of craftsmanship.The "birdhouse"is made from scrap clapboardsand trim stock,takes little time to fabricate,and really impressesclients. I positionit sothat the roof nestlesdirecdy under a clapboard or flashit with a thin strip of copperif needed,then sizethe box to allow the vent flap to open,or whateverelseI'm covering to function. The sidesare trim stock,5/4 cedarin this case, scribedto the profile of the clapboards.The roof is a clapboard sizedappropriately,and the front is clapboardswith half the revealof the wall they're mounted on. Hidden cedar cleatsare usedfor attachment. These boxesnot only solve little problemsbut alsoare a lot of fun to build.

2-in. galvanizedsteel spline

1 x 6s i d i n g

8-ft. centers,with platesat top and bottom and a midrail. I ran eachpieceof siding over my tablesawto cut a l-in.-deep kerf in eachedge. Once I had a board in place,I inserteda fulllength splinein the kerf. The neighboring board acceptsthe protruding spline.I kept nailsaway from the splinesand left a little play between adjacentboardsto allow for wood expansion. -J O NATHAN DAVI ES Queensland, Australia

-ED

_-__z_

7 o$r-*nt holehasbeencut in clapboardsiding.

4

2 hstatlvent flap. 3 Scribe birdhouse sides to clapboard profile.

W E B E R L o c u s t v i l l eV, a .

Guide shingle

---")

4 etti" cleats above and to sides of vent flap.

Router-scribedshingles f've seena number of tips for cutting outside cornerson shingledwalls,but none is assimple or asfoolproof as the method shown in the drawing above.As illustrated,I usea bearingguided flush-trimming bit in a small router to trim the overlapping shingle asthe bearing follows the profile of the guide shingle. W I L LH E S C H Atascadero,Calif.

5 rri^ birdhouse sidesto scribe marks. 5 Afirsides and top to cleats. Finishwith siding scraps. Leave bottom open.

GREATBUILDING TIPS2006

Trim Roof sheathing

--\

.,rt'

,

Blocking for crown

''t"''

Marking a squarecut on a round column Recently,I had to cut an 8-in.-dia. wood column to length. Becausethe column was too big for my miter box and needed to be cut exactly square,I mulled over my options. A colleague recommended using a piece of rosin paper to encircle the column at the required length. When the edges of the paper were aligned,I marked my cut and used a jigsaw to lop off the unwanted portion of the column. Note in the section of the column how I angled the jigsaw a'bit to create a slight back cut, ensuring a tight fit

Rafter tail

Soffit

where the column sits on its base. - P A T R I C KA . M o L Z A H NO r e g o n , W i s .

Soffit nailerblock Bedmolding Spacerblockson

tb-in.centers

.1

Frieze //

8 - i n . - d i a .w o o d c o l u m n

Corrugatedvent strip Circulating air ---------v

Z

Sidingtucts --// behind frieze.

Framedand sheathedwall

Stealth venting for a traditional boxed eave Ordinary strip or button-type soffit venrs can ruin the look of a complex eave detail, such as the one shown above. Instead,I hold the frieze board off the wall sheathing with spacer blocks; a hidden vent strip allows air to enter and circulate into the rafter bays. Special blocking attached to the rafter tails provides nailing for the Column section

inside edge of the soffit and for the flat crown molding. - R O B E R T W E A T H E R A LlLp s w i c hM, a s s .

Hangingfasciaboards Even with two people,it can be pretty precariousout thereon the end of a rafter,strainingto supporta heavyfascia board with one hand while trying to line up a mitered cornerand sink.a galvanized16dnail with the other hand. With the help of a simple jig, one person can do it comfortably.

FINE HOMEBUILDING

I tack one jig near each end of the fascia, driving the nails just far enough to support the fascia. Then I lower the fascia into the slots in the jigs (cut the slots a little oversize to prevent binding). The jigs hold the fascia in approximately the right place while I adjust it for alignment and nail it in place. - N E A L B A H R M A NV e n t u r aC, a l i f ,

Drawing top right: Rick Daskam

Zero-maintenance crown molding

Plastic container with lid keeps primer from drying out.

I recently enclosed the porch on our house, and in doing so,I needed a crown molding for the gable-end

\._

bargeboards. I didn't have to look far. By ripping some lengths of aluminum gutter, as shown in the drawing below,I was able to fashion'inexpensive, zero-maintenance crown moldPrime end-grain cuts during construdion.

smaller container.

Extend the life of exterior trim by priming the end-graincuts For maximum durability,I backprime exterior components such as fascia boards wirh 100% acrylic primer. But what about the ends of these boardsl If they also are primed and caulked together, end-grain splices

Now when the carpenters are running exterior trim, they can easily

will last over the long haul. Withour priming, end-grain cuts will soak up

swab the ends of the boards with a pass from the paint pad (a paint pad

moisture quickly and begin ro rot. The problem is rhar end-grain cuts can't be painted until they are cut and

is much faster than a brush because it carries more paint). I used this technique on the last spec house that

fitted by the carpenrers. Priming boards can be a potential

I built, and it worked grear. The carpenters billed me for only a couple of extra hours of work becausepriming the end-grain cuts barely made a dent

headache for carpenters, so I devised a simple system to make the processgo as smoothly as possible. As shown in the drawing above, I keep the primer

on it. A paint pad also lives in the container, resting in a smaller plastic box to keep the pad's handle out of the pool of primer.

ings that match the gutrers. I ripped the gutter into two portions,leaving a

1. Ril

Save this piece for drip edge.

("' |

N

2. Fold flap upward.

3. Drill nail holes on 12-in.centers.

Roof sheathing

in their speed. _ B Y R O NP A P A

in a clear plastic container with a lid

Durham,N.C.

1 - i n .a l u m i n u m n a i l

Backerboard WRONG WAY

Caulk Trim board

;_j=) RIGHTWAY

Backerboard

Caulk Trim board

Caulkneeds help to stay flexible Caulk that is allowed to bond to all sides of a joint cannot expand and contract without becoming unstuck. A foam backer rod enables caulk to behave like an accordion in responseto seasonalexpansion and contraction. _ J O H N M I C H A E LD A V I S

Aluminumfascia

l-in.-wide flap on rhe crown-molding pieces.I bent this flap by hand over a piece of Vz-in. stock. Then I drilled through this folded edge on l2-in. centers for nails. The rest of the gutterl I'll use it for drip edges on my next project. _JACKMURPHY Pittsburgh,Pa.

New Orleans

Drawing bottom left: Christopher Clapp

G R E A TB U I L D I N G T I P S 2 0 0 6

95

Stringers 1. Clampjig to stringer.

A fast, accurate way to make mortised stairs The typical approach to stair-building is to cut

Mark here for top of next mortise.

