Category RENOVATION 3

The most daunting part of using engineered beams may be the wide selection. Fortunately, lumberyard staff can usually explain the merits of each type and help you determine correct size.

Glulams, or glue-laminated timbers, are the granddaddy of engineered beams. They’ve been used in Europe since the early 1900s. In North America, they’re fabricated from relatively short pieces of dimension lumber (often Douglas fir or southern pine), which is overlapped or finger – jointed, glued, and pressure clamped. Glulams come in stock widths 3% in. to 6% in., but you can obtain them in almost any size or shape, includ­ing curves and arches, as well as pressure treated.

Glulams are expensive, but their stability and strength make them suitable for high loads in clear spans as great as 60 ft. Obviously, you’d need a crane to move such a behemoth.

LVL (Microllam®) is fashioned from thin layers of wood veneer glued together—much like ply­wood, except the wood grain in all LVL layers runs parallel. It’s stronger than sawn lumber or laminated strand lumber of comparable size, though it’s roughly twice the cost of sawn lumber.

LVL is usually milled as planks 114 in. wide, so it’s typically used as rim joists, cantilever joists, or in-floor headers and beams. It’s a good choice for medium-span beams up to 16 ft., and because individual beams are easy to handle, a small crew can join LVL planks on site to create a built-up girder. LVL is available in other widths, from ЗУ2 in. to 512 in. Depths range up to 20 in.

► Disadvantages: LVL can’t be pressure treated and shouldn’t be used on exteriors. If it gets wet, it will cup. For this reason, keep it covered till you’re ready to use it.

PSL (parallel strand lumber, Parallam®) is created from wood fiber strands 2 ft. to 8 ft. long, running parallel, and glued together under tremendous pressure. PSL is the strongest and most expensive of any structural composite lumber.

Standard PSL sizes are 7 in. to 11 in. wide, up to 20 in. deep, and they can be fabricated to vir­tually any length—66 ft. is not uncommon. Because they’re stronger than glulams, PSLs are

built without camber (a curve built-in to antici­pate deflection under load), so they’re easier to align during installation.

PSL beams can be pressure treated and thus can be used outside.

LSL (laminated strand lumber, Timberstrand®) is fabricated from 12-in. wood strands from fast­growing (but weaker) trees, like aspen and poplar, and then glued together in a random manner. Consequently, LSL carries less load than the beams noted previously, and it costs less.

Still, it is stronger than sawn lumber, though more expensive.

LSL is available in 114-in. to 312-in. widths and in depths up to 18 in., but it’s most often used as short lengths in undemanding locations, such as door or window headers, wall plates, studs, and rim joists.

LSL headers are stable, so they’ll probably reduce nail pops and drywall cracks around doors or windows. But for small openings of 10 ft. or less and average loads, sawn-lumber headers are usually more cost-effective.

Like any natural product, standard lumber is quirky. It has knots, holes, and splits. And it twists, cups, and shrinks. As mature old-growth timber was replaced by smaller, inferior trees, lumber quality became less reliable—much to the dismay of builders.

In response, the lumber industry combined wood fiber and strong glues to create engineered lumber (EL), including I-joists, engineered beams, plywood, and particleboard. EL spans greater distances and carries heavier loads than standard lumber of comparable dimensions. In addition, EL won’t shrink and remains straight, stable, strong and—above all—predictable.

Still, EL has two main drawbacks: It’s heavy, so dense that it must often be predrilled, and it costs considerably more than sawn lumber. Even so, EL is here to stay.

TRUSSES

The most common truss is the prefabricated roof truss, which is a large triangular wood frame­work that serves as the roof’s support structure. Its short web-like reinforcing members are fas­tened by steel truss plates. Trusses are lightweight, cheap, quick to install, and strong relative to the distances they span. Thus they eliminate the need for deep-dimensioned traditional roof rafters and complex cutting.

► Advantages: Trusses can be prefabri­cated for almost any roof contour, trucked to the job site, and erected in a few days. In addi­tion, you can route ducts, pipes, and wiring through openings in the webbing—a great advantage in renovation work.

► Disadvantages: Roof trusses leave little living space or storage space in the attic.

Adding kneewalls on the sides will gain some height, but your design options will be limited. Roof trusses should be engineered and factory built and never modified, unless an engineer approves the changes; otherwise, unbalanced loads could cause the trusses—and the roof— to fail.

Floor trusses, on the other hand, are often open webs spaced 24 in. on center. Although their spanning capacities are roughly the same as I-joists of comparable depth, it’s much easier to run ducts, vents, wiring, and plumbing through open-web trusses.

