The Journal of Light Construction articles from April 2005

The Journal of Light Construction archives from April 2005

Why the safety factor?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Let's be practical concerning the article "Strong Rail-Post Connections for Wooden Decks" (2/05). Looking at it from a contractor's point of view, I have the following observations: The bolted connection passed code, so no further refinement is...

No labor shortage.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Just a few thoughts as a member of that "other minority" that most industry publications--and I mean yours--tend to ignore on most occasions. Did Mr. Gritmon of Little River, S.C., (Letters, 2/05) include the unemployed and underemployed...

Success in school.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I have had the pleasure of teaching the construction trade in middle and high school for over 24 years in the Milwaukee area. In 1989, I was teaching in a suburban district with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 students. While many people...

Starting a training program.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... I am writing in response to D.W. Murphy's letter "Help Wanted" in the February issue. As a contractor, I too have had trouble finding young people to work in the trades. Shop classes are all but vanishing from the high school environment....

The question not asked.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... The article "Getting Into Insurance Work" (2/05) was good reading for anyone wanting to get into this business. However, one question--which poses the most danger to remodelers--was not asked: "Should I accept the insurance company's costs for...

Cabinet pull layout jig.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... The cover of the December 2004 issue shows a cabinet jig that I'm interested in purchasing. Any idea where I can find it? Thank you. Leo Boucher St. Leominster, Mass. Try Align-Rite Tool Co. at www.align ritetool.com or...

Setting the record straight.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Your article "Arizona Cracks Down on Unlicensed Contractors" (In the News, 2/05) contained some misleading information. Almost all of the agency directors in Arizona are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor. In that the...

Correction.(Letters)(Correction Notice)
April 1, 2005... Johns Manville's Spider spray-applied insulation (Products, 3/05) is a fiberglass product--not cellulose, as our story's title implied. According to the manufacturer, Spider contains about one-fifth the water used in cellulose spray-in...

DOE study criticizes energy code amendments: efforts to simplify complex code are being undermined, report claims.(In The News)
April 1, 2005... The 2004 Supplement to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) has come under fire from its own authors at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). According to a DOE report released in February, last-minute details added to the code...

Carbon monoxide death spurs new look at old problem.(In The News)
April 1, 2005... In Vermont, a deadly carbon monoxide leak that killed one person and injured six others on January 30 has prompted local and state officials to consider new rules governing CO detectors and annual inspections of fuel-fired heating appliances....

Indiana legislators are considering a bill requiring that portable toilets.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Indiana legislators are considering a bill requiring that portable toilets be present at all unfinished home construction sites, reports the South Chicago Daily Southtown. While federal law already requires toilet facilities on job sites, local...

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has put his muscle behind a bill.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has put his muscle behind a bill that would give builders and homeowners rebates for installing solar panels. The rebates could lower installation costs by as much as $13,000 initially, but would...

New Jersey's highest court has ruled that the state's town building departments can issue notices of building code violations.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... New Jersey's highest court has ruled that the state's town building departments can issue notices of building code violations even after the house has received a certificate of occupancy, reports the Asbury Park Press. The decision overturns an...

Washington, D.C., builder accused of "terrorizing" community.(In The News)
April 1, 2005... Dixon A. Oladele, a Washington, D.C., builder with a lengthy history of fighting city hall over construction issues, was arrested in January and charged with 296 criminal violations of the district's housing codes, according to city officials....

Retreating snows leave legacy of roof-ice repairs.(In The News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... In spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. More seasoned veterans, however, contemplate roof repair. A series of deep snows followed by temperatures cycling around the freezing mark led to an epidemic of roof ice in the...

Texas environmental suit is one to watch.(In The News)(Gunn & Whittington Development Co. )
April 1, 2005... A Texas environmental case could have far-reaching implications for developers, depending on its outcome. A suit filed late last year by Billy Bunch, the executive director of the Austin, Texas-based Save Our Springs Alliance, a clean-water...

Oregon zoning official butts heads with HBA.(In The News)(Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland)
April 1, 2005... Growth and land-use issues have long been controversial around Portland, Ore. Antigrowth groups occasionally lock horns with the area's builders, using heated rhetoric to support moratorium proposals and similar measures aimed at curbing the...

A sting operation in which California investigators posed as homeowners netted 13 contractors.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A sting operation in which California investigators posed as homeowners netted 13 contractors suspected of operating without a license, according to a recent article in the Contra Costa Times. California allows unlicensed handymen to operate as...