Guide cleats, both sides

bird's-mouth notches in a pair of stringers, then affix the treads to the tops of the bird's mouths. Cutting mortises in the sidesof the stringers to acceptthe treads is far stronger, so I devised a jig

2. Router with bearing-guided bit follows slot contour, cutting tread mortise.

:\

Rise Room for router to maneuverwithin dotted lines

Guide slot {or mortise equals depth of treads.

to lay out and cut mortised stringers quickly. First, lay out the stair's rise and run on a piece of Yz-in.plywood. The plywood (1) should be big enough to work as both a router template and as a layout tool for the next mortise. Next, cut a slot in the plywood deep enough to accommodate the depth of the treads. The slot's

3. Cut treads to equal lengths, and snug them together with pipe clamps or a block and hammer.

4. Secure treads with three corrosionresistant screws or nails.

width should equal the thickness of the treads, plus a bit of wiggle room. Align the plywood iig on the stringer, and affix a pair of guide cleats to each side of the jig. The cleats register the jig on the stringer and give you purchase to clamp the jig. Clamp the jig to the stringer, and use a router with a bearing-guided bit to cut a3/q-in.-deepmortise (2). Make more than one passto cut the full depth. Before moving the jig, draw a

clamps can come in handy at this point for drawing the opposing

line acrossits top edge to mark the edge of the next mortise. Cleats

stringers toward one another. They should not be so snug that you

on both sideslet you flip the yig and rout the other stringer. Cut all the treads to equal lengths (3). Set one end of the first

have to pound things together, and not be so loose that the assembly

tread in the first mortise of one stringer. Bring the other stringer to it. and set the tread in its first mortise. Continue from one end to the other, getting all the treads started in their mortises. Pipe

will rack. I prefer screwing the stringers to the treads (4) as insurance against the stringers'warping and pulling the nails out of the end grain. - R I C H A R D W A S HB U R NP e n o b s c oMt .a i n e

Stable stringersand an accuratelayout A few years ago,I read a Fine Homebuilding article by a carpenter who laminated 3/q-rn. plywood for stringer stock because2x stock tends to shrink, which makes treads sag.It occurred to me that an LVL (laminated-veneer lumber) would be even better. Although LVL stringers remain stable, LVLs aren't always straight, so check for crown before laying them out. LVLs come in standard l3/c-in.thickness, in standard widths, and in almost any length. LVLs cost more than 2x stock, so be extra sure of your layout before cutting. I prefer to use locking pliers with a framing square when marking the layout becausethey have more surface riding on the stringer stock and are more accurate than stair-gauge stops. - J O H N S P I E R B l o c kl s l a n d R Also, they're easierto find in your toolbox. , .l. FINE HOMEBUILDING

Anchor-bolt clamps Sx-in. upper anchorbolts hook through sidesof 2x4s.

To build a circular staircaseon site,I needed about 100 clamps. C-clamps were too slow to install and tighten, too valuable to leave on a job site, and too heavy to lug around, so I devised two kinds of

s/e-in.

2x rem

clamps that use Yz-in. anchor bolts and 2x framing lumber.

hole

jaw

To laminate a stringer, I start by laying out the stair plan on the subfloor. Then I make a bending form by securingZx4s to the layout lines. The 2x4s become part of the clamp. The top of each removable jaw is secured to its 2x4 with a 6-in. anchor bolt. The bolt's hook

va>

Balcony subfloor

fits througha%-in. hole in the side of the 2x4;aspacer block of suitable thickness takes up the bolt's unthreaded portion. The bottom of the jaw is secured to the form by an 8-in. anchor bolt through the

Laminated

frame

Eight-in.bottom anchorbolts run through 2x4s.

2x4.In use,I insert the top bolt first, snug it to keep the assembly Handrail clamps screwedto subfloor

Plywoodgusset 2x4 bending form

together, then run the bottom bolt through. I use an electric impact wrench with a deep socket to tighten and remove the nuts quickly. For handrails,I use a seriesof clamp brackets, as shown in the drawing. Here, they are screwed to a balcony subfloor to laminate a simple curved handrail, but they also can be affixed to stair treads to laminate spiral handrails.

Stair-stringer stress relief Experience has taught me to cut stringers out of 2x stock carefully. If the sawcut goes even a litde bit beyond the intersection of the rise and run, it can create a weak spot that either can weaken the stringer or can cause one of the ears that support the treads to fall off if it's bumped during installation. The drawing below shows how I avoid the problem. After marking the layout for rise and run,I bore Yz-in.-dia. keyholes where the backs of the treads and the bottoms of the risers are ro meer. Then I use a circular saw to make the bulk of the cuts, stopping short of theholes and finishing the cuts with a jigsaw. The keyholes provide stressrelief, minimizing the chances of a sawcut-induced crack weakening the stringers. I've been using this technique for the past 12 or so years, and the method hasn't failed me yet.

Strengtheningthe rough stringer's first step with glued and nailedplywood gussetsensuresthat the stringerwon't break across the weak diagonalgrain.

Plywood

gusset

-ROBERT J. DICK Lovettsville,Va.

Roughstringer

Y--l

\

r' it li

f

ii

,/ il

//" L'1' i.{

Finish cutouts, taking care not to overcut.

_MICHAEL STANDISH

2x4 cleat

West Roxbury Mass.

Reinforcingthe first step Bore 1/z-in.-dia. holesat inside intersection of riseand run. Lay out rise and run in typical manner.

',!,1 /

'.

notched for a2x4 floor cleat. Becausethe wood wants to split along the weak diagonal grain,I always beef up the carriages by screwing and gluing a piece of plywood to the sides. - M I C H A E L v o r .D r E C K B A R - F R A B B I ENLeEwO r l e a n s

2x stair stringer

Drawings, except where noted: Robert Goodfellow. Photos: Roe A. Osborn. Drawings facing page,this pagetop and bottom left: Charles Miller.

w,

The bottom of a stringer can be weakened if you have to cut the first step shorter rhan the unit rise to allow for tread thickness (usually I in.)and if the stringer is

/ GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

Treads& Risers Gauge measuresshim thickness In many cases,stair stringers are built by the framing carpenter, who is long gone by the time you come along to make a silk purse out of an old sow's ear. Although many framers do a great job, it's in your best interest to build the rough stringers yourself,,or at least check them with a level and rule before you bid on finishing the stairs.

I make a shim gauge out of a scrap of wood. I measure along both edgesof the shim and make marks every Vrcin. in thickness. I then color in every other segment with a marker. After I've got the gauge made, I rip shims of different thicknesses and keep them on hand. Some people use shingles as shims, but their tapered profile gives them uneven bearing; the surface to be shimmed only hits the high point of the shingle.

A tapered shimgauge, cut from a scrapof wood and calibrated by the 16th of an inch,makes

To use the gauge,I simply slip it under the tread or behind the riser (inset drawing at left) that needs shimming and tap it in until

a handy gauge for determining shim thickness.

the tread is level or the riser is plumb. I note the mark on the gauge, remove the gauge, and replace it with one of my precut shims. Once you have the shim in place, the difficult work is done. Then it's just a matter of fastening the tread or riser to the stringer. The whole processof shimming treads is slowed or voided if the

*\

center stringer is too high. When cutting my own stringers,I elimi-

Fill in with / colored marker for easy reference.

nate the possibility by overcutting both the treads and risers of the center stringer by %in. to3/sin. When I install the treads, I level and shim the two outside stringers. Then it is simply a matter of gluing and screwing a lYz-in. cleat to the center carriage, which is brought into contact with the finished tread. I use the same process for the risers. - M I C H A E L v o r . rD E C K B A R - F R A B B I E L E New Orleans

Fitting stair treads Cobbled together out of scrap plywood, the jig shown in the drawing below makes it easy to fit stair treads between a pair of walls or skirtboards. To use the jig,loosen the wing nuts and lay

Leveling across the width of a tread rs easier with a 10-in. Ievel cut from a larger level. Extension caps screwed to each end of the level accommodate cupped treads.

