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
FINE HOMEBUILDING
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.
no% and in that time,I've really
Finance/Accountingt
Finance: Kathy \florth, Brett Manning, David Pond.,tlccounting Patrick Lamontagne,Lydia Krikorian,
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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The SoloSiderwill let you adjust a pieceof siding up or down in real time using 1/16 increments.It can be set for different overlapsusing the quick releaseknob. The plasticparts are glass filled nylon 6/6. This is an engineeringgrade that is almost indestructiblein this application.The main body is a heat treated and temperedspring steel.Nickel plated.
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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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READER SERVICE NO.48 FTNE HOMEBUILDING
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
12
Support/stop in multiplecutoff mode
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Wing nut and bolt
anchored to the plank with C-clamps. Capping
me anything extra.
extends from 8 ft. to 13 ft., but any similar plank will work.I
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'
-\/
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
a2x6 crosspieceto support a
WarmlyYours, Inc.'2
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I made a pattern out of hard-
adequate to the task. I've
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.
carton *--//
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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
during use by dowels. A pair of
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Harnessingthe benefits of germicidalultraviolet light to protectand improvehumanlife.
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0pento an hing!
Whole
e
Z-in. plywood \ base
this knockdown saw stand.
tablesawon a%-in. plywood basethat has a big hole in the
A p p l i a n c eT
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READER SERVICENO. 26
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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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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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
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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
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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
Clean cuts for recessedcans ,I\[
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Hidden handrail connection I recently needed to fasten a handrail to a wall and
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