The Journal of Light Construction articles from October 2003

The Journal of Light Construction archives from October 2003

Reader suggestions for flashing Deck Ledgers.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: In the article "Attaching Deck Ledgers" (8/03), I question whether the flashing in Detail 3a should be L-shaped. The point of having spacers is so that the water can drain out behind the ledger and not cause rot. The...

Hot roofs with spray foam.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: I would like to compliment David Frane on preparing an excellent article on spray foam insulation (8/03). He covered the subject thoroughly and provided the industry with a good service in doing so. There are some additional...

Shingle warranties warning.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: I have two comments regarding the article "Spray-Foam Insulation." First, most asphalt shingle manufacturers want ventilation directly under the sheathing, because they do not want heat buildup to shorten the life of the...

Refrain from disparaging others.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: In the article "Spray Foam Insulation," the author states, "Unfortunately, because both fiberglass and cellulose installations are typically subbed out to the lowest bidder, vapor retarders, air barriers, and the insulation...

Foam density clarification.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: I have just read the article on spray foam insulation. Thank you for a long overdue, well-written article. Unfortunately, there is an inaccuracy. When comparing 1/2-pound foam to 1.8-pound foam, the author indicates that the...

Urea, not urethane.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: The article "Spray-Foam Insulation" was informative. However, there is an error in the section on polyurethane basics: The abbreviation UFFI does not stand for urethane formaldehyde foam insulation, but urea formaldehyde...

Code conflict in sealed crawlspaces.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: It was with great interest that I read that Parker and Orleans Homebuilders is committed to sealed crawlspaces (In the News, 8/03). As an individual in Mr. Tooley's profession, I totally agree that open crawlspaces cause...

Safety lessons effective.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... To the Editor: "Safety Lessons" (8/03) was a great article. It is useful to have food for the imagination as motivation to use personal protection equipment and safe practice. I've not taken off my safety glasses while at work since...

Nail gun accidents teach sobering lessons.(In The News)
October 1, 2003... A series of accidents involving air-powered nail guns last summer brought home the fact that the productive and powerful tools are also highly dangerous and need to be handled with respect. In the most tragic case, a framing nail punctured the...

Bucking trend, California picks NFPA building code: IBC advocates say politics tainted process.(In The News)(National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 5000 code)
October 1, 2003... Amid the political chaos of California Governor Gray Davis's battle to fend off a recall campaign, the state's Building Standards Commission voted 10 to 2 in July to adopt the National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 5000 code statewide for...

Study probes nail gun risks.(In The News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Nail guns are a major element of risk for residential carpenters, according to a recent article in the medical journal Injury Prevention. In a three-year study of union carpenters in the St. Louis, Mo., area, journeyman carpenters interviewed...

Minnesota building official makes waves with stucco warning.(In The News)(Ron Glubka)
October 1, 2003... He's taking heat from homeowners concerned about their property values, but Ron Glubka, top building official in the Minnesota community of Woodbury, isn't backing down from his warning to homeowners: If your house has a stucco exterior, watch...

Mega-builder Lennar Corporation is moving into the urban condo market.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Mega-builder Lennar Corporation is moving into the urban condo market with high-rise projects and conversions of industrial or commercial space in several big cities, reports Investor's Business Daily. The company's main niche is suburban...

Contractors have to tear out abandoned cables.(Off Cuts)(2002 National Electrical Code)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Contractors have to tear out abandoned cables as part of any change to a commercial building's wiring, under the revised 2002 National Electrical Code, and the Dallas Business Journal says the new rule is causing headaches for building owners...

Tinder-dry forest conditions in Canada's British Columbia forced a halt to most logging operations in August.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Tinder-dry forest conditions in Canada's British Columbia forced a halt to most logging operations in August, causing mills to shut down and lay off workers. The severe shortage of sawlogs put upward pressure on lumber prices, but chief B.C....

Your job description.(Business Tune-Up)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... In college, I took a studio art class as an elective. The instructor started us out drawing simple objects: a box, an apple, and so forth. Gradually, she made the scenes more complex: multiple boxes, clothing draped on a chair, people. As the...

In mega-home tally, California stands (far) out.(In The News)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... There's more than one reason they call it the Golden State. According to an analysis of census figures by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), California had 41% of the nation's million-dollar homes in 2000. It's a small market,...

Colorado Treasurer Michael Coffman is "shocked".(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Colorado Treasurer Michael Coffman is "shocked" to find that executives at a state-established workers' comp insurance company paid themselves bonuses of up to $419,000, reports the Durango Herald. Pinnacol, a company set up to cover employers...

A federal judge has released records from the antitrust suit against Weyerhaeuser.(Off Cuts)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A federal judge has released records from the antitrust suit against Weyerhaeuser, reports the Associated Press. Judge Owen Panner of the district court in Portland, Ore., brushed off Weyerhaeuser arguments that releasing the company's internal...

Revising a raised ranch.(Design)
October 1, 2003... The raised ranch house is a split-level spinoff of the classic one-story ranch style that was created in California during the 1930s. Both went national in the '50s and '60s and became popular in the rapidly growing suburbs of the time. They...

