On the Job Tip: Look before you leap

With blower door tests in the building code, it is up to more than just the insulators or the GC to deliver results: many trades have a stake.

It's not just wasted space anymore

The best containment strategy depends on the job size, tools required, location in the house, and proximity to living space

 

News Flash: Drywall can be an air barrier

 

Retiling a tub surround is a common remodeling project because tubs have a track record for quitting early

The switch plates will only cover a little gap, so if your cut is sloppy, you'll have to come back to patch. And someone has to pay for that.

Warm and dry basement living space begins with keeping the basement dry—duh. All moisture from outside must be directed away from the interior walls and slab.

It's all in the wrist.

Samurai Carpenter tackles a whole new world: texturing a ceiling. 

Wire mesh corner bead. Visions of bleeding fingers. Nothing but trouble.

The humble drop cloth, protector of floors and furniture from paint drips and sawdust and fragments of fiberglass like stiffer bits of spiderweb ...

These apartment plans were drawn by a local draftsman using an older version. dwg — Drawn on Wall Graphics. 

Ceilings in Mexico are often made with bricks laid in “bobeda” style, or in arches between steel beams...

Regular walls just won't cut it anymore. Higher-achieving energy codes mean higher-performance walls, airtightness targets, and home energy rating system (HERS) scores. Here are six improvement targets to shoot for.

Straight from the horse's — er, umm, well ...