Building Confidence

Welcome to our Newsletter including home improvement questions and answers, a tip of the month and an article from our website.

What's Happening

Dan and I have been putting together a series of ebooks so people can purchase our articles for their smart phones and computers. For about $9.99 (price varies with country) people will soon be able to download an ebook covering a specific subject from our site or Amazon.com.

We also plan to have these books printed and distributed to bookstores.

This is an exciting time for us. We'll have announcements on the availability of our up coming ebooks and books shortly.

Tip of the Month

Always miter the cap in the corner of the deck railing for a nice looking fit. Galvanized nails or screws should be used in any outdoor finishing work, such as backyard decks and deck railing.

Ask Dave!

Hi Mark and welcome to our site.

Yes, that is a long tread to pour all at once. I would suggest forming it up, as if it was one pour, but put in bulkheads at the 6' and 12' points. Pour the two outside forms one day. Strip the bulkheads the next day and pour the center section. This process gives the concrete a time to shrink naturally and gives it a construction joint in a desirable spot rather than across the tread just anywhere. Also, round over the joint on both sides with an edging trowel to emphasize it rather than trying to hide it.

If you were pouring a shallow pour, such as a sidewalk, you could put in the construction joint after the pour, during the finishing process, by using the edging trowel every 5' or so. The concrete would naturally crack at these "weak" points. For deeper pours, more than 4", it is better to form bulkheads and stop the pour.

Dave

Hi Richard,

Probably the best thing to do is to remove a course of vinyl siding above or below the handrail. Removing vinyl is quite easy. There is a little tool that hooks onto the bottom of the siding and pops out the bottom. Slide it along and release the piece. Just lift it up and find the stud placements. Use the tool again to hook the bottom onto the top of the lower row. Make sure you don't attach the handrail to more than one spot on the same piece of siding. That stuff needs room for expansion and contraction.

Dave

Yes, you need to enter the total rise first. This is the dimension from the top floor to the bottom floor.

Then enter the usual choices of rise or customize the run, as in your case, enter 7.5 or 7 1/2 rise and 9.25 or 9 1/4 run.

Then enter your stair thickness choices or custom thickness.

Then click on Calculate.

For a drawing with all the measurements, click on Print Results.

Dave

You seem to have the solution in hand. Rather than use lags into the rafter ends, maybe go with a #10 x 3" flat head wood screws and put in a double row of these screws into the center of each 2x6 placed between the rafters. The end grain in these old rafters will probably be very dry and want to split out, if too large a fastener is used.

Dave

It depends on what the load is above the window. If a floor is above, or the roof, as in a rancher, or if the window is on the gable end.

Please tell me exactly where this window is in relation to what is over it.

Dave

Hi Robert,

Okay, that's good if you have a second story above the window. This wall acts as a large beam itself over the window, so you don't need to worry about roof load. The floor above the window usually has a box or rim joist which will hold it up while you are doing the reno. Just make sure you don't have a heavy load on the floor directly above the window, such as a piano. Otherwise you don't need to support the floor while you remove the studs. If you find that the header won't go in because it is too tight or a slight crown in it, just use a bottle jack with a 2x4 on top and jack it up ever so slightly in the middle of the span. If you have a ceramic floor above this window try not to jack it up at all. Other than that you should be okay.

Dave

Hi Robert,

No problem with the questions.

I would use a chemical stripper such as Circa 1850 Stripper. This is better than Polystrippa which needs paint thinner as a solvent. Circa uses water instead. Follow the directions on the can, which is always important when working with chemicals. Since you already sanded, you may have to sand the other, as well, but after you remove most of the finish.

Hope this works easier for you.

Dave

Hi Robert,

If the roof is hung off the wall above the header, it should support itself, without any snow load, etc, while you replace the header. If the roof's ledger is fastened to the existing header, then you need to support the ledger with posts to the deck and remove the fasteners into the header, before removing it. Try to leave any fasteners into the wall to help support the roof and keep it in position. Install the new header, then re-fasten the ledger to the header and remove the temporary posts. I assume that the roof is more than 6' wide.

A double 2x8 is minimum header for a 6' span. No problem with putting in a 2 - 2x10 header, which is usually used in new construction for all the headers of a house 9' and under.

Dave

Hi Paul,

We call the door frame a jamb, with the threshold for an outside door on the bottom; the head on the top and the sides are just sides. I wouldn't call them posts. Terminology, like this, may change from one geographic area to the next. Posts or columns are for supporting a beam.

Thanks for your interest in our website.

Dave

Article of the Month

Cabinets 1: Frameless Kitchen Cabinets

Building a set of kitchen cabinets is a project that requires woodworking skills. Building kitchen cabinets is the ultimate test of a finish carpenter's skill. The cabinet builder should be well versed in taking and relaying accurate measurements, in the operation of shop tools, such as the table saw, router and using a circular saw, both freehand and with a guide.

The design of kitchen cabinets depend on the hinges used. The old style kitchen cabinets, with a face frame, used the classic Amerock hinges mounted on the face frame. Some hinges inset into the cabinet door giving a 3/8" thick overlap, others allowed the full thickness of the kitchen cabinet doors to overlap the frame. The concealed pin hinges were popular for awhile, making the cabinet doors flush with the frame. The doors were held shut with spring and roller catches. Finally, the magnetic catch emerged. Hinge design further evolved into a self-closing style, including artistic shapes and colors that forced everyone to re-do their kitchen cabinets. Our globe got smaller and European hinges came onto the marketplace. The design of these hinges revolutionized the kitchen cabinet industry. Frameless European kitchen cabinets were born. Cabinet doors could be easily adjusted three ways, drawers rolled easily on steel drawer slides, and there was no face frame to contend with.

The kitchen cabinet style today relies on... read more at https://daveosborne.com/dave/articles/frameless-kitchen-cabinets.php

Almost the End

It has been a pleasure receiving your emails and comments on the newsletters, the quiz and the survey. I hope this newsletter helps you in your particular renovation or project. Please checkout our website: DaveOsborne.com. It is loaded with information filled articles, handy calculators, converters, tables and plans for large and small projects.

Hi, I'm Dave Osborne. With over 50 years experience as a journeyman carpenter, foreman and contractor in heavy construction I enjoyed working with apprentices and sharing the tricks of the trade that others shared with me. Now I get emails from Members all over the world and we include many of my answers in our Free Monthly Newsletters. Some of my answers include drawings and instructions specific to a project, but may also answer your questions. I use correct construction terminology, so you can confidently inform your building supply dealers or contractors exactly what you need.