FineHome

•
Tiling Countertops Building with Stress-Skin Panels

February/ March 1985 No. 25 $3.50

02 The Nicolai Fechin House

o
 ..

, won't actually hold back the ocean... but it is effective basement waterproofing.

TUFF-N-DRI PROMISES 10 YEARS

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 F,ine Homebuilding _____

February/March 1985 No. 25

4 Letters 26 The Nicolai Fechin House

A Russian painter and woodcarver builds a house
10 Q & A of adobe in the American desert
by John Lively
16 Tips and Techniques
32 Tiling a Mortar-Bed Counter
80 Finishing Touches
How one tile setter builds the classic kitchen
work surface
82 Reports by Michael Byrne
Tyvek
Conference: Energy-Efficient Retrofits
Architects and Computers 35 Mixing Mortar

84 Calendar
38 Roll-Top House
90 Great Moments Plywood and 2x box beams form the structural
core of a superinsulated house with a curved roof
and a window wall
Editor John Lively by Tim Snyder
Art Director Betsy Levine

Associate Editors 42 Building with Stress-Skin

Mark Alvarez, Tim Snyder, Paul Spring Laminated, insulated panels offer new ways to build
economical, energy-efficient houses
Western Editor Charles Miller
by Alex Wade
Copy/Production Editor Ruth Dobsevage

Art Assistant Elizabeth Eaton

47 A Dutchman's Bath
Editorial Secretary Lynn Meffert A little gem of walnut and stone
Consulting Editors Tom Law, Bob Syvanen by Philip S. Sollman

The Taunton Press: Paul Roman. publisher; Janice A. Roman, 50 Starting Simple
associate publisher; Dale Brown, director 01 marketing; John Kelsey. Updating an old-fashioned ranch design
senior editor; JoAnn Muir, director 01 administration; Tom
by Zu Vincent
Luxeder, business manager; Lois Beck, office services coordinator;
Liz Crosby, personnel administrator; Pauline Fazio, executive
secretary; Patricia Rice, receptionist. Accounting: Irene Arlaras.
manager; Madeline Colby, Catherine Sullivan, Elaine Yamin. 51 Building a Grout-Lock Wall
Art: Roger Barnes, design director; Lisa Long. staff artist.
Boo...: Laura Cehanowicz Tringali. editor; Heather Brine Lambert, Box-beam construction, p. 38
assistant art director; Deborah Cannarella, Scott Landis, assistant 54 Framing a Conical Roof
editors. Fulfillment: Carole E. Ando, subscription manager; by Geoff Alexander
Terry Thomas, assistant manager; Gloria Carson, Dorothy Dreher,
Claudia Inness, Cathy Koolis, Donna Leavitt, Peggy LeBlanc,
Denise Pascal, Nancy Schoch; Ben Warner, mail-services clerk. Robert
56 Humboldt House
Bruschi, distribution supervisor; David Blasko, John Daly, Bob
Garvin, Linnea Ingram, Marchelle Sperling. Production: Mary Galpin,
A craftsman's approach to building without plans,
manager; Barbara Bahr, secretary. Production Services: Gary a budget or a deadline
Mancini, manager; Dave DeFeo, coordinator; Claudia Applegate. by John Mahony
Deborah Cooper, assistants; Nancy Knapp, system operator.
Promotion: Jon Miller, manager; Dennis Danaher, publicist;
Anne Feinstein, assistant art director. Video: Rick Mastelli, 62 Shingle Sleuthing
producer/director; Don Goff, Jr., production assistant.
A veteran builder pries a few secrets from 90-year-old
Advertising and Sales: James P. Chiavelli and Richard Mulligan, sidewall shingles
national accounts managers; Carole Weckesser and Vivian E. Dorman, by Tom Law
sales coordinators; Rosemarie Dowd, coordinator 01 indirect sales;
Laura Lesando, secretary. Tel. (203) 426·8171.
64 Plumb Bobs, String and Chalkboxes
Fine Homebuilding (ISSN 0273-1398) is published bimonthly,
February, April, June, August, October and December, by The Taunton Working with string and the tools that hang from it
Press, Inc., Newtown, CT 06470. Telephone (203) 426-8171. Second­ by Trey Loy
class postage is paid at Newtown, CT and at additional mailing
offices. Copyright 1985 by The Taunton Press, Inc. No reproduction
without permission 01 The Taunton Press, Inc. Fine Homebuilding* 70 Concrete-Plank Roof
is a registered trademark 01 The Taunton Press, Inc.
An expensive but effective structural system for
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outside U.S. and possessions, $4. Send to Subscription Dept., The
Taunton Press, Inc., PO Box 355, Newtown, CT 06470. Address all 73 Rebuilding a Federal-Period Fence
correspondence to the appropriate department (Subscription, Humboldt house, p. 56 Meticulous shopwork and careful on-site planning
Editorial or Advertising), The Taunton Press, 52 Church Hill Rd.,
recreate a local landmark
PO Box 355, Newtown, CT 06470. U.s. newsstand distribution by
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Postmaster: Send address changes to The Taunton Press, PO Box 355, Newtown, CT 06470
 LETTERS

Shooting galvanized nails appreciated on vertical work, and sometimes puzzling loaded catenary analogy originated by
Your article on pneumatic nailing (FHB # 1 5, even overhead . .. . Robert Hooke in 1 676 ... . Arch experiments,
pp. 49-53) stuck in the back of my mind. I The switch to lighter tools in general has especially in France, were numerous during the
always felt that a nail gun would be a great help been a revelation to me, especially in my early 1 9th century, generally employing models
in my business but could not decide on the personal gear. One day I realized that my I -in. or mock-ups loaded to failure. They seemed to
right gun. The article did not go into detail on by 25-ft. Stanley tape, which is now practically have trouble with the mathematics at that time.
the gun I finally purchased, a Duo-Fast. a standard among carpenters, was just too In my quest toward understanding folk
I have discovered a few advantages offered big-clumsy to hold and space-consuming in artisanry, I have been impressed by the fact that
by the Duo-Fast nail gun . . ..With some factory the nail bag. I also find myself moving toward many of the historic vaults that are still standing
alteration, it is the only one I could find that lighter hammers, preferring to increase the today were built by traditional methods,
would shoot hot-dipped galvanized nails. I do a speed of my snap to achieve velocity rather apparently not employing scientific analyses.
great deal of cedar decking and hot-tub work, than increasing the mass of the hammer head. However, much of this "folk art" may have
and this was an important feature, as stainless The cumulative effect of streamlining all this scientific roots.
nails were too expensive to be cost effective. baggage can be summed up in one word­ What may have been one of the scientific
One more important thing is that the South relief. It's the feeling you get when you pull off firsts is the dome of Saint Sophia in
Florida Building Code requires at least hot­ your 1 0-lb. leather stompers at three o'clock on Constantinople (constructed 532-537 A.DJ
dipped for applications such as this. It is a a summer afternoon and slip into a pair of Spanning 107 ft. and now rising 50 ft. above
shame that the Duo-Fast Corporation does not Nikes-it makes you want to dance. the spring line, the dome was constructed of
advertise this fact, as it would have saved me a
lot of legwork.
-Scott McBride, Irvington, NY bricks about 27 in. square in the lower part and
24 in. square at the crown. These large bricks
- William L. Bodor, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Low-voltage wiring warning are but 2 in. thick, and are layered in mortar of
Re the tip "Outlet Planning" (FHB #23, p. 1 4), the same thickness. A slice revealing the
Lightening up it is extremely dangerous to place any low­ section of the dome seems to describe a
I read with interest your recent article voltage circuit (telephone, cable TV, or catenary curve. It is thought that this dome was
on . . . worm-drive saws... . One of the first doorbell) in a conduit carrying 1 1 0 or 220 built without temporary supports or centering.
things I did when I considered my VAC. It is also contrary to the NEMA Code and S. Sophia was the product of two scholars
apprenticeship over was to spend a week's pay almost all local codes. It can cause interference from Asia Minor well grounded in theories of
on the baddest-Iooking saw I could find-a big in the low-voltage circuit; and in the case of a statics and mathematics. One, Anthemios, had
old Rockwell with an immense shoe and high voltage short or ground fault, could written a work on conical sections and was an
control knobs the size of a golf ball. That severely damage the low-voltage apparatus, expert on projective geometry. The other,
machine died a premature death by voltage including telephone or cable-TV company Isidorus, had taught stereotomy and physics at
drop. It was followed by an B14-in. worm-drive switchgear, which you would be billed for. If the universities of Alexandria and
beast, guaranteed to prove to the unconvinced you want to run low-voltage lines in a conduit, Constantinople, and had written a commentary
that I meant business. The mere mention of this you must not run them with any 1 1 0 or 220- on an older treatise on vaulting.
saw's name is enough to blow a fuse at twenty VAC circuit, or terminate them in the same An interesting consideration is the diffusion
paces. It is also heavier to lug about than most box. -Paul Yost, Milwaukee, Wis. of traditional construction techniques and that
mid-sized gas chainsaws. while their continuity may depend on
Ten years later, I still use this tool on those Preventing framer's elbow apprenticeship systems, they may have been
rare occasions when brute force is of primary I would like to add this personal observation to initiated or supplemented by sophisticated
importance: cutting off an asphalt roof, say, or the fine article on framing hammers by Paul scientific analyses-even during ancient times.
repeat ripping in heavy lumber. But having Spring (FHB #23). I enjoy the feel of a good Mateo Avila's bovedas, which can satisfy
been in the trade long enough to care more Vaughan 24-oz. and it's shock-absorbing loading requirements for current building
about results than appearances, I've switched properties. But, alas, they do have the tendency codes, are probably a part of this.
to ·a lighter saw for almost all of my to lose their heads over the occasional stuck
routine cutting. nail. I have a Stanley Rocket that has a very Worm-drive safety
My current favorite is the Skil #559. A small sound handle-to-head connection, but because When using a worm-drive saw to trim the end
"sidewinder," it weighs in at 9Y.! pounds, and the handle is steel, the vibration made my arm of a board, instead of blocking up the blade
draws a modest 1 0 amps. Equipped with a well­ very sore within a few days. I found I could guard, try cutting left-handed. In this way the
tuned steel combination blade, it performs all stop the vibration and the pain by making a body of the saw will be supported on the stock
but the most brutal tasks with cool efficiency. It small hole through the rubber in the butt of the and the saw will not twist or bind. With all but
also features a clever guard-retraction lever, handle and filling it with fine sand. I closed the very thin cuts, you will find that the guard lifts
located in a comfortable position on the top of hole with a dab of silicone, and the hammer is easily on its own, although giving it a little lift
the saw. I have made a slight modification to as "dead" as a wooden handle, with almost no with your right hand will help start the cut.
this device that allows me to retract the guard chance of losing the head. I hope this spares Jim Picton (FHB #24, pp. 36-4 1 ) uses a
fully, cut one-handed, and release the guard, all someone the pain of framer's elbow. wedge to block up the blade guard of his saw,
in a matter of seconds. -Rick Williams, Salt Lake City, Utah and is careful about removing it. But many
The Skil #559 has ball-bearings, so it should framers leave the wedge in full time, or actually
be reasonably durable. An added bonus is the More vaulted math remove the blade guard and throw it away. I
price-about $40 less than the so-called Gene George replies to Francis de Winter's learned framing from two fine carpenters who
"builder's" saws. This is particularly letter (FHB #24 , p. 14): Thank you very much lost thumbs because their blade guards were
advantageous in situations where tools are for your comments on the Boveda house pinned up . .. . Remember that with a pinned
liable to "walk. " article, especially for clearing the air on the guard, you won't get a second chance to make
I consider the lower amperage of small saws mathematical possibilities with statically the same mistake.
a plus. It allows me to run more cable while indeterminate structures. When I researched - Tom Greggs, Redmond, Wash.
experiencing fewer overloads. The fact is, you the subject for the article, I read that arched
don't need all those amps if you keep your structures (which can be developed into vaults) Sawbuck retrofit
blades sharp and properly set. Hats off to Tom were statically indeterminate, and almost in the I have a Rockwell Sawbuck-a machine
Law for his fine treatment of this important same breath that the lack of available equations that works extremely well for me and is a
subject in your last issue (FHB #24, pp. 33-35). prevented their mathematical solutions [of the real time and labor-saver. The one problem I
Finally, and most important of all, the #559 arches]. Hence, my incorrect statement. Often, experienced with this saw was the persistent
handles well due to its light weight, these were very old references. and aggravating rusting of the guide rails, even
compactness, and smaller shoe (creating less At the same time, I encountered experiments when it was kept in the shop. I finally sat down
friction). These qualities are especially using models (Atwood IBO 1) as well as a and put my comments in a letter to Rockwell

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February/March 1985 5
 LETTERS

International (now Delta), suggesting that home owner 99% certainty of controlling a fire. Ambridge, Pa. That's about 18 miles north
perhaps stainless steel would have been a Ideally, the system would be installed before of Pittsburgh. . . .
better choice of materials for the guide rails. the gypboard, allowing the use of polybutylene When I was in college, getting a BFA in
I received a prompt reply from these folks or PVC plumbing. In this existing home, copper design from Pratt Institute, I had a class in
advising me that a retrofit kit is now available, or galvanized pipe would be used externally. architectural history. Somewhere between the
with stainless steel bars, part number 422-25- As aesthetics are not critical in the plenum, Bauhaus and the concept of manufactured
408-0003 priced at $79.95. This kit may be this addition of the sprinkler heads is not a housing, the subject of Lustron homes came up.
ordered from the Delta distribution center in visual problem. If the water supply can provide The professor made the point that the
Van Nuys, Calif. 30 psi to two flowing heads (1 5 psi each) for technology for a mass-produced house was
In the meantime however, as a matter of ten minutes, local fire officials should gladly available that long ago. But he was under the
possible interest to other Sawbuck owners, I accept this method. The home is such an impression that only a very few samples were
purchased from one of our local purveyors of excellent design that a total fire loss would be built-we didn't know about the 60 at
metals two stainless-steel rods,
3214 in. long. These are a perfect replacement
0/4
in. in dia. by criminal when it can be prevented so easily.
Installation guidelines can be acquired
Quantico. He also insisted that the real reason
for their failure was not so much a financial
for the originals and cost about half as much as from pamphlet 1 3-D of the National Fire one (though that certainly played a part) but
the kit. Protection Association (Batterymarch Park, that families in the market for a house in this
Anyone who is contemplating this move Quincy, Mass. 02269). price range just didn't like it. He claims that
should advise the supplier what the intended -Patrick Whitfield, Inspecto r, these customers wanted pseudo-colonials that
use is, and the supplier will recommend the Valley of the Moon Fire District, were warm and cute and cozy, and simply did
proper type of stainless steel. Apparently not all Boyes Hot Springs, Calif. not understand a house with never-paint walls,
round stock will have the smooth finish no cellar and built-ins. I'm sure he's right
required to allow the saw to slide freely. Lustran because a lot of family friends came right out
-Merle Oxley, San Marcos, Tex. I had quite a start when I opened FHB #22 and and said they'd never live in that house. . .
saw your piece on the Lustron homes. It is only People also did not like the asphalt tile
Sprinkler system for envelope house the second reference I 've heard to them . instead of wood, and a lot of them felt the steel
In "The Double Envelope" (FHB #23) the outside my own family. walls were "cold." And many of them objected
problem of a fire occurring in the plenum or In a way, I almost grew up in a Lustron to being stuck with one color scheme.
attic areas having uncontrolled access to all home because my grandparents owned one Ironically, though the house is still there, the
parts of the home was addressed, but not really for many years and we all piled in for Sunday new owners have painted it. I wonder how long
solved. I would like to offer an inexpensive and dinner and other occasions. When my that paint job will last until it peels. My
very satisfactory solution. Installing quick-acting grandfather died about two years ago, the grandparents lived in it virtually maintenance
residential sprinkler heads plumbed into the house was sold, although it's still standing free for about 30 years.
existing household water supply will give a there at the corner of 5th St. and Park Rd. in -Maryann Ondovcsik, Brooklyn, N. Y.

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February/March 1985 7
 DISCOVER

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for a compre­
I1-n8Mi00-nnesot
742-5a685,: ext. 654
hensive full-color portfolio.
We rest our case.
Name:
_________ _
Address:
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LO G HO ME S ____
City: _ __ State: Zip:
Dept.Petoskey,
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131 South Phone:
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----------------
February/March 1985 9
 Q& A

The editors invite questions on all aspects of posts and increase the racking resistance of the thoroughly rinsed and allowed to dry. It can
building, renovation and restoration . We also structure, frame diagonal braces between the then be sealed by spraying all surfaces with a
publish reader comment on the answers. Send rafters and the posts. clear silicone acrylic or silicone alkyd solution,
questions and comments to Q&A, Fine Home­
The second approach, also shown in the or an acrylic emulsion.
building, Box 355,
Newtown, Conn. 06470.
drawing, makes the function of the clerestory There are also proprietary products designed
post much less critical to the structure. The roof to remove efflorescence and keep it under con­
I plan to build a timber-frame passive­ can be designed using a normal rafter truss, with trol; one of these is Sure Klean Efflorescence
solar home that includes a clerestory. the clerestory nothing more than an added ele­ Control System (ProSoCo, Inc., 1 040 Parallel
Most of the information that I have on ment. You'd need only to calculate the extra Parkway, Kansas City, Kans. 66 1 04)' This system
timber framing covers only traditional de­ load where the clerestory post joins the rafter. uses a water-soluble cleaner followed by a pen­
sign. Ca. n you give me some idea of how This load is not likely to be significant because etrating preventive treatment.
to handle the ridge? What joinery should I most of it would be supported in the cantilever.
use with the rafters? The joint at the peak of the clerestory could be I am considering blown-in insulation for
cut in the same way as the first example, while
.
-Stewart Smythe, Salt Lake City, Utah my turn-of-the-century home. Will I have
the connection to the lower rafter could be a
N H.,
Tedd Benson, a timber framer and author from moisture problems using this kind of in­
A lstead Center, replies: The designs for simple mortise and tenon. Where the two rafters sulation in the absence of a vapor bar­
clerestories seem to have evolved from two dif­ join, use a housed mortise and tenon. rier? Also, which is preferable, fiberglass
ferent approaches. A clerestory is perceived In either case, the rafter-to-post and rafter-to­ or rock wool?
either as two shed roofs of different heights
leaning on one another, or as an extension of
rafter joints are the most important because they
connect and support the truss. The ridge beam
-Robert C. Morrison, Voorheesville, N.
Bill Lotz, an engineer specializing in insulation
Y.
one plane of rafters above its intersection with and the beam at the base of the clerestory serve and moisture problems in Acton, Maine, re­
the other plane. to connect the trusses and would act as nailers plies : There is a big difference between how
In the first approach (drawing, below), the for the finish work. They should both have sim­ well blown-in insulation works in one installa­
whole system leans heavily on a post that must ple mortise-and-tenon joinery, although I'd tion and how it works in another. In some
fall at the intersection between the sheds. This house the ridge timber because the size would houses, it proves to be an excellent way to pro­
would call for a post that runs from the sill to be partially reduced as a result of the roof pitch. vide retrofit insulation; in others it becomes a
the top of the clerestory. It could be difficult to wet, ineffective disaster. What determines suc­
get such a timber, depending on the height of The central stone chimney on my new cess or failure is the construction of the house
the building .. Both sets of rafters should join the house looked great until the first rain, itself, the occupants and the climate.
posts with a housed mortise-and-tenon joint when a white powder appeared on much If the house has a wet basement or crawl
about 2 in. wide, 4 in. deep and 8 in. long, and of the masonry, and even spilled down space, an unvented bathroom and kitchen, or a
pinned with two I -in. pegs. A housed joint is onto the roofing. I've been told this is ef­ clothes dryer that is vented indoors, you must
one that has a shoulder cut into the post on florescence from the portland-cement mor­ dry up these sources of moisture before insulat­
which the rafter bears, as shown in the detail tar. How do I clean it off, and keep it from ing the walls of the house. You can then retard
drawing below. To further tie these rafters to the reappearing? -Jim Long, Monroe, N. C. the remaining moisture that is produced by the
Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit that can occupants by applying a vapor-barrier paint,
Clerestory with supporting post develop on the surface of almost any kind of
masonry given the right conditions. The basic
since installing a polyethylene film isn't practical
in your case. If you can get these sources of
Housed Ridge concern here is appearance, since efflorescence moisture under control, you shouldn't have any
mortise
and tenons --��----� Post
(down
is basically harmless. It is the result of soluble
salts-typically sulfates of sodium, potassium,
problems with condensation in your walls.
The choice between rock wool and loose fi­
to sill) magnesium, calcium and iron; carbonates of so­ berglass is not a critical one. If price quotes for
dium, potassium and calcium; or sodium bicar­ each work out about the same, I'd choose rock
Rafter
bonate or silicate-that are carried to the sur­ wool because of its greater fire resistance.
face by moisture. Although efflorescence is
Collar most noticeable when a structure is new, chang­ I have a lot of poplar trees on my land
ing weather conditions like rain, humidity and that are large, straight and nearly clear. I
wind can draw these salts to the surface even if am thinking of cutting them for 4x6 floor
Rafter
they occur only in tiny amounts in the masonry. joists that will be exposed, or I might saw
The Portland Cement Association suggests these trees into boards, dry them and use
several ways of preventing the problem; all of
Housed
mortise
and tenon
�L... Ridge
tenon
them are based either on eliminating the salts or
the moisture that brings them out. The biggest
source of salts is contaminated mixing water
them for trim. I've been unable to find
strength values for poplar, so I'm using
the figures for white pine because it
seems comparable. Am I on the right
and unwashed sand, but even something as track? I've also noticed that some of my
seemingly inconsequential as a mortar box or poplar is stained brown at the heart.
shovel that has been used with de-icing chemi­ These areas aren't really punky, but I sus­
cals or beach sand can cause a problem. The pect rot, knowing that poplar is prone to
suggestions for eliminating moisture from the this. -Hank Read, Warren, Maine
masonry are the standard admonitions: use high­ Paul Fuge, a lumber dealer and millworks op­
quality concrete or mortar (properly cured), erator in Shelton, Conn., replies : The poplar
Ridge self-draining mortar joints, adequate flashings you have growing on your land is likely Lirio­
and wide overhangs. dendron tulipifera, the tree with the tulip-like
To remove the efflorescence from your chim­ flowers in the spring. Tulip poplar is straight and
ney, Glen Simon of the PCA recommends using clear, readily sawn and shaped, accepts nails
a dilute (5% to 1 0%) solution of muriatic acid. without trouble, and holds paint well. It works
Make sure to wear protective clothing, rubber as easily as pine, but finishes to a greater degree
gloves and eye protection when handling the of elegance. Tulip poplar is often used as trim,
acid. Work on only a small area at a time, and but I wouldn't use it for beams if there were a
dampen it well with water before applying the readily available alternative like oak or the more
acid. A stiff-bristle brush should be used for typical softwoods. It will work if it's all you've
scrubbing the surface of the masonry. Once the got. Your idea of comparing it in strength to
efflorescence is removed, the area should be white pine is correct. Tulip poplar is not very

10 Fine Homebuilding
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February/March 1985 11
 Q & A
strong, but more troublesome is the tendency of sistance to movement, resistant to ultraviolet My new home has exposed roughsawn
poplar beams to spring (become very warped)
when sawn. This is annoying to say the least if
light through glass, no oil exudation, superior
handling characteristics even at low tempera­
0
Douglas fir 6x 1 beams on 4-ft.
The beams had some dark blackish areas
centers.

you're trying to use them as joists. Saw extra

material and place crowns up and bows oppos­
tures, and serviceability between - 40°F to
200°F. You can order from Tremco 0 07 0 1
on them when they arri
ved. I thought it
was dirt, but they are getting larger and
ing each other; hold them in place with props or Shaker Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 4 4 1 04), but you are appearing on other beams. What is it,
solid bridging until the floor is nailed off. will have to buy by the case (20 rolls). and how do I get rid of it?
The dark brown or black parts that are soft
are rot; light-brown coloration is normal and
Butyl-type tapes of equal specifications I
would consider are made by PTI (Box 1 4556,
-Mark Price, New Berlin,
R. Bruce Hoadley, a professor of wood technol­
Ill.
will not affect strength. The beams will have no North Ridge Station, Dayton, Ohio 454 1 4-0556) ogy, replies: The blackish areas sound like some
natural rot resistance, so keep them above and Pecora Corp. 0 65 Wambold Rd., Harleys· type of mold. I'd try a cleaning with a solution
grade and dry. If you do decide to mill your ville, Pa. 1 9438). All are good-quality commer­ of chlorine bleach and TSP (trisodium phos­
poplar into beams, consider taking advantage of cial tape systems commonly used by glaziers. phate). This will kill the mold spores and bleach
its workability to carve some designs in them. If you want to use another kind of tape, check out the black stain. This cleaner also works well
its compatibility with the setting blocks, the ex­ on white painted surfaces.
I've been le arn
ing the trade for the past terior caulk you'll be using, and the seals of the To mix the solution, add about a cup or two
few years by working for framing con­ glass units. One reason I spec Tremco through­ of bleach and a handful of TSP to a pail of warm
tractors who write me up as a subcontrac­ out is to be assured of this compatibility. water. The proportions aren't critical, and your
tor to avoid the expense of putting me on local paint dealer may have a more precise rec­
payroll. I pay quarterly estimated taxes We're building a new home and plan to ipe. Using rubber gloves and eye protection,
to the IRS as a self-employed carpenter. use walls consisting of a 6-in. cinder­ sponge the liquid lightly onto the darkened sur­
I'd like to le arn how other builders keep block core, faced on the outside with 2 in. faces, scrub briskly with a bristle scrub brush,
simple books, but I've been unsuccessful of rigid insulation and brick veneer, as and then sponge with clear water. Remove ex­
so far. The people I work for are mostly shown below. We want to create a ther­ cess moisture quickly with a barely damp
carp enters, not business people, and they
usually let their bank account decide
mal break between these 6-in. walls and
the 1 2-in. block foundation walls below
sponge, and allow to dry. Once the beams sea­
son fully in place, and as long as their moisture
their tax obligation. The self-help books them. The only suggestion we've had so content remains below 1 5% to 1 8%, there
on construction accounting I've seen re­ far has been to place a pressure-treated should be no additional bloom of mold.
quire le arn ing a whole new language that
Readers Want to Know
2x6 at the bottom of the 6-in. wall with re-
seems too complex for my situation.
-A. R. Vanderpool, Houston, Tex.
Consulting edito r Bob Syvanen replies: Being
Brick veneer own a steel square whose tongue measures
1 7 in., not 1 6 in. The blade is the usual 24 in.
your own boss is the American dream, but it long, and it is stamped with the standard rafter
isn't always as wonderful as it sounds. The sim­ tables and the words Eagle Square. I'm curious
plest situation is the one you describe: one per­ to know if it was made for a special purpose.
6-in. cinder block
son, self-employed. This way it's just you and -Bob Hanks, Chicopee, Mass.
the customer. Jobs are usually small, and keep­
ing track of earnings is easy. Most people in this I need an alternative antifreeze solution for win­
situation, myself included, use the easiest of terizing the plumbing traps in my vacation
bookkeeping systems-a list of cash in and cash home. I don't want to flush an ecologically
out for each job. At the end of the year, the harmful fluid through my septic system, and
money left over is earnings. Escaping electric heaters aren't much of a backup in a
heat
Things are so simple that the temptation is to
expand from repair work and small additions to
power failure. -1. M. Reale, Jersey City, N. 1.

building a house or two. This move up, with its I have been unable to find stout stainless-steel
2-in . rigid insulation
higher stakes and hired help, means more pa­ or brass hardware for my pressure-treated wood
perwork and more headaches. Not only must gates. I'm afraid that zinc-plated hardware will
you estimate with some precision and then do be no match for the local weather over time.
the work expertly and efficiently, but you also -Paul Ahlers , Johnstown, Pa.
have to keep track of how your job is progress­
ing on a dollars-and-cents basis to avoid the 1 2-in.
concrete block Readers Reply
kind of nasty surprise that will put you out of I want to respond to Bill Lotz's comments on
business. A good bookkeeping system should bar running through it into the 1 2-in. wall rafter fireblocking vs. ventilation in FHB #23
keep you up to date with the project so that you
can make the adjustments that help you make
every 4 ft. ft.
to 6 The voids in the blocks
that contained these rods would have to
(p. 1 2). Most model-code agencies require fire
blocking at the junction between the wall and
your bid, and give you a record that will help in be grouted solid. Would this work? ceiling structure. Until recently, the Uniform
future bids (not to mention your next audit). -C. and B. Gregory, Binghamton, N. Y.
Charles Lane, an earth-shelter consultant in St.
Building Code further required that soffit vents
on all non-residential structures be offset from
I am having a lot of trouble finding the Paul, Minn . , replies: Creating thermal breaks is windows by 3 ft. to prevent the transfer of fire

)
glazing tape for skylights recommended an important part of energy detailing because from the interior of the building to the attic. This
by Stephen Lasar (FHB # 1 1 , p. 62 . No once the walls, floors and ceiling are heavily in­ provision has now been replaced by a limit on
one in my area carries the recommended sulated, the areas where conductive materials attic area without draftstops.
butyl preshim spacer-rod tape. I've also join become a major source of heat loss. But I think that offsetting soffit vents or using oth­
been w arned that in high temperatures, unless you add a good deal more insulation er means of roof venting are much better ideas
butyl-based tape has a tendency to revert (your proposed 2 in. would yield an R-value than eliminating roof ventilation altogether. In
back to its liquid form. Should I use the ranging from 6 to 1 0), I wouldn't worry about a addition to preventing moisture-caused structur­
closed-cell PVC type tape, which I can get, thermal break. The R-value of the wall could be al deterioration, roof ventilation prolongs the
instead? -Rich Miller, Maupin, Ore. increased in several ways (replacing the block life of the roofing material by keeping it from
Stephen Lasar replies: I prefer butyl tape and with thickly insulated stud walls for instance), overheating. An insulated roof that isn't properly
haven't had any trouble with it. The tape I rec­ but all of them would require rethinking your vented can lose up to two-thirds of its expected
ommended was Tremco, whose literature lists wall system. In any case, using a 2x6 as you de­ life. In most climates, unvented insulated roofs
the following qualities: exceptional adhesion scribed represents poor construction detailing, should be used only with slate, tile, metal or
with optimum cohesion, no cold flow, high re- and shouldn't be considered. similar materials. - Tom Bender, Nehalem, Ore.

12 Fine HomebuUding
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Explains in p l a i n English exactly what the Uniform
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I common b u i l d i ng short cuts are l i ke l y to be cited, and

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Frame any type of roof in common use today-even i f you 've never framed a roof
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o Estimating Home Building Costs
Estimate every phase of residential construction from
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site costs to the profit margin you should i nc l ude in your

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o Stair Builders Handbook
If you know the floor to f loor rise, this handbook w i l l give you everyt h i ng else: the
curate labor cost estimates for footings, foundations,
n u m ber and d i mension of treads and risers, the total run, the correct wel l hole
framing and sheathing f i n i shes, electrical, p l u m b i ng and
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Col lected i n this s i ng l e volume are the b u i l d i n g
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I
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Zip Phone( )

February/March 1985 15
 TIPS & TECHNIQUES

Tips and Techniques is a forum for readers to reveal, which we detailed with �-in. quarter­
exchange the methods, tools and jigs they've round molding. We painted the trimmed-out
devised. We 'll pay for any we publish. Send de­ trusses with a wash of mustard-color latex paint,
tails and sketches to Tips, Fine Homebuilding, which ties the colors of pine ledgers and trim
Box 355, Newtown, Conn. 06470. and the fir trusses together, and lets the grain
show a bit. Depending on the level of finish you
Poly paint tray
On a job where painting is done by roller before
want to achieve, the other trim details shown in
the drawing give you a range of options.
the finish floor is installed, save the expense of The final step in this project was to lay a ceil­
disposable roller-tray inserts or the hassle of ing on top of the beams. We used random-width
cleaning the tray itself. Instead, cut a 3-ft. square Armstrong ceiling panels, and simply laid them
piece of 6-mil polyethylene and spread it out in on top of the ledgers. No nails or staples were
Weight
the middle of the room. You can pour almost needed. -Phyllis Brubaker Pyle, Fleetwood, Pa.
half a gallon of good-quality latex paint on the weight (drawing, above), which keeps the pigtail
plastic, and fill your roller from this central well.
When you are finished for the day, cut the plas­
Caulking-gun eare
My caulking guns used to accumulate gobs of
just within my reach-about 7 ft. above the
floor-and gives me a couple of extra feet of
tic in half and wrap it around the roller to keep hardened caulk and mastic on the plunger, mak­ extension cord to use when I need it. The best
the roller fresh for the next day-no need to ing cartridge removal very difficult. The tough part of this whole arrangement is that I can work
rinse out the paint-laden roller. Use a fresh all the way around my bench without having to
square of poly every day, or you will have flakes untangle myself from the power cords when I 'm
of dried paint marring the work. using tools like drills and routers. I also have the
-Rick Lazarus, Spencer, N. Y. overhead outlet on a switch, which lets me turn
off the juice easily whenever I need to change
False beams from prefab trusses
Floor trusses have several advantages over floor
bits or blades.
-Dale Hop wood, Bakersfield, Calif
joists. They span greater distances, they are
more uniform and easier to work with, and they
eliminate the need for all the drilling it takes to rubbery mass (silicone is the worst) was a real
Baseboard spllee
When I need long runs of I x baseboard, I don't
accommodate pipes, wiring and ductwork. On nuisance, and prompted the early retirement of splice my boards with 45° scarf joints. Instead I
the other hand, trusses typically take up more several guns. Then I discovered the trick of cut the boards square, letting the breaks fall
room than joists. In our house, we had to use spraying some silicone lubricant CWD-40 works
I 2-in. deep floor trusses to build our basement too) on the plunger and into the back of the Router base
pool-room addition. If we'd gone with floor barrel. The lubrication lets the encrustations
joists, we could have used 8-in. deep members. peel off in one piece, and makes changing tubes
Since we wanted an exposed-beam look in the easy. You'll have to renew this lubricant every Y4-in.
room, our problem was somehow to recapture so often. One warning, though: If your gun has a slot­
the extra space required by the trusses, and to friction-type drive mechanism, don't spray it­ cutting
, bit

H.
avoid grafting on phony hollow beams that the lubrication will render it useless. o/'6-in. deep dado

,�",�t----
would give us the effect we wanted but rob us - William Brennen, Denver, Colo.
of needed headroom. Here's how we did it. Stop dado before
We left the bottom chord of each truss ex­
posed, and nailed knotty pine I x4 ledgers to the
Wiring guide
If you come back to a wiring job days or weeks
top edge.

web members, as shown below. This left a %-in. after installing the cables, you sometimes have
trouble remembering which wire goes where. I
Floor truss have an installation tip that prevents this prob­
lem. I always cut the switched lines on a diag­
onal, and I square-cut the power leads.
-Mike Lyon, Tacoma, Wash.
Baseboard
Llpstlek on the Job stock
More than once I've received a look of disbelief
when I've asked a helper to get the lipstick from
the truck. But the stuff comes in handy in a vari­ V2-in. by V4-in. ....: . .: #). .... '-'-.
/ ... ,
ety of situations. spline
When I need to mark the end of a door latch
or deadbolt strike, I rub some lipstick on the where they may regardless of stud layout, and I
Quarter­
bolt, close the door and turn the bolt against the join the pieces with small splines.
round jamb to locate the proper spot to drill. I use a \4-in. slot-cutting bit in my router to
Drywall cutouts can be easily found by smear­ cut a i}1.6-in. deep dado in the end of each
ing the edges of the electrical box with the lip­ board. Care has to be taken here to avoid cut­
stick, hoisting the sheet of drywall into place, ting through the top edge of the baseboard
and pressing it against the outlet. Pull the stock. Then I spread glue on a �-in. by \4-in.
drywall away from the box, and make your cut­ spline that is slightly shorter than the length of
Three alternative
out on the lipstick marks for a snug fit every the dado, insert it in one of the dadoes, and tap
trim details
time. This principle works for paneling and sid­ another board onto it. The result is a perfect,
ing too. -Ernie Ale, Santa Ana Heights, Calif. tight-fitting no-fuss joint.
With this method, you save time by not having
Overhead outlet
I installed an outlet directly above my work­
to cut, adjust and recut the mitered joint, and
you save material by not having to break the
bench, and I've got a 3-ft., I 2-ga. pigtail cord baseboards over a stud. You also avoid the in­
plugged into it. Near the female end I tied a evitable splitting when you nail mitered joints to­
clothesline cord that runs through two pulleys. gether without predrilling them.
The other end of the clothesline is tied to a -Robert Prasch, Po rtland, Ore.

