Every carpenter should know that when you buy a new chisel or hand plane it’s not razor sharp out of the box — you have to sharpen it before using it. Well, the same is true for miter saws. They don’t come from the factory in perfect tune.

Besides, after you’ve dragged your saw in and out of the truck a few dozen times, or jammed heavy stock against the fence, or maybe even had it flip off the back of a saw stand — or a tailgate — all those precise adjustments can get seriously out of whack. If you’ve noticed joints not quite closing up for you lately, it’s probably time to tune up your saw. Here are a few tricks to get that big investment dialed in just right.

Blade considerations

Setting up a saw properly isn’t possible with a dull or bent blade. Deal with that first. If you don’t have a fresh blade, get a new one and install it before going any further. But which blade should you buy?

Do not use the same blade in your miter saw that you use in your table saw. Ripping and crosscutting blades have different grinds. For the miter saw, I prefer a thin kerf crosscutting blade with 60 teeth or less. This type of blade often comes on new saws. My reasons for this preference are:

1. They produce less friction, requiring less motor power.
2. These blades cut just as straight and flat as a 500-tooth Hackaboard. (Straight and flat are the most important requirements in finish work. I rarely need glassy smooth end grain that a 90-tooth blade might produce.)

Next, I frequently use both the chop saw and the sliding saw to cut with the grain, and these blades do that job best. And last, when these blades are sharp, they don’t flutter on a plunge cut any more than a 1/8-in. thick blade with 100 teeth. However, many carpenters choose thicker miter saw blades with the maximum number of teeth, 80 or more for a 10 in. or a 12 in. blade.

Manufacturers that seem to dominate the field of blade making are Forrest, Tenryu, Freud, Amana, and Ridge, to name a few. Plus, nearly all saw manufacturers offer their own brand of upgraded industrial blades. Once you’ve put a good blade on the saw, do some basic checks before you cut into that walnut mantle shelf.

Check the table

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A machine shop checks a surface for straight and flat with a machinist’s straight edge or surface plate, and those tools can be expensive. However, a good framing square is adequate for checking the table and fence of a miter saw. Put the framing square edge down on the saw table to make sure it’s flat. You can use various types of paper to measure for irregularities. An index card is eight thousandths (.008) of an inch thick; notebook paper is .004 in. thick; and paper from the phone book is .002 in. thick.

I should mention that it’s unlikely that your saw table is out of flat, because modern saws are well supported at their centers. But if a strip of notebook paper can slide under the framing square blade, you may need to make some adjustments so that vertical cuts can be dialed in perfectly later on. If a piece of cardboard fits under the blade, then adjusting the saw head to cut square on either side of the table will be impossible.

There are two possible ways to flatten a sway back table. You either scrape it flat, or flip the saw over onto parallels and straighten the table on a press. Scraping is a job that requires special tools and skills. Pressing to flatten a saw table should be done in very small increments and with great care. Cast aluminum will break. If the space under the straight edge is more than .010 in. (thicker than an index card), you may just want to take the saw to a repair shop and have them flatten it.

Straighten the fence next

After confirming that the saw table is flat, check the fence next. A bowed fence is the most common reason that a miter saw doesn’t make accurate cuts.

Using a framing square and a piece of telephone book paper as a feeler gauge, press the paper against the fence with the square. You shouldn’t be able to withdraw the paper anywhere from one side to the other (see video, below). If there is a gap, you need to adjust the fence. I shoot for perfect with this operation.

To straighten a two-piece fence, loosen the screw closest to the gap and tap or pry the fence lightly towards the framing square. Stop when the two sides of the fence align, and snug the screw. Check the entire fence again as before, and then tighten the screw firmly.

To straighten a one-piece fence, loosen the screws closest to the gap and use a pry bar to straighten the fence. Keep tension on the pry bar as you tighten the screws. An extra person is a big help with this procedure. By yourself, you have to hold the bar in position, drop the straight edge, pick up the wrench and tighten the screw. It can be a real juggling act and you may have to do it two or three times to get it right.

A word about calipers

Calipers are very inexpensive these days, both dial and digital. Whether you are working with metal or wood, calipers can help you do very fine work. When you’re sizing the depth and width of dados and grooves, nothing works as well as calipers. Working in “thousandths of an inch” may sound funny to some carpenters, but it can save a lot of frustration and time in the long run. Besides, most routers have micro-fine adjustment knobs that operate in those tolerances. For miter saw adjustment, calipers can tell you precisely how much tweaking you need to do. You don’t have to own calipers to adjust your miter saw — unless you want it to be dead accurate.

Calibrating the miter gauge

Many carpenters make their living with miter saws that don’t cut accurately. While the “keep cutting ‘til it fits” method might work, it can waste a lot of time and produce a lot of sawdust. If a saw is adjusted perfectly, assembly time is reduced, and the enjoyment and pride of our craft is increased. Most of us chose the finish carpentry profession because of the pleasure of tightly fitting pieces together to beautify and complete a living space. Working with tools that don’t perform accurately can frustrate that process. To adjust a miter saw for precise miters, begin by squaring the blade to the fence.

A quick check

To check if your saw is cutting square to the fence, start with the widest piece of stock you can crosscut with your saw. The longer the cut, the greater the accuracy of the measurement. Plywood or MDF will work just fine for this test.

For a quick rough check, hold the piece snug against the fence on one side of the saw, and trim a little off (see photo, left). Then, with the same edge against the fence, flip the piece over to the opposite side so that the bottom is facing up. Lock the saw head down so that the teeth are below the saw base. You’ll probably have to use a bungee cord to pull the saw down far enough. Then slide the cut edge of the board up to the blade. It should touch the blade along its entire length.

If there is a gap in the front or the back of the cut, the adjustment you need to make to square the saw is only half of that space. So be conservative as you make the adjustment. What may seem to be a tiny adjustment can send the cut past square in the opposite direction.

A closer examination

To find out exactly how much the saw is off, you have to use calipers. Start by making the same initial cut described above, but when you flip the stock to the opposite side, cut off a piece about 1/2 in. wide.

Keeping the cutoff correctly oriented to the saw fence, measure the width of the cutoff closest to the fence, which is .479 in. in this example.
Next, measure the other end of the cut, which is .436 in. The difference equals .043 in. Divide that sum by 2 (because two cuts were made), and the resulting .022 in. represents the error in the saw of over 1/64 in.

My DeWalt produced a piece that was off by .010 in., meaning that each cut would be out of square by .005 in. in a full length cut. Five thousandths of an inch might not sound like much, but a gap that size in a mitered casing joint is visible from four feet away.

Four-cut calculation

For those of you who are after even greater readings, Festool describes a four-cut calculation method in the instructional PDF for testing the accuracy of their Kapex saw. Instead of the two cuts used above, four cuts are made on a piece of stock.

The final cutoff is measured, and the difference is divided by 4 instead of 2, hypothetically quadrupling the accuracy of the measurement. Festool also has a mathematical formula in their online instruction manual. You can plug in the measurements from your final cut, hit the ‘Calculate’ button, the find out exactly how much to adjust the angle and in what direction. But here’s a bit of irony: All of these careful measurements and formulas only determine the amount of error in the saw. Adjusting a saw (even the pricey Festool) is far less precise than these testing methods!

Adjustment is trial and error

Now that you know exactly how much to adjust your saw, it’s time for a little or a lot of trial-and-error — how much depends on your idea of perfection. Like I said earlier: the testing method is a lot more accurate than the adjustment system. No manufacturer yet that has come out with a mechanically controlled method for adjusting the miter cut on their saw. In other words, we can measure tolerances all day long, but no saw that I’ve ever seen has a micro-fine adjustment knob or screw to dial in those tolerances. Tight-tolerance adjustments just aren’t easy.

When it comes to adjusting the miter gauge on a saw, I know of only two types of miter saws: those that have movable fences, and those that have movable miter scales — move the scale and you move the saw head in relation to the fence.

Movable fence adjustment

The miter gauge on the Bosch miter saw doesn’t move — it’s cast into the base of the saw, along with the detent positions (see photo, right). To calibrate the angle, you have to move the fence. A good machinist’s square can make fence adjustments easier. In fact, some saw manufacturers, such as Milwaukee, say that a square gets the saw as precise as it needs to be. Still, a machinist’s square can get you close enough for making initial test cuts.

First, make sure the saw is secured in the 90° detent, then lock the head down with the teeth on the blade below the base of the saw. If the transport position isn’t low enough, use a bungee cord to pull the saw head down (see photo, left).

Fig. 10 (Click to enlarge)

Slightly loosen the screws securing the fence, but leave them snug, so that the fence won’t move with your fingers. Press the square tight to the fence and place your feeler gauge (a piece of phone book paper) between the back side of the blade and the square (see Fig. 10).

Fig. 11 (Click to enlarge)

Without moving the square, check the front side. Adjust the fence by tapping it lightly with a rubber mallet so that the feeler gauge rubs the same at both the front and back of the blade (see Fig. 11). When you’ve squared the blade to the fence, lift the saw head and check to make sure the fence hasn’t bowed from the squaring process. If it has, re-straighten the fence, and adjust the miter angle again. Repeat the process until the fence is straight, as well as square, to the saw blade.

Miter scale adjustment

For a saw with a movable miter scale, swing the saw head until the it clicks into the 90° detent. But don’t lock the handle down, or the scale might not move. With this type of system, the actual scale has the detents that hold the saw head in position. So moving the scale moves the saw head in relation to fence.

Any movement of the miter scale must be incremental and controlled. The slots for the screws that secure the miter scale are elongated to allow for a lot of adjustment parallel to the fence. But with many saws, there is enough play for the scale to move perpendicular to the fence as well. It doesn’t take much movement to throw off the 45° miter even when the 90° miter is right on.

To keep track of the scale position, stick a piece of masking tape on the saw at both ends of the scale, then index the scale to the tape with a fine line.
Once the screws are loose, move the scale by tapping the miter handle gently with a soft mallet.

With my DeWalt miter saw, I loosened the scale plate just enough to pry it over with a screwdriver (see below).

Then I made another test cut using the two-cut method. It took me 6 tries before I could get the error down to a .004 in. difference, near perfect for an 8-in. crosscut in wood. That meant that each cut was out of square by only .002 in 8 in., or .001 in 4 in. — more accurate than a framing square.

45° Miters

After adjusting your scale plate, always check that the saw is cutting perfect 45° miters, too. To check for perfect 45s, rip a piece of 1/4 plywood or MDF. You could use thicker stock, but it will offer more resistance as it’s being cut. The ripping should be perfectly straight, and as wide as you can miter.

Lock the miter at 45° to the right, and cut four pieces long enough to allow for a left hand miter. Set the saw at 45° to the left, then stack and cut the pieces in the same order as you cut the left hand miters. When the pieces are assembled you should have no gaps.

If you do have gaps in the miters, and if your saw has an adjustable miter scale, loosen the outer mounting screws and push or pull the scale toward or away from the fence to adjust the 45° miter without messing with the 90° cut. If the plate doesn’t have enough wiggle room, you can file the screw slot, but personally, I don’t care enough to do that.

If your saw doesn’t have an adjustable scale, you may have to adjust the miter each time you cut. This only matters when you are doing broad miters such as big casings, or landing treads, or any other wide pieces mitered on the flat.

Calibrating the bevel

Adjusting the bevel angle can be a little tricky on some saws, while on others, it’s actually easier than calibrating the miter. Like the miter adjustment, I start by squaring the bevel to the table. For some carpenters, and some manufacturers such as Milwaukee, that’s perfection enough. But for others, that’s just the beginning. The two-cut and four-cut testing methods work just as well in the vertical for checking the bevel as they did on the flat for the miter.

First, lock the saw head down, so the teeth of the blade are beneath the saw base. Then hold a good square against the saw table, just touching the blade so it doesn’t deflect. (Remember, the table must be flat.) Use a sheet of phone book paper as a feeler gauge to ensure that the blade is parallel to the square, and adjust the bevel as necessary.

Each saw has a slightly different mechanism for calibrating the bevel. Here are a few of them, but you should check the manual that came with your saw for precise instructions. If you threw away the manual, most tool companies provide manuals you can download from their websites.

DEWALT

Fig. 15

Of all the miter saws I’ve used, DeWalt seems to have the most pragmatic and intuitive adjustment features. To adjust the bevel on the model 706 DeWalt saw in this article, I worked with three separate bolts: one for the 90° detent, and one for each of the 45° stops on either side of the saw. The bolts are very easy to access and the process is straightforward.

The 90° adjustment bolt is located on the top of the bevel hub. Simply turn that bolt clockwise and the blade tips to the left; turn that bolt counter clockwise, and the blade tips to the right (see Fig. 15). To adjust the 45° degree stops, just back out the stop bolts, or thread them in deeper.

MILWAUKEE

On the Milwaukee saw, first remove the dust chute.

Next, move the bevel adjustment lever to the middle position and wedge the lever in place with a screwdriver or small prybar.
Loosen the two screws on the front of the bevel arm. The wrench supplied with the saw fits these torx-head screws, but the handle doesn’t have enough leverage, so you’ll need a socket set. You’ll also need a T25 torx wrench for the bevel adjustment screw.
Once the screws are loose, use the T25 wrench to adjust the bevel setting: Clockwise tilts the blade to the right, counterclockwise tilts the blade to the left.

Here’s something to consider: if a screw has 20 threads per inch, it advances .012 in. for every quarter turn. So a little goes a long way with these adjustments.

BOSCH

Adjusting the Bosch saw is similar to the first two. Before you start, back out the main depth-stop screw so the blade can drop below the throat guard, then remove the back cover to view all the adjustment bolts — and the adjustment tools.

Before touching any of the adjustment bolts, lift the bevel lock lever and set the saw in the 90° detent. Now loosen the bolts labeled A and B in the photo below.

The wrench supplied with the saw works, but it’s easier with a 10-mm socket.

Next, loosen the set screw labeled D using the 4-mm Allen wrench supplied with the saw. Back out the screw at least three full turns.

Now rotating bolt C clockwise tips the top of the blade to the left.
When the blade aligns with your square, tighten set screw D, and go back and tighten bolts A and B.
Finally, adjust the right bevel stop at 45° using the Allen wrench supplied with the saw. That adjustment screw is on the lower end of the saw arm.

FESTOOL KAPEX

Adjusting Festool’s Kapex saw is a bit different. The Kapex isn’t equipped with a micro-fine bevel adjustment bolt or screw, which means that dialing in the tool isn’t nearly as accurate as the 4-cut calibration test they suggest. But there is a work around.

Start by locking down the bevel in the 90° detent. Next, loosen the two adjustment screws at the back of the motor. I found it easiest to remove the cord reel. You can even use the wrench supplied with the saw (see photo, left). Festool suggests two ways to adjust the saw: You can move the entire head or just the bevel plate. To move the entire head, keep the bevel locked in the 90° detent. To move just the plate, release the bevel lock lever.

Because there is no micro-fine adjustment bolt on this saw, the head and plate move freely, making it very tough to dial in a fine adjustment. But here’s a solution: Before loosening the two adjustment screws, cut two perfectly square pieces of stock. If you’ve adjusted the miter angle first, you can cut those blocks on the flat.

Clamp one block against the miter saw fence while sliding it snugly against the blade. Get the other block and clamp ready for the opposite side. Then loosen the two adjustment screws. Wiggle the saw head a little until the blade is flat against the first block. Now clamp the second block against the opposite side of the blade, tapping it gently to trap the blade between the blocks. When the blade is secured in a perfectly square position, tighten the two adjustment screws, then check your cuts again using the two-cut or four-cut testing method. Once more, trial and error is the only way to further refine the adjustments. With patience, you can dial in the bevel angle even closer.