Little public outcry is expected as Seattle moves to tighten wetland and creek habitat protection rules.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Little public outcry is expected as Seattle moves to tighten wetland and creek habitat protection rules, according to the Seattle Times. While nearby King County struggled with political controversy when its creekside protection zones were...

Steel-framed buildings need insulation on the exterior.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Steel-framed buildings need insulation on the exterior to economically provide a reasonable amount of R-value, says John Straube, a speaker at Efficiency Vermont's recent Better Buildings By Design conference. Because of the steel's high...

Retrofitting a window into a block foundation.(Q&A)
April 1, 2005... Q. I need to install a basement egress window in a concrete-block foundation wall. What kind of header should I use to support the eaves wall above the new window opening, and how should I install it? A. Rob Corbo, a general contractor in...

Setting a toilet over tile.(Q&A)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Q. What is the proper technique far setting a toilet on an irregular tiled floor? A. Terry Love, a plumbing contractor in Bellevue, Wash., responds: Most floors are a little uneven--with tile floors being the worst--so toilets often need...

Will carpel stifle a radiant slab?(Q&A)(installation of radiant heating)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Q. I'm finishing a basement room for customers who want to put carpet over the radiant slab. I'm concerned the carpet will insulate off some of the heat, but I can't talk them out of it. The slab is 4 to 5 inches thick, and the 1/2-inch PEX...

Service through structure.(Business)(customer relations management)
April 1, 2005... Who, ultimately, is in control of a remodeling project? Let's think about that: It's the clients who are funding the job--you have to keep them happy if you want to get paid. They decide what they want done, how much to spend, and when they'll...

Fast, efficient hiring.(Business)
April 1, 2005... Do you ever consider the time and effort you take to recruit, screen, and hire your staff? Running an ad is just the beginning of a long process that includes screening applications and setting up interviews with those who make the initial cut....

Overtime pay laws.(Legal)
April 1, 2005... It was a long time coming, but last summer people on both sides of the political aisle agreed to overhaul the federal overtime regulations. A law was enacted and new rules took effect on August 24, 2004. Some people believe the changes will...

Foolproof layout for winding stairs: while new stair codes have made winders more complicated to build, full-scale layout eliminates the guesswork.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... Restoration of vintage Victorians is a booming business in the Boston area. As a stair specialist, I'm frequently called in to design, build, and install new, historically correct staircases. The catch is that they also have to meet modern...

Fast floors with structural insulated panels: using floor panels supported by engineered-lumber girders cuts production time on SIP houses.
April 1, 2005... My company is a distributor for Insulspan structural insulated panels in New England and New York. Insulspan's Michigan factory ships 8-by-24-foot panel blanks to us, and we cut and reassemble the raw panels into complete precut SIP packages...

Rot-resistant deck details: for a deck that lasts, seal cut ends, space deck boards far enough apart, and reduce places where leaf litter can collect.
April 1, 2005... Millions of wood decks are built every year. Unfortunately, many of them will deteriorate long before they should. As a deck builder in the Pacific Northwest, I have a lot of experience demolishing and replacing rotted decks. I want what I...

Cordless finish nailers: balance, power, and fast cycle time are key.(Tool Test)(comparative analysis of Senco AirFree 41, DeWalt DC618 and Paslode IM250A)
April 1, 2005... I remember when pneumatic finish nailers moved from factory floors and industrial workshops to residential construction sites. Their superiority over hand-nailing was unquestionable when I was trimming a new house, but on smaller remodels I...

Rx for wood windows: to prevent paint failure, make sure wood windows are properly flashed, prepped, and painted ... and don't forget the caulk.
April 1, 2005... When I lived in New England, I was surrounded by decades-old traditional wood windows that still held paint quite well. But where I live in Seattle, it's not unusual to find expensive, recently manufactured windows being replaced before they're...

A better shower waterproofing system?(Kitchen & Bath)(personal narrative)
April 1, 2005... Though it's the tile that usually gets all the attention, the key ingredient in a custom shower is really its waterproofing system. When I built a tiled shower in my own renovated 1898 Victorian home, I had a couple of major concerns: I was...

Sort and stash.(Storage Solutions)
April 1, 2005... One of the habits of highly effective people, I imagine, is to have a place for everything and to put everything in its place. For those folks, SieMatic's cabinet organizers could become downright addictive. The door-mounted, height-adjustable...

Steal and stow.(Storage Solutions)
April 1, 2005... If your clients are willing to retire a broom closet or borrow space from an adjacent room, a custom walk-in pantry is a great kitchen-storage idea. Trick out the interior with custom shelving and distinguish the deal with a Pantry Series door,...

