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A builder with a fast-growing business explains how co-op advertising provides the extra funds for a high-quality, high-volume marketing campaign.
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This custom builder used a site-built jig to make quick work of cutting composite curved rafters.
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A flooring contractor shares layout, installation, and trim tips for producing a professional-looking job.
Leak-free skylights start with careful attention to the manufacturer's directions, according to this veteran installer.
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A master electrician describes how to trace wires, identify circuits, and diagnose common job-site electrical problems.
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Here's what you should know to choose a compressor that matches your needs for air and recovery time.
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Certain forms and checklists are necessary on the job, but too much paper can drag down productivity. A veteran contractor shows his simple, streamlined approach to job-site record keeping.
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Trim out a 2,800-square-foot house in one day? A production trim carpenter tells how.
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When it comes to flattening an old, irregular floor, there's still nothing like mud.
Besides providing extra workspace and valuable job-site storage, a trailer is also a traveling advertisement for your company.
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When the soil moves, your foundation had better not. A Colorado builder shares his approach for building on difficult soils.
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Building roads * Retaining walls * Footings * Walkout foundations * Stem walls * Slabs * Frost-protected foundations * Foundation repair * Half wall foundations * Tying-in to existing foundations * Foundation details
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Preventing frost action * Perimeter drain design * Details for removing roof runoff * Placing drain tile
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Steel specs * Wood beam to steel beam comparison * Attaching steel to wood * Splicing steel I-beams * Sizing flitchplates * Building flitch beams * Column cap & baseplate connections
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Notching & boring joists & studs * Structural rules of thumb for wall, floor & roof framing * Shed dormers * Structural ridges * Framing solutions with metal connectors
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Shear walls * Hold-downs * Foundation anchors * Hardware layout * Retrofitting seismic connectors & shear walls * Nailing shear panels * Wood-to-wood and wood-to-masonry roof connections * Roof diaphragm details
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Anticipating lumber shrinkage * Plumbing & lining * Hanging barge boards * Stacking roof trusses * Truss uplift solutions * Steel framing details * Roof framing with wood I-joists * Framing & insulating cathedral ceilings
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Tight attic penetrations * Insulated partition catches * Common thermal bypasses * Sealing the band joist
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Tub, shower, toilet rough-in dimensions * Sink and lav dimensions * Framing & waterproofing a platform tub
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Pocket doors * Tray ceiling details * Radius stair * Laying out & attaching newel posts * Soundproofing walls & floors
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Drainage EIFS * Brick veneer * Wood deck ledger * Flashing a window
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A stair builder shows how to scribe and install finish skirts, treads, and risers.
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We rounded up the beefiest battery-operated saws on the market and put them to the test.
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This New Jersey custom home builder has traded wood trim for PVC.
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Forget material markups: This method, successfully practiced for 20 years by an Iowa remodeler, assigns overhead and profit expense to billed time on the job.
A finish contractor shares his production techniques for cutting and installing crown.
If you don't front-load your payment schedule, you may find that the cash crunch can put you out of business.
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Unless flashed properly, cantilevered deck joists provide a path for rainwater to soak the wall framing. In this story, a specialty remodeler tells how he deals with the consequences.
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We survey the major types of foundation waterproofing, from spray-on to peel-and-stick membranes.
A cabinetmaker describes his system of constructing a custom vintage-look kitchen right on site.
There's more to vinyl windows than meets the eye. Here's an inside look at how they go together - and how you can use them to best advantage.
A remodeler evaluates nine dedicated portable miter-saw stands for versatility, ease of transport, and ability to stand up to hard knocks on the job site.
Building restrictions in California are prompting homeowners who want more space to add on underneath the house. A concrete contractor tells how it's done.
The right-size generator will last longer and extend the life of your expensive tools. Here's what you need to know before you buy.
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A remodeler describes how he created a dormer by jacking up part of an existing roof instead of building it from scratch.
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A builder tells how he uses banks, home equity, subordination agreements, and private investors to get the money to build on spec.
