While I spend much of my time traveling around the country teaching carpenters and contractors the ins and outs of trim carpentry, I don’t often have the opportunity to work for myself—until recently. I bought a home in the Pacific Northwest and during the remodel, I decided to trim all the windows...
While on a recent trip to Dallas, I had dinner with a friend at an outdoor restaurant. One of topics we discussed was this very article on designing better stairs. I told her that I wanted to make an important point: Often accidents are caused by many conditions—only one of which is the stairs...
We trim most of the composite decks we build with picture-frame borders, in a color that contrasts with the field decking. At the corners of such borders, many deck builders simply cut miter joints, and while these look good at first, they don’t look good for long. As much as composite decking and...
On most projects, HVAC flexible ductwork is located in designated chases that maximize the efficiency of the airflow. But the path for the final branch of the flexible ductwork tree—the one that runs from the trunk or plenum to the outlet register—is typically chosen by the subcontractor. Often,...
