Buying a Compact Excavator
Ownership can reduce your dependence on subs and create new sources of revenue, but be sure to consider all the costs. Read more
Fast Box Newel - Fewer Nail Holes
This carpenter-friendly design eliminates most of the nail holes. Read more
Job-Site Safety Lessons
Experience may be the best teacher, but when it comes to matters of job-site safety, sometimes it’s better to learn from someone else’s. Here are 11 cautionary tales from JLC readers. Read more
Habla Espanol?
The ability to communicate in Spanish could become your most valuable job-site tool. Read more
In the News
Helping the homeless in Orange County, Calif.; Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain; second life for old latex paint; Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies annual report; more Read more
Q&A
Fixing a Bowed Basement Wall
Q. A foundation wall in my customer's two-story home has a 2-inch bow in the middle of its 53-foot length and two stress cracks located 10 feet from either end, all probably caused by backfilling while the concrete was still green. As far as I know, no re Read more
Q. The last time I was asked to remove wallpaper and repaint the wall, much of the paper facing on the sheetrock underneath came off, too, resulting in a lot of extra wall prep. What caused this, and what's the best way to prepare drywall for a wallcoveri Read more
Q. My company installs prefinished millwork in a commercial environment, so we rely heavily on MDF-veneered products. Is there a fastener we can use in our pneumatic nailers that will prevent or at least minimize the "mushroom" that occurs when the fasten Read more
Business
Protect Yourself With a Job Journal
In 1988 I went to work for a large commercial-residential electrical contractor. One of the first projects I worked on was a program to document what was happening on site. Read more
Legal
Who Pays When the Design Doesn't Meet Code?
Let's suppose you're hired by a local restaurant to build a deck off the dining room so that customers can eat outside and enjoy the view. Your bid comes in at $30,000, and the owner accepts it. Read more