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Code copyrights questioned, research on radiant heating, Solar Decathlon, marketing wheat-straw board, union-funded home mortgages
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California Fix-It Law, truss labeling law, Canadian softwood prices, smoke detector placement, Business Tune-Up
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Fears of a housing "bubble," international code adoptions, smart wiring, recycling Thai railroad ties
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Deck disasters, FBI plumbing inspector sting, California code excludes PEX, builder callback survey, demolition salvage
Liability insurance crisis, construction defects arbitration decision, Roof Tile Institute installation guide, fire resistance of outdoor decking, Business Tune-Up, more
Q. I need to build three pairs of swinging barn doors to fit 8x7 openings. I'm looking for suggestions for a lightweight but sturdy door that won't fall apart. My approach was a sheet of 3/4-inch mdo with an applied 5/4 stile-and-rail effect. My main conc
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Q. To turn a small outbuilding into a living space, I plan to pour a slab floor within the existing 4-foot frostwall foundation. How much and what kind of insulation should I use for the foundation, and where should I place it -- under the slab or next to
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Q. I'm building a custom home for clients who have asthma and allergies. What building details should I pay particular attention to?
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Q. I'm considering using electric radiant heating panels in the ceiling of a small superinsulated apartment, but I hear a lot of bias against electric heat. Can it be cost effective in this case?
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Q. How should a garage slab be sloped for drainage toward the overhead door? At 1/4 inch per foot on a 24x26-foot foundation, the height difference from front to back would be more than 6 inches. Do I need to grade the sand and gravel sub-base at the same slope so the slab can have a uniform 4-inch...
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Q. How is "green board" different from regular drywall? Where is it supposed to be used, and what are its limitations?
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Q. A two-story house I'm working on has a zoned air-conditioning system with ductwork running through the hot attic, and the A/C can't keep the upstairs zone cool on hot, sunny days. What's the best way to cool that attic space down -- add gable vents to the existing soffit and ridge vents setup...
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Q. Is it okay to tile over an old linoleum floor? I'm concerned that the tiles might contain asbestos.
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Q. I was hoping someone could shed some light on EB-TY. I use this product on 80% of the decks I build, and many are one or more stories high. I also live in a heavy snow area. The clips in that system hold the decking to the framing with pressure, not with mechanical fasteners, and I'm concerned...
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Q. We're working on a 120-year-old house that still has its original standing-seam metal roof. A roof painter told the owner that this roof has 50 years of useful life left. Can a metal roof really last 170 years?
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Q. I have to strip off an EPDM roof. Is there anything special I need to know?
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Q. I'm doing some wood siding repairs on a house, and every time I hit the trigger on my chop saw, the lights in the house flicker. The power company says the problem is with the house not their lines. But the lights in the house across the street flicker
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Q. My excavation contractor offered to bury my scrap drywall on site, but I've heard buried gypsum can create a harmful gas. I've also read that it's okay to bury small amounts if you disperse it. Is it okay to bury drywall on site at all, and if so, what
Q. I just replaced the insulating steel and fiberglass door in an entry door assembly with dual sidelights. The new door strikes the jamb near the top on closing, and the clearance along the top is uneven. I tried driving a couple of long screws through t
Q. I'm trying to find plans for cutting a solid door slab and making a Dutch door. Any help would be appreciated.
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Q. I'm using a new floor finisher, who's known as the best in this area. He saw that we had installed oak and ash floors over rosin paper and insisted that we should have used 30-pound felt. He says the rosin paper will degrade over time and won't provide any cushion between the subfloor and the...
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Q. I am having a problem with a shower valve in a bathroom remodeling project. When you turn the water all the way to hot and then back off to around the middle of the temperature range, you get a pulsating water flow from the shower head and severe, loud knocking from the shower pipes in the wall...
Q. The article "A Simple Time & Materials Contract" (11/01) mentions the Residential Construction Performance Guidelines. I have been unsuccessful in finding this book; where can I get it?
Q. Patio covers are standard features of nearly every home built in the Phoenix area. Standard construction is wood frame with a drywall ceiling, taped, textured, and painted. Within ten years, the taping and texturing start to separate from the drywall. Retaping and texturing might make it last a...
LED light bulbs, new tile backer, doorjamb reinforcer, garden window, undercounter computer kit, more
Bucket dolly, pivot-head ratchet wrench, flat speaker wires, retractable plumb bob, toolbox on wheels, more
Router collection, outdoor speakers, elastomeric epoxy, PVC rain diverter, fibrous ridge vent, job-site radio
Cordless impact wrench, wall lift, cold-weather caulk, nonstick shovel, flexible duct, long-tail T-shirt, mini brake
Crawlspace ventilation system, cordless chop saw, adjustable door holder, dormer trim kit, earth-friendly decking, acrylic-block door insert, retrofit shower system, small skid-steer loader, more