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Membership subscriptions have been brisk in April, welcome to our newcomers. I hope you take the time to surf our site, follow the links and get familiar with what we have available to you, all at the touch of a button or the click of a mouse. For definitions of most construction words see our Dictionary.
What's New
Check out our new article: Renos 4: How to Frame a Wall - the basics on installing a wall in a basement or building a new wall when framing a house.
Ask Away!
Some of my latest questions I have answered:
Hi Dave,
I've started my 12x16 shed (see http://daveosborne.com/dave/projects/shedgable.php)
and have a question about roof framing and sheathing. None of the books I have
on roof building is clear on what is done at the eaves, for instance, should the
plywood overhang the end of the rafters and by how much, and in what order the
other components (fascia, drip cap, felt etc) are installed. The roof pitch
is 12 in 12, about 12" overhang at the eaves, and no overhang at the rakes.
Thanks, Pete
Hi Pete,
The plywood sheathing should be flush with the rafter or truss trimmer and
covered up by the fascia. The roofing shingles then extend over the fascia,
at the eaves by 1 1/2" and over the barge board at the rakes by 1". The barge board
also covers the end grain of the sheathing. The roofing felt is flush with
the end of the shingles. The shingles overlapping by 1 1/2" will bend over
the fascia and into the gutter.
Dave
Dear Dave,
The last time we corresponded you had given me advice about "bouncy stairs"
in my sons remodeled old house, and since the span was about 16' or so, we cut
two more 2x12 stringers, glued, and nailed them to the outside of the staircase,
to join the existing double stringer already in place. We also took your advice
and placed a small wall under the quadruple stringer that is about 4' long
beginning at the foot of the stairs. This almost completely eliminated
any deflection, even with me hopping down the stairs. Thank you........
now for another question.... We enjoyed remodeling my sons house so much that we,
my son and I, have bought a house that was built in about 1912, we found
a newspaper in the walls dated from that year. This house is a story and a half...
steep roof....small narrow upstairs room running the length of the house.
We had plans of popping out the roof to make this huge dormer (on both sides)
in order to increase the sq. ft. upstairs. When we removed all the lath and
plaster in the house, we discovered that the ceiling joists were only 2x6...
more like 2"x5 1/4". The span is 13' on one side of the down stairs
supporting wall and 8' on the other, and right now it doesn't seem bouncy upstairs,
but we are not sure of the joist size. If we have to change the joists,
should we remove the roof completely and just add a second story?
We are planning to resell this house when we are done, and the neighborhood
will only justify about $85,000 tops, so unless were planning to live in it,
we can't go hog wild. What would you suggest?
P.S. I'm more interested in doing the right thing, than making a buck.....
heck...I just like doing something with my son.
Thank you, Dan
What a great letter!!
Hi Dan,
You really have to be careful adding another storey. The ceiling joists have to be
changed for floor joists. Some old houses like that don't have a footing under
the foundation wall. The studs in the walls may be spaced further than 16".
For a 13' span the floor joists should be more than a 2x6 alright. You may be
better to talk to an engineer just to be sure. When you pop the roof off,
inspectors may take notice, this requires a permit. Once in your house they have
the authority to make you bring the thing up to standard or certain parts of it.
Something to think about.
Dave
Dave, I am currently in Afghanistan with the US Army, but I have been bitten
by the Carpentry bug, having had to build quite a bit of stuff to make life
livable over here. The only tools I own are a Dewalt circular saw, a cordless drill,
a hammer, and a level. Do you have a recommendation (looking into a table saw
right now) for tools, both hand and power for simple home projects.
I am looking to build a bookcase or two, and entertainment center and
a workbench/reloading bench for the garage when I get back. Also, any books on
the subject you could recommend would be great, I am definitely interested in
making better products, over here it has been pretty rough finding decent nails.
Thanks.
JP
Hi Justin,
I've selected the most used woodworking tools in my tool box
My favorite hammer is a 20 oz. straight claw Estwing.
My handsaw is an 8 point for average jobs. If you do mainly finishing work,
go for a 12 point. I seldom use a handsaw these days with having a reciprocating saw.
You should have a 24" level, at least, with 36" and 48" optional, depending on
what you do.
Framing Square and combination square
Nail set
Utility knife: I like the break-off blade type, they are always sharp.
Pliers: I use these for tying re-bar or for general purpose.
Nail Claw: For removing common nails.
