Library builder

Keep your wits about you and pay extra attention to what you’re doing when you’re up on a roof—both to keep yourself safe and to ensure that the integrity of the roof is not compromised. To get on and off the roof, use a good, sturdy ladder that extends 3 ft. above the edge of […]

The temporary catwalk allows you to take a truss from a bundle and move it across the walls. Pull each truss, peak first, and spread it out near its layout mark. Each truss overlaps the previous one like a fallen domino. STEP 2 INSTALL THE GABLE TRUSS The first truss to be installed is the […]

In the dry Southwest, open, exposed rafter tails are preferred. But elsewhere—especially in cold, wet locations—soffits are more popular. Eave soffits are usually vented. There are quite a few ways to frame soffits. The easiest way is to have the truss company extend the joist chord beyond the building line to form a level overhang. […]

be open or closed. For details on different ways to finish off an eave, see the sidebar on p. 117. NUMBER OF TRUSSES. Roof trusses are typically spaced 24 in. o. c. Therefore, if your building is 40 ft. long, you’ll need to order 21 trusses. Two of the trusses will be for the gable […]

A Roof Overhead The walls for our house are up and we now have something to show for our work. At this stage, we can walk through the structure; admire the view through rough window openings; and imagine how the finished siding, painted drywall, and flooring will look. But first, we need to raise the […]

There are many areas in the country where ply­wood or OSB sheathing is required only at exte­rior corners and every 25 ft. along exterior walls. This allows you to install nonstructural sheathing material everywhere else. On this house, we used /fi-in. foam sheathing. The foam board is light and easy to handle, though it can […]

I lived through the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Northridge, California, in 1992. It made me believe in wall sheathing. A 6.8 quake is not a big one, yet a number of people lost their lives. More lives would have been lost if critical areas in buildings had not been sheathed with ply­wood or OSB. The […]

Many builders—even experienced ones—don’t like to spend time plumbing window and door trimmers. But I’ve found that this step really makes a better building. If the door trimmers are plumb, the door’s hinge-side jamb butts solidly against the trimmer along its entire length. There’s no need for shims on this side of the door. That […]

To plumb walls, you can make a plumb stick from any 2-ft. level and a straight 2×4 stud. Even a battered, inaccurate level can be used. Select the straightest stud you can find and nail a 16-in. 1×2 strip onto each end, letting the strips overhang the stud ends by about 3 in. Use some […]

Hold a level or plumb stick in a corner to see whether the bubble is centered in the vial. If not, the wall must be moved laterally. Sometimes a wall can be moved a bit with a bodily shove. If you can push the wall plumb, install a temporary 2x diagonal brace to keep it […]