16 Fine Homebuilding
 B S or
RAS IRON
Box Locks
,- "Northeastern Log Ho mes are known to be the
hig hest-qual ity anyone can buy. We were the
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LEFT DOOR kit i n the i n d ustry, take a closer look at N o rtheastern Log Hom es,
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No other maker offers a l i fetime (Visa or MasterCard accepted) o r ask for FREE fold er.
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lock t h a t i s an a u t h e n t i c copy of an Box 46-S5, Kenduskeag, Me. 04450 Tel. 207-884-7000
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Now as a reader of F H B, you can b u y t h e
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463 Lincoln Highway
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(215) 363-7330

MORI TBAN
A CATALOG •••

"We wanted a different

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U Box 4000. Woburn, MA O I HHH

February/March 1985 17
 ACutt ik· ":t>Doverails
\\;ts.uing Wa pUl SlJ(k ofWJth
Jr.&'t'fS"the TabJesaw

There's a new way to get

good woodworking infonnation.
Now you can get good, solid woodworking information the way you've often wanted it-subj ect by subject. Our new
Fine l-W>odworking on . . . series takes the best articles from Fine l-W>odworking magazine's first nine years and
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As individual volumes or as a complete library, these books offer you the kind of factual, dependable information you'll
be able to use in project after project. All books are softcover $6.95 each
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Fine Woodworking on The Small Workshop. Looking for some new ideas
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Fine Woodworking on Planes and Chisels. Planes and chisels are among
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Every year we collect the best technical articles from the past six issues of
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20 FIne HomebuU dlng
You canb�
a ch �r 51ade
than DML...
and thats just
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Cost counts when you buy Hardboard. P l astics. And soft

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GET ON THE BEAM!!!

WITH THE BRANCH RIVER FOAM PLASTICS' INSULATED STRESS·SKIN PANELS
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The post beam method of construction noted primarily for its dura­
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P.O. Box 2005
of the Branch River insulated wall/roof panel system. Now you can Providence, RI 02905
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Providence, RI 02905

ZZ Fine Homebuilding
 Viceroy Homes-
The way they look is only the beginning
You can choose your home
W
hen you have a Viceroy The fin est C alifornia redwoo d
home built on your special is used in Viceroy windows and from over 80 de signs from our
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Am erica' s
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l e a ding public Not
m. p. h. one drop of moi s tu re 30 is backe d by over
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I I encl o se $1 0.00. 1II

I NAME
I ADDRESS APT. I
II CITY STATE I
I ZIP PHONE( I
ILLOCATI O N OF LOT
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F H B 85
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The Fine§t Home§ Of Them
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Melford Dr., Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
All. .
M1 1 lAB Phone (4 1 6) 298-2200
 Timber Frame Homes
NOW-END GUTTER PROBLEMS FOREVER WITH NEW
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In winter snow can freeze on roof e d g e making gut­
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IMBER FRAMING. IN
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and roof meet. Water trapped inside this ice blanket
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PHONE (517) 486-4566
WEATH ER-FOIL'S "WEB" design helps prevent ice
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--------------------------- FBR185 � The Reggio Register Co. Dept. 025X

Box 51 1 , Ayer, MA 01432 (617) n2-3493

Z4 FIne Homebullding
 * AMERICA'S LOWEST PRICED TOOLS * TOOLS ON SALE™ M I LWA U K E E TOOLS
0224-1
0234-1
0244-1
318 d r i l l 4.5A magnum
1/2 d r i l l 4.5A magnum
1/2 drill 4.5A magnum
list
154 1 09
159 115
159 1 1 5
Sale M A K ITA TOOLS
804510
9900
99248
992408
8
Sander .
3"x 21 . belt sander
3"x 24·' belt sander
3"x 24" blsand. wlbag
list
79 43
198 125
204 135
2 1 4 1 40
Sale

* PLUS * FREE Freight On Every Item . . • • •. 0222·1

0228·1
0375 1
318 drill 3.3A O- HlO
318 drill 3.3A
·
rpm .
rpm
318 close quarter d r i l l
0-HXXl 1 39
129 95
99

1 68 1 1 8
940 1
9035
4"x 2 4 " blsand. wlbag
''h
sheet finish sander
279 169
79 55

314 4
PORTER·CABLE
'I, . Trim Saw 4.5 amp
UII lWI
180 115
- NfW - 3 . 5 a m p
0210-1 318 cordless d r i l l
- NfW
- 2 speed . 154 1 14
90458
9045N
4200N
;' sheet finish sander
'4-318
h " wlbag
cire. saw 7.5 amp
158 1 00
170 110
1 52 95
587 7 ' C I IC saw 1 4.5 amp 199 1 30 6539·1 cordless screwdriver 5007 N8 7''I1..
circ. saw 13 amp 1 58 105

•. 315-1 7'. '" e i r e . i a w 1 3 amp 159 1 04

''II,··,··- NfW - 1 90 R P M . 64 64
5008 N8 8 c i rc. saw 13 amp 178 1 1 0
368 1 8'
9548 e i re saw 1 3 a m p
H O viS bayonet saw wlcase
648 0 Singl e
H s pe ed
1 89
255
1 19
179
1007 1
1 1 07 1
d r i 1 1 4.5A D-Hdle .
drill 4.5A D-Hdle
3300- 1 magnum r t angle drive kit
r1
1 94
1 99
239
145
145
170
4J00
5201NA
5402A 8V
1 0 '1. circ. saw 1 2 amp
16-5116 " "
vlsp jig saw 3.5 amp .
12 amp 488348
235
375
192 120

20J2083ZJ Z!i 4JO ortlV

3102·1 Plmbrs angle drill kit . 253 1 80
bayonet saw 3 a m p 255 189 18V lsp jig saw 3.5 amp 208 130
1676-1 HD Hole Hawg wlcse 2 sp
9627 2 s p I lger saw k i t 8 a m p
33Ii ·· 3 · x 2 1 · · bell sander
183
164
120
115
5lIi
5397
318 sgle sp hammer drill k1
318 var sp hammer drill kit
150
155
24018W
24008W
1 0" m i tre saw .
10" mitre saw (for vice)
JR3000Wl 2 sp recip saw wlcse
319 185
359 249
168 120
'· ' '
337 3· x 2 1 · · belt sander wlbag 174 115
.• 361 3
.
24 belt sander 249 175
53J 1 . 1 HD mag. hammer drill ;' 287 207
JOOO
JR V vs rec i p saw wlcase 178 125

21192119284
5373 HD mag. ham. drill 318 240 175

WAG N E R
J83J62 T·
360 x 24'· belt sander wlbag
.
4 . x 24 belt sander
4 · · x 24·· belt sander wlbag
1 80
1 80
1 90
6507
651 1
6226
TSC Sawzall wlcase
2 speed Sawza l l wlcase
port band saw 2 sp wlcase
164
172
382 80
125

2m
60 1 00WK 318 cordless drill wlcase
60100l
6012HOW �"
318 " plus flashlight
2 s p wlcase
152 89
162 1 00
178 110
ELECTRIC AlRLESS SPRAYER KITS
505JJO 'I, '/,
H D. shee:t finish/sander
sz 85 1 55 105 6234 TSC band saw port wlcase 382 280
50810W 3-318 cordless saw k i t
'I." 165 109

CII.C.
1900 8W 3 planer wlcase 1 54 98
Series 50 F i n e F i n i s h - 6 p c O U t f i t - s rx' bloc sander sheet 56 6365 7 ' 4 " c l f c . saw 1 3 amp 159 109
Furniture louen·up
3 5 oz l m l n
woodwo� anc stalnmg
Uot IJ * SALE 55
J04 f r7"
305
Prolesslonal
P ro e S S i o n a l
disc sander
p o l i s he r
150
1 50
105
105
6405
6460 8 ' ' -·
10 ' I.
.. .
saw 13 amp .
15 amp w/case
179
349 127
245
l l 00HO
18058
'I.
3 '1. " planer wlcase
6 - 1 18 planer wlcase
278 165
416 265
132
Series 100 H an d l · D u t y - 7 pc O U t f i t -
& 751 1 318··xtra hvy vis d ri ll 52 a m p 149 100 6Jn 7'.
HD worm saw 13 amp 235 155
36088K
36018
hp router wlcase .
1 - 3 18 hp router 198 120
2l1li
85

sprays latex all p a mt . s t a i n s . varnishes.

etc for furniture. fences. toys
7 5 oz l m l n
s h u tt ers
* SALE 75 lilt tl7& - J09 'f,··
7554 x l ra heavy d r i l l 8 amp
3.8 a m p laminate trimmer
310 3.8 a m p laminate trimmer
1 95
115
1 .:1
135
80
1 30
6378
6165
8 '1. HD worm saw 13 amp
1 2 · · Chop Saw 1 5 amp
4200 R P M
249 165

267 189
3700 3'I. 28,000
lI128R
8
hp router 14 amp .
hp trimmer
rp m . 124
1 98

85
Series 200 He a v y · D u t y - 10 p c O u t l t - i f
312 o fset base laminate trim. 1 95
205 135
6170 1 4 ' · Chop Saw 1 5 amp
3600 R P M . 289 209
6510lVR 318 drill vlsp wlrev 3 amp
OPJ720 2J amp
1 1 4 68
68 49
l o r b i g j o b s . tor o i l s . s t a i n s . .... a r n l s h e s
Co e r ....
10 75 oz l m l n
l a rg e surface areas fast
Uot t 54 * SALE 95
-
319 t i l t base lammate tri m m er
167 b l O C k p l a n e 2 5 a m p
9652 V e r s a · P l a n e K I I
129
419
1 40
86
285
6255
6245
6287
vlsp J i g
sgle s p
Saw 3.8 amp
J i g Saw 3.8 amp
HD vlsp Jig Saw wl 2.3 case
199
175
312
1 40
125
225
JOOO '
OA
OP4700
318" angle d r i l l
;' vlsp wlrev " 4.8 amp
158 105
1 5-4 96

Series 300
t u n gsten carbide piston
14
Pro D u l y - pc
and
Outfll -
c y l i nder
9 1 1 8 Porta Plane Kit
518 NfW peed 3 hp s l ronle 5 spd
289 195 6012
6014
'I,'I,
sheet H D Orb. sander .
sheet HD Orb. sander .
1 49
159
110
1 15
60138R ';' ' ' 6 amp H D d r i l i
HP1 030W 318 v . s . r . h a m m e r d r i l l
174 115

r e S i s t s s c o r i n g by a b r a S i ve p a i n t s
10 75 Ol I m l n Lilt 201 * SALE 129
- microprocessor prOOlrouter
475
1 0 1 3 1 6 · 1 9·22.000 r p m 325
5935 4·· 2'
by 4 · b e l t sander
wlbag 1 0 a m p 2 99 215
630Il ' ''LR
w/case
;' angle d r i l l wlrev .
641988-2W 'I, " 2 sp. hammer
145 98
229 152

W 500 POWER PAINTER - ThiS l

e ec ailiess 520 NEW
3 hp production router 435 275
68
5900 3 · by 24·· belt sander
9.5 amp 355 255
drill wlcase . 238 150
u n i t contains all the equipment you n eed
get the big Job done Delivers '/) to
ga l /m i n to
100
690
7'8 H P rOuler
ll '' PP
H
]1
router
124
179 1 30
5660568lJ " 11 H P rouler 1 0 amp
2 HP router 1 2 amp
256
314
185
220
680068OO 08
DRYWAll SHOOTERS
2500 rpm 3.5 amp 123 79
133
2
lip & pSI·. Incl G.{)5
5C()
25 hose
spray g u n . ad] carbide
Uot fl'! * SALE 419
536
537
H
H
s p eed
I', P l matlc rou ter 295
D · Hd e r o u l e r 310
210
218
8950 Wet/Dry 8 gal vac 6 a m p
B E N C H G R I N DERS
136 110
08V 0-2500 rpm 3 . 5 amp
680108 4000 rpm 3.5 amp .
. 123
89
79
133
0 1 5500 1 POWER ROlLER
s y s l e m w l l h 18· hose
- lilt Pressurized roller
1 1 7 * SALE 85
DRYWAll SHOOTERS
7544 5 2 a m p - 2500 r p m 1 49 100
4901
4921
'f.
''J,HP 2.6 amp 24# .
H P 4 amp 26# .
149 1 1 0
169 130
680108V 0-4000 rpm 3 5
2030 1 2 " planerljointer
89
. 1 980 1350

* 7545 52
a m p - 0 2500 r p m 1 49 100 4891 ;' H P 4 amp4 1 N 269 195
2040 518" planer . . . . . . . 1780 1 195

Model
* N EW LOW P R I C E S
P O N Y C L A M P F I XT U R ES lOll
12 Uot S. of10.00
7541i 5 2 a m p - 4000 r p m
B LACK & DECKER
1 49

12
100 5041 'I.H P 8.2 amp 58#
DRYWAll SHOOTERS
369 270 D E L TA
33·890 1 2 " Radial Saw
"Turret-Arm" Action
I.uittt 589Uot S.
(to,merty Rockwell)

1280 975
150IS2 lo · for J�. .
B l a c k P i pe 1 1 .23
r ' , · B l a c k P i pe 1.31

J O R G E N S E N H A N D S C R E WS
7.40
lID 17.50
3050
3051
3052
3030
6' ,
7'.
8'.
7'.
worm/drv saw
worm/drv saw 1 3 amp
worm/drY saw
CIIC saw 1 3 amp
247
232
13 _
amp 247
155
amp 160
149
160
100
6753·1
6747·1
6750·1
6751
3.5 a m p O·4000 r p m
4 . 5 amp 2500 r p m
4 . 5 amp 0·4000 rpm .
4 . 5 a m p 4000 r p m
..w 115 85
1 44 100
144 1 00
1 44 1 00
3J. 990 Deluxe 10" Radial saw
33·1 50 Sawbuck frameltrim saw
34-621 9" contI. saw wlo motor
34-410 10" contr. saw wlo motor
_
686 500
871
475
519
395
650

ModoI 4 · 't' � 80. Uot 01 1

3047 09 7 ' . su per Saweal
C i r c u l a r saw 226 1 50
F R E U D S A W B L A D ES
Univ. Bore - Professional Series
34-710 1 0 " motorized saw
34-010 m o tori z e d mitre box 9"
-
579
231
450
169
fSlO
14.11 5 2'
2 ·
22"" 11.51
12.45
715 39.15
1.10 43.75
3048 09 8 ' . super Sawcal
C i r c u l a r saw 240 160
C A R B I D E T I P P E D SAWBlADES
DoKripIionPurp. Diom. T_ Uot �
118m No. G.,- 1 5 09 1 1 5" floor model Dlpress
1 5-090 15" bench model
467
467
375
375
IlID 6· 3·· 13.35 l50 45.15 3157 1 0 v1sP orb fig saw 4 5 amp 174 115 PS203 I 7�" 24 27.24 17.50 28-283 14" _ ....Band
. Saw 897
594 450 695
1110 7" 4' .. 3' ] 14.35 1.15 41.35 3153 1 0 v ' spee d p g s a w 4 5 a m p 158 105 PS30 mo cuttinu ]%" 40
3 32.97 20.50 28-243 14" " " " wlo motor
10
11
8
10·· 11� 6··
15.17
I llS
1.15 53.75
IUS
3934 1 4 chop s a w
13
a m p 3800 r p m 279 169
5/8" Bore - Industrial Grade
C A R B I D E TIPPED SAWBlADES
37-207 SawlJointer Combination
37-609 6 " Motorized Jointer
_
1018
413
810
335
J46
11 lr
14·· lr l4.55 8' , 20.94 13.50 72.15
1321 ' , rev spade hdle drill 6 a 175 115
No. DoKripIion
IttIm
Goo '1 mom. T_
40 Uot � 37·290 4" Joiner wlo mota;
22·651 RC-33 - 1 3" Planer
275
1943 1450
13
14 16··
10·· 21.51 11.75 11.35
23.75 12115
Wl0
40 1 5
s a n d e r p a l m g r i p w/bag
l i n l s h sander
80 49
LU72M01 0
LU81M010
Pwp.
Goo'1
Pwp.
LU73M010 Cut Off
4010 10"
10"
10"
68.58
69.30
79.65
35
J6
39
4J. 122 Wood Shaper wlsland
and 1 HP Motor
46-140 1 1 " lathe, gap bed mod
el
869 495
J O R G E N S E N BAR C L A M PS " s h e e l 1 0 . 000 o r b i t s160 110
37 1�·· T1no1 loll ().4(XX) 10 86.40 wist and wlo motor 407 335

ModoI
STY LE
J_
longtll
-
114" . li4"

� 01 6
2037
2034
dryw a l l
drywall
:>ll ().4(XX) m34fO)rp
rpm
rp
5amp 139
5amp 121
7
89
69
LU82M01 0 Cut·Off
LU64M010
LU64MOll
ComItntion
s..,.ComItntion
10"
10" 40
10" 50
70.99
74.51
45
36
40
52-493 1 hp motor for #34-621
62-042 1 ';' h p motor for N34-4
10
170
230
1 30
170

'';' 1137-290
Uot
13701
13711
6
12·
7..
1.73
5.50
5.15
19.70
32.13
1 940
1920 318
1 850 r
cordless dnll kll
cordless d r i l l k l l
p m
m 15

157
100

100
LU85M010
LMnM010
. 10
Cut·Off
Ripping 10"
10" 24
l lD.88
64.85
68
37
62-144 ;' hp motor for
62-142 hp m o t o r f o r
#28-243 a n d #46- 1 40
1 36

121
105

85
13711 18· US 37.]1.1953
1.14
R E C O R D V I C ES
OS J06 r'J' Dodo
Dodo. l!1.11l
7Il.00 l 95
S K I L TOOLS
24· · 7.35 OS 308 1 115 list Sale

77 7 '''/Ih.",'"
Im4 10.54
137J1 30 44.41.lJ55
1 1. 71 115
Q U I C K RELEASE ·
Model Jow7Widttl J_ Opon.· F R O N T DOG TYPE
Uot � T R 1 00 _ & Dodo.. . 39!1.00
] 255 551 5 Cire. Saw 6 5 A .
Worm Saw
99
240
75
139
13731 36·· 12.15 1.15 R EC O R D P L A N ES
STYLE 39 3�" T1no1 IUS
- • 5I1F' I"
520
52'1,0 9 8·
13
69
93
49
65 ModoI Typo lqtII Widttl Uot � 367 6
825 8 'I." Worm Saw
Worm Saw
239
270
149
185
Il906 11.19 12.15 M A R P L ES WOO D C H I S E L S
03
04
Smooth 9)\" 1%" 37 31 807 7 '1 '-' Skilsaw 1 3A-Super
'I. . 1 53 100
)901 nl5 Smooth 9%" 2" 38 32

Model with . 3/8"

1 19.45 1 3. 50 . 112" -3/4" -1') 808 8 Skilsaw 1 3A-Super . 172 1 10
Walleled Se t o f 5 (114" 04 )\ Smooth lOy.'· 2·3/8" 38 32
13912 71.0020.11 14.50 (all be.el edge) Uot � 05 Jack 14" 2" 48 37
2016-02 318" Cordless Drill
1391' 22.55 15.1!i 1!i.50 MR2221S5 Ash h a n d l e 22.70 15.95 05)\ Jack 15" 2-3/8" 56 41
complete WICharger
Case &
2 batteries 199 99

11.93.111111 06
1)924 24·· 24.45 1715 M 444/S5 Polypropylene handle 3J.50 21 .95 J o i n ter 18" 2-3/8" 70 54 310410" Band saw4.2 amp vs . 195 159
Il9JO
STY L E
30··

45 - 5"
21.11

T1no
11.35

1 511," . 1 liF'
M 373IS5 S p l i i pr
oo f h a n d l e 40.85
M 377IS5 Bo.wood h a n d l e . 51.40
26.95
33.95
07 Jointer 22" 2-3/8" 80 60 3 1 028 'I.
Table saw 2hp lOamp 190 155

4506 BOSCH TOOLS D R E M E L TOO LS List Sale

1
14501
14511
6·
8··
22.49
13.04
1].1!i
15.15
11.50
17.50
11.15
19.10
94.50
" DO W L · I T " Dowel J igs
iOOO Self·centerlng
List SMa
33.9524 . 95
900809005 'i\
h . p . trimmer
650·900 Heat G u n .
rpm �,<XXl vlsp blbearings, 35 acces. 98
Oeluxe Moto-shop campI. 1 34
61
85
2000 S e l l c e n l e r l n g 42.95 32.95 1581 J i g Saw 3 1 00 s p m slsp . vlsp Moto·flex tool 113 71
'451' 15.1' 11.15 102.35

* 9 1 58 1 VS Jig Saw 0-3 1 00 spm vlspd 4 " t i l t arbor table saw 133 85

Box* 1582
14524 21.11 20.15 113.15
X · T R A SPECIAL J i g Saw barrel type slsp electric engraver 21 15
1
1
45JO
45lIi 21.01
19.54
11.15
22.15
1 1 1.50
12].15
7715 Oewall Power Mllre 198. 125. 1 582VS J i Saw barrel WoodburniSolder. Iron Kit 22 15

STYLE 72 -��� I·BAR CLAMPS

A R R O W STA P L E R S
T·50 Staple G u n Tacker
Uot �
21.60 14.95
Uot � HT·50A " Hammer Tacker 32.60 20.95

�((.,\"�.;.,�"1I!'t._�.
'. lUi
.7224 ·
24 ' 23.46 11.511 ET-50 E l e c t ro·Matic G u n . 31.50 20.95
.1ZJO
.ma 30" 17.511 T·50 1 14 · · Staples·box of 5000 6.80 5.00
36"
'· �� 25.1. 11.50 T· 50 51 1 6 " Staples·box of 5000 7.20 5.40
In41
Inlll
.nn
48
60 "
7r , �� � �.
, 33.21
Z7.JI.1Zn 11.50 24.50
T·50 318"
T·50 1 / 2 "
Slaples·box of
Staples·box of
5000
5000 8.00
8.40 6.30
5.85

21.50
T-50 91 1 6 " Staples·box of !5000 9.20 6.90

February/March 1985 Z5
 Fine Homebuildi�
1985 25 --------------------
February/March No.

The Nicolai Fechin House

A Russian painter and woodcarver
builds a house of adobe in the American desert

by John Lively

E ya Fechin recalls that when electricity first

came to Taos in 1 928, the community of resi·
Working out a new plan-Understanding
how Fechin transformed his boxy adobe into a
dent artists responded to the boon with outrage larger, more complex home requires knowing
and indignation. They had come to this northern something about his conflicting sensibilities. As
New Mexico town to live close to the land like an artist, Eya explains, Fechin liked harmony
the Pueblo tribesmen they painted, and to draw and balance, but he avoided symmetry and
their inspiration from the country's distant vistas equipoise, qualities which he believed bound a
and muted hues. Surely, the artists protested, thing up in a shell of perfection and made it
electrification signaled an end to their ascetic cold and inaccessible. Asymmetrical composi­
utopia on the high desert, in the shadow of the tions were to him more this-worldly, inviting you
magic mountain, and marked the coming of ur­ in and asking you to participate in them.
ban decadence. But Fechin the craftsman was of a different
It was also in this year that Eya's father, Rus­ bent. Reared in the traditions of eastern Europe­
sian emigre Nicolai Fechin, began work on his an folk design and wood joinery, Fechin made
first American home. But unlike his fellow art­ furniture, doors, windows and cabinets that are
ists, Fechin wasn't put off by modern conve­ strikingly symmetrical. It seems that Fechin the
niences. Having endured the havoc of the Rus­ painter went one way, with bright splashes of
sian Revolution and the harsh privation that color and sophisticated compositions, while Fe­
followed, he found their protests pretentious chin the craftsman went another way, with sub­
and a little silly. He intended for his new house dued earth colors, vernacular forms and simple
to have not only electrical power but the latest geometric ornamentation.
in indoor plumbing as well. He also meant to Finally, there was Fechin the architect, who
make his house like one of his paintings-a was strongly influenced by the Russian churches
wholly resolved composition in which the sepa­ he worked in as a boy, helping his father install
rate parts have lives of their own. When Nicolai Fechin bought this house in and gild the frameworks for icons. His first paid
Taos, N. Mex., in 1 928, it was a square block
A year earlier, when he was 46, Fechin, his commission-he was 1 3 at the time-was draft­
(above). By 1933 he had made several addi­
wife Alexandra and Eya moved to Taos from tions (top) and finished out the interior of the ing plans for a country chapel. Later, as an art
New York, where they had lived for four years house with sculptural plaster work and hand­ student, he spent his summers traveling through­
after emigrating from Russia in the summer of crafted wood detailing. Fechin plastered with a out Georgia, Siberia and the country around Ka­
1 923. Fechin visited New Mexico in the summer mud called terra bayeta, but in the 1940s the
exterior was parged over with cement plaster.
zan. There it was the custom for students to stay
of 1 926 in an effort to restore his failing health. Last summer the walls were restored using the as guests at the monasteries, where they could
While there, he developed a strong attachment original plaster mix. The stairway in the entry paint or draw as they wished. Fechin grew to
to the Southwest (the real America, he called it). hall (photo facing page) winds around a pon­ love these examples of ecclesiastical architec­
He felt a fondness for its native people, an at­ derosa pine post. The winders are mortised ture, and in his own house he tried to capture
into the post, as is the outside stringer for the
traction to its austere landscape, and an affinity some of the feelings of strength and repose and
straight run above.
for its architecture. worshipful ease he found so appealing in Rus­
According to Eya, he especially liked the ado­ sian churches. The plan he worked out, as
be houses, which because of their soft contours during the next five years he would work with shown in the drawing on p. 28, is almost cruci­
looked to him as though they were melting back wood and earth in memorable ways. form. But not quite.
into the earth. Having been brought up as a Instead of starting out afresh, Fechin bought a On the first floor, he enlarged the front porch,
woodcarver (his father carved and gilded highly modest two-story adobe house that had a squar­ added a large piano room, a kitchen, a sun
ornate iconostases, or icon frameworks, for ish footprint, with four rooms on each level. To porch and a study. He divided the space in the
Russian Orthodox churches), Fechin appreci­ Fechin nothing could have been more disturb­ existing house by using the east half as a dining
ated the way that native pine, both pinon and ingly ordinary; so he decided to make extensive room and the west half as an entry hall and liv­
ponderosa, was incorporated structurally and additions to the old house, and to renovate ing room. Upstairs, above the new study, he en­
ornamentally into adobe buildings as posts, ui­ completely what was there. Until all this was larged an existing room and made it into an­
gas (peeled logs used as beams), corbels and done, he and his family would live in a building other sun porch. Above the piano room, he
tattias (wood infill between uigas). It was raw out back, which he spent three months convert­ added the master bedroom, and off that in the
materials such as these he loved to shape, and ing into a studio and living quarters. existing space went a new bathroom with Art

26 Fine Homebuilding
Plan of house • Original structure

Master
bedroom

First floor t±=::�=-=.d

-- ---- - - - - - 0 2 4 Second floor
Deco ceramic tiles. Two bedrooms line up e r
Rethinking the nt y-The original entry was fication of the native corner fireplaces. What
along the east side of the old house and are a cramped foyer with a steep, narrow stairway makes it unique is the way the firebox continues
joined by a narrow, tunnel-like passageway that leading upstairs. Fechin wanted an entry that up the walls like an engaged cone to be inter­
lets both rooms share the second bath. not only led to the main areas of the house, but penetrated by a square flue shaft, the hard edge
one that also characterized and announced all of which faces out into the room. Instead of a
BuUding new walls-Fechin worked with a those spaces. As shown in the photo on the pre­ conventional hearth, the firebox is flanked by a
local Hispanic and two Indians from Taos Pueb­ vious page, the first thing you see in the entry pair of plastered blocks, and let into each of
lo who were adept at laying up and plastering hall is a winding stairway that twists gracefully these is a wooden slab that appears wedged be­
adobe block. He hired also an erstwhile Anglo upward around a smooth, peeled pine post. The tween the wall and the block. These serve as
carpenter who came and went, depending on six winders are tenoned into the post, which seats, and look not a little like stabilizer fins on
the amount of boozing he'd done the night be­ rises from the floor to support the railing at the an airplane.
fore. Fechin spent his days shuffling back and top of the stairs. Opposite this fireplace is a cozy nook that
forth between the job site and his studio, super­ A low rail separates the entry from the living could be mistaken for a confession booth. It's
vising construction and painting as much as he room. It adjoins a carved post, with patterns that tucked in under an impressive ceiling that's
could while the light was good; he spent his late resemble cross-hatched helical braids and a belt made of 1 2x 12 headers supported by five
afternoons and evenings carving beams, corbel of hemispheres. A tenon at the top of this post beams, which in turn rest on a bracketed girder.
brackets, furniture and doors. anchors a pair of corbels, which in turn carry From the center of the lower header hangs an
All the new construction was double-wall two vigas. These vigas support the landing and iron lamp Fechin designed and had made by his
adobe, 24 in. thick, with adobe-mud plaster the upper run of stairs. friend, Mr. Hinde, the local blacksmith. It's rusty
both inside and out. The chief ingredient in the The posts show how Fechin could lavish or­ because Fechin wanted it that way, even going
plaster mix Fechin used is a very fine, silt-like nament on one thing and leave another quite to the trouble to hasten oxidation by treating the
clay the locals call terra bayeta. When dry, it spare. The entry-hall post is carved with seven metal with a sulfur solution.
crumbles into a superfine powder, like talc, and separate patterns, and has strange glyphs at the
when mixed with the proper proportions of
sand, portland cement, cut straw and water, it
top that suggest it could be a totem of some
power. But Fechin left the stairway post plain
d
The stu y-The most reclusive chamber in the
house, shown in the photo facing page, right, is
makes a plaster with a wonderful texture and a and modest, because it is just one element in a ironically right off the main entry. The door to
soft beige color, like a palomino horse. This larger composition, and restraint fits its purpose. the study is low, and its window is covered with
original plaster remains intact on the front a grille of twisted iron rods. Once inside, you
porch, but the rest of the exterior cracked and r
Fi eplaces-The living-room fireplace (photo walk onto a stair landing that's cantilevered out
eroded and so was parged over with a grey ce­ facing page, bottom left) is typical of the way on four beams.
ment plaster in the 1 940s. At present, Eya is hav­ a
Fechin sculpted plaster and wood into single Though the room itself is small in plan, its
ing the house restored, and has experimented form. Carefully asymmetrical, this fireplace is ceiling is quite high, and is meant to draw your
with various mixes to match the original. The bordered at its base by lap-joined pine timbers. attention. There are ten 4x8 beams on irregular
exterior replastering (shown on the cover of this Its small tiled hearth is flanked on the left by a centers. Each of the beams is supported by a
magazine) was financed by a matching grant sloping buttress, and on the right by a cube. pair of corbels. The corbels are carved with
from the State of New Mexico Historic Preserva­ Above the arched firebox opening sits a pine eight-petal geometric flowers, and they zigzag
tion Division. It was finished last summer. mantle, which laps over shorter timbers that sit upward three steps to the beam. Above the
The interior walls on the first floor are also atop the sides of the fireplace walls. The chim­ beams, the ceiling is planked with roughsawn
plastered with terra bayeta, left unpainted but ney recedes toward the wall with a gentle con­ 1 x 1 0 pine boards.
coated liberally with skim milk. Like casein cavity, and moves toward the ceiling in a shal­ This room gets lots of light through its big
paint, the milk acts as a binder to help keep the low S-curve on the left and straight up on the south windows, and through the pair of arched
plaster from powdering and rubbing off on con­ right, where it is bordered by a vertical timber. casements high up on the west wall. But the pri­
tact, and it gives a slight sheen to the otherwise The corner fireplace in the piano room vacy of the room is not invaded by the views
dull surfaces. Upstairs, the walls were given an (photo facing page, top left) shows Fechin's outside. Rather the windows themselves reflect
ordinary plastering and painted white. other side. Angular and symmetrical, it's a modi- Fechin's own fascination for the small rooms

28 Fine Homebuilding Illustrations drawn from plans prepared by Gay Wilmerding

Two ••
firepltu:e The fireplace in the living room
(above) is visually balanced but asymmetrical
and is a good example of the way Fechin could
combine wood and plaster in simple, uncompli­
cated ways to produce an unusual form. The
piano-room fireplace (top) is, on the other hand,
symmetrical. Instead of having a hearth in the
usual sense, this fireplace has a palr of seats
that can let you enjoy the warmth and light of
the fire without looking into it.

The """ 1, right, is a small room but has the

highest ceiling of any space in the house. It's
also the only room in the house whose ceiling is
supported by adzed beams resting on carved

gas).
corbel brackets (the rest of the ceilings have v;­
The small arched windows in the east and
west walls reflect Fechin's nostalgic liking for
the IIttie windows found in the rooms of fortified
monasteries in his Russian homeland.

February/March 1985 Z9
and tiny windows in the fortified monasteries of style of joinery, which puts construction tech­
his homeland, and they reinforce the feeling of niques to decorative use, but done by a man
scholastic seclusion you sense in this room. who was working in his own vernacular tradition
and who knew little of the Craftsman movement
Adzing wood-Some of Fechin's best archi­ in America. Frames are joined with articulated
tectural woodwork is in the study. The surfaces slot mortises and secured with squared and
of the beams, doors and lintels are all textured chamfered pegs. Large rail-and-Ieg joints are ef­
with sure, quick strokes of an adze with a slight­ fected with tusk tenons, most notable in the
ly convex cutting edge. The cutting edge of an piano-room desk and in one of the beds up­
adze, unlike that of an ax, is oriented perpen­ stairs. He used sliding dovetails for cross-grain
dicular to the handle. When done by a practiced battens in desk tops and cabinet doors, and to
hand, adzing goes very fast because one stands hold the round-tenoned legs on the bottoms of
on the work (body weight holding the wood to the several two-board chairs.
the floor) and swings the adze between the legs. Fechin finished his furniture (and all his other
Gravity does much of the work. The important woodwork as well) by first brushing on or rub­
things are learning to read the grain to avoid bing in an ordinary stain diluted with turpentine,
tearing the wood and to regulate the depth of and then rubbing as much of it off as he could
cut by coordinating posture and swing. with a clean cloth. In the relieved areas of his
An adze with a convex head, like the one Fe­ carvings, he rubbed ashes from the fireplace.
chin used, takes a full chip with every swing and This darkened and flattened the backgrounds
cuts more cleanly than one with with a straight and gave definition to the highlights. Finally, he
edge. The result is a surface that looks multi­ rubbed in several applications of paste wax, Nicolai Fechin was an established painter,
faceted because the many shallow, slightly con­ which he burnished with wool rags. This uncom­ sculptor and draftsman in Russia before he im­
migrated to the United States in 1 923. Above, a
cave cuts fragment and reflect the light in a dif­ plicated finish has held up well for 50 years,
self-portrait in charcoal.
ferent way than does a smoothly planed board. with no peeling, crazing or fading. And its soft
Once Fechin had adzed a surface, he sanded it patina lets you look right into the wood, without
to soften the sharp ridges between the cuts. any interposing film to muddy the grain or make halved between the two doors. It's a geometric
harsh reflections. rose atop a leafy stem (photo facing page, top
Furniture-Not content to let his designs and right). The rose fits in comfortably under the
handiwork stop with the house and its interior Doors-Fechin used a direct formula for mak­ arched opening, and you'd think that the door
detailing, Fechin built most of the furniture for ing the 5 1 doors in his house. He ordered, along itself was also arched to fit the space it fills. But
his new home as well. Patterning his work after with his furniture stock, several thousand board it isn't. Seen from the opposite side in the bed­
Slavic folk furniture, he built tables, chairs, beds, feet of clear 8/4 sugar pine from the Northwest. room, the opening and the doors are squared
desks of several sorts, benches and wall cabi­ He just cut several of these to rough length, off at the top. Fechin was able to get two visual
nets. With very few exceptions, he used eastern jointed their edges and glued them up into effects from one thing. And both succeed.
white pine for all these pieces becaused it is door-size panels. Next he adzed both sides of The closet doors in the master bedroom are
strong for its weight and yields readily and crisp­ the door and trimmed it to fit its jambs. To rein­ also carved with geometric roses (photo facing
ly to sharp edge tools. The furniture seems abso­ force the doors mechanically and to decrease page, bottom right), but their effect is different
lutely at home in this adobe house because in their dependence on glue joints, he let in three from the others because the bottom three petals
terms of construction, form and decoration, it sliding-dovetail battens (one at each hinge loca­ have been omitted. The decoration of these
shows a close kinship with the Spanish Colonial tion) across · their width. The thick battens, like doors is symmetrical, except for the little
furnishings associated with Southwestern archi­ the face of the door, are faceted with strokes of trompe l 'oeil windows at eye level. In his own
tecture. My first impression was that several of an adze (though he could have used a drawknife mischievous way, Fechin not only carved re­
the pieces, without their carving, looked just like for these). The battens were screwed to the cesses for windows that aren't there, but also
what Gustav Stickley or the Greene brothers door and the counterbores were plugged with made the deceptions quirkily different from one
might have made if they were designing furni­
ture for a New Mexico client.
pegs that stand proud of the surface by
These doors are hung in the conventional way,
l4 in. another. One has a grille of spiral carvings, the
other has vertical bars of the same sort. In the
Here are all the earmarks of the Craftsman with 4x4 butts. context of so much rigid symmetry, such nearly
Fechin didn't have to worry about wood inconsequential differences put you pleasantly
movement across such a wide expanse of grain off balance, and say that on occasion the crafts­
Door •. Fechin liked the look and feel of soft because the relative humidity in the desert man let the artist work at night.
leather, and he tried to get wood surfaces to Southwest remains at a fairly constant 7%. In
duplicate its texture through adzing, sanding, New England or some other area with wide hu­ Saying goodbye-In the fall of 1 933, just as
staining and polishing. The swinging doors be­
midity fluctuations, doors like these would burst Fechin was about to complete work on the bed­
tween the living room and the dining room
(facing page, top left) have been adzed and their jambs, or shrink away from them and leave rooms upstairs, his wife said she wanted a di­
lightly sanded. They are not frame-and-panel large gaps. There has been some shrinkage in vorce. Her terms were absolute. She would stay
assemblies, but were carved from solid pieces Fechin's doors, as a protruding batten here and in Taos, while he and Eya would go elsewhere.
of sugar pine. Even the little spindles at the top there will attest. So after spending five years building and furnish­
of the doors are carved, not turned. The door­
way that leads from the upstairs sun porch to
Almost all of the doors in the house are em­ ing this house, Fechin packed up and with Eya
the adjoining bedroom (top right) is arched on bellished with carving. Some, like the swinging, trudged back to New York to spend a dreary
one side but squared off on the other side. The saloon-type doors between the living room and winter in a dingy East Village apartment. The
small entry door (bottom left) stands below a dining room (photo facing page, top left), are next spring, Fechin moved to southern Califor­
massive bracketed lintel and looks like it could
be the portai to a fort. On the inside, just to the
richly carved, while others, like the door in the
main entry, are more subtly done.
nia, where he worked until his death in 1 955. D
right of the entry, is the door to the study (bot­
tom center). Its grille of twisted wrought-iron Two interesting sets of doors are upstairs. Editor's note: The Fechin house is owned by
bars was made by a local blacksmith. The One leads from the sun porch to the adjoining the Fechin Institute, and is open summer week­
double closet doors in the master bedroom bedroom; the other is a pair of closet doors in ends and by appointment. For information
(bottom right) are carved with a symmetrical
pattern, except for the carved windows, which
the master bedroom. The double doors in the about the house or the work of Nicolai Fechin,
are different-one has a grid of ornamental sun porch are carved only along their inner contact Eya Fechin Branham, Box 832, Taos,
sticks; the other has only vertical bars. edges, where they meet, and the design is N. Mex. 87571; (505) 758- 1 710.