Wood level cut to 10in.

it acrossthe tread cuts of the stair stringers with its back tight against the riser cuts. Then extend the legs so that they're snug against the walls 1/+in. by 1/+in. carriage bolts

or skirtboards. and tighten all the nuts. Remove the jig carefully, place it onto the tread

{

hffi ru

lu'll *,Y)

stock, and scribe the end cuts on the

block

Cupped tread

stock. When cutting, leave just a trace of the cutline Extend legsfor a snug fit againstwall or skirtboard.

for a perfect fit. _ROBERT

Shoftened level fits on tread When leveling treads from front to back, it's handy to have a small

PLOURDE

level. For years,I used a2-ft.level, but I was constantly knoiking it

Atlanta

off the step becauseit hung off the end of the tread. I've also never found a small bullet level that didn't seem like a toy. To solve the problem,I cut down a larger wood level to 10 in. and screwed small extension blocks of wood on the ends. The blocks extend past the bottom of the level and give me an accurate read on cupped treads. - M I C H A E L v o r ,D r E C K B A R - F R AE B LBEI New Orleans

98

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Drawing bottom left: Charles Miller

Railings Covering newel-post bolts Sometimesthe only way to fastenthe newel post is to anchorit to the stringer.Often, the bolt holesyou haveto drill are at an angle other than squareto the faceof the newel. Off-angle holescan be hard to plug, and when you do plug them, they usuallydon't look right. Insteadof plugging holes,I saw %in. off the faceof the newel with a bandsaw,drill and install the bolts,and then glue the piece over the holes.The bandsawlimits the lossof stock to about Ytzin.-hardly noticeable
1. Make plumb cut at end of handrail.

F,:*,* \"\. l;

Hidden handrail connection I recently needed to fasten a handrail to a wall and

l* ![

\tr

didn't have room for a

j"'

rosette to secure the handrail becauseof the minimal clearance to the outside

- M I C H A E L v o r ' rD E C K B A R - F R A B B I E L E

corner. So I devised an

New Orleans

Cutting a 1/e-in. sliceoff the edge of the newel with a bandsaw,and gluing it back on after running in the bolts, covers the holes and makesfor a neat, finished look.

3. Lag-bolt handrail to wall

Newel post

framing.

invisible bolted connection 4. Conceal bolt

through the rail into the wall framing. As shown in the drawing, the lag bolt is

,.u.,..1

hidden beneath a wedgeshaped cap taken off the top of the handrail. The first step is to make the plumb cut on the end of the handrail (1). But don't cut the handrail to length yet. Now rotate the miter saw's table to make about a70" cut, and take off the wedge-shaped cap that will cover the lag bolt (2). Thp. the cap back The 1/a-in. slice of newel is glued on.

onto the handrail so that it is flush with the radiused top of the rail. Notice that it's a little short becauseof the material removed by the sawblade. Recut the end of the rail so that the cap and the rail end in a flush plumb cut. Next, drill the necessaryholes to receive a lag bolt and washer, and the shank hole (3). Cut the handrail to length, run home the bolt, and glue the cap in place (4). Sanded and stained, the cap seam is

Lag bolts

nearly invisible. -WALTER D. COLTONWellsboro, Pa.

Circular-railcenter finder For finding the centeron oval or round handrailsthat havebeen fit and either permanentlyor temporarily fastened,Imodified a marking gaugeby letting a levelvial into the gauget beamand replacingthe metal scribewith a pencil held in placeby a wood wedge.An auxiliary fenceprovidesthe additional height that is neededto compensatefor the increasedlength of the pencil.By watching the levelvial,I can keep the beamhorizontal asI run the gaugedown the length of the handrail,and I make a pencil line along its bottom center. On a similar note,I've found that one of the most usefultoolsfor both shop work and work in the field is a regular marking gauge with the metal scribereplacedwith a mechanicalpencil. - M I C H A E L v o r . rD E C K B A R - F R A B B I E L E

Modifying a markinggauge easesthe process of finding the center of a circular or elliptical handrail.

N \into beam

Pencilwith wedge replaces metal scribe.

New Orleans Drawing top right: Charles Miller

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

99

Railings (continued) Plumbingbalusters Pinpoint stair-rail accuracy In my experience,the joints in the handrailare what people really scrutinize.They are easyto see,and if a misaligned joint doesn'tcatchyour eye,your hand eventuallywill find it instead.Here'sa tip to help keep thosejoints betweenhandrail sections,suchasthe intersectionbetweenthe easingand the rail, alignedproperly. As shown in the drawing, I set two little brads into the rail, then clip off their heads,leaving pointed brad ends above the rail bolt. Now when I draw the two pieces together by

When laying out a handrail to drill holesfor balusters,I usea plumb bob to get a verticalline from the marks I've laid our on rhe treads.Rather than fiddling with the plumb bob'sstring length on eachtread and waiting for the bob to stopswinging, I mark the string at the height of the front balusterand the rear one.When I go up to the next tread,all I haveto do is hold the line on the mark for the particularbalusterlocationand hold it on the rail. The reference marks mean I don't haveto fumble with string length. Here'sanotherhint: I've found that using braidedstring,as opposedto the more common twisted-strandstring, helpsto keep my plumb bob from spinning and swinging around when the bob is hanging free.

-MICHAEL

von DECKBAR-FRABBTELE New Orleans

Handrail sections

tightening the nut on the rail bolt, the handrail sections won't twist. _STEPHEN R .T O B I N

Clippedbrads

Ridgefield,Conn.

Railbolt

Marking the plumb line with a felt-tip pen makesa quick referencefor plumbing successivesets of balusters.

Spindle-hole sizing gauge

Mark line with colored pen.

The diameter of the top, or thin end, of a tapered spindle can decreaseas the spindle gets longer. Therefore, the hole drilled into the handrail for the back spindle on a tread can be smaller than the hole for the front baluster. I take a block of wood and drill a seriesof different-diameter holes in it. The holes are drilled at the same angle that the spindles meer the handrail. After I cut a tapered spindle to length, I plug it into the sizing gauge to determine which size hole fits best; then I bore the hole in the rail. To save time, it's best to have rwo or three drills chucked up with the bits you most likely will need. - M I C H A E L v o r .D r ECKBARFRABBTELE

/ Distance A is the approximate height of the front baluster; distance B is the rear baluster.

.r..."'

New Orleanr \

\, J. ."- 1 \ \ \ I

Holesdrilled in 1/sz-in.increments at angleof handrail

1OO

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Testing the fit of a tapered spindle in a block with different-sizeholes drilled in it determines what size hole to drill in the handrail.

Drawing top Ieft: CharlesMillcr

Balustergauge

Regroundspade bits work better The worst thing in the entire world that can befall a stairbuilder is to hear his just-installed treads squeak. The second-

Beveled corner

worst thing is to have the spindles rattle. For spindles not to rattle,

Some staircasescall for square-ended balusters that fit

Grind 1/cein. off each side.

Judicious grinding of spade bits makes them bore holes in diameters between stock sizes. Beveled corners prevent tearout.

into a groove plowed into the underside of the handrail. Becausebaluster lengths can vary as much as3Aein. for a given position on each tread,I made a baluster gauge that employs the sliding metal ruler taken from the end of a folding rule. As shown in the drawing below,I let the thin metal ruler

Paint indicates modified bits.

into a piece of wood a couple of inches shorter than the shortest baluster. Small wood straps hold the ruler in place. A level vial secured with Bondo makes plumbing easy. - M I C H A E L v o r ,D r E C K B A R - F R A B B I ENLeEwO r l e a n s

they have to fit perfectly in their holes. To make a perfect fit,I modifv common

spadebits.Itt easyto grind down the bits by %zin. (or Yain. on each side).So,for example,insteadof jumping from'A in. to rVrcrn..vou'll havea bit that's2Vtzrn.

