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More stories about FEATURE

  • Getting Started With SketchUp

    This 3-D modeling program can be tough to master. Here’s how three builders learned what they needed to know.

  • Basic Pattern-Routing for Perfect Tread Returns

    As a full-time stairbuilder, I've learned that I can't always rely on premilled parts, especially when staircases get complicated.

  • Getting Started in Infrared

    During the late 1970s and early 1980s, I supervised residential insulation projects in central Vermont while working with a couple of regional agencies.

  • Replacing a Bulkhead Door

    Proper flashing and a solid base of pressure-treated lumber and cellular PVC promise long life

  • Rocking Solo

    With a few specialized tools and techniques, you can cost-effectively hang drywall by yourself.

  • Fixing a Botched Stucco Job

    Late last year, a couple called me about some leaking windows on the back of their 5-year-old stucco house. My company hadn't built the home; it was part of a tract development in Southeastern Pennsylvania thrown up during the recent housing boom.

  • Stain-Grade Finishing On Site

    Use premium materials and a methodical approach to achieve a cabinet-grade finish.

  • Builder's Guide to Windows

    There are more than 100 million homes and approximately 20 billion square feet of clear-glass residential windows in the U.S. Most of those homes are more than 30 years old, and as a result, the market is growing for replacement windows with energy-efficient insulating glass.

  • Hanging Heavy Doors

    As the punch-list guy for a high-end builder in Osterville, Mass., I end up installing plenty of top-quality solid-core doors. These doors are at least 1 3/4 inches thick and weigh 100 pounds or more, so I have to work smart.

  • Reroofing With EPDM Rubber

    Roll roofing was the wrong material for the flat roof under this second-story deck.