February/March 1985 31
Tiling a Mortar-Bed Counter
How one tile setter builds the classic kitchen work surface

by Michael Byrne

I think the best part of being a tile setter is

that my work doesn't get covered up by some­
one else's labors. On the other hand, setting tile
is tough, physical work-especially large floors,
where my knees cry out for a desk job and my
back creaks from all the bending. So it's no
wonder that I enjoy tiling countertops.
Ceramic tile offers many advantages as a fin­
ish material in the kitchen. A hot pot won't dam­
age a tile surface, and a properly waterproofed
installation can stand up to all of the splashes
and spills that cooks can dish out.
The best tile countertops are done on a thick
bed of mortar called a float. The float is usually
% in. to 1 in. thick, and the solid base it pro­
vides for the tile isn't affected by moisture. I 'll
be describing the most common type of counter
that I do. It has V-cap face trim and a single row
of tiles for the backsplash. To make cleanup
easier for the cook, the sink is recessed beneath
the surface of the counter and is trimmed with
quarter-round tiles (drawing, facing page).

Choosing the tlle-Kitchen-counter tiles

should be either impervious or fully vitrified (see
FHB # 1 7, p. 74). These ratings mean that the
tile will absorb almost no water, a property that
increases the life expectancy of the installation.
Many tiles are designed to decorate rather
than protect. You should be able to find a tile
that does both. But you need to be careful even
with heavy glazes since some of these are easily
marked by metal cooking utensils. I urge my
customers to get samples of their favorite tiles,
and to rub them with a stainless-steel pan, an
aluminum pot and a copper penny. Some tiles
can be cleaned up after this kind of abuse-oth­
ers can't. The surface is important in another
way, too. Because most appliances need a flat
surface to work efficiently, tiles with irregular
faces, such as Mexican pavers, make beautiful
backsplashes but lousy work surfaces.

Layout-The goal here is to keep tile cuts to a

minimum, to locate them in the least conspicu­
ous places, and to eliminate tiles that are less
than half-size. On a straight-run counter, this
usually means beginning the layout halfway

rue kyoal. Byrne has used a s/18-in. trowel to

spread thinset mortar over the ftoat, and he
now aligns the rows of tile with a stralghtedge.
The chalklines at the inside comer of the coun­
ter mark the position of the V-cap trim, and the
arti
st ng point for the first full sheet of tile.
along its length or at the centerline of the sink. If around the sink and about 3 ft. to each side. Metal reinforcing-My experience has taught
you take a close look at sink installations, you'll This helps to protect the vulnerable areas under me that metal reinforcing in a counter float re­
find that there is often a trimmed tile in the cen­ the dish drainers. Ideally, the asphalt should duces or eliminates cracked tiles and grout.
ter of the front edge, in line with the spout. This cover the exposed plywood end grain in the Consequently, I use plenty of it. First, I cut 20-ga.
trimmed tile keeps things symmetrical, and it al­ sink cutout (drawing, below). If the sink is al­ I -in. wire mesh (chicken wire) and secure it to
lows full tiles along the edges of the sink. I begin ready in place, I squeeze the asphalt into the the plywood substrate with Y2-in. staples, over­
the layout on an L-shaped counter at the inter­ junction between the sink and the plywood. At lapping neighboring pieces at least 4 in. The
section of the two wings (photo facing page). the backsplash I make a tight crease in the felt mesh (photo below right) extends from the sink
Once I have the tiles in hand, I use the direct and lap it up the wall about 3 in. Later this flap rail to the back wall and covers the entire sub­
method of measurement to help lay out the job. will be trimmed to about % in. above the fin­ strate. Rather than cut the mesh a little short to
I unpack some of the tiles and move them ished counter. Combined with the backsplash make an easy fit between the sink rail and the
around the cabinet top. Sometimes, shifting the tiles, it makes an effective water barrier, keeping wall, I cut it a bit long and bend the excess back
tiles an inch this way or that can make a sub­ moisture out of the rear of the cabinets. over itself.
stantial improvement in the finished appear­ Finally, I use 9-ga. galvanized wire like rebar
ance. Small tiles are more forgiving, allowing Screeds and rails-Once the waterproofing is to strengthen those parts of the mortar bed that
you to adjust the width of the grout lines to completed, I set the sink rail. This rigid galva­ will be narrow in cross section. This prevents
make things fit. But unless the counter has been nized sheet-metal channel reinforces the mortar the cracks that often appear in the tiles close to
meticulously designed with the tiles as modules, bed down the entire front edge of the counter the front or back corners of sinks and cooktops.
cuts are inevitable. and makes it easier to level the bed. The rail has I center the wire and run it parallel to these nar­
narrow vertical slots every 3 in. for nails or row sections, and I anchor it with Y-i-in. or %-in.
The substrate-The substrate should be at screws (photo below left). Along its top edge furring nails. Then I bend it at about a 45° angle
least %-in. plywood rated for exterior use. Parti­ are %-in. dia. holes. Mortar will ooze through where the counter broadens, and extend it at
cleboard won't do. The waterproofing on most these holes, linking the mortar that faces the least 6 in. toward the center of the field. At first,
counters consists of a layer of I 5-lb. asphalt­ counter edge with the countertop float. This I used the wire rather sparingly. But now I use it
[
saturated felt or a similar protective paper. take
this a step further and laminate the felt to the
helps to anchor the V-cap finish on the edge.
[ start screwing the rail in front of the sink,
all over the countertop-at inside and outside
corners and across peninsulas-and I've found
plywood with wet-patch fibered roofing cement. adjusting it to suit the height of the quarter­ cracking problems a thing of the past. When all
Tiling a counter is a messy, gritty project. To round trim in relation to the top of the sink. the reinforcing is in place, I check to make sure
keep the asphalt (and later the mortar and Once all the rail is in place, I use Y2-in. thick none of it protrudes above the top level of the
grout) from soiling the cabinets, [first drape
kraft paper or plastic film over the face of the
pine to box in any openings in the substrate that
have been cut for the cooktop, chopping block
sink rail. This can be done either with a 2-ft. lev­
el or by sighting the top of the sink rail.
cabinets, and staple it to the counter plywood. I or other built-ins. These are installed at the ex­
also protect the floors with canvas dropcloths. act height of the finished float. Attaching the Deck mud-M ost of my jobs are in the San
I use a lis-in. V-notched trowel to spread a sink rail and boxing the openings is a lot like Francisco Bay Area, where the adobe soil swells
thin layer of roofing cement onto the plywood setting up the forms for a slab floor. during the winter rains and shrinks in the long

c :::
Sink rail aligns with
er- .
S ecti on at sink

V-cap

Wall mud 15-lb. felt

Thinset Plywood

Sink rail Sink

Sf... ,...1. Before floating the mortar bed, Byrne screws a galvanized strip Rrinforecmtent. Chicken wire stapled to the plywood substrate covers
called a sink rail to the edge of the plywood substrate. It serves as a the area to be tiled. If a mortar counter cracks, it usually does so in the
screed, edge reinforcement and a framework to anchor the thin layer of narrows around the sink, or at inside corners. These areas are reinforced
mortar that will face the edge of the countertop. with 9-ga. galvanized wire held in place by furring nails.

February/March 1985 33
 hot summer. Add to this the occasional earth­
quake tremors, and you have mortar beds that
tend to move around quite a bit. I use 3 70 1 , a
mortar-and-grout admix made by Laticrete Inter­
national (1 Laticrete Park North, Bethany, Conn.
06525) that allows my floats to flex a little with­
out cracking. Other companies, like Custom
Building Materials (65 1 1 Salt Lake Ave., Bell,
Calif. 9020 1 ) and Upco (3 1 0 1 Euclid Ave.,
Cleveland, Ohio 4 4 1 1 5), make similar products.
The amount of admix I need depends on the
weather and how wet the sand is (see the side­
bar, facing page). This deck mud, as it is called,
is considerably drier than brick-type mortars-it
has just enough moisture to bind the ingredients
and no more. This means that the mix can be
compacted into a uniformly dense slab.

A. Float nrl p. are the key to controlling the

thickness of the mortar countertop. Here the
Floating the co nte u r - Before I can start
author beds a Ooat strip In a mortar pad, get­ spreading the mortar around the countertop, I
ting the strip's relationship to the sink rail have to install float strips along any edges that
right with a level. The Ooat strips will guide aren't boxed or that don't have a sink rail. Float
the screed board while the mortar Is leveled.
Later, the strips will be removed and the re­
D. uveUn, the duk mrul. Byrne uses an alu­
minum straightedge as a screed board, and he
strips are \4 in. thick and 1 \4 in. wide pine or fir
rippings that will sit temporarily atop a layer of
sulting voids filled with mortar. moves it in a side-to-side motion as he gradual­ mud as I level the mortar. Each float strip begins
ly pulls it forward. Here both ends of the
screed are resting on Ooat strips. Note the dif­
on a mound of loose deck mud piled slightly
ference in texture between the crumbly deck higher (about I in.) than the height of the fin­
mud and the smoother wall mud used on the ished float. Then I take a level and, placing one
rail and around the sink. end of it on the sink rail for a reference and the
rest of it on the float strip, I tap the strip with a
hammer until the strip is leveled, as shown in
photo A, top left.
Floating begins with filling the front edge of
the counter. The channel formed by the sink rail
must be filled with what's called wall mud. To
make the wall mud, I take a small portion of
deck mud (for this job about 2\12 gallons), add
about a quart (dry measure) of masonry lime,
and enough Laticrete 3 7 0 1 to make a thick,
heavy paste. Then, using a flat trowel, I press the
B. waa 1IUUl- a special mortar blend that In­
cludes masonry lime and latex additive, which
mix onto the face of the sink rail until the mud is
forced through the %-in. holes (photo B). The
help the mortar to cling to vertical surfaces­
resulting extruded lumps of mortar will key into
fills the sink rail before the counter is Ooated.
Some of this wall mud squeezes through the the deck mud.
holes In the rail, keying It Into the deck mortar. Once the sink-rail face is filled, I use the re­
maining wall mud to surround the sink. Then I
dump the deck mud onto the countertop and
spread it around with a wooden float while I
keep the rail and its wall mud steady with my
steel trowel (photo C). By this time, the mud in
the sink rail has begun to harden, but if it is not
supported, it will be pushed off the rail when the
nearby deck mud is compacted.
To level the deck mud, I use a straightedge as
a screed board (photo 0). Using a side-to-side
motion, I pull it toward me, gradually removing
the excess mud until the straightedge makes
contact with the float strips or sink rail. I apply a
horizontal rather than vertical pressure on the
straightedge to avoid mashing the strips out of
position. Smoothing out one area at a time, I
gradually work my way around the countertop
until the screeding is done. The surface is now
flat, but not all the mud is compacted. The float
strips also have to be removed, and the resulting

C. Deck DUUi ls loosely spread across the coun­ E.. Edrin,. Before it hardens, any mortar that
voids have to be filled.
I take a lot of pride in my finished floats­
ter with a wood Ooat after the sink rail Is filled overlaps the sink rim is trimmed away. This al­
with mortar. Because the mortar in the rail is lows the sink to be removed later if necessary,
they are my pieces of sculpture, and the wood
still fragile, It has to be supported by a steel without damaging the mortar bed. The open float is my finishing tool. First, I scoop some
trowel so It won't break away. edge will be trimmed with quarter-round tiles. deck mud onto the flattened top and ram it into

34 Fine HomebuUding
the voids where the strips sat with the float.
Then with the edge of the tool, I gradually slice
off the excess. Experience allows me to "feel"
Mixing the mortar
Of all the skills necessary to
produce durable tile
my way across the surface by the way the float installations, none is more
perplexing to the novice than
sits in my hand. I scour the top until it feels
mixing mud. There is no
right. With all the voids filled, the top is an un­ substitute for experience, but
broken expanse of grey. having a good recipe, the right
The last two areas of mortar to clean up are tools, and knowing a few good
mixing techniques can produce
the sink rail and the sink perimeter. The top and
workable deck mud. The recipe
bottom edges of the metal sink rail provide a I use comes from instructions
good surface for the float to trim off the excess printed on the bucket of latex
mud. Around the sink, I square up the mortar admix (when using various
with a trowel, trimming it back far enough to mortar additives, always
follow the manufacturer's
expose the edges of the sink (photo E, facing
recommendations). With
page). Although it is no picnic, this makes it Laticrete 370 1 , the mix is
possible to remove the sink without having to 1 part portland cement, 3 parts
rip up the field tiles. These edges are covered mason's sand, and about 4Yz to
5 gal. of the admix per sack of
later with quarter-rounds.
cement. To help keep the
Inevitably, some mud will fall away from the batches consistent, I measure
rail, or the screed will knock a float strip out of the dry ingredients in 3-gal. or
position. Fortunately, the material is very forgiv­ 5-gal. buckets instead of
ing, and problems are easy to fix. I skip over counting shovelfuls. A full

these minor accidents until the initial work is

5-gal. bucket holds � ft.cu.
sand, and when I calculate the
of

done, then I go back and fill in dings with fresh volume of mortar for a job, I
mortar before everything sets up. disregard the cement. It fills
the spaces between the sand
particles. The sand I use comes
Setting the tiles-Instead of laying the tiles as
damp from the yard, although
soon as I finish the float, I let it harden over­ occasionally I use dry sand
night. This way most of the shrinkage likely to shipped in paper sacks. With
occur will happen before the tiles are in place the dry sand, I measure out
and grouted, and I can be less concerned about the amount I need and mix it
with just enough water to
deforming the float as I set the tiles.
dampen it.
The next day, the first order of business is to I use a steel mixing box and
vacuum loose sand and cement particles from a slotted mason's hoe rather
the top to increase the grip of the thinset mortar than a rotary mixer, which can
that bonds the tiles to the float. Then I snap cause the mix to form marble­
sized lumps. I layer the sand
chalklines along the edges to mark the layout and water evenly in the box
for the V-cap trim. I usually spread a few sheets and chop them three times
of tile around to confirm my earlier layout; then back and forth with the hoe.
I mix up enough thinset mortar to last through a Each time, I take lots of small
bites with the hoe, and I pull
couple of hours of setting.
the ingredients toward me to
Thinset is a portland-cement based mortar form a plle at one end of the
that contains very fine sand. The bond it forms box. Before any llquid can be
is unaffected by moisture, and it is ideal for ap­ added, the sand and cement
plying ceramic tiles to a mortar base. On this job must be thoroughly blended to
prevent lumps from forming.
I used Bon-Don (Garland-White & Co., P.O. Box Next I level the dry
365, Union City, Calif. 94587). I mix the stuff ingredients and use the handle
with water to the consistency of toothpaste, us­ of my hoe to punch holes in the
ing a drill and a mixing paddle. mix (photo above right). This
allows the liquid to distribute
The sheet-mounted tiles going on this counter
itself more evenly instead of
are a little less than !4 in. thick, so I used a
'lis-in. V-notched trowel to comb out the thinset.
just sitting on top. Then I
repeat the mixing procedure,
Spreading too thick a layer will cause the adhe­ chopping back and forth three
sive to ooze up between the tiles. On the other times. At this point, I pick up a
handful and squeeze it. If the
hand, the backs of the tiles must be completely moisture content is right, the
covered. These 1 2-in. by 1 2-in. sheets covered deck mud will form a tight ball
the top quickly. I used a short straightedge to that sticks together without
help align them. cracking apart (photo below
right). If it oozes through my
Everything went smoothly on this job until I
fingers, the mix is too wet and
reached the open side of the L. There I realized
that the tiles were falling short of the V-cap lay­
must be adjusted by adding
some dry sand with the right
out line by about �s in. Checking back, I found proportions of cement. If the
that the sheets in one box were all undersized. ball falls apart, I need to add
more liquid.
Adding a narrow row of tiles that have been The direct rays of the sun
trimmed to make up for a mistake like this never can ruin the mud at this point,
looks right, so before the thinset dried I quickly so I pack it into buckets and
widened the grout lines between the rows of get it inside the house. If it's A steel mixing box (top) is the place to prepare a batch of
above 90°F, I'll have only about deck mud. Byrne blends the dry ingredients with his hoe, then
tile. The string backing prevents the tiles from
a half-hour to work the mortar. pokes holes in the mix with its handle to help spread the latex
being spread apart, so I cut through it with a If it's 65°F to 75°F, I may have admix. Properly blended mud is fairly dry, but it will cling
utility knife, and used a long straightedge to as long as two hours. -M. B. together in a ball when you squeeze a handful of it (above).
open up the joints, as shown in the photo at left.
For getting out of a jam, nothing beats a good
set of straightedges.

-
Cutting the tiles The narrow tiles in front of
and behind the sink can be cut with a snap cut­
ter (see FHB # 1 7, p. 70), but I prefer to use a
diamond-bladed wet saw for the accuracy and
smoothness of cut I get in one step. The saw is
set up outside the house, and running back and
forth for each cut eats up time, so I accumulate
a stack of tiles to be cut for each trip. You can
use a ruler to take measurements and then set
the saw fence to these, but that leaves a lot
more room for error than just marking the tile
directly. The water jet on the saw can some­
times blast away a pencil mark while cutting, so
I cover the tile with masking tape and make my
mark on the tape.

V-cap, backsplash and quarter-rounds­

After all the field tiles are positioned, I set the
V-cap. Complicated trim tiles like these often
distort a bit in the kiln, so they must be set with
extra care. I usually butter each piece with thin­
set and then tap it into place, controlling the
amount of thinset I use to suit the alignment
(photo facing page, top left). At inside and out­
side corners, the V-cap tiles are mitered, and I
cut them a bit short to allow for a grout line.
Before I can set the single row of backsplash
tiles, I trim the excess tar paper down to about
Y.! in. to % in. above the deck tiles (drawing, fac­
ing page). The joint between the backsplash and
the deck must allow for free movement, so later,
when the grout is dry, I seal it with a bead of
silicone caulk. I allow a full-width joint here
rather than have the splash tiles rest directly on
the deck tiles. Bon-Don is especially sticky thin­
set, allowing me to hang these relatively light
tiles on the wall without any support from be­
low. Heavier tiles usually require wood or plastic
shims between the last course of deck tiles and
the bottom edge of the backsplash tiles.
The last tiles to go down are the small ra­
diused tiles that trim the sink. Unlike the other
tiles, these quarter-round trim pieces are set on
a bed of grout. This grout is the same used to
pack the joints, only it is mixed stiffer. To make
sure that the quarter-rounds adhere to the float
mud around the sink, I coat both the float and
the back of each quarter-round with thinset for a
stronger bond between the tile and the grout.
Factory-made inside corner pieces look and
feel better than the miter cuts you can make on
a tile saw. They are set before the straight sec­
tions of quarter-round. With quarter-rounds, it's
important to apply more grout than is actually
needed to set each piece. As the tile is slowly
pushed home (photo facing page, below left),
the excess grout is squeezed out of the joint.
Once the piece is in the right position, I support
it with my fingers for a few seconds to prevent it
from moving. When all the pieces are set, I

Ad}a.tln, the CODr.e•. Instead of adding an

pnsightly row of narrow tiles, the distance be­
tween courses can be slightly increased. This
strategy can spread out a discrepancy so it
can't be seen, and save tedious tile-trimming.
 Secti on at bac ksplash
Square off grout
with margin trower /n Trim line ,
Cut grout back l4 in. and
fill with clear silicone caulk.
-:r--- �
V2....Li n . % in
to .
15-lb. felt
Drywall

V-e.p � which trim the leading edge of the counter, receive a lot of
contact. It's Important that they be securely anchored to the mortar bed­
any voids between them are unacceptable. Byrne butters the back of each
trim piece with a generous helping of thlnset, and presses it In place until
It's In the same plane as
Its neighbor.

Finuh. The entire counter has been grouted and sponged. Residual ce­

Qruutn-
roan cl tik6, which trim the edge of the sink, are the last tiles to
ment Is cleaned up with a damp sponge. The comer of the sink Is trimmed
with a factory-made Inside-corner piece. Next to it, the quarter-rounds
be placed. They are set on a bed of stiff grout. Before bedding them, Byrne have been trimmed to align with the V-cap edge trim and the field tiles.
applies a thin layer of thlnset mortar to the tiles and to the ftoat. The The last step will be to undercut the grout around the sink, and fill it with
thlnset mortar helps to strengthen the bond between the two. sillcone caulk once the grout dries.

leave them alone for about a half hour or so to p. 75) also apply to a counter. The porosity of the entire counter has undergone this step, I go
allow the grout to set up. Meanwhile, I prepare the tiles, the moisture content of the setting bed, back over it with a clean sponge to remove
another batch of grout. the addition of admixes, temperature and hu­ most of the cement haze (photo above right).
midity levels are all factors that determine how The last step is to trim the grout in a few
Groutlng-I prefer a grout made with a latex much grout can be spread before it's time to places. At the sink, I undercut the grout below
admix because it is a lot stickier than regular
grout. This allows it to adhere tenaciously to the
clean off the excess. Usually, I begin by spread­
ing about 8 to 1 0 square feet. I hold the rubber
the quarter-rounds about l1I
in. so the joint can
be caulked with clear silicone. This allows the
slick edges of glazed tiles-an important advan­ trowel at an angle between 30° to 40° as I force sink to move a little, without breaking the water­
tage on a tile work surface that gets constant the grout into the joints. I work the grout from proof seal, and lets the color of the grout show
use. Also, grout with admix is far more resistant different directions until I'm satisfied that the through the caulk. Because the counter and the
to liquids, and to the erosion they can cause. joints are packed solid. wall will move slightly in relation to one an­
To prepare the grout, I follow the directions I start the cleaning by scraping away loose other, I use the same technique to seal the joint
on the sack, which usually recommend combin­ grout with the edge of my rubber trowel. Then I between the deck tiles and the backsplash. At
ing the dry ingredients with water or a latex ad­ take a wet sponge and wring out as much water the top of the backsplash, I square up the grout
mix to the proper consistency, and then allow­ as possible. This is important because any ex­ line with my margin trowel. This makes it easier
ing the mix to sit for five or ten minutes. The cess moisture will weaken the grout. I work the to paint or paper the wall.
grout is then mixed again and it's ready for use. sponge across the counter, gradually lowering Finally, I remove any grout haze with cheese­
During this wait, I trim the excess grout from the the level of the grout until it is slightly below the cloth or fine steel wool, followed by a thorough
sink quarter-rounds.
There is no single method for grouting, and
plane of the tile, with a concave surface. During
this process, the pores of the sponge quickly fill
vacuuming to take away the loose particles. 0
the techniques for grouting floor tiles (FHB # 1 7, with grout and must be flushed constantly. Once Michael Byrne lives in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Illustrations: Lisa long February/March 1985 37

 Roll-Top House
Plywood and 2x box beams form the structural core
of a superinsulated house with a curved roof and a window wall

by Tim Snyder

W liam Maclay's first acquaintance with

box beams came with the building (with Jim
curved-roof house shown here. Tucked into a
beech forest on the north, the house has a solar
Sanford and Richard Travers) of Dimetrodon in south face that overlooks a meadow in Ver­
Warren, Vt. , an experimental collection of living mont's Champlain Valley. While the roll-top roof
and working spaces constructed around and is the most obvious evidence of unconventional
within a giant framework of 2x members framing, the window wall was also built using
sheathed with plywood. Box beams are made box beams, and it extends from bottom plate to
by fastening a rigid skin (Plywood) to a frame­ attic level with no structural tie to the second­
work of dimensioned lumber. Structurally, nei­ floor joists. Since it's mostly glass, the window
ther the frame nor the skin can stand alone, but wall gets its racking resistance from an inner
by combining them, exceptionally strong beams wall just 2 ft. away that separates the second­
can be made in various shapes and sizes. (For floor bedrooms from the sunspace.
more on box-beam construction, see FHB #2,
pp. 56-59 and FHB # 1 4, pp. 2 7-29.)
By using a number of box beams, both curved
and straight, Maclay designed the unusual
House anatomy -'I t s easy to mistake this
house for a double-envelope design (FHB #23,
pp. 42-47) because of its curved roofline and its

38 Fine HomebuUdlng
Facing page: Below its curved roof, top photo,
the south face of the house holds two levels of
fixed glass between upper and lower bands of
awning windows. A small balcony off the mas­
ter bedroom Is tucked beneath one section of
the curved roof. Bottom, the house Is shaped to
welcome the sun but deflect north winds over
Its superlnsulated roof.

The window wall, right, extends a full two sto­

ries with no direct structural tie to second­
floor framing. Racking resistance Is provided
by the sheathed 2x4 wall that separates the
second-floor bedrooms from the sunspace.

independent window wall. But rather than rely­

ing on natural convection to move heated air
around the house, Maclay chose an active sys­
tem for distributing and storing solar heat. Warm
air near the window wall rises naturally, reach­
ing the second-floor bedrooms through open­
ings in the inner wall. The warmest air eventual­
ly collects in the attic, where a large fan pushes
it down through a duct to a rock-storage bin lo­
cated beneath the first floor. The bin extends
from the north wall to within 12 ft. of the south
window wall. The fan can be controlled auto­
matically with an adjustable thermostat, or man­
ually, depending on when and how it's best to
store or retrieve heat from the 1 4-ton rock mass.
A woodstove in the dining room and a small
quartz heater provide auxiliary heat.
As shown in the drawing on p. 4 1 , the rock
bin separates the first floor into two levels. The
kitchen, bath and study on the first floor are 2 ft.
8 in. above the living room and dining area,
shown in the photo at right. The second floor
contains three bedrooms and a bath. The attic,
because it's insulated and open, can be used as
a play area, an office or a guest bedroom.

East and west walls-The unconventional

design of the roof and south wall led Maclay
and head carpenter Peter Laffin to frame these
areas last. Once the foundation walls and 4-in.
thick floor slab had been poured, the crew
framed out the rock bin and the east and west
walls. Maclay designed these walls to be super­
insulated, with separate outer and inner 2x4
framing yielding 1 2 in. of insulation space. But
at this stage of construction only the inner struc­
tural wall was framed so that the roof could go
on as quickly as possible. The 2x8 joists for the
two upper floors run from east to west. They're
supported by these end walls and by an inner
post-and-beam frame that picks up the joist
breaks between rooms.

Box-beam joinery-At the south face of the

house, the curved roof dies into a lintel that's
held 20 ft. above the slab by the west-wall fram­
ing and by four box-beam posts. The lintel is ac­
tually a series of four horizontal box beams that
butt together in a single line above the three
central posts. The posts define the window bays
along the south wall. Toenailed into the lintel
over each post is a curved box beam that forms
the arching roof. The curved beams support 2x8
purlins on 1 6-in. centers that run east and west,
completing the roof's framing. A look at the un­
sheathed skeleton (photo next page) reveals the
 Box-beam con.traction. Structural beams
with 2x inner frames and plywood skins can be
fashioned in just about any size and shape. The
framing skeleton (photo left) includes three
box-beam posts 20 ft. high, a four-piece box­
beam lintel, and five curved box-beam rafters.
Dissecting part of the south wall and roof
(drawing, faclng page, right) reveals the grid­
work of inner framing crucial to beam strength.
The small drawing shows the floor plans and
energy performance.

completed the framing and enabled Laffin to in­

sulate them with 12 in. of fiberglass (R-38).
Maclay installed most of the 6-mil poly vapor
barrier himself. On the east and west walls, it's
stapled directly over the \.-2 -in. shear panel that
covers the inner wall. On the ceiling it's just un­
der the drywall, with the ceiling-to-wall junc­
tures caulked and stapled to reduce air leakage.
With the rest of the house superinsulated, Ma­
clay needed to minimize heat loss through the
south wall to maintain energy efficiency. This
had to be done economically, and triple-glazed
relative positions of the box beams. For a closer box beams, where they're attached with joist windows or double-glazing with insulated cur­
look at the joinery, see the drawing, facing page. hangers (photo above and drawing, facing page). tains proved to be too expensive. Maclay's solu­
Peter Laffin built all the box beams in his The window wall's posts were erected first, tion was to use two layers of standard 46x76
workshop and then trucked them to the site, and then the four horizontal box beams went up sliding-glass door replacement units for all fixed
where they were installed with the help of a to form the lintel. Finally the curved roof beams glazing. By installing two double-pane units in
crane. The workshop proved to be a dry haven were set down on the lintel and secured with the same opening you get less conductivity than
during an extremely rainy fall. It also provided temporary braces that came off as the purlins triple glazing (three airspaces instead of two) for
ready access to a bandsaw and plenty of flat were nailed up. about $8 per sq. ft. There's also less solar trans­
space for layout and construction. While they are strong in compression, the mittance, but this is a safe tradeoff given Ver­
The construction sequence for all the box four 20-ft. box-beam posts that support the
COX
mont's long, cold winters.
beams was the same: cut the \.-2-in. ply­ south face of the house were precariously shaky Before the fixed glass was installed, all the
wood faces of the beam to their blueprint di­ when they were first installed. Laffin toenailed box-beam posts, sills and headers were trimmed
mensions; use panel adhesive and 6d nails to the base of each post into a 2x 1 2 sill, and he out with redwood. Then each glass panel was
fasten the 2x inner frame to one face; then en­ toe nailed the top of each post into the lintel sandwiched between redwood stops, its bottom
close the frame by attaching the other face. beams that butt together above it, and added a edge resting on two neoprene setting blocks.
The box beam's inner frame is designed to \.-2-in. plywood gusset over the lintel-beam joints. Exterior stops were silicone-caulked where they
maximize the strength of the completed struc­ Then the tripled 2x4 and 2x6 cross members meet glass. At the base and top of the south
tural member without adding unnecessary were nailed between columns to act as rough wall, insulated awning windows were installed
weight. Each 20-ft. post, for example, has two sills and headers for the glazing. to provide fresh air when the owners want it.
2x4 edges and a doubled 2x4 center support. Even with all the box beams and rough sills Except for bending the drywall to fit against
Edge and center 2x4 stock runs the full height of installed, the array of temporary braces holding the curve of the attic ceiling, finish work inside
the post. Unable to locate 20-ft. long 2x4s, Laf­ the columns plumb had to stay put. This is be­ the house was fairly straightforward. Decorative­
fin butt-joined shorter 2x4s, making sure to stag­ cause racking resistance for the window wall is ly routed and painted white, the posts and
ger the joints by at least 2 ft. Blocking is glued provided by the conventionally framed second­ beams that help support the upper floors lend a
and nailed between vertical 2x4 runs every 4 ft. floor wall just behind it. This inner wall encloses formal air to the living and dining rooms, which
and wherever solid backing is required for nail­ the bedrooms and is connected to the window still await finish flooring (photo previous page).
ing into the box beam. Offsetting the joints in wall through west-wall and attic-floor framing. Passersby who view the roll-top house from
the plywood skin between the two beam faces Beneath its drywall finish there's \.-2 -in. plywood the road often comment on how out-of-place it
is also critical. sheathing (shear panel) nailed to the 2x4 fram­ is amid the neighboring farmhouses that were
To trace the curves for the roof box beams ing for racking resistance. built a century earlier. But Maclay's view is dif­
onto the plywood and 2x stock, Laffin used a The high end walls on the east and west of ferent. Ingenuity and craftsmanship, he says, are
compass made from a furring strip with a nail the house were also shear paneled to provide traditional New England values very much em­
protruding at one end and a pencil at the other. greater stiffness from the other direction. bodied in the roll-top design. Maclay's aesthetic
In these beams, three layers of 2x stock were Sheathing the roofs 2x8 purlins with \.-2-in. ply­ goal was to express, simply and honestly, the
bandsawn to the beam's curve and then lami­ wood bent to the roof curve further stabilized functional goal of integrating passive-solar gain
nated face-to-face to make the inner frame. the window wall. Just beneath the roof sheath­ with superinsulation. Such basic energy-efficient
Again, all butt joints were offset by 2 ft., and ing, Laffin nailed Ix furring strips to the purlins features, he feels, shouldn't have to be forced
blocking was glued and nailed across the width 1 6 in. o. c. to create a vent space for the insula­ into the confines of conventional construction
of the beam at the edges and every 4 ft. tion under the sheathing. or appearances. Thus the curve of the roof back
The south roof has five curved box beams­ The curved eave along the north side of the to the berm on the north side of the house.
one at each end of the house and three located house and the curved roof dormer above the The energy performance of the house has
directly above the window wall's three center second-floor bathroom were built using the been good. It takes about two cords of wood to
posts. The two centermost box beams each same box-beam and purlin detail that Maclay heat the 2,OOO-sq. ft. living space during the
have an outside radius of 8 ft. 214 in. The radius designed for the south face. Insulating the 2-ft. year, and heat loss through walls and glass is
for the other box beams is 7\.-2 in. smaller. This thickness of the roof framing with fiberglass slow. Even in midwinter, the owners can leave
allows the 2x8 purlins that bear on the smaller batts gave it a rating of R-76. Building the outer for the weekend without stoking the woodstove
outer beams to butt against one of the two inner walls on the east and west sides of the house or worrying about the need for backup heat. 0
40 flne Homebuil ding Illustration: Christopher Clapp; Photo this page: William Maclay
 --/ Future
greenhouse

2xB pur/ins are

>' attached with joist
-' hangers on 16-in.
/' centers between
central box beams.

Curved-roof
box beam
2x6 edge and
center members

__
O rywall -

Oval openings allow

passage of solar-heated
air into attic.

Tripled 2x4s
form rough
opening. ----�

Two insulated sliding

glass door replacement
panels are installed
between redwood stops.
Building with Stress-Skin
Laminated, insulated panels offer new ways to
build economical, energy-efficient houses

by Alex Wade

any of the clients I work with are owner­

builders who want livable, energy-efficient
houses for as little money as possible. The post­
and-beam designs I've come to specialize in are
meant to be built quickly and economically,
with special consideration given to the local cli­
mate and available materials, as well as to the
skill of the builders. Over the last 1 5 years, I've
been able to improve the speed, economy and
quality of this kind of construction by using
stress-skin panels to enclose simplified post­
and-beam frames.
Stress-skin panels are rigid sheets (usually 4 ft.
by 8 ft.) made from foam insulation and various
sheathing materials such as plywood, wafer­
board and drywall. The sheathing is bonded to
both faces of the foam (see FHB #24, pp. 58-59
for information on how stress-skin panels are
made), producing a laminated panel that has un­
usual shear strength and insulative value.
Laminated building panels had been used for
years in commercial construction before a hand­
ful of timber framers recognized their suitability
for enclosing finely joined frames some 1 0 years
ago. Stress-skin panels gave these traditional­
style framers a fast, effective way to fill the
space between timbers with insulation, exterior
sheathing and drywall (see FHB #24, pp. 54-58).
It hasn't taken very long for stress-skins to catch
on, and they have uses that reach far beyond
timber frames. In fact, stress-skin panels and
low-cost construction go hand in hand.

