Archives: woodworking

Porch Skirt for Farmers Porch

By Todd Fratzel on Decks & Porches, Finish Carpentry, Siding & Trim

Farmers Porch With Lattice Skirt The farmer’s porch in the adjacent photo has a complete pvc lattice skirt around the bottom of the porch framing. Raised porches look best with some sort of skirt to hide the framing and keep small animals and children out of the space. Materials The entire porch skirt is built…

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Rockwell H3 Review

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools, Product Reviews

Rockwell H3 3in1 SDS Rotary Hammer Rockwell Model RK2513K2 12V Lithium-Ion Rotary Hammer Over the last few weeks we’ve had the pleasure of testing Rockwell Tools new H3 12 Volt Cordless SDS Rotary Hammer. We first got a chance to see the H3 over the winter at the International Builder’s Show and it was one…

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Paslode PF150S-PP Review

By Todd Fratzel on Power Tools, Product Reviews

PF150S-PP Positive Placement® Metal Connector Nailer Over the last couple of weeks we’ve had the pleasure of testing the all new Paslode PF150S-PP Positive Placement® Metal Connector Nailer. Paslode asked us to give it a test drive and we obliged on a large framing job that requires several dozen large metal joist hangers. Engineered Lumber…

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Prefabricated Wall Panels Save Time

By Todd Fratzel on Framing, Green Building

Using Prefabricated Wall Panels I’ve written about using prefabricated wall panels before and how they can save time on a job. Today I wanted to show an example of a job that really benefited from the use of prefabricated wall panels. Today one of our crews set wall panels on the 2nd floor of a…

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Paslode PowerBoost Black Tip Coated Nails | Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews, Tools & Products

Paslode PowerBoost Black Tip Coated Nails The folks at Paslode recently sent us their new PowerBoost coated nails to use in our CF-325 Cordless Framing Nailer. The new PowerBoost Black Tip Coated Nails are designed to provide extra driving power without the need to create a heavier more powerful nail gun. These nails were designed…

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Framing Walls – Reference Guides

By Todd Fratzel on Framing

Framing Walls Before I begin please note that my dad (standing on top of that step ladder) is breaking a major ladder safety rule! This photo was taken when my father and I started framing our new home. Lately we’ve had quite a few emails and questions about framing walls and more specifically if we…

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Our Episode On Ask This Old House

By Todd Fratzel on Gardening

Ask This Old House Years ago before I left Boston to start my career in construction my wife and I were fortunate enough to be featured on an episode of Ask This Old House. It’s funny to think about these days because at the time I had no idea that today I would be writing…

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TJI Framing

By Todd Fratzel on Building Materials, Framing

TJI Floor Joist Framing Engineered lumber continues to become more and more popular in today’s construction industry. TJI’s (engineered wood I joists) are my preferred framing members for floor systems. TJI’s offer many benefits compared to traditional dimensional lumber joists including: almost no twisting or warping, very little dimensional shrinkage, stiffness and strength. Framing a…

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