Know your saw

When it comes to miter saws, the best piece of advice I can offer any carpenter is: Know Your Saw. When the saw cuts a perfectly square bevel, but the miters aren’t perfect, you may have to make miter adjustments each time you use the saw. Knowing your saw means practicing and perfecting your miter saw tune-up procedure.

One additional problem you may encounter with a miter saw — and especially a sliding saw — is blade tracking. The saw blade must be perfectly parallel with the rods. If not, the trailing edge of a saw blade will cut a little more wood as it passes through the kerf. The same type of problem can show up while doing tall plunge cuts with a standard miter saw. If the blade plate rubs and burns wood at the top of the cut, then the blade is not in the same plane as the arc of the saw head. But professional saws are machined on CNC equipment that maintains tolerances within .0005 (five ten thousandths!) of an inch. If your saw isn’t tracking perfectly, then it’s likely something happened to the saw after you bought it. The blade arbor may be a little out of whack from a sawing accident. The head may even be bent. Or maybe you didn’t see it fall out of the truck before your helper stuck it back in there real quick.

There are no adjustments for blade tracking problems. You either have to replace parts or buy a new saw. But before you send your saw to the junkyard, consider this:

When my Hitachi was brand new, a handrail fitting slipped out of its clamp and twisted the blade as it slammed between the fences. The head was bent so badly that the blade was out of perpendicular to the hinge pin 1/8 in. across its diameter. That brand new saw sat in my garage for a year before I decided that I had to figure out how to fix it.

I clamped the head in a vise, clamped a bar near the blade arbor and bounced on the bar — I mean, with all my weight — well, a lot of weight. It made a loud popping sound. I rechecked the blade/pin relationship and found that the error was only .010 in. over the radius of the blade. I guess I was lucky to get it that close. I’ve been using that saw for six years now, and I’m satisfied with it. I have never had the blade plate rub on a fresh cut, though I’m sure there must be cracks in the casting. You can’t bend aluminum castings much at all. Of course, the right way to fix that problem would have been to buy a new head casting. But, it wouldn’t have cost much more just to buy a new saw!

I hope these ramblings have been useful. I was glad for the opportunity to write this article because it pushed me to tune up my own saws. These modern miter saws are amazing. But just as that proverbial little girl who had a little curl: When they’re good, they’re very, very good; but when they’re bad, they’re horrid! Inaccurate cuts are rarely the fault of the saw, and most often they’re something that can be corrected with a little attention.

Read this article in its original format at TiC Issue 2!

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AUTHOR BIO

David Collins has been making stuff all his life. At age seven, he carved swords, canoes, and all sorts of things with his own pocket knives. At age eight, he made popsicle-stick fences to go around the Christmas tree — he painted them silver. David’s first entrepreneurial endeavor was trying to sell those silver fences. His 81-year-old mother still keeps some of those things in her cedar chest.

David’s first construction jobs were in the summers of his 14th and 15th years, working for a roofer.

David always took things apart to look inside and “make improvements.” He dismantled mini-bikes, old pieces of motorcycles, and a Victoria Bergmeister, which he bought at age 15. His most ambitious teenage project was rebuilding his parents ’57 Ford, although he did have plenty of help with that. After graduation, David and a couple friends drove that car to California to see what the “Height Ashbury” thing was all about—didn’t figure it out, but it sure was interesting.

While David messed with all of those things, he was also captured by music. His mother recognized the talent in David and his siblings early on, and she faithfully drove them to their weekly piano lessons. He didn’t like to practice, but the threat of mom’s pancake turner crackin’ his butt kept him at it. He thanks her for that discipline today.

In his early 20s David worked as a framer, and soon decided that he was going to need a college education. But music was his first love, so he signed up for the music program at OSU. He couldn’t take very much of it — he’d go to school for a while and then work for a while. After seven years, David finally graduated with a B.M. from Capital University.

In 1973 David married Kathryn Hartley. She endured about half of David’s education and a great deal of other stuff since. After graduation, the church where he was pianist hired him to teach choral music at their school. Never having considered the financial implications of a music degree, the ’70s and early ’80s turned out to be lean years. Construction work in the summers got them by. He worked for the great Dave Porter of Columbus every summer through the ’80s, trimming high-end houses. The work was always interesting and satisfying.

In 1983 and in 1986 Kathy and David adopted Hannah and Emily. In 1989, David became disillusioned with teaching. Students do what they want to do, and a piece of wood does what he wants it to do. David handed in his resignation at school and went into finish carpentry full time, a move he has never regretted.

A few years later David was running some 8-in. crown on a big job. He couldn’t cope that molding with a coping saw and got a little desperate. He’d always used the saber saw from the back side (right side up) and started figuring out a way to cope that large crown molding without banging around on the face of it. He needed to freehand the saw without the restrictions of the flat base. David hammered out sheet metal bases, and after 6 or 8 tries, he produced what is now called the Collins Coping Foot. That thing worked so well that he figured everyone would want one. David spent a lot of borrowed money on lawyers and tool and die makers and started the Collins Tool Company.

David hasn’t done any finish carpentry for-hire since 2006. He spends his early mornings with the Good Book, and writing music at his music work station. The rest of the day is spent in tool production, and tooling up for a new product called Mitertite.

With the 2007 CBC codes addressing Earthquake Defense more progressively, we’re feeling more like Carpenters of Steel than carpenters of wood! The amount of steel in new buildings in California for seismic structural engineering is changing the way carpenters frame. For production framing here in California, we used to use the words “blow and go” a lot. But those days are over. Now all anyone talks about is “mechanical connections.”

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There was a time when all a carpenter needed was a set of nail bags, a Skill saw, a 100-ft. cord, and a couple of hand saws. Top carpenters showed up with a cats paw! All of that stuff fit easily into the trunk of a VW Bug. Trust me, I know. But framing today is completely different.

As you can see from this partial list of the structural hardware in the 5,600-Sq. Ft. residential building we’re currently working on, framing today is more about mechanical connections than pulling out your hammer and banging together walls and rafters.

• 900+ A35 Anchor Clips
• 400+ LTP4 Lateral Tie Plates
• 130+ Hold-Downs
• 12 HFX Hardy Fames
• 500+ Straps
• 2 Steel Moment Frames
• 2 Bent Steel Rafters

According to the 2007 CBC codes, “Any change in the plane of the structural frame has to have a mechanical connection.” The mechanical connection could be something as simple as an A35 anchor clip attaching the frieze blocks to the top plates, or HDU hold-downs for uplift. The A35 anchor clip isn’t new to framing in the United States, but with 500+ A35 anchor clips in most residential buildings, it’s no longer a simple installation. When A35 clips are required 4.5 in. O.C., most of the time we set our joist beams and joist rim, and install the A35 anchor clips before the TJI joists are installed. Yes, the A35 anchor clips are touching each other at 4.5 in. O.C.

Here, Lance is installing Simpson A35s 4.5 in. O.C. with a Positive Placement gun before we install the TJI joist.

If we install the TJI joist first, then we use a palm nailer to install the nails in the A35s. We buy boxes of Simpson A35s like we used to buy 6-packs of beer. We were always running out of beer, and now we’re always running out of Simpson A35s!

All beams must have a mechanical connection to the top plates. Toe-nailing beams down to wall top plates is no longer allowed. Since every beam has a mechanical connection to the top plates, we often use a router to dado out either the bottom of the beam or the top of the top plates, especially when the mechanical connection is an MST strap positioned horizontally for a drag strap.

Brian routing out the top plates for the MST60 drag strap.

The tools we use today are mind-boggling. I never would have imagined it twenty years ago. Now, instead of one saw, we carry three or four—with left-hand and right-hand saws for cutting rafters, Big Foot saws, and chippers (see below). And we even carry routers! For framing! It used to take 3-4 weeks—TOPS—to frame a house. Now it takes a year.

The templates we use for routing the MST straps are made out of 1/2-in. or 3/4-in. plywood with 1x2s attached with screws. The template width between the 1x2s is the width of the router plus the width of the MST straps.

MST60 strap dadoed into top plates. With the MST strap dadoed into the beam or top plates, the beam sits flat on the plates.

I live thirty miles from Simpson headquarters. Lately, I’ve given some thought to moving farther away. It seems the closer you get to Simpson, the more hardware you have to put in a building.

We use a lot of hold-downs for mechanical connections to prevent beam uplift.

In the photo to the right, we have an MST60 dadoed into the 6×12 header, an MST60 beam-to-beam drag strap, an MST48 post-to-6×12 header uplift mechanical connection, 2 crisscrossing CMSTC16 collector straps, and in the middle of these mechanical connections there is a PHD2 hold-down for the 6×12 header-to-shear wall joist beam uplift mechanical connection!

The PHD2 5/8-in. all-thread hold-down rod is drilled through the 6×12 header, and a 3 1/2-in. x 3 1/2-in. x 5/16-in. plate washer is installed on the bottom of the 6×12 header.

We use a Protool drill guide—with an 18-in. Wood Owl Ultra Smooth Tri-cut Ship Augers bit—to drill double stacked 4×8 truss rafters, as well as drilling out the holes for the PHD hold-down all-thread rods through 6×12 headers.

Brian checking hold-down placement in the basement slab to make sure we have the hold-downs in the correct location for mechanical uplift connections.

A lot of planning is required for the 50 hold-downs that are in this basement slab (see photo, left). About 30 of these hold-downs are for the uplift mechanical connections at the ends of the basement shear walls. The other 20 hold-downs are for post-to-beam uplift mechanical connections that transfer up to the roof sheathing for the continuous load path.

Before we start any job, we spend a lot of time looking at the plans for the continuous load paths that require uplift mechanical connections. A lot of the connections—per the structural engineering drawings—are un-constructable. If we see any un-constructable uplift mechanical connections, we send an RFI to the structural engineer. Or we send the structural engineer a replacement drawing or suggestion. The structural engineer then responds with a “no objection” or “objection” to our replacement suggestion…and the job or delay goes on….

When we have to epoxy in new hold-down all-thread rods, we use a rebar-cutter SDS drill bit—Bosch or Relton—to drill/cut through the rebar with our Bosch or Hilti rotary hammer. The hold-down all-thread rods require precise placement in the concrete slab, so we use an SDS drill bit—which is 1/8-in. wider than the all-thread rod—and drill the hole until we hit the rebar in the concrete. Then we switch bits, and drill with the rebar cutter until we’ve cut through the rebar. We finish off the hold-down hole with the standard SDS drill bit. Per the 2007 CBC, all epoxy hold-downs must be inspected by a special inspector. The new hole for the epoxy must be brushed out, then blown out with an air nozzle that reaches all the way to the bottom of the hole, and brushed out again, and then blown out again with an air nozzle.

A lot of these mechanical uplift connections are side by side! The MST72 and HDQ8 have a 6x post below each of them. At the bottom of the post, another hold-down secures the 6x to the basement slab.

There are 5 hold-downs in this picture! And no, I didn’t mock this up as a joke. The two HDQ8 hold-downs at the end of this shear wall are for the shear wall connections. The other three HDU4 hold-downs are for post-to-beam uplift connections.

Sometimes there is more metal in the walls than wood! So we don’t have to cut studs loose, we install all the hold-downs as we frame the walls.

We also install all of the post-to-beam uplift connections before we install the TJI floor joists. There are 11 hold-downs in this 8-ft. long wall: 6 at the top and 5 at the bottom; there are 32 of these beam-to-post connections in this building.

When we’re not planning out the location of the uplift connections—which transfer load from the basement slab up through the roof sheathing—we’re installing horizontal collector straps. A chipper that I used for cutting rafter seat cuts in the ’70s and ’80s is now used to cut dadoes in the subfloor for these straps.

Erik and Lance install the CMST14 collector strap in the 1/4×3-in. wide dado made with the chipper (see photo, right). Twenty years ago, I used that chipper to make seat cuts in rafters. Back then, I set the saw up for a  3 1/2-in. wide dado. Today we remove some of the blades for the 3-in. wide dado and the CMST14 collector strap.

All these dadoes consume a lot of subfloor thickness. The plans called for 3/4-in. subfloor—imagine what would be left! I up-sized the subfloor to 1 1/8 in., so our flush-cut CMST14s would not weaken the plywood subfloor.

On steel I-beams, it’s the carpenter’s job to layout all of the mechanical connections, like these HFX Hardy Frames with 1 1/8-in. all-thread rods, and the location of the web stiffeners on each side of the 1 1/8-in. all-thread rods, too (below).

When framing with this much steel, it’s important to keep an eye on Moisture Content. That’s something no framer in the ’70s or ’80s thought much about. Code requires that all the lumber be dried to at least 19%, but even that wet, it shrinks. And steel doesn’t. Keep in mind, we have to put 6x material for nailers on the I-beams, so excessive shrinkage can cause major problems in floors and walls (bumps and high spots in floors, cracks in walls, etc.). Luckily, on this building, it sat for so long that most of it was dry. Which also gave us a chance to go back and tighten all the bolts. Think about that. What happens when the frame is completed and dried in before you have an opportunity to tighten the bolts?

A lot of planning and calculations went into making this 67.5° roof axis point work (below). The 7:12 to 26:12 roof axis points were tough enough to calculate, let alone the 67.5° 26:13 pitch-bent steel hip rafter!

In the photo to the right, Erik is drilling 11/16-in. holes in the 1/2-in. steel plate using the Hougen Portable Magnetic Drill. After that, the 1/2-in. thick steel plate is bolted to the concrete wall, and an ECQ column cap base is welded to the plate for the joist beam uplift connection.

The first time I drilled holes in steel I-Beams back in the ’70s, it took about an hour to drill an 11/16-in. hole for the 5/8-in. bolt or all-thread rod—that was using a standard twist-drill bit. With the Hougen Portable Magnetic Drill, it only takes about 1 or 2 minutes per hole. There are two switches on the tool, one for the magnet and one for the motor. First, you position the drill bit on the hole, then you switch on the electromagnet. After that, running the tool is like operating a drill press—you just crank the bit into the steel.

We had a job in SF 1 1/2 years ago where I spent $700 for drill bits to drill a-holes through the I-beams so we could attach backing. With the magnetic drill, and using Annular Cutters, I can drill 100+ holes, instead of the 2 or 3 that you get out of a twist-drill bit.

All of the roof beams have a mechanical connection to either the walls below, or the joist beams below. “Mechanical connection” translates to mechanical fasteners, like bolts, base caps, straps, or hold-downs. Any change in the plane of the structural frame has to have a mechanical connection, which includes every common rafter and hip rafter. No more toe-nailing rafters to the ridge beams!

After we install the fascia, we re-check the building with Stabila levels, so we know where we need to add more structural hardware.

When I first saw the plans for this building, I thought it was going to be a lot of fun, but the structural steel took all the joy out of it. On the main house, we had to first install the 26/12 rafters, then sheet the roof, then cut the radius rafter tails, and scribe the bottom side so it laid on top of the roof sheathing. Finally, we had to cut a hole through the sheathing so we could put an MSTI26 from the rafter tail across the rafter. And that was for every single rafter on the main house—200 radius rafter tails, and every one had an MSTi26 strap.

Because we're required to strap every change of plane, we're nailing the heck out of the tops of a lot of rafters.

Sometimes I worry about installing all those straps. With all the engineered walls we build into homes, it’s no surprise that the other trades get us into trouble. One time, the heating and air guys came in and butchered a shear wall—they notched out the top plate. The engineer required us to install a 6-ft. long 1/4-in. x 4-in.-wide steel strap, with 16d nails 1-in. on center! I said to the engineer: “Hey, we’re just going to split out all the wood! What’s the point?” His answer: “Okay, then pre-drill the holes.”

