Don in Winnipeg wanted to make a wooden walkway. He wanted to fan the boards out at the 90 degree corner, but couldn't figure out how to calculate the angle to cut the boards to make them fit.
The first important reflection was that the center point of this fanning out should not be right in the...
NEW CONSTRUCTION
In the interests of health and safety a number of trades are controlled by law, most particularly plumbing and electricity. The degree to which plumbing and electrical work are actually regulated varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance almost all work performed in...
When we are working outdoors we often need to create level lines over long distances. Up to about 8 feet, we can simply tape our regular carpenter's level onto a straight board. But there are many different ways to level over dozens, even hundreds of feet.
The least expensive and most common is ...
Welcome to the Eakes' Origami Guide to the Building Code -- or "how to actually build new flashing requirements in the building code".
Water leaking in around windows and doors represents one of our major construction problems. The building codes seem to be constantly changing in an effort to mi...
Doug from Manilla, Ontario checked this site for basement heating systems: "I read the section? on cold air returns in the basement, however I could not find anything on where hot air vents should be placed. Do they need to be at the floor level or at the ceiling level?"
In the house above the f...
Probably one of the best ways to learn about good and bad building techniques is to work on the renovation or restoration side of the construction picture. Here is where you see the results of everything done before, especially when the results are a failed system. In the world of ceramic, stone ...
Dan wrote in asking what is that little diamond mark on his tape measurer at 19-3/16 inches?
Look further down the tape and you will see it repeated every 19+ inches, always at some imprecise measurement, not really a multiple of 3/16 of an inch. Finally when you get to 8 ...
Chalk lines are used to draw straight lines across large surfaces from about 2 feet to over 20 feet. But it is not always easy to see the line, especially if you are working in the sun, or your saw has a dusting action that blows the chalk away.
Phil from Ottawa sent in the chalkline tip t...
Chris from Toronto, Ontario writes: "In my new house, the light for the hallway has a switch at the bottom of the stairs and again at the top. The stairs are located at the front of the house and the bedroom is at the back. When we go to bed we have to turn on our bedroom light and then walk back...
Cutting crown moldings can be simple and it can be difficult.
First you want to check if the corner you are putting the molding into is in fact 90 degrees. If you don't check that you can get real frustrated with your mitre saw. 88 or 92 degree walls require different mitre cuts.
Over the years...