Tin snips
Chalk line in a box: One of the best inventions made.
String line
Block plane
Jack plane: For a hand tool this will be one of the most expensive. A belt sander
may do to replace this tool. I very seldom use a jack plane anymore. I choose the
belt sander instead.
Circular Saw: 7 1/4" is a must for any tradesman.
Belt sander
Drill: 3/8" electric is the basic.
For a real toy check out the rechargeables. I have a 14.4V and am happy with it.
Test the 18V before you buy, it has a lot of torque-hard on the wrist.
Get one with the keyless chuck.
Router: I have a 5/8 HP router that I use as a portable and laminate trimmer.
I use the 1 1/2 HP router as a 'shaper' mounted under a table.
Jigsaw: Just a basic model is all you need for light work, usually 1" stock.
For lots of work in 2" stock get a band saw.
Tablesaw: My son-in-law has this model and he uses it as an on-the-job portable
while installing siding. It cost him almost double the price of Amazon.com's.
I've got an old Delta 9" that's about 25 years old for the shop and a
lightweight Delta for the job site.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can use some portable power tools as
stationery ones. You can put a belt sander in a vise. You can screw a
circular saw under a bench or piece of plywood to act as a table saw use a 1x3
for a fence and clamp it to the table, etc.
Can't find nails, eh? That's a good one. Of all the things we work with over here,
we don't think anything of hopping in the car and getting a couple pounds of nails.
Over there it is a different story.
What tools do you have over there with you and what are you building?
I built a set of cabinets for a local, in Northern Canada while on a camp job,
years ago, with a circular saw and a router, plus my hand tools. I mounted the saw
upside down on a piece of plywood, sat it on two saw horses, used a straight edge
for a fence with c-clamps. That was my table saw. I made a jig for the router
to dado grooves in the gables to hold the shelves. They turned out pretty good.
Its being able to be innovative with what you have.
Let me know if you need any help trying to build something with nothing. I've done
that before.
Ever bump into any Canadians over there? I'm from British Columbia on Canada's
West Coast.
Look after yourself, Justin.
Dave
(see also http://daveosborne.com/dave/articles/tools.php)
I have to repair some stucco damage around the outside of the house due to water
coming up behind the stucco.. How can I get a good match(color) and how do I
go about getting started..?
Color match is a tough one, even for the pros. Color is dependent on the
Portland cement used, the color of aggregate and the texture of the finish.
Try mixing some samples first to see how they dry to get a feel of it.
In some areas, check with your local dealer, they have premixed quantities
of stucco in the popular colors. Allow for fading of your color depending on
its age.
If the damage is done to the sheeting, repair that, of course and apply any
missing tar paper, a special vapour permeable, water resistant paper. There is
stucco lath applied to the sheeting, over the paper, with furring nails or
self furring lath with dimples. This keeps the lath about 1/4" away from
the surface to allow the first coat, the scratch coat, good penetration
and coverage of the metal lath protecting it from corrosion. This lath also
acts as a reinforcment. The scratch coat is applied about 3/8" thick and
left evenly sratched providing a good mechanical key for the next coat.
Ater 48 hours, the second coat or the brown coat which again is 3/8" thick
is applied to a dampened scratch coat and is left with a rough surface
for the final or finish coat which is colored and textured at least 1/8" thick.
The three layers give a total of 7/8" minimum thickness. Each coat should be kept
moist for at least 48 hours with a gentle fog mist sprayed on them,
not soaked just damp, not allowing the coat to dry out. The brown coat
should be left to cure for 7 days before the finish coat is applied.
Dampen the brown coat before applying the finish.
Dave
Well, that's about it for this issue. Keep those questions coming, I need material for this newsletter!
Hope this helps to build confidence so you, the spouse and kids can do that family project you have been putting off.
Dave
 
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N O T I C E
PLEASE REALIZE THAT THE FOLLOWING DATA IS NOT NOT NOT THE COMPLETE ARTICLE. ALL DIAGRAMS HAVE BEEN FILTERED OUT. THE FULL DATA OF THIS ARTICLE (AND EVERY OTHER ARTICLE AND PLAN ON THE SITE) IS AVAILABLE IF YOU REGISTER AS A MEMBER TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE SITE, WHICH REALLY IS NOT EXPENSIVE.
Answers to questions about how to frame a wall, data on how large a stair stringer should be so it does not bounce and some advice on how to use a table saw.
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