I-JOISTS

I-joists are commonly called TrusJoists®, after a popular brand (now a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser®). Typically, I-joists are plywood or OSB (oriented strand board) webs bolstered by stiff lumber flanges top and bottom, which add strength and prevent lateral bending.

Although I-joists look flimsy, they are stronger than solid-lumber joists of comparable dimen­sions. Whereas solid joists are spaced 16 in. on center, I-joists can be laid out on 19h-in. or 24-in. centers. They are also lightweight, straight, and stable. Floors and ceilings constructed with I-joists stay flat because there’s virtually no I-joist shrinkage; hence almost no drywall cracks, nail pops, or floor squeaks.

Installing I-joists is not much different from installing 2x lumber, but blocking between I-joists is critical. (They must be perfectly perpen­dicular to bear loads.) You can drill larger holes in I-joist webs than you can in solid lumber, but religiously follow manufacturer guidance on hole size and placement. And never cut or nail into I-joist flanges.

D Lumber BUYING

Manufacturers continue to develop more eco­nomical I-joist components. Webs may be ply­wood, particleboard, or LVL (laminated veneer lumber). Flanges have been fabricated from LVL, OSB or—back the future!—solid lumber (2x3s or 2x4s) finger-jointed and glued together. I-joists with wider flanges are less likely to flop and fall over during installation. Plus they offer more sur­face to glue and nail subflooring to.

Each day, a mature living tree can pump a ton of water into the atmosphere, so it’s no surprise that logs arrive at the mill with moisture contents of 30 percent to 55 percent. Consequently, a sawmill will rough-cut logs into lumber, air dry or kiln dry it, and then grade the lumber’s moisture con­tent before planing (surfacing) it.

Moisture content of 15 percent to 19 percent is optimal because that approximates the mois­ture content of ambient air in much of North America, except in the dry U. S. Southwest. Most often, lumber will be marked S-DRY or KD (kiln dried), indicating that its moisture content is 19 percent or less. KD-15 or MC-15 indicates a moisture content of 15 percent or less. Of course, even MC-15 lumber may be sopping wet if rained on during storage or transport. Wood that’s drier than MC-15 (say, 7 percent to 8 percent MC) may be a problem because it could swell after absorb­ing moisture on the job site—unless you live in the Southwest.

Softwoods

Most construction lumber is called softwood, which is the lumber industry’s term for wood from conifers, the needle-leaved evergreens such as pine, fir, spruce, and hemlock. For the most part, these softwoods are softer and less dense than most hardwoods, which come from broad-leaved deciduous trees such as maple, oak, and walnut. That said, some softwoods, namely southern yellow pine, are much harder

A grade mark of S-GRN (surfaced green) indi­cates a moisture content more than 19 percent. Green lumber is hell to work with because it’s heavy (a green 8-ft.-long 2×4 can weigh 40 lb.), likely to distort, and certain to shrink—wreaking havoc with finish surfaces and trim. Thus S-GRN is a risky choice for renovations.

LUMBER SIZES

Lumber’s final size depends on milling processes. In smaller mills, lumber is often sawn, stickered, and allowed to air dry for 4 months to 6 months. If it’s not milled further, it’s called rough-cut lumber. Depending on the accuracy of the sawyer, the size may vary slightly, but the nominal size of, say, a rough-cut 2×4 is usually a full 2 in. by 4 in.

However, most lumber is rough cut and then surfaced (run through a planer to achieve uni­form thickness) before being kiln dried. At each stage, the lumber size decreases. Thus when you order a 2×4 (nominal size), you receive a piece with a 112-in. by 312-in. cross section (actualsize). Still, you pay for the nominal size.

Another way to size wood, especially hard­wood and Select finished woods, is by quarter – inch increments: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4,6/4, and so on. The nominal actual difference is present here, too: For example, a nominal 5/4 stair tread is actually 1 in. thick.

PRESSURE-TREATED LUMBER

Lumber may also be marked as pressure treated. Such wood, after treatment, may be left exposed to weather, used near the foundation, or other­wise subjected to moisture, insects, or extremes of climate. If the wood will remain in contact with the soil, be sure that it is also rated for Ground Contact.

Since the 1940s, roughly 90 percent of all pressure-treated lumber was treated with CCA
(chromated copper arsenate). But the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deter­mined that CCA leaches arsenic into the soil; as a result, industry leaders agreed to stop using that treatment by the end of 2003. More benign types of pressure-treated lumber, such as.40 ACQ (alkaline copper quat) and CBA (copper boron azole) are available. Both biocides are arsenic free.