Grind a Ionger Iead for angled drilling.

Groove

Balusterlengths canvary. On rails with a groove plowed on the underside, this gauge makes quick work of finding the proper length.

plowed in handrail

Another hint: Becausethe newly modified bits will have their former sizes stamped on them, it's important to paint new numbers on the sides of each bit. One time, a carpenter who was setting a balustrade went into my toolbox without my knowledge and bored 35 holes with what he thought was a3/+-in.bir. Another thing about spade bits: When boring at an angle, say, into an oak handrail, a spade bitb 90" corners tend to tear out chunks of wood as the bit starts a hole. Grinding off the corners makes a clean cut by producing a scraping action as the bit spins into the wood. I grind a long lead on some bits to make them useful for grinding holes in steep handrails. The long lead establishesthe bit in its hole before the shoulder engages wood. - M I C H A E Lv o x D E C K B A R - F R A B B I N EL eE wO r l e a n s

Gauge length is shorter than shortest baluster.

extension from folding rule

Cappinga pipe rail I occasionally use lVz-in.-dia. steel pipe for handrails. It is plenty sturdy and easy to grip, but it needs something other

11/z-in. pipe railing

\

than a lYz-in.-dia. cap threaded on its ends to look presentable.

l-in. nipple

As shown in the drawing,I use a 1-in.-dia. cap threaded onto a 1-in.-dia. nipple instead. I wrap the nipple with a couple of turns of electrical tape to ensure a tight fit. The nipple is held in place by a3Ae-in-dia. stove bolt

Elearic|ro"

\*c-in.

stove bolt

that is run into a hole drilled

Level vial let in and secured with Bondo

and tapped into the pipe and nipple from below. _ W A L T E RD . C O L T O N Wellsboro,Pa.

Drawins bottom left: Charles Mille r

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

101

Decks

Maskingtape

Z-\ Grade stick Hl=height of instrument

Measuringposts on uneven ground

\rr,ld.r's

Mark Maskingtape

level

<1

4

Whenever I build decks,I place the piers and then cur posts to carry the girders that will support the deck framing. The bottoms of the girders are in the same plane, but all the piers are at slightly different elevations. The problem becomes how to calculate the length of each post efficiendy. As shown in the drawing to the right, the method I've devised eliminates almost all the calculations. I simply read the length of each post off the scaleon the grade stick. Flere's how my system works. To start, calculate the height of a post needed for one of the piers, for example, pier No. 2. Suppose its post needs tobe l2%in. from the top of the pier to the bottom of the girder. Have a helper hold a lxZ grade stick atop the pier, and shoot it with a builder's level. (Note: The grade stick must be long enough to shoot the lowest pier.) Mark your HI (height of instrument) on the grade stick and measure down 123/ain.Now use a handsaw to make ar/t-in.-deep sawkerf at this line. Insert the hook of a tape measure into the sawkerf, and wrap a piece of masking tape around the blade of the tape measure so thar it's secured to the grade stick. Now run the tape measure over the

Pier Pier No. 1

il;

--'----

Hook tape measurein sawkerf, then wrap the tape over and down the grade stick.

s_ Pier No. 3

top of the grade stick and back down past the sawkerf. Lock the tapemeasure,and wrap a couplemore piecesof tapearound the stick and the tape-measureblade to hold things together. Return to pier No. 2 and shootthe gradestick onceagainwith the buildert level.The crosshairsshouldline up with the 123/t-in.mark. You are now readyto shootall the remaining piers.What you read in the level is the length of eachpost. This proceduremay seemlike a lot of trouble,but it goesmore quickly than readingthis tip. And you can apply the samemethod to all kinds of post-and stud-lengrhcalculations. W I L G O R D O N P o t t e r V a l l e y ,C a l i f .

Gypboard concrete forms We recently did a foundation iob in very crumbly, sandy soil. The first task was to set27 pier blocks in pier holes that were 18 in. on a side and12 in. deep. But by the time we had dug down a foot, we often had a hole that was more than2ft. across at the top and growing. Faced with filling these craters with concrete, we calculated that we would waste more than a cubic yard. Instead of ordering extra concrete, we transformed four sheetsof gypboard into. form boxes. We cut the sheets into 6-ft. lengths and scored them along their length

iSr

at 18 in. on center,leaving the face paper intact. Perpendicular to these scored lines, we cut the board into l2-in.-wide strips. These strips then were folded into square

Gypboardform folded with facing intact

1O2

FINE HOMEBUILDING

boxes, placed in the oversize holes, and backfilled. The forms not only saved concrete, but also gave us an accurate way to calculate our ready-mix order. - S U N R I S E B U T L D E RSSa n t aC r u z C , alif.

Drawings, cxceptwhere nored:Charles Miller. Photo this page:CharlesBickford.

Another angle on spacing deck-railing balusters

Deck-railingbalusters TakeSt/z-in.spacingsfrom

I have struggled many times to createequal, codeangled tape and transfer them to baluster layout. approvedspacingbetweendeck balusters.The method I now rely on-the slant-rule techniquehas taken all the frustration out of the problem. With one balusterinstalled at eachend of the railing, I start by measuring the distancebetween their centers.Next,I divide this number by the desiredspacingbetweenthe centersof the balusBaluster centerline ters.Around here,the spacecan be no more than 4 in. With 2x2 balusters,Idivide the railing length The tape is now at a slight angle to the rim joist, by 5Yzin. That's becauseSYz-in.centerson2x2 balusand I can measureoff 5Yz-in.incrementswith my ters result in a 4-in. spacebetweenthem. framing squareand mark them on the rim joist to Let's say,for example,the length is 1583/a in. I divide locatethe centerof eachbaluster(drawing left). By itby 5Yz,whichequalsabout283/t.Iround up to the the way, a calculatorthat hasan add-on function next highestwhole number: 29. Now I multiply 5Yzby29, which equals 159y2. speedsup the layout sequence. At one end of the deck, Once I beganusing this method,I was surprised I drive a nail into the centerof the first baluster.At by how fast and effortlessit is. With a little ingethe other end of the deck,I placemy framing square nuity,I think this techniquecould be applied to a with the long blade parallel to the rim joist and the staircaseaswell. short blade aligned with the centerof the last balus_MIKE HOFFMAN ter. With my tape hooked to the nail,I find the point on the short bladeof the squarewhere l59y2in. falls. Portland, Ore.

Straightening warped deck boards

Post cutoff jig

If you build decks,sooneror later you'll have to developa method for straightening stubborn deck boards.After struggling-with a number of techniqueswith varying degreesof success, I discoveredthat I could combine two tools that I alwayshave on site to coaxany board into place.As shown in the drawing, I placethe short end of a pry bar in the gap betweentwo boards that already had been installed.The long end of the pry bar points toward the board being installed.Then I place the tail stop of a pipe clamp over the pry bar and the clamp'shead on the workpiece. With a couple of turns of the crank, the deck board is ready to nail off. Too easy.

