Library builder

There are two basic types of stringers for stairs. Cut, or open, stringers have square cutouts to support treads and risers. Closed stringers use cleats rather than cutouts to support treads. To give a deck or porch stairway a trim look, I like to use closed stringers on the sides. Cut stringers must be used […]

I taught night school at a community college for 20 or so years. My students were apprentice carpenters learning how to build houses. Often, students were hesitant to take on the task of building stairs because of the presumed diffi­culty. It came as a surprise to most of them that building stairs—especially a simple, straight […]

On a house built over a basement or crawl space, a deck or porch can be attached to the house frame. Deck building then becomes a lot like framing a floor-joist system inside a house (see Chapter 3). Step one in this process is to attach a ledger to the house frame. Straight, level, and […]

In many house designs, a section of the main roof extends over the porch. To complete theinstallation of the roof trusses, roofing material, and exterior trim, the truss support beams over the porch must be cut and fastened to the wall framing. As shown in the illustration above, each beam rests in a pocket formed […]

Basic Design for Porches, Decks, and Landings The porches on Habitat houses are among their nicest features. All Habitat houses have a covered porch of some sort. On the Charlotte house, there’s a small porch tucked underneath the main roof, sheltering the main entry door. The side door has a landing that could grow into […]

Gutters are sometimes required by code. When com­bined with downspouts and their associated fittings, gutters help keep water away from the foundation, pre­venting serious erosion and reducing water accumula­tion under the house. Gutters, downspouts, attachment hardware, and other components are available at most building-supply outlets. Also, consider buying and installing gutter guards, especially if there […]

Combining an enclosed soffit with a gable-end roof overhang means that you need to con­struct a boxed return. The return creates the nailing surfaces required to bring the soffit and fascia trim around the corner of the house. Here’s how to do the job: 1. Use 2x lumber to make the framing for the boxed […]

Vinyl soffit material has small holes to allow air to enter freely. Before attaching this material along eave walls, make sure that all the baffles between rafters are in place to keep insulation out of the eaves and allow airflow into the attic. On this house, we cut the vinyl soffit sections into short lengths […]

The last piece of siding at the top of an eave wall can be fastened in different ways. If the eaves will be left open, use strips of undersill trim and cut and fasten the final panel in the same way as the one under the window. If the eaves will be closed with soffit […]

Precise cutouts are sometimes required for certain situations, such as fitting siding panels over vents or electrical outlet boxes. Careful layout is the key here. 1. Place the siding panel directly below where it will be in­stalled. Mark where the sides of the box hit the panel. 2. Reposition the panel to one side of […]