Whatever lumber treatment you consider, consult its product data sheets for the relative safety of the chemicals used and whatever care you should take when handling, storing, cutting, and applying it. In fact, it’s smart to capture and safely dispose of the sawdust.

ORDERING LUMBER AND CALCULATING BOARD FEET

The price of long thin pieces of wood, such as molding or furring strips, is based on their length, or lineal feet (lin. ft.). Sheet materials such as plywood and composite board are sold by the square foot, which is length times width; sheet thickness affects price, but it is not computed directly. Roofing and siding materials are often sold in squares of 100 sq. ft. Most yard lumber is sold by board feet, according to this formula:

width (in.) x thickness (in.) x length (ft.)

12

In the two examples below, each board contains 1 board foot (bd. ft.):

12 in. x 1 in. x 1 ft.

= 1 bd. ft.

12

6 in. x 2 in. x 1 ft.

= 1 bd. ft.

12

In each of the following two examples, the dimensions given yield 2 bd. ft.:

12 in. x 1 in. x 2 ft.

= 2 bd. ft.

12

2 in. x 4 in. x 3 ft.

————————— = 2 bd. ft.

12

When calculating the total board feet of sever­al pieces of lumber, multiply the numerator (top part) of the fraction by the total number of pieces needed. Thus here’s how to calculate the board feet of 10 pieces of 2-in. by 6-in. by 12-ft. lumber:

2 in. x 6 in. x 12 ft. x 10

= 120 bd. ft.

12

Salvage Lumber

Salvage materials have striking advantages and disadvantages—the major plus being low cost; the major minus being prep time. Salvaging molding, flooring, and other materials from your own home is a good way to match existing mate­
rials, but be picky in selecting materials from other sources.

Reuse centers are popular these days. One example is Habitat for Humanity’s nonprofit stores, which offer tax deductions to donors and savings up to 75 percent off the original price of materials.

However, make sure all materials are struc­turally sound. Be sure to use a pocketknife to test lumber for rot or insects. Also treat with preser­vative any salvaged lumber that you’ll use as sills or that will be exposed to moisture.

Salvage materials usually aren’t worth the effort if they are in small quantities or if, after removing them, you find that they will be too short. Used 2x4s, for example, normally aren’t worth the trouble. By the time you yank them free from plates, remove nails, and cut off split ends, the studs may be only 7 ft. long.

Some materials just aren’t worth removing. For example, siding and other exterior trim is rarely worth saving, for it’s usually old and weather beaten. Barn board, in vogue years ago, is hardly charming when it is half-rotted, warped, and crawling with carpenter ants. If there is any danger of your destroying a piece of salvage by removing it, leave it alone. Parts of many beauti­ful old places that were restorable have been ruined by people who didn’t know what they were doing.

If you have any qualms about the structural strength of a building, stay out of it. Dismantling a building is a special skill, and inexperienced people who undertake the task can get hurt. Perhaps the best advice for would-be users of sal­vage materials is to buy it from a salvage yard. In this case, somebody has already done the dirty and dangerous work of removal.

This chapter of the

materials needed to frame and sheath a house. Materials include standard lumber; engineered lumber; sheet materials, such as plywood and particleboard; and fasteners, including nails, screws, and construction adhesives.

There’s never been a wider choice of building materials or more readily available information on using them, whether you need to size ceiling joists or find an environmentally safe adhesive that can bond frozen lumber. Just type your requirements into a Web site calculator or ask at your lumber supplier for a recommendation. Many related techniques are covered in Chapter 8.

Standard Lumber

Wood is a superb building material. It is strong, economical, and easily worked. Whether as a tree or as lumber, wood can withstand great loads, yet it’s resilient enough to regain its shape when loads are removed. Standard lumber is lumber sawn from logs in the traditional manner; where­as engineered lumber is often an amalgam of peeled, shredded, or reassembled wood pieces and strong adhesives.

LUMBER GRADES

After lumber has been milled, each piece is visu­ally graded according to established performance standards and then stamped. This grade stamp is important because building inspectors won’t approve structures built with unstamped lumber. Otherwise they’d have no way of knowing what loads the wood can support. In brief, grading is based on the presence of warping, knots, holes, decay, or other imperfections that could weaken the lumber and reduce its load-bearing capacity. Generally, dimension lumber grades are based on

strength, appearance, or both. The more imper­fections, the lower the grade.