To simpli$' leveling the topsofdeck and fence posts,I devisedthis jig. It's a four-sided box with inside dimensions Vrein. larger eachway than the crosssectionof the posts. Two of the sidesshould hang down l0 in. for a clamping surface. First,I plumb and st4bilize all the posts,letting their tops run wild. Then I mark the desiredheight on one post and transfer

_ B R I A NS I M M O N S Oakland,Calif.

Balusterlayout Here's a fast way to lay out railing balusters.Get a length of the kind of elasticthat is used for waistbands, and stretch it so that itt fairly taut. Mark your center spacing on the elastic.Now attach the elasticto one end of the railing run and stretch it out. Move the elasticback and forth until you've got it just right. Mark your centers,roll up the elastic,and head for the next railing. -TONY SCTSSONS Meadow Lake, Sask.,Canada

Distancefrom sawbladeto the edge of the saw'sshoq ' i

Two sides of the jig run long for.

Line of cut

that height to the rest using a water level. Below each mark,I measure down and scribe a second mark equal to the distance from the sawblade to the edge of the saw's shoe. Now I drop the jig over the post, clamp it so that the top edge is on the lower mark, and use the top of the jig to guide the saw along all four

sidesof the post.

-TIMOTHY

P E L T O N F a i r f i e l d ,l o w a

GREAT BUILDING TIPS 2006

103

Porches Clampingtongue-and-grooveboards Tongue-andgroove block with tongue removed

Stan with clamp open, then close it to apply pressureto the decking.

->

A clever method for clamping deck boards usesa pry bar as a bearing point for a pipe clamp (p. 103). Simply insert the pry bar into the gaps between deck boards, then hook the clamp to the pry bar; repeat as necessary.But what if there are no gaps between the deck boardsl I installed tongue-and-groove decking on my porch, and as a consequence,I had to use other clamping methods to draw the boards together. I used the rim joist as the bearing point for one end of the clamp until the 12 ft. of pipe could no longer reach the boards. So I came at the problem from the other side. As shown in the drawing at left, I turned the clamp's tail stop around so that it was positioned to push on the workpiece. Then I used a grinder to remove a bit of the webbing from the back of the screw clamp. This step created a flat bearing spot that gave me some purchase on the opposite rim joist. Now I could screw the clamp to its full open position, then turn it toward its closed position to push on the deck boards. This trick made getting the boards into position

Rimjoist

Grind away webbing to make a bearing point.

easy and fast. _ B E R N A R D H . D E R B Y S H I R EN e w t o w n ,C o n n .

RAILING DETAILSTHAT KEEPROT AT BAY // 5:ilJI,K#AHONE Moistureproof railings lbuild porch railings that prevent water from collecting. Before assembly,the spindles are sealed, sanded, Subtop rail and primed. Two coats of marine epoxy seal the top rail. The spindles(1% in. sq. at each end) are held together at the top with a %-in. by 1%-in.subtop rail and on the sideswith stepped molding. The top rail is fastened from below to eliminate exposed fasteners. At the bottom of the railing, the spindles are sandwichedbetween 272-in.by rYrc-in.shingle molding. I install the railing sections4 in. off the porch deck and toenail them to the posts with 8d galvanizednails. Long sectionsof railing are supported with pressure-treated blocks wedged underneath.

104

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Weather-resistant newel posts The trick to this long-lasting newel post is the vented plinth. The base is made from shaped 5/4 by 21h-in.clear pine, and the corners are mitered, biscuited, and glued together with epory. I glued four 2%-in.-sq.by %-in.-thick blocks to the bottom corners for feet. Two wood blocks that slide into the 781/z-in. by 81/z-in. hollow post and pre*:*d pine cap vent lateral move/ ment are glued to the top of the plinth. Molding The entire assembly gets two coats of marine epoxy. To vent the top, a %-in. plylood subcap overhangs the post by %e in. on each side (ogee molding hidesthe i B l o c k st o edges). Semicircular register newel 3-in. cutouts:allow airflow. Secure the beveled top cap with construction %-in. blocks \-z adhesive.

Bottom drawings: Robert Goodfellow

Alignment marks register balusters.

Gazebo-|ayout te mplate cameup with a simple During the constructionof an eight-sided gaze|.cr.,I layout template to setthe eight postsin the ground at equal measurements. In this gazebo,theinside facesof the oppositepostsare l0 ft. apart, so I beganthere.As shown in the drawing below,I first lappeda pair of l0-ft. 2x4satright anglesto one another.Then I drilled aYz-in.-dia.hole through the exactcenterof the lap joint. I used al2-in.length of Vz-in.dowel asa staketo pin the center of the template to the center of the gazebosite and marked the positionsof the first four postsat the end of each2x4.I rotatedthe templatetemporarily to

3/+in.

plywood base \

5/4 decking sPacers

W (.

\-a

2x4

f r"p

V, rail

I '-l'

,1rP+

/ -^

dig the first four holes, then I put the template back in place to set the posts (they 1x4 bottom rail

2x2 baluster

should be touching the ends of the template as they

=J

are set in concrete). Once the first four posts were set,I rotated the template

Productionsetup for porch railings

45o, with equal measure-

The drawing aboveshowsa simple indexing fixture to lay out sectionsof porch railing. In this example,I assembled railingsthat had 3l-in. balusters,a2x4 top rail, and a lx4 bottom rail. The key to the systemis a pair of 5/4-in. spacersmade out of a coupleof 8-ft. lengthsof decking. Set a sheetof 3/t-in.plywood on a pair of sawhorses, and affix a coupleof piecesof straight,5/4-in.decking to the plywood. In this case,Iplacedthem 3l in. apart. Next, mark the balusterspacingon the two piecesof decking.Flere,the balusterswere on 5-in. centerswith 3Yz-in.spacesbetweenthem. Now placethe top and bottom rails againstthe outsideedgesofthe decking,spread the balusters,and align their edgeswith the spacing marks. Finally, nail everythingoff and affix the trim. It takesme about 15minutes to assemble8-ft. sections of railing using this method,and the balustersare all -MtcHAEL FoRTUNAOrting, Wash. perfe_cdy plumb.

ments between all posts,

4x4 gazebo post

and repeated the process. _KEN MACKLIN Sarnia,Ont., Canada

Layouttemplate/ made of 10-ft. 2x4s ll

Locate first four posts, then rotate the template 45oto locate the second group of posts.

.1 1it

Half-lapjoint, Q, screwed tggether

lt,,'

Stretchingscreens It can be more than difficult to stretch screening evenly acrossa frame without bags, sags,and zigzags. With the help of a stretcher board, though,I can get professional results every time. As shown in the drawing,I

run the screening a few inches long

in both directions. After stapling the screen to one of the short sides of the frame,

Wood frame

I staple the other edge of the screen to a stretcher board. With the screen attached

frame on two sides.

to the stretcher board,I hang the end of the frame that I'm working on over the

I

end of a table and press down on the stretcher board to tension the screen. I staple the screen to the frame with my free hand. After removing the staples from the stretcher board,I repeat the processon the unstapled sides of the frame. The bcreen comes out straight and taut. -DAVID

T O U S A I N C o o n R a p i d s ,l o w a

Temp6rarystaples Stretcherboard

GREATBUILDING TIPS2006

105

Patios Brick cutter Line of cut Brick chisel 1x6 chisel guide

4-in. by 4-in. by 1/+-in. angle iron, 6 in. long Base , .\

iN

2x4 stock cut at 45" holds angle iron in place.