To temp or not to temp.(Business)
October 1, 2003... My wife and I own a design-build residential remodeling company in California. Like most builders, we're constantly trying to balance our operating capabilities with demand for our services and we're always on the lookout for good employees....

Five things you should never say to customers.(Business)
October 1, 2003... When your office staff is busy and the phone is ringing off the hook, it can be easy to say the wrong thing to a customer who calls to complain. The customer may be upset because one of your employees or subcontractors didn't show up when you...

Where does your subs' liability end and your liability start?(Legal)
October 1, 2003... Let's say that your framing subcontractor is cutting sheathing with the guard pinned back on his saw. The building inspector comes along (or the homeowner or another sub or even a passing stranger) just as the framer is putting the saw down...

Installing a farmhouse sink.(Kitchen & Bath)
October 1, 2003... The farmhouse sink has risen from the salvage yard to become an increasingly popular option in today's kitchen. Also called an apron-front sink, the traditional farmhouse sink was hung on the wall at a height that suited Mrs. Greenjeans. But...

Mid-range luxury.(Medicine Cabinets)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2003... In heights of 24 or 34 inches, the 4-inch-deep Gallery Collection features stainless-steel bodies (Deluxe model), 1/4-inch beveled glass mirrors, Euro hinges, and 1/4-inch adjustable glass shelves. Mirrored door backs maintain the view while...

Assortment of options.(Medicine Cabinets)
October 1, 2003... Beginning with a standard, 23 1/4-inch-wide two-door mirror cabinet, the Multibox system can be easily expanded to 47 1/4 inches wide by hooking on a couple of 11-inch side units. Integrated, color-corrected fluorescent strips not only provide...

French for metal.(Medicine Cabinets)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2003... Rust-free aluminum framing, mirrored interiors, rubber door gaskets, swing-out magnifying mirrors, and adjustable glass shelves are all standard in the Metallique Collection line. Cabinets are available in 20- or 24-inch widths and 30- or...

Exterior trim for period homes: panelized walls and a shop-made trim package make historic reproduction houses affordable.
October 1, 2003... Living in New England, one comes to appreciate the simple charm of colonial architecture. It's a style that has always appealed to me, and I'm not alone. Many home buyers drive the streets and back roads looking for an older home to buy and...

Building a sealed crawlspace: good drainage, a continuous poly liner, and a supply of conditioned air will keep the crawlspace as dry as the rest of the house.
October 1, 2003... Recent research provides plenty of evidence that vents for crawlspaces don't work, and that sealed and conditioned crawlspaces are a better choice. But my business, the Healthy Building Company, is the first I know of to specialize in applying...

What is green? Determining a building product's true environmental impact is not always easy.
October 1, 2003... Readers of The Journal of Light Construction are no strangers to the green building movement. There are now several dozen residential green building programs around the country with thousands of homes built in the past few years to their...

Cordless impact drivers: compact, lightweight, and powerful, they're the perfect tool for running screws--but wear your earplugs.(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2003... Think of a cordless impact driver as a cross between an impact wrench used by auto mechanics and a conventional cordless drill. Though I had heard about these tools, I had never seen anyone using one, so I was skeptical. I drive a lot of screws...

Glazing a custom sunroom: build a stable frame, use dedicated system components, and redirect interior condensation outside.
October 1, 2003... There's nothing quite like a room with a full glass roof to capture the warmth of the sun. But all that overhead glazing can also collect a lot of condensed moisture when it's cold outside and warm within. On sloped glazing, the water drips and...

Lateral-force collectors for seismic and wind-resistant framing: without these vital structural links, even perfectly constructed shear walls may not protect a house from an earthquake or windstrom.(Practical Engineering)
October 1, 2003... Builders nationwide are becoming increasingly familiar with shear walls, especially along the earthquake-prone West Coast and in the wake of recent hurricanes in the East. They're aware of the kinds of metal connectors involved, and they're...

Building energy-smart homes.(Resources)(Insulate and Weatherize)(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... Energy is important. We need it to live and work, for comfort and convenience, for health and safety. With little thought, we flip the various energy switches in our lives every day, and out it flows. But do we need this much juice?...

Curve appeal.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Curved entries, turrets, and barrel-vaulted ceilings, once reserved for mansions and banks, are increasingly popular in mainstream American homes. All such details require moldings that can take to the curves, and Style Solutions' new flexible...

Quick stick.(Products)
October 1, 2003... While fighting with a new tub surround, I quickly realized the value of construction adhesives with faster grab. Loctite, better known for its thread-locking compound, has introduced Power Grab, a product it claims has the highest initial tack...

Shingle style.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Decorative shingles are a great way to jazz up a home's exterior, but most homeowners aren't willing to drag out the extension ladder and paint them every few years. If your customer wants a traditional cedar-shingle look in an easy-maintenance...

Dimmable CF.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Compact fluorescents use less energy and last longer than incandescent bulbs, but until recently, dimming them meant expensive ballasts and special switches. TCP's Dimmable Compact Fluorescent is the easy solution. The best part is that the...