Grade stamps indicate lumber grade, tree spe­cies, moisture content when the lumber was sur­faced, sawmill, and regional agency certifying the grading standards. Lumber that is stress rated by machine will have additional information.

Structural framing lumber grades run from Select Structural (the best looking and strongest) through No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3. An architect might specify Select Structural 4x8s, for exam­ple, when beams will be exposed in a living room. In most grading systems, No. 1 and No. 2 are

Here’s some standard lumberyard lingo:

► BOARDS are less than 2 in. thick and are used as trim, sheathing, subflooring, battens, doorstops, and such.

► LUMBER (dimension lumber) is 2 in. to 4 in. thick and is used for house framing: studs, posts, joists, beams, headers, rafters, stair carriages, and so on.

► FACTORY OR SHOP LUMBER is wood milled into window casings, trim, and other elements.

► TIMBER is at least 5 in. thick in its smallest dimension.

► STOCK applies to any building material in its unworked form, as it comes from the lumber­yard or mill.

► A STICK is jargon for a piece of lumber, such as a 2×4: "If that stick is too warped, go get another."

equally strong, though No. 1 has fewer cosmetic flaws. Thus if appearance is not a factor, you can order "No. 2 and better” without sacrificing strength. No. 3 is the weakest and least expensive grade in the structural category; you won’t save much by using it, because you’ll have to order larger dimensions to carry the same loads as No. 1 and No. 2 grades.

Light framing lumber, which is used for plates, sills, and blocking, has lower strength require­ments than structural framing members. Light framing members are 4 in. (thick or wide) or less. Grades are Construction (the best), Standard, and Utility. Contractors often order "Standard and better.”

Stud lumber is graded Stud or Economy Stud. In general, avoid Economy grade lumber of any kind. Although okay for temporary use, its inferior quality makes it unreliable in any sus­tained load-bearing situation.

LUMBER SPECIES

Species are denoted by abbreviations such as PP (ponderosa pine), DF (Douglas fir), and HEM (hemlock). Often, manufacturers will group species with similar properties. S-P-F (spruce, pine, fir) is by far the most common Canadian grouping, and HEM-FIR (hemlock-fir) is com­mon throughout the United States. Because lum­ber is heavy and expensive to ship, lumberyard sources tend to be from nearby mills. Since your lumberyard is likely to carry only a mixed stock of sizes and grades, your choice may be limited to what’s on hand.

A 10-in. sliding compound-miter saw is the ulti­mate tool for a wide range of finish work. The extended crosscut length, combined with adjustable angle and bevel settings, allows com­plicated cuts in larger materials such as 6-in. by 6-in. deck posts, 10-in.-wide siding boards, and large crown molding.

POWER PLANERS

Moderately priced and incredibly useful, a power planer can plane down studs to create a flat plane for drywall, trim a little off an exterior door, and quickly cut a slot so the nailing flange of an elec­trical box is flush to the edge of a stud (see the photo on p. 167).

RIGHT-ANGLE DRILL

Renting a h-in. right-angle drill will let you avoid burning out your own drill while roughing in plumbing and electrical runs. The right-angle drill is a godsend in the tight spaces between framing members, and the drill’s long handle gives you more leverage to control the torque of this slow-drilling powerful machine.

When drilling through framing, self-feeding, double-spiral bits clear wood well, but use a hole-cutting bit when bigger holes are required. Whatever bit you use, wear goggles and watch for nails. The better right-angle drills will have a clutch that disengages if the bit meets a certain level of resistance.

PNEUMATIC NAILERS

It may take 20,000 to 30,000 nails just to sheath an average house. Add to that the nails needed

for framing, roofing, and shin­gling, and you can begin to imagine the number of hammer strokes required. Pneumatic nailers, commonly called nail guns, can reduce those strokes to a small fraction.

Control of the workpiece is the other big advantage of these nailers—with a hammer and nail, you need one hand for each. A pneumatic nailer delivers the nails, giving you a free hand to hold a stud or top plate in place. The nail goes in quickly without requiring hammer blows that cause the wood to “drift.”

And unlike hammer heads, pneumatic nailers won’t slip and ding expensive pieces of trim. Consequently, among profession­als, pneumatic finish nailers have all but replaced the hand nailing of door and window casings.

There are framing nailers, finish nailers, and brad nailers (also called pin tackers). These nail­ers are powered by air hoses running to a com­pressor and calibrated by a pressure adjustment on the nailer. Staff at rental companies can explain such adjustments as well as safety fea­tures and correct operation.