The deviceshown at left is a simplebut effectivebrick cutter thar works by shearinga brick betweena fixed angleiron and a brick chisel.Using the brick cutter is not asfastas breaking bricks with a masont hammer,but you will get more accuratecutsand a lot less waste.To make the cutter, file a true edgeon the outside corner of a short pieceof angle iron and placeit on a heavybase,suchasa beamoffcut, with the outsidecorner facing up. Securethe angleiron by placing the mitered end of a2xtight againsteachside. On one sideof the angleiron, positiona lx6 on a thick block to acrasa guide for the brick chisel.Be sure to setthe guide high enough to clear the thickest brick you plan to cut. Adjust the guide'slength so that when the bevelsideof the brick chiselis held tight againstthe guide, the point of the chiselis directly over the edgeof the angle iron. On the oppositesideof the angleiron, placea supportblock to cradlethe brick. To usethe cutter,placethe brick on top of the angleiron with your mark centeredover its edge.Position the chiselon top of the brick, bevel side tight againstthe guide. One or two blows with a heavyhammer shoulddo the job. For facebrick, cut the brick Ysin.to the wastesideof the mark, and clean up the exposededgewith short, controlled paring -wl LL FOSTERAberdeen,Wash. strokesof the chisel.

Bumperssimplify stair construction Some clients asked me to improve the steps that led from the street to their front door. The old steps consisted of crushed stone held in place by some decaying railroad ties. We wanted to follow the same arcing path around bushes and trees, but with materials that would hold up to the elements. Steps of cobblestones and bricks seemed right, but the

Cobblestonesmortared to concrete bumpers

thought of all the complicated forming that it would take to fashion con-

Cutting patio curves The thought of having to cut curvesin concretepavers can be intimidating, but it shouldn'tlimit the designof a patio. To cut curvesin paver patios for our clients,we usea cutoff saw with a diamond blade, 3/+-in, braidedrope,and a pencil.(In our area,acutoff saw with a diamond blade rents for about $90 a day.) First,lay out the paverssothat they run beyond the curve you wish to cut, asshown in the left photo above.Then usea lengthof 3/q-in. braidedrope, which bendsand holdsa curve well, to lay out the radius,and mark it with a pencil. Finally, after lighdy scoring the paversin placewith the saw to make a smooth curve, remove eachpaver and completethe cut (photo aboveright). _DICKHENRY ChapelHill,N.C.

crete footings for the steps concerned us. A trip to a masonry-supply yard led to the more affordable solution illustrated in the drawing. I happened upon a stack ofcon21/z-ft.lengths of #4 rebar

crete parkingJot bumpers. They were straight, with flat tops and bottoms, and about 5 ft. long. Perhaps

bestof all, they were light enoughfor me ro maneuverby myself. I arranged a dozenof the bumpers in the required arc, adjusting their height and spacinguntil I had the layout right. Then I securedeach bumper by driving 2Vz-ft.lengthsof rebar through the holescastinto rhe endsof the bumpersfor that purpose. After painting the topsof the bumperswith concreteconditioner,I . mortared rows of cobblestonesatop eachbumper to createthe risers. Then I filled in the spacesbetweenadjacentriserswith tampedearth and a layer of bricks arrangedin a running bond patrernfor treads.These stepshave beenin placefor yearsnow and are none the worse for wear despiteour wicked New England winters. -BOB

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FINE HOMEBUILDING

J E P S O N J R . M i l t o n ,M a s s .

Photos this page, facing page: Chris Green

BELOWTHESURFACE A GOOD PATIOSTARTS

I -f

'

,..

b __g

Finetethered friend

For a lasting patio, nothing is more important than getting the stone base firm and flat. I excavate the site 9 in. to 10 in, below finiehed grade to make room for the base, To engureprop€r drainage, slope the excavation about th in. per foot. I extend the excavation and the stone base 10 in. to 12in, beyond the perimeter of the final patio to allow for minor adjustments in patio gize and to provide stability at the edge. Once the excavationis complete, begin spreading the stone, ABC stone, which includes all gradations from dust to 1'h-3n,dia. gravel, can be packed flat and dense without losing its drainage properties. Apply the base in several 2-in. to 3-in. layers, wetting it down to aid compaction. To pack and flatten the layers, I rent a pfate compactor (about $75 a day). Repeat the layering process untilthe base is 3 in. from the finished elevation. I generally use concrete pavers for patios, so my next layer is a maximum of 1 in, clean, coarsegand. Initially,I start with a little more sand than it appears I need. After running the plate compactor, l'm close to the target elevation. -D IC K H EN R Y C hapel H iNl l .C , .

Runninga plate compactor is a boring job (photo below), but it mugt be done before pouring a concrete slab. The last time I was faced with a day behind the bouncing handlebars,I decided to automate the job. Plate compactors are designed to creep slowly forward in a straight line. My job was to get it to turn without me. As shown in the drawing above, I tied it to a gtake driven in the center of the excavation. Each revolution of the compactor shortened the leash, resulting in circles of everdecreasing diameter. This left me free to take care ol other tasks on the site as I kept track of the machineout of the corner of my eye. I still had to finish up the cornerc by hand, but the trick saved me a lot of time, and wear and tear on the wrists and elbows. - M A R KW H I T E Kodiak,Alaska

Brick-pathscreed All walks, drives,and patiosshould be constructedto ensureproper drainage. Concretesidewalksare normally flat, but walks made of brick, tile, or paving blocksshouldhavea slight crown built into them. The crown promotesdrainage, minimizing the effectsof the freeze-thawcycle,and eliminatespuddling. Beforelaying a brick path, I usea wood screedwith a slight arch to contour the sandbed.The screedhasa notch cut into eachend, asshown in the drawing. The notches,which areV+in. shallowerthan the thicknessof the brick I'm using,ride on the path'swood borders.BeforeI usethe screed,I moistenand tamp the sand to minimizesettling Mncentown, N.J. RoD G.ETTELMANN Drawing top left: Dan Thornton

GREATBUILDING TIPS2006

,.O7

tilingtechniques Accuratediagonaltile cuts For a bathroom remodel, my client requesteda horizontalrow of square,dark tiles oriented vertically,like diamonds,as a decorative border. As shown in the drawing, two rows of white triangular tiles flank the diamonds.The challenge:cutting the white tiles at a 45o angle, as accuratelyas possible,into two equal portions. Any error would create an installationnightmare becauseit would be doubled. lf I cut a piece %r in. off center,for example,one side would be % in. bigger than the other. To cut preciselybut efficiently, I rigged up the jig shown in the foreground of the drawing. My first step was to buy two inexpensivetriangular plastic squares 'F:

($3 each).Next, I made two identicalcuts on the squares.To do

.P'^>4

this, I hooked the fence of the squareover the right side of the sliding table on my tile saw,making sure that the other side of the squarebutted againstthe saw fence. Wth each squarein this position, I made the cuts with the tile saw.Becausethe blade on the tile saw is designedto grind through ceramicmaterialand not the compositematerialof the squanes,I made these cuts in severalpasses,taking off a little each time. When done, both squareswenecut preciselythe same,with the cut parallelto the fence of the square. Next, I clamped one of these cut squareson the sliding table to the right of the sawblade. As before, I hooked the fence of the squareover the right edge of the sliding table and butted the edge of the squareagainstthe saw fence. I used a 1-in. C-clampthreaded through one of the holes in the sliding table to hold the squarein place. In this position, the cut edge just kissedthe right side of the sawblade. After clampingdown the first square,I used another 1-in. C-clampto affix the other squaneto the left of the sawblade. But first I had to cut away half of the fence on the squareso that it would lie flat on the table. I used a coping saw followed by a belt sander for this task. After sliding the edge of the squareagainstthe fence of the saw and

Simple iig for cutting small tile

positioning it so that the cut end just kissedthe left side of the sawblade,I clampedthe

Cut with a wet saw, small

squareto the table. The spacebetween the two squaresequaledthe width of the kerf

glass tiles often are difficult

created by the sawblade.

to hold and cut accurately.

