Here’s what happens: You imagine a solid brick wall in your head, then find yourself standing in front of an empty swath of land. Seems … Read More

A wall that stops just shy of a window opening will trigger a bout of standing-on-scaffolding-without-a-wall-to-hold-onto panic. This typically occurs when math was done by … Read More

While it might appear smooth from across the room, up-close you’ll see ridges on drywall. Typicaly that’s not due to bad taping but rather poor … Read More

When installing a drop ceiling, lifting heavy panel is no problem. Half of this job are the ceiling itself, and the other half is the … Read More

The problem is that when you calculate how many boards you will need, it’s under ideal circumstances. In real life those ideal circumstances don’t happen. … Read More

The panic: You’re standing in front of a stack of lumber, holding your list of measurements, and there’s something about seeing all those 2 x … Read More

It looks clean. It is also a pain in the rear-end if you don’t do your math correcty on one. The math isn’t really hard, … Read More

So you get started building a pergola. Select strong posts. Pretty beams. You might also add some nice lighting. First rain falls. Oh no, your … Read More

Go out and look at some of those Midwestern or New England barns. Notice how the roofline seem almost too generous for its frame. Side … Read More

Building walls doesn’t demand complex engineering knowledge, just an even pace. A rhythm: set mortar, tap in unit, verify level, repeat. Until you discover you … Read More