Stress-skin construction-To understand how

stress-skin panels affect the economy and
strength of a building, let's consider an analogy
based on the evolution of auto designs. The tra­
ditional oak timber frame with its pegged, tight­
fitting mortise-and-tenon joinery can be likened
to the heavyweight chassis of an old-fashioned,
full-size automobile designed with a separate
body and frame. The often ornate body parts
fastened to this gas-guzzling structural system
weren't expected to make it stronger. In similar
fashion, the traditional oak timber frame is mas­
sively sized, and then strengthened further with
knee braces. Joined together properly, the
frame can stand on its own perfectly well, so the

Builder Kevin Berry and crew tilt a stress-skin

panel into place against a frame designed by
the author. Revising construction details to
take advantage of stress-skin's strength, size
and insulative qualities will lead to a new gen­
eration of economical, energy-efficient houses.
Types of stress-skin eonstmction
Enelo.ed- fram
e "uigu call for
nonstructural stress-skin panels (one face of
the foam core is clad with drywall) to be
Stress-skin panel �
fastened to the outside face of a timber frame Plate '____..
with spikes and adhesive caulk. Even non· Ledger
structural panels have enough shear
resistance to replace the many knee braces
used in most traditional timber·frame
buildings. As a result, frame joinery can be
simplified, cutting lumber costs and speeding
erection time. In the frame shown above,
major posts are 4x4s, and simple lap joints
are used where girts meet over posts.
Temporary braces hold the frame plumb and
square until the stress·skin panels are applied.
S traeta are••
"'" ·."'n paner. must have
plywood or waferboard bonded to both faces
of the foam core with construction adhesive
rated for structural use. Structural panels also
have to be Joined together edge to edge more
solidly than non·structural panels, usually
with wood splines. Once trucked to the site,
these panels are simply tilted up onto a
footing, subDoor or slab and Joined with
splines and spray-on adhesive to form the
walis of the building (photo above right).
Rough openings for doors and windows can be
cut before or after wali ralsing. With cross·
bracing (usually Door or ceiling Joists) to keep
wall panels from bowing out, structural

igM
stress·skins can also be used for the roof.
Byll"" mu.-."'n panel "u borrow
construction details from structural·panel
systems and enclosed·frame designs. In the
design shown In the drawing, less expensive 4x 1 0
non·structural panels can be used in 4x8 size. girder
Structural
Horizontal and vertical 2x6 splines tie panels
together, supporting the stress·skin walis and
2x6 splines 4x4 post

also the ledger board to which the Door joists

are fastened. Interior loads are carried by the 4x8
stress-skin
ledgers and a single girder that is supported
by 4x4 posts. The simple girder·and-post
panel ---� 4x8
floor joists
arrangement is the subframe in the hybrid
design. It runs parallel with the ridge,
supporting the Door joists and a second Hybrid post-and-panel design
Horizontal 2x6plates on
top of each panel course
beveled girder at the rooOine. -A. W.
Photo top left: Alex Wade; Photo righ� Neilsen-Winter February/March 1985 43
 Slab on grade Joists and subfloor

Stress-skin panel
is spiked to frame. Stress-skin panel
4x4 or
4x4 or
4x6 post
4x6 post
Panels are spiked
to frame.

Pressure-treated 2x6 plate

2x6 sill Plywood
subfloor
Foam
Exterior sealant
siding

Exterior
Aluminum siding
sheet

Aluminum
Finished sheet
grade

Finished Floor
grade framing

Foam
sealant Pressure-
treated sill

2-in. foam 2-in. foam

insulation Foundation wall insulation Foundation wall

Frame encloBilre deta'''. Stress-skin panel dimensions should be a major factor in the frame design. Above, frame and foundation detailing are
integrated with panel thickness to create a flush finish at the base of the exterior wall. Both designs shown above provide a solid ledge for the panels'
bottom edges. The width of the ledge aligns the sheathed exterior face of each panel with the foundation insulation.

rigidity and shear resistance provided by the structural splines between inexpensive non­ cifically to take advantage of the racking resis­
stress-skin panels are quite superfluous. structural panels and a small subframe for interi­ tance that stress-skin panels provide.
In their quest for better fuel economy, auto or loads give this type of system a great poten­ Apart from saving time and timber, the un­
manufacturers have since learned that by com­ tial for simplicity and economy in a small house braced frame (especially in a small house) looks
bining the structural qualities of body parts and design. Hybrid panel systems could easily com­ cleaner and offers far more freedom in locating
the chassis (called unibody or monocoque con­ pete in cost with factory-built prefab houses, windows and doors. There's no need for com­
struction) they can reduce curb weight (and and they offer more in the way of energy effi­ plex timber joinery either. Where traditional tim­
also manufacturing costs) without adversely af­ ciency and aesthetics. In order for this to hap­ ber framers use housed dovetails and pegged
fecting the overall strength of the car. Steel ribs pen, though, building codes and especially tenons, I usually specify nailed lap joints rein­
and stiffeners are designed into floor pans, fend­ building inspectors will have to change. forced with metal truss plates that are eventually
er walls and other body parts, integrating the hidden beneath panels or flooring. Kevin Berry
car's structure with its interior and exterior skin. Stress-skins and the unbraced frame-At and Jeff Seeley, two builders I work with fre­
Similarly, stress-skin panels can be used as this stage, small-scale contractors and owner­ quently, are often able to put together one of
stand-alone structural members. builders generally favor using some kind of ex­ these simplified frames in just two days. The
Many mobile-home manufacturers use struc­ posed frame with stress-skin panels. Building of­ cost for a completed shell, with windows and
tural panels, but so far only a few companies ficials are likely to put more faith in structural doors installed but without finish siding or roof­
use structural stress-skins for site-built houses. systems that they can see, and the exposed tim­ ing, is usually around $ 1 5 per square foot.
Delta Industries ( 1 9 5 1 Galaxie St., Columbus, bers in a frame house have a definite aesthetic In most cases, all the joinery for a simplified
Ohio 43207) and J-Deck Inc. (2587 Harrison appeal. In addition, non-structural 4x8 panels frame can be cut on site. Whenever possible, we
Rd. , Columbus, Ohio 43204) are the two most have become widely available, and competition try to get a good price from a nearby mill on
successful structural stress-skin builders that I among panel manufacturers continues to drive roughsawn lumber (usually hemlock), and I try
know of, and Neilsen-Winter Corp. (Main St., prices down. to hold the thickness of all framing members to
West Groton, Mass. 0 1 472) has recently devel­ Even though panels faced with drywall on no more than 3]..-2 in. so that most of the joints
oped a structural panel system. Delta Industries one side aren't rated to stand alone, they still can be cut with a skillsaw.
has even had success in using structural stress­ perform like torsion boxes when spiked and In houses that use a light post-and-beam
skin panels clad with pressure-treated plywood glued to the outside of a frame. The foam core structure, panels are spiked to the frame with
for below-grade foundation walls. and the adhesive bond between core and either ringshank or hot-dipped galvanized spikes
Hybrid stress-skin designs can be even less sheathing materials provide the racking resis­ that penetrate 2 in. or more into the timber. The
expensive to build than either a structural panel tance. This means that the post-and-beam frame interior face of the panel should be seated in a
house or a lightweight frame design that's en­ doesn't require corner braces. In fact, I've thick bead of caulk where it rests against the
closed with non-structural panels. The use of slimmed down my post-and-beam designs spe- frame. Where panels join vertically, the joint is

44 Fine Homebuilding Illustrations: Elizabeth Eaton

 Eave with integral gutter

U rethane-core
stress-skin panel for roof

Finish roofing

Top edge of
2x8 is beveled
to roof pitch.

Pressure-treated
2x lumber cut
to size

Rafter

Use foam
sealantl
adhesive
here.

Post EPS-core wall panel

Above, eliminating eave overhang and Incorporating a wood gutter are economical roof-construction details that also look good on the finished house.
Above right, a scrap 2x6 pad and a hand sledge are used to close the tongue-and-groove joint between two wall panels. The posts and girts in this frame
are located to provide nailing surfaces along panel edges.

usually a manufactured tongue-and-groove that lated foundation with the insulated wall. The vapor-barrier paint (in the Northeast, where I do
is bonded with site-applied aerosol foam. Hori­ frame shown in the left-hand drawing has a most of my work)'
zontal joints between panels are usually butt
joints if they fall over solid backing. Otherwise, a
pressure-treated 2x6 sill bolted atop a O-in.J
block wall that extends just a few inches above
The nicest eave detail that I've seen on a
stress-skin house incorporates a site-made gutter
2x spline is necessary. In either case, the joint is finished grade. This sill location leaves the outer and fascia board in the first course of roof pan­
sealed with spray-on foam. 4 !J2 in. of the foundation's top edge exposed, els (drawing, above). To build this type of eave,
In order to save time and money building a and this is where the 6!J2-in. thick stress-skin you have to bevel-cut both the roof panel and
post-and-panel house, you have to plan post and panels are set. The panel overhangs the founda­ the fascia. I use only pressure-treated 2x lumber
girt locations carefully so that the panels are tion by 2 in.-just the thickness of the foam for the back and bottom of the gutter, and cedar
easy to install and waste from panel offcuts is foundation insulation coming up from below. for the front side, since it's a better matching
minimal. I locate posts on 8-ft. centers. This The outer face of the panel is flush with the wood for roughsawn siding.
way, wall panels can be installed vertically, and foundation insulation. Kevin Berry likes to flash It's possible to let panels overhang by about
every other vertical panel joint lands on a post. this grade-level joint with low-cost aluminum J ft. at eaves and gables, but remember that nei­
Girts between perimeter posts should be located roll-stock before nailing up the exterior siding ther the drywall nor the foam edge can be left
on vertical 8-ft. centers to provide a nailing sur­ (photo below left, next page). Alternatively, you exposed to the weather. For the sake of econo­
face for panel edges . ., could parge on stucco finish over wire mesh. my and ease of construction, eliminating over­
Because the stress-skin panels provide the The cheapest designs have poured-concrete hangs altogether makes the most sense.
wall's shear resistance in this type of design, the ground floors. But with some modifications, you
unbraced frame needs temporary braces to hold could achieve the same flush-fit appearance Windows and doors-Windows are easy to
it plumb and level until the panels are nailed up. with a conventional subfloor (drawing, facing install in stress-skin houses if you've got a small
We temporarily brace posts to girts and to the page, right). chainsaw or a J 6-in. circular saw. Either one of
ground as the frame is built. These braces stay these tools has sufficient depth of cut to saw the
on until the stress-skin wall is applied. The roof-I recommend urethane-foam insula­ rough opening from inside the house. Other­
I've seen all sorts of arrangements tried at the tion for the roof-either in the form of stress­ wise, the opening has to be cut from both sides
base of the wall, where the frame, panel and skin panels or rigid foam board installed over of the panel. Either way, it should be sized
foundation all converge. Many of them aren't
very attractive, and not all of them are as easy or
decking. Urethane provides more insulative val­
ue per inch than expanded polystyrene (EPS),
about l<I in. larger than the window frame.
Since the wall panels we use have S!J2-in.
as economical to build as they could be. I prefer and it's also a more effective vapor barrier. If thick cores, window frames have to have exten­
the details shown in the drawings on the facing EPS panels are used on the roof, they usually sion jambs made for 2x6 stud-framed walls.
page because they're uncomplicated and be­ have to have 7!J2-in. thick cores, and the inner Though some builders recommend letting in
cause the finished appearance unifies the insu- drywall face of the panel has to be sealed with 2x6s around the rough opening, we've found

February/March 1985 45
Corner con Bfra ction. Leaving the corner open when panels are installed provides access to electrical raceways routed in the interior face of the
panel's foam core. As shown at top left, a 2x6 panel edge has to be notched in line with the raceway before it is let into the panel and secured with
caulk and drywall nails. Once both corner panels have been spiked to the frame, above right, plastic-sheathed cable can be run through the sill from
the service panel. Then the cable is snaked through panel raceways down the wall to outlet-box locations cut at raceway height inside the house.
Above left, the corner is enclosed when wiring is complete. Proper sill and post location allows the sheathed face of the panel to align flush with the
foundation insulation. Roll aluminum, installed beneath the siding, extends below grade as a low-cost but nice-looking finish detail.

that the rigidity of the panels eliminates the tends beyond the face of the corner post that edge board has to be notched out to give access
need for this extra framing unless you're install­ it's nailed to. This creates a 6\12-in. by 6\12-in. to the panel's two raceways. Then it's let into
ing a large window or a door. open area that is later boxed in and insulated. the panel edge and secured with sealant and
To install the window or door, you shim it Before this happens, though, the open corner drywall nails.
plumb and square in the opening, nail through provides access to the wiring raceways that run Once all the panels are up, plastic-sheathed
the exterior trim and into the sheathing, and the full lengths of both walls once all panels cable (Romex) is run into the corner from the
then fill the shim space with aerosol foam. This have been installed. The raceways are small service panel through a slot or hole made in the
foam spray expands and bonds wood to foam, channels that were routed along the inside face 2x6 sill. Using a double sill lets you drill out this
securing the frame. You'll have to trim off some of the foam core before the drywall was glued hole with less risk of running your bit against
foam squeeze-out before installing interior trim. on. The panels shown here have raceways cut masonry. Inside the house, the electrician can
1 8 in. from their top and bottom (4-ft. wide) locate the raceway simply by measuring 1 8 in.
The open corner-Most builders who use edges. This is a convenient feature, because up from the base of the panel. Holes for outlet
stress-skin panels to enclose frames overlap panels can be flipped without misaligning boxes are usually cut with a utility knife right at
panel edges at the corners. The open corner de­ raceways and because each wall can have outlet raceway height.
sign that I use (photo above right) saves the locations near ceiling and floor. Not all panel Electrical cable can be run toward the center
6\12 in. of panel width lost to the overlap and manufacturers are set up to incorporate race­ of the wall from one or both corners, depending
also provides a very workable raceway for elec­ ways in their panels, so this could be an impor­ on how your circuits are mapped. And by con­
trical wiring. Electrical wiring has been the bane tant consideration when deciding which suppli­ tinuing the open corner above the first course of
of stress-skin systems since their development. er to use. panels, upper floors can be wired the same way.
Some wiring schemes call for custom-made hol­ Using this open-corner detailing requires that Stud-frame partition walls inside the house are
low baseboards, while others demand that the
electrician be on site as panels go up in order to
you let in a 2x6 along each 8-ft. panel edge that
will face the corner. This strengthens the panel
wired conventionally. 0
snake wiring between panel joints. Both of these edge and provides a nailing surface for filling in Architect Alex Wade 's Guide to Affordable
approaches can be costly and troublesome. the exterior corner once the wiring has been Houses is available from Rodale Press (33 E.
With open corners, neither corner panel ex- run. As shown in the photo top left, the 2x6 Minor St. , Emmaus, Pa. 18049).

48 Fine Homebuilding
 A Dutchman's Bath
A little gem of walnut and stone

by Philip S. Sollman

W en you build a house for yourself, there

are always jobs that never seem to get finished.
living spaces. Elegance for me doesn't mean
lots of floor area, but rather a careful layout and
scarf joints to create the continuous, curving
handrail. I paid particularly close attention to
In our house, this project was our bathroom. attention to well-crafted detail. I find that I often how the grain patterns meshed at these joints
When I think back to the bathrooms I grew up do my best work within these constraints. (photo B, next page).
with, especially those in The Netherlands, I real­ About three years ago, I hastily laid a veneer You can't easily bend 4/4 walnut around a
ize why ours became a low priority. For the of stone along the curved wall inside the bath­ 3-ft. radius, so I decided to make a bent lamina­
most part, Dutch bathrooms aren't bathrooms at room. Dissatisfied with my workmanship, I ripped tion. To begin, I resawed the curved section of
all but cubicles containing only a toilet and a it all down and decided not to proceed until I the railing into three equal thicknesses. One of
lavatory. In older dwellings the bathtub, if there was ready. This was fortunate, because I later the splices occurred in the middle of the bend,
is one, is often in a separate room. I remember decided to bend a handrail around the perim­ and I decided to scarf-join the two boards to­
one being in the guest room, two floors re­ eter of the room. To do this, I needed to use the gether before resawing them. There would be a
moved from the toilet, and another in a laundry framed wall against which the stones had been lot of stress on the joints during the bend, but
room next to the kitchen. My favorite bathroom laid as my form. The surface would have been the radius wasn't that tight, and my experience
was in a newer building where lavatory, toilet too irregular with the stonework in place. told me the joints would hold. They did. I face­
and shower were all jammed into one small I didn't have a piece of walnut long enough, glued the bent, resawn sections with yellow glue
compartment with a floor drain in the middle. so I had to splice three boards together in long and clamped them to the studs. The three scarf
The space was equipped with a variety of squee­
gees, sponges and towels so you could dry ev­
erything after you took a shower.
Dutch toilets are ordinarily placed in tight
little compartments with tiny sinks, provided Towel
there is space enough to stand between the two ca bi n et --H--l'\,o-,
without being hunched over. For me, a big man,
Window
these were step-in-sideways affairs. Thinking
back in all honesty, these experiences were not
unpleasant. It was simply the way things were.
The Dutch are justifiably known for their cleanli­
ness, but I don't think they spend lots of time
primping and bathing.
For three years while we worked on other
parts of our house (see FHB # 1 5, pp. 75-79),
Jeanne and I made do with our downstairs util­
ity room. This room contains all the essentials,
with an open shower neatly wedged between
the toilet and utility sink. I felt quite at home
with this arrangement, much to the dismay of
my father-in-law, who never understood my pe­
culiar attitude. Each time we talked on the
phone I could anticipate the inevitable, "How's Handrail Sunken
II­ -J..J....
-j---
---
tub
the bathroom coming, Phil?" A few months ago
I was finally able to answer, "Finished, Pop."

Getting down to it-The bathroom was

Skylight
planned along a curved outside wall (drawing,
right). Since this wall was stone-veneered on the
outside, I wanted to reflect this surface on the
inside. A structural stud wall was sandwiched
between the two stone veneers for insulation. A
low window at one end of the tub looks out on
an intimate garden. The tub was set into the
concrete floor so the view could also be en­
joyed from the toilet. I wanted this room to feel
natural and tranquil. No high-tech surfaces here.
Our allotted bathroom space was small: only Stone-veneer
60 sq. ft. I've never felt comfortable in excessive wa l l
 Head is
cut off, and
shank drilled and tapped
for !4 -in. dia. bolt 1 in. long.

joints are very slightly offset because of the dif­ an extra pair of hands to spring the rail into a small bolts. I later plugged the hole to conceal
ferent radius of each resawn section, but they tighter radius to make room for the stonework the bolt heads (drawing, above left).
look fine. The railing's finished dimensions, after behind it. Along the paneled inside wall where the rail­
resawing and sanding, is % in. by 6 in. As the railing was sprung, it rested against the ing curves in tightly to meet the door jamb,
After the glue dried, I scarfed a solid 6-ft. ends of the lag bolts. By tracing around the lag there is only the illusion of bent wood. I actually
straight section to the end of the curve. I cut bolts I could locate their centers on the railing. cut the curve out of a 3-in. thick piece of walnut
one scarf first, and laid it over the uncut end of Then I removed the railing and finished the crotch. This particular piece of wood looks like
the other length of railing. This let me make sub­ stonework around the wall and bolts, leaving the rich figure of the wood grew into that bend
tle adjustments before I cut the other scarf. As a them to protrude about 2 in. beyond the stone (photo A). I love to hear people ask how I bent
result, the joint (photo C) is barely visible. face. I didn't want these large bolts to go all the that thick a railing to such a tight radius.
Once the long curved railing was assembled way through the handrail, so I cut off their I cut the vanity top out of two bookmatched
and sanded, I temporarily set it in its final posi­ heads, and drilled and tapped their shanks to slabs of 2-in. thick walnut and arranged them to
tion against the six !.1-in. dia. lag bolts 1 2 in. accommodate \4-in. dia. bolts 1 in. long. I take advantage of their most figured areas
long, which I had screwed into the studs. This drilled a small hole through the center of the (photo D. The right and left-hand edges of the
enabled me to locate the exact points of attach­ mark on the back side of the railing and drilled vanity top showed signs of minor checking. I felt
ment. This part was tricky, and I had to borrow out the opposite side so I could counterbore the that by installing '}16-in. threaded rods along the

48 FIne Homebuilding Photos: Jeanne Stevens-Sollman

 Vanity-top detail ��
h,"d ��
'Y,s-in.
threaded
--..-:;�"-"-"-:::Z:/,,' '
rod s "

"....;0---
Nuts are tightened
%-in.deep routed
grooves for threaded rod
tostabilize checking
edges of vanity.

top's edges, I could stabilize them. I routed cabinetry itself. I wanted to echo the naturally a drinking fountain and soap dispenser, elimi­
%-in. deep grooves into these edges (both sides curving edge of the top in the cabinet drawers nating the need for a water glass and soap dish.
and back) and bored I -in. deep holes near the and doors below. I chose a beautifully figured I integrated the doors to the cedar-lined towel
end of the slots to provide a shoulder for the piece to cut into bookmatched veneers, with closet with the paneling above the vanity. As in
nuts and washers, as shown in the drawing, which I could face the concave panels of the the rest of the house, switchplate and outlet
above right. Then I cinched the rods tightly to doors and drawers (photo 0). The process I covers are all handmade. The surfaces were
keep the cracks closed. used is explained in my article in FHB # 1 5. The sealed with tung oil, then brushed with a thin
I added a third piece to the vanity top as a concave face gives the vanity a wraparound feel­ coat of polyurethane.
hand hold for stepping down into the sunken ing and also responds to the contour of the hu­ It's ironic that the bathroom is now the only
tub (photo E). This completely unrelated piece man body. The sapwood at the free edge of the completed room in the house, and doubly ironic
of walnut had to be carved and painted with veneers highlights the recessed space provided that I still use the utility room much of the time,
stain here and there to achieve a good match. for the pulls. The two contoured drawers are with my trusty squeegee tucked neatly beside
It's screwed from beneath to the rest of the van­
ity and to the wall studs.
pinned at one end to the vanity top. This pin
acts as a hinge, and the drawers swing out from
the sink. Ah, there's no place like home. D
I don't especially like applied hardware, so I the end so you don't have to step back from the Philip Sollman designs and builds furniture in
set out to integrate the cabinet handles with the vanity to open them. The vanity is equipped with Bellefonte, Pa.

Illustrations: Frances Ashforth February/March 1985 49

 Starting Simple
Updating an old-fashioned ranch design

by Zu Vincent

Yo u have to understand Forest Ranch. It's a

small town on the spine of a timbered ridge in
Griffith, an engineer who is interested in archi­
tectural design. We had reservations at first, be­
lished the simple plan with a cathedral ceiling in
the living room, a loft, and a band of roughsawn
California's Sierra Nevada foothills. People live cause experience has taught us that engineers' 2x 1 Os at the first-floor ceiling height.
here because they long for the time when no ideas aren't always cost effective, but we found My favorite feature, though, is the two-story
one locked the front door, or because they re­ David's suggestions very helpful. grout-lock brick wall that follows the cathedral­
member that time themselves. An engineered set of plans allowed us to be ceiling line and doubles as a stove surround and
My husband Harry Koenig and I bought 20 more innovative with structural design, and stairwell wall (sidebar, facing page). We were
acres here with the dream of building four indi­ made it easier for us to understand and plan for afraid at first that this wall would overpower the
vidual homes that would conjure up this pleas­ California's strict new energy code. And with living room. Instead it serves as a focal point for
ant image. When financing came along in 1 983 David's experience in commercial design, we that entire end of the house, and it also stores
for house number one, we already had the ba­ were able to incorporate some techniques not heat from the woodstove and radiates it back
sics of a plan we thought fit these rural sur­ usually seen in a residence. The three of us into the living space later.
roundings and made use of some of the newer worked well together, and our brainstorming We were determined to use local help where
energy-saving schemes we'd been gathering. sessions really brought the house into focus. we could, but we found that this meant having
Our model was a nearby 1 800s ranch house, to take the eccentricities bred of small-town liv­
said to be the first home built in our area. It's a Taking shape-The five-acre site we chose for ing as part of the bargain. Our man with the
simple rectangular affair, with a long front porch our house was one of the more difficult to build backhoe showed up at sunset to dig the foot­
that lends it a livable, welcome feel. Believing in on. It was on the east side of a wooded slope, ings, and what with fading light, soft dirt and
the old-time penchant for thrift and practicality, so the solar possibilities were limited. We didn't several unexpected stumps and boulders, the
we wanted to keep the lines straightforward and want to clear any more of the forest than we next morning our carefully laid chalklines
the square footage relatively small, while using had to, and a creek bed running through the looked like a dinosaur's stomping ground.
low-maintenance materials inside and out. And property further limited our options. The obvi­ Cleanup with a shovel and a wheelbarrow took
our house evolved from this perspective, togeth­ ous site was awkward-parallel to the existing about a day and a half, and the trenches we dug
er with a few innovations of our own. drive and on the down side of the slope. had us pouring some hefty footings. To meet
By angling the house slightly, dropping the ga­ Zone Three earthquake requirements, the con­
Planning-Harry is a bricklayer, and he's also rage back and wrapping the front porch around crete was reinforced with liz-in. rebar that con­
had a lot of general construction experience, so to meet it, David created an approach that is tinues up through the block foundation.
we didn't need to hire a contractor. We wanted pleasing and practical. We made use of the We had as much as 5 ft. of slope to the rear
some help in refining our design, though, and in southeast exposure to the rear by adding a sun­ of the house, so this foundation defined a sub­
our search for someone qualified to help us room to our basic rectangle and enhancing its stantial basement area, which we later realized
draw up plans, a friend recommended David thermal gain with brick floors. And we embel- was a better spot for the heat exchanger and

The slope beneath the garage was filled with

gravel. Above, Harry Koenig hangs a 4-ft. grid
of Y2-in. rebar from dowels sunk in the block
wall. This diaphragm ties the walls together
and will reinforce the 6-in. slab to be poured.

The completed house, left. Its plans were based

on the first ranch house built in the Sierra foot­
hills area, back in the 19th century.
heat-pump water heater than the closet space
we'd originally planned on.
The slope was steepest at the garage, and it
was the unusual framing David specified for the
corner windows. Because their placement pre­
vented the standard let-in bracing for racking re­
Building a grout-loek wall
A grout-lock wall is made up of two wythes
of brick with a core of concrete reinforced
took backfill from two truck-and-trailer loads of sistance on the exterior walls, David made the with steel. The bricks act as a form for the
%-in. pea gravel. On top of this, the 6-in. slab is calculations work by including shear value of concrete but also bond to the core to create
reinforced with a grid of Y2-in. rebar on 4-ft. the o/.I-in. gypboard. a solid structural unit. When used as a stove
centers (photo facing page, right). To hold the Most people don't consider the structural val­ backup, this wall lends itself to space for
walls together, we created a diaphragm by hang­ ue of drywall, and the idea met with flat resis­ clay-pipe heating ducts or copper coils for
ing the rebar on dowels sunk in the block. tance from the inspector. He wanted to see hot water, and since the bricks retaln heat,
diagonals according to code, even on that full­ they'll continue to warm that alr or water
after the woodstove is out. The wall we built
Framing-From their years working commer­ height gable end. This called for o/.I-in. notches
has no copper coils, but we did install a
cial construction, both David and Harry had got­ in the existing 2x6s, which would have weak­
return heat duct of galvanized metal at
ten in the habit of designing on 4-ft. modules. ened that end and was unacceptable to our en­ stove height.
Wherever possible, they both like to keep doors gineer. Upon the next inspection, we were given To begin with, the cavity in the wall
and windows within the module and have things the option of blocking the walls solid on 4-ft. should be a minimum of 2 in. wider than the
happen on a regular basis. We used this 4x4 grid centers and nailing the rock on 2-in. centers. combined width of the reinforcing steel. For
as the basis of our planning, but we weren't We protested that David's calculations had only example, if you use !I2-in. vertical and
wedded to it. Here and there, we digressed. required the standard 5d cooler nails 7 in. o. c. horizontal steel your cavity would be at
Since the second-floor walls under the eaves A real standoff. The issue lasted through a least 3 in.
were to extend I ft. above the finished floor of third inspection and continued with a couple of In building this wall, we first snapped
lines for the inside and outside wythe,
the loft and upstairs bedrooms, we balloon­ letters between David and the county engineer.
checking layout to make sure the bond
framed with 9-ft. studs and cut in beam pockets We finally got the go-ahead to do it our way,
worked well all the way around. After laying
to carry the 24-ft. roughsawn 4x I 0 ceiling joists. compromising with temporary bracing scabbed out three courses, we then put in our ladder
These were then crossed with 2x6 pine decking to the studs, which we removed before we wire and horizontal rebar.
to create a finished ceiling. But because it was rocked. This was one instance where having an To ensure that the wire ties were
winter, and we were afraid the swollen lumber engineer allowed us to do something county of­ embedded before the pour, we laid an
would later shrink and leave gaps, we reconsi­ ficials wouldn't normally approve. additional two courses, then poured,
dered our plans to use the pine decking as a The shear wall between the stairwell and checking that the grout was down 1 In. and
finished second floor above. We decided in­ bathroom (drawing, next page) is another con­ puddling it with a stick.
stead to deck over the planking with particle­ cept more commonly used in commercial build­ After this pour, we built a five-course lead
on each comer, again putting our horizontal
board, and cover that with carpet. ing than in residential. It's a 2x8 wall with a
reinforcement in the third course before
We didn't want to spoil the airy effect of the floor-to-ceiling skin of Y2-in. plywood nailed at
filling the wall in between corners. In this
living room by running the 4x I 0 joists under the 2Y2 in. on the edges and 1 2 in. in the field. By way, we continued building and pouring in
cathedral ceiling, which is I x8 V-groove rustic using it as a load-bearing element (in effect it five-course lifts until the top.
pine. So to provide lateral support for the walls, divides the building into two smaller ones), we Rather than use full-height vertical steel
we used Y2-in. dia. steel rods and turnbuckles saved the expense of plywood sheathing on the and box ties, we used steel we could reach
(photo next page, right). These rods are sup­ roof. It also became a handy space for ductwork over each time, fastening pieces with a
posed to keep the walls from being pushed out­ and plumbing. It's stiffened by two 8x8 posts minimum 40-diameter lap (40 times the
ward, but they've actually sagged twice and had hidden in the wall which run continuously from diameter of the rebar; in this case, 20 in.).
to be tightened. They're also a real conversation the foundation to the top of the first floor. Since We used full head and bed joints,
spreadlng the mud and beveling it on the
piece. So far opinion has been running about we'd ordered these posts as 10 and 1 4-footers,
inside at a 45° angle. This way, when you
50-50, for and against. Some people just don't we were astonished when we got a single stick,
push the next brick down, it pushes the mud
like them. As one visitor tactfully put it, "They're 24 ft. long and clear. What a shame to have to out just flush with the brick. Then, with
very interesting, when do they come out?" cut that up and bury it in the wall. a trowel, we cut up any mud protruding in
The next biggest conversation piece, at least For the roof we used 2x6 rafters on 1 6-in. the cavity, avoidlng dropping any inside
as far as our building inspector was concerned, centers, and crossed them with 2x4 purlins on the wall. -Z. V.
Horizontal rebar
on box clips or
ladder wire
15 in. o . c .

cll.--I;"";-- 1
Each pour is left
in. below the
top of the
course to avoid
a continuous
cold joint.

Footing

Because the house was built on a slope, the foundations enclosed a good-sized basement, where the
mechanical systems were eventually placed. The house was balloon-framed, and the 24-ft. 4x l O
ceiling beams were seated in pockets. Two-by-four purlins cross the rafters on 4-ft. centers to act as
nailers for the metal roof, and to provide more space for insulation.
 2x8 shear wall
Bedroom
Master bedroom

\U���
2x6 rafters

First-floor
plan

Bedroom

4 x l O joists

Garage
Bath

2x6 studs
running full height
Brick
to eave or gable
grout-lock wall

V2-in. dia.
steel cable
with turnbuckles
Porch

Cutaway view
of house with framing

Instead of heavy beams,

cables and turnbuckles
span the width of the living
room and keep the open feeling
of the cathedral ceiling (far right).
Harry Koenig built the grout-lock brick
wall behind the woodstove, and installed
the pavers in the floor of the dining area. The
master bedroom and its bath (right) are on the
loft level, under the 1xBV-groove pine ceiling.
4-ft. centers. They support the standing-rib steel We considered framing this wall and adding a Results-The house cost between $55 and $60
roofing and make room for two layers of fiber­ brick veneer, but we eventually decided on the a square foot to build, with us acting as our own
glass batts to crisscross CS\I:!-in. batts in the grout-lock approach. contractor, running errands and doing occasion­
rafter bays, 3\1:!-in. batts between the purlins). al stints as carpenters and bricklayers. Much of
Crisscrossing the batts in this manner means Heating and cooling-With the house sur­ the unforeseen cost came with the foundation
that no joints run continuously through the 9 in. rounded by five wooded acres, we had a real and bad weather.
of insulation. Elsewhere, the 2x6 walls have opportunity to heat solely with the woodstove On the flip side, there were a few "finds" we
S\I:!-in. batts for R- 1 9, and the joist spaces under and passive-solar gain. Given proper manage­ were especially pleased with, and one of these
the floor have 3\1:!-in. batts for R- l l . ment, our woodlot should offer a perpetual sup­ was the discovery at a local lumberyard of sev­
ply of fuel. Good insulation and careful caulking eral thousand board feet of clear, kiln-dried red­
Standing-rib steel roof-Our finished roof is help keep that warmth in. wood l x6 T&G that had been stashed since a
beautiful, but we had a few problems along the We decided against a vapor barrier because mill close-out. It made fine siding, the price was
way. We didn't hire a roofing contractor, and of the controversy over moisture buildup and reasonable, and the material a pleasure to work
our inexperience slowed us down some. Then, mildew, but even without one, the house was with. Because we didn't want to mar the wood
too, working the 1 0-in- 1 2 pitch (photo below going to be pretty tight. We wanted a heat ex­ with hammer scars or bleeding nails, we nailed
right) while handling long sheets of material off changer to ensure air freshness, and our code it with a Hilti gun and flush nailer attachment,
scaffolding two stories high made for some awk­ required a distribution system to move air from using aluminum nails.
ward moments. To fasten down the last full the woodstove to the bedrooms. Our solution The juggling act at the end of our project,
sheet in the field on the gable end, one of our was to create a double-duty system, using the when our expectations ran higher than our bud­
crew had to walk the roof with a rope around exchanger to warm and circulate incoming air. get, was always between feasibility and quality.
his waist. And putting down the ridge cap took This system also pulls stale air out of the But another lucky find for us was our finish car­
three pair of hands. house from the most likely spots. Since stale air penter, Jeff Demetras, who was excited about
The vent pipes gave us trouble, too. Ideally is usually humid, the exchanger is controlled by the house and willing to put in some extra ef­
they should hit in a valley of the ribbed steel, a humidistat rather than a thermostat, and ex­ fort. Jeff would do things like take the patterns
but because we had no attic space to play with, haust air is taken from the dryer, the kitchen home for the arched window trim and the lou­
this wasn't always possible. Wherever flashing range and refrigerator, the upstairs bath and vered redwood garage vent, and cut them out
covers more than two ribs, they look off center. hallway, and from behind the woodstove. Many on his bandsaw.
Things were simpler with the garage roof. To of the ducts are just the space between two Overall though, it was the initial thought we
save setting rafters every 1 6 in., we used six studs. To meet code the range has a second put into planning that really rewarded us. There
steel purlins in purlin clips. These clips are an vent to the outside, and the dryer has a filter to are the closets and bookshelves built along both
off-the-shelf item, in this case made of Z-shaped keep lint out of the system. short walls in the master bedroom upstairs
galvanized steel. Steel purlins are lightweight Pulling stale air from the appliances, a pro­ (photo facing page left), which capitalize on an
( 1 4 gauge) and easy to work with. cess that was recommended by our heat­ otherwise dead space. And the loft that works
The brown seamless gutters we had installed exchanger manufacturer, seems a good use of well as a semi-private studio. We appreciate the
match the roof color exactly, and make a sharp­ otherwise wasted warmth, especially where the many windows that offer a continuing shift in
looking finish trim. Along with the closure strip, dryer and refrigerator are concerned. And a moods throughout the day. And of course that
we ran 6-in. flashing under the roof edge and fringe benefit of this system is the cool air we long front porch the old-timers thought essen­
bent it along the gutter for double insurance can pick up in the summer off the heat pump's tial. A space for wood storage, a weather break,
against blowing rain. cooling cycle, which is forced through the or just a nice extension of the house, the porch
Though we're completely sold on the aesthet­ house whenever the heat pump kicks on. This helps convey the feel that we had hoped it
ics of standing-rib steel, we'd really think twice can be a viable cooling system at our elevation, would-the invitation to come on in and put
before trying it again, mostly because of the
cost. We probably saved as much as 1 2% by in­
given a well-designed house and shade trees.
Our biggest problem with mechanicals was
your feet up. 0
stalling it ourselves, but at $ 1 70 a square it's still finding a subcontractor who knew what we Zu Vincent is a freelance writer in Forest
pretty pricey, compared to $50 a square for were talking about. Heat exchangers have got­ Ranch, Calif Construction photos were taken
good-quality asphalt shingles. ten a lot of press lately, but they hadn't made it by the author.
to our local stores yet. The Ennerex system we
W arm th and permanence-We've always finally installed CEnner-Corp Management Ltd.,
liked brick for the warmth and permanence it 2 Donald St., Winnipeg, Man., Canada R3L OKS)
gives a house, not to mention the value of ther­ is the first of its kind in our county.
mal mass, and since Harry's forte is bricklaying, What with this newness and some communi­
we decided to incorporate as much of his work cation problems with our subcontractor, we
as we could. Along with the brick behind and were left with a few bugs in the system. The fan
under the woodstove, the kitchen, dining area, in the exchanger doesn't move enough air, and
sunroom, laundry, baths and entry are laid in the upstairs has a tendency to overheat. A small
pavers. The entry and one bath have a bas­ booster fim has been added to the exhaust duct
ketweave pattern, while the rest of the floors are on the second story to help solve this problem.
set in running bond. Here Harry laid a border And I believe a closed loop, which would by­
with mitered corners to establish course layout pass the exchanger and force warm air from the
and to give a visual break. woodstove directly into the bottom bedrooms,
Because we were working with a wood sub­ would offer more relief.
floor, he laid the brick on a I S-lb. felt moisture The heat exchanger and ductwork came close
barrier covered with a mat of metal lath nailed to $ 1 ,500, and our utility bills during the winter
to the floor joists. The bricks were set down on of 1 984 averaged $35 a month.
a \I:!-in. bed joint. Since they've been sealed,
they have been remarkably easy to clean, and
their thermal performance has been good. The steel roof was ordered full length from
eave to ridge in 2-ft. sheets, and it requires
We wanted the woodstove as close to the
good balance and long arms to install it on the
center of the house as possible, and putting it in 1 0-in- 12 pitch. This was an awkward Job for the
front of the stairwell wall looked right. At first owners, who didn't hire a roofing contractor.

