Tips
Vapor Diffusion Retarders and Air Barriers
Vapor diffusion retarders, air retarders, and air/vapor retarders all relate to the interaction of temperature and moisture in and around the building envelope. A vapor barrier or vapor diffusion retarder (VDR) is a material that reduces the rate at which water vapor...
Framing a Garage Workshop
When choosing the framing and construction materials for your garage, consider how it will be used, what fire and safety requirements you may have, and what additions you may need later on. Today’s garage holds cars, big toys, and serves as a central home workshop or...
Laminated Veneer Lumber
The laminated veneer lumber (LVL) manufacturing process creates a strong and stable product that can reliably support large areas. Wide open spaces are great for country music singers, but can be a real headache for builders. To create large, open rooms, builders and...
Insulating Concrete Slabs, Foundations and Basements
Most residential concrete-foundation systems will come into contact with the ground and face moisture-management and heat-loss issues. Protecting the foundation of the home starts with the right barrier. Concrete slabs, basement foundation systems, and crawl-spaces...
Green Homes Series: Foundations
A solid foundation is essential for any home. But today’s emphasis on “green” suggests that other factors be considered as well. A good foundation is important. It helps a house withstand vertical and horizontal loads and protects from frost heaves. Foundation Basics...
Load-bearing Walls
Before you grab a hammer, saw or crowbar to remove an unwanted wall, make sure you understand its role in holding up your house. Today's typical floor plan often includes bright and open spaces with high ceilings. Before the advent of today's modern building...
Expanding a One-Story House: Build a Second Story or a First-Floor Addition?
You’re expanding your home, but should you build up or out? Enlarge the footprint of your single-story residence or add a second floor? Before you call in the architect, here’s what you need to consider. Julie Languille and her husband, Larry, love everything about...
Stairbuilding Basics
Take the quick way to the top with a simple lesson in basic stair construction. Building nice staircases takes patience and skill. But it's worth the effort: beautiful stairs help make a home special. But, before you break out the tape measure and circular saw,...
The Carpenter’s Square
The carpenter's square is a deceptive tool. It looks simple, it's a ruler with an elbow, a straightedge that turns a corner. Yet it is a great deal more, because it can function as a sophisticated arithmetical guide to many of the complexities of laying out a...
Roofing Materials
Cost, ease of installation and appearance are all factors when choosing a roofing material. While asphalt shingles account for close to 90 percent of all residential roofing jobs, they certainly aren't the end of the story when it comes to roofing. Sheet metal, cement...
Roofs: Design, Function and Maintenance
A good roof is graceful, it's good-looking, and it ages well. To realize that end, however, you'll need to do three things: design the roof appropriately, build it right, and take good care of it. Your roof is critical to basic house performance. It gives your house...
Six Steps to Better Roof Protection
The weak link in most existing houses is in the connection of the roof sheathing to the rafters or roof trusses. The weak link in most existing houses is in the connection of the roof sheathing to the rafters or roof trusses. There are several ways to strengthen this...
Building a Tighter Roof with Roofing Underlayments
Roof underlayments are designed to protect the roof sheathing and structure from moisture and penetration. Advances in materials and technology have created more options and increased manufacturers’ warranties. Roofing underlayment was originally used for temporary...
Asphalt Shingles
Asphalt shingles are an economical roofing solution. But shop around, because not all shingles are the same. Asphalt shingles are economical and versatile, which may be why they represent more than 80 percent of the roofing market. They're relatively inexpensive to...
Cedar Shingle Maintenance
Cedar roofing and siding are a classic building material, and with proper installation, care and maintenance will last 20 or more years. Left untreated, they will weather to a natural gray, or they can be painted or stained. Cedar shakes and shingles are highly wind...
Your Home’s Exterior: Comparing Paint and Siding
It's tempting to judge a home by its cover, but for decisions about paint or siding, you need to go a little deeper and consider what's already there, what shape it's in, your budget and aesthetics. With advances in paint and siding, how to color and protect your home...