Slide and slice.(Storage Solutions)
April 1, 2005... In my house, we store the cutting board by leaning it against the backsplash wall. Every once in a while, it falls over with a nerve-racking bang. We just put it back. Maybe a Pull-Out Cutting Board--one of Crown Point's many intelligent...

Stack and stuff.(Storage Solutions)
April 1, 2005... Pantry cabinet design has evolved over the decades from endlessly unfolding tall cabinets to giant-capacity, open-sided roll-out shelves. Case in point: the innovative Base Super Chef Pantry, which packs a lot of organization in a relatively...

Super bowl.(Toilets And Bidets)
April 1, 2005... Great clients deserve greater-than-average fixtures. The Great John Toilet answers the call with an extra-elongated, extra-wide seating area that can be used by a person of any size. (The two-piece ceramic unit has been tested to 2,000 pounds.)...

Future finish.(Toilets And Bidets)
April 1, 2005... Prediction: In the year 2525, every American home will have a bidet--and no one will think they're weird anymore. Today, most of our bathrooms are too small to accommodate another fixture. Enter the Bio Bidet, a retrofit toilet seat in five...

Long bowl, standard footprint.(Toilets And Bidets)
April 1, 2005... The Newport 17-Inch Space-Saver One-Piece Toilet measures 28 1/2 inches from wall to front rim and 26 1/4 inches from floor to top of tank. The elongated bowl's 17-inch rim height is ADA-compliant. Available in a range of standard and premium...

Smooth operator.(Toilets And Bidets)
April 1, 2005... Speaking from intimate familiarity, I can tell you that the exterior of most toilets presents a much more complicated cleaning surface than the interior. I'd rather not have to get quite so involved, which is one reason I admire the sleek,...

Small-parts packer.(Products)
April 1, 2005... I think parachute bags work just fine--but for those of you who arrange your work wear by color and sort your scrap piles by size, Festool's Sortainers might be worth investigating. These cleverly designed boxes keep fasteners and small tools...

Paint-free bulkhead.(Products)
April 1, 2005... Manufactured bulkhead doors haven't changed much in the 75 years they've been around, but Bilco's recently introduced Ultra Series Basement Door offers several improvements over previous models. First, it does not require painting--unlike steel...

Crud catcher.(Products)
April 1, 2005... If you live in a wet or snowy climate, this could be the feature that sells your spec house. Made from galvanized steel or aluminum, the Drainmat is a permanently installed doormat and catch basil] that prevents tracked mud and snow from...

Vinyl frontier.(Vinyl Siding)
April 1, 2005... Not all vertical vinyl siding looks like trailer skirting. Maxim Board and Batten from LP is a good example of the better-looking products available. Offered in 12 colors, the deeply textured siding has 6 1/4-inch "boards" with 1 3/4-inch...

Go long!(Vinyl Siding)
April 1, 2005... From the street, you can't always tell if a house is sided in vinyl--but when you get up close, regular seams on long runs are often a dead giveaway. With Premium Pointe 360, you can eliminate many of these seams, because the panels are 16 feet...

Top notch.(Vinyl Siding)
April 1, 2005... The conventional method for attaching the final course of vinyl siding is to use a snap-lock punch, a specialty tool that makes small flaps (snap locks) that prevent the last channel from falling out of the finish trim. Unfortunately, snap...

Super-duty French door.(Patio Doors)
April 1, 2005... New building regulations meant to strengthen coastal homes have made it tougher to spec suitable patio doors. The biggest difficulty has been finding good-looking products that satisfy the most stringent regulations in Impact Zones 3 and 4....

Sweet deal.(Patio Doors)
April 1, 2005... A functional yet affordable patio door might sound like a tall order, but I think the steel Prado from Peachtree is an excellent low-cost option. What I like best about it is how the glass is mounted in the door panel: Instead of surrounding...

Wide open spaces.(Patio Doors)
April 1, 2005... So your client is asking for something with a little more drama than an ordinary 6-foot patio door? Suggest the new Multi-Panel Telescoping Sliding Glass Door from Weather Shield. Available in widths of up to 24 feet, in both 6'-I0" and 8'-1"...

Fido-friendly door.(Outdoor Living)
April 1, 2005... Humans aren't the only members of a household who enjoy spending time outdoors. Pets need fresh air, too, and they like to come and go on their own schedule. A pet door is the logical solution, but most are cheaply made and do little to prevent...

