Building Techniques

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Fine Homebuilding

a house that has been torn down with the words wind - resistant framing techniques on it

Wind-Resistant Framing Techniques

As an engineer for APA-The Engineered Wood Association, Bryan Readling spends a lot of time traveling to places where tornadoes and other violent storms have damaged or destroyed houses. In investigating the wreckage caused by two storms in 2011, he and his colleagues discovered that most of the structural failures were caused by a lack of continuity in the load path from foundation to roof. In this article, he identifies the specific places where he observed the most structural failures.

a man working on the side of a house with windows and sidings attached to it

Backyard Pool Landscaping

Construction Drawings

House Furniture Design

Do You Need to Vent Your Siding?

Rainfall is the primary source of water on walls. The cladding or siding is the water-shedding layer and prevents the majority of water intrusion. But water will eventually get behind the cladding—and this creates the potential for damage. A drained and fully ventilated rainscreen gap behind your siding is one of the best ways to minimize damage by allowing water to drain away and allowing for air movement behind the cladding to promote drying of the wall assembly.

an overview of the roofing materials for a house with instructions on how to install them

Create an Unvented roof

Through provision R806.4, the IRC also allows you to build an unvented roof assembly. Unvented assemblies work particularly well on complex roofs that would be difficult or impossible to vent properly or on roofs where it would be difficult to insulate properly if the roof were vented. It should be noted, however, that in high-snow-load areas, you still need a vented over-roof to deal with ice damming. In essence, you’re creating a hybrid vented/unvented roof system.

a man is working on the ceiling in his house with a power drill and an electric screwdriver

Cutting Out an Old Beam

After removing the existing post and cutting out the old beam, we used a laser line as a guide to cut the joists back evenly. You can start these cuts with a circular saw and finish them with a reciprocating saw or multitool.

the steel beam is removed from the ceiling in this room with text overlay that reads, steel beam remodel

Exposed Steel Beams Ceiling

Load Bearing Beam

Old Farmhouse Interior

Installing Steel I-Beans in a Farmhouse Remodel

Replacing a bearing wall or a post and beam with a steel beam means determining where the beam ends are going to land, and the load path to the foundation. Builder Josh Edmonds walks through the process of installing steel I-beams in a farmhouse remodel, from building temporary walls and cutting out the old beam to raising and fastening the new beam in place.

a house with the words reason to own a blower door as an info sheet

Energy Audit

Thermal Imaging

Power Energy

Energy Efficient Homes

Hvac System

5 Reasons to Own a Blower Door

As a contractor, investing in blower-door equipment is a means to diversify your skill set, toolbox, and income stream.

an illustrated diagram of the inside of a house with instructions on how to install it

The Original Larsen Truss

To build the original Larsen trusses, John Larsen would rip 2x4s in half to make a pair of chords. He’d then route dadoes for 3⁄8-in. plywood gussets that would connect the chords every 24 in., using glue and brads as fasteners. The trusses would be attached to a common stick-framed wall with airtight polyethylene sheeting outside of the sheathing. The houses were insulated with fiberglass batts.

Understanding Larsen Trusses

A Larsen-truss wall has some similarities with a double-¬stud wall, but what’s the difference between the two?

Building Construction

6 Ways to Stiffen a Bouncy Floor

Bouncy floors are one of the most vexing problems faced in houses, both new and old. Here are six common, and not-so-common, ways to stiffen up the floor joists to reduce deflection and keep the china cabinet from wobbling.

diagram of the original and plywood gussets in an unfinished building with details labeled

House Repair

Double Stud

Build A House

Modifications of the Original Larsen Truss System

John Larsen came up with the idea of the Larsen truss as an alternative to double-stud walls in the early 1980s. Read how different builders have taken the idea of the Larsen truss and modified the framing to fit their assemblies.

the pros and cons of a paneled house are you ready to build?

The Pros and Cons of a Panelized House

Panelized construction describes walls, floors, and roofs built in a factory and then transported to the project site where they are lifted with a crane and set on a foundation. A crew typically provided by the panel company joins the panels together to create a fully watertight and airtight building enclosure.

Creating a Foundation for a Stone Wall

With well-drained soil, foundation preparation can be as simple as removing the topsoil and compacting the grade below. If the soil is prone to settling or holding water—for example, clay or silt—put in a foundation of 3⁄4 in. to 21⁄2 in. of clean, crushed stone.

a close up of a pair of scissors on a piece of wood with a hook

Hinge-Style Metal Anchor

Hinge-style metal anchors are popular in residential fall protection, and I always like to keep a few on hand. These metal plates can be fastened to framing using manufacturer-supplied screws (if you can manage to hang onto them from job to job), structural screws (check with the manufacturer), or 16d duplex nails.

a man standing on top of a roof in front of a building with blue scaffolding

Successful Vapor Control

Durable wall assemblies must consider inside and outside sources of water vapor, and allow drying to exceed wetting over the long haul. This article depicts a number of acceptable wall assemblies and their appropriate use of vapor retarders by climate zone, and also includes a series of questions to determine the best vapor retarder and exterior insulation combination based on your wall assembly and climate.

Cedar Posts

Timber Frame Construction

Wood Frame Construction

Building Tips

The Strength of a Triangle

To offer support and lateral stability while the sill was removed, we fastened 1×6 boards to the studs. Although a single horizontal ledger accomplishes similar goals, we like the inherent strength of fastening three boards in a triangle shape, with pairs of construction screws in each stud.