When usingthe jig, I slid a tile into the V-shapedspaceformed by the two plastic

I make an L-shaped cut in

squares.As the drawing above shows,this spaceheld the tile at a 45" angle, with the cor-

a larger piece of tile and use it as a jig to hold the

ner of the tile in line with the sawblade.After a few trial-and-errorcuts and minute adjust-

smaller tiles in line with

ments to the position of the squaneon the left, I achievedprecise,uniform results.I was

the sawblade.

able to cut the 100 triangular piecesthat I needed in about 20 minutes. -JOHN

108

FINE HOMEBUILDING

C A R R O L L D u r h a m ,N . C .

_TOM MEEHAN Harwich, Mass.

Drawings:CharlesMiller.Photos:CharlesBicHord.

CONTINUED

Removing a broken tile When I'm calledon to replacea broken or chippedtile,I prefer to removethe offending tile using an anglegrinder outfitted with a 4-in. diamond blademade by Pearl Abrasive($42;www.pearlabrasive.com). This approachis good for thick, soft-bodied tiles suchassaltillo,but it works on others aswell. The tile must be larger than 4 in., or there won't be room for the grinder blade. If the tile is smallerthan 4 in., I usea hole saw to cut out the center portion of the crackedtile. Although it's a slow process,I'm left with a hole in the tile that is pried easilywith the tip of a chiselor a screwdriver.

1. lsolate the victim. To keep the neighboringtiles intact, the first step is to score the grout lines with a utility knife. A few light passesdo the trick.

2. Protection is prevention. Before cutting, it's a good idea to mask off any nearby cabinets or furniture with plasticand tape. On the floor, angle brackets taped to the surroundingtiles protect them from inadvertent slips of the grinder'sblade.

3. Diagonal cuts open up the tile. With both handsfirmly holding the grinder, I carefullyplunge the blade into the tile's center and cut diagonally,then along the tile's sides. A helper holds the vacuumhose to 'catch the dusty exhaust. (Editor's note: A two-sided guard, such as the DeWalt DW4705, provides much better protection when cutting with a diamond wheel.)

4. A junky tool still has its uses. Usinga hammerand an old chiselor. putty knife, I work from the outside toward the tile's center, carefully prying out the pieces.

.I1O

FINE HOMEBUILDING

Beforestarting,I make sureto mask off any surrounding cabinetfacesor furniture. I alsousemetal angle bracketsto protect neighboring tiles from possibleovercutting (photo 2). Following the four stepsshown in the photos below, I usethe grinder to cut an X in the tile to be removed.I usea Dremel tool fitted with a small #7134diamondpoint bit (www.dremel.com)in the corners

where the grinder can't reach.Once the tile is removed,I scrapeout any remaining thinsetwith a putty knife and an old chisel, and I vacuum the substrate.I then make surethe replacementtile fits, mix a small batchof thinset,trowel it into the space,and setthe tile. Oncethe thinsethasdried.I can grout the tile' -JANE AE.N Berkerey, carif.

CONTINUED

The dust-isolation bor Sometimes I have to make a lot of dust in finished spaces---{utting tile in a kitchen, for example. In thesesituations, I control dust with a dustisolation work chamber made from a translucentplastic storage box. I cut the bottom off the storage container, then use duct tape to securea sweatshirt over the opening. The arms of the sweatshirt are the openings for my hands to reach the tools I need. Tools and a worklight passthrough the neck opening, which then is clamped shut around the power cords. A

r't

'1

Translucentstorage box with bottom removed

.'ot,i

E --i

hole in the box side acceptsthe nozzle of my shop

Corded tools are fed through sweatshirt neck opening.

vacuum. To keep dust from leaking out around the edges of the box, I affix strips of stick-on foam weatherstripping to the lip of the container. To use it,I turn on the tool and the vacuum, and look through the translucent sidesof the container to chart my progress.Be sure to empty the vacuum o[any potentially flammable contents, such as sawdust, before trying this operation. - D O N M A T H I Sv i ae m a i l

Worklight

Cutting tool

Vacuum hose

) /

Foam weatherstripping

website lately?

finehomebuilding.co The Thunton Press Inspiration ferr hands-on livingo

NO. 32 READERSERVICE 112

FINE HOMEBUILDING

techni CONTINUED

Applying latex grouVcaulk when it cametime to fill the gap betweenour tile counter and its backsplash,Ipicked up a coupleof tubesof latexgrou/caulk in a matching color. The stuff comesin big toothpaste-rypetubes, and onceit haswarmed up a bit, the grout flows pretty well----or at leastit doesuntil the tube hasbeenreducedto about one-third full. At that point, the tube becomesso small that it's hard to compressenough to squeezeout the remaining grout. To get a better grip on the diminishing tube, I turned to a couple of spring clamps.I usedone to clamp off the bottom of the rolled-up tube and the other to compressthe remaining wad of grout. I found that by varying the pressure Spring clampscoax applied by the the last bit of grout from its tube. clamps,I could regulate the flow of the grout, right down to the lastlittle bit. _ C H A R L E SM I L L E R Newtown, Conn.

Marbleceiling tiles .n' ,i f'- Str;ms'Uearing-on' ' ' '-frarnework sippon ,! :. . 2x4 frame

l:l jr

):*, tnortarcures., r<4/ . MarbletlUltn-aL"t enclosure

Installing large ceiling tiles Before this job,I had never installed l2-in.-sq.'by %-in.-thick tiles over my head. I proceeded to bed them in thinset and squeeze them to the concrere board above my head, iust as I had easily done with 4x4 ceramic tiles. I had three of them in place when a tile whizzed past my ear and shaftered on the edge of the tub. At that point,I realized, "This technique doesn't work." A colleague who is a highly skilled tile installer gave me the advice I needed to get the iob done. I built the2x4 frame shown in the drawing above. It nearly reachesthe ceiling, with about Vz-in. clearance between the thickness of a tile and the top of the frame. I pieced together the puzzle this way: Trowel thinset on a tile, slide it above the frame, and shim it in place. Two days later, I removed the frame, and the tiles stayed put. - B I L LP H I L L I P S D u r h a mN, . C .