Everything we do is about steel. Here the special inspector is doing an Ultra Sonic test on the steel moment frame welding. This testing delayed the project 3 months. First the inspector rubs oil on the steel plates, then he tests every weld. It’s like doing an Ultra Sound on a pregnant woman.

Just when you think you’re done with all of the mechanical connections, you have to screw the siding and trim to steel Hardy Frames!

“Blow and Go” = Fun

Mechanical Connections = Frustration and a lot of un-constructable engineering.

———

AUTHOR BIO

Sim Ayers is the owner of SBE Builders, a commercial and residential framing company, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, which was established in 1988. He uses empirical knowledge, gained by means of observation, experience or experiment, to frame buildings from the ground line (Z1), to roof axis (A1), to the bring-back line for scribing (B1).

Sim is a second generation carpenter. He is passing on the family tradition to his two sons Brian and Erik. As a typical California production roof cutter and stacker in the 1970s and 1980s, Sim keeps a sharp eye out for new information on roof framing geometry, or for writing online scripts that use a tetrahedron to show the relationship of geometric framing angles for use with the carpenter’s steel framing square. His online tools can be found on the web at www.sbebuilders.com/tools.

On most jobsites today, the sight of a hand tool brings stares, questions, and, more frequently than not, a shaking of heads that some poor fool couldn’t afford a tool with a cord or a lithium-ion battery attached to it. Yes, many times a battery-powered tool is exactly the right tool for the job. But not always.

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There are times when a power saw is just too big to get into a tight spot. And there are times when the power saw is in the basement and you’re working on the third floor. Besides, a power saw will also leave marks on the edge of a board, which need to be removed, and that can just pose a whole new problem.

I think it is a shame—actually, a detriment to the craft, and to craftsmen—that the occasional use of hand tools is not more common on jobsites. Unfortunately, all of us tend to use the tools and techniques we have been exposed to, and, over the last several decades, exposure to hand tools has been reduced to the point where they are all but on the endangered species list. But they shouldn’t be. In the situation I’m about to tackle, I’ll demonstrate how hand tools can sometimes be the most efficient solution to the problem.

In a recent post on the JLC Finish Carpentry forum, a contributor asked how to cut back a tread that was already installed and couldn’t be removed or cut on a miter saw. The tread material was Jatoba, commonly known as Brazilian Cherry. The carpenter tried a Multimaster on a scrap of material but the blade dulled quickly and overheated, burning rather than cutting the wood. Besides, even if the tool could have cut the Jatoba, it is tough to cut a perfectly straight line with a blade that’s vibrating at a few thousand rpm.

Another contributor suggested using a circular saw, but the saw table would hit the riser before the saw could make much headway.

And another contributor suggested using a reciprocating saw, but I suspect that was a tongue-in-cheek response—at least I hope so!

Identify the problem

Solving the problem required a different approach, a new way of thinking, at least for many contemporary carpenters. And yet, the solution would have been obvious to our grandfathers: hand tools. In fact, the solution to the problem is nearly identical to the procedure used years ago to produce housed stringers—a perfectly straight groove needed to be cut, one that terminated before the edge of the board. In this case, the job was going to be somewhat easier because a constant depth of cut would not be required, plus the cut would be a simple right angle and not on a pitch.

Hand tools do what power tools can’t

I started this cut by placing a framing square against the riser so I could strike a line with a marking knife at the point where the cut needed to be made. I struck the line several times to establish the top of the cut, which is the most visible part.
Next, I struck a second line a few inches long on the waste side. To locate this line, I measured back 1/2 the diameter of the drill bit. I was using a 1/2-in. bit, so I measured back 1/4 in. from the first line.

But before cutting with the saw, I first drilled holes so that the saw dust would have somewhere to go, rather than building up at the end of the cut. Some of you may not know it, but that’s one reason a saw might jump out of a kerf; and besides, if the sawdust builds up at the end of the cut, the saw won’t cut clean all the way to the edge of the board.

I couldn’t drill those holes with a power drill. I needed more reach to clear the riser. But an old brace and bit worked perfectly.

Precise control

By striking the center line with a knife, I define the precise location to place the leading point of my drill bit, which means I can “feel” that spot as well as see it. This technique ensures that the edge of the hole will land right on the line of the cut.

I use a chisel to clean the cut—it’s easy to remove the small pieces between the holes with a sharp chisel.

Ensuring a perfect cut

Now this is the most important part! Before taking a saw to the tread and cutting along the first line, I cut a shallow groove on the waste side of the line using a skewed carving knife. I held the knife at about a 20 degree angle, 1/16″ away from the cutline on the waste side. The small wedged sliver of wood I removed along the cut line provided a positive location to begin cutting below the surface of the wood, while the chamfered edge forced the face of the saw tightly against the cutline. This is a trusted technique used by craftsmen for centuries. As long as the saw does not jump out of the track, a straight cut is all but assured. Trust me, that’s a technique lost to a lot of contemporary carpenters.

While making the cut, I tilted the saw blade just a bit, too. It is helpful to undercut a slight amount. Otherwise, a shoulder plane can be used to square the edge of the cut, and a chisel or joinery float can be used for the very corner where the shoulder plane can’t reach.

From start to finish, I spent fifteen minutes making that perfectly straight cut. And most of that time was spent taking the photos!

——–

AUTHOR BIO

Keith Mathewson started working in the construction industry in the late 1970s as a summer job during college. He stayed in construction for another five years, then took a different career path for ten years.

In the early 1990s, Keith got back into construction in a much bigger way. He opened a shop, and taught furniture-making after-hours. In 2004, he transitioned out of furniture-making and teaching back to finish carpentry, where he specialized in high-end custom homes. Since 2007, he has focused on stair-building.

[This article first appeared in the page-flipping version of TiC, Issue 2]

“You want what?” You’re kidding!”

That’s what I thought when some very good clients asked me to build a railing for a second floor deck above a living space. I hesitated — I normally do interior finish work, not decks.

But when they said they were thinking of a Chinese Chippendale balustrade, they got my attention. In general terms I knew what Chinese Chippendale design was — I’d just never built anything with the geometric fretwork patterns that mark that style. It’s beautiful stuff.

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Needless to say, as a finish carpenter I was very intrigued and very interested — I mean, how often do you get a request like that? I gave them a naïve “Yes,” not knowing the complexity of the planning that would be involved. In the end the time and effort were well worth the finished product. And the lessons I learned might help me actually make a profit next time I do a Chippy — if there is a next time.

What the heck is Chinese Chippendale anyway?

Fortunately through books and antique furniture, I had been exposed to the general notion of Chinese Chippendale design. Named after Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779), England’s most widely known furniture maker, the design motif comes from his interest in incorporating Chinese and other Asian designs into some of his furniture, which are now expensive antiques that are widely copied.

The repetitive geometric line patterns, usually within a rectangular framework, are varied and beautiful, but quite complex for a builder or artisan to execute. During the colonial period Americans adapted and used Chinese Chippendale designs for fence railings, porch balustrades, railings around widow walks on roof tops and also for interior staircases.

Chippendale elements were usually built for people of means, and they are evident in the preserved homes in colonial Williamsburg, and famously at Jefferson’s Monticello. That’s all well and good, but after building a version of these railings, I’m convinced that the design is retribution by the Chinese for the slavery and ill treatment that they suffered in building the American railroads — their form of righteous payback.

Choosing a design, and planning for the project

The owners started by giving me an enlarged photograph of their 1920’s brick colonial house taken in the 1940’s, when a railing existed on the deck. I could just make out the general pattern of posts and the railing design in the fuzzy picture (see photo, Right). The assignment was to create something close to the photograph, but with a more elaborate Chinese Chippendale balustrade pattern. We looked at fretwork patterns from books on historical homes and on line, and picked one that had a highly defined, repetitive diamond pattern (see photo, Left).

Planning for this seemly simple project was key, because the design, fabrication, fitting and installation all had to be considered both individually and in the scope of the entire project. The project was relatively small: a 25-ft. by 12-ft. three-sided railing. But there were many considerations. We’d chosen a Chippy design but we had to determine how it would work within the parameters of this railing and with the post placement. We also had to verify the building codes for railing height and for the space between balusters or in this case between the frets.

We also had to decide whether to custom make all the railing elements or incorporate stock items. Then there were the questions of what wood species to use, how to cut a billion pieces of wood accurately so that they could be assembled without error or mistakes, and what fastening system to use to put the railing together.

Up on the roof I had to figure out how to assemble the balustrade sections solidly, along with the not-insignificant matter of how the railing system would attach to the roof deck. Not only did the railing have to be solid, but the attachment method had to prevent leaks into the home library on the first floor below.

Beginning in the past

Because we were installing a railing on an existing deck or roof using an old photograph, we had to start at the end, with the roof itself. The roof was not really intended to be a deck. A door from a second floor room opened onto the roof, which was covered with an older EDPM membrane.

The original posts for the railing had been inset from the edge of the roof by about a foot on all three sides. We knew this because the roof soffit extended out a foot from the brick walls below, and the posts would have aligned with those walls. Plus there was a faint outline of white paint on the brick-wall side of the roof deck where the two end posts had stood. On the outside corners the old photo showed evidence of tri-posts, a corner post flanked by posts close by on both sides. There also appeared to be at least one center post on the long run.

With all this information in hand, I used the rough lengths of the sections, and positions of the posts to start the planning process of how to fit the Chippy design into the lengths that I needed. Oh yeah, I also had to figure how to fit those lengths into the Chinese Chippendale pattern that we’d chosen. The two aren’t the same and, in the end the Chippy design trumped the lengths because everything springs from the mathematics of the pattern.

The Zen of the diagonal

The Chinese Chippendale designs are all about math, but I found no books on how to do that math. Every measurement affects every other measurement, and once you have the correct measurements, everything falls into place and it’s constant. But I couldn’t find that magic measurement. After much painful thinking, I realized that all thinking is irrelevant; kind of like a fortune cookie or Zen and the art of Chinese Chippendale.

As I worked with the pattern it became clear that although everything in the Chippy design is interrelated, the key element is the diagonal. Once a diagonal is drawn, and the vertical height is established relative to that diagonal, then the length of the sections are determined for you. The diagonal and its opposing diagonal, zig zag in length within the height parameter creating a diamond configuration. As these diamonds form, the length is set automatically, along with multiples of the diamond.

Because this particular Chippy design is measured in multiples of diamonds flanked by half diamonds (diamonds cut vertically down the center) everything is resolved for you once you have the size of the diamond. With all things perfect — as they should be — then all the sections are equal in length. OMMM…

Plugging in the variables

Armed with the diagonal axiom, I could start laying out the particulars for the balustrade by working from some known points, the first of which was the building code. Massachusetts Residential Building code stated that the top of the railing had to be a minimum of 36 in. off the deck surface. Also there could be no more than 4 in. of space between the bottom rail and the deck surface. The code also stated that the open space between balusters should be no more than 4 in. (Because there are no vertical balusters in the Chinese Chippendale design, I interpreted the 4-in. rule to mean no more than 4 in. of space between any of the diagonal fretwork pieces.) Taking the code into account, I began my rough layout.

Even though we’d picked a chippy design, I still needed to work out some crucial details. The first item was the thickness of the frets — what would look best once the proportions of the Chippy sections were known. Together the clients and I decided that thick fretwork would look better than something thin and spindly. We wanted a thickness that came close to the 2-in. dimension of the brick façade. Because I was building this railing in wood, and knowing that I was going to be making the fretwork out of rough 8/4 boards, I set the width of the frets at approximately 1 5/8 in.

Stock parts wrap around the custom balustrade

Our next task was to work out the details for the top rail and bottom rails, along with the frame that typically encloses each Chippy section. Those dimensions subtracted from the overall height would give us the height of the diamond pattern.

As the design and layout evolved, the owners and I decided to use stock rails, subrail, bottom rails, post sleeves and post caps. I could buy and supply these parts less expensively than making them from scratch. We selected a railing pattern from Woodway, a company that makes cedar fence and railing systems.

We chose profiles that worked with the overall Chippy design and that mimicked details elsewhere on the house. Together we selected 6×6 post sleeves, their Estate profile handrail and bottom rail, a standard subrail and pyramid post cap. For final assembly I also used Woodway lag-eyes to fasten the bottom rails to the posts.

Lots of math and a half-size drawing

With all the measurements of the parts and the rough dimensions between the posts, I was ready to plot out the exact dimensions of the Chippy sections. I started with a finished height of 37 in. for the top of the handrail to ensure that no surprises during assembly or installation would effect the minimum 36-in. code height requirement. (Adding that extra wiggle room might have been the smartest thing I did and sure made the job easier! You’ll see what I mean in a minute.). From that number I subtracted the height of the handrail and subrail (2 1/4 in. measuring to the groove in the subrail! Fig. 1),

Fig. 1

subtracted the height of the bottom rail (1 in. not including the lip! Fig. 2),

Fig. 2

and subtracted 4 in. for the distance of the balustrade assembly above the deck. (When installing the railing sections, the 4-in. dimension meant that I could hold the section off the deck with a 4 in. block on edge). The total I needed to subtract was 7 1/4 in., leaving a balustrade height of 29 3/4 in. I rounded that number up to 30 in., just to make things easier, and to provide a little more wiggle room.

The clients and I had discussed options for the framing around the balustrade. One choice was to tuck the fretwork tails directly into the subrail on top and let them rest directly on the bottom rail. But we opted to picture-frame the fretwork on all sides first. The frame then tucked into the subrail 3/8 in. on top and the lower frame attached directly to the bottom rail. Because the bottom rail had a 3/8 in. lip, and I wanted the exposure on the frame to be equal on the inside of the deck, I added 3/8 in. to the width of the top and bottom frames, making them 2 in. high (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

That 2 in. meant I had to subtract another 4 in. from the 30-in. balustrade height. All these calculations were critical for determining the actual height of fretwork, which had to measure 26 in., not counting the picture frame around it.  Because the frame had to fit inside the groove on the sub-rail, I made all the pieces 1 1/2-in. thick, including the fretwork.

Using an old-fashioned drawing board and T-square I made a half-scale working drawing of a full section of the chippy balustrade. From this drawing I determined the diagonal lengths as well as the lengths of all the other fretwork pieces (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4

From the drawing I also figured the total lengths of the Chippy sections, i.e. one diamond plus two halves, and two diamonds plus two halves. These dimensions (52 in. and 80 5/8 in. respectively) gave me the working dimensions I needed to figure out and fill-in the spaces between the posts.

Laying out the roof posts and figuring the fillers

The length of the long side of the deck was 296 1/2 in. With 12-in. set-backs on both ends, the length from the outside of one corner post to the center of the run was 136 1/4 in. Because the Chippy fretwork is limited to specific sizes, and because the corner and long-run middle posts were in set positions, I established that the largest Chippy section that would fit was a two diamond, two half diamond section.

The length of the Chippy sections left spaces on either side, so we opted for filler sections made from vertical square-stock balusters. For the long run I needed fillers between the corner post and the front flanking posts, as well as on both ends of each Chippy section: four equally spaced filler sections for the Chippies and two for between the posts.

Choosing a durable wood

Because of the outdoor application, I considered three wood species for this project: Eastern white cedar (indigenous to the northeast), Western red cedar, and cypress (PVC was not an option). Each of these species has its characteristics and merits, and all share a common feature of moisture and rot resistance. A lot of people might have considered fir, but I’d seen too many instances of fir not holding up to harsh New England weather. My initial pick was Western red cedar, but faced with delays in delivery, I decided to go with cypress.