Open-air great room.(Outdoor Living)
April 1, 2005... Outdoor rooms and living areas generally need some kind of visual cue to provide separation from the rest of the landscape. If you're looking for a relatively simple way to accomplish this, consider the Outdoor Great Room Tuscany Pergola from...

Outdoor dance floor.(Outdoor Living)
April 1, 2005... If your customers hope to keep their outdoor parties going well into the night, they'll need some good outdoor speakers to energize the guests. AudioSource offers a line of reasonably priced indoor/outdoor speakers with mounting brackets that...

Screening room.(Outdoor Living)
April 1, 2005... The most popular screened-porch systems use splined plastic channels that mount on the framing. These setups work well enough, but they don't allow for easy removal or tensioning of the screen panels once they're installed. A better system, in...

Pacific Laser Systems PLS2.(Toolbox)
April 1, 2005... As a full-time residential remodeler, I am constantly trying to establish plumb and level reference marks. In the past, I've done this with spirit levels, but recently I tried doing it with a PLS2 loaned to me by Pacific Laser Systems. The...

Ridgid R843 cordless jigsaw.(Toolbox)
April 1, 2005... When I started my tool collection more than 30 years ago, the only battery-powered tool available was a flashlight. Once cordless drills hit the market in the '80s, however, they became an indispensable part of my toolbox. Recently, I decided...

Tajima chalk and ink lines.(Toolbox)
April 1, 2005... You know the problems with chalk lines: chalk all over your hands and in your nail bags; snapped lines that are too dark, too wide, or too faint; hooks that won't grip; and cheap cotton string. There's no need to talk about it further--you've...

Breathe easy.(Chain Saws And Accessories)
April 1, 2005... Chain saws are an ideal match for some framing and demo tasks, but forcing your co-workers to choke on the clouds of blue smoke coming from your machine's muffler won't win you any friends. Compared with previous models, Husqvarna's newly...

Chain gang.(Chain Saws And Accessories)
April 1, 2005... Cutting with any dull tool is dangerous and frustrating, but a dull chain saw has to be the absolute worst. According to the maker, Carbide-Tipped Chain Saw Chains will stay sharp up to 25 times longer than conventional chain-saw chains....

Better protection.(Chain Saws And Accessories)
April 1, 2005... Like all power tools, chain saws require appropriate safety gear--yet most occasional chain-saw users wear protective chaps only when they're riding a Harley. If you want a little more protection than your blue jeans, check out the Chain-Saw...

Rapid demo.(Chain Saws And Accessories)
April 1, 2005... Originally designed for fire rescue, the VentMaster Chain Saw Upgrade Kit can convert your 4-hp (or greater) chain saw into a powerful demo tool. The heart of the kit consists of a slotted bar and an adjustable depth gauge that prevents cutting...

Quick rip.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... If narrow drywall cuts are slowing you down, the EZRip may be able to help. The telescopic cutter makes rips of up to 24 inches and has two measuring scales that show both the off-cut and the remaining piece. Blade changes are easy, the maker...

Rapid-cut jab saw.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... I bought a FatMax Jab Saw shortly after it was introduced. It's a nice tool, with a thick rubberized grip that's more comfortable than most and super-sharp teeth that cut faster and with less paper-tearing than the teeth on my other jab saws....

Quick-study taping tools.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... Most automated taping methods have a pretty steep learning curve--but the maker of Better Than Ever Tools contends that even inexperienced tapers can usually master its system by the end of their first house. The company also claims the tools...

Long-reach drywall router.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... When you're hanging a lot of drywall, there's really only one way to cut holes for outlets and fixture boxes: a RotoZip spiral saw. The newest version, Model RZ25, has a 50-foot cord that eliminates the need for an extension on even the most...

Easy terms.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... In addition to setting you back $2,500 or so, buying a complete set of automated taping tools means you have to maintain and repair them--a real pain in the mud bucket. If you want the use of these tools without the hassle and expense of owning...

Cover your butt.(Drywall Tools)
April 1, 2005... Invisible butt joints may be the holy grail of drywall finishing, but they're not unachievable. The ButtTaper promises invisible, 6-inch butt seams without proprietary backers. Here's how it works: After spraying the joint with water, you roll...

Atop concrete toboggans, cool-running Canadians redefine hard riding.(Backfill)(Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race)
April 1, 2005... What's cold, weighs 300 pounds, has 10 legs (possibly broken), and reaches top speeds of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour before grinding to a halt, overturning, or colliding with an obstacle? If you guessed "A concrete toboggan," you're right. If...