Tool Calculator

When you get to the triangle-shaped area where a roof connects to siding (the gable end), normal rectangle-based math doesn’t work. It’s an angle, not … Read more

Typically, we think of stairs as simply a pile of boards, right? Well, stairs is actualy a machine designed to move your body across space … Read more

How many times have you measured for a staircase and figured it would all fall into place? Most of the time, that’s a bad assumption. … Read more

Instead of dreaming of the perfect kitchen, you find yourself on a tiny hallway looking at a wall blocking the way. “We have to install … Read more

Shed roofs seem straightforward: just one sloping plane leaning against a wall at a slight angle. But there’s some deceptive math happening. It’s easy to … Read more

Houses are puzzle boxes of structure, and everyone learns this lesson the hard way the first time someone attempt to rip out a load bearing … Read more

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