Illustrations: Vince Saba!<

 Framing a Conical Roof
by Geoff Alexander

T. e frequent appearance of the

turret in Victorian houses (photos,
the wedge. Here are two methods
you can use to lay out the wedge.
of the roof, and draw arcs whose
radii are the inside and outside
wedge-shaped pieces of %-in. ply­
wood bent to fit. The shapes of the
facing page) is symbolic of the 1 . Calculate the circumference of radii of the cone at that height. You cuts can be taken directly off the
playful freedom with which Victori­ the base of the turret (C = 2m). can read these radii right off the flat layout. You could use trammel
an architects and carpenters ap­ Measure this distance around the flat layout. If the blocks are halfway points and a rod to draw the bot­
proached their work. But underly­ circumference of the circle you up the rafter length, the radii are tom curve, and if possible, use ply­
ing that playfulness was a great skill drew and connect the two end­ one-half the inside and outside wood long enough to reach from
for manipulating wood into unor­ points of the arc to the center of radii of the turret. The spacing be­ the rafter tail to the peak (the turret
thodox forms-forms whose cre­ the circle. tween the main rafters and half­ in our example would require l O-ft.
ation would baffle many a modern 2. The ratio of the turret radius to rafters at the base is about 1 9 in. long sheets of plywood).
carpenter. A typical turret consists the rafter length is the fraction of o. c. Just above the blocks that cap Shingling can be handled in var­
of a cylindrical tower capped by a the whole circle required for the the half-rafters, the main rafters are ious ways. You need to experiment
cone-shaped roof. This article will cone model. For example, let's con­ also 1 9 in. o. c. with ideas on the two-dimensional
detail one way to build a conical sider a roof with a 6-ft. radius and a The dimensions of our sample paper circle. Cut it out and bend it
roof, and suggest some techniques 9-ft. rafter length. Since 6 -:- 9 = roof provide an easy layout. The 1 2 into shape to help visualize how it
that are useful for any conical con­ %, we need two-thirds of a circle. main rafters split the cylinder into will look in three dimensions. I like
struction, or reconstruction. Since there are 360° in a circle, we 30° arcs, and the flat layout of the the shingle lines to maintain hori­
If you take a circle of paper, cut need two-thirds of 360°, or 240°. cone into 20° arcs. Thus each full zontal rows in the finished roof
out a wedge and bring the cut Therefore, the central angle of the and half-length rafter marks off 1 0° (concentric arcs in the flat layout).
edges together, the result is a true wedge equals 360° - 240°, or 1 20°. in the flat layout. For this, each shingle has to have
cone. This is an invaluable tool if The middle drawing shows the flat To find the radius of the wooden its sides tapered, and the amount
you are framing or finishing a coni­ layout of this roof. plug where the rafters meet at the of taper increases with each
.
cal roof, because you can work out The roof in our example sits atop top of the cone, you'll have to do course. These details, too, can be
all of the layout details in two di­ a cylindrical tower 6 ft. in radius, some figuring. The plug has the read off the flat layout.
mensions with the paper flat, or with bandsawn 2x4 top plates. same number of sides as the cone Three-tab composition shingles
you can cut it out and bend it into We'll use 1 2 main rafters with con­ has rafters, in this case 1 2 . Each would need to be cut into individ­
shape to see how the roof will look ventional bird's mouths and short side will be as wide as the rafters, ual tabs to make the tapers work.
in three dimensions. To make a tails. The rafters meet at the top or 1 Y2 in. Each interior angle will Installing three-tab shingles verti­
model of a conical roof, you need with a plumb cut fitted to a 1 2 - be 360° divided by the number of cally like overlapping radial spokes
to know the length of the rafters sided wooden plug. The length o f sides, or 30°. With these givens, we is an interesting alternative. The
and the radius of the cylinder (the the rafters without the tails but add­ can construct a right triangle whose roof peak is usually crowned with a
base of the cone). A vertical sec­ ing on for the thickness of the angles and one side are known, copper dunce cap, or a weather­
tion through the center of a conical wooden plug at the top is 9 ft. All and solve for its hypotenuse (the vane. A sheet-metal shop could
roof is a triangle, as shown in the
drawing below left. Thus, if you
of the rafters can be 2x4s since the
longest horizontal span is 6 ft. (the
radius of the plug). The calcula­
tions are shown below right.
easily fabricate a simple cap. D
know the radius of the turret and cylinder radius). Between each pair GeoffAlexander is a carpenter and
the height of the cone, you can of full rafters is a half-length rafter Sheathing and shingles-Victo­ woodworker in Berkeley, Calif For
solve for the rafter length. Then capped by a bandsawn block. rian conical roofs were usually more on shingling conical roofs,
draw a circle whose radius (in To cut these blocks, set your sheathed in vertical boards tapered see New England Builder (Box 97,
scale) is the rafter length, and draw bandsaw to the angle of the pitch to fit the roof. Today, I would use East Haven Vt. 05837), May 1984.

P = pitch angle C = turret circumference Flat layout To find degrees (0) of circle in flat lavout when the
R = turret radius L = rafter length height and radius of the cone are known:
H = cone height

�I
Ha lf-rafter D R
360° L
0= � X 3600
L

- "
'

1
Wooden
_ -
L plug

4
To find the
radius (X) of the
__ C wooden plug for N
rafters W inches thick,

.. -_�
'-- R ---....L-.L.-
solve first for angle a:

..----/ 2a = -­ 360°N
"-- -------- ---
To find
rafter length when
2 2
L = R + H
2 a = 1800N
the height and radius
of the cone are known:
2
L = V 2
R + H
2
sin a =
opposite
hypotenuse
w
To find pitch angle when
the height and radius
of the cone are known:
tan P =
opposite
adjacent
=
R
.!::!.. X =
2 sin ( 1�Oo )
54 Fine Homebuilding Il ustration: Frances Ashforth
....I...
 Humboldt House
A craftsman's approach to building without plans,
a budget or a deadline

by John Mahony

first started thinking about building a home nately, the impasse that might have developed point I figured there was no future in arguing.
in 1 969, when I was an aspiring art student liv­ between the building department and me was Besides, I needed all the help I could get.
ing in New York City. I bumped into an ac­ resolved by the local politics and the county The house progressed slowly as I worked at
quaintance and heard that Michael, a mutual budget. What my neighbors and I came to real­ various other carpentry and furniture-making
friend, had bought some rural property in north­ ize was that our local building department was jobs. I had a lot of time to plan and think about
ern California. Three weeks later I was hiking on so small and distant that if the inspectors could what was next. The footings were hand-dug and
an old sheep ranch in Humboldt County. The not see your house from the paved road, it poured in 1 974. My helpers and I made our own
dense forests and rolling meadows of Humboldt didn't exist. There are many such non-existent concrete batches in a gas-powered mixer.
were a far cry from the streets of New York. A houses in northern California. In 1 975, I began pouring the walls using a
particular tree-lined meadow filled with sun­ Inspiration for the design of my house came slip-form technique (photo below left). After
shine impressed me deeply, and reminded me while I was camping out on the property. The �-in. rebar was laid out and tied on 1 2-in. cen­
of a blank canvas. Shortly after my trip to Hum­ large, round oak trees and the triangular, soar­ ters vertically and horizontally, we assembled
boldt I had a dream that gave me the clear feel­ ing fir trees were my lessons in form, volume our slip forms. The forms consisted of 2x 1 2s,
ing of having come home. I made a down pay­ and space. The dips and swells of the meadow which were separated by 8-in. lengths of �-in.
ment on 2 0 acres of Humboldt County and and the rolling landscape always struck me as thinwall conduit. The formboards were held to­
spent the next five years acquiring tools and car­ being pregnant and alive. I tried to carry over gether by �-in. bolts that ran through the lum­
pentry skills. these themes of triangles and circles, angles and ber and the conduit. Each day for 10 days we
arches into the design of my house. I sited the pulled the bolts Oeaving the conduit permanent­
Prep arin g to build-Michael and I had often
discussed the kinds of houses we might build,
house where I used to sit on a rock and take in
the view. A deer had died there, and vertebrae
ly embedded) and moved the 2x 1 2s up a tier,
reassembling the 2x 1 2s with new conduit
given the land, the time and the chance to let were scattered about. sleeves, and pouring another l O in. of concrete.
our imaginations have free rein. Michael called After 1 0 days we had a 1 00-in. high wall.
these fantasy houses. Although Michael was in­ Foundation-In 1 9 73, I had a backhoe exca­ Afterwards, the conduit sleeves were plugged
clined toward the surreal and I was more tradi­ vate for a triangular basement foundation. I had with mortar, and the walls received a sponge­
tional and drawn to natural forms, we were both an urge to dig around and get my house firmly troweled stucco coat inside and out, giving
confident that our styles and visions would rooted, and wedging it into the hillside seemed them a uniform texture. This slip-form technique
emerge once we got started. like the way to do it. While I experimented with was labor intensive, but used a minimum of
When I first moved to Humboldt, I paid a visit various corner locations, grey clouds rolled in form material. Although most of my neighbors
to the local building inspector. As a person he
was sympathetic, but as a county employee he
on what had been a perfectly clear July day. The
three stakes would determine the size and the
thought I was crazy, they gladly exchanged
workdays with me. Everyone shared in the ex­
went strictly by the book. He wanted a com­ orientation of the house, so their placement was citement of the wall raising.
plete set of engineered plans before I started. I critical. As I set the southeast corner stake there Since I was working without plans, I was de­
told him the best I could do would be a com­ was a roll of thunder-then another one at the signing as I went. I'd stand back and imagine
plete set when I finished. southwest corner. I continued trying other lay­ additions or changes as the house progressed. I
I wanted to build a legal and safe structure, outs until I came back to the one where I had pictured interior walls, and drew and redrew
and also to be free to design as I built. Fortu- heard thunder. Once again it thundered. At that window shapes on the temporary plywood

BlUlement. The first-floor walls were cast In Increments using slip-forms,

left. The semicircular plywood boxes wired Into the rebar are forms for
windows. Three small triangular rooms were added to the large triangle
to form a six-pointed star, above. The point In the foreground will become
the stalrwell. The spoke-like system of girders Is made of oak timbers,
. chain milled by the author from deadfalls.
walls. Plate heights and roof lines were often
determined the day they were built. I did some
sketches and wash paintings to run down ideas,
but the site and the work in progress was the
best drafting table. Some ideas would come
suddenly-others developed by trial and error.
Shortly after the basement walls were com­
pleted, I was standing in my new three-sided
room. It had a generous doorway leading out­
side, but something seemed amiss in the space.
It was static. A change was clearly needed, and
once I was sure, I rented a jackhammer. One
drizzly winter day a friend and I scored the out­
line of two more doors with a circular saw with
a masonry blade, hung the jackhammer from a
rope and pulley and went at it. This was the first
of several times when I needed to go back and
change something after it was in place.

Collecting materials-In addition to prepar­

ing the site and foundation, I was gathering lo­
cal lumber. Along with the site, these materials
had a big influence on the design of the house.
Ideas for floors, doors, beams and rafters were
inspired by the lumber I collected.
Hiking the local creeks, I was able to find and
salvage white oak, redwood and yew out of log­
jams. In addition, my neighbors were happy to
have me salvage fallen trees out of their back­
woods in exchange for a portion cut into slabs. I
used a chainsaw fitted with a milling accessory
similar to the one in FHB # 1 0 (pp. 35-37) to mill
the logs. My mill had a 66-in. bar, a 48-in. cut­
ting capacity and was powered by two Stihl
090s, one at each end. My idea of a good time
on the weekend was to drive to the beach or the
river bar, look for washed-up logs, and winch
them to a spot where I could get at them with
the chain mill. I got excited watching the grain
and character of the logs unfold before me in a
swirl of sweet-smelling sawdust.
In 1 975 I moved a house trailer on to the
property. I finally had a rocked road which
wouldn't slide away in the December rains. In
the summer of 1 97 7 I added three small triangu­
lar rooms off the basement doors, and the tri­
angle became a six-pointed star (photo facing
page, right, and drawings, p. 59). These rooms
eventually became a bathroom, a stairwell and
an entry (photo right).
By 1 979, Billie had moved into my trailer with
me. She and I spent the summer moving oak
slabs around with a truck, a winch and a flatbed
trailer. We would set up the 4-in. and 6-in. slabs
(some were 4 ft. wide by 24 ft. long) on saw­
horses, and with a Ryobi 1 6-in. circular saw rip
them into 4x1 4 and 6x 1 4 beams. Then we used
a 614-in. Ryobi portable planer to remove the
mill marks, followed by belt, disc and orbital
sanding. We used my truck winch, come-alongs,
jacks, pipe rollers, levers and ramps to get the
beams in place. Then we mortised them, and

Capped with roofs that step up In a tier of

discs, the Humboldt house rises at the edge of
a meadow. Triangles and arcs are the predomi­
nant shapes at the downstairs entry, linking
the angular basement level and the curved
forms upstairs. Local artisans made the oak
windows, light fixtures and the triangular tiles.

Photos facing page and above right: John Mahony

 Sky light with vents

Lead-wrapped
battens

I-beam -���"'.IIM" Roof is sheathed and

Top floor leaded. Log battens are
placed over rafters
and wrapped with
lead, as shown in
the detail above.

.....ft-JI---
I-beam

CI=!:oIi::�;±1:ii;;0.:9---
Posts carry I-beam.

-�-
Lead-wrapped
Vents battens 2x roof
decking is covered
with two lavers
of %-in. plywood

f : C lerestor y before kneewall Ring beam

IS
.,;, .--:----:- �:;�t)/'I
bUilt uP
� rop llom

_... ��:;::::;; :;:::::; �::: "��;&

.,...

Main floor

Basement

Section

Tri-Ievel house
Beginning with a star-shaped foundation,
Mahonv's house emerges into a cvlinder bV
way of a concrete ring beam (drawing, right).
Radiating rafters over the main floor bear on a
compression (lng, eliminating the need for central
posts. The weigh t of the top-floor loft is borne
principallv bV the main-floor rafters. Handsplit
shakes cover the finished house (facing page). Original foundation Triangular addition

Illustrations: Frances Ashforth February/March 1985 59

cut the matching tenon while the beam was still tions. Then we outlined the sections on full foundation was the ticket. At a junkyard, we
on the sawhorses. Because the beams are in a sheets of plywood, and cut them out with a cir­ found a 6-in. by 1 0-in. by 20-ft. I-beam, which
radiating pattern and because test-fitting was im­ cular saw, which will cut an arc this gentle. conveniently matched the depth of our 2x 1 0
practical, we took great care to lay out these We glued and nailed the bottom plate in joists (Paul calculated the I-beam's safety factor
joints accurately. place, with staggered joints. Then we built the to be 1 0). The beam parallels the stairs, and the
It was living with Billie that inspired the next top plate directly on top of it. Four of us lifted 2x l 0s bear on hangers welded to the beam. We
building phase. There were enough angles. She this 33-ft. ring and slipped 2x6 studs under it. covered the joists with a plywood top and bot­
wanted space-big, expansive, nourishing space. We sheathed the exterior wall with two layers of tom. Finished and furnished, there is no notice­
The six points of the star could be made to carry %-in. ply laid lengthwise so it was easier to able bounce or give in the floor.
a circular room, and I set about designing a con­ bend. In addition to greater shear strength, the
crete ring-beam to support it. double plywood layer provided greater thick­ Lead roof-The summer of 1 98 1 saw the top
ness for shingle nailing. floor go up, and in 1 982 we capped it with a
Ferro-cement ring beam-My friend Paul, lead roof. Why lead? I 'm frequently asked this
who helped me with all my steel and wood­ Roof framing-With the walls up it was time question by visitors imagining X-ray theories and
loading calculations, helped me design and to think about a roof. I opted for radiating science-fiction scenarios.
build the circular concrete beam that carries the rafters, which rest on a central hub called a Lead is fireproof, permanent and workable­
upper floors. It sits on the six points of the star compression ring (photos above right and fac­ it's perfect for a roof with an unusual shape.
foundation, arching and spanning the 1 8-odd ing page, top). The inside of the ring makes a Working lead is like working clay. You can bend
feet between points. perfect place for a skylight. However, with an­ and wrap it, and it holds whatever shape you
Building the ring beam began by wrapping other story planned, a skylight was out. Still, I give it. With a hammer and small blocks of
�-in. rebar around the ends of the oak joists. To wanted to bring natural light into the center of wood, I worked the lead sheets over bends and
these we then tied and tack-welded an armature the main room. The answer was an enlarged into corners.
of rebar that defines the inner and outer edges compression ring for the main-floor roof, with I bought rolls %. in. by 4 ft. by 25 ft. , which
of the ring, as shown in the photo above left. indirect light coming in through a clerestory. weighed 250 lb. The %.-in. thickness took a lot
Inside the ring, which is about 6 in. wide and a We built a 1 2-ft. dia. compression ring of yew, of abuse without puncturing. I rolled it out onto
maximum of 28 in. deep, is more �-in. rebar. It and held it up on temporary posts. Once the the ground and cut it into measured sheets,
arches from point to point like a suspension rafters and roof sheathing were up, the posts which I rolled back up and carried to the roof.
bridge. We wired expanded metal lath to the came out. In addition to a compression ring The largest single sheet I put up is about 4 ft. by
sides and bottom of the armature to form a cage near its peak, a circular room with a conical 7 ft. It swells and buckles a bit in the summer
without a top. roof and no interior posts needs a tension ring heat, then lies flat again when it cools.
Strictly speaking, ferro-cement is troweled or of some sort near its eave to keep the walls from The tools and techniques I used for installing
blown onto a wall of thin steel mesh (for more spreading. I had a roof plus a clerestory and an the lead are like those for asphalt roll-roofing. I
on ferro-cement, see FHB # 1 3, pp. 50-53). Our additional floor to take into account. The main­ did not solder my joints, but kept it low tech,
. improvised technique differed in that we poured floor wall sheathing and top plate could not be nailing and caulking instead. Latex caulk was
our beam through the open top (a slow pour re­ considered as a tension ring because they are recommended for lead to wood, and butyl caulk
duces bulging), and vibrated it to eliminate cut by doors. I've seen similar problems solved for lead to lead.
voids. But the hallmarks of ferro-cement-the (in octagons and geodesic domes) with steel Working up from the bottom of the roof, like
small aggregate, rich mix, large proportion of cable or brackets. Paul's simple solution was to shingling, I gave my horizontal seams a 4-in.
steel to mix and lack of forms-were the heart cover the 2x roof decking with two skins of caulked lap, nailing with large-headed, hot­
of our method. %-in. plywood, in effect transforming the whole dipped galvanized roofing nails. I nailed only
The ring beam was suspended off the ends of lower roof into the needed tension ring. the bottom, covered layer, not the top overlap,
the oak beams, which were temporarily held up The ceiling of the finished clerestory is illumi­ because exposed roofing nails can rust out. The
by posts. Once the concrete set up, the posts nated by the ring of portholes (photo p. 58) and vertical lapped seams were caulked and nailed,
were removed and the ring held the beams. the soft light it reflects sometimes makes it look and then covered with lead-wrapped fir logs
like a domed ceiling (photo facing page, top). (photo facing page, bottom). These logs came
Going up-In the summer of 1 980, we laid the The top of the clerestory ceiling is the floor of from a corner of my property that is sliding and
subfloor for the main room and framed its walls. the upper level, and its load is borne principally slumping, where the trees grow in a sweeping
The bottom plate is made of three layers of by the main-floor rafters (drawing, previous arc in an attempt to right themselves. The logs
%-in. plywood-the top plate, two layers. We page). The exception comes at the stairway are my variation on the common standing seam.
drew our arc ( l 6�-ft. radius) on a sheet of ply­ opening to the top floor, where Paul and I de­ My research found lead and copper to be
wood to outline a template for the plate sec- cided that a steel I-beam carried by posts to the comparably priced. To copper you have to add

80 Fine HomebuUdlng
Rin, "e arn.
A ferro-cement ring beam rests on
the points of the star, and carries the upper
Doors (facing page, left). Here the rebar cage
shows the outline of the ring beam, before It
was wrapped with metal lath and filled with
concrete. Once the ring beam was complete,
the main-Door walls could be built (facing
page, right). Here the 1 2-ft. dla. compression
ring, banded with steel cable, Is propped In
place and waiting for the radiating rafters. Nat­
ural light enters the main room through the
compression ring (right), but first It must pass
through the clerestory portholes and bounce
off the reDective celllng.

Roof. The vertical seams of the lead roofing

are covered with lead-wrapped logs (below
right), which were Dattened along their bot­
toms and lag-bolted to the roof decking. Here a
worker wraps the redwood cylinders and the
vents at the rooftop with lead sheet.

labor expenses and sheet-metal shop costs for

bending and cutting. Neither is cheap.
Lead is toxic if you eat it or breathe it, and
soldering lead creates dangerous vapors. Like
aluminum, copper and some steels, lead oxi­
dizes in the weather, and it is this oxidized layer
that protects it from further weathering. New
lead is clean and silvery. Used lead, or lead left
outdoors, has a grey-white oxide scale that
comes off on your hands as a powder while you
work it. As a precaution, I wore gloves and
washed regularly. Another precaution is to di­
rect runoff from the roof away from gardens and
water supplies.
The oxidation also gives the roof its beauty­
streaks, water stains and patterned textures. Try
leaving it in the roll and in the rain for extraordi­
nary water-stain patterns, or let a wood-shingled
roof drip onto a lead roof.
For my house, the lead-capped roof works
well with the concrete basement, tying the one
to the other with their similar visual weight, col­
or and textures. (For more on lead as a roofing
material, contact the Lead Industries Association,
292 Madison Ave. , New York, N. Y. 1 0 0 1 7.)

Home at last-I finally moved into the house

in the spring of 1 983, and it's taken me a while
to get used to living in it. After the trailer, the
house is too big and comfortable. But the base­
ment is an outstanding summer bedroom or
guest apartment, cool and quiet. The top-floor
bedroom, with its six round windows and sky­
light, is what I call an energetic space, good for
dreaming. Sometimes I bed down in the main
room so I can watch the fire.
Although it was a long project, I'll have to say
that as important to me as the finished house is
the process of building it. Mixing and pouring
concrete in the rain, raising rafters in the sum­
mer sun, laying my roof as I watched the maples
turn, and working with my friends-these were
peak experiences.
I always thought of the house as going up. I
tried to defy gravity by building arches and
eliminating interior, posts. So I had to laugh
when one summer day, while I was working on
the roof, a stranger drove up and hollered,
"Nice house, when did it landT' 0
John Mahony lives in northern California.

Photos facing page and bottom right: John Mahony

 Shingle Sleuthing
A veteran builder pries a few secrets
from gO-year old sidewall shingles

by Tom Law

I know a lot about putting houses together.

But there's also I lot I don't know, and every job
very badly. On the south side, however, they
were in need of immediate replacement.
I take on is an opportunity to learn more and Five-inch wide shingles are still available in
apply that knowledge the next time. I think this the Fancy Cuts shapes from the Shakertown
is why I don't often get bored with construction Corp. in Winlock, Wash. , but they cost $280 a
despite my more than 20 years in it. square. Random-width 1 8-in. Perfections cost
Restoration and remodeling hold special op­ about $ 1 00 a square. I decided to buy the ran­
portunities because they are a kind of field dom widths, rip out as many 5-inchers as I could
classroom for exploring the history, the archi­ and save the rejects for shim shingles. Needless
tecture and the mechanics of older houses. A to say, it took me a long time to run all those
lot of good carpenters have come before me, shingles through a table saw. With 40% waste, I
and I feel a kind of fraternity with the nameless had to saw my way through 35 squares.
craftsmen who built the homes that I remodel.
What they knew about their trade was seldom Some surprises-After we stood up a board
written down, but it is preserved in their work. scaffold along the north side, two helpers began
As I rip into an old house, I study its anatomy to stripping off the old shingles. Later I went up to
gain new insight into what works over time, and take some more photos and to get a better idea
what doesn't. I often wish that architects and of how the shingles had been applied. I noticed
The shingles on this Annapolis, Md., Victorian
engineers could be privy to this kind of empiri­ that they were not done in the way we are
were 90 years old when the author replaced
cal knowledge. them as part of a major remodeling job. Much taught is best. Both inside and outside corners
Last year, I spent several months remodeling of the lumber in the house was from the North­ were butted together-not overlapped and in­
a large Victorian house in Annapolis, Md. It was west, and he assumed that the shingles were terwoven. I started to remove some that were
an extensive job, but not one where I expected western red cedar; they were, in fact, from
under an overhang and in good condition, plan­
much closer to home.
too many surprises. Registered by Historic An­ ning to use them for repairs on the inside of the
napolis, the house was built in 1 893-late for porch. The wood was heavier than I expected.
the Victorian era. It was generally simpler than Initial discoveries-At the rear of the house, After removing several courses, I began to re­
what usually comes to mind for this period. But an out-of-character two-room addition had been alize that most shingles had received only one
it did contain many characteristic design ele­ built around 1 900. Here the two sisters who nail, and that although these nails were com­
ments: steeply pitched roofs with lots of gables, lived in the house conducted a small private mons with no coating of any kind, they were
shingle siding, a bow window, a gracious porch school. The Holiday School, as it was known, barely rusty. I stopped pondering the question
and a turret. had a good reputation. It must have taught the of nails when I found a stencil on the backside
After picking up the bidding plans from the classics, judging by the scraps of paper I found of the next shingle. It read Cuttingham and
architect, I went to see the house to acquaint
myself with the job and its difficulties. Besides
in the attic.
We had to dismantle the addition by hand,
Wrenn, 5 in. 'A 's Norfolk. What good luck, I
thought, to find the supplier's name and to con­
an extensive addition and a lot of general re­ piece by piece, because narrow lot lines didn't firm my guess that these shingles were manufac­
modeling and renovation, the bidding instruc­ give us room to bring in any equipment. The tured at 5-in. widths and that they were the best
tions called for an alternate price for replacing framing was mixed Douglas fir and southern possible grade. I surmised that Norfolk, Va., was
all of the shingle siding. The first course all the pine. This wasn't unusual for houses in this area the place they had been shipped for distribution
way around the house was cut in a saw-tooth that had been built back then, and I assumed from the Northwest. I thought they looked long­
pattern, but there was something unusual about that the shingles on the house, like the fir, were er than the 1 8-in. Perfections, so I measured a
the common shingles. After measuring several from the West. Cheap labor, an extensive rail­ few. They all came out about 20 in., but most
different sections, I saw that they were all 5 in. way system and no qualms about clear-cutting shingles vary some within each category.
wide. The joints between shingles were offset huge stands of timber in the Pacific Northwest Continuing to remove the shingles carefully
from the ones on the course below by one-third combined around the turn of the century to from the top down, a course at a time, I still
the width of a shingle, leaving three courses be­ bring a lot of softwood to the East. We had to found that each shingle was attached to the wall
fore the joints lined up again. The shingles were remove some shingles from the turret wall that with only one nail. The Red Cedar Shingle and
badly curled and split wherever they got weath­ joined the addition, and these confirmed my Handsplit Shake Bureau insists that each shingle
er. It made sense to replace them. theory-they were western red cedar. get two and only two nails. It seemed like a pat­
When I met with the architect and the owner Before starting the reshingling, I went around tern was emerging. Using one nail per shingle
of the house, I commented on the shingles, and the house taking pictures of various details so I and not bothering to weave the corners would
urged them to keep the 5-in. width instead of wouldn't have to commit them to memory. The save a lot of time over the course of the job. I
the more customary random widths if they de­ fitting around the arches must have taken enor­ began to suspect the old boy who put them on
cided to reshingle. They agreed, and I was later mous time and patience. The shingles under the must have been piece-working.
awarded the contract for the entire remodel, in­ porch were unscathed by the elements. Those Despite only one nail, most shingles had re­
cluding the shingle replacement. on the north side were split and worn, but not mained stable (photo facing page, top right),

62 Fine Homebuilding
since nails from the next two courses above also original installation, it wasn't tacked up to the
penetrated the shingle. Given the way these 5-in. sheathing beneath the shingles (photo center
wide shingles were spaced in a course, there right). Instead, it was laid up as the coursing
could be as many as five nails holding a single progressed, except where it seemed to have
shingle to the wall. been forgotten altogether. The other interesting
I continued to strip this section myself and point was the course lines. They were done with
uncovered a few more shingles with the maker's pencil, two at a time. It's likely that using a pen­
name stenciled on the back. These shingles cil to mark all the way across the face of a wall
were in excellent condition, despite their 90 was faster than using a chalkline, because in
years of service. The portion of the shingle that those days loading a line with chalk meant drag­
had been exposed to the weather (about 5 in. ging the string across a hemispherical cake of
vertically) was discolored and slightly eroded, the stuff. Chalkline reels didn't come along until
but the rest of it was almost as good as new. later. Some time was also probably saved by
The discoloration around each shingle tip on the marking two courses at once, but doing it this
rough sheathing proved that these shingles were way meant the nailer would have to read through
the originals and not a later replacement. the cracks to see the second course line.
The grain figure was that of cedar, but it had While studying the exposed shingles, I came
no odor and was heavier than the cedar I was up with an intriguing thought. Given the triple
used to. But my mind was set on western cedar, coverage of those 20-in. shingles and the excel­
so I reasoned that these shingles were heavier lent condition of their upper portion that hadn't
because they were first-growth timber and not been exposed to the weather, it would be pos­
the stuff we get these days. And who knows sible to start at the top course, saw away each
how long that characteristic cedar odor lasts. exposure line down the wall, replace the double
Besides, the grain pattern was right. first course and leave a new surface to last for
many years to come. This would expose the
A little more research-One evening nails to the weather, which would shorten the
looked through my oid Audel's and learned that life of both the nails and the shingles, but you
20 in. was a standard shingle length at one time. would still buy a number of additional years
The old shingles I had been dealing with weren't from the same old shingles.
just miscut 1 8-inchers. That set me back a little, One of the few failings of the original shingles
so I split one of the shingles to see the edge on this house was the first course of the turret­
grain-still cedar. I made a few shavings and it was the only shingled part of the house to leak
chewed them-no aroma, no cedar taste. (photo bottom right). The shingles here were
The next day another stencil was found in the doubled courses, and the starters were literally
pile of stripped shingles on the ground. Al­ worn away in spots. This didn't seem surprising
though the printing was partly obliterated, I since the first course gets more runoff than any­
could see a portion of the mill stamp (different where else on the roof, and is the area most vul­
from the first) . . . SHORT, No. 1 Heart, Lake nerable to ice damming. But it occurred to me
Waccamaw, and the second of two initials:
British Columbia, I surmised. The next day pro­
C later that this was the only spot on the roof that
hadn't gotten triple coverage.
duced a shingle with the full lettering on it: H.B. The shingling went well, and the house
SHORT, No. 1 HEART, LAKE WACCAMA W N. C should remain dry for many years to come.
. . . N.C.? . . North Carolina? It should have read Ninety years? Well, we'll see. There was one fi­
B.C-British Columbia. I wondered if N. C nal irony, however. The plan specs called for
could have been a misprint, or if British Colum­ the new shingles to be nailed with two galva­
bia might have been known by another name nized nails per shingle, and for the inside and
back at the turn of the century. I studied the outside corners to be interwoven. We complied.
map of Washington State and British Colum­
bia-no Lake Waccamaw. Well, how about
Who says you can't argue with success? 0
North Carolina? There it was, in the marshy Consulting editor Tom Law is a builder in Da­
southern part of the state. The shingles weren't vidsonville, Md. Photos by the author.
western cedar at all, they were cypress. It all be­
gan to add up-the graining, the lack of odor,
the weight and resistance to decay. Although I
Despite 90 years of exposure, these 5-ln. wide
had read about cypress shingles, this was the shingles were stili holding out the weather
first time I had knowingly handled any. Cypress (photo, top). Joints were offset from course to
is no longer common here; wanton timber cut­ course by one-third the width of a shingle. This
ting wasn't confined to the Northwest. allowed three courses without any gaps lining
up. Although the exposure was conservative,
I felt a bit foolish. I'd taken a set of observa­
more than a few corners were cut by the origi­
tions and tried to make them fit my experience. nal shlnglers. Most shingles were attached
But all was not lost; I'd learned something. with Just a single common nail, and Interior
and exterior corners were butted Instead of
Le arn ing from the shingles-Knowing now
woven. The red rosin paper that was used
(center) didn't cover the sheathing but was oc­
that the shingles that were coming down off the casionally laid between courses.
house by the bundle were cypress made me feel
bad, but I was committed to replacing them, The only spot in the house that leaked and
and most of the shingles deserved a retirement. showed any rot was the edge of the turret-the
doubled starter course received enough abuse
I did take more photos in closer detail and paid
from Ice and runoff that It literally wore away.
more attention to the old-timer's methods. With only minor repairs, however, the turret
Although red rosin paper was used in the was reshlngled to match the original (right).
 Plumb Bobs, String and Chalkboxes
Working with string and the tools that hang from it

by Trey Loy

B Uilding, it will surprise no one, is based on

geometry and trigonometry. Points are estab­
down the line from the knot) through the bow­
line to create a simple slip knot.
lished by measuring, these are connected to String lines aren't much good unless they are
form lines, the lines are grouped to form planes, taut, and using an elastic line like nylon makes
and these planes join to form a solid. Great-in that possible. The knot that holds the tension
theory. But this whole process relies on estab­ can't slip, but you should be able to release it
lishing straight lines with the right relationship to without much fumbling and you shouldn't have
each other, and keeping them that way as you to cut the string to tie it. A twist knot is the knot
fill in the outline. generally used by carpenters. It's formed by
Levels and straightedges are good for short looping the string around your outstretched fin­
lines. But for long spans, a length of string, gers once, and then twisting the loop three or
whether it is stretched between two nails, sus­ String is pretty basic stuff, but there is no end four times (B). Place this loop over the nail, and
pended by a weight on a plumb line, or coated to the little tricks that make using it easier. If stretch the string tightly with one hand, while
with chalk and snapped against something, is in­ you're cutting gable gypboard or laying out pulling the excess through the twists with the
dispensable. String can be used for many things: walls, try a small, sharp scratch awl instead of
other. Keep up this routine-heave and pull in
a nail for holding one end of the snapline.
to plumb and level your work, to define points the slack-until the line is singing. Sometimes it
in midair, to tell you what's straight and what helps for your partner to pull from the middle of
isn't, to establish grades, to align walls and much, but it stretches less. One kind of braided the span. Secure the knot by pulling the free end
floors, to make a circle or project its center up string is even heat set for minimum stretch. of the string back toward the nail. This will
or down in space, and to mark your work for Nylon string comes in three colors: white, yel­ cause the twists to bunch up next to the nail,
cutting or assembly. And if things aren't going low and green. Green is hard to spot in a back­ overlap themselves and create lots of friction. A
well, you can always use the first 1 00 feet or so ground of grass or shrubs, but it is the best color lot of carpenters tie a couple of half hitches
to go fishing. if you've got fishing on your mind. White is very around the nail for security, but these are hard
popular, but I like yellow for its high visibility. to loosen later. Instead, pass the standing part of
String-String, or twine, is thicker than thread All three colors are sold in lengths of 250 ft., the line around the nail once, making sure that it
and thinner than cord. Twine is made from natu­ 350 ft., 500 It. and 1 ,000 ft. is sitting under the twists-this will provide all
ral hard-leaf fibers such as sisal and manila, or One last kind of braided nylon worth men­ the friction needed to keep the string taut.
from cotton or synthetic fibers like nylon, Da­ tioning is bonded nylon line. It is woven with an There's another simple knot that will keep a
cron and polypropylene. The fibers are drawn extra thread that is usually a different color and string tight. I call it a tension hitch (C), and I use
into slivers, counted, and spun into threads that fiber. This bonded thread contributes strength it when I'm stringing lines between posts or
are twisted or braided. and durability, and gives the twine a flecked ap­ stakes. Just take two wraps around the stake,
Coarse cotton line is ideal for chalkboxes and pearance that makes it more visible than a solid making sure that the part of the line under ten­
will do for a plumb bob. Cotton fibers stretch color. It is treated to make it less slippery, and sion is laid over the two turns. This combines
very little, but they rot and mildew around water costs slightly more than braided line. the elasticity of nylon with the friction between
and cement products, and are easily abraded. There are two other synthetics used in con­ layers of string to hold the hitch.
Nylon, on the other hand, doesn't absorb water struction. For big commercial sites and highway If you are stringing multiple lines, as you
readily and is alkali resistant. Nylon string is also layout, braided Dacron line is often used. It runs would laying out a foundation, don't cut the
elastic, which is an advantage in stringing a line about $ 1 6 per 500 ft. Dacron has twice the string, but take the spool to the next batter
because you can get it very taut. breaking strength of nylon, but isn't elastic. Poly­ board, paying the line out as you go. Use a clove
Nylon twine is either twisted or braided, and propylene is also very strong, but it's slippery hitch (E) to secure it to the next nail, since it
comes in twenty-some sizes ranging from a thin and stiff, and doesn't hold knots well. Like Da­ will cinch down no matter which end of the line
#3 to a thick # 1 20. In carpentry and masonry, cron, poly won't stretch. But it will float. you pull. You tie it by forming two consecutive
you'll be fine with one of two sizes: # 1 5, which underhand loops in the line, and laying the sec­
measures a skinny �6 in. in diameter, and has a
breaking strength of 1 20 lb.; and # 1 8, which
Securing a line-Knowing how to tie a variety
of knots is important to me as a carpenter, yet I
ond loop on top of the first. The combined
loops should then be slipped over the nail, and
measures a fat �6 in. and will withstand a 1 70-lb.
force. The twisted version of either of these
notice that many of the people I work with
aren't sure how to proceed, and use knots that
the ends pulled taut in opposite directions.
Although there isn't any reason to cut the
sizes of nylon line is pretty inexpensive, costing only hinder their effort. A good knot is not only string after making any of these knots, you will
around $3 for a 350-ft. roll, and is adequate for simple to tie, but also easy to untie. One of the sometimes have to join two pieces of string.
laying out foundations and lining walls. It will first places you'll need one is when you form a This is most easily done with a surgeon 's knot
stretch up to 8% of its length, and return to nor­ loop at the end of the string. A common knot (0). This is merely a square knot with an extra
mal when released. for this is the bowline, which is shown at the top turn taken in the first overhand knot.
Braided nylon twine is a favorite with masons, of the facing page (A). The resulting loop can Once all of the knots have been untied, a lot
because it's more durable and easier to work be slipped over a nail or an awl. You can also of string still gets thrown away, because it's such
with than twisted line. It costs about twice as slip the standing part of the line (the string back an effort to wind it up in an orderly way. You

64 Fine Homebuilding
A. Bowline-The best knot for forming an end loop that won 't slip .

1 . Make a loop near end of lin e. 2. Pass free end up through loop.
3.Pass the free end around the standing string and
back down through the loop.

