Library builder

If you walk down the caulk and sealant aisle at any well-stocked hardware store or home center, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the variety of products available. For quite a few years now, the terms “caulk" and “sealant" have been used interchangeably. In techni­cal terms, sealants are supposed to be more flexible than caulks, […]

Most locales have an energy code that defines how well insulated your house must be. Check with the building inspector in your community for this information. Rather than requiring so many inches of fiberglass or rigid foam, these codes define insulation requirements in terms of R-value, or resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, […]

When you think about sealing a house, remem­ber how much frigid air can go through a small opening in a sweater or a jacket. Even a tiny hole in a woolen mitten can make your finger numb with cold. The same thing can happen in a house. We had single-glazed, double-hung windows in that old […]

Don’t worry; we haven’t suspended our home­building work to look through the L. L. Bean® catalog. But what you already know about sweaters, windbreakers, and raincoats will help you understand the way sealing, insulating, and moisture-protection treatments work together in a house. Start with a sweater and a windbreaker—just what you need to wear on […]

Sealing, Insulating, and Ventilating a House The old house I was born in still stands out there on the prairie. When I was a child, the house was simply unheatable in the wintertime. We defi­nitely spent more dollars trying to heat the house than we did on the mort­gage. Nowadays, the house has new doors […]

Chamfering the tops of railing posts or the ends of beams is a nice finish­ing touch you can add when building a deck or a porch. A plain, square-topped post looks clunky, but in a few minutes’ time you can give the post a more dis­tinguished appearance. All you need is a Speed square and […]

The most difficult part about building any rail­ing is making sure the posts are well secured to the deck or stairs. Remember: People will be leaning against the railings, so make them strong. A post that extends up to the roof fram­ing will be solid and secure. Short posts that support only the railing are […]

To make porch railings and stair handrails both safe and legal, you need to know the basic rules and regulations that dictate how they’re built. The specs here cover most areas of the country, but codes do vary from region to region, so always check with your local building department. ■ In most regions, any […]

If you’re installing wood decking, keep in mind that many boards have a tendency to cup because of their circular grain structure. If you see a curve in the end grain of a board, lay it so the curve forms a hill rather than a valley. Should cupping occur sometime in the future, water will […]

If you’ve done the stair layout and cutting cor­rectly, the stringers should fit against the rim joist (or beam), with the level cut or cleat for the top tread located 71/2 in. down from the top of the deck framing. Snap or mark a line at that level on the rim joist so you can […]