Window Properties and Design
The doors and windows that are right for you will depend on the climate you live in and the design of your house. Windows can make or break a building project. Choose wisely and your home will be comfortable, attractive, and easy to maintain. Buy the wrong ones and...
Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation relies on the wind and the "chimney effect" to keep a building cool. The wind will naturally ventilate your home or business by entering or leaving windows, depending on their orientation to the wind. When wind blows against your home, air is...
House Power
Before you install a new air conditioning system, consider your home’s electrical system. It’s not uncommon for old houses to have only 110-volt, 60-amp service for the entire home, barely enough power to handle the home’s existing complement of lights and appliances. Central air conditioners require a dedicated 230-volt circuit and may require 20 to 50 amps of power, making an electrical service upgrade necessary. Have an electrician size your home’s electrical supply up before your HVAC contractor begins work.
Lumberyard Gear
When going to buy lumber, eliminate the guesswork by taking along the right gear. Take a good flashlight to be able to see wood in dark lumber sheds, plus a pocket knife to scrape rough-sawn boards to check grain. Also take along a good measuring tape, small square, pencil, notebook, and a pocket calculator if you will need to do much figuring.
Storing Screws & Nails
Over the coarse of a few projects, you can accumulate quite a collection of small screws, nails, and other small parts. There are several ways you can store these items; baby food jars, small paper bags, soup cans, or even a multi-drawer small parts organizer. The trick is to be able to quickly see what is inside each container without having to waste time searching. Using your hot glue gun, attach a sample of the small piece on the outside of the container. This will give you a quick, visual reminder of what’s inside.
Portable Framing
A picture-framing vise, or miter clamp, has screw holes on the bottom for attaching to a workbench. But for occasional framing it can get in the way of other benchwork. A solution is to mount it on a wooden base that can be readily clamped and unclamped in your bench vise. The base can be of scrap wood, and made up so that the framing vise will be about chest high for comfortable working.
Repairing Floorboards
Here’s a way to save time and energy when repairing floorboards. Instead of drilling and chiseling damaged floorboards, use a plunge router. First, use a magnetic nail finder to be sure there are no nails in the way. Set scribe lines across the damaged pieces. Then, run the router across the boards for a quick, clean cut.
Six-Mark Rule
Even on rough carpentry projects, such as laying out a wall or partition with a carpenter’s square, sharpen your pencil after every six marks. Using a blunt pencil could add as much as an inch to the overall dimensions over about 20 feet. This can throw the entire structure out of whack and make it difficult to fit wallboard, sheathing and other modular materials.
Tape Check
If you are working on a project with a partner and using two different measuring tapes, take the time to check that both tapes are in synch. Sometimes if the hook end of an older tape happens to get bent, it may throw off the measurement as much as a sixteenth of an inch. That error can be enough to cause problems if you need to do precision work. To doublecheck two metal measuring tapes for accuracy, mark a line at a certain distance on a board, draw the tapes out and compare readings.
Wallpaper Border Removal
When removing wall paper borders, use a hair dryer to loosen the glue.
How Many Houses
There isn’t a set number of houses you should see before you decide. Visit as many as it takes to find the one you want. On average, homebuyers see 15 houses before choosing one. Just be sure to communicate often with your real estate agent about everything you’re looking for. It will help avoid wasting your time.
Pre-Qualifying vs Pre-Approval
Pre-qualification is an informal way to see how much you may be able to borrow. You can be “pre-qualified” over the phone with no paperwork by telling a lender your income, your long-term debts, and how large a down payment you can afford. Without any obligation, this helps you arrive at a ballpark figure of the amount you may have available to spend on a house. Pre-approval is a lender’s actual commitment to lend to you. It involves assembling the financial records and going through a preliminary approval process. Pre-approval gives you a definite idea of what you can afford and shows sellers that you are serious about buying.
More Fans
Consider using an interior fan in conjunction with your window air conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively through your home without greatly increasing your power use.
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
These compact fluorescent bulbs are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same lighting.