Cypress grows in the wet, swampy areas of southern and southeastern coastal regions of the U.S. It is dimensionally stable with close, straight grain. It has few knots and generally doesn’t check and crack. Cypress also has no sapwood, it doesn’t bleed, and it holds finishes well. Cypress produces a natural preservative in the wood called cypressine that makes it resistant to moisture rot, insects, fungus, etc.

Cypress has been used for centuries in this country, beginning in colonial times for clapboards and exterior trim on houses. I figure that if some of the original clapboards on George Washington’s grandfather’s house were still intact after 250 years, then it would be a pretty good choice for my Chippy railings. As it turned out, cypress was less expensive than Western red cedar for the rough stock 8/4 boards I used.

Choosing the proper assembly method and tools

I am a firm believer that if you stare at something long enough and if it doesn’t go away, sometimes you figure it out. With the Chippy baluster I did just that: I looked at my drawing for a long time and wondered, “How do I best assemble the sections, making sure everything is anchored well? Do I use nails, screws, biscuits…?”

I kept bumping up against the fact that part of the fretwork would go together easily, but then subsequent parts wouldn’t because there wasn’t room for a fastening tool (I only had about 4 in. of space between fretwork in many places).

I concluded that the best way to connect the fretwork was with a Festool Domino joiner. By mortising for the dominos, and using large-size dominos I could provide the strength and rigidity needed. The domino shape also aligns the pieces in the same plane and prevents the assembly from twisting. With the dominos I could connect and attach all the pieces to each other and not have to worry about tools fitting into tight places. Because of the application, I opted for Festool’s Sipo 10 x 50mm exterior dominos.

In the places where I needed screws, such as attaching the fretwork to the subrail, I used stainless steel square drives of various sizes and lengths. Stainless steel eliminates any possibility of bleeding and discoloration. And I joined all the pieces with Titebond III, an exterior-grade glue.

After more hours of staring and cogitating  — and more beer — I realized that I really didn’t need to be precisely accurate on the lengths of the major diagonals, the Y-shaped frets and the half-diamond pieces on initial assembly. In fact making them slightly longer than needed (by 3/4 in. or so) meant that I could then trim the entire Chippy section to exact dimensions after it was assembled!

A million little pieces

Well, maybe I didn’t actually cut a million pieces, but it sure seemed like it. I never did count them, but as you can see from the pictures, there were a lot.

To cut all the interior fretwork pieces exactly the same length, you have to use a repetitive cutting set-up with a flip stop and an accurately tuned miter saw. I had the good fortune of using a friend’s Omga miter saw and Accurate Technology Inc.’s ProScale digital stop set up. So after making a list of pieces that I needed (plus a few extras), I set the stop and cut away. Everything was dead nuts accurate. I cut all of the pieces on the exterior long, so I could trim them off later. Working with a 37 in. rail height allowed me plenty of wiggle room to make those trim cuts.

After I cut all the pieces, the next step was marking the half-lap joints where the major diagonal pieces intersected. Dry fitting was key to this step. Then I measured and marked locations for the dominos. Knowing these locations made it easy to cut template blocks and to transfer measurement marks to all the similar pieces for mortising. The beauty of the Chinese Chippendale pattern is that once you do have all the math figured out, all the measurements are the same — the lengths, the spacing between pieces, the angles, etc.

At this point I made the first mistake that I’m willing to admit. I cut all the mortises for the dominos for the first Chippy section for tight fit. That worked well for joints like the dangling Y’s. But it wasn’t good for the pieces in the center of the diamond, or for the 45° mitered ends of the major diagonals. With the tight fit it was impossible to assemble the Chippy. So after more staring and scratching, I decided that certain of the domino joints needed to be cut wider to allow for a little side-to-side movement during assembly. Fortunately, I caught this mistake during the dry fitting of the first Chippy.

Start spreadin’ the glue…

With all the pieces cut and mortised, it was time to glue and clamp — my hour of reckoning. I spread out all the pieces and dominos on a workbench along with clamps, glue, and I kept a cup of water to wipe excess glue at the ready.

The major challenge was assembling the double diamond portion at one time. I was literally gluing and clamping 23 joints: 3 lap joints, 4 miter joints, and 16 butt joints with dominos, and all within the set up time of the glue. Titebond III is gives a strong, weather-resistant bond, which is a good thing. But it has a shorter working time than ordinary wood glue, so I had to work fast.

As you might think the first section took longer than the others to do, but I managed to do them in about 15 minutes each. All of the “add-on” fretwork pieces like the Y’s were assembled and glued to the section after the full diamonds were done.

I clamped the mitered joints that joined the diagonals with Jim Chestnut’s Clam Clamps. Jim probably never anticipated his wonderful miter clamps would be used to assemble a Chinese Chippendale balustrade, but they were the balls for holding the diamonds in perfect position while the other pieces were joined with the bar clamps.

Keeping the dominos loose gave me the wiggle room to adjust and fine tune things as the fretwork went together. While the assembly was clamped in position, I shot two 1-in. 18 ga. pins into each side of the joint to hold the pieces in place while the glue dried completely (see photo, Left). The domino joints with the Titebond III glue were extremely strong. I literally picked up an entire Chippy section by the two Y’s and extended it horizontally with the full weight supported easily by just the two domino joints.

The final step was cutting the fretwork sections to perfect height and length. This is where that extra wiggle room really came in handly. Even with all my careful calculations, the railing wasn’t nearly the finished size I needed — talk about cumulative error! With all those pieces…well, never mind. You can probably imagine. Now I had the chance to trim the height so the railing would be almost exactly 36 in. from the deck.

With the Festool TS45 plunge saw and guide rails, I nipped about 3/8 in. off the diamond points, which — coincidentally — also provided a perfectly flat surface for attaching the outer frames! Cutting with the saw rail on the marks trimmed the Y’s as well. For the length I set a short Festool guide rail on the center of the half diamonds and cut the extra ends that had been left long.

All filler baluster pieces were cut to length and taken to the job site loose. Fretwork picture-frame pieces were left long and all the stock parts were left in factory lengths to be cut and fit at the job site.

Finishing

All the pin holes were filled with exterior wood filler and sanded. And I did a final sanding to even out any joints not perfectly flush, although the domino tool left the joints nearly perfect. Any joints that were not flush were probably from me tipping the machine while plunging the mortise. (Wait; did I just admit another mistake?)

We decided to pre-finish the Chippy sections, along with the rest of the parts and pieces before delivery to the worksite. Fortunately I had access to a spray booth. I couldn’t imagine a painter, the owners, or even worse, myself, finishing everything after it was installed. Finishing beforehand worked out well; only a small amount of touch up was required.

All pieces received two coats of Cabot’s white primer and two coats Cabot’s exterior latex PRO VT Solid Color Stain. Although a coating this complete was probably not necessary for the cypress, it was necessary to help prevent bleed through of the Western red cedar tannins in the railing and post stock. With the spray-booth finish, the Chippy parts were perfectly covered and coated. We were building furniture after all, right?

Working with the roofer to place and anchor posts

Part of the work on this job was adding posts to the deck. As mentioned previously, we were able to see where a railing and posts had been in a previous era (see photo, Left). But because the roof was being covered with a new EPDM membrane, I made sure the roofer worked under my supervision so that I could properly prepare for the structural posts I opted to use.

Because the placement of the posts had to be within a fraction of an inch for proper fitting of the railing, I chose to use structural steel posts to simplify installation (Call me a prima donna, but I didn’t want to rip the old roof sheathing apart and kneel with my head in a hole trying to lag twisted pressure-treated or cedar posts to the porch rafters.).

The 4×4 structural posts I chose came from Fairway Vinyl Systems. Each post consists of a galvanized steel pipe welded to a square bottom flange plate. The plates had pre-drilled anchor holes through which the post is lagged to the surface. Two adjustable square, plastic sleeves on the top and bottom of each post, accept the 6×6 post sleeves and serve as shim points as well as nailing or screwing surfaces for the railing connections.

For this application, I found the structural posts allowed me to be more precise with placement, and they were very forgiving considering the existing conditions. The posts cost more than their pressure-treated counterparts, but not much more than cedar posts, and they were much easier to install.

Installing the balustrade

After all the careful planning and assembly, installation of the Chippy sections was the simplest part of the entire project. However, it did become a two-person job up on the roof. The structural posts were set on EDPM pads and adjusted to plumb with composite shims under the anchoring plate.

We cut the post sleeves 2-3/4 in. higher than the top rail. The sleeves were installed over the structural posts and shimmed off the EPDM for drainage
We plumbed them from the top with shims inside the post sleeve. All post were installed before we started on the sections.

Next I used a Hilti PD40 laser distance measurer to make sure the two sections on the long roof run were equal. I measured each section at the top rail and bottom rail positions. The subrail and the top and bottom picture frame pieces were cut to this length.

Two of the vertical filler pieces were screwed to either side of the Chippy fretwork (the half diamond ends) to start the picture frame. The total length of the Chippy section was subtracted from the distance between the posts and divided by two for the dimensions of the filler pieces that I had to make up for each side of the fretwork sections. We put the fretwork and horizontal frame pieces on the roof top work bench.

After centering the fretwork on the top and bottom frames,
we screwed the picture frames to the fretwork.

We still had to install vertical balusters to fill the areas on either side of each section. The distance between balusters was calculated the same way I calculate balusters for a railing or stairway. For the Chinese Chippendale balustrade the picture frame pieces on either side of the fretwork act as balusters in the fill area. With the spacing established we screwed the filler balusters into the assembly in proper position.

Working from underneath we screwed the subrail into the top rail with short screws. That assembly was then screwed to the picture frame of the Chinese Chippendale section, again by driving screws from underneath the top picture frame. The bottom rail was screwed from below into the bottom of the bottom picture frame.

This last step was a little tricky because we had to make sure that the bottom rail profile was oriented correctly with the lip facing inward, and that the section was assembled and ready to be installed with all the Y’s facing the same direction. The Chippy railing section was finally assembled and ready to install in one piece.

Two Woodway eye rail fasteners were lagged through the post sleeve and into the structural-post PVC nailer at the proper height to allow for 4 in. below the bottom rail. We set the Chippy assembly on those fasteners, and centered the top railing on the post sleeves. From inside the post sleeves, we then drove screws into the ends of the top rail and subrail to anchor the top of each assembly.

On the bottom we drove screws through the eyes in the lags to secure the bottom rail.

Final touches included wrapping the bottom of the post sleeves with small base shoe, and installing the post caps. We also fit crush blocks under the railing below the diamonds in each section, one or two depending on the length of the section.

The last remaining chore was building and installing the filler sections between the corner posts and the flanking posts. We built these sections with vertical balusters to match the Chippy fillers. Assembly and installation was the same for these sections as well.

Crafting this Chinese Chippendale balustrade was an extremely satisfying, albeit challenging, project. But most of us carpenters like a challenge. The amount of time spent planning (plus staring and thinking) was disproportionately high compared to most jobs I do. The actual cutting, assembly and installation were the easy parts. But as with all work, careful planning makes short work.

The end result was a piece of art — almost like a piece of furniture. If you have occasion to build something similar, be patient. Drink beer — after work! (I recommend Wachusett Brewery’s Rye beer). And if you have friends like mine, be prepared to hear “Better you than me!” every day you’re working on the project.

Read this article in its original format at TiC Issue 2!

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AUTHOR BIO

A small-town “middle-aged boy” from Minnesota, RJ Davisson started building and carpentry when he was just 4 or 5 years old. Back then he swung a full-size hammer, but had to choke up a little, and he wore white work boots — what’s up with that! He learned his strong work ethic from his parents, independence and self-reliance from his farmer-grandfather, and carpentry from his uncle, “Donk,” who was a master carpenter, cabinetmaker, finish carpenter of the old school. When barely 8 years old, RJ was in the woods with his uncle cutting trees, hauling them out, and transporting them to a local lumber mill where the logs were milled into planks. At the shop, the lumber was stacked and stickered, and a year later they’d be making custom kitchen cabinets — they were all custom in those days — planing the rough stock, jointing, cutting, shaping and assembling. By age 15, RJ had built three houses — from foundation hole and home-made concrete forms, to hand-cut rafters, hand-nailed strap- ping and toenailed studs — No nail guns, no… Well, you get the idea. It was particularly satisfying where one house had custom-milled paneling of different species in each room: cherry, black walnut, maple, butternut, ash, oak. Thank God they invented nail guns and SkilSaws.

RJ’s love of wood has helped him make a career doing what he likes — making beautiful things that draw on the wisdom of the past and that stand the test of time. He built his own house styled after a 1700s simple Deerfield house, complete with forged thumb latches, tin sconces, face-nailed wide pine floors, a “good morning” staircase, and — at the insistence of his wife — running water. RJ has built furniture, influenced and awed by the beauty, simplicity, and craftsmanship of the Shakers.

A love of sailing introduced RJ to wooden boats — he just doesn’t get the whole “plastic” boat thing — and he has restored several. A purist in most things — black (unflavored) coffee, beer, martinis without all the frou-frou — RJ’s boats were pure sailboats: No lights, no radar, and no motor… Beetle Cats and Wianno Seniors for those that know and care.

Married for 33 years — yes, to the same woman! — RJ has been told that he is alternately either 66 or 16; too damn serious or acting like an idiot with no in-between. Two daughters and three dogs later he is relatively sane. An only child himself, having such a “large” family was an adjustment, but one that he loves and wouldn’t have traded for the world. Now and again, though, a cabin in the remote wilds of Montana sounds good.

Generally finish carpenters are a bit obsessive-compulsive, but RJ wonders what that is all about. Isn’t it normal to have 83 (and counting) cookbooks? When he isn’t working with wood, RJ loves to cook — plain, simple, exotic and complicated, BBQ or gourmet — he has tried cooking just about every cuisine from every country. And then there’s his OCD thing with dogs — all pointers — a German Short-hair, a Hungarian Viszla, and an English.

RJ plays the piano not-so-well anymore. And back in high school he could actually play the bassoon, affectionately known as the “farting bedpost.” He won archery trophies growing up in Minnesota. The Army had him in his grasp for awhile and tried to recruit him as a Ranger. But he just wanted to go home.

RJ fixes cars and his tractor. He still feels guilty that he has not learned SketchUp. And he is very sick of plowing the snow from his 500-foot driveway this winter.

RJ is a licensed general contractor, and his company, Davisson + Associates in Sterling, MA, specializes in finish carpentry, remodeling, restoration, and renovation.

The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th was described as a “middle-class disaster.” I was not sure what that meant until I arrived in Port-au-Prince on March 20th and began doing building assessments with the ATC-20 guidelines. Those who could afford proper building materials, a structural engineer to design their house, and a skilled mason to build the house, had homes which were in pristine condition. These people are considered the upper class.

Those who could not afford proper building materials, and either built the house themselves, or had a mason who did not know proper construction methods, were left with collapses and damages beyond repair. This group was the middle class.

House in Delmas 31: owner would like to try and repair instead of rebuilding.

During my time in Haiti, I saw three different types of houses:

1. Multiple story concrete frame with masonry infill and cast-in-place concrete roof.

2. One story concrete columns with masonry walls and light-gauge metal deck roof.

3. Timber frame with stone infill and wood roof.

Each type of construction had houses that had collapsed and houses that are still standing.

Haitians build their houses in stages: what they can afford at first and then add on floors and additions as they make and save more money. Unlike Americans, no one in Haiti has a mortgage. Those who do not rent own their houses, which made the destruction that more difficult to bear. Unfortunately, in many cases, the original portion of the house was not designed for additional floors to be put on top. Nor was the house, on the whole, designed to withstand an earthquake—let alone one with a magnitude of 7.0.