Hard hats, safety glasses, and hearing protec­tion are musts.

POWDER-ACTUATED TOOLS

Potentially very dangerous, powder-actuated tools are useful for shooting nails into concrete, as when framing an interior wall on a concrete slab or securing pressure-treated lumber to a founda­tion wall. But such connections need to be non­structural. Engineers specify bolts instead for all structural connections to concrete.

A reputable rental company will demonstrate the tool’s safe use, describe (and rent) safety equipment, answer your questions, and supply appropriate cartridges and drive pins. Some local codes prohibit renting powder-actuated tools to nonprofessionals.

When using this tool, wear safety glasses, hearing protection, and a hard hat.

ROTARY HAMMERS

A rotary hammer is also known as a hammer drill or RotoHammer®, after a brand name. On
the hammer setting, the tool punches as it turns, somewhat like a jackhammer.

Smaller hammer drills (И in.) typically offer two settings: rotation only and hammering with rota­tion. Such drills are adequate to drill small holes in concrete, for anchoring door thresholds to slabs and for predrilling pilot holes for masonry screws.

Larger hammer drills (U2 in.) usually offer only hammering with rotation. If you need to drill dozens of M-in. holes for standard %-in. anchor bolts, this is the tool. Get a model with padded handles as well as vibration reduction.

Wear safety glasses, hearing protection, heavy gloves, and hard hat.

CONCRETE BREAKER AND COMPRESSOR

Whenever you need to replace defective concrete, change the configuration of foundations, or get down to soil level to put in new drainage, rent a concrete breaker (see the photo on p. 215) and special high-volume compressor.

SOIL TAMPER

Use a gasoline-powered soil tamper tool before you pour a concrete slab, lay a brick walk, and so on.

DUMPSTERS

Although you can rent Dumpsters by the day or week, carefully plan (and stick to) demolition schedules so you fill and get Dumpsters removed as quickly as possible. Other people’s debris has a way of filling your Dumpster when it sits too long, so don’t even order one until you’re well into tearout and have accumulated a half week’s worth of debris.

If you’re demolishing masonry, rent a “low boy,” which is a small unit (10 cu. yd.) specially built for the great weight of concrete, brick, and the like. For other jobs, rent the largest size avail­able, usually 20 cu. yd. Be advised that you’ll also pay for the dumping fee the company must pay to your municipality.

Nailer TRIGGERS

Pneumatic nailers have several types of triggers. The safest is a restrictive trigger, which you must squeeze and release to shoot a nail. A second type, a bounce-fire trigger, shoots a nail each time you depress the gun’s nosepiece. Bounce-fire triggers are usually favored for sheathing, which requires a lot of 8d nails (2У2 in. long) spaced relatively close to one another. Until you become accustomed to nailers, restrictive triggers are far safer.

© Disconnect plumbing pipes and electrical cables in areas about to be demolished—and check with a voltage tester to be sure the power’s off. Be methodical and work slowly.

Wrecking bars have differing lengths and end configurations. Most are crowbars with crooked

ends for better leverage. The longer the bar, the better the leverage.

L-bars are wrecking bars with a flat L-shaped end instead of a crook. Drive the L into lumber that’s nailed together and twist the tool to pry the pieces apart.

Flat bars (also called Wonderbar® or handy bars) are the best tool to ease off delicate trim without damaging it. Pry the trim up gradually along its length.

A cat’s paw is the tool of choice if you’re pulling a lot of nails out of framing. It bites into wood pretty deeply, so don’t use this tool on trim.

A small cat’s paw with a punch point is small enough to remove finish nails, and its pointed end doubles as a nail punch.

An 8-in. prybar/nail puller lifts trim gently and pulls finish nails.

MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS

Sawhorses support work at a comfortable height. The metal-leg variety, which nail to lengths of 2×4, are sturdy and easy to collapse and store. Black & Decker’s® Workmate® has an integral clamp in its benchtop; it also folds flat for compact storage and transport.

Electrical and plumbing tools are covered in other chapters. But don’t be without a voltage tester (see the bottom photo on p. 235) to make sure the power’s off, slot and Phillips-head screw­drivers with insulated handles, and needle-nose and lineman’s pliers. And every toolbox should have a
pipe cutter, large and small adjustable open-end wrenches (commonly called Crescent® wrenches), slip-nut pliers, and a pair of pipe wrenches.

Earth tools include round-point shovel, pickax, hatchet or ax, and wheelbarrow.

