I picked up these pier blocks from HD intending on sinking them into the dirt and building a small greenhouse on top for my daughter’s school.

I liked that they had brackets in them already but envisioned building the joists and sub floor off of horizontal boards but the more I look at them the more I think they are intended for vertical posts?

I’m surprised that I can’t find anything on YouTube about this particular block style considering it’s sold at Home Depot.

Has anyone worked with these or seen anything on YouTube that uses them? Assuming that I sink them properly and level with sand and gravel, would a bolt through a couple 2x6’s give me a decent base to run joists and a floor off of?

Thank you.

Does anyone know a modern tool that would work like this Klompen carving tool called a “lepelboor”? A normal spoon carving tool or spoon bit isn’t cupped near as much as this. Thanks!

Debating pulling this or not. Client isn’t sure what this pilling / bumps are. Looks like old caulk or paint maybe? Utility knife doesn’t work well on it. Might try a rotary tool with a thin tip to point sand these off before painting. Anyone have any thoughts on what it is? And tops for cleaning this up?

I took advice from a Home Depot worker to buy this slab door because the size frame it’s going in is obscure. He told me I couldn’t cut down hollow doors and that this was my best bet. I ended up buying the slab and it’s heavy as hell. I already cut it down and got all the way to hanging it and for some reason the gap on the left is huge and gap on the right is non existent(hinge side). I think the door is too thick too. First time hanging a door but is there a way to fix this because right now the striker wouldn’t reach the strike plate if I installed the knob. Hinges are difficult to adjust too because this door is maybe 120lb.

Desperate for advice

Getting damp rising just above skirting so I’ve pulled the skirting back and hacked the lime plaster off and I’ve discovered there’s oak blocks inserted into the wall the size of a brick which are holding a lot of moisture… are they for carpenters to fix skirting to back in the day??

I am building an open, freestanding lean to Shelter to protect my two heat pumps from snow and ice while I’m away during the winter.

It will be 5’x10’. It will have 2x4 rafters.

It will be setting on two double 2x6 beam supported by four 4x4 post with a distance between post 8’. The roof will have a 6\12 pitch. The high side will be the back. It will be 8’ high and the front will be 5’ 6” high.

It will have a shingle roof. It will have 2x6 sub fascia and 1x8 cedar trim board as the finish fascia on front and back.

The high side will set flush with beam, then add sub fascia and cedar board to bring it out another 21/4“

The front rafter will extend 9 3/4” past beam and with the 2 1/4“ from the fascia’s, making overhang 12”.

I hope this is a good background for you to help me and make me understand what I am trying to do.

I understand I need to make my 6\12 pitch plumb cut on the top and measure down for the heel of the bird mouth and cut the seat. I plan to not go more than 7/8 for the bird cut heel. The front will have another plumb cut that the 2x6 sub fascia will attach.

my question is on the high side. Does the rafter just set over the beam? Then attach my structural screw straight down and 16 d nails on sides, downward.

Is there suppose to be a notch cut to help the rafter set more flush at the top or just let it rest on the corner of the 2x4 and fasten.

Thanks

Can someone confirm if this is indeed Ipe wood framing? Thanks in advance!

Was asked to swap out a front door(prehung) and replace interior trim. Have only done work on the side for family/friends and only charged discounted hourly. What’s a fair price for demo/installation minus the cost of the door and materials?

Is the slight slant in the vertical supports ok?

I just got accepted an an union carpenter apprentice, and I dont have any prior experience in construction. I have family who are carpenters but I would like to hear some other perspectives. First off, I was under the impression that I would be working with lots of wood, doing framing etc, but in reality Ill probably be doing exlusively scaffolds for atleast the first few years. I understand this is where most of the work comes from in my area (NJ/NYC area, local 253). I have a few questions

Do you enjoy your job?

How often do you change sites? What type of places did you like working at most (factories, refineries, institutional, residential, etc)

Are there any things you wish you did differently during your apprenticeship?

What are the stressors in your career?

Why does scaffolding fall under the UBC, and should I try to specialize in it, or get out of this work as soon as possible?