House in Delmas 33, which was built with column rebar extended for a future addition. Homes in Haiti are built with cash. When owners can afford more, they add on.

Multiple story concrete frame with masonry infill and cast-in-place concrete roofs

House in Delmas 24: concrete columns and beams built first, then the masonry infill is installed.

Houses that are concrete frame with masonry infill were constructed in two different ways:

1. Place the concrete for the columns and beams and then infill the openings with masonry.

2. Build the masonry walls and then place the concrete for the beams and columns.

When the beams and the columns are placed first, there is no connection between the masonry and the concrete frame, and thus the building does not perform compositely. I found, in this instance, that there were cracks along where the ceiling meets the walls and where the walls intersect. This was a result of the plaster coating the masonry and the columns cracking because there was no connection between the two.

On the other hand, when the CMU walls were built first, and then the concrete placed for the beams and columns, the concrete was able to fill the voids of the masonry, thereby making a connection between the columns, beams, and the masonry walls. This allowed the building to work compositely. In these buildings I did not see cracks at the corners, nor where the slab met the walls. In all, these buildings performed much better than those built using the first method.

CMU blocks in Delmas 95 made of poor concrete.

Especially with this type of construction, it is crucial to have a skilled mason or a structural engineer involved. The majority of those who could not afford a structural engineer, or did not use a skilled mason, found their homes in shambles after the earthquake. Nevertheless, structural engineers and skilled masons are expensive, and when money is not available to hire them, Haitians will build homes themselves. When this happens, the concrete is usually poorly mixed and will crumble easily.

There are many different factors that go into the construction of a concrete and masonry building. The type of aggregate used in the concrete, the amount of water added to the concrete, the size of the mortar joints in the masonry walls, how the concrete is mixed, and many others. In the United States, there are strict rules for the design-mix used in concrete buildings. Laboratories must submit mix designs to the structural engineer far in advance of placing the concrete itself. In New York, for example, concrete contractors and laboratories are required to sign off on each mix design with the Department of Buildings. In Haiti, there is little-to-no quality control on concrete mixes or designs.

Mixing of concrete for columns and beams.

One story concrete columns with masonry walls and light-gauge metal deck roof

The second type of building I saw was made of concrete columns, masonry infill, and then a wood framed metal corrugated deck roof. These buildings were built in two ways, just as the concrete frame with masonry infill buildings were built: columns first and then masonry infill wall; or walls first and then concrete columns. In these types of buildings, there are no beams on the top of the walls and, therefore, most of the walls collapsed. These walls were not confined masonry walls, but cantilevered walls that were not braced on the top. The metal roofs were tied into the structure by taking the rebar in the columns, if there was any, and wrapping it around the wood framing for the roof. In most cases, the roofs were not tied into the structure, which resulted in partial or full collapses.

House in Delmas 95: concrete columns with masonry infill. There are no concrete beams on top to confine the masonry.

Typical connection from concrete columns to wood framed metal deck roof.

In an earthquake it is important to have a light-weight structure. Earthquakes are attracted to mass, so the more your structure weighs, the more force an earthquake will exert on it. A metal corrugated deck roof with wood framing is a great way to reduce the mass of your structure. However, when the roof is not properly tied in, it won’t act to brace the top of the walls. When the walls are not braced on the top, the walls act as a vertical cantilevered beam instead of properly supporting the structure.

Timber frame with stone infill and wood roof

Wood framed house in Grand Goave; there was no structural damage to the house from the earthquake.

The third type of building structure—which I saw more frequently outside of Port-au-Prince—was timber framed with stone infill. These buildings were very interesting because, as I approached the structure for an inspection, I would notice the building was leaning. I soon learned that the wood used for the timber construction was not straight, and instead of straightening the wood, the builders constructed the house to the shape of the wood: on a slant. After a timber frame was erected, stones were stacked for infill, and then everything was plastered over. These structures were very lightweight, and since earthquakes are attracted to mass, these buildings, on the whole, fared very well.

Wood framed house in Leogane which did not survive the earthquake.

However, being lightweight isn’t always enough to save a structure, and houses which were not built with skilled labor, or with a proper grade lumber, sustained significant damage.

Wood construction has its pros and cons, yet one of the advantages is that less quality control is required. A skilled laborer is not necessarily required when building a wood home, which, for those who cannot afford a skilled laborer, allows people to build their own homes. This is important to keep in mind when it comes to rebuilding the country.

A major disadvantage to wood construction is, of course, deforestation. This is especially true in Haiti, where the country is already 98% deforested. Current rebuilding efforts involving wood construction are importing wood from the United States to Port-au-Prince. With the various taxes and fees imposed at the port, this is not a sustainable method for low income housing. Future rebuilding efforts will have to use products produced or grown within the country itself. Many different organizations have begun to look into light gauge steel as a source of material. Light gauge steel has the same advantages as wood: easy for people to build with themselves, and low quality control.

No matter what the future building material of Haiti is, it will need to be something that is lightweight, easy for people to build with themselves, and produced in Haiti itself.

Despite any damage that had occurred, all the residents I encountered were very proud of their homes. I felt honored that the Haitian people invited me into their homes and private spaces to look around. I would say that the most rewarding part of the trip was being able to tell a family that their house was safe and they no longer had to sleep outside.

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AUTHOR BIO

Erica Fischer, an Engineer at Murray Engineering PC’s New York office, has worked as a structural engineer in New York City for three years.

Born and raised in Pound Ridge, NY, Erica grew up a Yankees and Giants fan. Not wanting to venture far from her New York roots, she attended Cornell University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. After moving to New York City, her work has focused on high-end cultural renovations and new residential buildings.

Erica’s renovation experience concentrates on residential and theater renovations. In addition to working on the structural design of the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, Erica has worked on a variety of residential and mixed-use, high-rise buildings throughout New York.

Erica is currently chair of several committees for the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) including the Programs Committee Co-Chair, University Outreach Committee Chair, and the Sponsorship Committee Chair. Through these roles she helps plan the SEAoNY monthly lecture series at the Center for Architecture in New York as well as full day seminars for SEAoNY. She also plans SEAoNY university lectures in New York, where young members speak to students about current significant projects under construction.

Erica will be attending Purdue University this fall for her Masters of Science in Civil Engineering.

A lot of carpenters scratch their heads every time they finish framing a porch and start on the stairs. There are so many ways to frame stairs on a porch that it’s hard to make a logical choice, let alone use the same technique twice. That’s why, to work on this story, we gathered together a group of carpenters, all JLC authors: Mike Sloggatt, Frank Caputo, Jed Dixon, Carl Hagstrom, Tom Brewer, and Greg DiBernardo all contributed to this article. Together we worked out a simple system for installing stringers, so you won’t have to scratch your head the next time you start on the stairs.

This is truly a Frame-to-Finish approach—or better, a Finish-to-Frame approach: bringing together rough carpenters and finish carpenters, we’ve come up with a unique system for laying out stairs and cutting finished skirtboads, one that should save you time as well as hair.

What to avoid

Some of the carpenters we interviewed prefer to hang their stringers right off the rim joists, cutting the first tread flush with the rough deck.

(Note: Click any image to enlarge. Hit "back" button to return to article.)

While that approach simplifies hanging the stringers—because connectors can be attached directly to the rim joist—it complicates newel post and handrail design.

For the handrail to meet code (34″ to 38″ above the nosing of each tread), a flush top tread pushes the handrail to over 40 in. above the deck, far above a standard 36 in. guardrail. Longer balusters are available from manufacturers, but raising the guard rail around the deck to 42″ blocks a potential view and makes the rail look more like a fence. Yes, a 42″ guardrail is required by some codes, like California’s CBC, but not by the IRC. But the real problem with flush top treads isn’t just aesthetics: the triangular space between the top tread and the bottom of the raked rail won’t meet the code requirement of a 6-in. sphere, and that requirement is ubiquitous.

One solution for correcting these problems is installing a second newel post near the nose of the first tread. But that means two extra newel posts (additional costs), and a very tight spacing between newel posts, barely enough room for two balusters!

Finding a Solution

Jed Dixon saw that detail and said: “Interior stairs always begin one tread down from a landing or upper floor. There is no reason not to follow the same rule with exterior stairs. I often support interior stairs with a plywood hanger, which is the perfect solution for exterior stairs.”

Greg DiBernardo, a frequent contributor to JLC and Professional Deck Builder, does just that. He hangs a 2×10 ledger beneath the rim joist to carry the stair stringers. Across the joint between the hanger and the rim joist, Greg fastens 2×4 pressure-treated blocks to strengthen the ledger.

Our group circulated a drawing of that detail and came up with several improvements. Carl Hagstrom worried that nails, and especially lags, would eventually work their way out of the blocks because of wetting cycles. He was also worried that short blocks might split, even with through-bolts for fasteners. Frank Caputo suggested using a piece of pressure-treated plywood and through bolts.

Composite & PVC Stringer Spacing

Mike Sloggatt said he would skip the hanger altogether and extend the stringers up under the deck and cut them to fit tight against the next joist, or against a header—a perfect solution for a wood deck. But modern materials aren’t so friendly. TimberTech composite deck boards require a minimum stringer spacing of 12 in.; their PVC decking requires a minimum spacing of 10 in. Azek decking requires a minimum of 9″ between stringers, from center to center! For anything greater, Azek provides several recommendations for additional blocking. With all those stringers, it’s much easier to install a hanger beneath the rim joist.

A Simple Solution

We continued to look for a the perfect solution until one night, after a few beers, Tom Brewer finally spoke up: “Why not extend the tails on the newel posts to support the hanger, then you can bolt the hanger through the back of the newels.” (see below)

Someone else chimed in and suggested we extend the outer stringers flush with the back of the newel posts, otherwise they’d be fastened too close to the end of the hanger: Even if we used Simpson’s new stringer hanger (LSCZ), the nails would be right at the edge-grain of the wooden hanger. Besides, by running the outside stringers to the back of the newel posts, bolts could pass through the stringer and the newel post in the opposite direction (see below), reinforcing the upper newels so they’d easily handle 200 lbs of concentrated load—another IRC code requirement.

Concerned about the lateral load of the stair carriage on the newel post tails, Carl Hagstrom emphasized that the base of the carriage must be fastened securely to the concrete pad—a critical component in the design: Any movement at the foot of the stringers would allow hinge-point movement between the stringers and the newel-post tails. (see below)

Just to be on the safe side, we sent a drawing of that detail to a building inspector from the City of Los Angeles. He liked the detail—a lot. His only demand was that we use 1/2″ through bolts for all fastening connections.

Securing the Bottom Newel Post

Deck and stair railings are required to meet a 200 lb. concentrated load in any direction. While bolting the upper newel posts to the stringers provides substantial reinforcement, securing the lower newel posts is always problematic, especially when code requirements conflict. Current IRC code requires a continuous handrail from the top riser to the bottom riser, which means bottom newel posts must be set on or in the concrete pad beyond the bottom riser. One way to meet that code requirement, and still bolt the bottom newel to the stair carriage, is to apply a continuous handrail in addition to the guard rail descending a stair. We’ll discuss those options in a later article on High-end Details for Decks and Porches. To learn more about current codes and how they affect deck and porch construction, pick up a copy of the JLC Guide to Decks and Porches. For specific code definition and explanation, check out Deck Construction, which is based on the 2009 IRC.

Start with the finish

Jed Dixon always says: “Start with the finish and work back to the rough.” That’s the only way to solve the second problem that most carpenters encounter with stairs: keeping the risers within the code-required 3/8″ variance. The easiest way to ‘see’ the finish and measure from the finish to the rough, especially on a complicated stair, is with a story pole. For this article, we’re ‘condensing’ Jed’s JLC Live presentation. The only things missing are the side trips Jed takes during his clinics, and the jokes.

The Rough-to-Rough Rise

When you layout stringers, you have to measure the rough-to-rough rise from where the stair begins on the ground or concrete to the top of the deck joists. To get that measurement on a porch that’s fairly close to the ground, you can hold a long level out over the joists, but on a deck that’s 5 feet or more over your head, it’s easier to use a laser (see photo, right). Besides the rough-to-rough measurement, you also need to know if any brick or stone or other material will be installed after the stairs are in, and how thick that material is. You also need to know the thickness of the treads and the decking.

In the example we use at lumberyard clinics, the rough-to-rough measurement is 28 5/8 in. The decking and treads are 1 in. And the stone or brick added later will be 2-1/2 in. thick.

Story Pole Layout

Using a piece of 1×2 or 1×4, measure up from the bottom and make a mark a line at 28 5/8 in.—that’s the rough-to-rough height of the stair.
Then start laying out the finish details starting at the bottom. Measure up 2 1/2 in. and draw a line at the top of the brick.
Next, layout the 1-in. decking on top of the deck joists by measuring up 1 in. from the upper rough-to-rough line.

Now it’s easy to ‘see’ and measure from the finish to the finish.

Measure from the top of the brick to the top of the deck. That’s the finish-to-finish rise, in this case, 27 1/8 in. (see below; closeup on right)

Divide that measurement by the total number of risers. Because the maximum rise allowed by IRC code is 7 3/4 in., in this example we use 4 risers.

A construction calculator is a must for laying out stairs. Without it, you can’t overcome cumulative error. Here’s what that means: Using a calculator, enter 27 1/8 in. then divide by 4 in. The result is 6 13/16. Now clear the calculator a couple times and enter 6 13/16, then press  + and = three times. The sum is 27 1/4 in. That represents a 1/8″ cumulative error in just four risers. On a taller stair, it’s easy to end up with a cumulative error of over 3/8 in., especially if you’re using a framing pencil to mark your lines.

The Risers (Rise)

A construction calculator will prevent cumulative error if you allow it to. Clear the calculator a few times, then enter 27 1/8 in. Divide by 4. The result is once again 6 13/16, but that’s just the number in the display. If you push the “INCH” button (see image, right), you’ll see that the calculator is actually using a decimal fraction to do the math (6.7813). The calculator is then rounding off the decimal fraction to an inch fraction carpenters are accustomed to working with. Let the calculator do its job. Press the + button ONCE then for each succeeding riser, just press the = button and the calculator will provide an exact location for every riser: 13 9/16 in. and 20 3/8 in.

Measuring from the top of the brick, layout those locations on the story pole. Those marks are the top of the deck boards on each tread. Measure back from each mark 1 in. to locate the top of each riser on the rough stringer.

The Treads (Run)

The IRC code requires a minimum tread width of 10 in., with a nosing between 3/4 in. and 1 1/4 in. A 10-in. rough tread works perfectly with most manufactured stair materials: With 1/2-in. riser stock tucked behind two 5-1/2 in. standard deck boards—on top of a 10-in. rough tread, the nosing on each tread will project about 1 in. (see below)

Stringer Template

Now that the story pole is complete, it’s time to layout the stringer. Most carpenters pick a straight piece of stringer stock for the first stringer. After cutting out the treads and risers, they use that board as a template for laying out all the other stringers. But the template never ends up as perfect as you wish. First, you can’t overcut the treads or stringers or you’ll weaken the stringer, so you have to finish the cuts with a handsaw or jigsaw, which means the cut lines are rarely finish quality. And using a piece of 2x material for a template makes it even more difficult to get a straight clean line on every stringer.

Frank uses a piece of 1×12 for stringer templates, which is easy to layout. He can overcut the treads and risers and get perfectly straight lines, and he even uses a miter saw to make the cuts, so the template can be used to cut the skirt boards, too. More on that later.