B. Twist knot- The knotless knot for making lines taut and securing them around a nail.
...."."..",,,;::::;;;:=�

1 . Form a loop, twist it around your outstretched 2. Tighten the line and retrieve the slack through
3. Pull the free end of the stnng back toward the
nail and fimsh off the knot by pulling the free end
fingers three or four times, and lay it over the nail. the knot. back under the twists.

C. Tension hitch-An easy knot to hold an elastic string like nylon taut
between posts or stakes.
D. Surgeon's knot -Used for jOining two pieces of string in "ne. Simply a
square knot with an extra turn in the first overhand knot.

1.Make two wraps around the stake. Recover the slack so the "ne taut.IS
Make sure that the end of the line that is under tension crosses over the top
of the two wraps.

E. Clove or bullder"s itch

h -Used to fasten the middle of a string so that tension can be brought from either end.

1 . Form two consecutive underhand loops in the

3. When slipped over the nail and tightened, the
first loop should cross over the standing part of the
standing part of the "ne. 2. Lay the second loop on top of the first. line and the other one pass under.

Il ustrations: Elizabeth Eaton February/March 1985 65

Mason's hardware for string can buy plastic winders that look like the letter
Since the mortar trade relies on string to keep H or make one out of a 1 x4, but I was taught to
courses level and wall faces plumb and even, lots
of hardware has evolved to keep lines taut and yet use a 1 x2 or a piece of pipe about 1 0 in. long.
easily raised for future courses. Line pins drive into With it, you can imitate machine-winding, al­
mortar joints, providing something to tie off to. though your figure-eights aren't going to lay in
Line blocks of either wood or plastic, which are
held in place on corners by the tension of the quite so nicely. After building up a small core of
s tring, are more versatile. Line stretchers actually string on the stick, hold it loosely in the middle
straddle the masonry wall and are sized
and twirl the top of the stick in the direction of
appropriately, and a line twig can be used in the
middle of a string line to correct for sag. the string line so that it wraps around once, and
then twist the top away so that the bottom gets
a wrap. If you rotate the stick in your fingers at
the same time you are twirling it in the air, you'll
be able to distribute the wraps all along the stick
so that you don't get one big ball in the center.
When you're finished, secure the loose end by
tying it to a nail and sticking it in the string.

Hardware-Masons rely on string to keep

their courses straight and level, and they use a
variety of fasteners to keep it taut and in place
(drawing, left). But unlike most of the string
lines that carpenters run, a mason's line has to
move up every few courses. One method of se­
curing the line is to use line pins. These are
steel wedges (tempered ones are best) about
4 in. long that are driven directly into the mortar
joint of a built-up corner, and used for tying off
the string.
With block and brick, most masons use line
blocks. These are small blocks of wood or plas­
tic rabbeted on one side to form a heel that fits
around a corner block or batter board. They are
used in pairs, and the tension of the string be­
tween them keeps the blocks in place. A void in
the inside corner of the block allows you to se­
cure the string without affecting the block's grip,
and a lateral groove on the inside face holds the
tensioned string in place. Wood blocks grip the
wall best and cost about 50' apiece. Plastic ones
last longer but cost four times as much.
Line stretchers can also be used for block.
These are made of steel or aluminum bar and
have knobs on both top and bottom spaced so
the stretcher will fit tightly across walls of two
widths. The knob that fits over the front face of
the wall is notched to hold the string. Line
stretchers run about $ 7 a pair and come in sev­
eral sizes. Adjustable models cost a bit more.
Even an elastic line like nylon will sag in the
middle from its own weight on long walls de­
spite heroic attempts to tighten it. This is where
line twigs come in. These are flat metal line­
supports that clip around the string like hairpins.
Once attached to the string, the blade of the
twig can then be set on top of a brick or block
that has been laid to the working height in the
middle of a wall. A loose block or brick can be
stacked on top of the twig to hold it in place.
Long walls may require more than one twig;
they cost about 20' apiece.
A lot of masons use corner poles that can be
set at the beginning of the job and left until the
last course is laid (see FHB # 1 5, p. 46). They
combine the advantages of line blocks and story

A line level doesn't give a highly accurate

reading because of the sag it creates even in
the tautest string lines, but it's a useful tool for
rough layouts and grading. This aluminum­
clad version runs about $3.
poles. The strings are moved up the pole in once the rafters are up, and it doesn' t take long
course increments as the work progresses. Cor­ to run a string to find out how bad the hump is,
ner poles are available with attachments for so that you can either ignore it or correct it.
both inside and outside corners, and in free­
standing models or with telescoping braces. The
cost of these aluminum or steel guides is prohib­
itive unless you do a lot of masonry.
Most of the time, I rely on a builder's level or
Figuring with string - String is also a good
medium for puzzling out how things fit together.
Those odd rafters-the ones that aren't in the
book or that you can't work out on the square­
tubular water level to set my level lines (I make can be defined with string line. An adjustable
sure that my batter boards are exactly level be­ T-bevel and a level can then be used to gauge
fore I ever get the string out), but for very rough the angles off the string line. If you are doing
layouts a line level (photo facing page) will suf­ this, make sure that your string really does rep­
fice. It is a lightweight aluminum tube about resent the top edge of the rafter. It's easy to get
3 in. long that is fitted with a level vial. Little in a hurry and stretch the string from the ridge
hooks project from the tube so that it can be down to the outside edge of the double top
hung from the string. Line levels run about $3. plate of a wall.
Remember that the line sags somewhat of its To get the height of the lower end of the
own weight, and slightly more with the level, so string right, I usually tack a block to the top of
the reading will only be approximate. the double top plate. It should be the same
height as the distance from the seat cut to the
Strings for laying out-I use string the most top of the rafter. The top end of the string
when I'm laying out foundations. In this process, should be stretched over the ridgeboard unless
the strings form a full-scale drawing of the foun­ the rafters require a seat cut at the top for a
dation plan. Begin by building batter boards just ridge beam or high wall. In that case, cut an ap­
back from what will be the corners of the build­ propriately sized block and tack it in place.
ing. They should all be level with each other.
Then run string lines between the batter boards, Plumb lines- Using a plumb bob is based on
and adjust them until the dimensions of the the fact that if you suspend a string and weight it
building are correct, and the strings are square at the bottom, it will be vertical and perpendicu­
to each other (see FHB #11, pp. 26-28 for a
more detailed explanation of this process). You
lar to any level plane it passes through. Building
projects as impressive as the Pyramids relied
should set up additional batter boards to line up solely on plumb bobs to get true vertical. Flood­
piers, post brackets or any other hardware that ing an irrigation ditch with water gave these
needs accurate placement. builders a gauge of what was level. With these
By plumbing down from the perimeter strings, resources they achieved impressive accuracy.
you can establish footing lines with loose chalk. Modern builders have more sophisticated tools­
Before removing the strings from the batter transits and spirit levels-for establishing plumb,
boards for the backhoe, clearly mark their final but there are lots of times when none of these is
position with a single nail or saw kerf. After the the right tool, and a plumb bob is.
trenching is completed, the lines can easily be Plumb bobs can do two basic things: provide
replaced for forming. a reference for true vertical, and project points
String is also helpful when you're grading fill up or down. Foundations are a good example of
for a concrete slab. I run lines 4 ft. or 5 ft. apart the latter. In this case the string layout hovers
just above the ground at finished concrete above the ground at least a few feet. Superim­
height, measuring down the thickness of the posing that layout on the ground-first for the
slab to check the level of the aggregate. A backhoe and later for squaring the forms-re­
handy gauge for grading this way is to use an quires plumbing down from the strings. Pro­
eyelet on your workboot that is the correct vided you didn't do too much celebrating the
height to the string from the top of the gravel. night before and a gale isn't building, a plumb
bob is a very accurate way to do this.
Gauging straightness-Strings that are used Transferring the corner points to the ground is
to line walls or to check an existing structure done by holding the plumb-bob string tight to
require some kind of offset where the string is the 90° intersection of batter-board strings with­
attached at each end. This will allow the line to out actually touching them. You should set your
run parallel to what's being aligned without ac­ legs apart in a secure, comfortable stance, brace
tually touching it, so that deviations in the mate­ your arms against your body and lean directly
rial won't get in the way of the string. It's best to over the plumb bob. In this case you will have to
use a standard increment for this offset. Framers make sure that you are clear of the batter-board
usually use a I x or 2x scrap at each end, and strings, but you'll be using this same position
then gauge along the string with a third block of whenever you project a point from above. Hold
the same thickness. the bob a fraction of an inch off the ground and
When lumber comes out of the sawmill it is concentrate on the intersection of strings above.
square and straight, but it's a long way from Once you're satisfied with the position of the
there to the job site. If you suspect a high joist string, let it slip from your hand so that the point
(you did crown them, didn't you?), use a string
before you put the plywood down. This will
show you how much to plane off if you have to. Using a plumb bob to project the corner of a
building down to grade or the top of the forms
The same goes for setting big ridge and purlin
from intersecting batter-board strings requires
beams. What gets sold as "minimum crown" in a surprising degree of steadiness, but it's by
a huge beam can cause you a lot of problems far the most accurate and practical method_
hits the ground. If greater accuracy is needed,
spot a nail in the dirt where the point hit and
plumb it again, making sure that the point cen­
ters on the nail head.
To find a point along the line you've estab­
lished, you will need to use a tape measure in
combination with a plumb bob. This requires
two people. Your helper should "burn a foot" of
the tape (hold it on the 1 -ft. mark), or use a
leather thong to get a good grip while holding
the tape accurately over the intersecting strings.
A solid stance allows your helper to sight down
on the tape and to brace against the tension that
you'll be exerting on it. On the smart end of
things, lay the plumb-bob string directly over the
tape on the correct dimension. Make sure that
you are paralleling the batter-board string,
which is level and square to the rest of the lay­
out, and then keep the tape taut while you pay
attention to the bob itself.
Another common use of a plumb line is pro­
jecting an established point up in the air, such as
lining up the face of a beam with the layout on
the floor. It saves time to use two people here­
one on the plumb-bob point at the floor and the
other up on the beam.
A plumb bob also makes good sense when
you need to establish a true vertical line but the
distance is too great to be checked with a level.
High walls, posts and very tall door and window
jambs are good examples. When you use a
plumb line this way, it's necessary to offset the
string from the work to allow the plumb bob to
hang free. When this offset measurement is con­
stant along the entire height of the string, then
the object is plumb.
Because a plumb line is absolutely vertical, it's
also indispensable for laying out chimney flues

Maybe the most common use of a plumb bob Is

to project a point up or down In space. Here,
the author checks a layout point (represented
by the duplex nail driven into the top of the
stake) by using the plumb bob together with a
tape measure. This requires a braced stance
and steady nerves if the tape is going to be
stretched tight enough for an accurate mea­
surement from the original benchmark.
and stovepipes, and for figuring out where a
light fixture goes in a sloped ceiling.
huysen Ave. , Newark, N. 1. 0 7 1 1 4) and Irwin's
(The Irwin Co., 92 Grant St., Wilmington, Ohio
containers holding 1 oz., 4 oz. or 8 oz. of chalk,
and a I -gal. size weighing 5 lb. I keep an 8-oz.
Almost any type of string will work to suspend 45 1 77). Stanley and Evans chalkboxes have alu­ bottle in the toolbox, refilling it from the less
a plumb bob, but braided nylon has no natural minum die-cast cases (Stanley also makes a less expensive gallon jug. It pays to have a couple of
twist, so it doesn't spin in one direction and expensive polypropylene model) that you can different chalkboxes so that you can use con­
then in the other like a confused top. The line fill through a threaded cap. All of these boxes trasting colors when you want to overstrike a
should be attached through the hole in the are available in 50-ft. and 1 00-ft. models (you're mistake or distinguish between two things in a
bob's threaded cap and tied off with a figure better off paying the extra dollar for the extra complicated layout.
eight or stopper knot (drawing, facing page). length). Evans' best model, which runs under There aren't too many tricks to using a chalk­
When it's not in use, the string can be wrapped $7, has a crank that can be stored completely box. If it was recently filled, pluck the line in the
around the plumb bob, reeled into an old chalk­ flush with the case, and will release the string air a time or two to shake off the excess chalk.
box, or stored on a small winder (see FHB # 1 1 , from this position. A slide mechanism allows But even if the string is really loaded at first, two
p. 1 4 for a spool that offsets the string when the you to lock down on the string. The Irwin Strait­ to four snaps and you won't be able to produce
bob is in use). Line box is an aluminum alloy, but is filled from a visible line. You could then rewind the string,
Steel plumb bobs are the cheapest. Henry L. a nylon sliding window on the side. It costs but it's faster if you just have another few snaps
Hanson, Inc. (220 Brooks St., Worcester, Mass. about half as much as the other two. to do to pull out more string instead.
0 1 606) makes a bullet-shaped, hexagonal bob There are also geared chalkline reels in ABS You will often see carpenters automatically
that I see a lot, but there are many other manu­ plastic (Keson Industries, Inc., 5 South 475 rap their chalkboxes on the floor or against their
facturers. Popular weights are 5 oz. and 8 oz., Frontenac Rd. , Naperville, Ill. 60540) and alumi­ thighs before attaching the free end of the line.
and they run well under $ 1 0. These are fine for
short drops, but for anything a story high or
&
num (B S Patent Developing Corp., Box 1 392,
Riverside, Calif. 92502) that will recover the
This merely redistributes the remaining chalk in
a partially filled box so that the string will come
more, you should use a heavier version. Solid string at up to four times the pace of a direct­ out with a full coating.
brass plumb bobs in a teardrop shape are the drive box. This can be a real advantage when The universal hook that comes on the end of
most popular. General Hardware Mfg. (80 White you're laying out large spaces. They run about all chalkboxes will work on the edge of almost
St., New York, N. Y. 1 00 1 3) makes them with $5 to $7. On the E-Z Fastline, you can disengage anything but a concrete slab (the edging trowel
replaceable steel tips in 6-oz., 8-oz., 1 O-oz., the gears, which lets the string free-spool out of usually has a larger radius than the hook can ac­
1 2-oz., 1 6-oz., 24-02. and 32-oz. weights. They the box, by keeping the top of the crank de­ commodate). In this case, you're best off getting
range in price from $8 to $28. Stanley (Stanley pressed. This is a nice feature, since with some a helper. On plywood or lumber, drive an 8d
Tools, 600 Myrtle St. , New Britain, Conn. 06050) boxes you have to cope with the handle spin­ nail and lower the hook onto it or use a scratch
makes a painted cast-metal version in 6-oz., ning around in your hand as the string is re­ awl. For shorter snaps, you can hold one end
8-oz. and 1 2-oz. weights for a bit less money. leased. Unfortunately, the geared boxes are down with your foot. In a pinch, you can snap a
The heavier the bob, the better chance that quite large and take up a lot of room in your line that is less than 1 8 in. or so by using your
you'll be able to get a good reading when nailbags. I also haven't been impressed with thumbs to hold the ends, and using your little
there's a breeze. But large plumb bobs are pret­ their quality-the cranks on the ones I've seen finger to make the snap. This can be useful
ty cumbersome to carry around in your nail are quite flimsy, and the plastic cover for the fill­ when you've got to cut a series of jogs in ply­
bags. The ideal setup is a small bob for most er hole looks like it wouldn't survive an assault wood siding, for instance. If you practice this a
work, and a 1 6-oz. or 24-oz. bob for long drops by 1 6d nails in the bottom of a nailbag. few times you'll find it faster than taking your
where the wind is a bigger factor. Most chalkboxes are outfitted with cotton line combination square apart to connect the lines.
There are two other types of plumb bobs that to which a small metal hook/loop combination No matter how long the line, it must be quite
you will occasionally see. The first is the old­ is attached. Cotton is used because it doesn't taut to get a good snap. The pluck must be per­
fashioned squat type. These are made of iron, stretch, it leaves a crisp line, and the rough natu­ pendicular to the surface to be marked, or you'll
but because of their shape it is very difficult to ral fiber retains the chalk well. It does, however, get a curved line. Lift the line just enough for the
see a mark beneath them. The other kind is the abrade easily. Although cotton replacement line ends to clear and let it go. Take time to get it
small-diameter, bullet-shaped steel plumb bobs is available for less than a dollar, I experimented right the first time, because a second snap usual­
that have been bored and filled with mercury to with braided nylon for its toughness but I didn't ly makes a mess. On long runs the line must be
get a low center of gravity and lots of weight for have much luck. The line wouldn't hold much lifted so high that you run a real danger of not
their size. L. S. Starrett Co. (Athol, Mass. 0 1 33 1) chalk, and what chalk did adhere was thrown being able to pull straight up on the string. Solve
makes a 1 2-oz. plumb bob that is only 6 in. long every which way with the snap. Also, because this by holding the string down in the center and
and % in. in diameter. nylon is elastic, it vibrated after the pluck, leav­
ing a thick line.
snapping each side individually. 0
Chalklines-Being able to connect two points Powdered chalk comes in four colors: red, Trey Loy is a carpenter and contractor in Little
at considerable distance from each other with a blue, yellow and white. It is packaged in plastic River, Calif
straight line that is highly visible by simply pluck­
ing a string is a gift from the gods that a builder
couldn't live without. There's no end to the ap­
plications. Carpenters of the 1 9th and early 20th
centuries had to chalk their lines by running the
string over a hemisphere of solid chalk. A chalk­
box is a lot easier.
There are a number of brands on the market
priced under $ 1 0. The most popular are Stan­
ley's, Evans' (The Evans Rule Co., 768 Freling-

You'll get a clean snap every time if you

stretch the string as tightly as you can, raise it
straight up off the work with your thumb and
forefinger, and then release it quickly in mid­
air. For accurate snaps of 12 ft.
or more, get a
helper to hold the string down in the center
and pluck the line separately on both sides.
 Concrete-Plank Roof
An expensive but effective
structural system for an underground house

by Clifford Hackett

Atrium spandrels Prestressed Flexicore planks run in

east-west direction atop block walls.
2-in . poured slab

Poured lintel

Waterproof
membrane

1':
I "
-
.-- ---
-
I ''-,
1
I
, �'
II
Poured-con te heel
block seals vo/& and
locks Flexicore
I"
,-
planks on wall.

'-,-
"'---
South wall
spandrels

Forced-air
wood/gas
furnace
Rigid foam
insulation

Damp-proofing
Bath/laundry ����
/7 Concrete buttress

// / /
Stnuctural syste�
I\1/I / Floor plan &l6.
A fter looking over the 27-acre wooded site
we had just bought in rural West Virginia, our
uniformity that we couldn't hope to get with a
site pour. And the circular voids that run the
spandrels are reinforced with a rebar cage that's
positioned inside the form before the pour.
family divided sharply over what kind of house length of each plank could be used as utility Each spandrel is also cast with rebar loops pro­
to build. Some wanted a traditional vacation raceways and heating and cooling ducts. truding every 4 ft. along one side so that they
home, like a simple A-frame we could build our­ Actually getting these advantages, however, can be cast into voids in the Flexicore planks
selves. Others wanted a larger house that could produced some strains on builders and budgets that butt against it. These loops can be seen in
be used year-round. Still another voice spoke for alike. We decided to act as general contractors, the photo on the facing page, bottom left.
keeping the site as it was, and camping among and to sub out the excavation, concrete walls Two of the three roof-plank suppliers had in­
the trees or in the old trailer that was part of the and slab, and the roof system. Most of the cluded the cost of custom-casting the spandrels
purchase price. plumbing and electrical work, interior partitions with their bids, but I decided to let Blue Ridge
We finally chose a high-tech, low-energy ap­ and finish work we would do ourselves. Finding Builders do this part of the concrete work. Their
proach-an underground house with a roof of a builder in this rural section of West Virginia bid for the spandrels was the lowest by over
Flexicore precast concrete planks. In the face of who was willing to bid on erecting the shell $400, and I felt better about being able to super­
rapidly rising fuel costs, an energy-efficient de­ wasn't easy. Even though the housing recession vise this close-tolerance casting near the site.
sign, although expensive to build, seemed the had hit bottom when we started to clear the site Bids for the planks ranged from $ 1 2,560, which
best choice in the long run. The low mainte­ in late 1 98 1 , we found only one contractor who included installation, to $7,560, which would
nance of a properly built underground house was interested in our unusual design and confi­ cover only casting and shipping. Only one plank
was also appealing. We discovered the house dent that it could be built. manufacturer, Nitterhouse Concrete Products,
design and its architect, John Barnard, in a book Inc., in Chambersburg, Pa., was actually willing
called Earth Sheltered Housing Design (Van Foundation walls-John Barnard's under­ to bid on installing their own planks. After con­
Nostrand Reinhold Co., 7625 Empire Drive, Flor­ ground houses all have poured concrete walls, sulting with our builders, we decided to take the
ence, Ky. 4 1 042). Barnard's house had straight, but no one in our area had forms for high-wall lowest bid and arrange for installing the roof
clean lines, and we also liked the atrium (photo pours. Blue Ridge Builders, the firm we'd con­ ourselves. We ordered only the 68 planks re­
next page, bottom) and the exposed south wall tracted with to erect the shell, estimated prohib­ quired, and fortunately none of them was dam­
(drawing, facing page). itively high carpentry costs for making forms aged in transit or installation.
The most striking feature of the house, how­ that would never be used again. So Barnard pro­
ever, is its $25,000 roof system. Flexicore is one posed 1 2-in. thick filled-block walls instead of Putting on the roof-At $80 an hour, crane
of several systems designed to support heavy the 8-in. poured walls of his original design. He time can't be wasted, so we tried to orchestrate
loads over long spans using prestressed, hollow­ also specified #5 rebar, threaded down through the arrival of Flexicore, spandrels and crane as
core concrete planks (more information and a the cores every 1 6 in. Lintels over interior door­ carefully as possible. The spandrels had to be
list of suppliers are available from the Pre­ ways in the block walls would still have to be hoisted into position first, and this is when we
stressed Concrete Institute, 20 I North Wells St., cast in site-made forms. suffered our only mishap-fortunately not a ma­
Chicago, Ill. 60606). These planks are factory With the walls redesigned, we spent the win­ jor one. One of the atrium spandrels fell from
made, using steel forms that produce a smooth ter months clearing the 1 0,000-sq. ft. site of pine the crane's cradle after its rebar hoisting loop
finish that can be carpeted or painted once the trees and underbrush. We also cleared a 350-ft. inexplicably broke (with a sound like a gun­
ceiling or floor is in place. The prestressing pro­ swath up the 25° slope for a construction road. shot). We were very lucky that the spandrel was
cess involves tensioning the steel reinforcing Skeptical neighbors came by to see where the only inches above the atrium floor when it fell,
rods in the forms before the concrete is poured underground house at the top of the hill was go­ rather than over the heads of the four workers
in. This tension is released as the concrete ing, and we wondered more than once why we who were maneuvering the three-ton monolith
cures, resulting in an unusually strong plank that had rejected the simple A-frame option. into position. Much time was spent over the
can span distances of up to 70 ft. Flexicore With spring came a bulldozer, lots of mud­ next few days wondering why a %-in. thick re­
planks are 2 ft. wide; other brands come as caked shale and another procurement problem. bar loop snapped like a candy cane. We all
wide as 4 ft. Thicknesses from 6 in. to 1 8 in. are While the crew started to pour footings and agreed that any future spandrels should have
available, depending on the distance the plank build walls, we began to search for a supplier of braided steel loops cast into the concrete, just
is engineered to span. Flexicore. With the help of Barnard, the Archi­ like the Flexicore planks.
At first, it wasn't easy for us to accept the im­ tectural Precast Association and the National We reserved the entire second day of the
position of a high-cost factory roof on the rural Precast Concrete Association (both at 825 East crane's two-day rental for setting the roof
retreat we wanted. But in spite of the expense, 64th St. , Indianapolis, Ind. 46 1 1 0), we located planks. Our builders had estimated that it would
using precast concrete turned out to be the best three suppliers. The closest was 40 miles north take just five minutes to set each plank. What we
way to go. We had considered building forms in Pennsylvania; another was 1 05 miles east in hadn't anticipated was the difficulty of getting
for our 2,200-sq. ft. roof, tying the rebar and Baltimore and the third was 250 miles west on the planks up our driveway, which rises about
pouring the concrete ourselves. This work the West Virginia-Ohio border. The most distant 350 ft. steep and straight from the road. One
would have taken us months, while a crane supplier, of course, was the best in terms of look at the steep grade and the driver simply
could place all 68 Flexicore planks in a single both price and delivery. shook his head and said that he wouldn't even
day. Factory casting assured us of strength and While we compared prices and delivery costs take his flatbed up empty, much less loaded
for the Flexicore, I also had to decide what to with 20 tons of concrete.
do about the seven concrete spandrels that Fortunately, we had an alternate plan that re­
Spandre18 and planks. As shown in the draw­ would help support different parts of the roof. lied on a self-loading, dual-axle block truck to
ing, facing page, the spandrels join over wall
sections, keeping the roofs earth cover from
The spandrels are like giant headers, their ends shuttle the planks 1 7 at a time from flatbed to
spilling into the atrium or over the south side bearing on parallel wall sections (drawing, fac­ crane. The lesson here is simple: If you're plan­
of the house. In the left photo, the last of three ing page). Each spandrel is 1 5 ft. long, about ning to use precast concrete planks, make sure
atrium spandrels is jockeyed into position so 40 in. wide and l O in. thick. Four spandrels your site is accessible and has enough room for
that their ends overlap. The keyway between
form a brow across the exposed front of the a tractor-trailer to maneuver in. Otherwise, plan
the wall and the spandrel will be filled with
concrete to create a solid masonry joint. The house to hold back the earth. The other three to pay for extra handling.
F1exicore planks that abut the spandrel will serve the same purpose around the atrium, Two men worked from the block truck on its
bear on the ledge that runs along the span­ where they also support the roof planks. shuttles, using the truck's small crane to transfer
drel's side. The rebar loops that protrude just Unlike the Flexicore planks, which are cast in the planks from trailer bed to truck. Then they
above the ledge will be grouted into voids in
the planks for added strength. In the photo at
standard, re-usable forms and then cut to or­ drove the load up the driveway and helped the
right, nearly all of the 68 hollow-core planks dered lengths, the spandrels had to be custom­ crane operator attach his cradle to each plank's
have been hoisted into position by a crane. cast in forms that wouldn't be used again. The twin cable loops. Standing on the roof were the

Illustration: Victor Lazzaro February/March 1985 71

 other two crew members, who positioned each wool roller, followed immediately by the mem­
plank on the walls. brane. Our Bituthene came in rolls 36 ft. long
Following Barnard's specifications, we had and 60 in. wide, and we applied it carefully,
positioned a continuous pad of 14-in. Masonite overlapping the edges by at least 2Y2 in. and
along the top of every wall where the planks rolling out any bubbles that appeared.
would bear. The Masonite cushioned the brittle To water-test the Bituthene surface, Blue
concrete planks as they were lowered onto the Ridge built a temporary 2-in. deep dam all
walls. It also provided a smooth surface that around the roof. A weekend under water didn't
made it easier to nudge each plank tightly affect the Bituthene, but we were still a bit wor�
against its neighbor. This final positioning was ried about what would happen if water did ap­
done with prybars as the crane operator lifted pear after the insulation and several hundred
the plank just slightly. tons of earth covered the roof. I'm sure this is a
The planks that abut spandrels took longer to fear shared by many underground-house dwell­
install because the spandrels' protruding rebar ers, and it's the main reason we didn't want to
loops had to be grouted into the planks' voids. scrimp on our roof system.
Grouting locks the spandrels to the rest of the With the dam removed and the roof dry, we
roof, so the pressures exerted by the earth cover fitted 3-in. thick Styrofoam insulation panels
won't force them out of position. The rest of the atop the Bituthene, taped the joints to prevent
planks were simply set down on the walls and shifting, and started to cover the foam with
positioned. Seven hours after we started, the fi­ earth. A mini-loader, which is just a small,
nal plank was in place. lightweight backhoe, made this work go quickly.
Within two hours, a four-man crew had insu­
Waterproofing-John Barnard's plan for his lated the entire roof and covered it with 1 4 in.
roof is essentially a simple one: Make it structur­ to 18 in. of earth. Since the sidewalls had al­
ally strong with up-to-date materials and engi­ ready been insulated and backfilled, the house
neer it with conservative stress calculations. was now underground.
Minimize junctions of dissimilar materials and
eliminate holes in the roof by passing all vent Finishing up-The satisfaction of completing
and chimney pipes through the walls. Water­ a strong, watertight, well-insulated shell was fol­
proof the surface with a proven material that lowed closely by the arduous task of cutting into
can be installed easily and tolerate a diversity of the Flexicore from inside the house. We had to
weather conditions. And finally, insulate the do this so we could use some of the voids in the
roof well and cover it carefully with earth. planks as return-air ducts for the forced-air heat­
Barnard has specified several waterproofing ing system. We had to cut a total of 32 slots, 1 4
systems in the 1 2 years he's been designing in. long and 4 in. wide, i n our Flexicore ceiling:
earth-sheltered homes. (For more on water­ 16 in the living area and 16 in the garage, just
proofing systems, see FHB #2, pp. 35-37.) Ini­ above the heater's return plenum.
tially he used three plies of roofing felt between Never did an architect's drawing appear so
coats of hot-mopped asphalt. He now recom­ simple yet cause so much misery. Flexicore con­
mends a plastic-membrane system like the Bi­ crete is between 1 Y2 in. and 2 in. thick around
tuthene sheet (made by W. R. Grace & Co., 62
Whittemore Ave., Cambridge, Mass. 02 1 40) we
the voids. The smallest portable masonry saw
we could rent weighed 40 lb. Holding this tool
used. Bituthene is a self-adhesive, )-l6-in. thick overhead amidst a churning cloud of masonry
poly sheet with a rubberized asphalt coating on dust and flying, red-hot carbide chips consti­
-"� the side that faces down. Available in several tuted cruelty to builders. My son Peter bravely
widths, it's rolled on over a smooth roof surface, did most of the work, and found it easiest first

:- �,! � . -�":'T �,;'"'.. turned down at the sidewalls and up the span­
drels about 12 in. (photo center left). The side­
to outline the slot with a shallow (o/t6-in.) cut,
then lower the blade to %-in. depth. Once the
walls have to be damp-proofed before you can rectangular slot had been outlined to this depth,
apply the roof membrane, and for this job we we were able to break through to the void with
used Thoro-seal, a cement-based treatment that a cold chisel.
you parge on with a trowel. With an abundant supply of wood nearby and
, Barnard's plans called for grouting all the free, it seemed foolish to install the heat-pump
joints between planks to create a uniformly system that Barnard specified in his plans. We
smooth surface for the waterproof cover before substituted a combination wood/gas furnace
applying the Bituthene. We were sufficiently that has worked very well with Barnard's origi­
cautious about roof integrity to suggest a modifi­ nal ducting system. For faster heat and added
cation that Barnard accepted: a 2-in. thick slab charm, we also have a small Danish woodstove
k poured over the planks and reinforced with wire in the living room. Its flue tile and concrete­
Finishing the roof. Top, workers level a 2-ln. mesh. In addition to creating a monolithic roof block chimney penetrate our Flexicore roof-a
thick poured concrete slab over the installed surface, pouring this thin slab gave us the re­ situation that Barnard warned us against. We
concrete planks. This creates a smooth, strong quired heel blocks that hold the plank ends se­ had to have the chimney opening cast into one
surface that can be waterproofed effectively
curely and seal their voids. A slab also meant of the Flexicore planks at the factory. But two­
with asphalt-coated polyethylene sheets. As
shown in the center photo, the sheets extend that we wouldn't have to flush-cut all the wire and-a-half years later, not a drop of water has
vertically up the side of the spandrel, where hoisting loops that protruded from the top faces appeared through the ceiling. A watertight roof
they terminate in a slight chamfer. The roller of the planks. We built 2-in. high forms around may not be the only test of an underground
helps to remove air bubbles and to seal the
joints between sheets. The living room and two
the edges of the roof and poured the slab and
heel blocks simultaneously (photo top left).
house, but it is a rigorous one. 0
bedrooms have sliding-glass doors that open
into the atrium, above. The central drain car­ When the roof had cured ten days, the Bitu­ Cliff Hackett is a freelance writer based in
ries water under and away from the house. thene primer/adhesive was applied with a lamb's Washington, D. C. Photos by the author.

72 Fine Homebuilding
 Rebuilding a Federal-Period Fence
Meticulous shopwork and careful on-site planning
recreate a local landmark

by Stephen Sewall and David Stenstrom

I e fence in front of the 1 800 McLellan­

Sweat mansion in Portland, Maine (now an an­
nex of the Portland Museum of Art), was a clas­
sic of Federal-Period craftsmanship. It incorpor­
ated elaborate and finely detailed woodwork,
especially in the small moldings and carving that
mimicked the portico and roof balustrades of
the house. Over the years, the fence had been
neglected and vandalized, but when the Port­
land Museum of Art was funded to build a large
modern addition, the architects decided to re­
place the deteriorated fence with a replica, and
to extend it to the corner of the proposed build­
ing to draw old and new together. Our shop, the
Woodward Thomsen Co. , won the contract. We
specialize in architectural woodworking, and
we've done a lot of historic restorations.