READER SERVICE NO.61

114

FINE HOMEBUILDING

math&measuring Adjustablestory stick For those of us plain'vanillaboys and girls who don't fike to remembernumberson tapes or which side of the mark to use, story sticks can simplify a number ol measuringsituations. you can buy commerciallyavailabfegadgets that do the samething {they are called bar gauges},but

%-in. nut soldered

l'd rather make my own, Here's how. I start with a piece of garden-variety 3/e-in.copper pipe about 4 in. long. As shown in the drawing, I drill a hole in its side and solder a1/*in,

Optional nail points for outside measurements

7n-in.copper ---\

brass nut to the pipe, centered over the hole. A l-in.-long r/a-in. machinescrew with a knob on one end screwsinto the nut. The screwacts as a clamp, bearing againsta?/e-in.dowel that has been split in half. To use this device, simply loosen the screw and let the dowel halvesslide past one another untilthey bear against the surface of the target. Let's say it's an inside meaEurementfor a window jamb: Extend the dowels againstthe opening, clamp, transfer to workpiece, and cut. No numbersrequired. Another option is to add nail points to each dowel hall, as shown in the drawing. Th.y can be used to transfer outside mea-

Cap affixed to machinescrew

%-in.dowel, split in half

Optional beveled tips for measuring diagonals

) Loosen screw, slidedowels apart to desiredlength, and tighten screw

surements.For measuringdiagonals,as in drawer boxes or picture frames,bevelthe ends of the dowels so that they tuck into

finding

90o corners. -PAUL K. KINCAID Lawrence, Kan.

Short-point measurement

Clamped square registers short point of miter.

Mitered end of trim

Any piece of mitered trim has two points on its end. The acute angle at the very tip of the workpiece is called the long point; the short point is the obtuse angle on the inside edge of the trim piece. Measuring

Hook tape oit

square'sblade.

from the short point is a recurring problem: There is no place to hook your tape.

The next time you need to measure from a short point, try rhis trick. As shown in the drawing, use a spring clamp to affix a square to the end of the workpiece. It can be a Speed Square, a combo square, or a tri square; just make sure to align the blade of the square with the short point. Now you can hook your tape measure to the square's blade and rest assured that yoir are measuring from the right point. - B R U C E G U E R T I NC o v e n t r R y .l.

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FINE HOMEBUILDING

circle centers

When you must find dead cenrer on a circle, this tool can help you to get spot on. To make it, dado a couple of lx3s to fashion a 90o half-lap joint. Then glue and screw the pieces together. Pick one edge of the longer arm as your scribing edge, and drive two l6d nails through the short arm. The distance of the nails, A and B, should be equidistant from the scribing edge. To use this center-finding tool, set the nails against the circumference of your circular object, and scribe

'l6d

a line down the long arm. Now rotate the tool a

Half-lap joint, glued and screwed

quarter-turn or so, and repeat the process.Where the two scribed lines cross is dead center. This gizmo can be any size, but the two nails should be no lessthan a

nail

1x3 stock Centerat intersedion of scribed lines.

Scribing edge

quarter of the diameter apart, and no more than three-quarters of the diameter apart.-T.H. RtcHARDS Mont-Tremblant, Q,ue.,Canada

Scribe these edges.

Drawings:CharlesMiller

math&measuring CONTINUED

Arch layout

Calculating the radius of an arch Sometimes it's useful to know the radius of

Here's a way to lay out arches that need to have specific heights at the ends or center, End height

Center height

an arch or head casing long before the shop work takes place. I have found that the fol-

even though the spans vary. First, snap a long chalkline on the floor (drawing left). Lay your material at one end, square to

lowing formula provides precise dimensions

the line. After determining the span, end height, and center height, put the end of

96 in.

tape measure #l at the center height, and stretch it out next to the chalkline. Hook Use tape to scribe arch with a pencil.

tape measure#2 on a nail located at the end height, and stretch it out at an angle so that it intersects tape #1. Now move tapelt2

Pivot point

until the numbers on both tapes match at the chalkline. Put a nail in the chalkline at

Tape#1

this point. This is your pivot point. Hook Chalkline

one of your tapes over it and use it as a giant compass to trace your arch. For huge arches, you can make one half and use it as

and takes advantage of the simple calculators

a pattern.

on the market. Even calculators without a

_SPENCER THOMPSON

square-root function can handle this one:

SantaMonica,Calif. Rise2 + (Span/2)2

2 x Rise For instance,lett assumethat an arched opening leading from a dining room to a great room has84-in.-tallsides,the spanis 96in.,and the centerof the arch is to be 96 in. abovethe floor. The riseis then 12in. as shown in the drawing above.When you substitutethe numbersand reducethe formula. you get: Rise2+ (Span/2)2 2 x Rise 122+ (96/2)2

2x12 144+ 482 24

Arch trammel I discoveredthis techniquefor laying out wide, shallowarchesat a shipyard. On a clear,flat, wood surface,such asa subfloor,draw a straight line aslong asthe arch will be wide, asshown below.Drive a finish nail at eachend of this baseline so that about I in. of the nail's shank projectsabovethe floor. Find the center of the baseline,and draw a perpendicularline extendingup from the center,making an invertedT. Decidethe height of your arch,measurealong the perpendicularline from the baseline,and drive a third finish nail at the apex. Now find two straight lx boards,eachone a litde longer than the length of the baseline.Snug one board againstone basenail and the apex nail, and lay the other board againstthe other basenail and the apexnail. Where the boardsoverlap,mark them for a half-lap joint. Then cut the joint and screwthe boardstogether. Pull out the apexnail, and hold a pencil in its place.Now slidethe boardsalong the baselinenail guides from right to left to mark the arch. As a variation, you can mount a router at the apexand cut or mold archesof any size. rERRY AZEVEDO Corvallis, Ore.

144+ 2,304 24

Half-lapjoint securedwith screws Nail m.arks apex.

2,448 24 102 The radiusis 102in., with no errors resulting from inadvertentstretchingof chalklines or other mechanicallimitations,suchastrying to lay out a curve with a 102-in.radiuson a pieceof plywood that's only 96 in. long. -CHARLES

118

W . D A V I S W a t s o n v i l l e ,C a l i f .

FTNE HOMEBUILDING

Nail guide

Baseline

'L__

Replacenail at apex with a pencil, and slide trammel along, pivoting on nail guides, to describe arch.

math&measuring CONTINUED

lrregular sheathing piece goes here.

Measuring odd shapes One day when I was trying to figure out how to cut an irregular six-sided piece of roof sheathing, another carpenter showed me a trick used by boatbuilders to mark the outline of oddball workpieces quickly.

Draw line

The method is called tick-sticking. To do it, all you need is a scrap of plywood and a pointed stick. As shown in the drawing, begin by affixing a plywood scrap to a point along

'; .,

the edge of the hole in need of sheathing.

- Mark reglstrdtion

It's handy but not necessaryfor the scrap to be near a corner. It will give you a ready point of reference.

Plywood scraP

Transfer marks to workpiece.

p l y w o o d s c r a p . . ' ;. .

\
Now take the stick and lay it acrossthe plywood scrap so that the point of the stick

I work from left to right as I make my

the ticks, and note the positions of the

touches one of the corners of the hole. Draw a line along the edge of the stick, then mark a "tick" on the stick and a corresponding

marks, but you can use any order that

corners. Connect the corner marks, and

suits you.

you've got the outline of the workpiece.

tick on the plywood scrap.Mark them both

place the scrap of plywood next to the

#1. Do this for each corner, assigningeach

material you are going to cut and reverse

one numbers.

the process.Lay the stick on the lines, align

Once all the marks have been recorded,

This method is accurate,easy,cheap, and low-tech. -PHILLIP CARPENDALE N e l s o n , B . C . ,C a n a d a

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READER S E R V I CN EO . 7 12O

FINE HOMEBUILDING

YouNeed TLeeCity USA iry neesadd the soft touch of nature to our busy lives. Support Tree City USA where you live: For your free booklet, write: TreeCiry USA, The National Arbor Day Foundation, NebraskaCity, NE 68410. Ttrlhtinal erbanayFurdatin