Stair Gauges (Diagonal)

If you’ve ever used a gauge block to step off dentil molding, you’ve probably learned that gauge blocks never work perfectly. That’s because of cumulative error—both small errors in math, and the thickness of your pencil line. Stair gauges are just like gauge blocks. Framing squares are great for laying out stairs—in fact, there’s no better way—but used by themselves, they don’t solve cumulative error problems. Instead, use a construction calculator to layout your stringer template.

Once more, divide 27 1/8 x 4 risers. The result is  6 13/16 in.

Press the “RISE” button. (Click image to enlarge)
Enter 10 in. then press the “RUN” button.
Next, press the “DIAGONAL” button.

That’s the measurement you want!

We allowed Jed ONE side trip in this article because this is an important tip! While you have the diagonal measurement on the calculator, press the PITCH button (see image, left) and record the pitch of the stair. That’s going to be important when you cut the template and the balusters! The pitch on this stair is 34.14 degrees.

With the diagonal measurements, you can eliminate cumulative error from tread to tread. The distance between the tip of tread #1 and tread #2 is 12 1/16. Now press the + button and then the = button. The distance to the tip of tread #3 is 24 3/16. Press the = button for the remaining tread locations. In this example, 36 1/4 in. would be top edge of the deck.

Start by striking a line for the first riser, about 16 in. from the bottom of the template. (see image, right) We’ve installed the stair gauges on the inside of the framing square, to make it easier to do live presentations, but whether you install them on the inside or the outside doesn’t matter—as long as the rise is 6 13/16 in. and the run is 10 in.

Next, hook your tape on the tip of the first riser and measure up the diagonal to the second riser—12 1/16 in.
Mark all the diagonals with the tape measure secured in the same place.

Now you can place the framing square on the template aligning the upper edge with the diagonal measurement mark at 12 1/16 in. and there won’t be any cumulative error.

To be certain the framing square is right on the measurement mark, hold your pencil on the mark,
then slide the framing square right up to the pencil and scribe the riser line.

Use the same technique for the laying out the next two risers and treads. (see below)

Make the template rough-to-rough

Even though all the treads and risers are laid out, the template is far from finished. At this stage it could be either a finish-to-finish template or a rough-to-rough template. Stringers are rough framing, so we need to cut the template for the rough measurements. That means transferring a few details from the story pole to the template.

Bottom details

Hold the story pole on the template with the bottom of the first tread board on top of the first tread, then strike a line across the bottom of the story pole.
Then extend that line across and beneath the first tread—that’s the line of the concrete pad.

Using the story pole is the easiest way to avoid a bottom riser that’s too tall and ensure that the stringer sits right on the rough concrete pad. With that detail completed, the template can only be used for rough-to-rough layout.

Top Details

The top of the stringer is a little tricky because it extends 5 in. to the back of the newel post. Mark that dimension by holding the framing square at the 5-in. mark. (see below)

To make it easier to install the stringers, Mike Sloggatt likes to cut the stringers so the tops register off the bottom of the deck joists. In the set we use for our clinics, the joists are only 2x4s (it’s just a set!),

so we measure down from the tip of Riser #4 (the top of the deck) 3 1/2 in,
then use the framing square to scribe a line along the top of the stringer.

If you’re using 2×6 joists, you’d measure down 5 1/2 in.; for 2×8 joists, the notch would come down 7 1/2 in. and cut into the extended tread line.

Cutting the template

We said earlier that a miter saw is the best thing to use for cutting the template, and it’s surprisingly easy to do.

Start with the riser diagonals toward you.

Swing your saw to the complementary angle of the pitch (90-34.14 = approx. 56 degrees). Cut the bottom of the template at that angle, then flip the template end for end and roll the template so the diagonals are against the fence.

First cut the top of the template, then cut each of the treads.
Next, swing the saw to 34 degrees and cut the risers, working from the top down.
Finally, flip the board one last time and cut the top where the back of the stringer flushes out with the back of the newel post.

You only have to swing the saw once.

In our next story, we’ll show you how to use the same template for cutting out the finished skirt board—with a router! And we’ll share some great tips on installing manufactured handrail on a rake, and dressing up a high-end deck.

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In many homes, plastic has replaced wood and permeated almost every exterior building product. Not surprisingly, builders have become fluent at installing plastic, while wood skills have begun to disappear. Just when we need them most.

Recently, our company was privileged to build a home for a client with traditional tastes; the desire for an authentic look—especially on his back porch, where he wanted wood, was specified for ceiling, walls, floor, and columns. The challenge: using sound techniques for installing traditional materials in an exterior environment. In this article, I’ll focus on the floor and columns, which bear the brunt of sunlight and water.

Wood is hygroscopic

Wood absorbs water and when it does, it moves. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Each December, our families gather to slaughter hogs. A half-round wooden trough is filled with water for scalding—the first step in making lard. This trough, when brought out of storage, always has visible gaps between the slats. Around Thanksgiving someone places burlap bags in the trough and keeps them wet, swelling the slats.

Moisture and wood movement can also be a bad thing. We recently had a callback where water leaked through the joints of a factory window, causing water damage to a new hardwood floor. Just as with the trough, the boards swelled and they cupped, with the whole floor becoming wavy.

These experiences weighed heavy in my mind as we began designing the porch floor and framing.

Detailing for wood movement

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During the design stage, we identified several objectives for the supporting structure of this Douglas fir T&G deck.
Building it sloped to the exterior, with ventilation, were priorities. Early on, we ruled out dimensional lumber because of the proximity to grade. We decided on a detailed concrete slab. Our subcontractor poured a 4″ thick slab sloped 3/16 per foot to the outside and we allowed it to cure. Next, we installed a layer of Ice & Water membrane, so that rainwater dripping through the T&G decking would shed and drain off the slab quickly. The membrane also prevents ground moisture from dampening the underside of the decking.

For decking supports, we ripped a PT 1X6 in half and used spacer blocks to create ventilation channels. A 3/8″ gap at the perimeter allows air to circulate freely. Minor shimming of the sleepers prepared the way for decking installation.

Anyone with experience installing T&G decking enjoys the simplicity: nail through the tongue, slide the next one in place, nail through the tongue, etc. Right? Well, not so fast when you’re installing the material outside, or even inside, these days.

Understanding moisture content

Thinking about that cupped and wavy hardwood floor, I pulled out my trusty MMC 220 Moisture Meter by Wagner and took a few readings. Setting the specific gravity for Douglas fir (.50) and checking various boards, I found the average moisture content (MC) to be 11%. Next I consulted two charts. The first one can be found in a Forest Products Laboratory publication titled: Moisture Content of Wood in Use. The second chart is found in Chapter 12 of the Wood Handbook, also published by the Forest Products Laboratory.

Consulting these charts, I found 12% to be the equilibrium MC for wood in an exterior environment. However, the second chart stated the MC would rise in the winter to almost 15% in my regional area. Faced with these facts, I decided to gap the decking as I installed it. Using a piece of plastic banding and spaced the boards apart, nailing as I went. My weapon of choice is an SN60 loaded with 2 ½-15 gauge stainless steel nails. The SN60 seemed to work better than a flooring stapler, as it didn’t drive the boards tightly together. My helper precut the boards and routed the drip while I nailed. Many donuts later (yes we eat them in Illinois, too) we finally had a finished floor. I enjoyed watching the gaps in the decking widen a little first, but then came a rainstorm. The gaps closed completely. Was I glad for that spacing!

The posts

With the flooring in place, we turned our attention to the four solid cedar posts that support the second floor and the roof above. The weight of the posts also got our attention during installation—trust me, they’re heavy—but that’s another story. The client wanted some sort of trim on the 10×10 posts so we got our creative juices flowing and made a mockup of a 9 1/2″ base and 4 1/4″ capital. With the customer’s approval, we turned to the next challenge—making miter joints that can withstand the expansion and contraction of outdoor wood movement.

Having seen older buildings with miter joints that have separated, I wanted to do something more than simply nailing molding around a large solid post. Remember, MC of exterior wood in central Illinois fluctuates between 11% and 15%! The installed posts measured 12.5%, which mean they’d swell about 1/8 in. in the wet summers. And they’d shrink, too, maybe even more in the winter. We were already seeing substantial cracks in the posts. The idea of wrapping trim around a moving post was…well…unsettling. To solve the problem, I cut a groove into the post to receive the trim and accommodate any potential wood movement.

Start your routers

I decided to rout out the wood to a depth of 3/8″ and then install the moldings 1/4″ into the post. With an 1/8″ gap at each side of the trim, the post could swell up to 1/4″ before it would begin to stress the moldings. My preferred router for this work is the Bosch Colt because they’re easy to grip and maneuver, especially working at the top of the posts from a stepladder.

I set the angled base for the Colt at 10 degrees and cut a groove 4 3/8″ from the top of the post, using a scrap of wood as a guide. A sharp reader will notice that 4 3/8″ is 1/8″ more than the height of the capital molding. I planned for this small gap, along with the slight angle, to allow water to escape and also encourage drying—an important detail for exterior trim.

After cutting the groove on an angle, I used another Colt with the standard base (multiple routers are good thing!) and a straight bit to excavate the wood above this groove. Some places were difficult to reach with the router, like right under the beam and against the house. I used a Fein Multimaster to complete those cuts.

All bare wood received two coats of sealer before the moldings were attached.

Pre-assembly is quicker

I cut the abacus and echinus to length and biscuit joined them together, and chamfered one edge of the echinus. Biscuits reinforced the miters while I dry-fit the entire assembly. All sides of the moldings were sealed except for the miters. We began installation by coating the miters and slots for the biscuits completely with Titebond III. Next we fit three sides together and slid the assembly around the prepared groove. We secured the last piece of molding using spring clamps to hold the joints tight. Centering the capital on the post, we secured them by nailing through the abacus into the beam. The finished capitals can battle moisture with their secret design weapons for drainage and expansion totally invisible to the client.

Protection for the plinth

The process we used for installing the plinth was similar to the capital, except we used only a single groove rather than mortising out the entire height of the base.  Using the Colt again and a straight edge, I routed a groove 3/8 deep by 3/4 wide into the post. With the other Colt and the angled base, I cut a 45-degree chamfer at the bottom of the groove so that water wouldn’t puddle in the groove and cause rot. A Multimaster and chisel finish the cuts against the house. As before, we sealed all raw wood twice.

I chamfered the baseboard on a table saw, and cut a rabbet so the top of the base would fit into the groove on the post. Then I mitered all the pieces. I didn’t want the plinth sitting down flat against the deck, so I added a special detail—a scoop cut out of the bottom, which was easy work using a Colt with a flush-cutting bit and a template.

We assembled all the pieces with Titebond III and used clamps to hold everything tight. After the glue set, we centered the base assembly on the post. Here we ran into a snag. Although the base was centered on the post, the base was not parallel to the deck boards because the posts were twisted! Aren’t they always? But our solution to moisture movement also provided a solution to the twisted posts.

Final details

We had enough wiggle room to rotate the plinth detail slightly and make the sightlines almost perfect. One nail through each plinth holds the assembly in place.
To dress up the posts a little more, we chamfered the edges using the largest bit from Freud available chucked into a DeWalt router with an offset base for better stability. But that raised a new issue: the routed chamfers were much smoother than the rough sawn cedar. To solve that problem, we first tried a Multimaster blade and then a hand saw to create the illusion of wood grain by dragging the teeth along the wood until the proper roughness was achieved. After cleaning up mountains of sawdust and painting the chamfers we stepped back to admire the finished product. The rough posts had been transformed into eye pleasing columns. And best of all, we felt satisfaction in doing our part to make them last!

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AUTHOR BIO

John Butler is the foreman of a small construction company. He works with two other carpenters doing mostly new construction and general contracting, along with the occasional remodel thrown in. He’s feeling the shortage of new homes to build, but still continues to work 40+ hours a week. John’s homes are generally much smaller than the 6000 sq. ft. beast discussed in this article; most of them are three bedroom, single story and 2300 sq. ft. They sell for 300K, including the lot. John enjoys chainsawing and having the family over for a wienie roast. He’d also like to install an outdoor wood burner, if he can ever find a home in the country for sale.

•••

(Figuring that many readers would like to know more about those hog troughs, we asked John to write a thorough description of their use. After reading John’s vivid account, we decided that photographs weren’t necessary. Aren’t you glad?)

John: My uncle has always taken care of the scald trough prior to butchering. The trough is half-round, composed of approx. 3″ wide by 1 1/2 ” thick slats, cut on a bevel—you can see gaps between the slats. The trough won’t hold water at first. We have to lay burlap bags in the bottom to keep the trough damp. There are two or three metal rods that run through all of the slats with a nut on each end to draw the slats tight. The half-moon sides are made of similar slats set into a dado. Because we make lard from the hog’s fat, it is necessary to remove the hair first. This is where the scald operation comes into play. The trough is filled with water, heated in cast-iron cauldrons over an open fire. Optimum temp is around 160 degrees depending on outside temp, humidity, temp of the hog, sign of the moon, and any other old saying one can think of.

A length of thick rope is laid in the trough to roll the hog. One man holds the two ends of the rope, while the other holds the middle of the rope; they rotate the hog until the hair begins to loosen. Then the hog is rolled out of the trough onto a wooden table where 4 men promptly use a round metal scraper with a wooden handle to remove the hair. It’s a tricky operation: if the water is too cool, or if the hog isn’t rolled enough in the trough, the hair refuses to let go. And if the water is too hot or the hog is rolled too long, then the hog’s skin can tear and shred in the process.

After scalding, the hog is taken inside and hung with the head hanging down, where it is gutted and then cut in half. When the meat has cooled and the halves are being processed, the outer fat/skin layer is removed and cut into 1″ cubes. These cubes are cooked in the cauldron over an open fire. After about an hour, much of the fat has turned to liquid and the cubes of fat start to float in the liquid. The cauldron is removed and the fat cubes run through a press to squeeze the lard out. The result, when cooled, is exactly what old timers used instead of Crisco. If the lard is cooked properly (not “green”) it doesn’t need to be refrigerated and will not spoil. Old timers also kept cuts of meat in with the lard to protect the meat from spoiling (before freezers). Some of my family uses this lard for baking though the majority goes to a local bakery.

I started my Handyman business in Los Angeles, CA back in 1999 after leaving a 23-year sales career. I made a good living in sales, but it wasn’t satisfying. I’ve always been interested in fixing things, and even more interested in working with wood.

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot — there’s a huge difference between the work I do today and the funky 1×10 knotty-pine nailed-together bookcase I built for my bedroom as a kid. Today, the jobs I enjoy most, and the ones I make the most money on, involve fine finish work, including custom cabinets, bookcases, and built-ins of every type.

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But I didn’t build a successful business just by doing built-ins!

Many times I get into a customer’s door by doing a small handyman repair. After checking out their house, I always recommend something: a little crown molding in the entry, new baseboard, or new casing to help improve their home.

In Southern California, that approach allowed me to quickly build my business up to four guys and two trucks. What a nightmare that was! I decided to close it down and move all the way across country to North Carolina and start all over again at the age of 50 — no, not a mid-life crisis! See my bio below.

In no time at all, I discovered that the folks in North Carolina needed built-ins and finish carpentry work, too. And my marketing and sales skills put me a step above the competition. A lot of the homes here have niches on one or both sides of the fireplace. That’s turned into a profit center for me. I specialize in designing and building bookcases and cabinets for big screen televisions, along with built-ins for closets, laundry rooms, and bathrooms.

I use a Festool saw and guide rail to break down sheet goods, because my shop is too small to move around full sheets.

