The Journal of Light Construction articles from December 2003

The Journal of Light Construction archives from December 2003

Lags vs. bolts in ledgers.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To the Editor: I read with interest your article "Attaching Deck Ledgers" (8/03) and have a few comments. The first two details show direct attachment to the rim joist using 1/2-inch lag screws, and attachment through the sheathing using...

Supported ledger question.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To the Editor: The article "Attaching Deck Ledgers" raises an important yet somewhat overlooked aspect of deck construction. In my area we have had more than a few decks fall due to improper ledger attachment. However, Detail 4 shows a...

Hard-hat reminder.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To the Editor: I'm a relatively new subscriber and really enjoy your magazine. I'm always amazed at the lack of hard-hats in trade magazine photos. I realize that unless they're staged, it is probably representative of a significant number...

Corrosive lumber clarification.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To the Editor: Regarding the article "New Wood Treatments May Be More Corrosive" (In the News, 9/03), though I am very happy to see JLC raising this issue with such a balanced perspective, I would like to clarify Simpson Strong-Tie's...

Source for humidity sensor.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... To the Editor: In the article "Building a Sealed Crawlspace" (10/03), the author mentions a humidity unit with a digital readout, alarm, and remote sensor. Where can I find this unit? Wayne Sammons Sammons Construction ...

High court lets ruling stand: no copyright for building codes: if code is law, it belongs to the public, says Justice Department brief.(In The News)
December 1, 2003... In a legal blow to code-writing organizations, the United States Supreme Court has left in force an appeals court ruling that says citizens are free to publish model codes on the Internet whenever a state or municipality has adopted the code as...

Refinance boom: the party's over in '04.(In The News)
December 1, 2003... The river of mortgage refinancing cash that flooded into the home improvement market this year will slow to a comparative trickle in 2004, according to Douglas Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Wearing a...

Broadly framed defect lawsuits against production builders are on the rise in Northern California.(Offcuts)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Broadly framed defect lawsuits against production builders are on the rise in Northern California despite the state's new construction litigation reform bill, SB1, reports the Sacramento Business Journal. Lawyers who specialize in suing...

Several developers in the Durham, N.C., area are proposing to donate money to local school systems.(Offcuts)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Several developers in the Durham, N.C., area are proposing to donate money to local school systems in order to offset the effect their projects may have on school enrollments, according to a report in the Durham Herald-Sun. County efforts to...

2003 tornadoes: lessons learned.(In The News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... May of 2003 saw record tornado activity in the U.S. heartland. A single storm system on May 4 spawned dozens of tornadoes in eight states, wrecking homes and communities and killing at least 38 people. On May 7 and 8, APA engineers Vince...

Bugs? Mold? Rot? Bake the house!(In The News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... When houses are built with wet materials, develop leaks, or suffer vapor intrusion and condensation, conditions are right for insects, mold, and other pests. Getting rid of the moisture can be tricky, but California firm Precision Environmental...

Western deal sends river water to dry California cities.(In The News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Interior Secretary Gale Norton has signed off on a historic shift in western water policy that will allocate water away from California agricultural uses and into city and suburban water districts. The new policy will resolve a set of...

Wall flashing for exterior chimneys.(Q&A)(Brief Article)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Q. What's the right way to flash an exterior masonry chimney to the wall of the house? A. Fred Seifert responds: I bend an F-shaped piece of flashing that catches the ends of the bricks where they meet the house (see sketch). I use copper,...

Reinforcing a slab over disturbed soil.(Q&A)(Brief Article)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Q. I need to pour a thickened-edge slab foundation for a two-story garage apartment across a recently dug 2-foot-wide utility trench. The backfill over the trench has subsided, and I'm concerned that the foundation may sag and crack at that...

Floor tiles vs. wall tiles: what's the difference?(Q&A)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Q. One of the tile showrooms where my remodeling clients shop has tiles displayed its two sections, one for floors and one for walls. What's the difference between a floor tile and a wall tile? Is it possible to interchange the two? A....

What if the owner wants to hire a sub?(Legal)(subcontractor)(Column)
December 1, 2003... You're a general contractor building an addition for a property owner. Not long after the addition is framed and drywalled, the property owner says, "Hey, an uncle of mine is in the hardwood flooring business, and he'll install the prefinished...

