Thomas Martinez

Two walls and a single board: that’s all it takes to get things going. There is a geometry vs. It is a gravity dance. The … Read more

It starts out as a napkin sketch and ends up as a stamped set of structural plans. In between, it gets dicey, as homeowners grapple … Read more

Homeowners view most roofs as shingles or tile. They rarely consider that they are actualy looking at a giant, hanging slab of energy storage that … Read more

A homeowner looks at a roof and sees shingles; a contractor see structural load and geometric shapes. That mismatch of views makes many people overspend … Read more

When most people think about gravel they think that it’s just random pieces of rock that you dump and leave. They envision the delivery truck … Read more

When you buy too much lumber, there’s a certain kind of frustration that sets in. It is a feeling like you’re standing in the home … Read more

To most of us, a concrete slab is just a boring expanse of gray. We don’t think of the metal bones that connect them all. … Read more

When most folks think of steel beam they think of a large piece of metal holding things up. In fact, it’s much cooler than that. … Read more

The classic DIYer heartbreak is a handrail that terminate before reaching landing. This is almost always because people don’t understand how a slope works: the … Read more

The two of you are standing in a bare room, staring at parallel boards on the ground. If you don’t have much construction experience, what … Read more

Ceiling Joist: A ceiling joist is a tension member that helps hold a house together rather than being a major structural hero. It resists the … Read more