DEAR TIM: Our four-year-old house's attic creaks as well as has cracking noises during windy times. The sounds are very loud, waking us up. It sounds like something is going to come crashing down through the ceiling above our bed. It's very unsettling! The builder sent fellow to add 2x4's to some of the trusses. […]
Anthony DiStefano is an inspiration for all of us. He lives in Ocala, FL, and loves to work on cars. "I watched your video and I was wondering if you would give me some off-the-record advise about my garage idea. We have a 3 car attached hip roof CB constructed garage, W-trusses running front to back […]
Dave Keith is working on his home in Syracuse, NY. It's an old one! "I need to know about footers for LALLY COLUMNS. I am fixing an 1870's house, two story, water damage. I will be adding many jack post/lally columns to level up floors and shorten floor joist runs(some 18 foot). Do the footers […]
Simple Common Roof Rafters Quick Column Summary: How do you create a roof rafter You need 4 simple tools and geometry How to determine your roof slope DEAR TIM: I'm now retired and starting to attack a huge list of projects. One of them is building a simple shed and I have no clue how […]
Quick Column Summary: Walkout basement being built One wall will be framed and the others poured concrete The framed wall will be fine Better insulation and no structural issues Zhou (Joe) Yuan emailed me today with a fascinating question about his new home under construction that has a walkout basement: "I'm building a new house […]
Quick Column Summary: Can you vault roof rafters Standard trusses won't modify easily Common framed house can create vaulted ceiling Work with structural engineer Roof rafters, unless the roof is flat, by their very nature are vaulted. Vaulted means installed at a slope. If your house is built with standard trusses, you can't modify the […]
Buildings collapse for many reasons, but who would ever think a pesky thunderstorm could cause it to happen? If you're remodeling your home and REMOVE plywood or OSB sheathing on the walls, you could be asking for trouble. Diagonal bracing on houses PREVENTS the walls from racking and folding down on themselves. You need to […]
Building stair steps can be a very difficult job. Getting the proper distance for the risers and treads can be a mathematical challenge. Local building codes need to be reviewed when building the staircase.
With fall in the air, the weather can get colder and wetter. You need to consider how to protect your home construction building materials from the elements. Manufactured housing options can save time when doing home construction late in the building season.
Tim Carter shares personal story of how tar paper works to keep houses dry.
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