Installing: fiber-cement siding: it's durable, it holds paint well, and the price is right, but if you're accustomed to wood siding, fiber cement takes some getting used to.
December 1, 2003... The company I work for builds seven to ten spec and custom homes per year on the Kitsap Peninsula, just west of Seattle. Our crew frames and does most of the siding and exterior finish work. Wood siding is popular in this area, but it's too...

Reciprocating saws: look for speed, power, and quick-change blade clamps.(Tool Test)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2003... I've been a remodeling carpenter for more than 25 years, and there haven't been many weeks during that time when I didn't pull out my recip saw. Recently, I had the opportunity to try out 13 pro-grade models. Some of them have been around for...

Builder blunders: it's always cheaper to learn from the other guy's mistakes.
December 1, 2003... One thing I've learned from investigating problems with wood in everybody makes mistakes. Most are minor lapses that don't rise above punch list or callback status. But as the following true stories show, every once in a while I see something...

Repairing slate roofs: with simple spot repairs, a slate roof can last a lifetime--and more.
December 1, 2003... If you've spent your life in the building trades, you may have done a job or two that you look back on with regret. I still remember one from about 30 years ago. A contractor I worked for had us tear off a 20-square Vermont slate roof because...

Building poured-concrete homes: cast-in-place walls are fast and strong, and make the most of available labor.
December 1, 2003... In 2000, I moved from Kentucky to Florida to manage Solid Wall Systems, a firm undertaking the construction of thousands of new residences for Mercedes Homes. Instead of conventional framing, these homes would be built using a cast-in-place...

Cable ready.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Not that many years ago, wiring a house for technology meant installing a couple of phone jacks and maybe a roof-mounted antenna, but now you have to install Cat-5 cable, coaxial cable, security system cable, and phone cable. And who knows...

Valve cover for remodelers.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Installing a new shower valve is a tough job, especially when you don't have access from the back side of the tub. A common solution is to rip out the walls and start from scratch, but that may be more than your customer's budget and psyche can...

Escape ladder.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... While egress windows in the bedroom are an important step in preventing a tragedy, they don't get the building occupants safely to the ground. An easy way to increase safety and give your customers peace of mind is the Chains of Life. The...

Arch supports.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Forming drywall arches is a slow and tedious process, but it was made a lot easier when the preformed Easy-Arch was introduced a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, the original Easy-Arch was made only for 2x4 and 2x6 framing, so if you had...

Horse power.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... These might be the best-designed sawhorse brackets that I've ever seen. Unlike the wobbly, stamped-steel variety, these are heavy-gauge welded aluminum. Not only do Bull Brackets make a sturdy horse, they include 2x4 receiving tubes for adding...

A Place for everything.(Products)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Organizing your warehouse or workshop is a lot easier with the collection of shelving products from Stud Buddy. The 18-gauge steel shelving takes advantage of otherwise wasted space by mounting between 2x4 or 2x6 wall studs. The product comes...

Lightweight board.(Tile Backers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Lightweight Board. Made from extruded polystyrene, a closed-cell foam, this board is completely waterproof, front to back. For performance integrity, ProPannel tile backerboard should be installed using proprietary nails, washers, and mastic on...

Thin skin backer.(Tile Backers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Thin Skin Backer. On the theory that water is best controlled on the surface of the backerboard, whatever it may be, this waterproof fabric membrane installs directly over a drywall substrate, greatly simplifying wall preparation. Kerdi...

Cementitious backer unit.(Tile Backers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Cementitious Backer Unit. If cement board's your thing, you've got plenty of company. When installed over a waterproof membrane, cementitious backer unit (CBU) provides an unbeatable tile base in high-moisture applications. PermaBase is...

Gyp-board backer.(Tile Backers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Gyp-Board Backer. With a core of water-resistance-treated gypsum, coated glass mats front and back, and a service facing of heat-cured acrylic, DensShield Tile Guard is claimed to cut and install with the same ease and equipment as regular...

Coping mechanism.(Toolbox)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2003... My company does a lot of high-end cabinetry and finish carpentry work, including coffered ceilings. Building coffers requires dozens of coped joints, and we've found that we can save a lot of time in the field and produce a better finished...

Down to the sea in ... a house?(Backfill)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... House moving is a small but regular industry that sometimes uses irregular means to get the job done. The Nickerson Family Association determined to rescue its near pristine, 230-year-old ancestral Cape home from demolition and relocate it...