At my new home, I built a small guest cabin down by the river (reservations are booked years in advance, so good luck with that!). I wanted to open up the west wall of the cabin, along the river, to both the sight and the sound of the water. But I couldn’t afford a 12-ft. wide commercially manufactured sliding door unit. And besides, I wanted it to look cool. So I made the unit myself. Read the full article…
The joinery in baseboard forms the foundation for nearly all the joinery in finish carpentry, which makes perfect sense because baseboard is meant to replicate the foundation—the plinth—of a classical column. Though casing is the first molding profile noticed in a home, and often the first molding installed in a home, baseboard is usually the first molding that an apprentice carpenter learns to cut, and for good reason. Read the full article…
It’s pretty moist at my new home in Southern Oregon, but no matter where you live, you need to be sure to check the moisture content of your material before you install it, especially if you get a second shipment! Read the full article…
When I started to install the WindsorONE fascia on my shop, I learned that WindsorONE recommends using butt joints. Some of us has probably learned the hard way that manufacturer recommendations typically mean the product won’t be under warranty unless those recommendations are followed! Read the full article…
Co-written by Mike Sloggatt
Around 2,500 years ago, a Greek philosopher we all met in high school named Pythagoras discovered a theorem that can make life easy for carpenters and contractors—if we just knew how to use it, and how to find right angles!
Most of us remember our ABC’s from high school, and we remember the Pythagorean Theorem, too, which applies to any 90-degree triangle. Read the full article…
I’ve been hanging doors for over thirty-five years, and writing about it for nearly twenty-five. For many years, I approached door installs differently every time (like most carpenters). After all, there are so many steps, and there is a lot you need to watch for! It’s tough to do it the same way every time. But a door is a door is a door. Which means unless you’re doing exactly the same thing every time you install one, you’re wasting valuable energy and time. Read the full article…
A door is a door is a door. And although doors might differ in construction or design, you should be doing the exact same thing every time you install one. Read the full article…
Since I began work on my new home and shop, I’ve been learning a lot about new materials. I didn’t want to do this job on my own—I can’t even begin to keep track of all the new instructions and methods to ensure proper installs. Even if it came out in the last five or ten years, it’s still brand new to the way our industry works. Read the full article…
For my first ten or fifteen years in carpentry, Stabila levels were mythical. Most of the time, you couldn’t even buy one, even if you could afford the hefty price tag. There just weren’t many around—only the most discriminating stores sold them, and they were always in short supply. Today you can buy a Stabila level at every professional tool store and lumber dealer. Read the full article…
A long time ago, I lived in Prescott, Arizona and built new homes from the ground up. Being from California, the ground in Arizona was new to me. Through footings, framing, and finish, I struggled to bring those houses out of the rocks and trees without damaging the landscape—and still make a profit. Read the full article…
Up until a few years ago, nearly all the exterior entry doors I installed were made of wood. Every time I finished an install I packed up my tools and left the job knowing the door wouldn’t last long—especially if it was on the south side of a home. Read the full article…
Early last winter, after searching for more than two years, I finally found a new home in Oregon, outside of Medford, near the small town of Ruch. It took a long time to find this place because I couldn’t decide where I wanted to live and once I did, I had a hard time finding a place I could afford—a small, older home that hadn’t been remodeled. After the “big boom,” houses like that became pretty rare. Read the full article…
…and a Deck Ledger
The most important thing I’ve learned about installing doors and windows—and of course I learned it the hard way—is this: Look at the Whole Picture, then always start at the bottom and get the sill perfectly level. That lesson paid off big time while setting a French door and sidelights in my own home. Read the full article…
In Part 1 of this article, we reviewed the details of casing joinery and how to measure for new casing around a door frame. We also reviewed the necessary cut list, so that you can cut your casing right the first time. In Part 2, we moved on to the details of baseboard. We covered the best methods for installing casing and the use of hand-driven nails in Part 3. We’ll finish Chapter 2 by exploring methods for pre-assembly. Read the full article…