Tools to Rent

Most contractors own the tools listed in this sec­tion, but occasional users should probably just rent them. The decision depends on how often or how long you may need the tools and how pas­sionate you are about collecting them.

SAFETY, SCAFFOLDING, AND JACKS

Inside or out, scaffolding gives you secure footing and peace of mind. Instead of hanging precari­ously from a ladder, you can concentrate on the task at hand. That said, anyone who’s not com­fortable working at heights, shouldn’t. As one contractor put it, "If it feels unsafe on a roof, it probably is.”

Pipe-frame scaffolding. Have the rental company set up and tear down exterior scaffolding. It takes experience to set scaffolding safely, especially on uneven ground, and units must be attached to the building.

Pipe scaffolding typically consists of two rec­tangular end frames and diagonal braces secured with wing nuts or self-locking cleats. Once the first stage is assembled, the installer adjusts the self-leveling feet until the platform is level.

To raise successive stages, the installer stacks end frames over coupling sleeves and locks the pieces in place with uplift and cotter pins. Addi­tional lock arms may join the bracing. Platforms should be planked their entire width with 2x lumber or metal planks provided by the rental company. Guardrails are a must on all scaffolding. If your platform is 10 ft. or higher, most safety codes require mid-rails and toe boards as well.

Interior scaffolding has rollers that let you move it around a room (see the photo on p. 351). Before you mount a platform, always lock the roller locks, and dismount before unlocking the locks for any reason. It’s unwise to move an unlocked scaffold while someone is atop it.

Ladder jacks. Ladder jacks offer an inexpensive, quickly adjustable setup, which can be safe if both ladders are well footed. Many jack brackets pivot so that scaffolding planks can rest under or over the ladder. Consult the operating instruc­tions supplied with your ladder jacks. In general, avoid platform heights higher than 8 ft.

Pump jacks. Pump jacks work fine when new, but after a few seasons of rain and rust, they often bind, which produces eye-popping free falls

or blind rage, when you’re 15 ft. in the air and the jacks refuse to go up or down. Consequently, most rental pump jacks have been hammered silly for their failings. Granted, such abuse does not improve any equipment, but where the issue is your safety, be wary of rental pump jacks.

LASER LEVELS

Laser levels, ingenious layout devices, are usually too expensive for nonprofessionals; but once you see one in action, you’ll want one. A self-leveling five-beam laser shoots a beam straight up (plumb) and four beams perpendicular to it (and each other). A rotating laser can be mounted to a wall or a tripod, from which it will project a level reference line all around the room, which is invaluable if you’re setting cabinets.

Magnetic bit holders magnetize drill bits so screws don’t fall off the bit. Some types also have a collet that keeps the screw centered as you drive them in.

Extension bit holders enable you to drive screws where drill/drivers won’t fit.

Flexible bit holders drive screws at angles drill/drivers can’t reach.

Drill bit extensions enable you to drill deeper with the bits you’ve got.

A ratchet-handle bit driver can turn Phillips – or

hex-head screws in tight spaces. They’re also
great for turning the leveling devices on refrigera­tor legs.

A stubby screwdriver has a reversible bit: one side Phillips-head, the other slotted.

A 4-in-1 screwdriver is the screwdriver to own, if you have only one.

Allen wrenches tighten Allen screws on a lot of tools, including drill bit extensions.

CLAMPS

Quick-release bar clamps are a second set of hands on the job site. Use them to hold work to a bench, temporarily join two boards, align stair balusters, or mock up rafter pairs. Their rubber jaws won’t mar surfaces on fine work.

Standard bar clamps slide jaws to approximate position and use a threaded handle to draw mate­rials tight. They’re a little slower than quick – release clamps, but they apply more force.

Spring clamps are the quickest to operate for relatively thin materials that don’t require an especially tight a grip.

Hand screws apply even pressure to a relatively broad area. Excellent for gluing, they hold work well and won’t damage wood. Open and close such clamps with two hands rotating, almost like pedaling a bicycle.

C-clamps apply a very strong force and are espe­cially suitable when the workpiece absolutely mustn’t move. Insert scrap wood between the jaws and workpiece to protect it from jaw damage.

PLIERS AND CUTTERS

Slip-joint pliers are Old Reliables. Our grand­fathers used the same design.

Channelock® slip-joint pliers have long, offset handles and jaws that open wide for the slip-nut under the kitchen sink.. .or wherever.

Vise-Grip® pliers have an adjustable tension mechanism that lets you lock the tool’s jaws on work, such as stripped screws. They can double as a temporary clamp, but don’t overtighten.