Straighten up and lie right.(Products)
October 1, 2003... Vinyl siding doesn't seem like it should be hard to install correctly, but there are a lot of bad vinyl jobs out there. The waves and ripples typical of bad vinyl are usually from nails that were driven too tight or missed the center of the...

Low clearance.(Products)
October 1, 2003... If low headroom makes typical hanging ceiling fixtures a problem, Shaper's Recessed Pendant might be a good solution. The recessed fixture uses a specification-grade housing with an adjustable pendant that hangs down about 8 1/2 inches....

Plywood is good.(Panel Products)
October 1, 2003... This year's rain-soaked spring and summer have created many problems for builders, not the least of which is the swelling of OSB subfloors. Besides making customers nervous, it can cause problems with the installation of finish flooring....

Mold-free OSB.(Panel Products)
October 1, 2003... With insurance companies paying out more than $1 billion in mold claims last year, it's not surprising that panel producers are launching products specifically designed to resist mold growth. Potlatch's OX Terminator is treated with what the...

Better subfloor.(Panel Products)
October 1, 2003... The home building industry is notoriously slow to adopt new products, but when Huber introduced Advantech subflooring several years ago, builders lined up to get it. They desperately wanted a subfloor that wouldn't swell like OSB or warp and...

Medium-density formica.(Panel Products)
October 1, 2003... MDF is great for many things but doesn't generally hold up very well when it gets wet. Medex from Sierra Pine may be the notable exception. According to the manufacturer, a special glue and manufacturing process prevents it from swelling or...

Tile for problem subfloors.(Flooring)
October 1, 2003... Cracked, uneven, and high-moisture subfloors can be problematic for most floor coverings, but the manufacturer of FreeStyle Resilient Laminate Flooring promises that its product can be used over almost any surface. Installed without adhesive,...

Eye-popping topping.(Flooring)
October 1, 2003... Durable, inexpensive, custom-colored floor finishes suitable for a variety of materials might seem like a tall order, but Dex-O-Tex Micro-Topping could be the answer you and your client are looking for. You can use the Portland cement-based...

Nice floor, no gaps.(Flooring)
October 1, 2003... Little can compete with the natural beauty and durability of real wood strip flooring, but season changes and indoor humidity can produce unsightly gaps between boards. If you want to eliminate that variable, you could offer your clients...

Palm tree pedigree.(Flooring)
October 1, 2003... If your customer is looking for the most environmentally friendly wood floor, you might suggest coconut palm. Coconut palms stop producing fruit after about 80 years, and typically the plantation-grown trees are burned to make room for new...

Sub-slab vapor barrier.(Flooring)
October 1, 2003... Installing finished flooring over a slab-on-grade can be tricky. If you don't get it right, vapor transmission through the slab can lead to expensive problems like buckling hardwood and moldy carpeting. According to Grace Construction, you can...

Goof-proof roof.(Asphalt Roofing)
October 1, 2003... When several roofers start on different parts of a complicated roof, it usually results in weird exposures and crooked coursing. Even simple roofs can have wavy courses or odd exposures because of poor layout. But Thor Layout Tapes can prevent...

Faster flashing.(Asphalt Roofing)
October 1, 2003... Flashing a masonry chimney takes a lot of time and skill. And we all know that bad chimney flashing is one of the leading causes of roofing callbacks. You can make the process go faster and eliminate some of the uncertainty with a No Leak...

Perfect match.(Asphalt Roofing)
October 1, 2003... It's common to see the main roof of a house covered with asphalt shingles while the low-slope roof of the addition or porch is covered with half-lap roll roofing. What you don't see every day is the two roofing materials in the exact same...

Super-size it.(Asphalt Roofing)
October 1, 2003... There's no denying that American homes (and waistlines) are significantly bigger than they were 20 years ago, but shingles still look the same. To better match the larger scale of today's new homes, Elk recently introduced a high-definition...

Cordless jigsaws.(Toolbox)(Product/Service Evaluation)
October 1, 2003... It's been awhile since I switched from a Yankee screwdriver to a cordless drill, but I still remember how it revolutionized the way I installed door hardware. Like a lot of other carpenters, my first cordless tool was a Makita 9.6-volt pistol...

Work lights that work.(Toolbox)
October 1, 2003... Cool Light. Cheap halogen work lights found at the home center generate a good amount of light, but they also have some pretty significant drawbacks. Heat generated by a 500-watt quartz bulb can burn your fingers, ignite adjacent combustibles,...

Finish carpentry tools.(Toolbox)
October 1, 2003... Precision Router Guide. If you think router guides are all the same, you probably haven't seen the Micro Fence. The heart of the system is a micrometer adjustable edge guide that brings a new level of precision (.001 inch) to your handheld...

Tool organizers.(Toolbox)
October 1, 2003... Great Crate. Milk crates are about as common on construction sites as port-a-johns and power tools, but using them for any purpose other than transporting milk from the dairy can lead to a hefty fine. When the penalties for stealing the handy...

Ginkgo to go.(Backfill)
October 1, 2003... When a building project comes into conflict with a big tree, the solution usually involves a chainsaw. But that's not the only option. If the tree is rich in scenic, sentimental, or historical value and the budget is sized to match, Capital...