Construction Techniques Archives

October 17, 2024

I'm planning a full retaining walkout basement on one side of a home, and I'm dealing with a tricky detail where the basement retaining wall extends outside the building envelope…

October 16, 2024

Hi,I have a couple of sections of my exterior lap siding that needs repair. The repairs would be to the bottom 2 rows that are close to grade and have…

October 15, 2024

On the right side of the lean to where it is connecting to the new home addition we are working towards creating a valley for watershed. The way we are looking…

October 7, 2024

Outdoor arbor - near side is 2x6 ledger screwed into roof rafter tails, then doubled 2x6 beams supported by 6x6 posts on far side, with 2x6 joists and 2x2 trex…

October 4, 2024

Hey, first post here.  Foundation question.  Im in Florida, so no frost heaving.  Site is sand mostly.  Looking for advice on slab v stemwall foundation for new project I'm planning.…

October 3, 2024

We are going to be replacing windows, doors and siding soon.We have a lot of bugs that get into the hose particularly in the fall and I was wondering if there…

October 2, 2024

I live in a 3-story "shirtwaist" style home in Kansas City, Missouri, built in 1909. The first level is brick, and the upper two levels are original cedar lap siding.…

September 17, 2024

Editors, Paul DeGroot et al,I'm building in a designated wildfire zone of north San Diego County, CA. We live in a state of constant alert, especially this time of year.…

September 17, 2024

I'm working on a quote for a 1800's era house in Galena KS. The wood columns supporting the sleeper porch have settled over 6". The posts are supported by 12"x12"x24"…

September 16, 2024

We recently purchased an old stone house in southeastern PA with a number of water intrusion issues. One of the worst we're tackling is a concrete roof/terrace that was poured…