Side cutters are designed to cut wire or small nail shanks. But they’re also great nail pullers if you don’t squeeze too hard.

Lineman’s pliers are an electri­cian’s mainstay, great for twist­ing and cutting wire.

Aviation snips, also known as tinsips, cut sheet metal; use them for flashing and duct work.

HAMMERS

Choose a hammer with a grip and weight that feel right for you. Bigger heads and longer handles can deliver greater impacts when nailing and so require fewer swings to drive nails. But they also require greater torquing force from you and so may cause tendonitis.

Twenty-six-ounce framing hammers are as big as anyone needs. Titanium framing ham­mers are in vogue these days because they transfer less shock to your arm, though more to your wallet.

Twenty-ounce framing ham­mers are light enough to double as trim hammers. But, truth is, pros prefer trim guns (pneumatic nailers) for finish work because they free-up one hand to steady the work and don’t ding the trim, like hammers do.

Sixteen-ounce finish hammers are fine for a small amount of trim.

Hand sledges are handy for knocking shoring or partitions a few inches over and for breaking loose stubborn foundation forms.

Hammer tackers are a quick way to staple building paper, insulation, and sheet plastic (see the photo on p. 68).

Power tools can do a lot, but you often need a hand tool to finish the job.

Chisels clean up the corners of a hinge mortise that a router can’t reach and quickly notch plates so washers sit flush. Be sure to sheathe cutting edges so they stay sharp and don’t cut you when you reach for them.

Mallets can strike chisels without damaging their handles.

Utility knives are indispensable. Quick-blade- change knives dispense fresh blades so you don’t need to unscrew the knife’s body. Don’t use knives with cheap, snap-off blades (often sold at stationery or office-supply stores) to cut construction materials; such blades can break unexpectedly and injure you.

Rat-tail files smooth and enlarge holes and cre­ate an oval slot after two holes are drilled close to each other.

Flat files take burrs off newly cut bolts and the like, so you can start a washer.

Four-in-one rasps contain two flat and two curved rasps in one wood-shaping tool.

Block planes shave off tiny amounts of wood from door edges, casings, and other thin stock, allowing tight, final fits of materials.

Bullnose planes can fine-shave wood edges in tight places. Bullnose blades are the same width as plane shoes. You can remove the bullnose front piece, allowing you to plane right up to the juncture of an adjoining piece.

Bahco® by Snap-On®, carbide scrapers are

not intended to shape wood, but their blades are so sharp that you can. Instead use them to remove dried putty or excess Bondo™ or to clean up the spurs of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) that screws sometimes kick up.

DRILLS

A %-in. cordless drill is a must. These days, builders use screws to install almost everything from exterior trim to decks and drywall. You can get more voltage and bigger chucks, but this size has a good weight to power ratio. Get a reversible, variable-speed model with a keyless chuck, adjustable clutch, and an extra battery.

A WELL-KEPT

Though little known, cordless impact drivers do almost everything a cordless drill or driver does —and better. Unlike drills, impact drivers have col­lets that receive only hex-drive bits, sockets, and the like. But that’s an advantage: Hex-head screw bits won’t slip out of screws and crash into finish surfaces. And impact drivers have twice as much power as drill/drivers of the same size because the tool delivers its torque in intermittent pulses. Thus you can drive 4-in. wood screws or ^-in. lag bolts without needing to lean into the tool, as you must with most drills. This is a real plus for anyone prone to wrist strain. Impact drivers are a bit slower and noisier than drills, but that’s a small price to pay.

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A %-in., corded, pistol-grip drill has the sus­tained run-time that cordless drills lack, more power, and a side handle to help you control its torque. It drills 1-in. or l^-in. holes easily, but use a /2-in. right-angle drill if you’re roughing in plumbing systems.

A %-in. close-quarter cordless drill is best for tight spaces like cabinet interiors. Its right-angle configuration extends your reach when you are hanging upper cabinets.

DRILL BITS

A standard drill nest contains Иб-in. to J4-in. twist drill bits. From there, you’re on your own. The following specialized bits are quite useful.

Vix® bits have spring-loaded drives that accu­rately center holes predrilled for hinges, striker plates, window pulls, etc.

Self-feeding auger bits drill through posts for bolts and through wall plates for hold-downs. A 12-in. by!4-in. auger doubles as an exploratory bit.

Hole saws drill large-diameter holes in finish materials such as doors and countertops. The pilot bit in the middle emerges on the backside first, so you can retract the bit and center it to finish drilling from the other side. This lets you avoid wood “bust-through,” splintering backsides.

