Category: Floors
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Framing for Cantilevers and Overhangs
Understanding Cantilever Basics Framing a cantilever requires attention to detail. Start with knowing your materials. Joists are often used to extend floors, balconies, or decks. Selection depends on factors like size, type of wood, and local building codes. The dimensions of the joists are vital. For Southern Pine, a 2×8 might stretch out to 2…
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DIY Wood Flooring Installation
Choosing the Right Hardwood Flooring Solid hardwood, cut from a single piece of wood, is durable and can handle multiple sandings and refinishes. It can last a century if well-maintained, but is sensitive to humidity changes. Engineered hardwood, with a top layer of hardwood veneer bonded to plywood or high-density fiberboard, offers better stability and…
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Replacing Damaged Floor Joists
Assessing Joist Condition Uneven floors, bouncy spots, and musty odors can indicate problems with your floor joists. Here are key signs to watch for: Uneven Floors Sloping floors often hint at warped, twisted, or cracked joists. You might notice doors sticking or walls cracking. This affects your home's structural integrity. Bouncy Spots Floors that feel…
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Floor Joist Installation Techniques
Getting the right floor joists and setting them up correctly is fundamental to any building project. Whether you're working with wood, engineered wood, or steel, each material has its own advantages. Proper layout and installation techniques are key to creating a stable and durable floor system. Joist Selection and Layout Choosing the right size and…
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Install Hardwood Flooring
Acclimate the Flooring Let the flooring acclimate to room temperature and humidity for three to five days. This step is crucial – you don't want your beautiful new floors to buckle or gap. While the planks sit, arrange boards from several cases, mixing them up. This ensures variations in shade and length, giving your floor…
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Sill Plates
Laying Sill Plates The time to lay the sill plates is probably the most important in housing carpentry. The more accurate you are with this step the easier it will be on everyone involved, including the trim carpenter. I once worked on a house where the lead carpenter just went by the foundation without even…
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Floor Framing
Floor Framing Approach floor framing with proper planning and care just like any other carpentry work. Study the blueprint and make note of the location of any stairway openings, floor joist cantilevers, in construction floor beams, and heavy loads from above. All these conditions are important when determining floor joist placement on sill plates and…
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Basic Concrete Forms
Basic Concrete Forms Poured wall concrete forms come in a wide variety of different forming systems. Over the years I have become familiar with several types, some of which worked very well, others not so well. Perhaps you remember the old Johnny Clamp system, this was my first experience with wall forms. These forms are…