Here in North Carolina, I decided to concentrate on custom built-in bookcases and entertainment centers at a mid-range price. What I mean by mid-range is that my units are priced for middle-class folks that can’t afford high-end cabinet-shop prices, yet they don’t want to buy something at a furniture store and have to assemble it.

Once the sheets are broken down, I size them to finished dimensions on my table saw

Besides, they often need a custom unit made for a specific space. Believe me, there’s a large market for this need. With the recent slowdown, my business has been hurt some — I’m not booked in advance as far as I used to be. But there’s still demand for affordable custom-made built-ins and finish work. I can easily make a nice living and profit at this level.

Marketing

But in reality, my business is much more dependent on marketing than it is on carpentry. Yes, carpenters have to market themselves! And “sales” is not a four-letter word. In fact, if you want to do the type of work you enjoy, you’d better get comfortable with selling yourself. Otherwise nobody knows who or what you do.

Since I had prior experience in sales, I decided the best method was to put an ad under handyman services in the main Yellow Pages directory. I went with a dollar bill size ad that stood out and attracted attention. In the ad, I listed some of the custom work I enjoyed doing — bookcases and entertainment centers, but most importantly, I said I did small jobs. I said it twice! In huge letters. It’s very important to have large-size print in your ad; after all, the purpose of an ad is to attract attention.

What’s a small job for me? Anything. Anything that gets me in the door. Usually something from $75.00 to $500. I used the same technique to get started in my new home state that I used in Southern California. On the average, I get 4-6 calls a week.

The first thing a prospective client says is: “I see you do small jobs.”

“You bet,” I always reply with a big smile. “And no job is too small.”

People like to hear enthusiasm; they like to hear that you’re willing to work hard at anything — they take that to mean you’re willing to work hard to help them. That attitude gets me in their house almost every time; whether it’s for some small woodwork repair, to hang a picture, fix a drywall patch, or whatever.

Like I said, this system really works. Just don’t try it near where I live!

I make all of my cabinets with adjustable shelves.
Drilling the holes is easy using a Festool LR 32 system with a 1010 plunge router.
I may sound like a Festool addict, but I’m not. I just don’t know of another system that allows me to build quality cabinets quickly in such a confined space.

Once I’m in a customer’s home, I start looking around to see what else I can do, what kinds of work I can recommend: maybe a French door, maybe wainscoting, or crown molding; maybe a deck, a bookcase or cabinet unit. I try to learn what the people like about their home, how they live, what they might not like, too. As soon as I see an opening, I make a recommendation and get out my picture book — my portfolio. My book is nothing special, trust me — it’s just a collection of photographs from jobs I’ve done, and some clippings from magazines of stuff I’ve always thought looked cool. I show that picture book to the wife and husband and point out some ideas they might like. Remember, most women — in fact, most people — don’t have the experience we have with carpentry, and they aren’t visual, they cannot imagine something in their home unless they see it in a picture or drawing. So it’s not necessary to make a hard sell. I just offer suggestions, in a friendly kind of way.

I might point at their living room and say: “Oh, how funny! I did a pair of built-in cabinets just a month ago for a home that had those same niches beside the fireplace. The people wanted a large television and didn’t know where to put it.”

Or I might say: “Wow, what a nice view you have out these windows! Some day you should put in a French door right here, with a deck outside! That would really open up your home!”

Forty percent of the time I make a sale — I’ve tracked it. Twenty-five percent of the time, it’s finish work and cabinets—my favorite. The customers often respond the same way: “Honey, this would look nice in this room” or “Gosh, we’ve been looking for someone to do some built-ins for us,” or “We were thinking of putting a deck out there, too!”

My picture book is in a notebook with non-glare sleeves and glossy pictures — it’s no fancy portfolio. In fact, I sometimes wonder if one of the reasons I succeed is because I don’t put on any airs. I’m just a carpenter my customers can trust.

I take photographs of all my work with a good digital camera — and that’s as important a tool as my table saw. I print the photos out — including some of the process shots showing how I build things, so my customers can see the whole story. People are drawn to good stories, just like they’re drawn to good craftsman. In fact, I tell a story about each picture in my book — I talk about the clients, their kids, or their dog. And I show the customers different details with every photograph. I print the photographs in different sizes, so the book is more like a storybook, with some of my best jobs in full-page prints, along with close-ups in 4×6 prints that show details about the construction or the installation.

In fact, I include a full story-board of a typical job from the rough sketch to the finish product, including each step of cutting, assembly, and installation, from the carcass to the doors, so my customers can see that I build everything myself, that my shop isn’t a huge fancy factory, that they’ll be working with only one person — me.

I also have photographs of different cabinet details, from doors to crown molding, from fluting options on pilaster to arched openings on bookcases, and glass shelves with lights. I want my customers to pick something that they like right then and there. After all, why have to come back for a second sales call, or a design session, if you can accomplish everything on the same trip — and get paid for fixing the loose hinges on their front door at the same time!

Mass Marketing

If you’re not getting enough action from an advertisement in the Yellow Pages, another idea I use is buying a list of new homeowners from a lead source, which you can find online, then do a mailing. I have an oversize postcard made up that promotes my handyman service and custom built-ins. From this source I usually get a 10% response rate, which is not bad. As you get going, remember your best referrals will be from prior customers — so make sure you leave behind happy customers! You’ll need to have quite a few lead sources coming in to keep you busy.

I join all my cabinets with dominos, which work better for me than biscuits (Anyone need a slightly used biscuit joiner?).
Dominos register the pieces flush in both directions, so fastening is much faster.

Selling Yourself: ABT

ABT means Always Be Thinking! When you go to an appointment for an estimate, or to do a job, Always Be Thinking! What else you can do for these people? What else can you offer them that you can do well? Remember, most of these people first see me as a handyman, not a custom carpenter, till I show them pictures of my work. Let me tell you what I mean.

I went to an appointment several months ago, in the late afternoon. I usually have just finished working for the day, so I am wearing my work clothes — sort of messed up, you know what I mean. And I’m wearing my American flag bandana (you can see it in the photos), which has been one of my trademarks since 2000. So I show up looking pretty down to earth, maybe a little strange, too!

	I don’t build a lot of cabinets so I make my own doors with a stile and rail cutter set in my router table. First I cut the sticking, then I cut the copes. (see photos, Left)
	Why farm out the work if I can do it myself and make a little more money on each job? Plus, I can make a custom door in an hour, which is really handy, especially if I make a mistake!

Well these people look at me and say, “Come on in!” It’s great to see their faces at first. We sit down at their dining room table and I can tell by the look on their faces that they’re not really sure who or what I am. It was just great!

I opened my picture book and after looking at 6-8 photographs, their whole attitude changed.  The wife saw a picture of bead board on a kitchen cabinet wall with open shelves and said, “That would look great on our kitchen island.” BAM got um! The husband said, “Come with me down to the basement and let me show you what I want.” After viewing his den and talking over a few ideas, I priced a small custom oak bar, two bookcases, and bead board around a window seat in their kitchen. After all was said and done, we were talking about $5,000 worth of work. Of course they hadn’t planned on spending that much. I went there to price a single bookcase. But I kept my mouth shut and let them do the talking. In the end, they decided to do it all. And even if they hadn’t, I would have sewn seeds for future work on their home.

I make the raised panels, too, on the same router table, so planning is really important in my little shop.

Here’s another example: I received a referral from a store to install four appliances, which, if my arm is twisted, I will do. I did the job, but after showing them my book, I ended up building a room divider between the living room and family room made from two-knee wall cabinets topped with custom columns. Then they hired me to paint their entryway. Then they referred me to a friend who wanted some custom cabinets and a rustic fireplace mantel. All together, from a small handyman appliance job of $500.00, I drew in $9,000 of additional work. All due to ABT — Always Be Thinking.

I have been told by my peers that “I am the real deal:” I come across as genuine; I have enthusiasm and a positive attitude at my appointments. People see that. It’s infectious. And I close 85% of my jobs. I usually plan on a two-appointment close: the first meeting is to gather information; the second meeting is to go back with a price and ideas of what their unit will look like, how it might improve their house (And this is all without SketchUp! I have GOT to learn how to use that program!).

Advertising, cards, and signs

Advertising works, but you have to work it. I also run a small ad in the local paper under the home service directory, which runs only $20.00 per week. I put my email address in this ad and 1-2 times a week I get an email for an estimate. I try to handle those estimates on the phone, with a quick call, just to make sure I’ll be doing the job when I go there.

Making the doors slows me down some, which is a good thing. You can’t enjoy what you’re doing if you’re always hurrying.

Trust me, business cards get you business, but, once again, you have to work them. I always carry fresh looking, full color business cards. You can order them online from places like Vistaprint. They’re very inexpensive. Give out your cards daily. Set a goal to hand out ten cards per day to anybody. If you’re standing in line at the local home center, turn to the person behind you and say: “Hey, here’s my card. I do custom built-ins and handyman service. If I can help you out sometime, let me know.” Believe me, the people won’t bite you, and they can’t run away either! Ten cards a day, times 365 days, is 3,650 cards a year. If only 1% call you, that’s 36 jobs you did not have before. It works.

Yes, I’ve invested in a lot of good tools that make my job easier, more enjoyable, and more precise, but they all pay for themselves, even my Euro-hinge jig. Take a look at the Blum Ecodrill.

Vehicle signs also work very well and say clearly what you do. They should include your phone number in very large and clear print. I have signs on the sides and rear of my truck. Make sure that a sign is on the back, so when people are stopped at a light they can call you up. It works! I’ve seen people actually grab their cell phone and call me on the spot. It happens 3-4 times a month.

There’s a lot of work out there. You just have to be willing to work to get it.

Read this article in its original format at TiC Issue 4!

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AUTHOR BIO

Kreg McMahon was born in 1954, when real woodshop was still taught in high school. And that’s where he got his first taste of woodworking, that and playing in the new post-war housing tracts in the San Fernando Valley. His father’s side of the family was in sales, and his mother’s side was in construction, so it’s not surprising that’s Kreg spent the first half of his life in sales. From the age of 12, Kreg has knocked on people’s doors to ask if they had any small jobs to do: weeding, cleaning, trash removal. Kreg has sold Amway, insurance, and advertisements in the Yellow Pages. But he’s now in the second half of his life — working as a carpenter and running a one-man business: “Honey-Do Handyman and Carpentry Service.” For inspiration and new tips, Kreg turns to the HGTV Network and the New Yankee Workshop. He likes to say: “There’s always something to learn.”

You should know that Kreg moved to North Carolina for several reasons — not because of a mid-life crisis! He wanted to find that simple place in time, someplace that reminded him of Springfield, MO, where, as a boy, he used to visit relatives, and really enjoyed the old brick houses, the large front porches, and the landscape. He heard that Charlotte, NC was similar, so off he went, in search of yesterday today.

Kreg’s other reason for moving was economic: he wanted to get out of the rat race of Southern California, but still needed to work. He did his homework and knew there would be enough demand in Charlotte to support the type of work he enjoys most. Unfortunately, it’s been a tough move. His wife had to stay behind so their daughter could finish out high school. Kreg’s been flying back and forth 6-7 times a year to visit them. But now his daughter has finished high school and his wife might soon be moving back — unless she’s changed her mind, and if Kreg gets his table saw out of the living room!

Kreg’s real passion is ROCK AND ROLL! He’s a drummer and played in rock bands during high school. His one regret is never making the BIG TIME. But from an early age, female groupies have always been a distraction. These days, after work and on weekends, you’ll find Kreg on the front porch, listening to music and maybe sitting around with a few friends, telling old stories about the past, and making creative munchies! He’s a holdover from the sixties; still follows the rock crowds; still attends eight or nine concerts every year; and always wears an American Flag Bandana.

Though it started out as a way to keep the sweat off his brow (his ears are too small to hold a pencil!), that bandana has become a trademark, especially since 9-11. Few friends would recognize Kreg if he wasn’t wearing that bandana. But they’d recognize his voice, and his smile: Kreg’s greatest satisfaction is helping and entertaining people — solving a problem in someone’s home, building a beautiful entertainment center a customer can enjoy, making people laugh.

I’ve been a woman in the construction trades for over twenty years now. I’ve learned to frame, finish and fix along with the other guys. I can trade job-site humor with the best of them, and I can even deal with patronizing salesmen, with their soft pink hands and spotless work boots. But for me the hardest part of all has been finding professional clothing and equipment that fits a not-so-big carpenter.

Clothing: Kids boots with Tonka trucks

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What prompted this article was a catalog I got in the mail one day. It was from a company called Duluth Trading Post, and it promised to supply every- thing a hard-working woman might need. Even though the cover girl had hands like a salesman, I placed an or- der right away. Some of the stuff was really nice, but I’ve still had to find a lot of what I need elsewhere.

I’ve long known that the companies making clothes for construction workers don’t cater to women. After years of shopping in the little boys’ section, and enduring the associated abuse (my boots used to have little pictures of Tonka trucks), I’ve discovered that farmers are more open minded to not-so-big marketing. Agricultural supply companies such as Gempler’s or Agway sell a good range of women’s bibs, coveralls, boots, gloves, and other professional grade work clothing.

A couple of the things I got from Duluth Trading were right on target. One was a pair of work boots, heavy duty, steel-toed, triple wide, and in a size 6! The other was the first set of pro-grade knee pads I’ve ever had that fit.

Safety Gear: Nurses have the right glasses

I almost always wear safety glasses; a couple of near misses converted me. You need a bigger head than mine to wear standard men’s glasses, though. After 15 years of dealing with this problem I discovered that nursing isolation specs have the same ANSI specification as carpenters’ safety glasses, and they are sized for the smaller person. They also have the added advantage of coming in a variety of patterns and colors. I usually sport pink or flowered ones, because they rarely get borrowed by my co-workers. Very early on, I learned a valuable lesson about keeping my long hair tied back.

Safety on a small scale. Medical supply houses carry eye protection for smaller faces. The headband above keeps ears warm and long hair out of the way.

While drilling a hole in concrete, my hair got caught up in the chuck. In a split second the drill ripped out of my hands and smacked me in the head. Since then I’ve tried every solution short of cutting my hair, but a new product from Duluth Trading just addressed the problem head-on: a headband with a pony-tail exit hole. Very cool, and great for cold weather too.

The tool belt

When I first started building I bought a nice tool belt with lots of pockets and pouches. Before long it was gathering dust, and I’ve been searching for the perfect belt ever since. The average size belt almost goes around me twice. Pockets designed to sit in front end up in back, making them virtually inaccessible. Standard pouches are too wide for my shortened belt, and too long as well; they almost bang on my knees. The best system I’ve found is using a standard belt that is wide, strong, and comfortable but that can be shortened. I accessorize it with removable pouches, which I stitch in place where I like them. Duluth Trading sells a variety of pouches designed for the working woman. They worked well once I stitched them in place, but the smaller clip-on pouches tended to pop off unexpectedly. Most long-time carpenters I know support their belts with a set of suspenders, but alas, these too are designed with a man in mind. I’ve yet to find a set with cross-your-heart comfort.

Tools to (over)fill the belt

Framing hammers can equal bruised shins.

Just because I’m little doesn’t mean I don’t need big tools. By the time I put a 30-ft. tape, speed square, knife, pliers, chisel, catspaw, screwdriver, marker and a few pencils in my pouches, there isn’t much room left. I keep my boxes of nails close by and refill more often. I shorten my pencils so they don’t puncture my chest when I bend over; on the other hand, I don’t get stuck when I step through a framed wall. I’ve always carried the same hammers as everyone else; after all, I’m hitting the same nails. They’re not too heavy, but they’re often too long; my framing hammer almost drags on the ground and my roofing hammer has been known to dip in the tar bucket when I step over it.

