Archives: Home Improvement

Colored Caulking

By Todd Fratzel on Cabinetry, Painting and Finishing

When I installed the cabinets for the bar area I used a matching skin panel on the back side of the bar to match the cabinetry. Unfortunately the panel was only 8 feet long and the space was about 8 feet plus 1/4 inch. So when I installed the panel I held it tight to…

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Wood Truss Erection Tips

By Todd Fratzel on Framing, Roofing, Safety

Truss Erection Tips Today on the Total House Construction Series – Foundation to Finish the crew erected the wood trusses. I’d like to share some wood truss erection tips that will keep you safe and save you time and money. I’ve written previously about Proper Erection of Residential Wood Trusses and Erecting Large Trusses Safely.…

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Cheap Table Saw – Great Deal

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools

Amazon has an incredible deal on a factory-reconditioned table saw from Bosch. I’m a huge fan of the Bosch worksite table saws. You can read a table saw review I did about one of these we bought for our crew. Right now you can buy the Factory-Reconditioned Bosch 4000-N-RT 10-inch Worksite Table Saw from Amazon…

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Save Electricity – Buy Smart Strip Power Strip

By Todd Fratzel on Electrical, Power Tools

Televisions, computers, printers, DVD players and most electronics continue to use electricity even when you turn them off. In fact, today’s high tech homes consume so much “un-used” electricity because of the many electronics in our homes. This is why you should consider buying the Smart Strip LCG3 Energy Saving With Autoswitching Technology. This power…

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Preparation for Truss Erection

By Todd Fratzel on Framing, Safety

Today on the Total House Construction Series – Foundation to Finish I’d like to talk about preparing a house for truss delivery and erection. Preparing the house frame prior the truss delivery can make the erection process quicker and safer. Typically pre-engineered trusses come with a set of engineering plans. The plans contain information about…

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Porter-Cable 23-Gauge Pin Nailer

By Todd Fratzel on Finish Carpentry, Power Tools, Product Reviews

One of my favorite air tools in my workshop is my Porter-Cable 23-Gauge Pin Nailer. Pin nailers are very useful for all kinds of home improvement projects and fine carpentry. Most often I use the pin nailer when I have delicate pieces of wood that need to be held in place for a glued assembly.…

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Prefabricated Wall Panel Erection

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

As promised in my prefabricated house wall panels post today we erected the exterior wall panels for the house that I’m documenting in the Total House Construction Series – Foundation to Finish. As you can see in the photos all of the prefabricated wall panels were delivered on trucks from the factory and then erected…

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Prefabricated House Wall Panels

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

Prefabricated Wall Panels The new house that I’ve been following on Total House Construction Series – Foundation to Finish will feature prefabricated wall panels. I think many people confuse prefabricated houses with modular homes. When in reality they are very different. Prefabricated house wall panels are built in a controlled environment out of the elements.…

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