Ceiling

• By Design: Trusses vs. Rafters

  Designing roofs: stick-framed or trusses?

   

• Framing Recessed Ceilings

  This vaulted ceiling detail is inexpensive to build, but it looks like a million bucks.

   

• By Design: Vaulted Ceilings Think Before You Leap

  Designing vaulted ceilings

   

• Flattening Walls for Paneling

  The quality of framing lumber being what it is, a perfectly flat, plumb wall is a rarity these days. An experienced finish carpenter describes the techniques he uses to create a flat surface before installing paneling and interior trim.

   
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  Energy-Efficient Cathedral Ceilings

  It’s difficult to achieve a high R-value in a cathedral ceiling while preserving adequate roof ventilation. Here are four options for packing more insulation into the rafters, by an energy-conscious builder who has tried them all.

   

• Venting Details for Cathedral Ceilings

  Unvented roofs in northern climates are prone to ice buildup, but how do you ventilate a valley or hip rafter in a cathedral ceiling? And what do you do at a skylight, where the headers block the vent chutes? A snow-country builder describes the venting methods that have worked for him at these and...

   

• Focus on Energy: A Nearly Perfect Cathedral Ceiling

  Airtight, well-ventilated cathedral ceiling

   

• Vented vs. Unvented Roofs: The Great Debate

  In a perfect world, air retarders and careful insulation details would keep moisture out of the roof. But real buildings are never perfect, and venting is still the safest approach, especially in cathedral ceilings.

   

• Building with Style: Trimless Detailing - What's Missing?

  Dress up drywall with wood trim

   

• Repairing Plaster Walls and Ceilings

  Hairline cracks in old plaster require more than just forcing in some spackle. A plaster repair specialist describes his techniques.