Building Confidence

Welcome to Dave's Shop Talk's Home Improvement Newsletter of questions from our members on their construction projects, a Tip of the Month and a home remodeling article, both from our website at http://daveosborne.com.

What's New

All 10 of our ebooks are now available for purchase. You can find them at http://daveosborne.com/books.php.

Got a nice email from a Member that I thought I'd share with you. He replied to our email that Dan sends out two weeks before each Yearly membership is about to expire.

Hi Marc,

Thanks for your email. Yes, I remember you well and your pool house. We still have a pic of it on our website. I'm so glad you are doing well and Dan and I had a small part in it. We hope your training goes well, sounds like a very interesting job.

As always, keep us in mind if we can help you in your new field - congratulations.

All the best,

Dave

Tip of the Month

When building a project from wood, draw a simple sketch to make it easier to allow for thickness of materials.

And a Bonus Tip:

When installing a new tub, insulate the cavity below and around the tub with fibreglass insulation to keep the water warmer longer for those long soaks.

Ask Dave!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas time with family and friends. Dan and I wish you all a Very Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year.

Hi Trace,

I'm not sure of the hardware that you have. This is what I use:

Could you verify the package you have is for a pocket door rather than a sliding door. Your door slides into a pocket, right?

Dave

Hi Trace,

Weiser Lock is a popular brand around my area.

Here are the instructions for your type of hardware. It seems easier than the conventional latch picture that I sent you.

With the round latch, a hole is drilled through the door for the pulls and in the edge for the latch. With the one I sent you, the edge of the door is notched out. With either of these hardware choices, you should get a template, in the package, for the drilling or the notching, to fit the particular hardware.

Dave

Hi Jeff,

Have a look at our alternating tread stairs: http://daveosborne.com/dave/articles/lapeyre-stairs.php

Let me know if this is the idea you are looking for.

Dave

Okay, good.

Are you okay with the math?

Dave

Good.

Just email me with any question if need be.

Dave

Hi Jeff,

An after thought - the alternating step is a good idea especially for coming down the stairs frontwards. If the steps go right across, you may find that you need to go down backwards, like a ladder.

Dave

Hi Trace,

The level you are using is a double vial level. Notice the curvature in the vials. The bottom vial is the one to read. Flip the level end over end and the bottom vial is now the one to read. To check if a level is accurate. Check it one way then the other and the two readings should be the same.

Luckily, there is a simple correction for adjusting your sliding door. Most sliding door hardware has an adjustment for this problem. The wall may be plumb, but the header may be a bit our of level. This is normally the case. The sliding hardware, on top of the door, is where there is adjustment. In a pocket door, usually, the door is held up by two bolts, attached to the rollers, which have threads and nuts. When the gap is at the top, adjust the nuts lower on the front bolt and higher on the back bolt. The stops need to be removed on one side to do this.

This is a typical pocket door roller with the adjustment nut.

By the way, every sliding door that I have installed has adjustment so that the door meets the jamb evenly. This includes aluminum patio doors, bath/shower sliding doors, closet sliders. This adjustment effects raising the whole door or raising/lowering one side or the other to make the door meet the jamb evenly.

Dave

You should be able to do it in place, if you have a small enough wrench or pliers.

Dave

You are welcome, Sir, glad it worked for you.

Dave

Hi Trace,

In your pics, the narrow vertical pieces look like the door stops which should have come with the jamb package. You should have 5 pieces about 7' long. They need to be cut to fit against the door - 2 on the right hand side of the jamb and 2 on the left and 2 short pieces on the top. These stops frame the door jamb on each side and the top of the door. The flat side goes against the door, with a slight clearance to it won't rub and the rounded edge away from the door.

The wider piece is the door casing to match the piece on top of the jamb already installed in pic 3. The casing covers the edge of the jamb and the end of the drywall. Yes leave a 3/16" to 1/4" reveal showing the edge of the jamb.

Here is a photo of my pocket door, my stops are plain Jane compared to yours, Ha!

