One of those "If I help, will it save me money?" jobs. But not in a bad way.

Kirk Giordanos, aka, Mr. Plaster Fantaster, shows us yet another way to kill time, and amaze your kids, while waiting to get into a job: Spin a hawk on a trowel. 

Large flat panels of fiber-cement make a modern-looking siding. Metal track keeps the lines clean

 

From the Earth, basic materials become the building blocks of a home—nature nurtures native spaces.

Little details make a difference in how a siding job looks—and lasts. Sweat the details

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Old walls are wavy. Old walls with a lot of foam on them are easy to make flat.

Stucco is likely to last significantly longer than the decking, so make it easy to replace the decking without disrupting the stucco.

From extension jambs to mullions, begin with the biggest piece and work to the smallest

Felt, furring strips, and flashing keeps rain out of the walls

 

Each layer reveals personal and technological circumstances

Walls that can drain and dry last a lot longer than walls that stay wet.

Surfaces and subsurfaces are on the same team, remember?

Walls that dry are walls that last for a long, long, time.

Jonathan Fishbeck, CEO of BuilderFish, explains the anatomy of masonry veneer walls that won't trap water and cause rot.

Two packages for high performance homes. Vented and unvented roof insulation retrofits and exterior wall insulation details along with rainscreen wall details for furring strips.

Walls that can drain and dry last a lot longer than walls that stay wet. An air gap between the siding and sheathing lets both dry independently. Furring strips are one way to make that air gap.

Water and air leaks in a building shell are difficult enough to detail on simple buildings. Complex structures can cause headaches for builders, remodelers, and architects who don't pick up their pens and trace at the design stage.