Tips & Techniques

If I installed more tile, I’d probably learn to avoid getting thinset mortar all over my clothes. But as I finished up a floor the other day, I realized that…

For many years, I have worn leather gloves for heavy construction work, and I have found that the inexpensive, stiff gloves last just as long as the expensive, soft, pliable…

For fiberglass-batt insulation to perform at its best, it needs to fit tightly into every nook and cranny. When I have to cut batts to insulate the intersections at the…

This simple template and a router make quick work of hinge mortises.

Neither the flat hook nor the thick casing of a tape measure lends itself to measuring an inside diagonal. Yet accurate diagonal measurements are extremely useful in checking for the…

Learn how to cantilever steps for a deck without the need for cutting stringers or extensive concrete work.

When our 1920s farmhouse was moved in the ’70s, it gained a new foundation and a couple of broken floor joists. The joists never were repaired, so by the time we…

In my lengthy career as an architect, one of the things I learned is where to put the doorstop so that the doorknob does not hit the wall. Most folks…

To keep track of small parts with holes in them, such as plumbing washers, steel nuts and washers, reciprocating-saw blades, and so forth, I use good old-fashioned shower-curtain rings. Just…

As a trim carpenter, I try to stay as far away from painting as possible. Occasionally, however, I have to pick up a paintbrush. One trick I have learned to…