Planning and prep ar -

ation Working with
the project architect, we chose a large and small
post, a rail section, and a large and small urn to
use as models. To ensure quality and precision,
we decided to do as much of the work as pos­
sible in our own shop.
The architect specified Honduras mahogany
for most of the fence-about 7,000 bd. ft. of it.
He also specified that all of the millwork had to
be dipped in a 5% pentachlorophenol solution
(available under various brand names at most
building-supply houses) for at least five minutes.
Since this stuff leaves a waxy film on the wood,
we had to keep gluing after dipping to a mini­
mum. In order to dip large and long glued-up
pieces, we had a I -ft. by 2-ft. by 1 6-ft. tank fabri­
cated from sheet metal. We bought the dipping
solution in a 55-gal. drum and poured it into the
tank. Penta does an excellent job of discourag­
ing rot, mildew and insect borers, but it can be
dangerous to handle (see FHB # 1 5, p. 2 1). We
did our dipping in a room with an exhaust fan,
wore rubber gloves and clothes, and spent no
more than one or two hours a day dipping.

Posts-Construction started with the posts.

There were seventeen 1 2x 1 2 posts and four
7Y2x7Y2 ones. Each would be built as a hollow
box in the shop and then slipped over a pres­
sure-treated 4x4 southern yellow pine structural
post sunk in the ground. We decided to build

The fence that Sewall and Stenstrom built for

the Portland (Maine) Museum of Art annex is a
replica of the original. Its Federal moldings
and decorations echo the trim of the McLellan­
Sweat house_
 Fence con stru ction details
(typical large post)
Facing page: To cut the proper molding profile
in the curved railing sections, ca�led ease­
ments, Sewall and Stenstrom used waste pieces
of mahogany as fences for their router so they
could swing an accurate curve (left). They fin­
ished up the profile by hand, using chisels and
sandpaper. Holes for the finials were drilled in
easements with a Forstner bit (center), which
tracks well when entering wood at an angle.
Looking like a school of swimming serpents,
the top rail sections with their easements at­
tached await assembly (right). The underside
Horizontal section through of the easements are not drilled, because the
post at rail balusters will butt here, rather than be let in.

Tite-Joint fastener (two each rail) each post box around two interior frames of
3-in. thick pine, as shown in the drawing at left.
%-in . by 3V2-in. closet screw
These mitered frames would provide enough
solid material to anchor the railings to, and
Block Countersunk 'l2 -in. by would let us slip the post boxes over the struc­
5-in . lag bolt tural 4x4s (which are really 3Yz in. by 3Yz in.)
with some room for adjustment.
Cap �

Crown
__ - �...cr -- From mahogany boards at least 1 2 in. wide,
we cut 84 8-ft. lengths. We didn't face-joint
these boards because we knew the box con­
struction would straighten up the stock. The
Bed rough stock was a generous I in. thick, so we
were able to get a net thickness of Ys in. after
passing it through the planer three times, flip­
ping it after each pass. After planing, all the
Finial stock was jointed on one edge. We ripped the
front and rear pieces 1 2Yt. in. wide, and the
side pieces I I in. wide; then we routed a strong
Ys-in. by 'Va-in. rabbet in the front and rear pieces
to accept the side pieces.
We marked the location of the frames inside a
side piece, then mitered the frame members
and glued them up with epoxy, holding them to­
gether with corrugated fasteners. While the glue
was still wet, we glued and screwed the frames
to the inside of the marked side piece, and as­
sembled the rest of the post around the other
three sides. We bunged the screw holes with
mahogany plugs, and marked the number of the
hollow post on its inside top end.
The two streets that the fence fronts aren't
perpendicular, so the corner post had to be a
parallelogram in section. We checked the old
corner post to get the correct angle. The con­
struction of this corner post was no different ex­
cept that the rabbets in the front and rear pieces
and the edges of the side pieces had to be cut at
the appropriate angles.

Moldings-The urns at the top of the posts sit

on 2-in. thick 1 3x 1 3 blocks. Each post has seven
different moldings. Just below the block is the
cap, made out of four mitered pieces and bev­
eled to the outside. We put the bevel on the
stock by attaching a shim to the bed of the
planer and running the stock through with one
edge on the shim. We built a jig to help us align
Bottom rails are the pieces of the cap quickly, and we glued and
bedded and sit
screwed them to the block.
on granite blocks.
The upper moldings on the post are much like
a cornice on a building. The topmost is in the
V2-in. by 5-i n .
shape of crown molding. Underneath the crown
lag bolts
n
(front a d back ) is a piece of stock that resembles a fascia and
soffit. Below this is a molding with U-shape cut­
outs, which could be called a bed molding.
The architect told us which of the original
posts we were to take our molding samples

Illustration: Christopher Clapp

from. We cut squarely through each molding to ters we thought we'd need. When things didn't that the angle cut would be perpendicular to the
get proper profiles, and transferred these onto come out even, we added or subtracted a balus­ edge of the block for convenience's sake. The
blank shaper knives. ter to get consistent spacing. other end cut was done freehand on the band­
Two of the moldings required special cutting. Once one rail in a section was laid out for its saw. We cut the curves carefully, and saved the
We cut the flutes in the collar piece on the rout­ bore centers, we used it to mark the other, be­ waste pieces to use as sanding blocks with
er table using a \4-in. fluting bit. Our router table ing sure to mark the starting end with a big coarse sandpaper to keep the curves true.
has a slot in it that lets us use our table-saw X
scribed so that we wouldn't accidentally turn We attached the sanded curves to the rail
miter gauge. To feed the stock, we held it one rail end for end during assembly. lengths temporarily with two �-in. dia. birch
against the miter gauge at 900 and clamped a The top railings accept finials from the top dowels, and marked the molding profiles onto
stop to the table to limit the length of cut. The and balusters from below, so we had to drill the end of the easement. At the other end we
large bed molding with its U-shaped cutouts was partway through them from each side. The fin­ doweled the stub on in a similar fashion and
first drilled with 1 Y:!-in. holes, then shaped. The
drilled holes were then turned into U's with a
1
ials needed a %-in. deep by %-in. dia. hole,
and the balusters needed a %-in. deep by 1 Y:!-in.
marked the molding profile. We ordered a two­
flute 1 \4-in. V-groove router bit, and ground the
few stopped cuts on the table saw, followed by dia. hole. To line the two holes up, we drilled a wings to match the profile of the molding. With
clean-up with a little drum sander chucked into \4-in. pilot hole through from the marked side, the waste pieces we had saved from cutting the
the drill press. using two I -ft. by 8-ft. scraps of latex-coated curves, we fashioned fences to go onto our
The fluted molding wasn't face-glued because particleboard as extension wings on the drill shopmade wooden router base. We then cut as
its grain runs perpendicular to that of the post, press to support the long lengths. The slippery close as we could to the molding profile (photo
and we wanted to let the post sides move. This latex coating also made it easy to slide the rail­ above left). The final shaping was done with
problem could have been avoided if we'd been ing along. We used a fence clamped to the drill­ chisels and sandpaper.
able to use a high-quality marine plywood for press table to center the bore across the piece. To cut the drip-cap slant on the top of the
the posts. Other moldings were face-glued to The partially assembled lengths were then ready easement, we modified a 2-in. long three-wing
each other when their grain ran together. Most for dipping. shaper cutter. We tapered the wings to match,
of the moldings were also screwed or finish­ and cut the easements against a collar mounted
nailed, and we epoxied all of the miters. Easements-Because this fence changes level, on top of the cutter. The cuts were made in two
we needed to make thirteen easements-con­ passes using two collar sizes.
Railings, balusters and finials - With the
moldings on the posts, we started work on the
railing sections. This part of the project involved
the most critical measurements and complicated
tinuations of the upper rail that curve up to the
needed height, then level off in a short 6-in. stub
before connecting with a post at the new level.
The old easements had been carved from solid
Before gluing the easements onto their railing
lengths, we drilled �-in. holes in them so finials
could be doweled in. We bored the holes by
clamping the easements to the drill-press table
planning. From the plans, we were able to take blocks of pine. To speed up the process and to as they would sit on the fence, and using a
off the rough lengths of the railing sections. make a more consistently good product, we Forstner bit (photo above center). These bits
Most of them are about 24 ft., some are less and made ours in two pieces: the curved part and track well at an angle because they are guided
one is about 28 ft. The upper and lower molded the horizontal stub, which we made out of a by their rim and not their center. The ease­
railings are made up of two pieces laminated to­ piece of molded railing stock. ments, stubs and railings were then glued up
gether. The architect had specified that there Easements ranged from a 3Y:!-in. to a 1 4-in. into single lengths (photo above right).
could be no more than two joints in each sec­ rise. We drew each one full scale so that we
tion, and that joints be at least 3 ft. apart. We could calculate the size blank we needed and Assembly-It took two people to lift the rail­
sanded the parts first, then face-glued them and determine the angle of the joint between the ing sections and to speed up the assembly time
screwed from underneath. curved part and the stub. to within the working time of the epoxy glue.
The last step before dipping the rails was to We glued up the blanks for the easements out The dipped lengths of railing were brought to a
lay out and drill the holes for the more than of one piece of 1 �-in. stock, sandwiched be­ long hallway in our shop. Making sure the X
1 ,000 finials and balusters. These were spaced tween two pieces of 2Y:!-in. stock. This brought ends were matched, we glued and screwed
about 4% in. apart on the old fence. From the the rough width of the rail to 6� in. The finish these lengths together into full-section lengths.
plan, we calculated the length of the sections width after shaping was 6% in. We drew the pro­ We screwed a row of 2-ft. long lengths of 2x4
and divided by 4% to get the number of balus- file of the easement on the face of the block so to the floor every 4 ft. along the length of the

February/March 1985 75
hallway, shimming where necessary to provide a Finish and installation-The final finish on been. There are so many variables that it's hard
level base. We set each bottom rail on this level the fence was three coats of Benjamin Moore to anticipate everything that can go wrong.
base and coated the baluster holes with epoxy solid-color stain, mixed to match the trim of the Working on the site, we were subject to weath­
using an artist's palette knife. Upper rails with mansion. The first coat was sprayed on at the er, lack of machines, and the distractions of pas­
easements, if any, were placed upside down on shop, because this was the best way to coat the sersby, so the final result was often the best
sawhorses, and their baluster holes were coated molded, turned and carved elements of the compromise. However, we still believe that our
with epoxy, too: fence. The finish coats had to be applied at the procedures ultimately produced a better fence,
We made lengths of 2x4 to keep the upper site, though, and the stain had to be brushed to and one that should last longer, because shop
and lower railings the right distance apart. The get the best coverage and to protect the envi­ conditions allow more control over quality.
balusters were cut !;.I in. short of bottoming out ronment. Any area of the mahogany that we had After the rail cuts were made, we lifted the
in the holes so that glue or slight inconsistencies not adequately covered would have bled section into place between the posts on top of
would not interfere with even spacing. The bal­ through red when it got wet. the granite and noted any small adjustments that
usters under the easements were butted, not let The bottom rails of the fence sat on continu­ could be made for a better fit. We traced the
in. We marked them by eye, sawed them to ous granite blocks. At the posts, there were profiles of the upper rails on the posts. The sec­
length and sanded them, then glued and screwed spaces 6 in. to l O in. wide between blocks. On tion was removed and put back on the saw­
them in place. Finally, we coated the finial holes the old fence, this space was filled with the 6x6s horses. With a template made from a Y.!-in. cross
with epoxy and installed the finials. or round cedar posts around which the finish section of the shaped upper rail, we marked the
posts had been built. The bottoms of these posts positions for two !;.I-in. by 3Y.!-in. closet screws
Ums-The urn was a popular motif during the had mostly rotted, and we had to dig out the in the post (photo facing page, top right) and
Federal Period, and one of the prominent fea­ debris to set our new 4x4s. turned them in with a vise grip. A closet screw is
tures of the fence is the turned and carved urns After the holes were dug 3Y.! ft. deep, we set like a hanger bolt-a lag-bolt thread on one end
atop the posts. The large urns are 33 in. high the posts plumb and on the centerline of the and a machine thread that works with a Tite­
and I I Y.! in. at their greatest diameter. The urns granite. Getting this right was critical. We'd left Joint fastener on the other. With the same tem­
on the four gate posts are smaller and propor­ the rail sections a little long to give ourselves plate set against the end of the upper rail, we
tioned differently. The original urns had been some play, but the baluster spacing was already determined where to slot the bottom of the rail
turned from solid pine blocks. Working with the determined, and the end baluster was supposed so it would slip over the closet screws protrud­
thickness of stock now available, we glued up to be the same distance from the post as it was ing from the posts. The template also located
four pieces of 1 2-in. 1 2/4 mahogany to make from the baluster next to it. Also, we couldn't two Ys-in. dia. holes on the underside of the rail
the urn blank. To minimize the amount of wood
to remove, only the two inside pieces contained
Y.!
shift the post more than in. in either direction
once it had been slipped over the 4x4s.
to accept the Tite-Joint fastener.
The cut ends of the rails were painted. We
wood for the 2 !;.I-in. by 4-in. tenon and the top. After the structural posts were in place and spread bedding compound (Pettit Marine Paint
We acquired an old lathe with enough swing the holes filled and tamped, we brought the Co.) on the bottom of the bottom rail to prevent
and weight to turn the urns. But even with its shop-fabricated fence posts to the site. They contact between it and the granite. The rail sec­
cast-iron bed and legs, we learned it was neces­ were complete except for base, cap and urn. tion was lifted into place and the Tite-Joints
sary to match the densities of the two outer We knew how high each of the posts was sup­ tightened. We drilled, countersunk and fastened
pieces in the glued-up block. Otherwise, when posed to be, but their bottoms had to be cut to the lower rail to the post with 3-in. screws. All
turning the block to round at the lowest speed fit over the granite and to come to within about holes were plugged, and the plugs were chis­
(about 250 rpm), the lathe would shake and the 1 in. of the sidewalk in front and the ground be­ eled and sanded flush and painted.
centers would wear in the somewhat soft ma­ hind. We made the cuts with a sabre saw and After the posts and rail sections were in place,
hogany. As it was, because of the weight of the painted the cut wood. We lifted the built-up the post caps with the urns attached were se­
blank after it was true and round and the coni­ posts and slipped them over the 4x4s. At the lo­ cured in place. Baseboard pieces were fit
cal center in the tailstock, the urn would work cations of the internal frames, we drilled and around the bottoms of the posts. We fit them
its way off center and need to be repositioned counterbored for Y.!-in. galvanized lag bolts and carefully where they butted the granite. These
by cutting the end off the piece and remarking washers. The bolts were positioned at bottom­ baseboards helped make the posts more rigid.
the center. The only solution was to turn and rail height front and back and at upper-rail The base caps, which have the same profile as
sand one section at a time. That each portion of height on the sides. With the bolts opposing one the bottom rail, were mitered and coped around
the urn was not turned on exactly the same cen­ another, we could loosen one and tighten the the posts. The last steps were to hang the gates
ters was hardly noticeable. other to align and plumb the fence post. Ta­ and do touchup painting. In the third stage of its
After the blank was round, we marked refer­ pered plugs were epoxied in the counterbored history, the new fence embodies both the origi­
ence points along its length. We cut half-circles holes and trimmed flush. nal high-style Federal design and the Colonial­
of !;.I-in. plywood to determine the important di­
ameters. Because each urn was separately hand
Next we transported the rail sections to the
site. We laid each section on sawhorses be­
Revival reconstruction and extension of 1 9 1 2. 0
measured and turned, each came out a little dif­ tween its posts. There could be no mistake in Stephen Sewall and David Stenstrom are archi­
ferent, particularly in the shape of the curves. cutting the sections to length, so we took four tectural woodworkers in Portland, Maine. Pho­
We felt that this was all right-even desirable­ measurements; one each at the inside and the tos by Stephen Sewall, except where noted.
because of the variations in the sizes and shapes outside of the post at the position of the upper
of the originals. and lower rails. We compared these with the
We used the same approach in the carving. planned length of the section. We also used a Urns. The urns were turned in the shop out of
Each large urn had an upper fluted ring and a four glued-up 1 2/4 blocks of mahogany (facing
long straightedge, a level and a square to deter­
page, left). Sewall carved the Rutes and other
lower ring with spiral fluting. At its widest point mine whether the curbs were straight and per­ decorations by hand. The result was a collec­
were vertical flutes terminating in a !;.I -in. hole. pendicular to the plumb posts. tion of urns that vary slightly in shape and de­
All of the spiral fluting was clockwise except on After checking and rechecking our work in tail, just as the originals had.
the urn that sits to the right of the front gate. every conceivable way, we cut the rail sections
The fluting on it is counterclockwise. The small to length using a clamped-on guide and a circu­
Inst all4tlon. Rails were cut to length on site
(facing page, bottom right). In the top photo, a
gate urns had reeding on the rings. Studying the lar saw (photo facing page, bottom right). All shopmade post has been lowered over the
old urns, we discerned the simple, irregular na­ the cuts were okay, but this whole process was structural 4x4. Stenstrom uses a template to
ture of the carving. We tried to do the work in nerve-racking, as the disadvantages of erecting mark the position of the cioset screws. He has
the same spirit. We wanted to do the carving already cut the grooves and drilled the holes in
shop-fabricated sections became apparent. We
the underside of the stub end of the upper rail.
well, but without agonizing over perfection were constrained in ways that the builders of The grooves will slip over the closet screws,
(photo facing page, left). the original, assembled-in-place fence hadn't and the holes will hold the Tite-joint fasteners.

78 Fine Homebuilding Photo facing page. left: David Stenstrom

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1fA..15\\:If' Northern
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Log Homes. Inc.
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ME 945·6413 (207) © 1984LogNorthern
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78 Fine Homebuilding
 IF YOU'RE
PLANNING A
SYSTEM 2 PORTABLE BENCH MOUNT
M ITER FENCES. Fence is tempered
HOLE IN
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February/March 1985 79
FINISHING TOUCHES

Finishing Touches features weI/­

designed details, both traditional
and contemporary, and we pay
for items that are published.
Readers are invited to send color
slides and a short description of
noteworthy projects to Finishing
Touches, Fine Homebuilding,
Box 355, Newtown, Conn. 06470.

Gates and a garden

Philip Monrad, of Berkeley, Calif.,
built this slatted gate and fence
with the trellis-topped entryway in
the photo at left. Monrad carved
the home's address in the
prominent beam above the gate. A
vaulted arbor of sticks and lath
occupies a lakeside garden in
Hope, Idaho (photo below). The
trapezoidal gate in the photo at the
bottom of the page is Frank Lloyd
Wright's design for his Walker
house in Carmel, Calif. The house
was built in 1 948.
 FINISHING TOUCHES

A stair with a landing

Oakland, Calif., builder Julian
bit. The railings are let into
radiused notches in the 4x4 posts.
Hodges specializes in finely To make the notches, Hodges
wrought outdoor structures, such clamps the posts together and
as the stairway shown here. uses a router to groove them all at
Hodges hand-picks his redwood once with a %-in. core-box bit. In
timbers, and face-joints them on some places, posts are topped
two sides before resawing them with copper bands secured with
into 2x stock. He uses the driest brass brads (photo bottom right).
material for railings, which he The stairway was designed by
softens with a %-in. round-over Michael Rex.
 REPORTS

Tyvek
I've never liked caulking structures to make
against an object thrown at it) is l OS psi, and
its tear resistance is 32.5 lb. This stops wind
out the material in continuous runs and to
reduce the number of overlaps. I don't want to
them more airtight for the sake of energy penetration, and prevents energy-robbing rely on caulk.
efficiency. The work is messy and tedious, and convective currents from occurring in the wall. My use of Tyvek isn't limited to walls.
caulking compounds just don't hold up to the Tyvek is a wind and water barrier that breathes, Currently, I'm monitoring two homes that have
stresses of construction and climate very well. preventing stud-space water accumulation that the product installed just above the rafters. In
For too many years, my construction crews might cause rot or insulation failure. conventional cathedral ceilings without Tyvek,
would spend between two and four days Tyvek is manufactured in rolls up to 1 0 ft. air temperatures in rafter bays near the soffit
caulking and sealing the seemingly endless wide and 1 95 ft. long. Though it's thin and and ridge vents have been found to be 1 0% to
number of joints, cracks and penetrations that white, like paper, it's actually a lot more tear­ 40% colder than at mid-rafter locations. Air
are the result of any construction effort. Today, resistant than I S-lb. roofing felt. Nevertheless, it turbulence at these points easily permeates
my crews spend just hours tightening up a shouldn't be left stapled to the outside of a through most fiberglass insulation, resulting in
house. Instead of laborious caulking, they wrap building for long if the weather is windy. noticeable heat loss at ridge and eave.
the exterior walls in Tyvek paper. Not only is I'm cautious about all new energy products, We are hoping to eliminate this temperature
this alternative less expensive than caulk, but so I didn't want to specify Tyvek in my plans loss and enhance venting action by stapling
it also produces a tighter infiltration barrier until I was convinced that it could perform as Tyvek directly across the top edges of the
that should perform consistently for the life promised. DuPont claims a 33% reduction in air rafters. As shown in the drawing below left, the
of the building. infiltration using Tyvek beneath exterior Tyvek wraps around the rafter blocking at the
I discovered Tyvek about three years ago, sheathing. My own passive-solar home turned eave and extends up the roof. The venting
not long after the manufacturer, DuPont, first out to be the initial testing grounds. I decided airspace is created by nailing a 2x4 along the
introduced it as an energy-saving "housewrap." to install Tyvek on some walls and not on upper edge of each rafter, just above the
Made from small strands of polyolefin fiber that others. To monitor temperature differences Tyvek. The 2x4s are centered over the rafter
are spun-bonded in sheet form, Tyvek is within the various wall cavities, I placed a edges, creating an airspace I Y2 in. high. Tyvek's
designed to act as a barrier to wind and water dozen thermistors (electronic sensors that high Perm rating combined with its capabilities
infiltration while still remaining permeable to measure temperature) throughout the north and as a wind barrier should make this a very
water vapor. Remarkably, the material has a south walls (2x6 studs, with R- 1 9 un faced batt, successful construction detail. Installing it this
Perm rating of 94, making it exceptionally I -in. Thermax board beneath plywood siding way is tricky, though, because the stuff is
permeable to water vapor. But its bursting and a 6-mil vapor barrier beneath Y2-in. slippery and because covering rafters from
strength (the ability of a material to hold drywall). After two years of monitoring, my above masks the location of firm footing.
figures indicated that the Tyvek-wrapped walls Tyvek isn't a cure-all that will make any
were 20% to 30% warmer than the caulked building significantly more energy efficient. You
Detailing with Tyvek
Roofing walls. No negative effects were noted. I also still need well-thought-out design and quality
tested the paper for moisture transmission by construction. Given these prerequisites, the
Nail Tyvek across
tops of rafters.
installing it as a sealed curtain within a shower material performs basically as promised. It's an
enclosure. Moisture did condense on the non­ excellent infiltration barrier that still allows
shower side within a few hours. water vapor to escape from the wall.
Roof Since these tests, I have used Tyvek on 39 -Joseph Kawecki
sheathing different houses that I designed. Monitoring

Airspace
some of the latest projects has shown similar
increases in cavity temperatures. Framing and
Conferenee:
energy-emdent retrofits
siding crews using the material for the first time It is relatively easy to design and build an
are very happy with it. "No more caulking," energy-efficient structure. Heat loss and
Unfaced batt
insulation
they cheer. passive-solar gain can be calculated, materials
As recommended by DuPont, we wrap Tyvek with appropriate characteristics can be

'"
around the entire building after the sheathing specified, and construction techniques can be
%-in. drywall
has been applied. Some of my crews staple it closely monitored to produce a building that
without vapor barrier while others merely nail it every four or five will perform as it was designed to. It's a lot
feet o. c. Rough openings for windows and more difficult to work within the constraints of

X
doors are also covered. Then cutouts are made a building that's decades or centuries old, and
from inside the house in an pattern, and the where other factors, such as appearance and
Tyvek wraps around rafter Tyvek flaps are folded in and stapled around historical accuracy, come into play.
blocking and extends up the studs. I have found that it's important to How to introduce energy-saving features into
roof, totallv enclosing wrap the entire building at once and get the existing buildings was the subject of a three­
ceiling Insulation.
Tyvek covered with exterior sheathing as soon day conference held last November at the
as possible. This way, the wrap is consistent, Sheraton-Islander Hotel in Newport, R. l .
and there's little chance of the wind blowing Sponsored by the New England Solar Energy
Staple Tyvek to sheathing the material loose. In rainy or cold weather, the Association (Box 54 1 , Brattleboro, Vt. 0530 1),
or rigid Insulation
in continuous roll.
wrap can be left intact over rough openings the conference attracted about 350 builders,
and the building interior will stay a lot warmer. designers, architects, preservationists and
You have to watch the wind, though. businesspeople. What they heard was a lot of
Y2-in. drywall Cutting and fastening Tyvek is a two-person entertaining presentations, laced with technical
job, especially on a windy day. Except for detail and practical business advice.
6-mil vapor barrier being slippery, rolls of Tyvek are easy to The sessions on air infiltration, insulating old
handle. The 9-ft. width covers a typical 8-ft. buildings, moisture, foundation retrofits, and
Tyvek high wall and the 2x I 0 band joist beneath it, heating systems were well attended, and
Insulation leaving a few inches for overlap if there's a generated a lot of lively, though inconclusive,
board
second floor to cover. A utility knife and stapler discussion. Everyone agreed on the goal,
are the only installation tools needed, and the increased energy efficiency. But because of the
Wrap Tyvek around insulation
material can be folded around corners and into quirky nature of retrofit work and the many
�'--r-�.,.----
and secure to board with
mastic adhesive or tight spaces easily. We generally try to overlap
vertical joints at least 1 2 in. While caulking the
variables involved, there was not much
agreement on exactly what to do and how far
roofing cement.
seams and overlaps sounds like a good idea, to go with it. The speakers and audience were
we haven't done it. Our main effort is to roll aware of the tradeoffs involved-R-value vs.

82 Fine HomebuUding
 REPORTS

cost and inconvenience, for example, or of computer use by major firms, as well as the
efficiency vs. aesthetics. development of more sophisticated computer
The theme of historic preservation wove its systems, will speed up the pace of change to
way through the conference. Newport itself has revolutionary proportions. A major dislocation
many restored historic buildings, from modest among architects could well occur by the
1 7th-century saltboxes to 1 9th-century year 2000.
mansions that rival Versailles, and we were Mileaf traced the path that may take the
treated to a most engaging slide tour of some design industry to a critical crossroads.
of them by Antoinette Downing, chairman of According to his research, over 90% of design
the Rhode Island Historical Preservation firms will be using computers within five years.
Commission. Many old buildings in New This sounds more dramatic than it actually is.
England are being renovated, and builders have The average computerized architectural firm
a choice of energy-efficient products to has barely scratched the surface of potential
install-windows and insulation are prime computer applications. Most firms use the
examples. But many historic-preservation grants simplest and least expensive programs that
insist that the facade of the building remain as have the quickest productivity gains: word
it was in the original structure, so builders must processing, spec writing, accounting, number
compromise and adjust. crunching. Only about 8% of architectural firms
Several speakers addressed the issues of nationwide are actually using computer
marketing, dealing with clients and keeping a software or CADD (computer-aided design and
business afloat. During the oil crisis, energy­ drafting) systems to execute drawings. All
efficient design virtually sold itself, but now designing and most drawing are still being
builders must seek out new markets and done in the traditional way-by hand. This is
convince their clients of the need for energy­ why, even though computers have become
efficient construction. This concern was commonplace in design offices, they have had
especially evident in the builders' forum, an little impact on the profession to date.
open discussion on the last day of the
conference. How to attract and keep good
While in the past, designers have always
formed temporary partnerships of convenience
1330Alpharetta.
Union GARd.30201
Hill, Dept. C
workers and how to use computers to best to get contracts, clients' computerization will 404-475-3696
advantage were other topics addressed. compound this kind of activity, creating strange Oak kits from $1955 complete. Other
The conference was well organized and ran
smoothly, thanks to the efforts of the session bedfellows. Since most design firms cannot wood spirals from $1295 complete.
leaders, who kept the speakers to their allotted
afford to have many Os, there over
CAD will,
the next few years, be a trend toward designers
Brochure $ 1.00
time. Unfortunately, bad acoustics made it becoming captive suppliers to certain clients,
difficult to hear questions from the audience. with the ball and chain being the common
And some of the slides shown were too murky CADD system. This period of confusion, in
or too cute to be informative. But most of the which the computer will dominate client­ A Smoll"SAIL
Tidewater S e l l Box Hou.se

people I talked to were glad they came.

NESEA's next conference, on photovoltaics, is
designer award decisions, will grow throughout
this decade and into the early 1 990s.
Main Bld '!.'
T
�:�c�V�JC;
S I-I A II(n;:. � "
26><ZO DeepiFull Cellar.
Ii! 2.� Fl.:Bed R.m.Vlith
{
C:
f1r.e�;(
��he��e.
Fire-
planned for June 1 7- 1 9 at Massachusetts By the year 2000, computers will be handling 1
e And Bath
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. integrated design functions. No longer will
-Ruth Dobsevage individual manual tasks have to be replicated.

Architects and computers

By the end of the century, as many as 80% of
The new generation of computers will form the
core of the overall practice, and will be used
on all projects, from initial planning through
the nation's architects could be dislocated as construction and even alterations, additions
computers automate the production of and maintenance.
architectural drawings, product specifications, Designers will use the systems to solve
cost estimates and schedules. That's the problems, gather information, test designs, and
startling news presented recently to the to accumulate knowledge from project to
Technology Assessment Board of the U. S. project. When the design is done, the
Congress by Harry Mileaf. Mileaf is Director of computer will generate the sets of drawings,
Technology for Sweet's Catalogs, a division of specifications, construction documents,
McGraw-Hill Information Systems, and schedules, estimates, RFQs (requests for
chairman of the 4,000-member Coordinating quotations), project-control documents, and An Offi c e/Gara g e Of Eorl�

Council for Computers in Construction. His the like.

American Heri
"HOMIE to 96 '
OFFICE"
message was that the accelerated use of
computers for architectural design will cause
The implications of these findings are that
many of today's manual functions in a design
AT25:����l�W� f�;:d:P.
Stairs To Sec ond Floor
Office Space, Studio,
far-reaching changes in architectural education office will no longer be needed. Studies have \-Iork-Area,Elc.

and practice. Mileaf advocated a serious re­ shown that architects working at these tasks Skylights In Rear
ToUpper And Lower
�oof
examination of goals and issues by architecture outnumber designers by about 4 to 1 . Because Floors

schools and professional associations.

Mileaf has been studying the construction
computers will probably take over this PLANS $132.9
production work, about four out of five A Flexible
·4 'CARR.I EorlAy GE SHED"
American Design
industry's involvement with computers since architects are threatened with dislocation from
1 979. He's done over 20 surveys, with samples their profession in 1 5 years. Depths
,AtSi
3, �dMore
.31,2.Doot"�
Or
e:es,Z.O�2.1:{ zz'-e-,& 24'
Car Space"
Shop AtSide,Etc.
that measure in the thousands. At present, Mileaf says that these displaced architects
according to Mileaf, these studies have can't expect to become designers. To absorb
G � ����sk�l�m¥�tfe���f-
CompJete Construction
repeatedly shown that there is no computer them in that capacity, the construction industry Details Fer
And 4 0ptionol
The 4 Fronl
De�s
revolution taking place in construction. would have to grow 400%. Nor is it likely that Arro.ngemenl�

Progress and change have been evolutionary,

and will continue to be so during the rest of
great numbers of other new jobs in the field
will be created by computers, though certain
PLANS $IOes
this decade. related areas may open up to a few.
ELIP.O. BOXTOWN SEND & .sON
2006-F
But by the mid- 1 990s, the cumulative effects -Raymond DeAngelo WESTPO�T, CT. 06880
February/March 1985 83
 CALENDAR
Now-a safe, approved method of
Calendar lists events of interest to builders, renova­
tors and designers. Deadline for the April/May issue
is Feb. I;
for the June/July issue, April I.
CIHMNEY
can
Now you
RELINING
completely restore your
chimney at a fraction of the cost of re­
California& Design building. The PermaFlutm System
Research 85-conference on architectur­ seals, strengthens and insulates your
al applications of design and technology research,
Issues 1-24
�1981 cracked or crooked chimney. Improves
March 1 4- 1 8, Los Angeles. Contact Joy Brandon,
American Institute of Architects, 1 735 New York Ave.
NW., Washington, D. C. 20006; (202) 626-7464.
�l984/.1ruoyl985 Former
performance with
any fuel. Home­
owner and contrac­
Connecticut denot
and ed tor inquiries invited.

offremoved
Remodeling trade show, convention-March 7-9,
Parkview Hilton, Hartford. Contact Remodeling Con­
er mix PE RMAF LlJtm
tractors Association, 266 Pearl St., Hartford, Conn.
061 03; (203) 522-3068.
hardens
District of Columbia
Energy-technology conference and exposition­
FineCumul
Homebuiativleding
Sheraton Washington Hotel, March 25-27. Contact Con­
ference Manager, Government Institutes, 966 Hunger­
ford Dr., #24, Rockville, Md. 20850; (30 1 ) 2 5 1 -9250.
Index
This 24-pa� booklet covers issues 1 -24

Maine
Building courses- timber framing, May 20-24; house
and contains more than 1 2,000 entries, in­
dexed by subject and author.

building, May 27 to June 1 4 and June 1 7 to July 1 9; So, whether you're working with adobe or
finish carpentry for women, June 1 7 to July 1 9 ; electri­ struggling with zoning regulations, the new
cal and plumbing, July 22-26; design, Aug. 5-9. Cor­
nerstones, 54 Cumberland St., Brunswick, Maine
Fine Homebuilding Cumulative Index
help you find the infonnation you need,
will

040 1 1 ; (207) 729-670 1 . quickly and easily.

MassachusettsInto
PhotovoItalcs: the Marketplace-confer­
$3.00.
And it costs only

ence, June 1 7- 1 9, MIT, Cambridge. Contact Alex Wil­

r r
To o de , use the insert in this issue or
send your payment to The Taunton Press,
son, New England Solar Energy Association, Box 54 1 ,
Brattleboro, Vt. 0530 I ; (802) 254-2386.
BoxJSS, Newtown, CT 06470.

Minnesota
log-building workshops-on scribe-fit method.
Sessions begin Feb. 22, March 22. Contact Ron Brodi­
gan, Minnesota Trailbound, 354417 Grand Ave., Minne­
apolis, Minn. 55408; (612) 822-5955.

Superinsulatioil conference and exposition­

April 2-3, Kahler Hotel and Mayo Civic Center, Roch­
A TIME TO PLAN
No one knows for s u re whether cu rrent i nterest rates for
home b u i l ders wi l l remain, o r rise again. Now is the t im e to
ester. Contact Jeanne Brownback, Center for Energy take the fi rst step to your new home . . . plan and design
Education Development, Rochester Area Vocational­ selection.
Technical Institute, 1 926 Second St. S.E., Rochester, There is a plan exactly right for you i n one of these excit­
Minn. 55904; (507) 285-8645. i ng design books from Home B u i l di ng Plan Service. Build­

New Mexico
able plans, with complete working blueprints and available
structu ral and finish materials l i st , are what characterize
Earth-systems expo, building conference­ HBPSTM as the leader in professional home design
March 29-3 1 , New Mexico State Fairgrounds, Albu­ service. All plans professionally designed by
querque. Contact Robert L. Proctor, Earth Systems De­ mem bers of AlA or AIBD.
velopment Institute, P.O. Box 1 2 1 7, Corrales, N. Mex. That, and the broad selection i n the
87048; (505) 897-2 1 96. HPBS™ collection. You can choose from

Pennsylvania
Victorian studies-June 8-22, Philadelphia. Contact
solar and energy conscious plans, and
from all architectural styles from tradi­
tional to the most state-of-the-art con­
Judith Snyder, Victorian Society in America, E. Wash­ temporary. If you are planning to build,
Home Building Pl a n Service,®
ington Sq., Philadelphia, Pa. 1 9 1 06; (2 1 5) 627-4252. plan with a n HBPS™ buildable design.
Cata logs a nd Building Aids

Traveling programs
Superinsulation design, construction course­
2235 N.E. Sandy Blvd.. Portland, OR 97232 Order books l i sted i n coupon.

