Framing Tip
Thanks for “Framing a Walk-Out Basement” (6/08). I
always enjoy your framing articles, as framing is the mainstay
of the small business I own. While doubling up the plates on
the highest part of the foundation does allow you to overlap
the framed walls below, I don’t allow this on my jobs
because it wastes material. Instead, we extend the upper
treated plates onto the lower framed walls by at least 4 feet
to achieve the same effect.
Shane Geberin
The Home Group
Noblesville, Ind.
Trigger Happy
“Pneumatic Nailers Under Fire Again” (In the News,
7/08) illustrates the lack of common sense in our industry. Why
anyone would think a contact trigger is better than a
sequential trigger is beyond me. I see carpenters fire away
without the least idea of fastening requirements. Better to
blast the connection with lots of nails than to make precise
connections!
When we require a minimum of four years of education and five
years of apprenticeship to become a licensed contractor, we
won’t have to listen to the pathetic arguments in favor
of contact triggers presented in this article.
Nels Peterson
Stone Creek Builders
Park Rapids, Minn.
Likes Recessed Lights in the
Kitchen
According to “Remodeling a Working Kitchen,” about
a creative “green” project in Minneapolis (7/08),
the author never installs recessed lights and removes them from
kitchens he works on. Yet if installed correctly, recessed
lights can be very efficient. Using the gasket, caulk, and foam
if necessary creates a leakproof seal between the house and the
attic. Plus, recessed fixtures allow for the use of
compact-fluorescent lamps.
Here in California, where the energy codes are a lot less
forgiving than in most states, I’ve found that using
several 32-watt fixtures with reflective baffles creates plenty
of light in a medium-size kitchen. We also add undercabinet
fluorescent task lighting with separate controls. I don’t
see how wall sconces and a center chandelier, as mentioned in
the article, could provide this kind of light distribution.
Lighting is everything in a kitchen; from the customer’s
viewpoint, it can make or break the job.
Jayson Emerian
Clovis, Calif.
Offensive Language
Unnecessary
As a subcontractor, I’ve observed an increasing amount
of boorish behavior on the job site. From blaring radios to the
painter “borrowing” my scaffold and getting paint
all over it, it seems we’ve lost respect for other
tradesmen and their work. Is it any wonder that our young
people are not interested in this industry? What a
disappointment to open the June issue of your great magazine
and find profanity on pages 15 and 37. Now even my favorite
magazine is offensive.
Byron Kirby
Kirby Electric
Athens, Ala.
Hidden Costs of Energy
Efficiency
Regarding “Broken Compact Fluorescents: Handle With
Care” (In the News, 7/08): If it’s not mercury, the
biggest problem with these lamps may be how to dispose of all
the electronics and lead in the base of the bulb. I took the
cover off a burned-out bulb and was surprised at what I found
(see photo).
Bill Wyckoff
Altamont, Kan.