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Posts tagged with “regulations & codes”

Dear Glenn: One Builder’s Headache With Deck Ledger Codes – Part I

DEAR GLENN: I’ve read many of your articles in JLC and I’ve watched videos on your website, too. You seem to be the go-to guy when it comes to deck construction. Maybe you can help me with my headache! I apologize if my rant is long (see below), but I’m hoping it’ll straighten out the issues for other builders, too. — Scott Wells – Scott Wells Construction Co., Medford, OR Read the full article…

Waterproof Windows with HydroGap

Some people (mostly folks who live in big cities!) think that builders who live in small towns are behind the curve when it comes to technology and better building practices. But the truth is that every state in the U.S. is actively improving building codes, and through new requirements on everything from decks to framing to air infiltration to housewrap, even small towns in America are getting up to speed. Read the full article…

Bottom Stair Post and Stringer Deck Connections

When it comes to decks and especially exterior stairs, there are several critical areas that can spell the difference between safe and dangerous construction techniques. For that reason, current code requirements focus on some of those areas. In this article, we’ll look at just one detail: the prescribed method for securing the bottom newel post at the base of a stair.

Read the full article…

Op-ed: Lead Dust Removal

A call for action

Two recent events inspired me to write this article. First, I began using—and decided to review—a vacuum system that employed HEPA (High-Efficiency Particle Air) filtration. The second event was a class I took on safe practices when dealing with lead-based paint. All the stars seemed to align, as I just had a prospective client contact me about a major remodel in a house built circa 1910. I have the training, I have a client, all I need to do is follow the prescriptive path set forth by the governing agency. It is here that the story begins to derail. Read the full article…

Ramps for the Handicapped

Volunteer work: good for the community and good for the soul

One of my first memories, in the early 1930s, when I was 4 or 5 years old, was of our mother taking care of a neighbor woman, Eula Hughbanks, who had tuberculosis. TB was more common in those days, with little hope for a cure, especially for poor people. The nearest medical care of any kind was 30 miles away. Such care might as well have been on the other side of the world for most of us, as few had an automobile. So people did what people have always done, especially in hard times—they took care of one another. Read the full article…

Carpenters of Steel

Earthquake Defense mechanical connections require a lot of planning.

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.” Read the full article…