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You feel a sense of dread, the kind that clenches your gut as you gaze at pile of cedar bundles in your driveway. What you … Read more

For most people, it begins with the span. You take out a tape measure, you figure out how far apart two walls are, and you … Read more

The framing sits on the headers. But the framing sits on the headers. If you want to open up a floor plan by removing one … Read more

So you begin your pergola with a simple idea, some wood, some shade. Then it turns into a structural engineering problem instead of an easy … Read more

The gap between two post sits there, in your back yard. You’re standing there wondering what to build. What about timber? It’s not something you … Read more

There you are standing in a bare room looking at the gap between two walls. You is trying to decide what should go there. This … Read more

Roofs can’t be flat. If they’re flat, then they has to have some pitch on them so that water can run off. It is typicaly … Read more

The best way to think about a roof isn’t merely as protection from rain; consider it a series of lever arms pushing out against house … Read more

The attic is already full. You open the hatch and there it is: boxes of seasonal sports equipment, old furnitures, holiday decorations, etc. Everything looks … Read more

Imagine your roof beam: just some piece of lumber spanning from one wall to another. Nope! That’s not all that goes on. That beam is … Read more

We naturaly tend to measure a room wall-to-wall, and think that’s our floor joist span. And sure, it’s a natural mistake, but also the most … Read more

You have a beautiful hardwood floor in your living room, and suddenly your plumber tells you that getting the new toilet drain to the wall … Read more

A pallet of engineered lumber looks manageable on a jobsite until you try to lift it. To span large spaces with relatively little material, I-joists … Read more

The thing about wood bridges is that they’re always a little bit of an adventure until you discover that adding several inches of length to … Read more