A plumber’s bit is a wide, self-feeding auger bit good for rough-in framing work.

Reamers are tapered bits that enlarge an exist­ing hole in metal or wood.

Large twist drill bits, also called aircraft bits, are best suited for drilling metal.

The following inexpensive handsaws are handy to have:

Coping saws cut curves into any thin stock, although their primary use is coping trim so intersecting pieces fit snugly. They take both metal – and wood-cutting blades.

A hacksaw is most often used to cut metal, espe­cially bolts or nails. Sawblades will last longer if you use the full length of the blade.

A Japanese saw cuts on the pull stroke. Its thin, flexible blade is perfect for cutting flush shims and other thin stock. Most are two-sided, with rip and crosscut teeth.

A handsaw is still worth having in your toolbox, preferably a 10-pt. crosscut saw. Even if you depend primarily on a circular saw, a handsaw is handy for finishing cuts that don’t go all the way through a rafter or joist.

A dovetail saw makes clean crosscuts in small molding, doorstops, and casing beads.

A keyhole saw can cut holes in drywall for electrical boxes, without predrilling.

ROUTERS

Full-size routers are probably too expensive for casual remod­elers, but trim routers and rotary tools are versatile and reasonably priced. Safety gog­gles are a must with any router.

Laminate trimmers are also called trim routers. In addition to trimming laminate edges, these lightweight routers are great for mortising door hinges and strike plates.

Plunge routers can lower to precise depths in the middle of a workpiece, making them ideal for wood joinery, edge shaping, mortising door hinges, and so on.

Dremel™, variable-speed rotary tools can

dislodge tired tile grout and remove stubborn

Cordless

paint from beaded or ornate woodwork. There are hundreds of specialized accessories for this tool.

A plumb bob takes patience to use, but it’s a compact, accurate tool. The plumbed string is also a useful reference line you can measure out from. The Gammon Reel® shown in the photo on the next page automatically reels in the string so it can’t tangle up in a tool pouch.

A 4-ft. spirit level is a good, all-purpose level, long enough to level accurately across joists, check for level and plumb of door and window casings, and so on.

A 2-ft. spirit level enables you to level window sills, door head jambs, and other tight spaces where a 4-ft. level won’t fit.

A standard torpedo level is small and fits into a tool pouch. Though it’s not as accurate as a longer level, it’s good for a quick reference in

tight spaces. Magnetic versions can stick to cast – iron pipe.

A torpedo level with a laser has the same limi­tations as any torpedo level, but its laser allows plumbers to set the tool on a pipe that’s pitched correctly and extend that pitch (indefinitely) to other pipe sections.

POWER SAWS

Circular saws are generally characterized as either worm-drives or sidewinders and are often called Skilsaws®, the name of a popular brand.

Among professional builders, especially on the West Coast, worm-drive circular saws are favored for cutting framing lumber. They tend to have bigger motors and more torque. They also spin slower, bind less, and run quieter than sidewinders. If you’re right-handed, worm-drive saws make it easier to see the line you’re cutting.

Sidewinders are generally lighter and more compact, so they’re easier to handle and a good choice for the occasional builder. But because the blade is turning at 90° to the motor shaft, it is more likely to bind if your cut wanders off the line. For that reason, a rip fence is a nice accessory.

Beam saws are called "sidewinders on steroids” because they can accommodate 10-in. blades that cut smoothly through 4x lumber in one pass. It’s not a must-buy item, but wow, what a tool!

For circular-saw blades in general, the more teeth, the smoother the cut. If you buy just one, make it carbide tipped; it will stay sharp far longer and give cleaner cuts. There are specialty blades for almost anything you’d want to cut: tile, concrete, metal, and wet or pressure-treated lum­ber (has a Teflon™ coating). Remodelers’ blades cut through wood and the occasional nail with­out being damaged.

A reciprocating saw, also called a Sawzall® after a popular make, is the indispensable demo­lition saw. A marvel in tight spaces, it can remove old pipes, cut through studs or joists or, with a bimetal blade, cut through nails and studs in one pass. (Blades break, so get extras.) A “recip” saw is also useful in new construction to notch studs for pipes, cut plywood nailed over rough open­ings for windows and doors, and so on.

Jigsaws, sometimes called saber saws, are useful for notches, curving cuts, and odd-shaped holes. Typical uses include cutting out holes for sinks in countertops and holes in cabinet backs so pipes or ducts can pass through. The blades are thin and prone to snap, so buy extras.