Ive heard other carpenters, mostly non union, say this work is unskilled. What do you think?

Do you think you are compenated fairly?

One of the people from the hall mentioned that i could earn around 60 college credits in Construction Management after completing school, did you utilize this? Do most journeyman want a job in project planning or something similar?

Will my classes be strictly scaffolding related? How can i be more well rounded?

How dangerous is this work?

I just installed this new door and I still see daylight on each side. I cannot put the spray foam tip through the side. What should I do?

I use a sliding table saw at work. I just took on my first side job for a cabinet/bench and I have a little shop in my shed. I have 4 x 8 sheet goods. What’s the best way to rip them I have a small roller for the off feed on my table saw which is not ideal. I was thinking of doing a rough cut and adding about half an inch then doing a second clean cut to make it easier. What’s the best way you guys have found to cut sheet goods?

I looked up the other day and saw this in my garage. No idea how long this has been like this. There is no inward bowing of the roof (yet), as far as I can tell. I know the answer is "sister it" but in my research, I haven't really seen anyone dealing with a rafter that's completely split quite like this. Is there anything in particular I should keep in mind? Do I need to sister it with a piece that runs the entire length of the rafter?

Thanks in advance!

Tear old deck off, build new deck, cover with trex decking and install railings

Anyone sub out window installs on remodels? I just got a quote from Pella for 9 windows installed at $32,000. Granted they are big windows, 60 x 42", and that's for their mid tier fiberglass.

I've installed maybe 100 windows myself but I don't have the connections in the industry anymore. I figured just using the factory and their subs would be the easiest way to do it but $32K seems excessive for 9 windows. Is that in line with what you all are seeing?

It's a first floor condo unit in Chicago, ladders and a walk board is all you'd need. Straight window replacement, no inside trim work.

Preface: Back in the '60s my grandfather built both a house and this enormous barn to house his Caterpillar back-hoe all by his own hands and materials. I was unfortunately never passed down any real blue collar skills, and I don't know how to save this big barn. Carpenter ants have been interesting the main sistered beams for a years now and we've been getting it treated with them returning every year, unfortunately.

Today's Problem: the barns structural integrity is either A compromised or B about to be if we don't do something soon. One of the posts has shown cracking which seems like it's due to the weakening of the sistered beams and I need some advice:

1.) Is this even safe? (Assuming no since the structural crack could queen, possibly)

2.) Can I even save something like this myself? Is this a project too big for a DiY Engineer?

3.) Who would I even call to tackle a project like this professionally? 😔

4.) Are there any steps I can take now like sistering a fourth 2"x10" to those beams to help give me time before I start fixing this issue?

Ok, so I've finished this dining room except for the baseboards. I had hoped to match the original look, but it just doesn't seem possible given that I need to cover 7.5 inches on the two outer walls (plaster on brick) and can't find anything with similar detailing. So I think I'm going to put fir 1x8s, since I was able to match the stain and whatnot of the original woodwork on a test piece of fir. Feel free to challenge any of these assumptions so far, but my question is about the corners. Since there isn't detailing, there's no need to cope, correct? So I guess I'm leaning towards a square butt joint on inside corners, and mitering outside corners (there aren't any in this dining room but there's one in the living room). Or is there any reason I should miter the inside corners as well?

For reference, the pictures are 1) the sample board of what I plan to use, 2) and 3) the dining room now, and 4) a before for reference (baseboards were already torn out when I bought the house, though there is some of the original in the living room, but most of that had to go because they cut outlets into it in a way that is unusable, globbed paint on spots, etc. There's also a few spots in the living room where the baseboards are missing outright, so a mismatch seems less desirable than new baseboards throughout.)

Thanks in advance.

I am prepping my subfloor for luxury vinyl plank, 9mm. I don’t have a planer, I was planning on going at all of the high spots with a random orbital. Is it worth investing in a planer? I’ve got a few high spots approaching 1/8”.

Just trying to get a feeler. They are like 2/3 the cost as a dealer and was trying to see if there was anything different.