As part of a tool test we did recently, I got to try out a couple of Stiletto titanium hammers. These are small, light, beautifully balanced, and pack a wallop (like me, according to my husband!). Unfortunately, their retail price of $250 each, puts them into the jewelry department. Last fall I suggested to my husband that every woman deserves a pair of stilettos in her stocking at least once in her life, but no dice this year.

Power tools for small hands

There are so many different power tools out there, some suited for every size and shape. Here are the ones that I have found easiest to use with my smaller hands:

Saw for bigger hands. Circular saws like this one are hard to operate for small hands, especially keeping the guard retracted while pulling the trigger.

Circular saws:

We’ve tested a lot of saws over the years, and the Milwaukee would be my first pick. The grip is manageable, the guard is easy to use, and I can change the blade efficiently. Many circular saws require that you hold the guard up and lock the blade with one hand, while operating the wrench with the other. On some saws, this stretch is impossible for my hands. The Porter Cable, Hitachi and Makita saws are all comfortable, but some of the other popular saws are just sized for bigger hands.

Cordless drills:

I like the drills (cordless and otherwise) with a smaller handgrip. The two I’m first to grab out of the van are the Panasonic and the Hitachi. Another design feature to watch with all cordless tools is the battery release. Some tools have a release button on each side of the battery. These are very difficult for me to use because I can’t reach both release buttons and squeeze at the same time.

Reach for the switch. You should be able to hit the switch with the hand operating a jigsaw, and only a few cordless drill handles are comfortable enough for small hands.

Jigsaws, routers, planers, sanders, grinders and other tools:

The determining  factor for these tools is whether or not I can turn the tool on with the same hand that is driving it. Most tools require that I use two hands to turn them on and off. For smaller jobs that require a router, I reach for a laminate trimmer. Sanders often come in my size, but I like to hire big strong laborers to operate them!

Other tools, like jackhammers and Cuisinarts, will always be out of my league.

Two decades in the trades have been pretty good to me. Being self-employed, I get paid the same as a man, and I’ve never hit a glass ceiling (though I did once get to break a big glass window with a backhoe). I enjoy my work, and I’ve learned to be ‘one of the guys’ and still be a lady when I want to be. Cold beers after work come in exactly the right size, too. Now if I could only see over the steering wheel of the truck.

Read this article in its original format (with more images) at TiC Issue 1!

AUTHOR BIO

Kerri Spier may be slight in stature, but she more than makes up for that in her personality. Born and raised on Block Island, Kerri graduated from Brown University in 1989. After college Kerri returned to the island, where she and her husband, John have run Spier Construction for the past 22 years.

Four years ago Kerri, John and their three kids decided to follow a dream. They packed themselves up and sailed off on their 45-ft. catamaran, Aldora. The first year, they explored the East Coast and the Bahamas. They followed this with a trip down the eastern Caribbean to Curacao. Next, they took the boat through the Panama Canal and sailed as far as Australia with countless stops along the way. Last winter they worked their way up to Malaysia. Each year they return to Block Island and keep their hands in the building business, working for a few months before heading out again. On board Kerri and John boat school their kids with the ocean as their classroom. They hope to complete their circumnavigation in the next couple years before their oldest graduates from high school. And for the record, Kerri keeps her best tool belt on the boat for those rare trips up the mast.

Every time I’m asked to bid or to build a set of stairs, I unroll the plans, look at the details, and shake my head. Architects rarely include and often they don’t even have the basic information I need, the few specifications that allow me to build a staircase that will meet the stringent requirements of building code in my area.

(Note: Click any image to see a larger version. Hit "back" button to return to article.)

Before I can layout a set of stairs, I need to know the exact thickness of the finish floors, including the floors at the top of the stairs, at the bottom of the stairs, as well as on any intermediate landings. I also need to know the run of the stairs—exactly where the architect wants the stairs to start on the first floor and finish on the second, third, fourth, or fifth. And finally, I need to know the exact thickness of the finish treads. Once I have that information, I can make a story pole that allows me to build a stair with confidence that’s dead accurate, never once stopping to scratch my head over the calculations.

A story pole: Every measurement on a stick

Before I describe the layout process, I can’t stress enough the importance for every step of a staircase to be exactly the same height; a 1/4-in. difference between steps can be dangerous if not fatal. And with all the factors that go into a set of stairs, it’s very easy to make a mistake in layout or construction, which can throw off the consistency of the rises.

As with all my finish carpentry, I follow two rules that make my staircases accurate and right: First, I design and layout the work completely before I build it. Second, I start with the finish and work back to the rough.

For complicated projects, a fullscale drawing or loft always works best. (I never depend on the architects 1/4-in. scale drawing—It’s not nearly accurate enough for stair building). But for most of the stairs I build, I just make a story pole, a crucial tool for precision stair building.

A story pole is basically a full-size elevation drawing shrunk down into one dimension—a line, in this case a 1×4 stick. I start by making field measurements, the first of which is the floor-to-floor height from where the stair will start—about the middle of the first riser location—to where the stair will end—about the middle of the top riser.

Measuring the floor-to-distance

Taking an accurate floor-to-floor height measurement is critical. On rare occasions, as with a spiral stair, these points might be plumb above each other, but in most cases, there can be 10 or 12 feet of horizontal distance between the starting point and the ending point of a staircase. We all know that floors aren’t level. In 10 or 12 feet, I’ve seen floors rise or fall more than an inch, especially if one end is in the middle of a floor and the other is at a bearing wall.

[A story pole is basically a full-size elevation drawing shrunk down into one dimension—a line, in this case a 1x4 stick. See photo, RIGHT.]

Stabila Plumb-Bob Line Laser

To measure the floor-to-floor height accurately, most folks use either a long spirit level or a water level, but a laser level is the fastest and most accurate way to

find the difference in elevation between two points that are separated by a large horizontal distance.

For all my stair work, I use a Stabila Plumb-Bob Line Laser. This single tool emits a horizontal line that’s easy to see for making measurements like these. (It’s a pulsing laser as well, so even if I can’t see the line, I can use a receiver to ‘hear’ the line). The laser also has plumb dots which are invaluable for setting newel posts, balusters, etc.

[Measurements in motion. In the animated drawing above, we zoom in on three trouble areas for stair builders.]

I set up the laser so that the horizontal laser line falls at a convenient height between floors, and so that the laser line passes both over the bottom tread location as well as under the top tread location. I measure from the rough floor down to the laser line at the top-riser location, and from the rough floor up to the laser line at the bottom riser location. Adding the two dimensions together gives me the rough floor-to-floor dimension. I mark that number in my ever-present notebook. While the laser is set up, I also mark the laser line on the studs where the stair is going. More on that later.

Add the upper finished floor, subtract the lower

MEASURE UP from where the stair begins.

Before I can layout the stairs or my story pole, I need to know the thickness of the finish floors, especially if the lower floor thickness is different than the upper floor, which is often the case. For example, the second floor might have 3/4-in. tongue-and-groove hardwood over the subfloor. I add whatever the thickness is to the rough floor-to-floor dimension I found earlier.

...AND MEASURE DOWN from the top of the stair for the total rise of the stair.

Frequently, the stairs I’m asked to build land on a lower floor that will have a subfloor for hydronic heat, plus 3/4-in. hardwood, or thick 1 1/4-in. tile, or even 2-in. stone! That total dimension–the thickness of any subfloor plus the finished floor at the bottom of the stair–must be subtracted from the floor-to-floor dimension. Adding the thickness of the upper floor and subtracting the thickness of the lower floor from the rough floor-to-floor dimension gives me the total height of the stairs, finished floor to finished floor.

Modern carpenters use calculators

Construction Master foot/inch calculator

As you can see, there’s a lot of fractional math involved in building stairs, which means lots of room for arithmetic errors—errors that must be avoided if you want the job to run smoothly and the stair to come out in the most pleasing manner. To minimize math errors, I always use a Construction Master foot/inch calculator for all my stair computations. Not only does a foot/inch calculator make it a lot easier to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions of an inch, but it eliminates cumulative error. More on
that in a minute.

For the example we’ll be using in this article, I measured for a stair in my shop, going from the shop floor up to the loft. The floor thickness and change of direction of a landing adds other layout challenges, so I decided to plan for an intermediate landing with a right angle turn. I also decided that the loft will get 3/4-in. hardwood flooring, (typical for a second floor), and the main shop will have 3/4-in. hardwood installed over 1/2-in. hydronic subfloor.

Fig. 1

The measurement up to the laser from where the first tread lands on the shop floor is 45 5/16 in. The measurement down to the laser line from the loft is 54 3/8 in. By adding the two together in the calculator, we know the rough floor-to-floor measurement is 99 11/16 in. [See Fig. 1, LEFT]

Fig. 2

Next we add 3/4 in. for the finished loft floor, which gives us 100 7/16 in. Finally, we subtract 1 1/4 in. for the finished shop floor. That means the finished floor-to-floor distance is 99 3/16 in. [See Fig. 2, RIGHT] If I were measuring a jobsite, I’d write that number down in my Job Book.

CALCULATING THE RISES

Fig. 3

The next step is determining the distance in height between the finish treads, also called the net rise. To get this number, I usually divide the finish floor-to-floor dimension by 7-1/2 in., which is a good average rise for a residential stair. Unless the floor-to-floor figure is exactly divisible by 7 1/2—and I’ve never worked on one that has been—there will be a remainder. To get the number of rises for this example, I divide 99 3/16 in. by 7 1/2 in. The result is 13.225. I’m obviously not going to make 13 normal risers with a short one at the top. The point of the initial calculation is finding the precise number of risers needed for the stair. In this case, I round 13.225 down to the nearest whole number, 13.

Start at the bottom. Hit the mem+ button and the calculator gives the series of heights for the finished treads.

Dividing the finished floor-to-floor height, 99 3/16 in. by 13 gives us 7-5/8 in. rounded off by the calculator to the nearest 1/16th. (By pressing the ‘Inch’ key on the calculator, you can see what I mean. The decimal fraction for 7 5/8 is 7.625, but the decimal fraction for this calculation is really 7.629808. That’s the fraction the calculator will be working with, while giving me the nearest number in a more friendly format).

Fig. 3a

Press the ‘Inch’ key once more to return to fractional inches. Then press ‘Memory +’ [circled button on left] so the calculator remembers that fraction.

Anyone who has ever laid out a stair with a framing square and gauge stops, or used a gauge block to layout repetitive elements such as dentil blocks or wainscoting stiles, has probably experienced cumulative error. If you lay out a stair stringer by stepping off the risers with a framing square, no matter how carefully you set your stops, you could be off by more than 1/2 in. when you get to the last rise. That much of a difference is not acceptable and won’t pass close inspection or code.

By using the calculator’s memory function, I avoid cumulative errors that occur when extremely small fractions, maybe 1/64 or 1/32 in. add up in a repetitive calculation. By default, Construction Master Calculators are programmed to round off small decimal fractions to the nearest 1/16 in. (You can change the programming if you want to work to 1/32 in. but it’s not necessary). If the calculator comes up with a figure that slightly smaller than 3/32, it will round the number displayed down to 1/16 in., while it continues to work with the finer decimal fraction.

[Pay special attention to the detail of the thickness of the finish materials and subfloor and any intermediate landings, LEFT]

Making the story pole

I like to use a clean, straight 1×2 or 1×4 for making story poles, one that’s a little longer than the floor-to-floor distance. I set the pole on horses or on a bench, and hook my tape at one end. (For the sake of precision and clarity, I always hook my tape measure on the bottom of the pole).

LABEL every line carefully and accurately.

First I mark off the height of the finish floor at the bottom of the stair, which includes hydronic heating and the hardwood flooring.

With the tape still hooked, I run up to the other end and mark the rough floor-to-floor distance, and then add on the thickness of the upper finish floor.

Next, I mark the tops of the finish treads. I find their locations with the calculator. [See Fig. 4, LEFT and Fig. 5, RIGHT]

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

That means for your first finish tread location, you must add the thickness of the hydronic subfloor and finish flooring. My last keystroke ‘Memory +’ entered the decimal fraction into the calculator’s memory.

Next I add the thickness of the lower flooring. By using the keystrokes below, the calculator automatically adds that amount to the tread height, putting the first tread at 8 7/8 in.

That simple sum is a critical first step in laying out the story pole.

Locating the tops of all the remaining treads is now extremely easy. We just asked the calculator to add the tread-to-tread rise to the first floor thickness. Now the calculator is ready to give us the rest of the tread heights with the lower flooring already factored in.

As you climb up the story pole, marking the finish top of each tread, you’ll notice that the sixth tread lays out at 47 in. But the calculator puts the seventh tread at 54 11/16 in., not at 54 5/8 in.! As I explained earlier, the calculator isn’t adding 7 5/8 each time, it’s adding the decimal fraction, 7.629808. When the “leftover” fraction in the calculator’s memory hits 1/16 in., the calculator automatically adds that amount to the next result.

[Click, watch, learn. In this short video clip the author takes us through story pole layout with a few nifty tips.]

After marking the tops of every finish tread, I’m ready to work back to the rough dimensions. Remember, always start with the finish and work back to the rough. I detail each tread down the thickness of the finish tread, and down again the thickness of the subtreads. The lowest line at each tread is the height of the cut on the stringer for  that tread. I pay special attention as I detail the thickness of the finish materials and subfloor at any intermediate landings, as well as at the top and bottom of the stair. These are places where the rough rise can vary because the thickness of the finished flooring might be different than at the finish treads.

Stand the story pole up on the subfloor at the bottom tread location, and mark the location of the laser line.

For example, the treads might be detailed down 1 1/16 in. for a 5/4 tread. But the intermediate landing, which gets 3/4-in. hardwood, is detailed down only 3/4 in. The landing will get a rabbeted nosing so that it looks like it’s 1 1/16-in. thick, but the flooring is actually only 3/4-in. thick.

When all finish and rough stair parts are located and labeled on the story pole, I stand it up on the subfloor at the bottom tread location, and mark the location of the laser line. The story pole is then complete.

Now I have a full-scale elevation of the stair layout, all in the compact package of a 1×4. I can take the dimensions of the rough common risers, as well as those of the top, bottom and landing risers directly from it. I can also line up the laser line on the story pole with the laser marks I made on the wall studs, and I can transfer the heights of frame elements right from the story pole to the house frame. In the end the story pole will help me get all the finish risers the correct height.

According to the code in my area, the difference between tread heights can’t exceed 3/16 in. If you care about craftsmanship, and want to leave behind exemplary work, challenge yourself. Try to build your stairs so that the difference between risers is 1/8 in. or less. And at the same time you’ll avoid unpleasant visits from the building inspector.

Read this article in its original format (with more images) at TiC Issue 1!

AUTHOR BIO

Jed Dixon designs, builds, and restores stairs and stair parts in historic New England homes. A sometime-Luddite*, Jed uses power tools in his shop to make everything from treads to turned balusters to hand-carved volutes and railings. And while he orders the occaisional custom part from a local CNC operator, and he’d never part with his Macintosh, I-Phone, or Ipod. Jed and his wife Helen raised their three kids in a 19th century farm house on their rural Rhode Island farm. Kip, their working sheep dog, lets visitors know that stair building may be Jed’s profession, but the farm is his passion.

* A follower of Ned Ludd, a mythical revolutionary said to have destroyed two knitting machines in the late 18th century which inspired a rebellion by early 19th century skilled craftsmen against the mechanized world of the industrial revolution.