Feb. 1 8- 1 9, Lake Placid, N. Y.; Feb. 2 1 -22, Philadel­

phia; March 4-5, Boston; March 6-7, Chicago; March 8-
9, Minneapolis. Contact Nina Kruschwitz, Energy De­
r-----------------------------,
Home0 Building Plan Service, 2235 Sandy$2.Bl9vd.5, Portland, OR 972320
I &
Homes for The 80's
N.E.
$2.9955 II Studio X-5
Contemporary Traditional Homes
sign Update, Box 7 1 6, Back Bay Annex, Boston, Mass.
02 1 77; (6 1 7) 536-7780. III 00 Recreational&
Hillside Homes
$2.
Holiday Homes $2.$2.9955
$15.0000 I 00 Duplexes, Townhouses, Condos
All Seven Plan Books SPECIAL OFFER
.
Canada 0o & Solar $10.
Energy Saving Homes $2.95 000 Typical Solar Heating Diagram
The Second Home
$7.$7.5500 II $2.00 Typical Wiring Diagram

�
Design and build your own home-hands-on pro­
grams for beginners, April 1 3 - 1 4 , 20-2 1 , 27-28; May
1 1 - 1 9, June 1 -9, July 6 - 1 4 , Aug. 3 - 1 1 . Contact Suzanne
Pasternak, Thousand Islands Institute, Box 3259, Pic­
III For priority mail, add

NAddresse
am
$1 $3 3
per book; I
I for or more books.
Typical Plumbing Diagram

ton, Ont., Canada KOK 2TO; (6 1 3) 476-72 1 9 .

II :: .. I
Overseas City � I
�
� ��� I
...I
Victorian studies-July 6-26, London. Contact Ju­
dith Snyder, Victorian Society in America, E. Washing­
ton Sq., Philadelphia, Pa. 1 9 1 06; (2 1 5) 627-4252.
( i ;:;!
... _ - - -- - - - - - - - - -- ----- - - - - - - - -
and conditions subject to Chang thout notice)

84 Fine Homebuilding
 OODWORKI NG TOOL SALE! If another prepaid price is lower, we match the
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"
or more.
Note: Under add
00•
per order. Extra charge to
flexible rule
MAKITA TOOLS
1 1 00 3 '/. " Planer Kit $164.50
RYOBI TOOLS
B7075
BLACK AND DECKER INDUSTRIAL TOOLS &
3x21 Belt Sander 51 1 8.95 1 1 65 'Ia " Angle Drill
Alaska Hawaii on stationary machines Misprints are sub-
ject
51 1 9.50
to 31. 1985.
correc t
for our next ad .
ion This ad expires March Watch

1805B 6'!a" Planer Kit 264.50 B7100 3x24 Belt Sander 1 48.50 1 1 79 'Ia"VAR. Sp. Drill 69.95 FREE CATALOG WITH ORDER OR
1 900BW 3 v. " Planer w/cs 97.95 1 1 80 'Ia" VSR Holgun ' 99.95
B7200A 4x24 Belt Sander 167.90 BY WRITING TO POST OFFICE BOX.
2030 12" Planer/Jointer 1 280.00 89.50 1311 y, VSR Drill _ 1 1 9.75
01010 'Ia " Var. Sp. Drill
2040 1 5'10 " Planer
" 1 1 70.00 0 3l"18
1 015A '
S crewdriver/ '10" 1 575 VSR Scrudrill '
M " 1 1 9.50 .
S P EC I A L SALE TO READERS OF T H I S AD

USA Mass. ,
You M u st entlon ThiS Ad When Ordering
2400BW 10 Miler Saw w/bld 259.50 1940 'Ia" Cordless Drill
2401BW 1 0 "Miter Saw w/ blade

2708
3601B
w/electric brake
Table Saw
Router
1 99.00
249.95
1 1 9.95
01310

JS.60
e:� � '� :�
! y,"
D1 320R 2 Sp.

J
.
,II Dril i

E3700A 0 w I Screwdr ver

Iw
a
Rev. Drill
i
99.95
77.95
99.95
w/98060 Charger
1 975 'Ia" Cordless Screwdriver
w/98060 charger
Non-Order
TREND- LINES, INC 0 �<:-e-
2034 Drywali Screwrdriver
99.95

1 29.50
91 .50
Calls
800-343-3248
6 1 7·884-8882
, '!i
e '
800·322-6 1 00
,>,:'<:�'t-'1>
I VISA •
!!'!!'!!' I .
3608BK Router w/case 84.95
JS E.60 Electronic Jigsaw 1 25.90 2054 VSR Screwdriver 1 55.00
3 7 5E Beac ha m St
3612BR 3 H.P. Router
3700B
4200N
4301BV
Laminate Trimmer
4'1a " Circular Saw 94.50
1 89.00

Vr S� Orbital Jig Saw 1 28.50

5007NB 7V. , Circular Saw 1 03.95
84.25
L.1 20U

LS. 35
L.580
3'10 " Planer
l 1 3 2 3 A l S 3 y. P l a n e r
Finishing Sander
6 %,' Planer V,"
81 .25
1 29.95
46.95
1 89.00
2931 Cordless Screwdriver
w/98060 Charger
021 II"!!!
3 0 2 7 . 0 9 /' :, C i r c u l a r S a w
3030 7
3034 7Y. Circular Saw
Circular Saw
1 59.95
79.95
99.95
1 1 8.65
· . ..
p • 0 . Box 6 4 4 7E
Chelsea, Ma.
.

50
I -
Open Monday to Saturday 8:30 AM·5:00 PM plus
R. 1 50 1 HP Plunge Router 88.00 •
Thursday until 9'00 PM
5008NB 8 V. " Circular Saw 1 09.75 R.330 2 H.P. Router 139.70 3035 8v." Circular Saw 1 29.50
5012B 1 2 " Chain Saw
5081DW 3'1a " Cord. Saw
1 1 9.95
1 08.75
R. 500 3 HP Plunge Router
R A . 2500 1 0 " Radial Saw
1 65.00
449.95
3051
3091
30
7 v." Wormdrive Saw
1 0 " Miter Saw
1 49.00 TEEIf
DAY MONEY BACK GUARAN
1 89.95 Examine any Item In your home or shop. It's
5201NA 10v. " Circular Saw 226.50
5402A
6000R
16" Circular
Uni·Drili
Saw 375.00
1 06.00
S500A 3x51\ Finishing Sander
S U . 6200 Finishing Sander
43.95 3103 2 Sp. Cut Sawkit
3 1 05 Var. Sp. Cut Sawkit
99.95
1 09.50
not what you expected, return It In original
y, Sheet 89.50 3 1 07 Var. Sp. Orbital condition for a full refund.
60100 'Ia" Cordless Drill 79.95 Cut Sawkit 1 1 9 .50
6010Dl Cordless Drill w/charger
light & case 99.50
TR. 30 Laminate Trimmer
TS.251 U 1 0 " Miter Saw
TS.251 U w/ Accessories
78.95
1 89.95
1 99.95
3141 Cordless Jigsaw
w/98060 Charger 1 49.95
'i.� ·'�
i . /-':7:
E 2708
-• -
Maklta Table Saw ",

$249.95
. _
6010DWK Cordless Drill w/charger & W630 7v." Circular Saw 99.50 3 1 5 7 · 1 0 Var. S p . J i gsaw 1 1 4.75
case 88.75 8 v." Circular Saw 1 09.75 3265 Laminate Trimmer 1 45.65
W730 Maklta 9401 4x24
6012HDW Cord. Drill Kit 2·Sp. 1 05.95 3310 1 y, H . P . Router 1 39.50
6013BR
6300LR
y,"
Reversible Drill 1 1 5.00
y, " Angle Drill 1 5 1 .95
MILWAUKEE
0228 -1 TOOLS
'Ia" VSR Drill $ 94.50
3330 1 H.P. Router
3 3 7 0 · 1 0 3 V. " P l a n e r
99.95
1 29.95 -
Belt Sander
$1 69.00
6510 lVR 'Is" Drill·Rev.
6710DW Cord. Screwdriver 107. 1 0
68.00 0234·1
0375·1
y, " VSR Drill
';'''Rev. Angle Drill
1 08.50
1 1 7.75 4018 >";'iiIJt:,
401 0 Palm Sander
y, Sheet Sander
48.95
99.50
". \.
6800DBV Drywall Screwdriver 89.00 1 1 07·1 y, "VSR 0 Handle 1 44.50 4247 4Y2" Disc Maklta 1 2 " Planer·Jolnter
9030 1'/," x2 1 " Belt Sndr 1 23.50 1 660·1 y, " SSR Compact 1 74.65 Sander/Grinder 69.95 2030 $ 1 280.00
9035 Finishing Sander 49.95 5397 Hammer Drill Kit 1 54.00 4260 Power File 1 89.50
9045B Finishing Sander 99.50 5660 1 y, HP Router 1 79.00 6750 Heat Gun 69.75
9045N Dustless Sander 1 1 0.00 5680 2 HP Router 208.50 Watco Danish Oil
9207SPB
9401
7"
Sander Polisher 1 36.95
4"x24"Belt Sander 1 69.00
5935
601 4
4 " x24" Sander
y, Sheet sander
21 9.95
1 1 4.50
Natural, Medium, Dark, Black or Colors
55.70 at. S16.10 Gal

" ,. .
J!
9501BKIT 4"Sander Grinder Kit 85.75
9900B 3"x21 " Belt Sander
9924DB 3"x24"Belt Sander
1 24.95
1 39.95
6 1 45
6255
6287
VR.Sp.Jigsaw -
4Y2" Angle Grinder

H.D. Jigsaw KitI....,...

1 07.50
1 39.75
225.00
TITEBOND WOOD GLUE
$5.75 at.
HITACHI TOOLS
$12.95 ,.•....;:J,'JIt,J.
Gal

'
B045 1 0 Finishing Sander 46.95 6367 7v." Circular Saw 1 1 9.95 B600-A 1 4Y, " Band Saw $1525.00
B04530 6" Rnd Finish Sander 52.95
DA3000 'Is" Angle drill
lOW'
1 05.00
6460
6507
Circular Saw
Sawzall w/case
244.25 CJ65VA
1 1 9.50 CR10V
Electronic Jigsaw 1 32.75
Reciprocating Saw 99.50 ."
t Hitachi Maklta
DK100l Drill (60100), Charger
&
Vacuum Cleaner 1 29.95
6543·1
6749·1
V. " Screwdriver
s "'1 1 37.50 C7SA
Magnum Screwdriver 1 23.50 Cl 0FA
7Y," Circular Saw
1 0 " Miter Saw
69.95 Hitachi 4'1a" Planer.
279.00 Band a w B·600A Jointer
Planer 2040
1 5·5/B"

g� � � 'g/�a!" �� � � � :� ROCKWELL� ��POWER� � : TOOLS'� :� �'/,�" �����:� lm:� honor all. ,,;,F��r;:e�u�,"d�.''':= lal�
DP3720

HP1030
JG1 600
I
Reversible Drill
Ie

Hammer Drill
Jig Saw Single Sp.
56.90

97.50
91 .25
6750. 1

6753. 1
H.D. Drywall
r
ewdriver

1 1 .072 32" Radial Drill 5 379.9 5

Cl 0FB

C 1 2Y
DRC· l 0
DR·l0
1 0 " Miter Saw

� i
I
t n n

Cordless Screwdriver
Drill/Screwdriver
$ 1 525.00

89.
108.00
We
F 1 000A $ 1 325.00 $ 1 1 70.00

JR3000V
JR3000W
Recipro Saw

PONY CLAMP FIXTURES

�
1 � :
Each
�
1 24.75
2 Sp. Reciprosaw Kit 1 1 9.95 '/,"
22·651
28. , 40
3V4"
ne
� �
d aw
28·24 3 1 4 " Band Saw
31·205 8 " Table Saw
34 9 .75
449 . 95
149.50
D6V
1 450.00 D l 0V
D13V
F.20A
Fl000A
v."
V,"
Var Sp Rev Drill
Var Sp Rev Drill
Var. Sp. Rev. Drill
Plan er
Planer/Jointer
71 .00
74.95
99.75
99.75
1 325.00
No. 50 'I4" Pipe Clamp $7.35 6.95 ea 33·150 Sawbuck 525.00 1 03.50
JH·60A Jig Saw Ryobl Miter Saw
33·990 1 0 " Radial Arm Saw 474.50
No. 52 W ' Pipe Clamp 6.05 6.40 ea
1 58.95
P50 6'10 " Pl aner 295.00 w/acc. $1q9.95
ja
No. 1215 (WEB) 1 5 " 6.40 5.80 ea 34·010 Miter Saw Pl OOF 12" Planer 1045.00
No. 7456 Clamp Pads 2.50 2.25 ea 34·410 10" Contractors Saw 725.00 7v." Circular Saw 1 1 4.95
PSM·7
34·695 1 0 " Homecraft Saw 295.00 1 41 .90
PSM8 8 " Circular Saw
JORGENSEN
Duly) Each
BAR CLAMPS (Heavy
Pkg. 6 34·71 0 10"Tilting Arbor Saw 449.95 SB·1
37·609 6 " Jointer 334.50
10 4x24 Belt Sander
w/dust bag 1 83.00

&:1 '
No. 7224 24" 1 7.30 1 5.70 ea 43·122 Wood Shaper 539.95 .
SO OA 1 1 y, Sheet Sander
No. 7230 30" 18.10 1 6.45 ea 46·140 1 1 " Lathe 399.95 1 1 9.95
w/dust bag
No. 7236 36" 1 8.70 1 6.95 ea All Rockwell includes motors SB. 75 3x21 Belt sander·2
Rock

1 1f2�
No. 7248 48" 18.70ea Carbi
FREUDde SAW
20.75 BLADES Bore
Tipped 12" 10"1"='!o " Bore Sp. w/dust bag 1 34.75
well

I!'.�"' . ,' ., ��� �.Po;

No. 7260 60" 22.65 20.55 ea = SB8T 3x24 Belt sander 2·Sp 1 49.95
Band MII e
No. 7272 72" 24.55 22.25 ea Saw 28·243

W 40 No. Size Teeth Use Price TR. 6 Laminate Trimmer 92.25 hp router
No. 7284 84" 26.55 24. 1 0 ea $449.95
1 H.P. Plunge Router 1 26.95 $ 1 79.00
JO GENSEN CLAMPS (Med Duty) LU72Ml0 General 535.00
36.00
TR·8
TR·12 3 H.P. Plunge Router 1 75.00
R
No. 3712 1 2 " 5.90 5.60 ea
LU73M 1 0
LU73M1 2
10"
12"
60
72
Cut· Off
Cut. Off 76.90 W6V Screwdriver 94.50 •
No. 3724 24" 7.30 6.80 ea
LU78Ml0 10" 80 Plastic 83.50 SUNGOLD X·WEIGHT SANDING BELTS
No. 3736 36" 8.90 8.35 ea
LU82Ml 0 10" 60 Cut·Off 38.00 S ld in packs Outlasts regular1 " . . ..
.. �
N EN HA C o nl
: 2
.

t�:� 1� 1�: � g�� � � :� �!z�O � � \�\.. •.�\�.

f S
��.R � :, � $��� R��:O ea o y Grit 10 I to 'f.�"'\ .' '" " ;
No. 0 4Y, " 9.90 9.85 ea LU84Ml l 1 0 " 50 Comb. 38.00 3 " x21 " 1 20 100 5.98 ea S.84 ea
N o. ' 6' ' " 30 1 . ' 5 ea LU85Ml 0 1 0 " 80 Cut·Off 64.00 0\ \\) 80
IT'S BACK!
; 1 .00 ea .86 ea
NO . 2 8"" , 3 .45
JORGENSON BAR CLAMPS (5" reach)
" 3 .35 ea LM72Ml0 1 0 " 24 Ripping
&
TR100 3 blades
38.00
,,"sso'�
dado set 264.95
9
«\e�\ 60
50
1 .05 ea
1 .07 ea
.92 ea Makita 'l2" Makita 1 6" Blade Sharpener
.94 ea 3 H.P. Plunge Router Circular Saw $ 1 1 8.85
NO. 4512 12" Open 1 7.05 15.35 ea DS3C6 6" Dado 95.00 <;\<; . 40 1 . 1 0 ea .96 ea 361 2BR $ 1 89.00 5402A $375.00 Blade Holder
No. 4524 24" Open 19.05
No. 4536 36" Open 21.20
17.15 ea
19.20 ea
DS308 8 " Dado 1 1 5.00 3 " x 24 " 1 20 1 00
0\ \\) 80
1 .20 ea
1 .22 ea
.93 ea
.97 ea
$311.115
JORGENSON & PONY CLAMPS SUN GOLD SANDING SHEETS ,,"sso�«\e�\ 60 1 .26 ea 1 .1 2 ea
No. 3325 3 Way Edging $5.40 4.90 ea 9x1 1 Aluminum Oxide C Weight 9<;
50
40
1 .31 ea
1 .34 ea
1 . 1 5 ea
1 . 1 8 ea
No. 1 623 3" Hold down 7.20 6.40 ea Grit Pk of 1 00 \'0 .
No 3 2 0 2 H T 2 " S p r i n g 2 . 1 5 1 .90 ea 4" x24 " 1 20 1 00 1 .68 ea 1 .46 ea
1 50, 1 20, 1 00 S21 95
\ \\) 80 1 .73 ea 1 .51 ea
23'70 o
80

,,"sso'\«\e�\
9X' 1 Non·Loadlng Silicon Carbide
Grit A WEIGHT Pack of 100 60 28'90
60
50
1 .78 ea
1 .85 ea
1 .64 ea
1 .70 ea Palm Sander Makita 6" Makita B 'I4 "
400,
220, 360,
180, 320,
150, 280,
120 240$19.60 50
40
32'05 9<;
38:30 '/.\ .
40 1 .89 ea 1 .76 ea B045 1 0 Round Palm Sander Circula r Saw
$46.85 B04530 $52.95 5008NB $1 09.75

February/March 1985 85
 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Abatron 89 Homestead Design 88 McKie Wing Roth 89

American Design
Engineering
& 79
Housewright
Insulshutter
5
11
Mitch Rowland
Seven Corners
87
25
American Saw 13 The Iron Shop 6 Solar Northern 6
D. L. Anderson Jones Industries 87 South Coast Shingle 89
& Assoc.
Atlantic Boatworks
78
88
Kaatskill Post &
Kenco Safety Products
Beam 88
89
Speed Queen'"
Sperber
8, 9
89
aulStair 83 Kirby Millworks 88 'Square-Guide' 87
Ball & Ball
Boyd Calculator
17
79
Lifetime Career Schools
Maine Cedar Log Homes
87
88
Sun Designs
Taunton Press 18, 1 8A-D, 19, 84
88

Branch River 22 Makita U.S.A. 91 Thelin-Thompson 5

Brandino's Brass 88 McRose Leathers 89 Thermar Weather-Foil 24
Brother Sun 20 Mountain Lumber 88 Timberline Geodesics 87
Builders Booksource 87 Northeastern Log Homes 17 Timeless Products 88
Capitol Carbide
Constantine
89
88
Northern Products Log
Homes 78
Town & &
Country Log Homes
Eli Townsend Son
9
83
Country Floors 7 NRI Schools 5 Tree House Assoc. 86
Craftsman Book Company 13 Occidental Leather 20 Tremont Nail 89
Dimension Hardwood 89 Owens-Corning 2 Trend-Lines 22, 85
DML
Dupli-Carver�
21
87
Pacific Post
Paeco
& Beam 89
79
Ventarama Skylights
Versa Ladders
11
78
Earthbuilder 89 Park Plastics 87 Viceroy 23
Environmental Research 88 Permaflu� 84 Vintage Wood Works 87
Robert Foulkes 89 Philipps Bros. Supply 11 Washington
Four Seasons Greenhouses 15 Porta-Tools 87 Copper Works 6
Frameloc 17 Porter-Cable 9 Wood-Mizer'" 87
Garrett Wade 78 Princeton Plans 88 Woodcraft 17
Hammerworks 88 Quality Woods 88 Woodmaster 89
HBPS 84 RdF Construction 88 Woodpecker's Tools 87
Hearthstone 14, 15 Reggio Register 24 Xylophile's 20
Heartwood School 87 Rejuvenation 87 Yestermorrow 86
Heritage Tools 89 Riverbend 24 York Spiral Stair 78

CLASSIFIED
u N I u E
The CLASSIFIED rate is $3. 00 per word, mini­ Build the ENERGY INDEPENDENT SUN
mum ad 15 words. Payment must accompany
order. Send to Fine Homebuilding, Advertis­
COlTAGE for under $24,OOO! Send $5 for
plan book of passive solar and earth-tem­
ing Dept., Box 355, Newtown, CT
Deadline for the ApriljMay issue is Jan.
06470.
25. pered homes, and free information on plan­
ning your own home with architect Angus
MacDonald's alternate energy design kit.
EXQUISITE PACIFIC MADRONE FLOORING. Survival Consultants, PO Box 2 1 , Rapidan,
Other California hardwoods: California VA 22733.
black oak, tan oak, Fremont cottonwood,
black walnut. Wainscoting and paneling. Cal Fine Homebuilding slipcases for your back
Oak Lumber Co., California's largest hard­ issues. Bound in burgundy and embossed in
wood lumber producer. PO Box 689, Oro­ gold, each case hold at least 6 issues. $6.95
ville, CA 95965. (916) 534-1426. ea. ($20 for 3, $36 for 6). Outside the U.S.,
D E 9 1 G N 9 add $2.50 ea. (U.S. currency please). Jesse

CUITom HOmE Don't let the lack of experience and informa­ Jones Industries, Dept. FHB, PO Box 5120,
A
D E / I G n E R '1
tion hold you back any longer from building
your DREAM HOME. Join the hundreds
Philadelphia, PA 1 9 1 4 1 .

CARPENTRY INSTRUCTOR. North Bennet

of Americans and Canadians who have at­
Street School seeks experienced builder in­
tended Canada's Thousand Island Institute's
OE/lGn PORT FOLIO intensive hands-on "Learn to Design
Build" program. Reserve now for April, May,
& terested in teaching an intensive profession­
al residential carpentry program. Small
classes of adults in both demonstration
••Dy n A m i C F L O O II P L A n / l - I ,4 0 0 - 5 , O O O /Q.FT.
c o n T E m p O II A II Y - / P A n I / H - H I G H T E C H - O il
. 0 1l I E n T A L D E / l G n l
June, July and August. Cost is $480 Canadi­
an-$320 U.S. For further information write
shop/classroom and on-site projects. Sep­
tember-May year, benefits package. Immedi­
Box 3259, Picton, Ont., Canada KOK 2TO or
ate opening. Letter and resume to: Walter
telephone (613) 476-7219.
McDonald, North Bennet Street School, 39
Y E I ......
North Bennet St., Boston, MA 02 1 1 3.

n A m E
m A I L
A D D II E I I ,
P O RT f O L I O T O :
MAKITA/JET TOOLS. We'll not be under­
sold. Price quotes nationwide (800) 331-
TOOL (8665). Calif. (800) 336-TOOL
Western RED CEDAR sidings and panelings.
I High quality, reasonably priced. Also clear
C I T Y, / T A T E Z I P (8665). (707) 964-6661 . Write AES, Box fir and knotty pine. Send $1 for information
I

E n C L O / E /20.00 f, m A I L T O :
1 790, Ft. Bragg, CA 95437. Prices include
delivery.
to Bear Creek Lumber, Route I,
Winthrop, WA 98862. (509) 996-2775.
Box 240,

SOLAR AND HOME Construction Degrees. SHOP AND JOBSITE AID: Easily built Saw­
c o n / T R U C T l o n P L A n l
Laboratory experience in most home build­ horse System. Portable, adjustable, doubles
A R E R E A DY ! ing skills. Classes build a complete house. as workbench, drawing board, light table,
T R E E H O U l E A I I O C I A T E I Write Don Sieh, Yavapai College, 1 100 East etc. Rollers to support long rips and cutoffs.

D E / l G n E II O F U n i Q U E H o m E I
Sheldon, Prescott, AZ 8630 I. Multiple clamping and holding features. For
the home shop or professional craftsman.
P. O . 80 H 9 0 7
R O C K L E D G E . F L A. 32955 WIDE PINE FLOORING AND PANELING; ap­
proximately 20 in. wide. Carlisle Restoration
Complete plans and instructions, $3.00 plus
legal-size SASE to Sundance Studios, Box
Lumber. Call (603) 446-3937. 2083, Pine Cove, CA 92349.

88 Fine Homebuilding
 BUILDER'S MART

builders hooksource
A bookstore for the Fine Homebuilder.
From design and construction through interior
design and landscaping - over 3000 titles!
Send $ 1 for our new 24-page catalog.
1 80 1 4th Street, Berkeley, CA 947 1 0
(4 1 5) 845-6874

Build your attractive, .j dome using

our complete, fuJly·engineered kit. Or, you can save
money by purchasing just our plans and heavy­
duty, easy-to-use connector system, and cut your NON TOXIC
own lumber. Catalog. $6 cs, Inc. - F 8
Tim201berl5 Blinak�.e Geodesi FINISHES (503) 249-0774
CATALOGUE S3

�o.sI
m--
1415B�rk�l �y, CA 94704
1 849-4481 LIVOS is a new approach in beautiful finishing without the use of
toxic chemicals. Your environment will be improved through the
pleasant fragrance of plant oils, essential oils and natural tree resins.
SOLID BRASS AFFORDABLE
Breathing problems, dizziness and other after-effects are eliminated.

Plan Cover from ParI, Plastics

No toxic fumes during application or from the dried product. No

=-- OREGON 97217

901·C NORTH SKIDMORE- PORTLAND,
mineral spirits, no petroleum products. no chemical dryers.
Safe for children, animals and plants.
Send for FREE Mail Order Catalogue on:

Preservatives. (Product of West/.6;"."Ger&..m.any)

Oil Finishes, Waxes, Shellacs, Lacquers, Polishes, Stains Wood

� ',"
WOODPECKER'S TOOLS, INC.

(61505)4 988-228887501 FREE*12,

AGUA FRIA STREET
SANTA FE, NM
� D
Please send me also your Mail Order Catalogue of Quality Tools for
Professionals and Craftsmen.
The easy-to-use
floor nailer.
For the professional
or the amateur.
ROWLAND
Call your
CONTRACTING rental dealer or
Jim Williams, at:

943 Park Pla1-sti800-cs 6Ltd.63-W8A30098230

Boblet Street. Blaine.
TOLL FREE
CUSTOM TIMBER

FRAM ING
I�MI['i!i']t1ttm
P. Olm. iBoxngton,1257North Carolina 28401
WiPhone
A vai/stati
ableoatnaryyourorlocal
industribuiladlisuppl
ng. drafty. ing. 401 Porta·Naller© 919(762-6334
from
'SQUARE-GUIDE' co.
HOM E S ' ADDITIONS BARNS exclusive design · available only the:

CUSTOM DESIGN SERVICE

Slyouripcases for
back issues PO BOX
M ITCH ROWLAND
71 MIDDLEVILLE , N
201 . 635 · 2845
J 07855
use with your carpenter square for the
ultimate accuracy and speed during stair
& rafter layout, a must for every custom
I
builder or craftsman durable hardwood.
easy to usel

Bound in burgundy and embossed in

-user
P.O.
i
$10.00 c/uded­
nformation i
Box 1314,
n
Postpaid in U.S.A.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. 12866
gold, each case holds at least 6 issues of
Fine Homebuilding (a year's worth) ,
and costs $6.95 ( $ 20 for 3, $ 3 6 for 6) .
Outside the U.S., add $ 2 . 5 0 each (U.S.
currency please) .
HEARTWOOD
SUMMER 1985
3-WEEK HOUSEBUILDING COURSE
Send your order and payment to HANDS-ON INSTRUCTION . CLASSR OO
M SESSIONS
One Week Workshops In:
Jesse Jones Industries, Timber-Framing . Renovation . Contraaing

Dept. FHB, P . O . Box 5 1 20 ,

Basic& Finish Carpentry . Cabinecmaking
Design . Parrern Language

Philadelphia, PA 1 9 1 4 1 . WRITE OR CALL FOR FREE BROCHURE

HEARTWOOD SCHOOL
Johnson Road, Washington, Mass. 01235 0413-623-6677

Solibyd forWood/Use
return mail 52.°0
Great the In orLook.Out'
Turn Logs
Lumber -And IntoCash
Portable Precise
• ,'I ( I,;
Growing demand - good income for trained Landscape
\�.:
Contractors and Gardenl Nursery personnel. Start your

6 �i.
I own business part-or·full time or hobby. Home study
v_.
I course prepares you in months. Certificate awarded
.

WOOD- MIZER, Dept . eea Fr e e booklet desc{fbes opporl U/lItles

�8180",r,�)w. 10t�7h��1St.�2,4� I LI2251FETIME CAREER SCHOOLS 90064
I No salesman

• I Dept. A-1 6 1 . J
Barry Ave., Los Angeles, CA

IName ____ ____ ____ ______ ____ AddrNameess____________________

___ ____ __ __ ----__------__--__-- __ __ __ __ _______ • --
I
I
__ __ __ ______ ____________
__ __ ________
_ I�
I�t�_ __ �t'!�
Address

!!. z!... _ =.I ��y_ _ I I

-- sta�----------ZiP ______ I City St.,======Z!p==__
February/March 1985 87
 BUILDER'S MART

SOLID OAK DOORS Longleaf Construction Company

11 14"
�" x 30 x 80 stan d ard 4-panel door with
FULL THICKNESS RAISED PANELS
10 or more

160 B
(F IgnaCIO. Colo ) 250.00 ••• Authentic American wood treasure reclaimed &om
Heart Pine TIMBERFRAMES
1000 U r'IIO
SUIte
O 207 · SEATTlE, 62:).QSn
WA 98101 • (206)

INTERIOR DOOR DESIGNS:

MATCHING BIFOLDS. Door c 13 c o 2
WITH
o n stru ti n IS
solid oak With shaped stile/rail construction.
Colonial structures.
Specializing in flOOring, paneling, doors, mouldings,
year I:mlted warranty against warpage or split­ trim, bearns, and custom cabinetry.

Iiili "-- ....."U�.t..i.l�'--"�

ting Doors are finish sanded, ready for finish
Call or write for our &ee brochure and price list.
OTHER PRODUCTS INCLUDE: oa k mold­
Ings, rosette corner blocks.

WRITE FOR MORE INFORMATION: ,n­

H0
hinges. blfold
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eluding product styles and specifICations.

pnce list. shipping Information With rates for
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• Separate fireplace

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P.O. Box 898
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88 Fine Homebuilding
 BUILDER'S MART

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Old·Fashloned Cut Nails. The Tremont Nail Co. makes
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177GardiWaterner, Street, 04345 5 ·PACIFIC ·POST·&· BEAM.
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Reasonably priced and shipped anywhere
113 203-735-3343 06484
Canal St., Shelton, CT

February/March 1985 89
 GREAT MOMENTS IN BUILDING HISTORY

Head Over Heels burning carbon into the air. My

One summer day in 1 947, drove
out of the Kittery, Maine, Navy
1 friend shouted, "It's running, it's
running!" as if we were deaf.
Yard, towing a cement mixer. It Dr. Russell, who was circumcising
lurched along reluctantly behind baby Jeffrey on the kitchen table
me, rattling noisily. It weighed at the time, exclaimed, "There she
considerably more than my prewar blows!" The neighbors all came
sedan, a six-cylinder in which I out to see. It was an evening to
had absolute faith. I had not the rival the Fourth of JUly.
slightest doubt about getting home Shortly thereafter, we put the
that night, mixer and all, and mixer to work. We discovered that
home was 80 miles away. the clutches were in poor shape.
The mixer was war surplus, and The hopper refused to go up until
I had bid on it sight unseen. I was we had shoveled out half of what
no contractor, and utterly we had just shoveled in.
inexperienced in the building Sometimes it needed a little push
trades, but I was going to build me to get it off the ground.
a house of concrete. (That, Occasionally it came crashing back
however, is another story.) When I down. The drum handled big
went to the Navy Yard to claim my batches with difficulty and much
prize, the surplus machinery was slipping of the clutch. The water
all lined up in a row. My cement tank dribbled constantly, just like
mixer was second from the worst, the radiator, which never needed
and the worst one was just a pile draining on frosty nights. On cold
of rusty pieces. Well, it was my mornings, startup required the
mixer, for better or worse. I had liberal use of a blowtorch before
anticipated something a little more filling the cooling system.
dainty, but this was swell. It had a Whenever the engine broke
large hopper on one side which, down, it was invariably with a load
when loaded with sand, cement in the mixer, which would harden
and gravel, could be raised and there in spite of all we could do,
dumped in to the mixer at the flick for our water supply was limited.
of a lever. It had a water tank on Then there would be a concerted
top, which could measure out so attack with sledges and chisels.
many gallons at a time. And it had To do a good cleaning job, it

1 1
a four-cylinder engine. was sure
of that because could see the cylinders, and downgrades, I had to downshift into second or
was necessary to climb inside the
drum and bang away at the encrusted steel.
1
the pistons too. "Hey," called to the man in
charge, "where's the head for this engine?
low gear to keep things under control. The
mixer lurched alarmingly when it struck broken­
One day, I was in the mixer using a hammer
and chisel. We had tried cleaning the drum
Where are the valves? Where's the radiator, the up areas of the road. Even at slow speed, a with acid, with some success, and a small pool
water pump, the magneto?" sudden stop was impossible. of diluted acid remained in the bottom of the
In a few minutes, most of the missing parts As I drew close to home, the lashing mixer, along with chunks of dislodged
had been found, but the radiator had vanished movement grew worse, and the next inspection concrete. The mixer engine was idling nicely.
1
for good. Finally was given a similar one from
another machine. We hitched up the mixer to
stop revealed that the tongue that secured the
mixer to the car was cracked halfway through.
Suddenly I felt the drum turn a little. The clutch
had never willingly engaged before. I threw my
the drawbar that was welded to the car frame If it broke, the machine would wander out of weight against the side to try to overcome its
for that purpose, and I drove off. control. Determined to keep on towing, I steady creeping, but the drum kept edging
It was immediately apparent that this "trailer" reduced my speed to a crawl. With a safety along. Suddenly the clutch took hold with a
would not handle well. The cement mixer cable fastened to the mixer and several jerk, the drum turned, and up I went as in a
apparently hated the thought of leaving its old
friends, for it kept jerking the car violently.
1
assorted saints hovering overhead, eased
along. Night had fallen when I rolled slowly
ferris wheel. There was no room for scrambling
around. I shouted to my helpers and hoped
Worst of all, it weaved constantly. Just for an down the hill to my house. Then I tried to back they heard me. With eyes tightly shut, I held my
instant, I doubted the feasibility of hauling this the machine up the hill into the yard. This breath, covered my head with my arms, and
uncooperative contraption 80 miles. I stopped proved too much of a strain on the weakened wedged myself into place. Around I went, over
to inspect the hitch, which was tight. Yet the tongue. It snapped, and there the old the top, and down headfirst, to be pelted with
weaving continued. At about 25 mph, the procrastinator sat, temporarily victorious, half chippings and dirty water as I reached bottom.
whipping of the top-heavy machine became in and half out. We spent the best part of an The clutch refused to disengage. That
dangerous. So undismayed but resigned to the hour nudging the thing into place with 2x4s. stubborn machine had me in its power and was
prospect of a long, slow trip, we drove on, my The next day, I took stock of my new bent on giving me a ride. My helpers killed the
prize and I, up U.S. Route 1 . acquisition and made up a list of missing parts, engine, and helped me crawl out.
Route 1 at that time was a concrete-slab two­ which I ordered. The radiator was made to fit I suffered no ill effects from having been
lane road, and as I drove slowly along from by improvising with odd pieces of pipe. It mixed, except to my dignity. But the affection I
slab to slab, the mixer bounced around like a leaked only a little. At length, the engine was had had for that machine was gone. We
frisky elephant. Long lines of motorists piled up put together without benefit of overhaul, and goaded the old thing into finishing the season's
behind me waiting to pass. Through cities and we were ready to start it up. With high work, and in the spring, sold it (pity the poor
1
towns rumbled like a mechanical Pied Piper
with a horde of followers. Evening came, but I
expectations, I cranked the engine. Then my
friend took over and cranked. Not a sputter.
buyer), and bought a very small cement mixer,
which served us well for many years.
didn't stop for food. I wanted to get as near We tested, and tried everything that tinkering -Guy Campbell, Norway, Maine
home as possible before darkness overtook me experience had taught. No luck. It was dusk,
and the mixer, which had no lights. and I walked back to the porch, while my We buy readers ' accounts of their building
1 must give credit to my rugged old car. It
lugged that machine up most of the hills in high
persistent friend gave it one last try. He twirled
the crank fiercely, and the monster roared into
experiences. Send your story to
Great Moments, Fine Homebuilding,
gear, without apparent strain. However, on the full-throttled life, shooting lovely sparks of Box 355, Newtown, Conn. 06470.

90 FIne HomebulIding
 I \
\II.
\

Finish first \
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with Makita.

"
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 Singer walnut.
Marty Balin The base
wanted a place of the roof
to meditate, so pyramid aligns
he built a retreat with the top of the
in his house in Mill wall plate, and a long
Valley, Calif. He hired 24-in. wide by 3-in. thick
builder Gene DeSmidt to add redwood bench slides along
a small room to the corner of the plate. With the bench in
his attic, topped with a timber· the center of the room, Balin
framed, pyramidal roof. The walls sits cross-legged with his head
and ceiling are paneled in padauk, at the focal point of the pyramid­
purpleheart, pine, curly redwood and the King's chamber. -Charles Miller