Hope this helps.

Dave

Trace is a real success story for our website. He has been with us since May 18, 2012. He has built up his confidence over the time he has been with us, with the projects he has tackled himself with my advice and guidance. My father, being a carpenter by trade, taught me a lot of things about the trade and how to do things myself. He answered every question that I would ask him, from a 6 year old kid to an adult in the carpentry trade. No question was a stupid question, to him! In my mind a wise man is a man that learns everyday. The best way to learn is observe and ask questions. Thanks, Trace for being an active member of our website. Good for you! Or as the Aussie's say "Good on ya!"

Yes, I use a good Marine Spar Varnish for a clear finish or Cetol SRD Wood Finish for Siding, Railings, decks, made by Sikkens. Some of these come with stain to prevent the wood from turning gray and for UV protection. Your building supply store clerk could be more specific to your needs in your area.

Dave

Feature Article of the Month

(taken from our website: DaveOsborne.com

Remodeling 13: Cutting Wide Crown Molding and Cove Molding

When cutting crown molding wider than 3 1/2", we find that when cutting the wide crown molding to length, we have to lay the crown molding face down rather than upright on the turn base of a slide compound saw.

There are two common angles in the wide crown molding and cove molding of today. As shown in the drawing, notice the angle of 38° and 52° and two angles of 45° each.

I hope you are familiar with inside and outside miter joints. Refer to the previous article Remodeling 12: How to Cut Crown Molding for a picture of these. Also, remember that for every miter joint there are two pieces. We will refer to them as the left and right hand pieces as viewed in relation to the miter joint. Note: This is different than the previous article Remodeling 12: How to Cut Crown Molding where I referred to the left and right hand piece in relation to the wall.

The bevel angle of the saw is the vertical angle of the blade in relation to the base. The miter angle is the angle of the base turned in relation to the blade. This is where we get the term compound angle, where the blade is tilted and the base is turned from its zero position both at the same time. Some saws only bevel one way, so I will give you left and right bevels.

The instructions below are for a true 90° inside or outside wall corner. Sometimes we are not that lucky to have an accurate 90° wall corner to work with. Sometimes, for example, in a kitchen cabinet construction we end up having to miter a wide crown molding around a 60° angle or even an off angle like 87°. To help ease the burden of these inconsistencies in our construction lives I've made Tables 8: Cutting Crown Molding that gives miter and bevel angle settings for wall corners of any angle from 60° through to 180°.

Okay, let's cut a wide crown molding for a wall with a corner of 90°.

For Cutting 38°-52° Crown Molding Using A Left Bevel

Inside Corner—Left Hand Piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° left and the miter angle to 31.6° right. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its ceiling edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the left side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Inside Corner—Right hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° left and the miter angle to 31.6° left. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its wall edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the left side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Outside Corner—Left hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° left and the miter angle to 31.6° left. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its wall edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the right side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Outside Corner—Right hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° left and the miter angle to 31.6° right. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its ceiling edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the right side of the blade after the cut has been made.

For Cutting 38°-52° Crown Molding Using A Right Bevel

Inside Corner—Left hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° right and the miter angle to 31.6° right. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its wall edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the right side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Inside Corner—Right hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° right and the miter angle to 31.6° left. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its ceiling edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the right side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Outside Corner—Left hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° right and the miter angle to 31.6° left. Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its ceiling edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the left side of the blade after the cut has been made.

Outside Corner—Right hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to 33.9° right and the miter angle to 31.6° right Lay the wide crown molding down on the saw base, face up, with its wall edge against the saw fence. The finished piece to be installed is on the left side of the blade after the cut has been made.

For Cutting 45°-45° Crown Molding Or Cove Molding Using A Left Bevel

Inside Corner—Left hand piece

Set the bevel angle of the saw to... Read more at Remodeling 13: Cutting Wide Crown Molding and Cove Molding.

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I hope you enjoyed the Newsletter this month and that your summer was a good one.

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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.