Mila from Ottawa, Ontario writes: "We are buying a new home and have a choice of 2" x 10" solid wood kiln-dried joists or "Trust Joists" (JLE) Pre-engineered floor system. If you were buying a house for yourself -- which would you choose?"I just love it when people try to nail me down like that,...
Most of you are aware that metal connectors are often used to hold things together in a house, much more than in the good old days. The most common one that most people can see in relatively new basements, even decks, is the joist hanger you see in the second photo. Rather than having to sit th...
If a 6x6 or 4x4 wants to twist, it will do so and you can do little to stop it. However you can decide which end will twist!Buried pillarsIf you bury the 6x6 into a concrete pillar, the bottom will be fixed and the top will move, perhaps before you get around to locking in the rest of the deck f...
Just a few math answers to common renovation questions.How far should steps go up (rise) and how wide should steps be (run)? The rise should not be less than 4 inches or you will stumble on it, nor more than 9 inches or it becomes a ladder. Then within those limits, the rise times the run should...
When you toenail a board, it tends to move over away from its designated mark, whether your toe is in place to stop it or not.Try putting your board on it's mark.Place a prybar on the other side of the board as shown in the photo and give it a good whack.The second photo shows how the ears will b...
Judy, the true answer is NO, but you can make it look like you have not put in a beam. Do you like that?Take a look at the photo. Here they show using joist hangers and a "flush beam" that is up in the attic and not taking up headroom in the room below.Whenever changing the structure in your ho...
The water content of a piece of wood can be measured with the use of an instrument called a hygrostat. It has two sharp probes which penetrate the wood and measure the electrical resistance between the two probes. This is translated into % of saturation of the wood. 100% would be dripping wet ...
Gord from Elliot Lake, Ontario asks: "What is the best way to fasten baseboards when you have metal studs and base plates?"Often workers will add a piece of wood into the floor track to allow for nailing of the floor boards. If you don't want to double up material like that, then you should use ...
32-1/2 inches.The rough framing should be 2-1/2 inches wider than the door itself. That leaves room for the 3/4 inch finish frame on each side of the door, and then 1/2 inch on each side for the shims between the finish frame and the rough frame.There are some tricks for building frames into new ...
Certain parts of Canada, particularly in the Winnipeg region, have a traditional construction technique that presents serious challenges when you want to insulate a basement -- the ends of the joists are actually embedded in the concrete foundation wall. Chris, from Winnipeg, asked for some f...
